If you were running a business that just pulled in record profits after two years of business hell, what would you do? Some companies would show their customers some appreciation. Others would find new lines of business or products in which to invest. The airlines, however, seem poised to jack up their fees.
Let’s face it: ancillary fees have been good to the airlines. Paying extra for food, checked bags and premium coach seating – not to mention cancellations – is the principal reason for the extra cash the industry pulled in last year. And having tasted success, the airlines want more.
According to a report in the Tampa Tribune, the prospect of increasing fuel costs is causing experts and analysts to forecast additional charges for passengers this year. Possibilities include a fee for paying with a credit card (a real gem since cash transactions are highly unlikely, especially online), using the web to make reservations and for talking to a human being to get a seat assignment. The first two are brutal, because passengers would be charged for behavior (a) encouraged by the airlines and (b) that lowers their operating costs.
George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchdog.com, tells the Tampa Tribune, effectively, that it’s a defensive move, since “[a]irlines don’t want to go back in the red.”
It’s also consistent with the emerging strategy of finding new ways to charge customers without having to raise ticket prices.
According to Hobica, as many as 10 new fees could gain traction in 2011, some of which are in use already.
So, is it gouging or prudent business? That’s hard to say. Airlines are in the business of generating profits – they can’t be faulted for that. Customers have little negotiating power, so the whole line of desperate thinking that we can somehow prevail seems moot.
Have you ever wondered where Las Vegas‘ famed flashing marquees go to die? It’s no ordinary graveyard. The self-described “Neon Boneyard” of Las Vegas is a little-known spot housing memorablia from imploded casinos, soon to become a museum and public park.
First opened in 1996, the Neon Museum is a nonprofit organization whose missiom is to to “collect, preserve, study and exhibit neon signs and associated artifacts to inspire educational and cultural enrichment for diverse members of our international community.”
Just finding the Boneyard requires some planning, it’s about a $20 cab ride past the pawn shops, mini malls, and clubs of Girls, Girls, Girls.
Don’t expect everything to be aglitter when you arrive … this isn’t The Strip. The signs are unlit, many showing the dusty patina of age. (Naturally, this will change when the museum opens.)
But that doesn’t stop curious visitors – and many a just-married couple – from snapping photos in front of their favorite wedding chapel sign. “Old Timers” will also enjoy the relics – marquees from casinos long imploded to make room for new megoliths, a collection of historic Freemont street memorabilia and even a few culturally significant donations. One of the Boneyard’s highlights is relics the genie lamp from the hotel where Elvis married Priscilla Ann Wagner.
The Neon Museum is rehabilitating the historic La Concha Motel lobby for use as its Visitors Cente. La Concha, which was dismantled and moved to the “Boneyard” for use, is a large shell-like structure. It was designed by famed African-American architect Paul Revere Williams. Several active signs throughout Las Vegas have also been pledged to the museum once they’re retired.
As reported in AOL Travel, the three-acre lot currently open by appointment only. Tickets, which must be reserved two weeks in advance for the twice-daily tour, cost $15. The museum’s new admission structure has yet to be announced, but is likely to be much more accessible.
Was Ognjen Milatovic a nutty professor? Only time – and the legal process – will tell. The University of North Florida professor of mathematics and statistics put a carry-on in the overhead bin … and his fellow passengers said it was making strange noises. Then, he wouldn’t get off his phone and take his seat when told to do so by the crew.
So, he was turned over to the Massachusetts State Police.
Milatovic was arrested in Boston and then released on his own recognizance after being pulled from the US Airways flight on Monday. The mystery luggage was inspected, and according to the Associated Press, “no threat was found.”
Can you imagine a theme park in the middle of Manhattan? Finding the capital to acquire the land and raise the buildings on it to create the necessary open space would be nearly impossible.
But what if that theme park could be built vertically, as a theme park skyscraper?
That’s the idea behind architect Ju-Hyun Kim’s vertical theme park prototypes. Kim says in order to be eco-friendly and save the world from more sprawl, the theme parks of tomorrow need to be built in the middle of cities:
Instead of sprawling parks with giant footprints, stack the park into a skyscraper. The altitude will only add to the speed and excitement of rides, and the view of the surrounding dense urban environment will be incredible. There’ll be so much more to see from the top of the carousel and roller coaster on the perimeter. Best of all, it will be easily reached by public transportation, and the environmental impact will be minimal. Now is the time to build the joyful destination for families’ perfect day out at the center of cities.
Kim’s vertical theme park would be broken into five sections:
Vertigo World, which would include a carousel and observation deck at the top of the theme park skyscraper
Fast Land, including a flume ride and a rollercoaster
360 World, with a Ferris Wheel and sky promenade
Abyss City, a bungee jumping platform
Elsewhere Universe, a geodesic dome with a gravity-free zone
Though very different from Kim’s vision, theme-park pioneer Walt Disney also considered building a vertical theme park in a city’s downtown. Fifty years ago, Disney was planning a River Front Square on the banks of the Mississippi in St. Louis. The five-story indoor attraction’s plans are said to have included a walk-through pirate ship, audio-animatronic exhibits and a haunted house.
But the St. Louis plans for a metropolitan Disney theme park were scrapped, and the second Disney theme park — the Magic Kingdom — was built outdoors, horizontally, on part of a sprawling 40-square-mile swampy area now known as Walt Disney World.
You can see all the prototypes from Kim’s vertical theme park proposal at ArchDaily.
If there is one thing cruise lines are it’s responsive to giving passengers what they want. A big part of the cruise experience has always been the food and these days there are more options than ever before. It’s been an evolution as cruise lines look for just the right mix of dining options to be everything to everyone. For the most part, cruise line dining options have been evolving well but not without moving a bit farther away from the all-inclusive nature cruise vacations are known for.
It wasn’t all that long ago that everybody on a cruise ship piled into the main dining room for dinner. They may have chosen an early or late dining time but that was about it in the way of options. Still, considering the all-inclusive nature of a cruise, it made sense and everyone was happy for the most part. Dancing waiters in the dining room and top-notch banquet-style service pleased pretty much everyone.
Then cruise lines started adding what were called “alternative dining options” to ships. Initially they were a single restaurant in addition to the main dining room where one might go for a super extra special occasion, pay a little more and get even better service and even better food than the already great stuff in main dining room.
I remember sailing on Carnival Legend when this concept first came out. We paid $20 extra for a steak that would have been called a roast back home able to feed a family of four along with a dining experience like no other. In the small venue there was live entertainment, waiters always within arms reach and they did a really good job in a different way than the main dining room. It made sense. It was worth the nominal fee and quite an experience. Not that the main dining room wasn’t, this was different and obviously something they couldn’t just throw in for everyone as part of the deal.
Fast forward to now and Allure of the Seas, Norwegian Epic or any one of a number of other ships where the main dining room experience is almost secondary and not the star of the show as it once was. Today there are more options than ever before for dining at any time of the day or night, for a price.
%Gallery-112282%”Oasis of the Seas features 24 distinct dining experiences, ranging from an exclusive signature restaurant, to neighborhood-specific themed venues, and new twists on Royal Caribbean’s traditional dining areas.” says cruise expert Linda Garrison.
Of those 24 dining options, 12 included in the price and 12 cost more, but prices are reasonable starting at $4.95 for Johnny Rockets, fun and casual indoor/outdoor diner to $35 for 150 Central Park, the ships premiere dining venue.
Other cruise lines and ships have up to a 50/50 split between complementary and extra charge dining options too. Norwegian Cruise Lines new Norwegian Epic has 9 complementary options and 10 extra charge choices.
A number of long-time cruise vacation fans recoil at the mere thought of paying a cover charge for, in their minds, what used to be included in the price. Surely, long ago when these options did not exist, that was true. But now pretty much all major cruise lines have dining options and doing so is consistent with what a cruise is all about
On a cruise, as opposed to other packaged vacation options, we can easily customize the experience to be pretty much what ever we want it to be. This is good news for travelers who are becoming more and more all about custom vacation options rather than a boiler-plate same experience for everyone.
Yes, you can still book a cruise, and have a good time without spending one penny more than the price of the cruise. The lines are well aware that it was the all-inclusive nature and extraordinary value of a cruise compared with other options, that got them where they are today. They are not going to turn their back on that.
Attractive dining options, at an extra charge, allow those who want more than the standard fare to get just that.
In 2011 and beyond, look for this trend to continue as cruise lines as well as other vacation options allow more customization. Those who want to debate the topic need to wake up and smell the coffee, this is not going away.