Talking travel with an insider of the personal jet industry

by Jerry Guo on

Bob Knebel is vice president of sales for Flexjet, a subsidiary of the jet-maker Bombardier which sells shares of private jets to frequent fliers. This is a relatively new trend in the marketplace. He’s here to give a glimpse into what actually goes on in the world of ultra jet-setters.

For owners of private jets, is the airport process totally different from what we commoners have to bear? Can you go straight onto the tarmac and lift off?

First, and foremost, it is important to know that security at general aviation airports is taken as seriously as it is at the larger commercial airports … and always has been. That said, a passenger will go through a brief identification/security screening process by the Fixed Base Operator (the base of operations for business jets transiting through this airport), and then again with the crew flying your aircraft. The entire process is personal, and much quicker than that at a commercial airport. And, yes, depending on the particular airport policies, in many instances you may drive your car on to the ramp, making the job of loading your luggage directly on to your aircraft just that much easier.

I’ve seen quite a bit of advertising for private jet vacations. Is this something you’re seeing–hop-scotch trips through Eastern Europe or South Asia by jet, for instance?

Flexjet recently launched a new advertising campaign and through our research we found most of our customers use their private jet primarily as a business tool and not so much a glamorous perk. It’s an investment in productivity and their most valuable asset: time. Certainly some will use their private jet to accomplish a special vacation trip that would not otherwise be possible within their time constraints, or through areas which might offer less-than-reliable commercial travel options.

Tell us a bit about the Flexjet 25 program. Does this make private jet travel accessible to previous first-class travelers? For what kind of crowd has fractional jet ownership become affordable?

Flexjet 25 jet cards offer the highest form of pain relief for travelers who have spent countless hours waiting at the airport for delayed or canceled flights. They give travelers a way to sample private aviation without assuming ownership of a plane, and offer an excellent opportunity for those interested in fractional ownership as a way to test out private aviation without the commitment. (Although, I must say, after flying private few go back to commercial travel.)

Additionally, what is unique about the Flexjet 25 Jet Card program is that it allows customers to purchase flying hours in 25-, 30- and 35-hour increments in our Bombardier Learjet 40 XR, Learjet 45 XR, Learjet 60 XR, Challenger 300 or Challenger 604 aircraft. Here are some additional key benefits:

If you could “borrow” one of the Flexjet jets, what would be your ideal around-the-world itinerary?

I would travel to the world’s most difficult to reach destinations, places which offer unique learning experiences and opportunities to create life-long memories for my family.

Do Flexjet jets come with a service staff? Do fliers still have to go through those annoying safety demonstrations? Are the flight attendants at least prettier?

All of our flight crews are selected not only for their excellent experience and strict adherence to safe operating procedures, but also for their “servant’s heart”. Our largest aircraft, the Challenger 605, includes a flight attendant as a full-time member of the crew. They are the most professional, in terms of both appearance and demeanor, in the sky. Safety demonstrations are required by the Federal Aviation Administration, and we do our best to make sure they are brief, and delivered in a respectful manner.

What are the three emerging markets you’re seeing for luxury travel?

  • Entrepreneurs who have recently sold their company.
  • Highly compensated executives who no longer have access to the corporate fleet for their personal travel.
  • Business owners looking for a safe and reliable means for creating more time with family.

For the uninitiated, would you go over the different models you guys offer? Is there a type of flier that goes with each jet?

Bombardier Aerospace, the world leader in business aviation, designs, manufactures, maintains and operates every aircraft in the Flexjet fleet including the Bombardier Learjet 40 XR, Learjet 45 XR, Learjet 60 XR; and long-range Bombardier Challenger 300 and Challenger 604 and 605 jets.

How much is the growth in private jet ownership? Are our skies going to be absolutely clogged with these air taxis in 10 years?

Despite the current economy, the fractional ownership industry is growing and, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration, demand for Flexjet’s fractional shares is growing faster than it is for the industry as a whole. In 2003, we had 10% of the total fractional aircraft market and by 2007 that number has grown to 20%. This year Flexjet has experienced growth in revenue and flight hours of more than 15% over last year and we have seen even more significant growth in orders in that period.

As for the potential for the air taxi market clogging the skies, we believe this is not likely. Business aircraft tend to utilize smaller airports, which do not have the saturation problem found at larger commercial airports. In addition, today’s business jets are equipped with sophisticated navigation equipment which enables them to fly more directly to their destinations. And, finally, the air taxi market is still an emerging concept, and the overall acceptance of the concept by potential customers is yet to be proven.

Talking travel with the CEO of Kayak.com

by Jerry Guo on

Kayak is one of our favorite companies to write about. The leading airfare metacrawler processes some 40 million travel requests per month, making it one of the most popular travel sites out there. TIME Magazine has called it one of the “50 Coolest Websites” and the “Best Search Aid” by Travel + Leisure Magazine.

Instead of random musings this time, we’ve got Steve Hafner on the line. He’s the co-founder and CEO, a guy who’s more than qualified in his position–he helped found Orbitz in 1999.

How is a metacrawler better than a regular search engine?

Studies show consumers search four to five Web sites before making a purchase. Kayak.com saves the consumer time by searching all of these Web sites in seconds and displaying rates and availability for more than 440 travel brands. We provide the user with powerful filtering and sorting tools, so they can find exactly what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Then, Kayak.com then lets the user decide where to purchase-direct from a supplier such as the airline’s own website, or from on online travel agency like Orbitz. Unlike the online travel agencies, Kayak.com is free to use.

Do you plan on getting into the package market or will you continue to metacrawl?

Kayak.com launched a beta version of a package product on Thursday, June 26. We hope to add several more providers over the next two weeks and formally launch the vacations product soon. Kayak.com is the first travel site to offer a true meta-search product for vacation packages.

Will you ever implement a feature to pick a destination by “region” instead of city? As in Europe instead of Paris?

Excellent idea. We launched such a product in 2005 (see announcement). Kayak Buzz displays the lowest fares to the 25 most popular destinations within a region from a consumer’s hometown. To get the Buzz, input a departure airport or city in the Buzz section of the homepage, along with desired month of travel and region of interest. Within seconds, Kayak Buzz displays a list of 25 cities organized by popularity with an interactive Google Map that plots destinations. Regions include world, U.S., Europe, Caribbean, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia/Oceania. Consumers can also register to receive customized Kayak Buzz Alerts by email. Consumers and media really love it, so we’ve enhanced Kayak Buzz several times.

Does your software have the ability to do that?

Kayak.com keeps all search data for one year. Kayak Buzz prices are actual fares found by other Kayakers over the past two days. Our data warehouse of fares is used for several Kayak.com tools including Best Fare Trend Chart, Fare History and Fare Alerts.

What is the advantage of your metacrawler over other engines such as Mobissimo or Sidestep?

Kayak.com is the leader in the space for a reason. Kayak.com is the only travel search site that offers a complete package-comprehensive search, powerful filtering tools, variety of useful search tools such as Flexible Search or Weekend Search, personalization and ease of use (Note: Kayak.com’s search engine has powered SideStep.com since the December 2007 acquisition). As a technology company, Kayak.com is able to enhance and innovate the site at a rapid pace-which keeps us ahead of other travel search sites and the OTAs. Many new features come directly from consumer requests, as every Kayak.com employee reads every piece of user feedback every day and we respond to new feature requests in order of popularity.

What are some features we should expect to see in the near future?

On Thursday, June 26, Kayak.com launched Flight Quality functionality which allows the user to filter red-eyes, departure/return from same airport, aircraft type, etc. A warning message is also displayed to flights that meet a criteria deemed undesirable by some travelers including flights with terrible on-time records, layovers longer than four hours, red-eyes, last flight of the day, etc. Kayak.com also launched an Airline Fee Chart which summarizes the five most popular fees tacked on by airlines including those for baggage, meals, pets, unaccompanied minors and seat assignment/legroom. Kayak.com is working on integrating these fees into the search results and we hope to launch this capability by the end of July.

When Kayak.com acquired SideStep.com, a hotel review site called Travelpost.com came with the package. Our plan is to turn Travelpost.com into a true competitor to TripAdvisor. Although TripAdvisor is the hotel review leader, we think it’s a terrible user experience and we know we can do it better. Our engineering team is in the process of adding the Kayak.com UI to Travelpost.com and then we’ll start enhancing the site with better functionality. You’ll start hearing about Travelpost.com around the watercooler soon.

Do you have any stats on Kayak’s usage / popularity to wow us?

More than 35 million people visited Kayak.com last month, and we processed more than 40 million requests for travel information. That makes us a top 10 travel site in the U.S., bigger than just about every airline and hotel website. Plus, we recently launched websites in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy and India. The amazing part is how little we spend on marketing compared to our competitors.

As someone who helped found Orbitz, why did you end up leaving? In your opinion, what’s wrong about their service right now?

Orbitz is a great company. But many consumers use it to search for travel information and then book at the airline or hotel website directly. So, it is really a search engine-but not a very good one. Not every airline or hotel is available on Orbitz, the sorting and filtering tools are rudimentary and there is no real personalization. So I left to start a Web site that tried to be a travel search engine and not a seller of travel services.

What can Kayak do better? What is the search engine’s biggest weakness?

We’re still not very good at what we do. We don’t search every airline and hotel, we take too long to conduct a search and the result set is not as personalized as it should be. The bright side is that we still do it better than everyone else. And, we’re making progress on each of those weaknesses.

What are your top three favorite travel destinations?

It’s hard to beat the French Riviera (especially Antibes), St. Barts in the Caribbean and my local favorite: New York City.

What are some bizarre travel trends you’ve picked up from Kayak users?

When Kayak.com launched a redesign of the hotel search, we asked users about hotel stays. You wouldn’t believe what people have found in their hotel rooms! The results still make me laugh every time I read them.

For travelers in other countries, is there any way to avoid booking a ticket through a travel agency? Are there solid search engines for particular geographic regions (like Southeast Asia or South America)?

The rest of the world is beyond the U.S. in terms of sophistication in online travel. Kayak.com has improved the online travel experience in some countries by launching local sites in the U.K., France, Ger
many, Italy, Spain and India.

Talking travel with Emirates Airline VP Nigel Page

by Jerry Guo on

This Friday will mark the launch of the first regular route in the world on the A380, from Dubai to New York JFK on Emirates Airline. I’m here to talk to Nigel Page, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations (Americas) about this exciting development, the airline’s famed “private hotels in the sky,” and why we should book a ticket to Dubai.

What will be the configuration on the A380, New York-Dubai route? What are some of the amenities?

Emirates A380 on the New York-Dubai route will feature 489 seats in a three-class configuration. (14 first class, 76 business class and 399 economy class.) Our official unveiling takes place today as we accept the first A380 directly from Airbus in Hamburg, Germany. This will be followed by the first-ever commercially scheduled A380 flight to the United States on August 1st.

How much cost savings does the A380 provide over the traditional transatlantic equipment?

The A380 is an aircraft built to not only serve the customer better, but the operator as well. Fuel economy is perhaps the greatest advantage the A380 provides, as this aircraft receives better mileage per passenger than most hybrid passenger cars. This fuel economy, combined with the A380’s range and capacity, allows for a greater projected cost savings over other older aircraft.
As a luxury carrier, how do you plan to stay competitive in an industry that’s increasingly under pressure from high oil prices?

While high oil prices are a concern for every carrier, Emirates feels that we can stay competitive because of our younger fleet. With the average age of aircraft in the Emirates fleet at just over five years old, Emirates operates aircraft that are more fuel efficient than that of many other carriers. Additionally, we only operate wide-bodied aircraft that allow for a greater cargo capacity, and therefore result in greater profit margins.

Does Emirates’ position in the Middle East have any leverage over other carriers when bidding for jet fuel?

No, Emirates being a Dubai-based airline does not have any effect on other carriers when bidding for jet fuel. Dubai has an open skies policy and Emirates operates alongside 110 other airlines at Dubai International Airport. We receive no subsidies whatsoever.

Do you have any plans to enter the business-class-only market?

No, Emirates does not have any plans to enter the business-class-only market.

What are your other planned routes into the United States?

In addition to twice daily service from New York JFK and daily service from Houston, Emirates will launch Los Angeles service October 1st and San Francisco service November 20th.

Which airlines does Emirates see as its biggest competitors? And what does Emirates do better than them?

We can say that with our unique route network, competition largely depends on the market in which we are operating.

I’ve seen your first-class private suites. Quite jealous.

Emirates first class suites offer our customers the finest in-flight experience available. Amenities include our 1,000 channel ice entertainment system; 23-inch hi-definition personal viewing screen; full lie-flat seat featuring in-seat massage and pre-set seating adjustments; in-suite refreshment center; multiple personal stowages; Bvlgari amenity kits; 7-inch touch screen control for entertainment system and seat, dine on-demand service; and sleep amenities include sleep mask, slippers, and luxurious duvets. Our private cabins are practically a hotel in the sky.

What’s a weekend itinerary for first-time visitors to Dubai? (Let’s imagine an extended layover.)

A typical weekend in Dubai would include a stay at one of Dubai’s numerous outstanding luxury hotel properties, followed by a city tour hosted by one of Dubai’s tour operators like Arabian Adventures – visitors can experience the charm of Dubai’s historic heritage area including the famous gold and spice souks and enjoy the feeling of a city changing from a small trading post on the Arabian Sea to one of the world’s most futuristic cities.

Visitors can’t miss the spectacular shopping malls that have put Dubai on the map for being one of the world’s greatest shopping capitals- one of which even includes an indoor ski facility! Evening entertainment would not be complete without a desert safari and 4WD sundown dune driving, followed by an Arabian dinner with entertainment under the stars. Dubai has options catering to every taste and desire- from PGA golf courses to some of the most spectacular beaches in the world.

What are your favourite restaurants and hotels in Dubai?

Hotels: The Royal Mirage, the Madinat Properties, and the new Raffles Hotel are all lovely. Restaurants- Al Nafourah in Emirates Towers has wonderful Lebanese food. There are a number of new restaurants opening in the new Dubai Festival City complex which will also be excellent.

What are the top three “undiscovered” / underrated destinations in the Middle East?

Muscat, Oman, the rugged East Coast of the UAE (Hatta, located in Dubai, Fujeriah, and the east coast of Sharjah are all lovely and terrific for wadi hikes, outdoor camping and offroad adventures), and Petra Jordan.

Talking travel with professional RV roadtripper Adelle Milavsky

by Jerry Guo on

Adelle and Ron Milavsky, a lovely retired couple who live in Connecticut, have been road-tripping across Europe for years. They’ve written the definitive guide on RV trips, Take Your RV to Europe: The Low-Cost Route to Long-Term Touring and now here to share a few more tips about this rather under-rated method of travel.

You recently came back from yet another RV roadtrip through Europe. Tell us a bit about it. How far did you go? What were some of your best memories?

Over the years, we’ve spent more than a year touring Western Europe. Our latest trip was in April and May this year. We only stayed for six weeks this year instead of our usual 10 –12 weeks. We knew that it would be considerably more expensive this year because of the low value of the dollar. Because gas was as high as $10 a gallon, we only traveled in The Netherlands, Belgium and France with one stop in Germany.

In all we drove about 1500 miles. Our main stops were Bruges, Ypres, Waterloo and Gent in Belgium; The Hague, Amsterdam, and Keukenhof Gardens in The Netherlands; Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg, Troyes in France; and Aachen in Germany. Our bills from this six-week stay were still affordable. Our total outlay for six weeks of travel (not counting airfare) was about $3,000 more than what we would spend at home for food and entertainment. For our 42-day stay, gas costs us $1200, campgrounds just under $1000.
Why Europe and not the US for RV trips?

Once we had begun, we found RV’ing in Europe was even nicer than RV’ing in America. Distances are much shorter, most cities have campgrounds in or near them, and public transportation is good. All of this adds up to a great way to travel – no set itinerary, complete freedom to go where you want and a minimum of driving. And of course, no packing or unpacking between stops.

Worst experience while RV roadtripping? Best?

We’ve had some uncomfortable moments when we were lost (or rather, taken the scenic route). But in all this time, we’ve never had a bad experience, except for the memorable time we decided to take the “2.8 meter Tunnel” to Caen in Normandy, France and found that our RV was 3.1 meters high. (We knocked the cover off our air conditioner and it never worked again.) But we’ve loved our extended stays in all the big cities in Europe – including Amsterdam, Bruges, London, Paris and Rome. We’ve been to Roman ruins, medieval cities and castles, towns built into the sides of mountains, museums of all sorts, caves of neolithic paintings, cathedrals, zoos, wonderful gardens, historic homes and more. And countless open-air markets.

When did you guys get the travel bug? What’s your traveling background?

Before my husband, Ronald, retired, we had traveled the “usual” way to about twelve countries. Most were in Europe but we’d also been in China, Thailand and Korea as well as Venezuela. We stayed mostly in hotels, and ate most of our meals in restaurants. So we were “experienced” travelers.

In 2001 we bought a small motor home and traveled across the U.S. We fell in love with this style of traveling and decided that driving a motor home in Europe might give us a chance to really spend time there in an affordable way. Even better it would allow us to do something that we’d always wanted to do – go to the outdoor markets and buy food to eat at home as the Europeans do.

With gas so high, are roadtrips still affordable?

This way of traveling allows great flexibility. We used various published guides to European campgrounds, but there is a great deal of information available on the internet. We choose our next destination using three criteria. First, how far away is it from where we are now (we like to drive no more than a couple of hours per day). Second, what is interesting in that city? Third, is there a campground with bus service to the tourist area close by?

How can travelers take their own RV trip?

When we realized that how enjoyable and affordable it was to travel leisurely and extensively through Western Europe. Ron decided that someone (namely Adelle) should write a book about our adventures in Europe. So I did. Take Your RV to Europe was published in 2005 by The Intrepid Traveler. It goes into detail about how to ship and what to expect when you get to Europe. Any one who is interested, can go to our website and blog, where we publish our letters home detailing our experiences. Ron is working on a very informative web site that combines our experiences with an enormous number of links on the internet for information about the places we have visited.

Is it possible to rent a RV in Europea? US? How?

It is possible to rent an RV in many places in Europe. Renting costs from $124 per day in the “low season” to $194 per day in the “high season”. This year, renting an RV for six weeks from April 24 to June 4 would have cost us just about the same amount as shipping our RV both ways. But, if we had stayed our usual 12 weeks, the cost would have been approximately $13,000 for a comparable size unit. You can see why we chose to ship our RV.

What about shipping a RV to another country?

The price to ship a motor home is computed per cubic foot. In 2002, we paid $2000 for our 21 ft. rig, but now the cost runs a bit more than $3000. If you can stay in Europe for three months or more, shipping a small RV would still be the most inexpensive way to travel. That $6000 round trip for the RV translates into about $66 per day. Together with campground fees, that is $100 a day, but that includes both overnight accommodations, the equivalent of a rental car to travel in, and the possibility of eating “at home” which saves a huge amount of money.

Incidentally, there is one other big “reason” to ship your own unit if you can. Traveling in the UK with a rented rig where the driver is on the “wrong” side of the vehicle is very hard and can be dangerous. But in your own motor home, you are able to judge the size and shape of the rig. The hard part is not sitting in your accustomed position. It is easy to remember to drive on the left!

Final thoughts?

We have literally visited hundreds of cities and villages in Europe, and it’s been a wonderful experience. We think that other Americans should consider it.

Talking travel with Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern (part 3)

by Jerry Guo on

I’m here with Andrew Zimmern, the wildly popular host of Travel Channel’s hit series, Bizarre Foods. He’s a personality that needs no introduction–at least around the Gadling water cooler. You could even say he’s our Paris Hilton.

His show–which is about what it sounds like–has just finished its second season, with episodes spanning the globe from Iceland and Bolivia to St. Petersberg and Delhi (check out our episode guides here). Beyond the tube, he’s a celebrated food writer, dining critic, radio talk-show host, and chef. For more Andrew, check out his blog.

In this exclusive interview, Andrew dishes on everything from director Ang Lee’s stinky tofu fetish to his NYC School of Hot Dog Consumption Theory.

What did you do after you got out of the restaurant business in 1997? How’d you end up on the Travel Channel?

After leaving daily restaurant operations, I started working for a local monthly glossy magazine and a local Fox news station, doing food stories for both. I began to work on several shows on HGTV as a part-time talent and just kept pushing tape everywhere I could. I began to develop a reputation and a following, and eventually started working with a local production company on show ideas. I have always wanted to be the food guy on the Travel Channel. It was my goal from the beginning and once they saw our tapes they commissioned some specials from us, and then those took off and the rest just happened thanks to the viewers. I am totally blessed and the luckiest guy in the world.
Any tips for tackling street vendor food? For me, they’ve been either a cultural delight or a speed ramp to my hotel bathroom.

I use the NYC School of Hot Dog Consumption Theory. I only eat from street vendors with happy customers, long lines and a clean cart. I look for hot food that is really hot and cold food that is really cold. I smell and look at anything twice before I eat it, and I always ask people where the food is from and who made it. You can tell a lot if you follow those rules.

Advice for travelers who want to get over that psychological barrier to trying a bizarre local fare?

Remember when you were seven and your best friend dared you to eat earth worms? Go back to that mind set. The equation changes once you eat your first dish of something that you swore you would never try. It is always better than you thought it would be. Often times it is delicious and then you have to pinch yourself and say “holy crap, I am eating coconut grubs with Pilchi Indians in the Amazon.” It’s all downhill from there.

Can you give us a preview of the next round of Bizarre Foods premieres?

Well, beginning September 9 at 10 PM (ET/PT) on Travel Channel, you will see Hawaii, Paris, Sicily, Goa, Los Angeles, Maine, Turkey, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Korea, Tokyo, Texas, Appalachia, Fiji and Australia. Every show keeps getting better and better, and the people I meet as I travel around the world keep showing us that the planet does taste better one bite at a time. In Maui, we cooked with James McDonald at O’o Farms and then explored the world of SPAM at a local greasy spoon. We killed a wild boar and ate him in the mountains of Hana, we shared dinner with Roy Yamaguchi and then ate wild goat roasted on the slopes of a volcano. In Sicily, we sailed the Mediterranean with a fisherman and then shared a seafood lunch back at his house with a stop along the way for some dried salted tuna sperm. Sounds good, no?

And most importantly, if you and Anthony Bourdain got in a hot dog eating contest, who would win?

Tony is one of my idols, and has become a friend over the years, but trust me when I tell you that it would not even be close.