Airlines rejoice at return of business travelers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Business travelers are giving the airline industry a reason to be hopeful … which is strange. Usually, those guys are such a drag. Trust me; I was one of them for a while. Business travelers aren’t much fun at parties or anywhere else. Nonetheless, their presence on planes means more cash in the till for the airline industry, following two years of economic mayhem (and years of management that is what it is).

At a recent meeting of the International Air Transport Association, 700 industry leaders seem to have decided that the biz is headed in the right direction, though they remain cautious. Translation:

Cautious optimism means most airlines expect to make money this year after a couple of years of staggering losses, precipitated by the oil price run-up in 2008 and the global recession in 2009. A profitable airline industry could also be good news for business travelers as airlines restore the capacity they removed from the network during the last two disastrous years, putting many more seats on sale and offering a wider array of flight options on many routes.

According to IATA, the industry lost $80 billion in the last two years, four times the amount it dropped following the terror attacks of 9/11. Yet, the corner appears to have been turned. Originally, IATA predicted a $5.6 billion loss for the airline industry in 2010, but it has since changed the forecast to a $2.5 billion aggregate profit. This really only amounts to a margin of 0.5 percent (on revenues of $545 billion), which is basically irrelevant in light of the last two years’ losses, but at least it provides a glimmer of hope.
The suits are the reason for this mild form of airline economic bliss:

The rapid turnaround has been led by business travel. During the combined oil/economic crisis, business travel took the greatest hit with passengers traveling in international first and business class down by as much as 25% in May 2009 from the previous year. In contrast, the number of passengers traveling in international economy class was only 10% lower at its bottom point in March 2009 vs. the previous year.

Now that business travelers are back on planes, many problems are creeping toward resolution. Asia and Middle East are leading the recovery, but Europe is expected to lag, with an aggregate loss of $2.8 billion despite a forecasted passenger traffic increase of 2.9 percent.

You may not be crazy about all those cell phone-toting pricks lingering at the gate … but the airlines sure are.

Grant’s Farm in St. Louis may become the next national park

by Leigh Caldwell on


The Busch family, of Anheuser-Busch fame, is considering transferring their 273-acre animal preserve, Grant’s Farm, to the National Park Service.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the National Park Service has completed a reconnaisance study of the property, which is the initial step in considering a new park site.

The Busch family has owned the St. Louis farm, once the property of President Ulysses S. Grant, for more than a century. It has been operated as a free family attraction for 55 years. It is visited by more than 500,000 people each year.

Grant’s Farm features a French Revival mansion, known as the “Big House,” two former Grant residences (including Hardscrabble Cabin, shown in the photo above), and is home to 900 animals.

The property is adjacent to a site already operated by the National Park Service – the Ulysses S. Grant Historic Site. The report showed that it has national historic significance, both because it used to be owned by Grant and because of the Busch family’s history and influence in American business.

The report is the first step in determining a National Park Service site. Congress ultimately has to decide whether or not to create a new national park.

[Photo credit: Flickr user mhowry]

Barefoot Bandit has travel cred

by Andrew Evans on

Now that Colton Harris-Moore has been nabbed by the prim and humorless Bahamian police, it’s open season on psychologically dissecting the teen robber and analyzing his high-jinks artistry. Love him or hate him, hero or criminal, one thing is certain: this kid gets around. If “well-traveled”, “worldly” and “ingenious” are positive traits (oh, and they are), then Colton darling deserves a congratulatory pat on his orange-jumpsuit-covered back.

Let’s review, shall we? By the fresh age of 19, the Barefoot Bandit has:

  • Taught himself to fly with video games and stole at least five planes for private scenic flights across the country, including his final jump to the Bahamas.
  • Enjoys fast boats and has managed to steal several sleek and expensive craft for high-speed joy rides across the Pacific Northwest and Florida.
  • Traveled thousands of miles in three countries and at least six states by way of stolen cars and bikes.
  • Used computer fraud to purchase bear mace and night vision goggles, which is not only totally bad ass, but something that every American male wishes he had in his backpack.
  • Survived on uninhabited islets and in the woods at a time when the average American teenager can barely survive at school.
  • Checked himself into other peoples’ private vacation homes for relaxation, eating fine foods from their fridges and soaking in their unused jacuzzi tubs, revealing a penchant for spa living.
  • Crossed back and forth across international borders sans passport, which is also impressive.
  • Stole from Canadians, Americans, and Bahamaians, showing no favorites or displaying any discrimination.
  • Took pictures of himself with various digital cameras in wild places, mimicking millions of tourists who do the same.
  • Hates shoes and travels mostly barefoot, an unwitting observer of TSA security checkpoint regulations.

The list goes on and on but the point is clear: Young Colton loved his freedom and suffers from interminable wanderlust. The guy has broken some serious state and federal laws and caused around $1.5 million worth of damage but he hasn’t harmed any humans. So the kid is a complete punk? So are most of the Israeli backpackers you meet in Bolivia and the Eurotrash in Thailand. Maybe all that Colton needed was an all-expenses paid gap year in which he got to choose his own itinerary and fly his own planes.

Good luck Colton. Not sure about Wi-Fi reception in prison, but if you keep reading Gadling you’ll soon discover that your insatiable travel itch is fairly universal. We, too love to fly across borders and hike into remote places and soak in hot tubs with a view. There is a legal way to do all these things, but if our brand of travel ever did become illegal, then my guess is that we’d all choose to be outlaws, just like you.

(Photo: Colton Harris-Moore, self-portrait)

Rare, really smelly Sumatran “Corpse Flower” to bloom at Houston museum

by Laurel Miller on

The botanical world is a fascinating thing, but fans of “Little Shop of Horrors” will be especially excited about the eminent blooming of the endangered Amorphophallus titanum, at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at Houston’s Museum of Natural Science. Nicknamed the “Corpse Flower” for the unholy stench it emits in bloom, the phallic-looking plant is one of the largest, rarest flowers in the world. Native to parts of Indonesia (I’ve seen Raffelsia, a similar flower from a different family, on a trek in Thailand’s stunning Khao Sok National Park) these suckers can reach up to 10 feet in height, with a diameter of up to six feet. Early explorers in Sumatra actually believed the flower was a man-eating plant.

“Lois,” Cockrell’s resident Corpse Flower, is about to bloom for the first time, and visitors can check it out for themselves in person, or via webcam. Lois even has her own blog, and Twitter account (not affiliated with the museum). Says Dr. Nancy Greig, director of the Center, “The Corpse Flower is unique because it’s totally unpredictable. No one really knows what triggers a given plant to flower, and [it may] flower once in its lifetime. We’ve had ours for six years and this is the first time it has bloomed-we’re very lucky. It may be the largest, smelliest flower in the world, but its beauty is unparalleled.” Lois is one of perhaps only 30 cultivated Corpse Flowers to ever bloom in the U.S..

If you want to see (and smell) Lois for yourself, she’s due to flower at any second; the museum is open 24 hours until she does. Check her blog for updates.

[Photo credit: Flickr user lornagrl]

To quell crowds, Universal halts liquor sales at Wizarding World of Harry Potter

by Leigh Caldwell on


It’s been almost a month since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened, and folks are still waiting, and waiting, and waiting to see the new attractions at Universal Orlando Resort.

In fact, more than 500,000 people have ridden the Wizarding World’s centerpiece ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (But rest assured, none of them were obese.)

As the Orlando Sentinel reported, Universal is having to get creative to handle the crowds. One of their more creative moves is halting the sale of liquor in the Hog’s Head tavern at the theme park.

Now you might think that liquor sales were halted to keep the crowds from lingering over another round, but that’s not the case. The prime culprit is butterbeer, the nonalcoholic brew described in the books as tasting “a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch.”

Apparently, the bartenders at Hog’s Head need to spend more time pouring butterbeer to keep up with the demand, so Universal has taken mixed drinks off the menu.Beer and wine is still for sale, and park officials say the liquor ban is temporary.

I can attest that the butterbeer is wonderful stuff – golden, creamy and smooth, and probably, probably, worth the wait.

Bonus trivia note about drinks inside the Wizarding World: Know what else isn’t for sale? Soda. Sodas are of course sold elsewhere in the Islands of Adventure theme park, but not inside the Harry Potter section.

By the way, it’s still weird to see photos of people dressed for the Florida heat walking around Hogsmeade with its snow-topped roofs. It doesn’t feel funny when I’m there, it just looks funny afterward in the pictures. Just me?

[Photo credit (top): Flickr user Digital Rampage]

[Photo credit (middle): Flickr user gordontarpley]