Emirates’ A380 is on the way!

by Grant Martin on

It’s not very often that we Americans are privy to a taste of the Airbus A380, the new supermega jumbo jet that took to the skies last year.

Singapore Airlines was the first customer of the aircraft and though they took a quick zip around the United States, as our friend Mr. Cranky talked about last year, most folks have barely seen or heard much about the aircraft — after all, none of Singapore’s A380 flights regularly touch American soil.

Emirates, Dubai‘s glorious national carrier, however, has more appeasing plans. Starting later this summer, the airline is opening flights on the A380 between New York‘s JFK and Dubai, while routes from Los Angeles and San Francisco are planned for later in the year.

The airline plans to kick off its festivities with an inaugural flight reception at JFK on August 1st, where the media will be treated to inbound airport goodies from tarmac access to interviews with Emirates’ staff and general merriment. Then, the aircraft flies cross country to California where two “acquaintance” flights are scheduled for the media and other interested parties. Too bad that’s on the wrong coast for me.

If you’ve got any friends in the media world, now might be a good time to cash in your chips for a ride on the A380 — otherwise you’re going to have to wait to fly revenue. Last time I checked, those flights were going for about two grand.

Stay tuned for pictures and coverage from the Emirates reception.

Galley Gossip: The mini motel for the commuting flight attendant

by Heather Poole on

See that guy over there, the one wearing a business suit lying on the floor inside an orange tent at the airport? The first time I saw that picture on The New York Times website, I laughed, and then I thought to myself, genius, absolute genius. The Mini Motel, a one-person tent complete with air mattress, pillow, reading light and alarm clock, that’s what Frank Giotto, a business traveler, created after an unscheduled stay at a German airport.

There’s one problem with the luxury tent, and it’s a pretty big problem. Simply put, it’s a tent. Personally, I can’t see too many passengers interested in buying a tent. I mean who in their right mind wants to lug that thing on the airplane – just in case there’s a delay, or cancellation, or something that would cause one to set up tent? Nor do I see the airlines purchasing it. Not when they’re getting rid of things – namely employees – in order to save money. So who do I see desperate to get their hands on a luxury tent aimed at stranded people at the airport? Flight attendants of course!

According to Wikipedia, Commuting is the process of traveling between one’s place of residence and regular place of work. For most people, normal people, commuting means getting in the car or hopping on a train and taking an hour long ride to the city where the office is located. Commuting for a flight attendant is a whole other animal. We cross cities, as in several cities, in order to get to work. Yet it’s what a lot of flight attendants choose to do, particularly the ones based in New York – like me! Yes, I am a commuter. I commute from my home in Los Angeles to New York where I start my trips at one of two New York airports. I know I know, it’s a little crazy, but it works.

Just to be safe, and well rested, I always fly to New York the night before my trip. But some commuters travel up on the same morning of their trip. Haven’t you ever wondered why the crew looks so worn out? Why they look as if they haven’t slept in days? Chances are they haven’t. Chances are, if they weren’t working twelve hours a day for three days straight (with short layovers), they could be commuters.

Now I know what you’re wondering: where do commuters stay at night when they’re not on a trip and laying over at a hotel in a strange city? If they do not have family or friends they can “visit”, they’ll stay in one of three locations…

  1. The Crash Pad: If they’ve got the money to spend (about $150/month), you’ll find commuters living in crash pads not too far away from the airport. My first crash pad, located in Kew Gardens, also known as Crew Gardens, was a three story house that was home to so many flight attendants I couldn’t begin to count them all. Seriously. I don’t even know if I met everyone who lived in this particular crash pad during my first three months as a flight attendant. All I know is “my room” had six bunk beds lining the walls, and each bunk bed had a different flight attendant (who brought along their own set of sheets) sleeping in it each and every night.
  2. The Airport Hotel: Sometimes a few commuters will get together and chip in to share a cheap hotel room near the airport — though this doesn’t really happen often, not anymore, not since we took a pay cut after 9/11. However, I do still see quite a few commuting pilots waiting for the hotel shuttle outside the airport.
  3. Flight Operations – Besides a couple of computers and a few sofas and maybe a television, there’s usually a little “quiet room” located somewhere at the back of ops. The quiet room is always dark and filled with reclining chairs. This is where you’ll find a majority of the New York commuters. But ONLY if ops is located on the outside of security, which isn’t always the norm at most airline terminals. But if ops is an option, rest assured, that’s the place to be.

Which brings me back to The Mini Motel, a $39.95 luxury one-person tent that comes complete with a mattress, pillow, reading light, alarm clock, and, most importantly, a bit of privacy when you’re stranded at the airport far away from home. Tell me this isn’t the perfect gift for that commuting flight attendant in your life! After that commuting flight attendant FINALLY stops thanking you over and over and over for the wonderful gift, you tell me that thoughtful gift is just a tent and not a luxurious crew condo.

Galley Gossip: Flight Attendants Walk off the Plane

by Heather Poole on

“Why in the world did you bid that!” I asked my mother, who is also a flight attendant (yeah, I know, it’s a bit of a freak show over here), when she told me about her nightmare trip from New York to Miami. “I haven’t worked that route in years.”

The New York to Miami flight is by far one of the worst trips to work if you’re a flight attendant, which is why, I imagine, when it comes to seniority, it tends to go a little junior.

“It looked good on paper,” my mother said, who is not all that junior, even though she is junior to me. And then she went on to tell me all about the irate passenger who freaked out when she, my mother, also a flight attendant, asked the passenger to put her very large purse (not that size matters) in the overhead bin, a purse that was lying on the floor in the bulkhead row, the same bulkhead row the flight attendant making the announcement kept referring to in her PA, the one that distinctly states carry-on items may not block aisles or exits and may not be placed on the floor at the first row of each cabin.

“You’ve got to stop working those flights!” I said, interrupting yet another story about another irate passenger. How many were there you ask? I lost count. I was too stressed out just listening to her talk to pay attention.

Really, I do not know what it is about that particular route that makes it so unenjoyable to work, but the New York – Miami crowd is tough, which is why I stopped working that flight as soon as I had enough seniority to hold something else, something better, something good, something flying west like San Diego, Seattle, Los Angeles, or San Francisco – simply put, something with a lot less drama. I take pride in being nice and polite to my passengers. I actually enjoy providing a good service. But that’s not always so easy to do from New York to Miami. Trust me, those flights can get ugly – very very ugly! And since I don’t do ugly, not anymore, it’s off to another destination for me.

Hey, just being honest here. That’s all

With that said, imagine how unsurprised I was to hear about the New York – Miami flight on Sunday night where the crew refused to work the flight due to the hostile environment. Apparently the crew was late to the gate. No where does it mention WHY the crew was late, but they could have been late for several reasons, like a late inbound flight they were working, or perhaps the original crew went illegal and this crew was called out at the last minute, who knows, but whatever the reason, they arrived on the scene over an hour late and passengers booed and things just got ugly.

Trust me, it takes a lot to make the crew walk off an airplane. I’ve never seen in it 13 years. Flight attendants, for the most part, are pleasers, which means they would never do anything that would put their job in jeopardy (like walking off a flight), so that hostile environment must have been pretty darn bad, much more hostile than you and I could ever imagine. And so they walked.

Of course I can’t help but wonder how far those flight attendants walked? Did they just walk off the airplane and go to flight operations or did they actually go all the way home? And more importantly, did they ever come back?

Honestly, if this were any other flight going to any other destination, I wouldn’t believe what I was reading either. But this was a New York – Miami flight, therefore I believe, I truly believe that things got so bad the flight attendants broke down and disappeared. Something tells me you might actually see those flight attendants still walking, walking in a daze down the side of the road, a rag tag bunch wearing navy blue polyester and pulling their Travelpros behind them. Poor things. So if you happen to see a worn out group of four or five dressed in blue, show the love and honk your horn!

BEEP BEEP!

And while you’re at it, go ahead and show the love to all of your flight attendants! And we’ll show the love right back. Happy travels to all and to all a good flight.

Are we in Los Angeles yet?: A Greyhound bus story

by Jamie Rhein on

My mom just arrived back in Columbus this morning at 7 a.m. from her trip to New York City on a Greyhound bus. The bus was one minute early. Wow! I thought that she’d be late due to the wicked thunderstorm that tore through here all last night.

When I pulled into a non-parking space in front of the station (there was just enough room to maneuver behind another car actually parked at a meter), there she was with her small pull behind that she was allowed to carry-on. If she had checked it there would have been no charge.

One more point for Greyhound.

As I posted previously, my mom took the Greyhound because it was cheaper and easier than flying at the time she found out she needed to get to New York. That still seems to be the case.

Unless, you are the woman my mother told me about who got on in Newark, New Jersey.

“Where are you going?” My mother asked her.

“Los Angeles,” the woman said.

“My!” said my mother. “When will you get there?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” My mom wondered how that could be.

That couldn’t be. When they changed buses in Pittsburgh, the woman found out she didn’t have a clue. She won’t arrive in Los Angeles until Saturday.

My mom said she had an accent, so perhaps when someone explained the trip details, she missed something. Obviously.

I hope she didn’t have much planned for the next couple of days and thought to bring a good book with her–or several. If nothing else, she snagged the best travel mistake story I’ve heard in awhile.

(In case you’re wondering. If you go from New York to Los Angeles, it will take 2 days, 12 hours and 25 minutes minimum and you would have had to make one bus change. Some schedules take longer with two transfers.You will have traveled 3072 miles. It costs $192 if you don’t want a refundable ticket or $215 if you do. There is one ticket left for today’s bus that leaves at 11 a.m.)

Talking travel with Patricia Schultz, author of “1000 Places to See” (plus book giveaway)

by Jerry Guo on

Patricia Schultz is a well-traveled woman. She single-handedly launched the mini-industry of travel list books with her 2003 #1 New York Times bestseller, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List (Workman), which has sold more than 2.8 million copies and translated into 28 languages. Since then, she’s written a sequel, 1,000 Places to see in the USA and Canada Before You Die, produced a Travel Channel show based on the concept, and was named (as of this week) by Forbes as one of the 25 most influential women in travel.

She was recently a panel member for ABC’s Good Morning America, a judge in selecting the 7 New Wonders of America, and a seasoned writer for Frommer’s, BusinessWeek, “O”prah, Islands and Real Simple. Her next book of the series is in the works.

BONUS

Her publisher, Workman, has kindly offered to give away five book copies and two calendars of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die to Gadling readers (shipping included). See the end of this interview for details on how you can win.

What was life like before your eight-year odyssey in writing your first 1000 places book?

I have had a great life – a wonderful, though travel-limited childhood (unless the Jersey Shore counts), followed by high school near my home town in the mid-Hudson Valley when friendships with the Latina students opened my eyes and ears to their exhuberant language, music and customs. Then 4 extremely impressionable years at Georgetown University, whose international climate and student population opened up my world – for the first time I understood something of the exciting possibilities that awaited anyone armed with curiosity and conviction. I would have majored in “Travel” – but they didn’t quite offer that. I needed to be creative in mapping out the future I wanted, and took a gap year (well, many) to see something beyond academia.
Fast forward to my mid-30s, and I was writing for magazines and travel guides such as Frommer’s, Access and Berlitz (despite needing a trust fund to supplement paltry pay checks) and dividing my time between Europe and NYC.

Have you always had an itch for travel?

Yes, in a modest although real way. My earliest memory ever is from the summer when I was four, and we took off in the family clunker of an old station wagon for Atlantic City. I wandered off the family beach blanket to explore a world of sun and sand – it was pretty intoxicating to feel so untethered and as if the world was mine! It felt to me (and probably to my mother who had mobilized every life guard on duty) that I was gone for hours, though they tell me it was just a few minutes. (The following summer, we never made it past the end of our driveway because the gas tank fell off. I cried for a week.)

How many countries would you say you’ve visited?

I have always found this a curious question, as I – unlike legions of travelers who like to collect countries and tick them off – have never really counted. I mean – what do you count? Early this spring when we were driving down Croatia’s gorgeous Dalmatian Coast and passed through a snippet of Bosnia Herzegovina for a few kilometers? Do I get to check off Bosnia Herzegovina? When we walked across the bridge to spend a few hours in Zimbabwe when visiting Victoria Falls in Zambia? A 3-hour layover for refueling in Cape Verde when en route to South Africa?

I suppose I have always given more thought to the countries I haven’t visited. Of those I have visited, I never really feel like I’ve had the luxury of saying I’ve “done” it – never having the time to give it the attention it deserves. Should someone really check off China after a 10-day, 3-city tour? Or say they’ve visited Australia if all they’ve seen is Sydney? Imagine the foreigners who feel they’ve experienced the US after a long weekend in Disneyworld!

What is your travel style?

I like to mix it up – car, train, plane, it’s all good. I always travel light, but if it is an easy and direct-flight trip where extra clothes will come in handy, I bring stuff I know will never get worn (this was in the era before the airlines started charging for every piece you lugged behind).

I love family-owned B&Bs, though pinch-me white-glove hotels that ooze with history and celebrity status feed my fantasy – if only for loitering in the lobby or a stop for high tea or a brandy at the bar. I love cities, but know that the countryside is where you’ll usually grasp a truer sense of place.

I travel a lot solo, though sometimes with my significant other Nick or my best girlfriends or my sister Roz and her family – some destinations lend themselves to different traveling-companion dynamics. I need the freedom of independent travel, though organized trips with small groups can work best for destinations such as my recent and awesome trip to Bhutan with Asia TransPacific Journeys.

I generally hit the ground running, attempting to see the maximum possible – when will I pass this way again? – but know that sometimes just staying put in one place can promise an experience that trumps all others. The simplest moment can be the richest memory. A moment of people watching in the Moscow subway can rival an afternoon at The Hermitage in St Petersburg. Experiencing food can run from extravagant unfasten-your-belt-buckle tasting menus by world-class chefs, to a self-styled picnic with fresh and artisanal ingredients from the day’s local market.

Do you take any guide books with you?

Much of the excitement in making a trip for me is the research I do beforehand and I usually buy 3 or 4 (sometimes twice that) guidebooks and see what the different authors have to say. I’ll bring one with me, never more than two – and I sometimes just pull out the pages or chapters if it is a short trip to one destination only – why schlep the whole book?

Contest details

  • To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us one of your own personal place to see before you die.
  • The comment must be left before Monday, June 30 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Seven winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Five random winners will receive a copy of 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the book (valued at $19.95) and two random winners will receive a copy of 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the calendar (valued at $12.95)
  • Click Here for complete Official Rules.
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.