Count Calories While You Fly

by Adrienne Wilson on

Thanks to our healthy friends and sister site, That’s Fit, I just stumbled upon this awesome article out of the Seattle Times focusing on the nutritional value of those in-flight snack packs. You would think with cheese, crackers, peanuts and an occasional cookie one wouldn’t shoot their entire diet to hell, but beware!!! (Cue horror music.) If you thought the danger was in flying you were wrong – it’s in the honey roasted nuts! The story in the Seattle Times notes both Delta and U.S. Airways have the lowest health score, for more reasons than high in calories. The system is based on factors like how helpful the airline was in providing information, the cost of the snack pack (if any) and the exercise equivalent to burning off the calories found in each pack. Let’s take the Delta snack pack for example since it ranks the absolute worst. According to their info you’d have to walk 197 minutes to burn off the 766 calories found in Delta’s bag of treats. That’s a lot of walking for so little food.

On the upside, those flying with United need not worry so much as a frequent Delta or U.S. Airways flyer. United Airlines ranks tops. The snack packs offered on board are vegetarian friendly and trans-fat-free. Although the cost is $5, they have the largest selection of snack choices. Surprisingly, you’ll need to do a good amount of walking to burn off the calories found in an United pack (up to 231 minutes for munching on a Smartpack), but at least you’ll know that your balancing it all out.

I highly recommend reading this one if you’re trying to keep track of your diet every step and flight on the way to your holiday destination and beyond.

What Would a Delta & U.S. Airways Merger Mean?

by Adrienne Wilson on

There is something about receiving a letter from the President or C.E.O. of an airline that feels so touching. As if they real care about all the worried frequent flyers concerned about their reward points and the future effect on routing. Well, those airline folks really do give hoot, I mean, we are talking business here, but what is all this Delta & U.S. Airways merger talk about? What does it mean for someone like myself – a member of both frequent flyer programs? For those just as confused as the next man on the topic, I point you towards this Christian Science Monitor article explaining the whole deal.

According to their notes a takeover by U.S. Airways would cause higher fares and fewer seats which doesn’t sound too hot for a passenger trying to get from point A to point B quick, easy and most importantly without spending a fortune. Naturally this would be good news for the airline industry’s bottom line, but do the passengers care about the bottom line or dirt cheap fares? As of the time being, I don’t think flyers have much to worry about. U.S. Airways still has to convince Delta’s creditors and a bankruptcy judge that a merged company will do better than Delta soaring the friendly skies alone.

Kentucky Plane Crash

by Adrienne Wilson on

I wasn’t going to blog about this at first, but then I thought travel isn’t always happy-go-lucky. Sometimes you get a flat, stuck in a ditch, held hostage, placed in the center of two hostile warring countries or your flight plunges from the atmosphere like a torpedo to your untimely death. Sure these aren’t the scenarios any of us want to think about before launching into the big bold world, but it’s reality. It happens. Your own only hope can be living to tell it or better – that it just doesn’t happen to you.

Reading the details on Comair Flight 5191, which crashed yesterday morning about half a mile from the end of the runaway at the Lexington airport feels so bone-chilling. Apparently the plane ventured down a runaway that was far too short for take-off, the plane was barely airborne, then came crashing down. Other details which have more than a few eye-brows raised, include the condition of the runway: poor lighting and severely cracked concrete. Were these not HUGE red flags? Investigators will be taking a look at what went on in the tower, how many controllers were on duty and if they saw the plane head down the wrong runway.

Of the 50 passengers onboard only one survived and is in critical condition. There were 47 passengers and 3 crew members. One couple had just gotten married the following night in a fairy-tale type ceremony with horse-drawn carriages and 300 friends in attendance. Another passenger, a member for Habitat for Humanity, Pat Smith, was on his way down to Gulfport, MS to help rebuild homes. So very tragic and sad.

via CNN and AOL