How will your holiday travels go? Do some research with the Holiday Travel Cutback interactive graphic

by Anna Brones on

For me to get home for Thanksgiving, I’m lucky enough to only have to take Amtrak. Even though train stations are popping at the seams with travelers during the November holiday weekend, airports are even worse. And this year is no different.

As a matter of fact, during this year’s Thanksgiving and Christmas travel periods, airlines will operate about 2,500 to 3,000 fewer domestic flights than compared with the same periods in previous years. That means that one way or another, you’re probably going to be affected. To visualize just how your travel plans might be impacted, USA Today’s travel blog Today in the Sky has put together an interactive graphic to show how flight cutbacks by airlines could affect your travel choices.

The graphic can be used to find flight changes for select days from every domestic airport with flights to the following seven hubs: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston (Bush) and Minneapolis-St. Paul. The map is dotted with red and green squares to signify fewer or more flights to the hub, making it pretty simple to see what routes are going to be more problematic. But if you’re lucky, you’ll find that your particular route has that great green box, meaning that you’ll actually be able to take advantage of more flights to get you home for the holidays.

To check out the graphic for yourself, click here.

Going to Europe? New Non-Stop Trans-Atlantic Flights for 2008

by Anna Brones on

Jerry Guo recently wrote about Europe being the comeback kid, and even though that pesky Euro-to-Dollar ratio is not in our favor, 2008 is definitely the year to make your way across the Atlantic. It’s most likely thanks to Open Skies Agreement or maybe even Europeans looking for a bountiful shopping weekend, but even us American travelers can take advantage of all the new direct trans-Atlantic flights.

A little sampling of what airlines are offering the newest non-stop routes to those anxious to make their way to the continent of lower work hours, good wine and charming culture in 2008:

Northwest Airlines/KLM Royal Dutch Airlines: For travelers living in the Pacific Northwest the partner airlines will be opening a new non-stop route between Seattle and London Heathrow starting June 1, 2008. If you are a World Perks member, traveling between June 1 and July 31, 2008 will score you an additional 15,000 bonus miles.

Air France: LAX to London Heathrow starting March 30, 2008. Travel between March 30th and May 24th and you could find yourself with a one-way fare as low as $243 (before airport taxes). They’re even throwing in a complimentary glass of champagne.

US Airways: Summer route from Philadelphia to Stockholm. The thrills of Scandinavia are a non-stop flight away between May 18 and September 26, 2008.

Delta: Salt Lake City to Paris starting June 2, 2008 providing a non-stop between the American capital of skiing and hiking and the European capital of bistros and the Eiffel Tower.

Singapore Airlines: Houston to Moscow and onto Singapore starting March 20, 2008. If Russian Roulette isn’t your forte, continue on for some quality gambling in the Southeast Asian metropolis.

For more options, check out the following article at Executive Travel.