Category: travel

sick of airline baggage fees? … FedEx your luggage

On By Rick McIn product endorsements, travel1 Comment

My buddy Andy routinely ships his mountain bike box by FedEx. He was astonished how much easier and cost effective it was than trying to send it as luggage.

… Consider: a single 25-pound suitcase or shipment from Boston to San Francisco by FedEx Ground costs about $31 vs. $23-$25 on Delta or nothing on Southwest.

But once that suitcase weighs over 50 pounds, excess charges kick in on the airlines, even on Southwest: you’d pay $56 for a 55-lb. bag using USPS on that same Boston-San Francisco trip, but twice that on Delta, which adds an extra $90 fee each way for bags weighing over 50 pounds. Even Southwest will charge you $50 each way.

And if your bag is both heavy and oversized (larger than 61-62 linear inches), you’ll get hit with triple jeopardy on some airlines: a fee for the first bag, plus an overweight fee, plus an oversized fee. Such a bag might cost nearly $300 on Delta on a trip from Los Angeles to Seattle vs. under $40 via FedEx Ground. …

What? You’re still paying the airlines to carry your bags?

airfarewatchdog – Airline baggage fees chart, updated

more – Trick, repack and rethink your way around the new luggage fees

=== UPDATE from Dana:

When I came back to Vegas after 4.5 months in Canada, I used Canada post to send my extra bags. It cost me $170 CAD. Had I flown with the bags (5 extra) it would have cost me $725 on ScAir Canada/United. They also charged me an extra $10 per bag that I was traveling with, because I didn’t check in on line. Which you are not able to do when traveling with an infant. What a crock.

ps – my bags arrived in 8 days

Backpacker Travel Insurance

On By Rick McIn product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

Top 5 companies as rated by WikidTravel:

Direct Travel (Option 4)
Insure and Go (Gold)
Direct Line
Down Under
World Nomads

I’ve bought from World Nomads. … But they are the most expensive option.

I’ll shop around next time.

fastest way to learn a new language

On By Rick McIn product endorsements, travel, uncategorizedLeave a comment

Masons got Rosetta Stone software for Christmas. We’ve been learning French every day since.

Here’s one of their TV commercials.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rosetta Stone is interactive language learning software that teaches a new language by immersion, rather than translation and memorization drills. Learn more …

It works. It’s painless. Easy. Almost fun.

But it’s not cheap. Over $200 just to get started. Almost $500 for the complete French kit.

Rosetta Stone

why is hotel check-in so CRAPPY?

On By Rick McIn product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

I stay in a lot of different hotels. At least half the time there is some confusion on check-in.

Have they finally figured out how to do it?

From David Pogue of the NY Times:

The other day, I checked into a hotel for a TV shoot (the Omni in San Diego). I was astonished when the check-in desk attendant said: “Good evening, Mr. Pogue. Here’s your key. Have a great stay.”

Do you see what happened there!? There was no tappy-tapping on the keyboard for five minutes. No “May I have your credit card for incidentals?” No speech about the spa hours. No disappearing into the back room for a while. No interrogation of any kind. They just had my key already waiting, and just handed it over. …

Why isn’t that just the way hotel check-ins work everywhere?

Check-In Done Right

Click through to see how they do it at the Omni.

some terrorists are bound to get through

On By Rick McIn government, health & fitness, travel1 Comment

You know driving is dangerous, but you still drive a car.

Getting killed by a terrorist is not in the top 10. Not in the top 1000 causes of death.

click airplane if you can HANDLE THE TRUTH

Why are we spending so much money and effort to stop the odd goofball trying to light his genitals on fire?

In 2002 the TSA had 13 employees. Today, 60,000 employees. Do you feel safer?

TSA and Homeland Security spending is obcenely wasteful.

From an excellent opinion piece by DAVID BROOKS:

… In a mature nation, President Obama could go on TV and say, “Listen, we’re doing the best we can, but some terrorists are bound to get through.” But this is apparently a country that must be spoken to in childish ways. The original line out of the White House was that the system worked. Don’t worry, little Johnny.

When that didn’t work the official line went to the other extreme. “I consider that totally unacceptable,” Obama said. I’m really mad, Johnny. But don’t worry, I’ll make it all better.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration has to be seen doing something, so it added another layer to its stage play, “Security Theater” — more baggage regulations, more in-flight restrictions.

At some point, it’s worth pointing out that it wasn’t the centralized system that stopped terrorism in this instance. As with the shoe bomber, as with the plane that went down in Shanksville, Pa., it was decentralized citizen action. The plot was foiled by nonexpert civilians who had the advantage of the concrete information right in front of them — and the spirit to take the initiative. …

NY Times

Body scanners wouldn’t have caught Northwest bomber. Airport pat-downs are an exercise in futility.

How long before we in North America finally adopt Israeli security?

… Immediately after the first bomb goes off in the entrance of the airport. Before you take your shoes off.

what Israel can teach us about airport security

On By Rick McIn travel1 Comment

I’ve read and listened to several interviews with Israeli security expert Rafi Sela:

“The Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel is arguably the airport with the highest level of threat in the world and, at the same time, one of the safest in the world. Remarkably, it accomplishes this while allowing retail operations to rank sixth in the world in terms of retail revenue per passenger,” …

source

He thinks the Security Theatre of North American airports is a joke:

“It is mind boggling for us Israelis to look at what happens in North America, because we went through this 50 years ago,” said Rafi Sela, …

“Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don’t take s— from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for – not for hours – but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, `We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.'” …

What Israel can teach us about security

At Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, screening is done in 30 minutes. The key?

Look passengers in the eye

world’s tallest building opens today

On By Rick McIn Islam, travelLeave a comment

When I was in the Dubai airport a couple of weeks ago, the place still looked to be booming.

Despite the much reported financial crisis in Dubai, some investors are already predicting a turnaround. My guess is that Dubai’s still a great long term investment.

The Burj Dubai – which means Dubai Tower – opens Monday with a fun-filled ceremony complete with fireworks and a hair-raising parachute jump.

The skyscraper, now the world’s tallest building, soars a half mile into the air, can be seen from 59 miles away and has 160 floors. …

Read more

airlines to waste MORE of your time

On By Rick McIn bad news, product complaints, travel1 Comment

Via #jeffjarvis Grrrrr. RT @JPBarlow:

The TSA, accountable to no one, imposes idiotic new rules which the public can’t appeal.

NY Times – Additional Layer of Restrictions Is Imposed on Airline Passengers

One idiot gets through screening in Amsterdam. Now hundreds of thousands of flyers every day will be even more inconvenienced. Unnecessarily.

Does taking off your shoes before boarding make you feel any safer?

Recall that Newark airport in 2006 flunked 20 of 22 security tests operated by undercover federal agents. They failed to spot items including concealed bombs and guns.

Even if all passengers are forced to fly naked, it still won’t be possible to 100% deter idiots who aspire to be martyrs.

This is “security theatre“, plain and simple.

Security theater consists of security countermeasures intended to provide the feeling of improved security while doing little or nothing to actually improve security. …

There seems to be no way we can protest over zealous security measures in airports. Aside from avoiding flying. Avoid flying via the U.S.A. if you can.

Sure U.S. airlines will over-react. But Air Canada was one of the quickest to jump on the bandwagon:

… Air Canada’s Web site read, “during the final hour of flight customers must remain seated, will not be allowed to access carry-on baggage, or have personal belongings or other items on their laps.” …

Another reason to fly WestJet, if you can.