United States

Tag Archives for United States.

Ryanair US site – tips for flying

I have flown 90 airlines to all continents of the world (except for Antarctica) and one airline continues to dismay me: Ryanair. People keep flying Ryanair for one reason: cheap fares. I avoid them because of their seats, customer disdain, staff attitude, ethical concerns and their flying to random secondary airports nowhere near the city I am flying to. My experience of Ryanair is that they are like a bus. If you like bus travel, its fine. If something goes wrong, then you are on your own. The airline has made a concerted effort to improve…

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Boeing delivers 200th 787

I have yet to ride in a 787 and there are now 200 flying! This week on 28th October, 2014., Boeing delivered the 200th 787 to Qatar airways. (Registration# A7-BCP) at Paine field airport, Everett. The 100th was delivered on 4th November 4th, 2013 to Japan Airlines. It seems that 21 airlines now fly the 787: Aeromexico (AM) Air Canada (AC) Air India (AI) Arkefly (OR)  (Netherlands) All Nippon Airways British Airways (BA) China Southern (CZ) Ethiopian Airlines ( Hainan Airlines ( Japan Airlines (JL) Jetairfly (TB)  (Belgium) Jetstar Airways (JQ) Kenya Airways (KQ) LAN Airlines (LA)…

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Where the world lives

This mind blowing map illustrates the stark truth that half of the world ‘s population live in just six countries. The other live in the remaining 190 countries…By area, China is the third biggest country by arae and the USA is the fourth. India is the seventh biggest and Indonesia sits at 15th.   I have been to four of the six biggest countries by population (Brazil, India, Indonesia and USA)! Related Posts Visiting Myanmar Reflections and Advice My 58th country: Vietnam I visit my 57th country Beautiful Brazil- My 50th Country visited

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Will I keep flying?

First of all it was MH370, then MH 17, then Taiwan, Iran, one in Mali and a shooting at a plane in Pakistan. Lots of people have been asking me whether I will keep flying after these horrific events. A poll, conducted for TheStreet by GfK at the end of July found that 36% of Americans feel afraid to fly internationally. Women are more fearful than men, older people are more fearful than younger people. For an Australian who flies Malaysia Airlines a lot and who has traversed the skies above the Ukraine a few times in my Europe voyages,…

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Flying with Electronics- new rule & some tips

If you are planning on carrying your mobile, laptop or ipad onto a plane to the USA or UK, make sure it is charged. Under new rules released last week by the US Transport Security Administration (TSA), passengers travelling from Europe, the Middle East and Africa to the US must be able to turn on their electronics at security in order to prove they are the genuine article and not some kind of bomb. The TSA states: During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless…

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Standing Room Section for Planes? Will it fly?

A paper published this week concludes that a cabin dedicated to standing only passengers “has a potential to be applied by low-cost airlines servicing short-haul flight markets.” Sounds like just the recipe for Ryanair, Spirit Airlines and Air Asia! It brings a whole new meaning to the term “cattle class“! F. I. Romli et al in the International Journal of Engineering and Technology, suggest that by installing a “standing seat“, airlines could fit 21 per cent more passengers into a cabin. The distance between seats could be reduced from the usual 30″ to a mere 23″. By removing…

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Paris -New York in Business for 30% less- LaCompagnie

Fuel prices must be down because people are launching all business class airlines again. I blogged about London based Odyssey airlines last month. (Still unsure if they have a chance or not).  At a Manhattan news conference last Tuesday, LaCompagnie was launched. The company has raised approximately $US41 million) from investors and is the brainchild of a former executive of India’s Jet Airways Peter Luethi and Frantz Yvelin, the founder of a previous all business class airline L’AVION. L’AVION operated between Orly Airport, Paris and Newark in the USA from 3 January 2007 to 2 July 2008 when it was taken over…

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Not People’s Express…Puh lease

So it seems the PEOPLExpress name which belonged to a low fare carrier that disappeared in 1987 has been revived. The new PEOPLExpress is selling tickets on its website  for flights starting June 30. Their hub is Newport News in Virginia, a city of 180 000 people and the airline will offer one daily Boeing 737 service to the cities of Boston, Newark, Pittsburgh and West Palm Beach.  PEOPLEexpress is billing itself as a Low Cost Carrier which will offer better treatment.  I am not sure what better treatment will look like because almost everything costs: Check in Baggage starts at $20 for the…

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Know anything about Lyft

Has anyone used Lyft? Lyft is a smartphone app that seems to match drivers with people looking for rides in several key cities across the USA. When the ride ends, the app automatically charges payment from the passenger’s saved credit card. Lyft also provide drivers with additional excess insurance, including a $1M liability insurance. The company says: “Passengers and drivers rate each other. If you rate someone 3 stars or below, you’ll never be matched with them again.” I am curious to know if it works. I also could not see pricing on the website. Any information or…

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Will Business Class only Odyssey survive?

In Homer’s ancient tale The Odyssey, there are a few themes. One of them is about hospitality and the other is about Perseverance. London City-based startup Odyssey Airlines is attempting a model that has failed many times, despite its predecessors offering the best in hospitality. Odyssey hopes to be a business only carrier that makes it through! Odyssey has raised five million dollars through Crowdcube, a crowdfunding platform and other funding sources. The airline plans to launch flights in 2016 from London City to an unspecified airport in New York. Once the carrier is up…

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