Travel

The new charges, already described as a "tax grab" and "revenue gathering exercise", were announced by the British Government yesterday as part of a 21 billion pound ($59 billion) economic package aimed at reinforcing the country's economy. Currently, passengers flying out of Britain are charged a departure tax of 40 pounds (NZ$111.61). That would increase to 55 pounds in November next year and 85 pounds in November 2010, taking the total cost of taxes and surcharges to 235 pounds (NZ$655). The increases were expected to hit New Zealand's inbound tourism, which was already down 10 per cent in the past two years. Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key and Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton were set yesterday to host the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and London mayor Boris Johnson in the $4 million inflatable rugby ball installed in London for the promotion of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It was unclear whether Mr Key or Mr
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Southwest Puts Miles-for-Dining on the Menu Southwest announced that Rapid Rewards members can earn credits by dining at more than 9,000 restaurants participating in the Rapid Rewards Dining program. To participate, Rapid Rewards members register up to five credit cards on the Rapid Rewards Dining website. Thereafter, whenever they use a registered card to charge a meal at a participating restaurant, they will earn a quarter credit every time their cumulative expenditure reaches $100. There’s also a quarter credit enrollment bonus awarded after the first $25. Miles-for-dining has been a standard feature of larger airline programs for years. In most programs, the miles-for-dining feature awards five miles for every $1 spent. That means you’d spend $5,000 to earn the 25,000 miles required for a free round-trip domestic ticket. With the Southwest earning rate, you’ll have to spend $6,400—28 percent more—to earn the 16 Rapid Rewards credits needed for a free ticket. That’s
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As I understand it, the crux of Christmas is giving and sharing. Isn’t that nice? It is — and a lot of people would do well to remember these sentimental verbs as they traverse the financially frightening hustle and bustle of this holiday season. Festivals of old celebrated the return of longer days and shorter nights with community meals and fellowship. Nowadays we regard these traditions as quaint, reserving them for the poorest and most unfortunate among us. As more of us become poorer and more unfortunate with each passing foreclosure, tradition might be the escape valve we need. Those who might suffer for lack of what they used to have are the people who used Christmas to compete with their neighbors (although, if I know the male psyche, the competition will revolve around who has it worse), those whose rituals revolved solely around gifts, and those who upped the ante with each passing year by making things ever more extravagant. The Grinch had it right when he
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We’ve been keeping a close eye on Thanksgiving travel, paying particular attention to demand (falling, due to the worsening recession) and ticket prices (also falling, reflecting the softening demand). The Air Transport Association (ATA), a trade group representing the airlines, has released its projections for Thanksgiving flights, giving us a glimpse of holiday travel from a slightly different perspective: the passenger’s. Picture this: full flights. During the three busiest days—Sunday, November 30; Monday, December 1; and Wednesday, November 26—planes will fly 90 percent full on average. And, warns ATA President and CEO James C. May, “Make no mistake—the airports will be busy and many flights will be 100 percent full.” Whether the plane is 90 or 100 percent full, holiday flyers should be prepared for long lines at security check points and at boarding gates. The ATA recommends that holiday travelers “Allow plenty of time for checking in and for security screening
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If I could change the world I would create a program that made going abroad easier and more attractive for college-aged people. I’m a kinesthetic learner. I have to touch, feel, and otherwise experience something before it takes up gray matter. Classes with a lecture portion and a lab never made much sense to me. Why suffer through an hour trying to remain still? Tomorrow is lab day, and in lab you get to do something instead of hearing about things other people have done. History class was particularly painful. It was an overload of dates and names and events that meant absolutely nothing to me. It all seemed very random - until, that is, I began to travel. While Oklahoma has a rich past of its own, it is a blip on the sonar of history and world affairs. An epiphany that stands out in my mind is my family vacation to the Northeast. The Freedom Trail — an historic walk through Boston — changed my world. Suddenly, all the dreary speeches on the Revolution were cast into
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I come here and I tell you a lot of bad things.  I talk about what's wrong on a ton of different TV shows. I tell you just a couple of days before it happens for real that Pushing Daisies cancellation is a virtual certainty.  I point out plot flaws, bad acting, ridiculous storylines, and dissect reality-TV contestants whom we never want to see again. Now, that's all good.  I wouldn't change a thing about that.  I'm here to tell the truth, whether it's My Name is Earl managing to be funny after an entire season where it wasn't, or that The Amazing Race needs to add a literacy test to their contestant-selection process.  The unfortunate side of my truth-telling is that as much as I love television, the negative aspects tend to stand out and I tend to discuss them.  Well, not today.  Today we are all sweetness and light (and completely ignoring Pushing Daisies actual, official, cancellation). You see, I have in my grubby little
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Southwest to Serve New York City’s LaGuardia Airport Southwest announced it intends to purchase ATA, which is bankrupt, with the hopes of obtaining ATA’s rights to 14 slots at New York City’s LaGuardia. These slots would permit Southwest to operate up to seven daily round-trip flights at LaGuardia. The move would bring Southwest firmly into the New York City market, as the airline previously served only Long Island MacArthur Airport, some 50 miles outside the city. Southwest’s approach to growth has always been to avoid big cities and their delay-prone airports in favor of secondary options, which are generally less crowded. This allows Southwest to quickly turn around its planes and fly more routes while staying reasonably on time. So despite what seems like a can’t-lose scenario, Southwest is taking a gamble here, albeit a pretty safe one. This is an airline that relies upon timely service, both for its passengers and behind the scenes. Delay problems in New York cannot be
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Forget everything you thought you knew about this city. Beyond its choked motorways and mega-malls lies a string of rare gems that will put a sparkle into anyone's shopping trip. Here's a three-day itinerary that mixes the quirky with the quintessential. Start your excursion with a spellbinding whale and dolphin safari to put you in your very best shopping mood. Explore NZ's high-speed luxury catamaran leaves Viaduct Basin at 8.30 each morning for a marine adventure on the Hauraki Gulf. Its clued-up crew promise to seek out the most exciting marine activity. Returning replete with wonder and inspiration, jump on a smart circle-line Link bus to Newmarket and take a stroll down Broadway to browse everything from high fashion to leisureware. A little detour will find you in Nuffield Street, where you'll find Lucie Bouchier's colourful retail emporium. The self-proclaimed "wacky" designer is selling up to move to the United States, and is offering
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Last month we asked you to share your favorite free things to do on vacation. Your answers highlight just how much you can do without spending a dime. From people watching in parks to savoring scenic drives, here are some of your favorite ways to forgo the admission fees without sacrificing any of the memories. Get Outdoors Walking, snorkeling, and swimming are all great ways to immerse yourself in the beauty of a place. Reader D. Baird wrote in with this packing tip for anyone who plans to snorkel more than once on a trip: “In Belize, Mexico, Zanzibar, and the Galapagos, I brought along my own personal snorkel gear so I could swim off shore as many times and as often I wanted—all for free!!” Another anonymous reader sings the glories of snorkeling: “Snorkeling is my favorite thing to do on vacation. No matter the age, it’s good exercise and makes you feel great—like being in another world. The awesome beautiful coral, fish plants, and the colors are so unbelievable.”
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All eyes are on the Thanksgiving travel period as a harbinger of future ticket prices. While the sky-high fuel costs that were hobbling airlines have abated, the economy has gone into a tailspin, undermining demand for travel and other non-essential goods and services. Will the airlines respond by cutting prices? When? And by how much? Our recent survey of SmarterTravel.com readers’ Thanksgiving travel plans suggested that plenty of consumers will either be staying closer to home, traveling by car instead of flying, or not traveling at all this year. And that scenario would suggest that airlines will indeed be forced to scale back prices to keep cost-conscious flyers in the air. A recent report by Travelocity provides some hard data on holiday airfares, confirming that prices are softening. According to the study, “While airfares remain higher than last year, Travelocity’s Thanksgiving data report shows a decrease in domestic airfare over the past several weeks. On average, travelers
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