30 Kasım 2010 Salı

Fewer Airplane Seats + Overbooking = More Bumps

Nearly 350,000 passengers bumped in the first half of 2008. That carries a cost for airlines -- and ultimately for the flying public

Put these random thoughts together any way you choose, and draw your own conclusions of the sort of mess American air travel is in:
  • According to "More Flights Are Overbooked, but Payoffs Are Rising" in today's New York Times business section, "about 343,000 passengers were denied seats on planes...out of 282 million passengers. Most of those people volunteered to give up their seats in return for some form of compensation, like a voucher for a free flight. But statistics also show about 1.16 of every 10,000 passengers had their seats taken away outright because of overbooking — which may sound like a low rate, until your name is called."
  • The article continued, "Back when most tickets were refundable or easy to change, and the airlines offered multiple daily flights to many cities, carriers used to routinely overbook about 15 percent of their seats. Passengers who missed their plane could simply catch a later flight. Rules are tighter now, and passengers with nonrefundable tickets can only expect a credit for an unused ticket, often minus a hefty fee, if they change their flight. That means they have more incentive to show up. But airlines still overbook."
  • Compensation to bumped passengers is up. Times reporters Micheline Maynard and Michelle Higgins wrote, "Travelers can now receive up to $400 if they are involuntarily bumped and rebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic flight time and within four hours for international. They are eligible for up to $800 in cash if they are not rerouted by then. The final amount depends on the length of the flight and the price paid for the ticket....Compensation must be paid immediately in cash, or with a voucher if the passenger accepts it, and the airline must offer a choice of a refund, a return flight to their departure city or an alternative flight. Volunteers also receive compensation, which they negotiate with the airline. Passengers are learning, however, that if an airline does not get enough volunteers at a lower figure, they might be able to bid up the offer, and also obtain sweeteners that include vouchers for meals, hotels, transportation and even plane tickets."
  • Passengers flying free or using a voucher are cutting into airlines' direct revenue streams.
  • US carriers have announced plans to cut routes they claim are unprofitable. Airlines have imposed fuel surcharges and miscellaneous other fees. Despite these additional charges along with service reductions, planes are quite full and will be fuller come fall.
  • The annoying, arbitrary and ever-changing Transportation Security Agency screenings add to the unpleasantness of domestic air travel today.
  • With frequent-flier awards increasingly difficult to redeem (and now costly to redeem), miles have stacked up, adding to the liability on airlines' balance sheets.
  • The recession in which the US finds itself, but is loathe to call by that name, is cramping many Americans' travel styles. Like it or not, "staycation" has become a word in the travel vocabulary.
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 let airlines chart their own operational courses and set (and change) air fares at will. Three decades later, in a very different world in terms of fuel costs, technology, sheer numbers of flyers and travelers' expectations, the airline industry in the US has broken, and no one seems to be taking much interest in fixing it.

Daily Beast's New Airport Rankings

The Daily Beast studied, rated and ranked 27 US airports

The Daily Beast's provocative headline, "Airports from Hell," is affixed to an analysis of 27 top airports in the US in eight specific areas, including on-time arrivals/departures so far in 2009 and a separate evaluation of holiday arrivals and departures, which is oh-so timely. The subtitle is "first to worst," which means they can't all be "from hell."

The best, according to The Beast, is Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 

On-time departures 2009: 86.19%
On-time arrivals 2009: 84.73%
On-time holiday departures: 90% (ranked first)
On-time holiday arrivals: 86%
Average security wait time: 6.1 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 22nd out 27
Safety: 5th out of 27
Amenities: 8th out of 27

The worst is Newark International Airport (EWR)
On-time departures 2009: 73.76%

On-time arrivals 2009: 64.14% (ranked last)
On-time holiday departures: 70% (ranked last)
On-time holiday arrivals: 75%
Average security wait time: 7 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 23rd out of 27
Safety: 25th out of 27
Amenities: 15th out of 27

Denver International Airport (DIA) ranked 17th
On-time departures 2009: 79.23%

On-time arrivals 2009: 80.84%
On-time holiday departures: 84%
On-time holiday arrivals: 80%
Average security wait time: 11.3 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 9th out of 27
Safety: 23rd out of 27
Amenities: 24th out of 27

According to The Beast, getting through DIA's security lines took several minutes longer than at the speediest airports, on average, and its "Safety" was downgraded significantly after an incident last year when a Continental plane skidded off a taxiway into a shallow gully (often described as a "ravine," making it seem far deeper than it is), injuring 30 people. A hotel at the terminal, fancy Gucci-esque shops and a better selection of more interesting restaurants might have elevated it in the Amenities category. The Beast quoted Matt Daimler of Seatguru.com who said, “It’s one of the better airports to experience.” As for on-time arrivals and departures, IMHO, when there are delays in Denver, more often than not they are due to delays elsewhere in the country's obsolete air-travel system. The Beast's  report is accompanied by a gallery of airport pictures three screens, nine airports to a screen, or as a slide show.

New Denver Sheraton Downtown is City's Largest Hotel

Former Adam's Mark reborn after $70 million renovation

The gleaming hotel straddling downtown Denver's Court Place place is a new Sheraton, but it's not a new hotel. The tired Adam's Mark is now the Sheraton Denver Downtown following a year-long, $70 million total renovation from the parking garage to the roof. It was officially dedicated yesterday with a champagne reception and ribbon cutting (below) that brought out Mayor John Hickenlooper, business leaders and executives from the hotel's owner (Chartres Lodging Group of San Francisco) and  management (Starwood Hotels & Resorts) group. Chartres purchased the hotel for $176 million in early 2008, so a lot of coin is represented in these interconnected buildings.


The hotel  is Colorado's largest with 1,231 guest rooms, and Hizzoner noted that when it is fully occupied, its "population" is greater than Breckenridge or Telluride (about 2,400 each). The mayor and tourism leaders praised it as a key to attracting large convention groups, but IMHO, it's also a great location for people who come to Denver for arts and culture. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is a short walk to the west. The Denver Art Museum is a short stroll across Civic Center Park to the south, and when it opens in 2011, the Clyfford Still Museum will be there too. The galleries of the Golden Triangle Museum District are nearby as well, and the free Mall Shuttle stops right outside the door for a quick ride to the restaurants, shops and nightspots of Larimer Square and the Platt River Valley attractions too.

I haven't seen any of the guest rooms yet, but if the classy, spacious lobby is an indication, they are lovely. The new lobby is bright and attractive, contemporary and yet warm. I particularly like its newly welcoming pedestrian approach from the 16th Mall. The old Adams Mark design, like many newer downtown Denver hotels, is so vehicle-oriented that people coming in on foot after shopping, sightseeing or attending an off-site meeting often felt like afterthoughts.

Once inside, the square columns and the coffered ceiling are about all that is recognizable from the lobby's previous incarnation. Some people might miss the horse sculpture in the old lobby (top image, below), and while I have no particular attachment to it, I do sort of wonder where it went.



Above, the old Adam's Mark lobby



Above, the new Sheraton Denver Downtown lobby

1550 Court Place, Denver, Colorado 80202; 303-893-3333 or 866-716-8134 (reservations).

Terror Watch List Hits One Million!

Travel impacted by a list containing the names of one out of every 300 Americans

According to the American Civil Liberties Union's Watch List Counter, the Department of Homeland Security's Terror Watch list passed the million-name mark a few days ago. Click on that link and you can see the counter spinning around as fast as the dollar counter on a gas pump. The ACLU website further reports:
"September 2007, the Inspector General of the Justice Department reported that
the Terrorist Screening Center (the FBI-administered organization that
consolidates terrorist watch list information in the United States) had over
700,000 names in its database as of April 2007 - and that the list was growing
by an average of over 20,000 records per month. (See also this new March 2008
report
.)

"By those numbers, the list now has over one million names on it. Terrorist
watch lists must be tightly focused on true terrorists who pose a genuine
threat. Bloated lists are bad because they ensnare many innocent travelers
as suspected terrorists, and because they waste screeners' time and divert their
energies
from looking for true terrorists. Small, focused watch lists
are better for civil liberties and for security."

At this rate, the only people who won't be on the Department of Justice's Watch List are those wearing American flag pins in their lapels. These days, the Justice Department doesn't seem much more concerned with justice than the Department of Defense is with war. IMO, such shifts in policy and procedures have a lot to do with Americans' travel experiences -- whether we are experienced hassles and delays when we fly or whether we feel "liked" when we travel abroad. For words like this, I'm probably going to end up on the list myself!

29 Kasım 2010 Pazartesi

Winter Park Ski Train Poised for Return

Train-only and train/lodging packages are options for this ski season


The Rio Grande Scenic Ski Train seems "this close" to finalizing operational agreements for the 2009-10 ski season. The newest incarnation of the inconic ski train between Denver and Winter Park is ready to roll on a three-month winter timetable from December 27 and March 28, according to a report in today's Denver Post. All that remains a sign-off from Amtrak, whose crews will run the train. The train will operate up to four days a week, making about 50 roundtrips this winter and using cars from its summer excrusion train in the San Luis Valley.

The new 17-car trains will have a capacity of 2,000 seats, more than double that of the former ski train. Ed Ellis, president of the San Luis Railroad that will operate the revived ski train, told the Post that the "typical run will have 17 cars — two dome cars that seat 140 each and a mix of club cars and standard coaches." Click here for images of the cars.

Advance tickets are available online and are being purchased, according to the Post. If for any reason that last signoff is not accomplished, full refunds are promised. Regular roundtrip fares will be $49 in a coach car seat, $99 for a premium upper-level seat in a dome car or $600 for a season pass (purchase before December 24). Other early-season values include a 10-ride pass forr $290 and a one-day $79 roundtrip train ticket/lift ticket package (use by February 7). For more information, call 800-726-RAIL.The Winter Park Resort is also packaging a roundtrip train ticket, overnight lodging at the resort base and a lift ticket starting at $139 a day per person. Book that one through the resort, 800-453-2525.

28 Kasım 2010 Pazar

Early Returns Just Got Delayed

Frontier Airlines devalues its frequent flyer program

Beleaguered Frontier Airlines, currently in banktuptcy, used to boast that EarlyReturns, its loyalty program, was one of friendliest around with faster mileage accrual and easier redemption. No more. The Denver-based carrier sent an Email to Early Returns members saying that as of September 15, 2008:

"All award tickets will incur a $25 redemption fee

All tickets issued within 14 days of travel will incur a $75 expedite fee (waived for EarlyReturns PLUS+ and Weekend Web Fares)

Change itinerary
: As long as another award seat is available on your desired flight, you can change the time, date, passenger name, or city pairs for $75 change fee (previously $35)

Cancelled itinerary: If you no longer want to fly on the original
ticket you booked, you may cancel your itinerary and redeposit the miles for $75 redeposit fee (previously $35); all fees are non-refundable and are
waived for Summit members

EarlyReturns New Redemption Levels (effective 9/15/08):

Travel within the contiguous U.S. or to/from Canada
15,000 miles one-way
20,000 miles round-trip
30,000 miles EarlyReturns PLUS+ one-way
40,000 miles EarlyReturns PLUS+ round-trip
Travel to/from Alaska or Mexico
20,000 miles one-way
30,000 miles round-trip
45,000 miles EarlyReturns PLUS+ one-way
55,000 miles EarlyReturns PLUS+ round-trip
Travel to/from Costa Rica
40,000 miles round-trip
65,000 miles EarlyReturns PLUS+ round-trip"

Frontier adds, "you can still redeem award tickets at the 'old' mileage rate until September 15, 2008. If you’re shy of the minimum mileage threshold, you can purchase miles to top off your account at a great discount! Visit the Buy Miles section of our website for details and directions on how to save up to 30% on the purchase of EarlyReturns miles."

Another airline demonstrating how "how important you are to the future of Frontier Airlines. Thank you for your understanding and encouragement through these hard times."

I'm Dreamin' of Santorini

Tempting fall bargains on fantasy Greek Island

I've long wanted to visit the Greek Islands, and I suppose someday I will. The desire to go there is usually tucked away in the back of my mind. But sometimes they force their way to forefront, like now, with the film version of Mamma Mia!, which was filmed on the islands of Santorini, Skiathos and Skopelos. Santorini, breached volcano, is arguably the most iconic and certainly stars in my Greek Island dreams.

I''m afraid that the era of small, Mamma Mia!-style inns is long gone, but a luxurious boutique property can make an escape to Santorini affordable with a first-ever discount package. Through October 31, Astra Apartments & Suites is offering a fourth night free with a three-night stay. The “Fall in Love at Astra” package starts at about $1,100 or $275 per night for two. Included are a traditional Greek breakfast every morning, champagne and chocolates served at sunset on the second evening.

The October weather on the beautiful Cycladic island of Santorini is mild, with average temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The property has just 16 domed-ceiling apartments and 12 luxurious suites decorated in traditional island style with works by local artists. Eight units have private plunge pools or outdoor Jacuzzis, and an infinity pool perches 1,000 feet above the turquoise Aegean Sea. A day spa offers a full range of massages and facials. Astra’s new restaurant serves fresh fish and Santorinian specialties under the stars. It sounds idyllic to me.

Astra has been written up in such persnickety publications as Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit, which is a good enough recommendation for me. Now, if I could only afford to fly to Santorini this fall......

For more information on Astra or reservations, visit one of the websites (http://www.astra-apartments.com/ or http://www.astra.gr/) or call 011-30-2286-2-47-65.

27 Kasım 2010 Cumartesi

A Gift from the Cyber-Magi: Free Airport WiF

Google enables free WiFi at 47 new airports for the holidays

We frequent Denver International Airport users have long been spoiled with free WiFi in the main terminal and on all three concourses. E-mail addicts and chronic web surfers like me are shocked and/or disappointed when we are waiting for flights or delayed elsewhere and have toactually pay for WiFi access. From November 16 through January 15, 47 other airports across the country will have free WiFi -- some for the first time. The peak holiday travel season (and peak travel-delay season) is wrapped into this two-month offer, which I think of as a gift, so boot up that laptop and enjoy.

Austin (AUS)
Baltimore (BWI)
Billings (BIL)
Boston Logan (BOS)
Bozeman (BZN)
Buffalo, NY (BUF)
Burbank (BUR)
Central Wisconsin (CWA)
Charlotte, NC (CLT)
Des Moines (DSM)
El Paso (ELP)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Fort Myers (RSW)
Greensboro (GSO)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Houston International (IAH)
Indianapolis (IND)
Jacksonville (JAX)
Kalamazoo (AZO)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Louisville (SDF)
Madison (MSN)
Memphis (MEM)
Miami (MIA)
Milwaukee (MKE)
Monterey (MRY)
Nashville (BNA)
Newport News (PHF)
Norfolk (ORF)
Oklahoma City (OKC)
Omaha (OMA)
Orlando (MCO)
Panama City, FL (PFN)
Pittsburgh (PIT)
Portland, ME (PWM)
Sacramento (SMF)
San Antonio (SAT)
San Diego (SAN)
San Jose (SJC)
Seattle (SEA)
South Bend (SBN)
Spokane (GEG)
St. Louis (STL)
State College, PA (SCE)
Toledo (TOL)
Traverse City (TVC)
West Palm Beach (PBI)

Google is supporting this program. An additional bonus is that, if you donute to any of the participating non-profits via Google CheckOut vi participating WiF networks, Google will match the gifts up to a maximum of $250,000.

The Broadmoor: Five Stars for the Fiftieth Time

Colorado's top-of-the-heap Broadmoor offers off-season values; book now!

It is no surprise at all that The Broadmoor, a pink palace on the southwest edge of Colorado Springs, has been awarded the top Five Star rating from the Mobil / Forbes Travel Guide (formerly Mobil Five-Star Award by Mobil Travel Guide). The Broadmoor always wins the highest honor. What is noteworthy that the resort has achieved this honor for a record 50th consecutive year -- the only property to do so. It also has the distinction in 2010 of becoming a triple Five Star winner, with the Penrose Room receiving the highest restaurant designation and The Spa at Broadmoor similarly recognized. It is the only Colorado property to be so honored so often and for so long.

The Mobil Travel Guide originated the prestigious star rating system in the U.S. Think of it as the equivalent of Michelin's stars in Europe. Michelin wanted to sell tires, and similarly, Mobil wanted to sell gasoline. The original Mobil guide is now the Forbes Travel Guide, but its awards are as prestigious as ever. Since 1958, the Mobil Travel Guide’s rigorous ratings process has been based on more than 750 standardized criteria for hotels that begins with a facility inspection considering every aspect of the property, including its overall cleanliness, condition, and location. To achieve Four and Five Star Status, hotels and resort properties must meet or exceed bar-setting service standards as determined byt an unannounced, undercover service evaluation conducted by the Travel Guide’s expert inspectors.

The Broadmoor, which opened in 1918, is quite a spread. It has 744 rooms and suites including 44 cottage bedrooms; 185,000 square feet of flexible event space; a world-class spa; three championship golf courses; a tennis club; 25 retail shops; 18 on property eateries, restaurants and lounges; a full children's program, and more. The Penrose Room, a classic fine-dining restaurant since 1961, is Colorado’s only Forbes Travel Guide Five Star/AAA Five-Diamond Restaurant, making it the most celebrated restaurant in Colorado history in the most celebrated hotel. The Spa at Broadmoor provides 43,000 square feet of sybaritic luxury: spa, salon and fitness center using cutting-edge products and treatments in a setting old-world charm and European elegance. It's hard not to rave about the The Broadmoor, which is simply the best.

The Best for Less

The Broadmoor opened at the end of World War I but rode out the Great Depression, World War II and changes in the way people travel without ever losing its edge. In light of the current economic downturn, the resort is offering Five Star luxury at affordable prices, starting at $80 per person, per night in a standard hotel room between November 15 and February 28. It includes complimentary access to the resort's own movie theater, a complimentary Serenity shower or tub soak with any spa service, 15% discount on select retail shops and a 10% discount at Charles Court, the award-winning Penrose Room or Tavern. During the holidays, The Broadmoor is decked out in an over-the-top (but exceedingly tasteful) display of lights and decorations.

The Broadmoor is at One Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs; 866-837-9520 or 719-577-5775.

26 Kasım 2010 Cuma

Passenger's Tale of Personal Tragedy and Airline's Callousness

A father's fatal fall. A canceled flight. An airline's brutal heartlessness. Shakespearean tragedy.

Just yesterday, I vowed to find renewed joy in travel. This morning, I received an Email with the following Email from a reader in southern California that is causing me to defer my quest for good travel news. I do not know her but did look her up on the Internet, and it turns out that she is in public relations specialist (hence the logical, well-written missive) and one of her specialties is social justice. There was nothing that even hinted of justice about the way US Airways treated her last year in the wake of a family tragedy -- and that was before the huge run-up of air fares and the plague of surcharges:
"The story:

"A husband and wife booked a flight on US Airways for October 2007 to join
the husband's parents on a vacation at a cost of $1,008. Then, the wife's
father suffered an out-of-town fall and broke his neck. He went into
intensive care, was med flighted home, and eventually died on October 15.
During this ordeal, the wife cancelled her and her husband's flight, and asked
US Airways for a refund.

"She was denied, but the agent advised her to write to the refunds
department. She did so, including with her letter a copy of her father's
death certificate and also sharing that she had missed a great deal of work
during the 2 months of her dad's hospitalization, her family had expended
$10,000 on the medvac flight to get her father home, and she and her husband
were not going to be able to reuse their tickets anytime in the next year; the
vacation opportunity was over, and the lost income plus the $10,000 hit her
family had suffered precluded any travel plans for quite awhile.

"US Airways denied the refund, merely repeating boilerplate stating that
the husband and wife had a year from the date of booking (not the travel date,
mind you) to reuse the tickets, after of course paying a $100 per-ticket change
fee. The wife then wrote directly to Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways
and cc'd president Scott Kirby to plead her case. The result was the same
answer, again from a customer relations rep. The wife then filed a
complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but the file was closed after
BBB contacted US Airways and was unable to receive a reply from
them.

"To add insult to injury, last week US Airways emailed the wife saying 'Our
records indicate that 14,954 miles [in your Dividends Miles account] were
forfeited because your last activity date was more than 18 months ago.'
Apparently, buying $1,000 worth of tickets and then being denied a refund when
the tickets couldn't be used, doesn't qualify as activity worthy of keeping
one's status as a dividend miles member.

"Here's a great quote from US Airways Passenger Refunds Representative
Samantha Gartung's letter to the wife: 'US Airways embraces an optimistic
outlook regarding passengers who are unable to travel due to unfortunate
circumstances. We remain confident that you will be able to utilize
the ticket for your travel enjoyment.'

"Isn't it comforting to have an airline express confidence that you can
spend money with them?

"Oh, and yes, the wife is me."

The writer asked me (and probably other travel writers and bloggers as well) to help get the word out. I don't know her, and I haven't checked on what US Airways' side of the story might be -- if, indeed, they even have a valid side, under the circumstances. I hope that her efforts to cast a wide net will result in the kind of publicity that will indeed persuade or pressure the airline to restore those frequent flyer miles and perhaps even refund the $1,008 for the flights she and her husband did not take.

Travel Insurance

Like most of us, the couple probably did not have travel insurance -- and if they did, it might not have included compensation for trip cancellation due to a serious accident/illness of an immediate family member. We never know what coverage we might need until an incident has occurred. But in addition to wishing her success in her battle against US Airways, I'll take this as a cue at least to explore buying travel insurance. I'll bet the with 20/20 hindsight, she wishes she had some. SquareMouth, a website comparing travel insurance, has been recommended by a number of respected travel publications.

25 Kasım 2010 Perşembe

Berlin Wall Sections: A Fragment Here, A Fragment There

November 9, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall


With so much strife on the planet, the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall gives hope and celebration. After all, not long before the Wall came down in 1989, it seemed as if it would be there forever. I passed through Checkpoint Charlie on a one-day visit to East Berlin on my first trip to Europe a lifetime ago, and it was one East German guard's later opening of one checkpoint that opened the floodgate and changed modern German history.

As passed through the checkpoint into East Berlin, knowing that I could leave in a few hours, I realized that I had taken the freedom of movement for granted. It was eerie to walk down East Berlin's empty streets, past rubble and weed-choked vacant lots still left from World War II. I have not been to Berlin since, though I hope to visit next year during a planned trip to Germany, and I know that the gleaming, modern creative city bears only the slightest resemblance to the one I wandered around.

Berlin has a lot to celebrate, and celebrate it will. The Festival of Freedom starts this evening at 5:00 p.m., local time at the Brandenburg Gate, and an open air exhibition called "Peaceful Revolution" continues through October 2010.

I have seen segments of the Wall in Rapid City, South Dakota (above), and Portland, Maine (and probably elsewhere as well), but I didn't realize how many portions of the Wall have been erected as memorials. Click here for the list. Interestingly, there are 36 in the Americas (four in New York City alone) but only 13 in Europe -- just two in Germany itself. In Berlin, a line of cobblestones follows the original footprint of the Wall. News footage of the fall of the Wall was telecast over the weekend, and I think Berlin is commemorating the event, but I wonder how many other places with segments have organized something. Do you know?

Help Me Rediscover the Joy of Travel

Have my posts become too whiny -- or has travel simply become a chore rather than a joy?

I like to travel. I really do. Or at least I used to. You'd never know it from my recent posts on this blog though. I seem to be on a roll writing about things that I find annoying: Rising air fares and declining airline service. Airline surcharges and costly hotel "extras" (not just the mini-bar but WiFi, parking, usurious telephone charges, etc.). The Transportation Security Agency's policies that affront travelers. Highway delays. Hotels that waste electricity and water in the name of "luxury." Or, on the other end of the scale, accommodations have been allowed to go to seed.

Believe it or not, I have exercised some self-restraint. I really haven't written the price of gas that has skyrocketed the cost of a road trip. Nor did I regale you with the tale of the speeding motorcyclist who broadsided my car while I was on Colorado's Western Slope ( biker landed in the hospital; I'm OK, and I have a new car).

Other blogs and websites (The Cranky Flier, Christopher Elliott's ombudsman-ish site called simply Elliott, Frugal Travel Guy, Upgrade: Travel Better among others) keep the traveler (aka, the customer) in mind.

Commuting Doctor Repeatedly Delayed

Whenever I think I've been too grouchy, along comes another example of why travel has become so frustrating and joyless -- and in the following case, that puts my inconveniences into perspective. Al Lewis, whose syndicated column appears in the Denver Post, wrote about Dr. Joel Schwartz, an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies, who flies once a week from Denver to Las Vegas. "If he's not in the office on time, he has a packed waiting room. His partners must pick up his caseload. And his anxious patients may end up with a doctor they do not know.


"Schwartz, who commutes from Denver to Las Vegas every week, doesn't like
to roll the dice when it comes to air travel. After Denver- based Frontier
Airlines filed bankruptcy earlier this year, he said he bought five months'
worth of tickets on United Airlines. His first United flight was canceled. His
second was nearly two hours late.

"A consummate traveler, he said he found the airline's employees unusually
grumpy. When he called customer support, he said he could only reach people in
exotic locales who seemed scantly empowered to help him. So Schwartz bought
backup tickets on Southwest Airlines to ensure he'd be on time for his patients
each week.

Schwartz said once he's burned through his nonrefundable United
tickets, he's going back to Frontier or Southwest, or anywhere else....

"'You would have to cut my arm off before I'd ever go back to United,'" he
said. At this point, it's hard to say what might be worse. United's service? Or
a one-armed obstetrician who can't always get to his Las Vegas office on
time?"

Dr. Schwartz has clearly had it with United, and so, according to Lewis, have pilots. "They [the pilots' union] are demanding that CEO Glenn Tilton resign. They are hanging out their dirty cabin blankets on a website called Glenn Tilton Must Go. As airlines drown in rising jet fuel bills, the pilots union says Tilton's performance is among the worst....Tilton is a former oilman who took Texaco through bankruptcy and helped merge it with Chevron Corp. before joining United in September 2002. He and his crew earned tens of millions taking United through Chapter 11, hacking away at airline workers and their benefits. Along the way, they leased a shiny new headquarters on Chicago's Wacker Drive. Then they sharpened their knives again to get through an unprecedented spike in fuel prices."

It is difficult to adopt an upbeat attitude toward travel providers that not only take advantage of customers by cutting costs and downsizing their workforces but are enriching themselves in the prcoess.

Blogger Reports Bizarre TSA Agent's Treatment of Disabled Passenger

Dr. Schwartz, even if delayed, certainly can fend for himself at the airport. Denver blogger James, Future Gringo, with a pass to accompany his mother to her gate at Denver International Airport, witnessed a TSA's downright bizarre action when clearing a developmentally disabled passenger through security.

He reported, "This agent was visually inspecting the wheelchair and probing around some cushions as expected, but then she did something that I would never expect: She took an ETD (Explosive Trace Detection) Swab, and repeatedly rubbed the child’s face with the swab. She did this a few times with the swab attached to the plastic forceps. I don’t recall her putting the swab IN the machine, but after finishing she gently caressed the child’s face a few times with her hand - which I thought was equally as strange." Strange indeed.

James also commented, "Now this TSA officer was not being forceful or rude, and was actually quite gentle and friendly with the child. However the act of rubbing a child’s face with a substance bothered me. A fully able bodied person would never consent to having their FACE rubbed with a dabber or swabber. A person in a wheelchair who is cognizant and articulate would not allow this. Why should a wheelchair bound child who can’t speak for themself be subjected to this? Granted this only lasted about 15 seconds, but I didn’t think it was right or appropriate on the part of the TSA."

Prices, airline policies, arbitrary TSA procedures and all the rest nothwithstanding, I'll try to be more positive, because I like to travel. I really do.

Nottoway Plantation: 150-Year-Old Louisiana Jewel

Newly restored antebellum mansion is glorious to visit -- for a tour or for the night

In 1859, shortly before the War Between the States, John Hampden Randolph, his wife, Emily Jane Liddell Randolph, and their 11 children moved into the newly completed Nottoway Plantation in the heart of Louisiana's Plantation Country. Unlike many of the great houses built with cotton and sugarcane, Nottoway was not seriously damaged during the war even though both Union and Confederate troops camped on the grounds, and it was fired on and still bears a few bullet scars.

At 53,000 square feet, Nottoway is the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the southern United States. It was built with 64 rooms on three floors, six interior staircases, three "modern" bathrooms with flush toilets and hot and cold running water, gas lights, 22 massive square columns, 165 doors and 200 windows. Construction of this gracious and grandiose mansion is estimated to have cost $80,000.



The plantation house is open for public tours. For years, it was on the regular motorcoach day tour itinerary from New Orleans. Groups -- many on convention spouse programs -- would drive up, tour the mansion, have lunch in a large dedicaed pavilion and leave. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the convention business took a hit -- and so did Nottoway Plantation. Paul Ramsay, an Australian entrepreneur, purchased the property and financed the restoration of the mansion, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. I've tried to find out how much the restoration cost but haven't been successful.


Most of the furniture is not original, but all reflects accuracy to the period.



When you see the 4,200 linear feet of extraordinary plaster friezework and scroll ornaments in the public rooms, it is difficult to envision it as a combination of mud, clay, horsehair and Spanish moss under the confectionary paint.The all-white ballroom is sparsely furnished, because people did have to have room to dance.


I like to see formal dining rooms with all the accoutrements of gracious 19th-century dining, from celery glasses toknife rests.


Each hand-painted plate (from France, I believe) has a different design in the center.



The second-floor veranda overlooks the levee that separates Nottoway from the Mississippi. Rock on!



Below is not a room on the manor-house tour. It was my room for the night that I spent at Nottoway, which now also operates as a bed-and-breakfast inn. My gorgeous antique-filled room in one of the wings, not in the mansion itself, was one of the simpler ones. The home also houses a new fine-dining establishment called The Mansion Restaurant.



I have to say that it was hard to tear myself away the next morning.



Nottoway Historic Inn, as the B&B is now called, has an extraordinary special through November 30: $150 per night for two, including a welcome beverage, tour and a full breakfast. 31025 Louisiana Highway 1 (off The Great River Road), White Castle, LA 70788. Reserve online or by calling 866-LASouth (866-527-6884) or 225-545-2730 (Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central Time).

Flooding in Grand Canyon Area Forces Evacuations

Havasupai community and visitors most impacted by up to 8 inches of rain and a breached dam

It's been a tough week for the natural wonders of the West. A few days ago, as reported here, the 12th-largest arch in Arches National Park collapsed. Today (August 17), rains caused floods that breached an earthen dam Sunday in a side canyon of the Grand Canyon -- but outside of the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Helicopters rescued scores of Supai village residents, visitors and campers. Up to eight inches of rain have fallen in the Grand Canyon area since Friday. The Supai village, traditional home to the Havasupai people, is located high in Havasu Canyon, a side canyon.

Gerry Blair, of the Coconino County Sheriff's Department, told Associated Press reporter Amanda Lee Myers that the breached dam was "only one factor in the flooding." The sheer volume of water itself caused flooding, and a flash flood warning has remained in effect. Blair said that search-and-rescue teams were staying in the village overnight, because not all of the 400 residents initially were evacuated. Helicopter operation had to stop when darkness fell.

AP also reported that Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge confirmed to Myers that some hiking trails were washed out, footbridges were damaged, and trees were uprooted. Among those airlifted out by helicopter were 16 people (Park Service photo, above right) who were rafting the Grand Canyon on a private permit. They were all uninjured but had been stranded on a ledge where Havasu Creek joins the Colorado River after flood waters washed their rafts downriver. Rescuers escorted visitors out of the Supai Campground, about 75 west of the Grand Canyon Village, the park's leading tourist area on the South Rim.

24 Kasım 2010 Çarşamba

Autumn in August

A few chilly, rainy days with snow above 10,500 feet provide foretaste of fall and winter

Colorado is a favorite summer escape for Texans and other Sunbelt/Sweatbelt dwellers seeking to escape the heat and humidity. Anyone visiting over the past several days certainly has gotten away from the heat, but steady rain have brought unusual humidity for mid-August. Right now, in Boulder, the temperature is 50 degrees and the humidity 93 percent. Earlier in the week, those numbers were reversed.

Up to six inches of snow have been reported in the high country, according to television traffic reports this morning, and Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park is or was closed. (Channel 9 News photo, right, taken today in Rocky Mountain National Park.)

All this is a reminder that the 2008-09 ski season is scheduled to launch less than three months from now. Keystone plans to open November 6. Arapahoe Basin still has its 2007-08 calendar online, and Loveland's website is currently down, so I don't know when these contenders for early-to-open honors plan to begin operations.

What I do know is that many people are looking to economize this season -- especially since just getting to the slopes will most likely be more expensive than in the past. With that in mind, this is the time for skiers and riders decide where in Colorado they want to slide this winter. Each ski area, large or small, has its own value-laden season pass. Examples of Colorado's big-league passes are Vail Resorts' new $579 EPIC Ski Pass (unlimited, unrestricted, season-long access Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Arapahoe Basin) and the $439 Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus (unlimited access to Winter Park/Mary Jane and Copper, plus six unrestricted days and free skiing every Friday after 12:30 p.m. at Steamboat).

Just to underscore what exceptional values these are, consider that an Aspen Premier Season Pass (Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttemilk, Snowmass) is $1,769 if purchased before September 12, $300 more if purchased later. That does serve to keep the riff-raff away, but then again, the riff-raff probably can't afford the gas to drive to Aspen anyway.

The best deal of all is Colorado Ski Country USA's 2008-09 GEMS card, which at just $10 (ten dollars!) is worth considering even for those purchasing a Rocky Mountain Super Pass, an EPIC Ski Pass and/or a pass to any single ski area. Ten smaller areas belong to the GEMS group: Arapahoe Basin, Echo Mountain, Eldora, Loveland Ski Area, Monarch Mountain, Powderhorn Resort, Ski Cooper, SolVista Basin and Sunlight Mountain Resort. Benefits include free lift tickets to three GEM resorts, two-for-one lift tickets at four others and discounted lift tickets at six resorts.

The rain will stop, some of that high-country snow will melt and temperatures will rise again, but the calendar pages will not stop turning, and ski season is drawing closer by the day.

23 Kasım 2010 Salı

San Miguel de Allende'sBotanical Garden

Charco del Ingenio showcases Western Hemisphere cacti in a protected landscape

The roughly 154 acres occupied by the unique botanical garden called Charco del Ingenio outside of San Miguel de Allende is reportedly second most important collection of cacti in Mexico, after Mexico City. That would rank Cacti Mundi that my husband and I visited in San Jose del Cabo several years ago number three or less. The Chacro del Ignenio is a pirvately funded ecological preservation area that began 18 years ago with 60 species now dispays some 550 cacti varieties from native habitats that stretch from Patagonia to Canada, but mostly species that grow in Mexico.


Mario Hernandez is knowledgeable passionate about the plants under his care. He is still awed by cacti's ability to store water and yet transform CO2 into O2 He points out that cacti are edible, and have religious, medicinal and spiritual value as well. And did I mention that they are great to look at too? He didn't bother saying that. I think he realizes that is self-evident.



Below are just a few examples of the varied and wonderful cacti growing at the Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden.









The botanical garden includes flat dry land, a canyon, spring-fed wetlands and even a lake. The section nearest to the entrance is laced with easy paths. The natural area across the canyon is largely wild and includes the ruins of an old hacienda. We didn't have time to go look at that.






Cactus "buds" and cactus flowers.





When the Dalai Lama visited Mexico in 2005, he came to Charco del Ingnio and blessed the Plaza of the Four Winds, a ceremonial and scenic gathering place designed by architect Enrique Pliego and honoring local indigenous groups.Built with inlaid colored stones,wasinspired by the 16th-century Chichimeca-Toltec codex, the plaza is designed with four outer circles that indicate the four cardinal directions and corresponding figures that evoke the four natural resources (earth, water, flora and fauna) in traditional pre-Columbian colors. Reached by a smooth, flat but unpaved trail, it is one of the few places in San Miguel Allende that is wheelchair-accessible.


The Charco del Ingenio is open for self-guided visits, with 2 1/2-hour guided tours presently given on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. The cost is 50 pesos.

TSA-Approved Laptop Bags

Metal-free laptop cases should ease airport security hassles -- but the TSA continues its relentless intrusive ways

********
Also, see "Fliers Cheer Laptop Policy Change" from USA Today, August 15 issue, published after I wrote the following report about one of these approved cases.
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First came TSA-approved luggage locks for checked luggage that the Tansportation Security Agency can open but that theoretically others who might wish to riffle through bags. Now from Pathfinder Luggage comes Checkpoint Friendly Compu Brief, a laptop carrier bag that has reportedly been redesigned in accordance with TSA instructions, without metal, zippers, closures or labels that could obscure the view of the computer as it passes through X-ray screening apparatus. The company says that they have tested it California's Ontario Airport and were able to see a clear view of the laptop.

Preorders of the two initial designs, briefcase (estimated at $120-$125) and wheeled ($150-$200), are being accepted at 800-759-9738. In addition to these bags, Pathfinder says that they are developing a fashionable, lighterweight version for the female traveler.

This new product will mean one less thing for laptop-toting flyers to deal with as they remove their shoes, belts and jackets, take keys, change, iPods and cell phones out of their pockets, and drink that last sip of water. However, it will be no solution at all for the Department of Homeland Security's new regulation permitting them to confiscate laptops from international travelers, keep them however they wish, copy information from hard drives, analyze it with forensic software and in other ways trample travelers' civil liberties.

TSA Intrusions Continue Anyway

In a new blog post called "No ID at security: Fast-track to a government “list”? Either way, why are we bothering?," Upgrade: Travel Better details all sorts of reasons not to fly anywhere, convenient new computer bag or not, domestically or internationally, if it involves the TSA. The agency has reportedly been storing personal information from all sorts of government documents about thousands of air travelers who might have forgotten their "government-issued ID" or perhaps had a wallet and driver's license stolen. I you are in that situation, Upgrade: Travel Better notes that "you’re now required to answer 20 questions about your personal life [that] is disturbing. What does this have to do with airplane safety, exactly?"

The blog further notes:
"The TSA has yet to provide an adequate explanation for how checking identification actually enhances security. Yes, there are some bad people who want to blow up planes. But if you actually search them before letting them onboard, then they should be able to walk into the airport carrying a Mickey Mouse Club membership card
and a smile and that should be that. Cockpit doors are locked, pilots have guns,
and passengers aren’t about to take crap in the sky. But you’ll
never get a straight answer out of TSA for why ID checks are necessary for domestic
travelers."
Hear! Hear!

22 Kasım 2010 Pazartesi

Mega Mao Joins Other Gigantic Sculptures


The chairman joins four US presidents and one very nobel Native American leader

Sulptor Gutzon Borglum (who is always referred to as "Borglum") and his helpers carved these four gigantic heads of four important presidents out of South Dakota granite. Mt.Rushmore is now a National Monument, administered by the US Park Service.Nearly 2.5 million visitors a year come to gaze at Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. Teddy Roosevert and Abraham Lindoln. Borglum, whose father was an immigrant from Denmark, began working on the South Dakota project in 1927 and remained involved until he died in 1941 at the age of 74.


Just seven years after Borglum's death, sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (who is always referred to as "Korczak") began sculpting a nearby mountain into what will someday be a statue of Crazy Horse, the great Lakota chief to honor Native Americans. When completed, it will be world's largest sculpture. Born in Boston into a Polish-American family, Korczak worked virtually alone until his death in 1982, like Borglum also at the age of 74. His last words to his wife, Ruth, were, "You must work on the mountain-but go slowly so you do it right." Ruth and eight of their 10 children operate Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation board of directors and guide Crazy Horse toward eventual completion.



Meanwhile, in Mao Zedong's home province of Hunan, a gigantic head is being constructed -- not carved out of a mountain, but built on a concrete frame. China has the biggest defense wall (the Great Wall of China), the biggest dam (the Three Gorges Dam) and one of the tallest skyscrapers (the 101-story World Financial Center in Shanghai, the second tallest skyscraper on the planet -- at least until the completion of Burj Dubai).

By the Sea, By the Santa Barbara Sea

I recently attended a conference at the Four Seasons Resort, The Biltmore. A handful of people seemed to squeeze in a run or a walk on the beach, but all I had was the occasional ocean view when dashing across the beautifully landscaped property between my room and the conference rooms. I thought a few of the images I grabbed were worth posting. I hope you agree.






DIA Traffic Up; National Air Capacity Down

Colorado airports' service drops relatively modest

According to an interactive map compiled by USA Today, the number of seats on US commercial airlines has been dropping steadily with more cuts to take effect this fall. Changes range from a modest 0.5 percent in Wyoming, which doesn't have a large population or that much air service to begin with, to a 15.6 percent in mammoth California to a whopping 17.2 percent in Missouri. Colorado's capacity, according to the figures compiled by the paper, is down 1.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Denver International Airport, the 800-pound gorilla among the state's airports and one of the world's busiest, saw a record 4.8 million passengers arriving, departing or connecting in July 2008. I wasn't one of them (my last flights were in June), but it appears that in the short haul, surcharges, extra fees for formerly free services and the reduction or elimination of many of those services don't seem to be keeping people from flying.

DIA's capacity is down 2 percent, while Colorado Springs (CSO), the state's second-largest city, is down 15.6 percent, albeit from a much smaller base. Capacity at most of the Western Slope airports has actually increased from 48.5 percent in Aspen (ASE) to 8.9 percent in Montrose (MTJ).

It's interesting to click on the map and play around. It's kind of nifty, because when you click on a particular state, up come statistics (percentages and average daily seats forecast for November 2008) for individual airports within that state.

21 Kasım 2010 Pazar

'Oasis of the Seas' Now at Sea

Enormous floating city, the 'Oasis of the Seas,' heading for Florida



The 'Oasis of the Seas' should be called the 'Behemoth of the Seas': 1,187 feet long, 208 feet wide 213 feet (that's more than 20 stories!) high from the water line, 16 passenger decks, 5,400 passengers (double occupancy; 6,296 guests total if a body is crammed into every sleeping space) and 2,165 crew from over 71 countries. One of the two dozen elevators is equipped with a bar. The center of the ship is something like a landscaped atrium called Central Park. I guess that way they can book more "balcony cabins." The $1.6 billion ship's own website features click-on video that reminds me of an infomercial. First comes the captain, telling viewers that the crew is "wowed" by the ship. Then we see individual crew members saying, "WOW!" individual and then in unison.

I can't say. "Wow!" If it weren't too late, I'd say "Woah! Hold on!" But it's too late, for she is sailing to start service with her first regular passengers boarding in early December. A ship that at peak capacity holds nearly 8,500 passengers and crew overwhelms everything it encounters. On the winter itinerary, the eastern and western itineraries are very similar. In and out of Fort Lauderdale, then to three ports. Labadee is Royal Caribbean's private island for those who prefer activities to any interaction with any real  Caribbean residents. Falmouth on Jamaica's north coast is a new port for Royal Caribbean, which operates a fleet of cruise ships whos last name is "...of the Seas." Falmouth is a heritage site, currently under restoration. I haven't been there, but it sounds like the Williamsburg of Jamaica. Cozumel, Mexico is an island where my husband and I dived many years ago, when cruise ships -- all a fraction of the "Oasis'" size -- anchored in the local harbor and passengers were tendered ashore. Now, an out-of-town pier with built-in shopping opportunities is passengers' first (and often only) port of call there.The "Oasis of the Seas" therefore qualifies as the world's largest floating cocoon.

Passengers enter the cocoon from a new $75 million, 240,000-square-foot terminal built specificallyto be the home port for new the Oasis ships, both the "Oasis of the Seas" and the even newer "Allure of the Seas," scheduled to debut late next year). Between them, these ships are expected to bring more than 500,000 cruise passengers through Port Everglades every year. That's half-a-million people.
I do not need to post the remarkable specs and all of the facilities and activities of the "Oasis of the Seas" here. It certainly is a marvel of maritime engineering (even the stacks retract so it can pass under certain large but not-high-enough bridges). But I question the entire concept of bigger-is-better and glitzier-is-ritzier cruising. It seems like a bad idea environmental, sociologically and even socially. Segmenting this enormous ship into "neighborhoods" doesn't make it any smaller or less intimate.

Sure, it's a wow! but a Wow! that comes with a price. Like Rome, this gigantic cruise ship was not built in a day. I wonder whether Royal Caribbean would embark on such a project in today's economy and with today's sensibilities.