Online registration good for two years coming up for visitors to the US
Currently citizens of 27 counties (mostly in western Europe plus Australia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand) are permitted to enter the US without visas for stays of 90 days or less but must fill out forms en route that federal agents look at on arrival. When flight attendants on a US-bound international flight ask passengers whether they are US citizens and give one Customs form to citizens and two to "aliens," that's the second form. I've never actually read one, so I don't know what information it asks.
A refinement of this process will soon require travelers to submit "biographical details" to the Department of Homeland Security online at least three days before traveling. Optional online registration for visa-waivered travelers begins in August and becomes mandatory on January 12, 2009. As it stands now, the program will require visitors to register online once every two years rather than fill out forms each time they travel.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Times Reports Changes in Travel to Airports
Travelers' habits tilt toward frugality; join the club
I've noticed a real irony when urban travelers (OK, especially New Yorkers) who searched relentlessly for the cheapest air fares, hop in a cab to get to and from the airport once they have secured a low-cost airline ticket. I worship at the altar of frugality and especially watch my travel dollars, so I've been taking public transportation to and from airports for years. I'd rather splurge on a great meal and a nicer place to stay than spend money on a taxi that might be stuck in traffic while the meter ticks away.
In a New York Times business story, "More Fliers Skipping the Cab," reporter Jane L. Levere confined herself to reporting about transportation alternatives to New York's three airports (LaGuardia The Dreadful, Newark Across The Bay and JFK The Distant) and London's Heathrow and Gatwick. I've happily taken public transportation directly to/from terminals at all five of those airports.
I have also used public transportation to/from other airports and almost always use it to Denver International Airport. Occasionally, I travel by SuperShuttle van, but more often than not, I use RTD's SkyRide, the public bus between downtown Boulder or the Table Mesa Park & Ride. The one-way fare is $12 (exact change). The bus goes every hour from Boulder. Youngsters 15 and under ride free, and age 65-plus is half price. From closer-in stops and/or other routes, the regular fare is as low as $8 and as frequent as every 15 minutes.
I've noticed a real irony when urban travelers (OK, especially New Yorkers) who searched relentlessly for the cheapest air fares, hop in a cab to get to and from the airport once they have secured a low-cost airline ticket. I worship at the altar of frugality and especially watch my travel dollars, so I've been taking public transportation to and from airports for years. I'd rather splurge on a great meal and a nicer place to stay than spend money on a taxi that might be stuck in traffic while the meter ticks away.
In a New York Times business story, "More Fliers Skipping the Cab," reporter Jane L. Levere confined herself to reporting about transportation alternatives to New York's three airports (LaGuardia The Dreadful, Newark Across The Bay and JFK The Distant) and London's Heathrow and Gatwick. I've happily taken public transportation directly to/from terminals at all five of those airports.
I have also used public transportation to/from other airports and almost always use it to Denver International Airport. Occasionally, I travel by SuperShuttle van, but more often than not, I use RTD's SkyRide, the public bus between downtown Boulder or the Table Mesa Park & Ride. The one-way fare is $12 (exact change). The bus goes every hour from Boulder. Youngsters 15 and under ride free, and age 65-plus is half price. From closer-in stops and/or other routes, the regular fare is as low as $8 and as frequent as every 15 minutes.
Airline Losses Predicted to be HUGE
IATA's gloomy forecast spells continuation of surcharges and higher fares
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is projecting that the global airline industry will lose $2.3 billion (that's billion with a B) worldwide in 2008 -- assuming an average oil price of $106.50 per barrel. That's a big assumption. If oil prices remain at a lofty $135 a barrel, those losses could be as much as $6 billion worldwide. Just this past March, when oil was at about $85 a barrel, IATA foreaw an industry-wide profit of $4.5 billion based on an average crude oil price of $86 per barrel.
At current oil price levels, IATA predicts that airlines' cumulative fuel bill will be around $176 billion, more than one-third of operating costs. Compare that to 2006 ($136 billion for fuel, representing 29 percent of total operating costs) and 2002 ($40 billion for fuel, 13 percent of operating costs).
No wonder airlines are charging for checked bags and doing away with the peanuts and pretzels -- and of course mothballing planes, cutting underperforming routes (in the US, anyway) or going out of business altogether.
Airline execs (those still employed anyway), gathered at IATA's 64th annual meeting in Istanbul, resolved to ask governments to step in and take actions that would help stabilize the airline industry with six specific calls to action:
I'm not seeing any calls for the international community to pressure oil producing countries and oil companies to roll back or at least stabilize oil prices ("integrity of markets" is a pretty wimpy phrase for what is supposed to be a call to action), and I'm not seeing any calls for executives to make the same salary and bonus sacrifices that union workers have been required to make. I don't know how executive compensation at foreign airlines compares with that of US carriers, but it would seem to be worth putting into the cost-cutting and revenue-raising equation.
More than a year ago, Washington Post reporter Del Quinten Wilber wrote about pay cuts for employees concurrent with big bucks for bigwigs in "Turbulence Over Executive Pay" about just this subject. Just a couple of months later, "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS covered the same subject on "Payday! CEO Salaries." Part of Moyers's report:
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is projecting that the global airline industry will lose $2.3 billion (that's billion with a B) worldwide in 2008 -- assuming an average oil price of $106.50 per barrel. That's a big assumption. If oil prices remain at a lofty $135 a barrel, those losses could be as much as $6 billion worldwide. Just this past March, when oil was at about $85 a barrel, IATA foreaw an industry-wide profit of $4.5 billion based on an average crude oil price of $86 per barrel.
At current oil price levels, IATA predicts that airlines' cumulative fuel bill will be around $176 billion, more than one-third of operating costs. Compare that to 2006 ($136 billion for fuel, representing 29 percent of total operating costs) and 2002 ($40 billion for fuel, 13 percent of operating costs).
No wonder airlines are charging for checked bags and doing away with the peanuts and pretzels -- and of course mothballing planes, cutting underperforming routes (in the US, anyway) or going out of business altogether.
Airline execs (those still employed anyway), gathered at IATA's 64th annual meeting in Istanbul, resolved to ask governments to step in and take actions that would help stabilize the airline industry with six specific calls to action:
1) Governments must eliminate archaic rules that prevent airlines from
restructuring across borders.
2) In view of existing fees and charges, governments must refrain from imposing multiple and additional punitive taxes and other measures that will only deepen the crisis.
3) State service providers must invest to modernise air transport infrastructure urgently, eliminating wasteful fuel consumption and emissions.
4) Business partners, in particular monopoly service providers, must become as efficient as airlines are now. If not, regulators must restrain their appetite with tougher regulation.
5) Labour unions must refrain from making irresponsible claims and join the effort to secure jobs in aviation and indeed in other industries.
6) In the interest of the global economy and the flying public, we urge authorities to enforce the integrity of markets so that the cost of energy reflects its true value.
I'm not seeing any calls for the international community to pressure oil producing countries and oil companies to roll back or at least stabilize oil prices ("integrity of markets" is a pretty wimpy phrase for what is supposed to be a call to action), and I'm not seeing any calls for executives to make the same salary and bonus sacrifices that union workers have been required to make. I don't know how executive compensation at foreign airlines compares with that of US carriers, but it would seem to be worth putting into the cost-cutting and revenue-raising equation.
More than a year ago, Washington Post reporter Del Quinten Wilber wrote about pay cuts for employees concurrent with big bucks for bigwigs in "Turbulence Over Executive Pay" about just this subject. Just a couple of months later, "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS covered the same subject on "Payday! CEO Salaries." Part of Moyers's report:
"Northwest is the last of four major carriers to come out of bankruptcy after the 9-11 terror attacks. But it is not the first airline to use bankruptcy to keep operating while it cut costs, convinced creditors to exchange debt for equity, and rewarded executives after wringing concessions from the rank and file.As I noted, neither oil prices directly nor executive compensation was part of IATA's six-point proposal for rescuing the airline industry. How low-fare airlines will survive is another issue entirely. They have been able to succeed with efficient operations, but there's no way to trim fat off an already lean product when oil is $135 a barrel.
"When US Airways emerged from bankruptcy in 2005 CEO Doug Parker was awarded almost six million dollars-worth of stock and cash. Employees got pay cuts of up to 53 percent:
Pilots' top salary is $120,000.
Mechanics earn at most $48,300.
And flight attendants' top salary is just over $34,000.
"When United Airlines came out of bankruptcy in 2006, CEO Glenn Tilton was
awarded stock options and awards that, over four years, would earn him almost
$40 million dollars. More than the airline's $25 million dollar profit that year.
Employees, on the other hand, got pay cuts of up to 50 percent:
Pilot's top pay is $158,200.
Mechanics earn at most just over $52,000.
And flight attendants at most $37,600.
"Only Delta Airlines CEO Gerald Grinstein didn't follow the Wall Street
script. When Delta climbed back from bankruptcy this past April … it's
employees took pay cuts of up to 40 percent. And Grinstein actually turned down
10 million dollars in compensation."
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Comment Moderation
Sorry, real visitors, that I have now enabled comment moderation. "Julie," "Christine," Rozydesouza" and other robotic or robot-like humans on the subcontinent have been spamming Travel Babel relentlessly. I am tired of deleting these annoying and irrelevant comments one at a time. As far as you legitimate visitors are concerned, I hate to spoil the instant gratification of seeing your comments immediately. But that's the way it goes. Please bear with me -- and do comment. I'll approve as quickly as I can, and after a while, I hope that I can disable moderation again without annoying consequences.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Vail Deals a Blow, Takes a Hit
Vail Resorts pulls out of Colorado Ski Country USA and loses 2013 World Championship bid
Shock waves hit Colorado, the ski industry and specifically the Colorado ski industry when Vail Resorts Inc. announced that it would not renew its membership in Colorado Ski Count
ry USA, the marketing, promotional and lobbying organization that in 2007-08 counted 26 member ski areas. With the the withdrawal of VRI and its four Colorado resorts (Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge, each counted separately on the membership roster), there will be 22. CSCUSA , a not-for-profit organization, will have a fiscal challenge to make up for the loss of VRI's contributions to the budget. CSCUSA was established in February 1963, ironically the same year that Vail opened for skiing. What a way for both to "celebrate" their respective 45th anniversaries.
ry USA, the marketing, promotional and lobbying organization that in 2007-08 counted 26 member ski areas. With the the withdrawal of VRI and its four Colorado resorts (Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge, each counted separately on the membership roster), there will be 22. CSCUSA , a not-for-profit organization, will have a fiscal challenge to make up for the loss of VRI's contributions to the budget. CSCUSA was established in February 1963, ironically the same year that Vail opened for skiing. What a way for both to "celebrate" their respective 45th anniversaries.“We had hoped to be a catalyst for positive change, but unfortunately, a number of the other members did not agree with our vision, and we were unable to resolve these differences,” said Robert Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts, was quoted in a much reported and not really convincing press release in the way of explanation of VRI's departure.
For its part, CSCUSA must still be reeling, because the media/news section of its website still does not mention withdrawal of one of its biggest, most powerful members, though very subtly the four VRI resort names have been removed from member list at the bottom of the website. This is not the first shocker Katz gave Colorado skiing. Shortly after he took the helm at VRI, he moved the corporate headquarters from the mountains to an office park in suburban Broomfield. Culture shock indeed.
CSCUSA's annual meeting, which will take place June 11-13, will be a doozy. Not only will the organization have to deal with the ramafications of VRI's departure, but a replacement needs to be named for Rob Perlman, Ski Country president, who resigned to join Intrawest, owner of Copper Mountain, Winter Park and Steamboat and also resorts outside of Colorado.
In what might be considered international comeuppance for Vail, the 
International Ski Federation (known by its French initials, FIS) denied Vail/Beacer Creek's bid to host the 2013 World Alpine Ski Championships, a biennial men's and women's competition that its previously hosted in 1989 and 1999. Schladming, Austria, was selected not only over Vail/Beaver Creek but also over Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. All four are Alpine skiing powerhouses that previously hosted World Championships and/or Olympic Winter Games.
International Ski Federation (known by its French initials, FIS) denied Vail/Beacer Creek's bid to host the 2013 World Alpine Ski Championships, a biennial men's and women's competition that its previously hosted in 1989 and 1999. Schladming, Austria, was selected not only over Vail/Beaver Creek but also over Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. All four are Alpine skiing powerhouses that previously hosted World Championships and/or Olympic Winter Games. When it comes to resort positioning, hosting a major ski event is not to be trivialized in the international skiing world. When the extremely snowy '89 World Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek were telecast in snow-hungry Europe, European ski snobs took a new interest on skiing in North America. My favorite story involved an enterprising German who managed to find the home phone number of George Gillett, then the owner of the Vail resorts, to book a ski vacation. World Championship and even World Cup media exposure has, in the pastm, been good for international business to Vail and Beaver in particular, to Colorado in general and to the Rockies even more generally. If the euro continues its strength against the dollar, American resorts will maintain their lure for European skiers. Too bad that Vail won't benefit from that exposure four seasons from now.
Guidebook Takes You to the Top
Boulder author hasn't met a summit he didn't like -- and he wrote a book about his favorite fifty plus a few
The names of Colorado's 54 fourteeners -- peaks of at least 14,000 feet in elevation -
- are emblazoned on T-shirts, sweatshirts, neckerchiefs and water bottles. Some have technical routes, requiring ropes and real climbing skills, but every one has at least one hike-up route. There are, to my knowledge, at least four fourteener hiking/climbing guides, one of which has been in print since 1978. Coloradans set goals of climbing them all, climbing them all in one year, climbing them all in one summer and, in the case first of Lou Dawson and more recently Chris Davenport, climbing up and skiing down all of them.
In Best Summit Hikes in Colorado, Boulder author James Dziezynski wrote both about his favorite fourteeners and lesser peaks as well, including some that are nameless and/or do not even have a trail to the summit. He enjoys traversing ridges that link neighboring mountains or summits and their subpeaks. His book details (and I really mean details) the routes he has followed. Some do require serious scrambling or have significant exposure, but many others are simply walk-ups.
Dziezynski has included features in his guide that I have not seen in any other Colorado trails book. I like his upfront thumbnail descriptions of the terrain. He writes that Mt. Elbert is ascended via a "well-maintained trail," while Mt. Powell requires "tricky off-trail navigation to steep, challenging hill climbs." For most hikers, that immediate separates out the doable, the difficult and the impossible. I also like his Gear Advisor such as "gaiters, trekking poles or ice axe, GPS," "helmet, good grippy boots" or simply "normal gear" are needed under most conditions.
His intro to every peak and his Quick Facts about the story of each mountain are interesting and his Why Climb It? offers insights that most authors don't bother sharing. The meticulous route guide itself locate each trail feature by mileage and also keys it numerically to a map. Of course, there is information on reaching each trailhead and lots of relevant numbers, such as distance, lowest and highest elevation, total elevation gain, trail rating by difficulty and estimated hiking time. The extensive introductory material includes some basics on first aid, altitude sickness, weather, flora, fauna, human impact on the Rockies
The book was published toward the end of last summer, so for all practical purposes, it is new this year. I suspect that some of those remoted, unheralded summits will feel a few more footfalls from now on.
The names of Colorado's 54 fourteeners -- peaks of at least 14,000 feet in elevation -
- are emblazoned on T-shirts, sweatshirts, neckerchiefs and water bottles. Some have technical routes, requiring ropes and real climbing skills, but every one has at least one hike-up route. There are, to my knowledge, at least four fourteener hiking/climbing guides, one of which has been in print since 1978. Coloradans set goals of climbing them all, climbing them all in one year, climbing them all in one summer and, in the case first of Lou Dawson and more recently Chris Davenport, climbing up and skiing down all of them.In Best Summit Hikes in Colorado, Boulder author James Dziezynski wrote both about his favorite fourteeners and lesser peaks as well, including some that are nameless and/or do not even have a trail to the summit. He enjoys traversing ridges that link neighboring mountains or summits and their subpeaks. His book details (and I really mean details) the routes he has followed. Some do require serious scrambling or have significant exposure, but many others are simply walk-ups.
Dziezynski has included features in his guide that I have not seen in any other Colorado trails book. I like his upfront thumbnail descriptions of the terrain. He writes that Mt. Elbert is ascended via a "well-maintained trail," while Mt. Powell requires "tricky off-trail navigation to steep, challenging hill climbs." For most hikers, that immediate separates out the doable, the difficult and the impossible. I also like his Gear Advisor such as "gaiters, trekking poles or ice axe, GPS," "helmet, good grippy boots" or simply "normal gear" are needed under most conditions.
His intro to every peak and his Quick Facts about the story of each mountain are interesting and his Why Climb It? offers insights that most authors don't bother sharing. The meticulous route guide itself locate each trail feature by mileage and also keys it numerically to a map. Of course, there is information on reaching each trailhead and lots of relevant numbers, such as distance, lowest and highest elevation, total elevation gain, trail rating by difficulty and estimated hiking time. The extensive introductory material includes some basics on first aid, altitude sickness, weather, flora, fauna, human impact on the Rockies
The book was published toward the end of last summer, so for all practical purposes, it is new this year. I suspect that some of those remoted, unheralded summits will feel a few more footfalls from now on.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Iceland Lures Visitors with Cheap Off-Season Packages
Iceland calls. I've been there, except that airports don't count
A lifetime ago, Icelandic Airlines had a $135 off-season roundtrip youth fare to Luxembourg, with a mandatory stopover at Rekjavik's Keflavik Airport, where sleepy passengers stumbled into the terminal, wrote postcards en route to Europe and bought woolen garments and canned fish on the way home. Beyond that, the great thing was that Icelandic considered you a youth until you were 30. I was living and working in New York and would fly to Europe for long weekends. For very little money, I felt like a jetsetter.
If I still lived back East, I could practically replicate those long-ago prices -- even so many years later. Icelandair, as the carrier is now called, is marketing a getaway package starting at $469 per person that includes airfare from New York or Boston, two nights' lodging in three star FossHotels in the historic center of the capital city of Reykjavik and huge Scandinavian-style breakfasts both mornings. The same package in October is only $90 more. September travel is somewhat higher, the cost is still generally 20 to 30 percent lower than peak season rates. Plus taxes, service charges, etc.
With such a short time there, I'd probably never get out of Rekjavik, so I'd jump on the city's Welcome Card for discounts at some of the capital's restaurants, shops and tours, plus free admission to museums and thermal pools. Available for 24-, 48- or 72-hours, the Welcome Card reportedly starts at about $11.
Even though the days would be getting shorter and colder then, I could finally get to see a bit of Iceland, which fascinates me from afar. These days, I wouldn't go just because of the bargain price, but rather to see some of the unique culture, dramatic landscapes and outdoor actvitivies that I've heard so much about -- and maybe whet my appetite for more.
If I still lived back East, I could practically replicate those long-ago prices -- even so many years later. Icelandair, as the carrier is now called, is marketing a getaway package starting at $469 per person that includes airfare from New York or Boston, two nights' lodging in three star FossHotels in the historic center of the capital city of Reykjavik and huge Scandinavian-style breakfasts both mornings. The same package in October is only $90 more. September travel is somewhat higher, the cost is still generally 20 to 30 percent lower than peak season rates. Plus taxes, service charges, etc.
With such a short time there, I'd probably never get out of Rekjavik, so I'd jump on the city's Welcome Card for discounts at some of the capital's restaurants, shops and tours, plus free admission to museums and thermal pools. Available for 24-, 48- or 72-hours, the Welcome Card reportedly starts at about $11.
Even though the days would be getting shorter and colder then, I could finally get to see a bit of Iceland, which fascinates me from afar. These days, I wouldn't go just because of the bargain price, but rather to see some of the unique culture, dramatic landscapes and outdoor actvitivies that I've heard so much about -- and maybe whet my appetite for more.
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