Airfares and hotel room prices have fallen markedly in response to the global economic meltdown, but rental car rates are as high as ever, prompting the penny-pinchers over at Budget Travel to offer up a few tips on keeping the costs down on your next trip. In an AP item, the magazine's editor-in-chief said that car rental companies are unique in that they can trim their supply of cars very easily, maintaining a tight market for rentals. Thus, your best bet for a bargain is to book in advance, look for a discount code on a site like best-car-rental-tips.com, or use a bidding site like Priceline. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-11-07T16:48:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/7/161840/242

Vincent Vega said it best. They've got the same things overseas that we have here in America, but as a traveler you notice the little differences, like beer served in movie theaters, French fries served with mayonnaise, and funny names for fast food sandwiches like Royale with Cheese. LA Weekly must have been thinking along the same lines when they published their funny list of American fast food items that you can't get in America. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-11-07T16:18:40-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/7/152831/313

The brand new, unbelievably huge Oasis of the Seas cruise ship has been rocked by some serious waves on its first voyage. As USA Today points out, the 5,400-passenger vessel encountered hurricane-strength winds and waves over 60 feet high in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Fortunately for the cruise line, there aren't any passengers on board, as Royal Caribbean is merely transporting it from the shipyard in Turku, Finland to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for its inaugural cruise. But while many passengers would have likely gotten seasick, they wouldn't have been in any serious peril, as the ship has weathered the waves quite smartly. For maximum stability, Captain William Wright has slowed the world's largest cruise ship down and steered it head-on into the waves. He probably wouldn't admit it, but I bet he's having fun. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-11-07T15:28:31-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/7/133418/373

Did you hear the one about the guy who was denied a first class seat on a United Airlines flight because he was wearing a track suit? It's a corker. Armando Alvarez (not pictured), an executive at Best Buy, used his frequent flier miles to upgrade to the front of the cabin for a flight from Washington Dulles to Connecticut on October 26, but a gate agent took one look at his Puma getup and deemed him unworthy of the fancy seats, insisting he sit in coach with the riffraff instead. United has come out and said it was all a big misunderstanding, and that the agent apparently thought Alvarez was an airline employee - and thus required to follow a dress code - but not before the story became the latest example of the inhumanity of airlines today. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-11-07T13:34:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/6/2098/62106

FAME: Five Ways To Top Off Frequent Flyer Miles Without Flying Five Travel Gear Companies That Give Back To The World This Fall's 5 Best Totally Free Travel iPhone Apps

Also: The Top 5 Twitter Travel Lists Out There Now; The 5 Best iPhone Apps For Travel Photography; Five Unexpected and Interactive Musical Attractions

LAME:

Ryanair Is Taking Over The British Skies...Noooo! Cops Nab Couple Who Swiped 1,000 Bags From Phoenix Airport
Beer Ban On Select Qantas Flights Is Un-Australian

Also: Everyone's going to Ghana for health reasons

]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-06T20:09:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/6/17227/4716

It's amazing what you can learn on Twitter on a Friday afternoon, namely that United Airlines is all in a tizzy today over the announcement that a new look is coming for their flight attendants: uniforms by fashion designer Cynthia Rowley. Already, the Chicago Tribune is on the case, discovering that the redesign is the "first time in recent history that United has tapped a well-known designer for the job."

We're not so surprised however; Cynthia Rowley is a Chicago native, and United is not only based in Chicago, but calls the Willis (née Sears) Tower home. The new uniforms won't come until Rowley completes her trip to visit United employees in Chicago, LA, New York and London to ask them for their opinions. And although Rowley is known for her ready-to-wear designs for women, the United designs will cover all bases, literally: "The uniforms will be designed for flight attendants, pilots, customer service representatives and maintenance employees." ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-06T17:44:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/6/163841/204

Expedia just announced they're waiving their $20 fee for the 7% of Americans who book their itineraries over the phone, establishing themselves in a niche and sticking a finger in the eyes of competitors. Airline centers mostly charge $5-$35 for telephone bookings—Southwest is the only exception—while Orbitz and Travelocity charge $25 per ticket. Priceline doesn't even offer that option.

This won't be much use to us, since our calls to booking agents are limited to rants about the impossibility of reserving rewards travel these days. But Expedia had already eliminated flight booking fees online, and it's nice to see anyone cutting any fee for any reason, no matter how marginal or symbolic the gesture:]]> Omri 2009-11-06T17:24:23-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/