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 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/2/101353/047

Although the travel health focus right now is on the Swine Flu, it's nonetheless important to remember that Swine Flu isn't the end-all, be-all of dangerous diseases right now. After all, millions of people in the world don't have it, unlike HIV and AIDS. Up until this weekend, those with HIV were banned from traveling to the United States due to an archaic law which was just lifted by Obama in response to a UNAIDS request for all countries to end such discriminatory travel bans: "Placing travel restrictions on people living with HIV has no public health justification. It is also a violation of human rights," said UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe.

Although the ban won't be fully lifted until next year, those who have HIV and haven't been able to visit the US and make their dreams come true of going to Graceland and eating a slice of New York pizza now can start booking their flights. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-02T10:34:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/30/91316/478

If you're trying to figure out why airlines like American keep reporting mindblowing revenue declines over 2008, the airfare figures for last quarter are out. How desperate were airlines to get any kind of passenger at any kind of price? Desperate enough to drop their prices to 1998 levels.

That means that airlines are more skittish about their current market position than they were after 9/11. As a reminder, that was a terrorist act which involved airplanes and therefore shook people's confidence in airplanes which are the things that airline companies fly. The price dip over the last few months has been worse than that, pointing to an industry that's out of options to get people buying tickets. ]]> Omri 2009-10-30T10:24:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/27/175412/33

Discouraging young adults from traveling is apparently becoming kind of a thing, isn't it? Last time it was predatory safety companies trying to convince single women that traveling alone will get them raped and killed, but his time it's a Huffington Post travel consultant giving kids a Don't Let It Happen To You lecture; "It" in this case being an airport-heavy lifestyle that takes them away from The Really Important Things In Life.

The article oozes with awkwardness, from artificially opaque jumbled writing to moments of forced bluntness, and phrases like "a tip of the fedora" (because if you're going to speak to the young hipsters, it's important to be ironic!). There's some corporate branding going on behind the scenes—the author is a Travel Website "punk marketing" specialist and the CEO of the "only independent PR firms that’s actually fun to work with"—but that's an issue better left for another time. We'll even concede that the article has some valuable moments, reminding its audience to keep petulant "pay attention to me" travel demands to a minimum because no one cares.

There's a dangerous underlying hostility to travel, though, that runs through the entire piece. It's not much more sophisticated than "kids these days are just so crazy and naughty and they never appreciate real life" tsk tsk'ing. It even has soccer mom phrases like "Ms. BlackBerry or Sir iPhone." But it's more than enough to raise our ire:]]> Omri 2009-10-28T13:09:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/22/154726/07

Fractional jet card provider Flexjet 25—which usually restricts itself to merely renting private jets to ostentatious elites who can't afford their own—has created a special package for the 2010 Winter Games. In addition to flying you and the date you're desperately trying to impress to Vancouver on one of their Bombardier aircraft, they'll put you up for 3 nights in the Sutton Place Hotel and guarantee you access to a bunch of high-level events.

You and your partner will have the chance to participate in the Closing Ceremony, attend the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game, and see three Short-Track Speed Skating gold medal races. You'll also have entrance into the Figure Skating Gala Exhibition, though you'll probably want to avoid it lest it impinge on the air of machismo you're obviously trying to build.]]> Omri 2009-10-22T17:33:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/21/123332/38

We know someone whose biggest travel dream is to visit the Alaskan town of Skagway while on a cruise along the Alaskan coast. It's hardly unattainable, with cruise ships hitting up Skagway and other towns like Sitka and Ketchikan all through the summer. But what to do once you've done the typical Alaskan cruise? Thanks to melting of the polar ice caps—or rather not, since this is a very bad thing, environment-wise—cruise ships are discovering ports further north than every before. Now you can add the Bering Sea town of Nome to your must-see in Alaska list.

The LA Times drives home exactly what a big deal it is for big ships to be calling in Nome: "More than 500 roadless miles from Anchorage, rugged tundra and frigid Bering Sea waters have a way of discouraging visitors." But after Nome spent $90 million dollars renovating their port to accommodate big ships, the temptation of venturing beyond the tried-and-true Alaskan itinerary is majorly attracting tourists. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-21T12:56:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/21/81423/743

Time is running out if you’re dreaming to get a Sebring convertible or other Chrysler rental car on your next trip. Dollar and Thrifty announced that they’ve canceled their orders for loads of cars from the American carmaker. In the past, the two rental car companies have ordered almost three quarters of their fleet from Chrysler, but in 2010, only about a third will be coming from the pentastar. The company had an agreement with Chrysler that required a certain amount of order per year, but after Chrysler hit the bankruptcy courts, Dollar and Thrifty were free to go elsewhere.

They will be looking to Ford, General Motors, Nissan, and Kia to fill the parking spaces at airports around the country. For 2010, Dollar and Thrifty will be purchasing about 90,000 vehicles, but only 27,000 of these cars will be coming from Chrysler. In the good old days there would have been a much larger check being written over to Chrysler. ]]> kjb 2009-10-21T09:38:41-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/