Tag: Europe Travel

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Hungary's Malev Shuts Down after 66 Years, LCCs Rush In

February 6, 2012 at 1:56 PM | by | Comments (0)

Hey, remember when journalists started weirdly declaring that everything was fine with the airline industry? And then travelers took that to mean that good times were here again while the government swooped in with expensive new regulations? And then remember how American Airlines went bankrupt and then Spanair shut down and then Hungary's Malev shut down? Good times.

There's not much to say about this latest casualty of the global economic crunch. Hungary really, really wanted to keep Malev operating, with the government declaring the airline to be a "priority objective." But they just couldn't make the carrier viable—specifically, they couldn't convince suppliers that the government would be able to pay them for services—and thus ended the Malev's 66 years of almost continuous service. Sad.

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A New Year Brings a New Fee For Those Looking To Fly With easyJet

January 17, 2012 at 9:20 AM | by | Comments (0)

Just when you thought you had mastered the system of European travel aboard the vast network of low cost carriers, one of the major players throws a wrench in the works. Easyjet is changing up the way it charges for certain stuff, so you’re going to need a few more euros for your next trip—and maybe a calculator and notebook.

Honestly, it’s half the airline’s fault and half the government’s fault, since much like here in the U.S, the UK is changing the rules and regulations about airlines and their fees. If you're thinking about easyJet the biggest change is a new £9 administration fee—that's like $14—that more or less replaces the former £8 booking fee forced upon most everyone using debit cards to pay for the tickets.

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Strong Winds Could Cause Your Flight to Stop for Gas in Canada

Where: Canada
January 13, 2012 at 9:42 AM | by | Comments (0)

It’s already going to cost you a little more to fly to Europe, but it also might take a little extra time on the way back. This week there have been plenty of reports about transatlantic flights back to the nifty fifty taking a little detour to our pals up north in Canada.

The problem has been some crazy intense headwinds that have caused certain airplanes to burn way more fuel than usual, making a stop in spots like Newfoundland and Labrador necessary to pick up a little more jet fuel. Obviously this is a huge inconvenience for everyone involved, but especially the passengers who kind of thought it would be a nonstop affair all the way to the eastern coast of the USA.

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That Flight to Europe May Just Cost a Few Bucks More

January 10, 2012 at 9:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

If your vacation piggy bank is almost filled to the top, you may need to tape a few bucks to the outside as travel to Europe just got a little more expensive. With the new year comes a new fee, as the European Union wants airlines to pay a little bit extra to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Obviously this is going to be passed along to passengers, and that’s exactly what’s already started to happen.

Last week Delta was the first airline in the nifty fifty to add another $3 to one-way fares to Europe, and now it looks like all the other major carriers have joined the party as well. United and US Airways were quick to ask travelers to chip in a few more dollahs dollahs, and then last but not least, American did the same exact thing.

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United Airlines' Frequent Flyer Sale Knocks Off 25% to Europe or Africa

January 9, 2012 at 9:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

We know there’s plenty of people saving—or even hoarding—those frequent flyer miles in hopes of the next great redemption or value. Now just might be the best time to cash some in, as United Airlines is running a decent sale on redeeming MileagePlus miles for an award ticket.

The airline is offering up to a 25% discount on "free" flights—plus taxes and fees of course—to most destinations in Europe as well as Central and Southern Africa. The biggest savings are available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as you’ll only get a 20% discount during other days of the week. There’s probably all kinds of permutations and calculations involved with your dream ticket, but a basic 60,000 mile coach ticket to Europe from the United States can now be had for as little as 45,000 miles round-trip.

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Are Bits and Pieces of Rome's Colosseum Starting to Crumble?

Where: Rome, Italy
January 5, 2012 at 9:53 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you’ve been thinking about visiting Rome in 2012 you might just want to confirm things sooner than later—especially if you want to visit the Colosseum during your trip.

It’s not like the ancient Colosseum is being relocated or demolished, but there is a little bit of a concern that the thing is starting to crumble. Obviously it has seen its share of history, and 2,000+ years of wear and tear is starting to show its effect.

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Finally! The British Airways Visa Signature Credit Card Goes Chip-and-Pin

November 30, 2011 at 5:07 PM | by | Comment (1)

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!! Finally finally finally US credit card companies are getting wise to the need for cardholders to have EMV-enabled cards, which you may better recognize as the ones with the embedded chip on the left side.

We've been following the progress of this since earlier this year when both Wells Fargo and Chase began issuing limited amounts to their highest spending, heaviest traveling cardmembers. Now the technology has finally trickled down to the level of Chase's British Airways Visa Signature.

This card, thanks to generous past sign-up bonuses and the fact it has no foreign transaction fees, is now carried by many American frequent flyers who will no doubt benefit from being able to shop like the rest of Europe—with the chip-and-pin instead of a swipe-and-sign. Like us, who've felt the sting of being turned down because a register was no longer equipped for our archaic VISA (example: Amsterdam Schiphol train station).

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Europe Bans X-Ray Full-Body Scanners Over Health Concerns

November 16, 2011 at 2:47 PM | by | Comments (0)

The way that the European Union does airline security has, over the last few years, fallen somewhere short of reassuring. Despite last year's Christmas Day terrorist flight taking off from Amsterdam, and despite the terrorist managing to hide explosives in his underwear, the EU until this week had not had any binding operational standards on what airports could and couldn't do with scanners.

Now those rules have been published and they basically mirror TSA standards...with one glaring exception.

The Europeans, for whom data privacy is kind of a capital-T thing and has been for a very long time, had been slow to deploy full-body scanners across the continent in part exactly because of privacy concerns. The new policy introduces a number of safeguards that will be very familiar to US travelers: no storing of the images, no looking at the images except from a different room, and no forcing passengers to walk through the machines without offering an opt-out.

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From British Airways Miles to Avios Points: Breaking It Down

November 10, 2011 at 11:27 AM | by | Comments (0)

This month means more than just the beginning of holiday travel season; it also marks the beginning of a new era at British Aiways with the re-branding of their frequent flyer program to "Avios." Say cheers to the former loyalty program managed by AirMiles on November 16th.

Basically, BA Miles used to be managed through AirMiles who has done the re-branding. BA is just using the program as a "currency" to redeem flights and hotels. This shift is to align with the frequent flyer programs of its joint venture partner, Iberia, and mirror other Oneworld partner airline programs. Executive Club is sticking around and its members will be accruing Avios points instead of BA Miles. Don't worry, if you have heaps of points in Executive Club, you won't loose them.

The move to Avios is not just a name change, but the program claims to make earning points and higher status levels, as well as redeeming points for flights and upgrades, far easier. Let's see if they're right.

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Tips and Tricks for Fellow Newbie European Travelers

September 2, 2011 at 12:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

What would your life be like if you hadn't yet traveled to Europe? If you'd spent years reading travel novels and fantasizing over guidebooks, but hadn't made the big leap? This is the case for Andy Miles, who in his late twenties is embarking on his first trip to the continent and walking us through the emotions and observations of a true Newbie Traveler. Read his previous adventures and follow along all week as Andy takes us along on his inaugural Euro journey.

For my final installment of this Newbie Traveler series I wanted to pass along some tips that other newbie (or even seasoned) travelers may find useful. If you followed along on my journey this week, you'll see that I went to London, Paris, Rome, and Zurich and even though I know I have much more to see and learn, I feel that I'm pretty well versed in the intricacies of European travel.

1. If you plan to do a lot of traveling by train, and your pocketbook allows for it, I would always suggest trying to upgrade to first class. I know, this tip probably sounds as obvious as "when flying, try to sit in first class," but to be honest we never found it prohibitively expensive. It's something you can take care of right there at the train station even if you already have economy tickets. Just go to the train and look for someone in a uniform. Most of them carry mobile devices and can upgrade you on the spot!

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The Most Popular Cities for First-Time Visitors to Europe

September 1, 2011 at 2:09 PM | by | Comments (0)

This week has been partially devoted to rediscovering travel through the eyes of a Newbie Traveler. While Andy Miles made his very first journey to Europe in his late 20s and arrived with a slew of expectations and hopes (quickly dashed), we remember that this isn't always the case, and that—like every snowflake is unique—each first-time Europe experience is hugely different.

So we asked around—on Twitter, on Facebook, on the street—what was the first European city you ever visited? And you answered!

As we anticipated, London comes in at number one for mentions as a first Euro stop, closely followed by Paris, which is actually on the continent. Some surprise first cities were Venice, Malaga and Luxembourg City. Note the inclusion of Montreal, which technically isn't in Europe, but sure as heck feels like it.

Share your first-time Europe city in the comments!

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Three Tourist Places Where It's Okay to Have Your Kid on a Leash

August 25, 2011 at 3:59 PM | by | Comment (1)

First things first. Here at Jaunted, we like kids. Heck—some of us even have them! Thus we don't typically advocate the use of kid-leashes because they look stupid, are dehumanizing, and keeping kids in line shouldn't require strapping something around them. On the other hand, we understand their practicality in certain tourism-related settings. Here's the top three places it may be okay to put your kid on a leash:

· At a medieval castle
It was in one of the eight tall turrets at Conwy Castle in Wales that we first noticed the high percentage of little kids on leashes, and for once it all made sense. These turrets have very thin, steep steps. The walkways can be precipitous, not to mention scarily uneven. Parents had prepped for the outing by breaking out the harnesses, and we watched in awe as they easily navigated their way down spiral staircases and around the medieval layout (with a 91' deep well!) knowing their children wouldn't fall into the many abysses at any moment.

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