WalletPop

World's ten worst vacation destinations

Tom Barlow — 2008-05-13T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel

Planning your summer vacation? Then perhaps this is the time to discuss places that you don't really want to visit. Askmen.com recently posted its take on the world's 10 worst vacation destinations, which should provide a convenient starting point. It's ten places to avoid like the plague:

10. Baghdad, Iraq: duh! Yet hundreds of thousands of Americans are spending their summers there. Go figure.

9. Dhaka, Bangladesh: pollution, proverty, overcrowding, and occasionally the entire country is swamped by a cyclone.

8. Yakutsk, Russia: winter temperatures drop to almost 60 below zero. But it's a dry cold.

7. Mogadishu, Somalia: Unless you're a fan of anarachy. If so, this is your spot. No gun laws!

6. Chernobyl, Ukraine: On the other hand, you won't have to fight crowds or provide your own night light.

5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Does the sobrique 'Hurricane Alley' whet your vacation appetite?

4. Pyongyang, North Korea: Like the movie Brazil without the laugh track. Welcome to Kimseyland!

3. Bujumbura, Burundi: The poorest city in the poorest country in the world.

2. Linfen, China: Coal mining and coal burning make Linfen the city of perpetual darkness.

1. Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea: Rampant HIV, gang wars, overpopulation, murder, this city has it all.

What is the worst place you've ever vacationed?

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It's Walt's world; we just work here

Bruce Watson — 2008-05-13T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel

When I was fourteen or so, my family and I spent almost a month tooling around Europe. Apart from certain miseries associated with putting six people in a cramped BMW and the fact that my sister Ella had a terrible smell for the whole summer (we later discovered that she'd jammed a piece of sponge up her nose), we had a great time. We were exploring foreign lands, the dollar was really strong, and the U.S. government was footing a big chunk of the bill, as my dad was officially there on business. What's not to like?

In retrospect, I guess I was something of an ugly American. While I've since learned to become a little less obvious when wandering abroad, my pictures from that summer show a scrawny kid with a too-short haircut, too-high kneesocks, ugly shorts and loud Hawaiian shirts. Although I remember being very easygoing and polite, it's likely that my sisters and I spent much of our time bitching about everything. After all, we were all in our teens, we were spending way too much time together, and, well, we're American.

Now, however, the shoe is on the other foot. Living in New York, I find myself playing host to an endless stream of European tourists. They clog the stairways at the subway stations, rudely insist on speaking languages that I don't understand, and generally get in my way. Walking down the street, I have the joy of listening to them complain about everything they see, making sweeping generalizations about America and Americans. For example, I have heard more than a few Europeans comment that Times Square is the definitive American landmark, the perfect symbol for a country full of over-stimulated, attention-deprived me-monkeys.

At this point, I want to note that, when visiting Amsterdam's red-light district, I didn't immediately assume that all Dutch people were prostitutes. I'm just saying.

On the other hand, there is a great deal to be said for European tourism. Basically, we're getting a lot of money for being ourselves, and there's always the possibility that Europeans might see something that will undermine their image of the United States as a land of cowboys, mindless stupidity, and fast food. Added to this is the fact that, in an unstable economy, it's nice to have at least one industry that is growing.

Besides, being entertainment for bored Europeans doesn't seem to be all that hard. In fact, it's particularly easy in New York, where being cranky is part of the mystique. Yelling at tourists to get the hell out of my way just seems to make them happier, and I love watching them scurrying to memorialize the moment: "Look, Jean-Claude, it's a rude American. A real one! Take his picture! Maybe we can get one of him yelling at the kids!" The children, of course, aren't as impressed, as I have neither a tail nor big black ears. They know that the real heartland, the true America, is carefully preserved in the Magic Kingdom. Walt's cryogenically-preserved head rules over all, ensuring that the promised land will remain pure and safe forever.

Speaking of Disney, the company is doing exceedingly well right now, due in no small part to the inflated dollar. Basically, the massive influx of European visitors to Disney's American theme parks has caused the company's stock to rise by almost 3%. Personally, I think Disney's boom year offers the best of both worlds: not only is European tourism funneling vast amounts of money into American coffers, but the thought of Frenchmen spending hours waiting in line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride gives me an evil thrill. The joy is only compounded when I imagine them spending a small fortune to load up on the substandard junk food that fills Disney World's restaurants. Another Donald Duckdog, Philippe? Be sure to tip the mouse on your way out.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He really, really tries to be good when he goes overseas; when he makes an ass out of himself, he usually breaks into a heartbreaking rendition of "Oh, Canada!"

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JetBlue flyer sues after being made to sit on toilet

Zac Bissonnette — 2008-05-13T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Travel

The Associated Press lead tells you pretty much everything you need to know:

A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California.

Manhattanite Gokhan Mutlu is suing the budget airline after the pilot told him to vacate his seat and "go hang out in the bathroom" for 90 minutes because the flight attendant had complained that her seat was uncomfortable, according to court papers. When the plane hit turbulence and the pilot directed passengers to return to their seats, "the plaintiff had no seat to return to, sitting on a toilet stool with no seat belts," according to his suit. That could've gotten messy!

This was one of those stories that's so ridiculous I can't think of anything to say. Perhaps JetBlue, which prides itself on its no-frills service with low prices, should begin offering discounted fares for passengers willing to sit on the toilet.

If the allegations outlined in the lawsuit are even remotely accurate, some people at JetBlue definitely need to lose their jobs.

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Women and travel - it's not what you think

Beth Wechsler — 2008-05-10T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Wealth, Travel

If Marybeth Bond has her statistics right, there are a few relatively big changes in travel that women should know about:

80% of travel arrangements are made by women.
There are 28 million single women in the United States and we're traveling.
By 2010, women will control 60% of this country's wealth.
There has been a 230% increase in the number of women only travel companies in the last 7 years.
The average adventure traveler is a 47 year old female who wears a size 12!

Let's just say this is food for thought. First, it tells us that the magazine covers and article photos - all the cruise and travel scenes of couples gazing into each other's eyes - is only part of the story. It's the old part.

Women, unaccompanied by men, have historically been vulnerable when they travel. Not only are they more physically vulnerable, they are much more vulnerable emotionally too. If you are over fifty, and even if you are younger, there is still that lingering "one down" feeling when you walk into a restaurant un-escorted.

It takes awhile for our internal, psychological realities to catch up with changes in the outside world. It may just be that women - especially older women - are entering a time when traveling with friends or solo will no longer leave us feeling even remotely self-conscious.

Wouldn't that be nice!

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Not your father's Oldsmobile: Gay collectors fawn over fabulous, gas-guzzling, 70s classics

Julie Tilsner — 2008-05-09T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Extracurriculars, Transportation, Travel

I'm not surprised.

Those long, lean, pimpin' machines of yore, those boats of the '70s have been derided long enough by those of us who remember when Disco played on the AM stations. Left unloved too long, their original owners long passed away, these gas-guzzling relics have finally found a new, and adoring audience:

Gay car collectors.

In this piece in the Los Angeles Times, a writer by the unlikely name of Cocoa Efficient relates to us why gay collectors have flocked to the luxury land-cruisers popular in the 70s: They're fabulous. As spacious as an SUV, and even less fuel-efficient (hard to imagine, but true), these cars made use of colors and fabrics in a way that today's car designers could not imagine. Blue velour seats? Audacious.

Just feast your eyes on the photo above of a 1976 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. Built for comfort and power with not a thought toward fuel conservation. Our modern-day equivalents, say Hummers or an Escalade, can't compare in the truly pimpin' style department. I'd cruise this baby to Vegas any day.

With our '70s-style inflation, it's no wonder these long-ignored cars have suddenly been noticed again. Call it fantasy fulfillment. You wouldn't commute in these cars, but could you resist a road-trip across the country? Just get six or seven friends (and they would easily fit), pool your money for the gasoline, buy appropriate road snacks and pop the Staying Alive soundtrack into the eight-track tape player. I guarantee you'd make a scene at every stop.

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Medical evacuation insurance: another cautionary travel tale

Michele Turk — 2008-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Insurance, Health, Travel

Last month, my parents went to Florida for two weeks against the advice of their four children. We were worried that my father, who is on oxygen and has multiple medical problems, would take a turn for the worse and end up in a hospital. They decided to go anyway (parents today...they just don't listen).

Before they left, I urged my father to buy medical evacuation insurance, a specific type of travel insurance that retrieves "members" from anywhere in the world and transports them to the hospital of their choice. Last year, I edited an article for a website called Traveling Mom about the benefits of an insurance plan provided by a company called MedJet Assist. Afterward, I told my parents about the company and the week before they left for Florida, I spoke with them again and my father said he bought similar insurance via American Express.

You know what happened next. My dad, who has a blood disorder that makes his hemoglobin count drop to life threatening levels (among other medical problems brought on by 40 plus years of smoking), ended up in the hospital. It got so bad he needed a blood transfusion. They stabilized him but he just wanted to get back home to New Jersey.

Lo and behold, the American Express policy didn't actually provide emergency evacuation; it just pays for your travel expenses if you have to buy a last minute ticket on a commercial airline. So my parents ended up paying for a "critical care air ambulance," equipped with a stretcher, medical life support equipment, two pilots and two medical crew members, through a company called Res-q-jets. The company flew my mother, father and brother, who flew to Florida to help out, into Philadelphia, then drove my father by ambulance to the hospital in New Jersey. This "bedside to bedside" service cost $12,000, not covered by any insurance.

There's no question it was the right thing to do because my father has spent the last month back and forth between a hospital and a rehab facility, and he's had some close calls. This is obviously the most upsetting part of the ordeal, but I'm also sick over the fact that I could have prevented the exorbitant cost -- it would have cost a mere $195 via Medjet Assist for both of my parents for two weeks' coverage. An annual membership costs $225 for an individual and $350 for a family. Medjet is just one of several such companies that offer this type of program. As far as I can tell, there is no fine print, and people can't be excluded from joining due to preexisting conditions. You just have to sign up before your trip.

When I think of the places I've been without emergency evacuation insurance -- trekking in Thailand or driving aimlessly through vineyards in the Priorat region of Spain, just south of Barcelona -- and I can't even imagine what a hospital in Vietnam back in 1993, before American borders opened up, would have been like! Given my father's experience, emergency medical insurance seems like a small price to pay and now, I don't think I'll leave home without it.

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Take a vacation, on the government

Anne Gelhaus — 2008-05-08T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Extracurriculars, Travel, Recession

Wanna get away? With all apologies to Southwest Airlines, it's not looking like the travel industry is going to get a boost from Bush's economic stimulus package: Only one in five of approximately 1,000 respondents to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll said they were likely to use part or all of their rebates for vacation or travel, and 64% said they were not at all likely to do so.

That's not stopping hotels across the country from trying to tempt Americans to stimulate the economy by indulging their wanderlust. Until May 13, travelers who book a vacation package to cities like New Orleans, New York, Vegas and Nashville through Expedia's Explore America can save up to 30% on hotel stays. But you've gotta go between May 23 and Sept. 5.

If you're looking for lodgings by the beach, a slew of Virginia Beach hotels are offering their own economic stimulus packages. Among these are a "Romantic Weekend Getaway" at the Cavalier Hotel, where for $159-$319 per night through June 19, couples can get a room and indulge in complimentary champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, then take a free one-hour bike ride to work it all off.

If your vacation is more of a family affair, get thee to the Clarion Resort Beach Quarters Resort for its "Virginia Beach Break-Away Package": two nights' stay, tickets to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, tickets to the Virginia Zoo and dinner at Pi-zzeria for $399 through June.

If you are among the lucky few who can take advantage of these deals, I enviously wish you bon voyage. I'll be thinking of you as I'm using my rebate to pay for past credit indiscretions and thumbing hungrily through old vacation photos from my boom years.

Roadkill Toys: Cuddly, European-style gore!

Bruce Watson — 2008-05-08T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel

A few years back, in the hazy, mythical days of 2004, my wife and I took a trip to Eastern Europe. The dollar was strong then, and an underpaid English instructor and his bookstore-staffer girlfriend could travel like royalty on the other side of the former Iron curtain.

We wandered all over, reveling in the grotesque history of the area and its rich, potato-based cuisine. Finally, we drifted into Brno, eager to see the city's famed freeze-dried Capuchin monks. Unfortunately, the monastery was closed for the winter, but we vowed that someday, somehow, we would venture back and revel in the wonder of dead, shriveled monks.

About a year after we came back to the U.S., Gelitin, a Vienna-based art collective, unveiled what may be the coolest public art project since England's Cerne Abbas chalk sculpture. Gelitin's "Rabbit" is a 200-foot long pink bunny that is sprawled across a hill in Italy's Piedmont region. Filled with straw, the stuffed animal is made of soft cloth and features "guts" that are artfully strewn around it. Visitors are encouraged to crawl all over the bunny, reveling in its weird texture and grotesque design.

"Rabbit" is scheduled to stay in place until 2025; presumably, the dollar will deflate sometime between now and then. In the meantime, however, I've got another source for my dead stuffed animal fixation. An English company, Roadkill Toys, has unveiled "Grind," a bunny doll that is designed to look and feel like a piece of street pizza. Filled with "micro-bead" stuffing, its guts are designed to have realistic weight and "squidgyness." It comes complete with a recycled-paper "toe tag," a plastic "body bag," and a handy zipper across its belly, in case you want to stow the guts inside the carcass. If you don't care for rabbits, there's also "Twitch," a squashed raccoon.

At £25 a pop, Roadkill's toys aren't cheap, but they're still a lot less expensive than a plane ticket to Italy. As for the Capuchin monks, I guess I'll just have to make do with staring at beef jerky.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He's tried hanging out in New York graveyards, but it just isn't the same. Bring on the Capuchin monks!

Cheap digs: The United Nations follows Wal-Mart's architectural lead

Bruce Watson — 2008-05-08T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Extracurriculars, Real Estate, Travel

Last weekend, my wife and I went to Roosevelt Island, which we had never visited before. While checking out the ruins of a former smallpox hospital and the gorgeous cherry blossoms that line the shore, we also happened to look over at the U.N. headquarters. We were horrified to discover just how dingy and nasty the structures were. While the U.N. has always been a little strange looking, it was starting to get downright grubby. The beautiful blue Secretariat tower looked grayish, and the General Assembly building, which was once gleaming white, now resembled a scuffed sneaker.

Apparently, the interior is also showing its age. Constructed in the early 1950's, the buildings have exposed asbestos insulation, dripping pipes, leaks, and lead paint. Although the U.N. is on international territory, and is thus not required to comply with New York City safety codes, it racked up an amazing 866 violations during a courtesy inspection last year. After years of spirited debate, the headquarters has finally been scheduled to undergo a massive, $1.9 billion renovation, which is expected to take five years.

Rather than find short-term housing elsewhere, the United Nations has decided to construct a gargantuan pre-fab building on the North Lawn of the complex. Ultimately, the U.N. hopes to return the North Lawn to its current, empty, state, so the new home has been designed to be "intentionally ugly," in the same style as "a Costco or a Wal-Mart." The cost of dismantling the eyesore has been factored into the overall project budget. Hopefully, this will ensure that the temporary building will be just that: temporary.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Having spent much of his childhood in "temporary" classrooms constructed from trailers, he hails the U.N.'s decision.

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Take a tip from the third world: $4 gas is scooter time

Tom Barlow — 2008-05-06T11:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Transportation, Travel

For under $2,000, you can buy a brand-new vehicle that will get 100 mpg, and can be parked almost anywhere. With gas at $4 and heading up, perhaps it's time we took another look at the world's answer to cheap transportation, the scooter.

I'm not suggesting the old-style two-stroke, high polluting pieces of crap, but modern, high-quality machines from manufacturers such as Honda.

For example, check out the--

Honda Metropolitan, $1,899. Honda matches classic scooter styling with a 49 cc. four stroke liquid-cooled engine for a ride capable of carrying you 100 miles or so on a gallon of petrol. Talk about cutting down the cost of transportation.

Yamaha Vino, $1,949. This scoot features a comparable engine to the Honda, and gets around 110 mpg. It too has classic European styling and Yamaha quality.

Vespa still has plenty of dogs in this hunt, including the Piaggio Fly50, a 50 cc. four-stroke selling for $1,849. It also captures the scooter cache with handsome styling.

Of course, scooters have limitations, primarily weather. Riding them in traffic takes some practice and skill, and taking a motorcycle training course from the Motorcycle Safety Institute would greatly improve your skills. But with gas going nowhere but up, a little two-wheeled fun might help keep your budget from running out of gas.

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Bumped airline passenger payments get a bump

Josh Smith — 2008-05-06T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel

Good news for frequent flyers, especially frequently delayed flyers; the government just doubled payments for getting bumped due to overbooking. Starting May 19th consumers who are delayed 1-4 hours by being bumped will be eligible to receive up to $400 and travelers on international flights delayed more than 4 hours can receive up to $800. These new amounts would replace a voucher many airlines give out during overbookings.

These new rules may be just the kick in the rear that airlines need to stop overbooking on so many flights. Hitting the wallet of a company has long proved to be the impetus needed for change. Unfortunately these increased penalties for overbooking may have a negative affect. Cash strapped airlines may go out of business if they have to start shelling out double for overbooking. If we loose too many competitors then decreased competition coupled with high oil prices could relegate air travel back to the elite!

I'm certainly not advocating for airlines to get off scott free. I have spent a fair share of time stuck in O'hare airport due to cancellations and overbookings. If I am traveling alone or not in a hurry I would definitely sit for several more hours for a couple hundred bucks, provided I can find a power outlet and wifi. Now if only the Department of Transportation could work out a passenger bill of rights.

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How to travel the world for free!

Beth Wechsler — 2008-05-05T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Bargains, Extracurriculars, Travel

Gina Henry-Cook is a speaker, writer and tour-guide, who makes the rounds of community schools teaching a one-evening program on traveling free. She covers everything from the obvious -- saving money on airline tickets and hotels -- to funding your travel with air courier flights, teaching, writing and mystery shopping. I bought her booklet, "Free Vacations" and it's one of the very few things that I go back to over and over again, plotting my eventual travels. Published by GoGlobal, Inc., the booklet is stuffed with real information and hundreds of website addresses.

Henry-Cook advises using one airline credit card (every $1 charged equals one mile) purchasing everything from big ticket items to things you normally buy -- groceries, restaurant bills, gas, clothes, stamps, etc.) on that credit card. This tip is only for those of you who can trust yourself. She rotates the card annually to get the free miles on sign-up (with no annual free, of course). Another suggestion -- dress like a business or first-class traveler and be first at the gate, in search of a free upgrade to Business or First-class. Improve your chances of getting "bumped" (for a future free air ticket) -- an offer you can make at the same time you let the attendant at the gate know that you're looking for the free upgrade.

The booklet also covers Mystery Shopping assignments (getting paid to evaluate services, cleanliness and quality at hotels, restaurants and other businesses) which can mean free meals, flights, hotels stays, car rentals and merchandise -- and contact information for mystery shopping companies.

If you're a photographer and/or writer, a magazine or newspaper assignment can offset the costs of an upcoming trip and the booklet has a wealth of valuable contact information. Cruise ships offer expense paid trips for lecturers and speakers, health experts and instructors of all sorts.

English is the world's business and travel language. If you have a college degree, some knowledge of a second language, and are serious about long term travel, you may want to look into certification for teaching English as a second language. Even without going that route, you can sometimes give English lessons to hotel staff -- especially at upscale destinations -- in exchange for complimentary room and board, particularly during the low-tourist seasons.

With the falling dollar challenging international travel, "How to Travel the World for Free" can bring destinations back into the realm of possibility for many of us.

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Health care too expensive? Fly to Singapore!

Bruce Watson — 2008-05-01T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Health, Travel

As I've mentioned before, I used to teach college. Although I still gripe from time to time about the downsides of teaching -- the poor pay, the administration, the poor pay, the push for political correctness, the poor pay -- I have to admit that there were a few bright aspects. I loved working with students, I enjoyed having a big office, and I really, really appreciated the health care.

Working for a state-supported university in Virginia, my health care was very cheap. In return for a premium of less than $100 a month, my wife, daughter, and I all received medical and dental benefits that, in retrospect, were pretty outstanding. To give you an idea, my daughter's birth cost my wife and I less than $300; taking into account all the prenatal visits and whatnot, I think it still came out to under $500.

Recently, I've been having some dental work done. Now that I am no longer employed by the state, I have come to realize just how great my deal was. As a further lesson, my sister has been in and out of the hospital for the past few months with a chronic liver problem that she has had since she was a baby. As an artist, she makes very little money, but, luckily, Pennsylvania's Medicaid is outstanding, as are the programs at the Geisinger Clinic, the hospital that is treating her. Otherwise, she would probably be in debt for the rest of her life.

When I first heard about "Medical Tourism," I thought that it was a cute idea. However, now that I'm seeing some of the harsh realities of the U.S. healthcare system, I'm realizing that it's a magnificent solution to one of the biggest problems currently facing America.

For a while now, many people have been traveling abroad to have elective surgery, dental work, fertility treatments, and other operations done. Given that the savings on these procedures can be 80% or more, it seems logical that uninsured individuals would choose to pursue this option.

To add to the high cost of health care, even people who are insured may find themselves being denied treatment for a variety of questionable reasons. For example, some patients have recently been denied places on the liver transplant list because they used medically-prescribed marijuana. According to the medical establishment, marijuana (unlike alcohol) has no direct effect on the liver; moreover, these patients were using marijuana under a doctor's supervision. However, in an increasingly overburdened health-care situation, many insurers, medical boards, and even hospitals are latching on to any excuse to drop patients.

Some people reject the idea of medical tourism because they worry about the quality of the hospitals or the training of the doctors in other countries. Ironically, however, very few of my sister's doctors were native-born Americans. Her primary surgeon was Indian, as was one of her endoscopic surgeons. Her interventional radiologist was from Germany, and another of her endoscopic surgeons was from England. Actually, of all her doctors, my sister's only native-born one was her gastroenterologist, and he spent his winter vacation with his wife's family in Germany! Moreover, while I can't speak to the cleanliness of India and Singapore's hospitals, many of the reviews that I've read have been complimentary. While we're on the topic, I've been to some pretty filthy hospitals in the U.S. In fact, my wife and I elected to have my daughter born at a hospital located an hour from our home because the one in my town was infested with flies.

One interesting development in the Medical Tourism front is Hannaford's recent adoption of overseas surgery. A supermarket chain, Hannaford Brothers has begun offering employees the option of having hip replacements performed at a hospital in Singapore. This particular operation runs between $40,000 and $60,000 in the U.S., but costs about 75% less in Singapore, even accounting for the cost of airfare for two, hotel charges, and room and board for a traveling companion. Looking at the savings, it's hardly surprising that 150,000 Americans elected to have medical procedures performed in other countries last year, nor is it shocking that Hannaford has started outsourcing some of its medical care. I wonder how long it will be before other companies follow suit.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He's thinking about going to Indonesia to have some Komodo dragon venom injected into the wrinkles on his forehead.

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Airlines in danger of being wiped out?

Tracy Coenen — 2008-04-30T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel

The airline industry is clearly in a crisis situation, thanks to the high oil prices. Several have filed bankruptcy. Others are talking about merging with others. All of them are hiking fees and fares, but it may not be enough to save them. How many airlines will be left standing in the next year or two? No one seems to know.

American Airlines is reportedly losing $3 million a day, and that can't go on indefinitely. Experts say that the industry just can't survive if oil is going to cost $120 per barrel. They say passengers won't pay the kinds of fares it would take to keep the airlines profitable with fuel that expensive. There is a certain amount of fuel that must be used in the airplanes currently flying, and that amount of fuel means flights can't be profitable.

Even mergers, which typically can help beat-up companies as they are able to collectively cut costs by eliminating duplicated jobs and services post-merger, might not help. And even though the concept of airlines losing money isn't a new one (haven't most of them been losing money for years on end?) they're now in a unique position: Most cost-cutting measures have been taken and there is little else to cut.
So what happens to air travel? Leisure travelers will find other places and ways to vacation. Business travelers don't have such a luxury. The world economy dictates that many people must travel on a regular basis in the course of their business.

They'll likely be forced to pay significantly higher prices if there are even flights available for them. It's clear that a wholesale change is in order for the airline industry, and consumers will not be a benefactor in this. We're going to pay dearly, and it doesn't seem that there's anything that can be done about it.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

One bright spot on the horizon for air travelers?

Tracy Coenen — 2008-04-28T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Transportation, Travel

I moan a lot about how poorly the airlines treat their customers. And with the addition of all sorts of fees for everything from a drink of water to bringing two suitcases on your trip, the race is on to see which airline can treat its customers worst.

UK company Thompson Solutions has created a better airline seat they call the "The Cozy Suite." I already know what you're thinking. First class doesn't need another perk on their trip. But these seats - believe it or not - are made specifically for coach travelers.

The key to comfort for these seats is their staggered design. Three people are no longer crammed directly next to each other. Each passenger is slightly in front of or behind the person next to them, giving the illusion of more room. The seats even add seating capacity to some flights (depending on the configuration the airline chooses) which should make them more appealing to airline management. If airlines choose the configuration that does not add capacity, the seats then end up being two-inches wider than a normal coach seat. Yahoo!!!

A lot of design time went into these seats, with the most important part of the process... watching passengers to see how they sat and slept while on flights. Wired reports that Delta is the first airline that will be using the seats. They're scheduled to install them in 100 airplanes used for transatlantic flights, beginning in 2010. I'm all in favor of anything that will offer some level of comfort on flights!

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Travel insurance would have paid off: A cautionary tale

Tracy Coenen — 2008-04-28T17:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Budgets, Travel

Over the weekend, Consumerist posted a story about a family that got "kicked off" a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. It cost the Cortes family $3,000 to get home afterward. Shame on the ship, right? Wrong.

The ship did the right thing, and some of the details are here. The situation was simple: Zoie Cortes, seven months old, got sick on the ship and was vomiting and had diarrhea. The family took her to the ship's doctor, who said she was dehydrated and should receive treatment at a hospital.

The ship was leaving port in 10 minutes, so they had to move quickly to get their things and get off the ship to go to the hospital. The Cortes family went to a hospital in Nassau, and the staff diagnosed the baby with a cold. Not serious at all. The family was then in a position where they had to get themselves to the next port to meet the ship or go home. Had they purchased travel insurance, those costs would have been covered. They did not purchase travel insurance, so the cost is their own.

The Cortes family (and apparently the media too) think that Royal Caribbean should pay the family's costs. I disagree. The ship personnel did exactly the right thing. There was a baby with potentially serious symptoms, and they recommended she go to the hospital to see if it was indeed a serious illness.

Could you imagine the nightmare if the ship's doctor had instead said something like this: "Well, we're not sure what's wrong with your baby, but we're leaving port in 10 minutes so you better not go to the hospital. You should stay on the ship." Then imagine the baby being very, very sick. Now what? You wanna bet that the family is going to hold the ship responsible? Of course.

Sending the baby to the hospital was the prudent thing to do in this litigious society. Unfortunately, her symptoms were the type that can be part of either a very minor illness or a very serious one, and the ship's doctor had no way of knowing.

Times in and out of ports aren't exactly negotiable, and all cruise ships have a well-publicized policy that they adhere to their schedules with very few exceptions. So when the family did the right thing and took the baby to the hospital, the ship left port, as planned.

I feel badly that the family's vacation was ruined, but this is the chance you take with small children. Further, they might consider travel insurance in the future. The sickness and the costs are unfortunate, but they're not Royal Caribbean's responsibility. The ship's staff did the right thing, and I applaud them.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

SmartBike: One way to combat the rising cost of fuel prices

Geoff Williams — 2008-04-28T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Travel

This idea could go places.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that sometime in mid-May, SmartBike DC, a bicycle-sharing program, is going to get moving.

Metal racks are appearing throughout the city, enough for 120 red three-speed bicycles. For $40 bucks a year, bikes can be rented as many times as a person wants--though each rental can last no longer than three hours, and the hours are restricted from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (If you don't bring it back within three hours, you're charged $200.)

The idea is that you get a magnetic card to swipe at a bike rack downtown, enabling you to remove the bike. Take it for a spin. Get your exercise. Go to the store. Commute to the office, if it's convenient. (Park it at another bicycle rack near your place of employment and then hope that a bicycle is there when you get off work.)

It's a public and private partnership between Washington D.C. and the advertising conglomerate Clear Channel Outdoor, which has automated bike rental systems in France, Norway, Sweden and Spain.

The Post's article says that SmartBike DC is still working out some kinks: like will it be possible to park the bicycle outside of a store, go into the store, return with your purchases and not find yourself squinting into the sun and watching a teenage kid making off with your bike.

Still, it sounds like a great idea, and as I said, one that could catch on. Especially if gas prices keep going up.

Geoff Williams is a business journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale).

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Sell your travel video to LonelyPlanet.tv

Tom Barlow — 2008-04-28T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel

Are you one of those rare individuals who takes travel video that is interesting, well composed, and coherant? If you, you may be able to offset part of your vacation costs by selling your video to LonelyPlanet.tv. The internet travel video site pays $500 for those inspiring, unusual or transcendent video experiences.

Samples of previously purchased videos are available on its web site. You'll note the common attributes; excellent narrator, arresting pictures, personality and out-of-the-mainstream subjects. Niagara Falls probably won't suit the bill, unless you happen to fall in and keep the camera rolling on your way down.

Thanks Gadling

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Recession watch: Cutting back on travel plans

Julie Tilsner — 2008-04-27T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Travel, Recession

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

It was all set. Family friends in New York had invited us to come out and visit, and my two kids and I were all on board. In theory. Our plans were set at a reunion the previous summer. Fares are cheap! I told them. We'll all be out!

But that was before things got a little tighter. March came and went. I emailed my friends with the bad news: Sorry guys; the money's just not in the budget anymore. Can't justify the expense. They totally understood. They were hard up, too. Maybe next year, we imagined.

But maybe not. Seems a lot of people are canceling or dramatically altering discretionary travel these days.With the ever-shrinking dollar, travel for fun and pleasure has dropped far down on the list of splurges for many middle class families. Gasoline prices, groceries, utilities, rents, day-to-day living expenses are taking a larger-than-ever chunk out of our budgets.

Time was when a trip to San Fransisco for a romantic weekend was doable. But these days, one look at the cost of air fare, car rental fee, hotel, and the cost of gas and meals...will give most anyone but the most affluent pause. Who can afford it anymore?

And with the dollar at an all-time low against the euro and the pound, that summer jaunt to London or Madrid is definitely out the window. This has particularly impacted our family -- my in-laws are English, and we used to take a trip to London almost every year. This year, that's just impossible.

Besides, with record-high fuel costs and cutbacks at airlines, along with endemic cancellations, flying anywhere at all this summer promises to be not half the fun.

So what's a family to do? Fellow WalletPopper Bruce Watson is onto something when he suggests becoming a local tourist -- staying in town, using public transportation, and exploring your own environs might just be the new big thing this summer.

Maybe we'll just spend the summer poolside. Swimming lessons are still relatively affordable.

Have you canceled travel plans this summer due to increased costs? Let's hear your stories -- and your solutions!

Only snobs should read this

Geoff Williams — 2008-04-24T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Extracurriculars, Real Estate, Shopping, Wealth, Travel, Investing

Reuters is reporting that the 24th richest man in the world is planning on spending $150 million starting a magazine, web site and TV station called -- get ready -- Snob.

Snob has slightly a different meaning in Russia. They think of a snob as someone who has made a lot of money in life and is entitled to brag about it if they want. In America, of course, we see a snob as someone who looks down on others who aren't as rich or as classy, and thus, the rest of us tend to look down on snobs. At any rate, Andrei Shmarov, one of the billionaire creating Snob, told Reuters, "It's for people who are successful and those who want to be successful."

The web site will be out in June, the magazine in July, and it will focus on lifestyle, business and travel articles. The cable channel will follow shortly after that.

But Shmarov isn't the only billionaire working on this project. One of his partners, according to the Moscow Times, is Mikhail Prokhorov, the fifth richest person in the world. He told the paper that the web site will have a social networking site. Don't bother looking for it online, though. This is the "don't call us, we'll call you" routine. The snobs at Snob are inviting about 3,000-5,000 people or so to be charter members on the social networking site. They only want educated, successful professionals.

"Wealth is not a criterion for membership, but it tends to be a quality of the target audience," said Shmarov to the Mowcow Times.

All I can think is... he's a billionaire... his publication is bound to pay well. I'm a magazine writer. If I could get in on the ground floor, I could make out like a bandit... Hmmm... Anyone think they can teach me Russian? In the next few weeks?

Geoff Williams is a business journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale). He doesn't like to brag, but it's been estimated he is the 639,345,712th richest person in the world.

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