No Powders Will be Allowed onto Planes, says TSA
August 28, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
Starting June 30 it will be more difficult for international travelers to bring powders on their trips, at least in large quantities. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has adopted a stricter policy on baby powder, protein powder, dry spices, coffee, tea, and more through airport security.
Basically, the new regulation states that any passenger on an inbound international flight with 12 ounces or more of powder might be subject to additional screening at security checkpoints. What’s more, if TSA agents can’t identify the powder, then it may be confiscated and thrown away. So while it may not be a problem for coffee and tea drinkers, since that’s easily identifiable, certain spices may pose a potential problem.
This means even dry baby formula could be subject to a search or even confiscation. Of course, this only affects international flights coming into the US. Flying from North Carolina to visit your sister in Portland, Oregon is still okay.
Still, if you’re trying to bring large amounts of powder through security, you may want to consider shipping it to your final destination anyway. This policy might not be limited only to inbound international flights for very long; it’s possible it could expand to domestic flights in the future.
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Airline Complaints Drop in April 2018, Rise in May
August 23, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
Just like airplanes, airline complaints are going up and down. For the most part, airlines are continuing to improve their baggage handling rates and reducing the number of canceled flights, which is leading to fewer complaints from passengers.
Thanks to new baggage handling technology and better planning and scheduling, we’re seeing fewer issues for passengers, which is putting travelers in a better mood, at least for the month of April.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the dozen airlines that report baggage handling issues had 2.39 cases of mishandled bags for every 1,000 passengers, as reported in April 2018.
That’s a drop from March which had 2.59. What’s more, April 2017 saw a rate of 2.5, so there was an improvement from month to month, as well as year-over-year.
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Which U.S. Airlines Have the Most Economy Class Legroom?
August 21, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
Have you noticed your personal space is shrinking on flights? You’re not imagining things. The space between your seat and the seat in front of you is getting smaller (or maybe a little bigger), depending on your airline. Over time the average seat pitch — the distance between the back of the seat in front of you and the front of your seat back (i.e. your personal space) — has shortened. Only two decades ago the pitch could be anywhere from 34 to 35 inches. Today the legroom is closer to 30 or 31 inches, depending on the airline.
There are, however some airlines that may “fit” your need better than others. If you want to stretch your legs and not your budget, here are several airlines and planes worth checking out.
If you don’t want to pay extra for “economy plus” or “premium economy” upgrades in the major airlines, here are the carriers’ current pitch sizes.
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The Dirtiest Place in the Airport is Not What You Think
August 14, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
Often thought of as the filthiest of places, an airport public restroom may not necessarily be the dirtiest place in the airport. What could be worse? Security bins? Ticket counters? The place where you and thousands of other travelers have to take your shoes off?
Curious as to what spot actually is the dirtiest, InsuranceQuotes, a Texas-based insurance company, went to three major U.S. airports and airline flights and performed 18 tests across six different surfaces. Samples were sent off to a laboratory to find the average number of colony forming units (CFU) or bacterial or fungal cells per square inch.
Basically, the more CFUs there are, the more contaminated a surface is.
The results were surprising: self-check kiosks contained the highest level of CFUs with 253,857. Armrests at the gate were second with 21,630 followed by water fountain buttons with 19,181.
It makes sense: all day, countless people tap the same screen to get their tickets, unaware the dirtiest place in the airport is right at their fingertips. The self-check-in kiosk is the one place nearly everyone is forced to touch. Not surprising then is that the world’s business airport, Hartsfield-Jackson, was the germiest of all three subject airports. Just one kiosk alone came back with 1 million CFU.
Remember that “filthy” restroom? An airport toilet contains 172 CFU on average.
The close proximity of other passengers and stale air in the airplane is blamed for illnesses, but maybe it’s the pre-flight contact instead. We may never know.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
The best way is, of course, complete avoidance whenever possible. Check into your flight from your smartphone or at home on your computer (just your germs there).
That being said, if you do find yourself at the airport, here are a few tips for cleaner traveling:
- Barefoot is bad! Walking barefoot through security makes you more susceptible to germs and infections like athlete’s foot, so always wear socks through the airport security line.
- Hand sanitizer. Carry TSA-approved size mini bottles of hand sanitizer for quick clean ups after touching dirty screens.
- Resting your elbows on armrests at your gate is comfortable, but if you wipe them down with disinfectant wipes first, they’ll be comfortable and clean.
- No brainer: always, always, always wash your hands after using the restroom. Public or private. Airports and everywhere. Always. Use soap and warm water for seconds; that’s “Happy Birthday” twice or the Alphabet song once.
“Safe travels” has a whole new meaning when you say ‘bon voyage’ to germs.
How do you avoid germs on your trips? What did you think the dirtiest place in the airport was? Tell us about it in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.
Photo credit: Marek Ślusarczyk (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons 2.5)
Take Care of Yourself if You Travel Frequently
August 7, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
If you travel frequently — 15 or more days a month on business — you can consider yourself a road warrior. But a new study by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and City University of New York says a better description might be wounded warrior.
The study of 18,000 business travelers who are away from home half the month or more found these individuals struggling greatly with their health. Many have mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, and they are sleep deprived and overly dependent on alcohol. They don’t get exercise and they tend to smoke more than those who don’t spend as much time away from home for work. They also have higher blood pressure and lower than acceptable good cholesterol levels.
Hotel Gym at Casa Velas Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
“At the individual level, employees who travel extensively need to take responsibility for the decisions they make around diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, and sleep,” Rundle explains. “However, to do this, employees will likely need support in the form of education, training, and a corporate culture that emphasizes healthy business travel.”
Rundle offered practical tips for employees that included being very selective about when travel is absolutely necessary and being honest with themselves about what constant travel is doing to their health and well-being.
One thing he suggested could serve as a tangible affirmation of the company’s commitment to the health of its warriors is providing memberships to national fitness centers for these frequent travelers.
Bottom line: If you travel frequently, please eat healthy, drink plenty of water, get plenty of sleep, and exercise 20 minutes per day, three times a week. That means things like walking to appointments, working out in the hotel gym, or just going for a walk in the evening. Don’t load up on rich heavy meals in restaurants, avoid soda and lots of alcohol, and drink water throughout the day. If you can do that, you can improve your health greatly while you travel.
Do you travel frequently for business? Do you take care of yourself, exercise, and get plenty of sleep, or do you find yourself lacking in a couple of those areas? Tell us about it in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.
Photo credit: Casa Velas Hotel (Flickr, Creative Commons 2.0)
American Travelers Really Want Hotel Loyalty Points
July 24, 2018 by ProBlog · Leave a Comment
How far would you go to earn loyalty points? According to a surprising study by Carlson Wagonlit Travel, some travelers are willing to go farther than you might expect.
American business travelers top the list (47 percent of all respondents) of those willing to risk a certain level of personal safety in order to earn loyalty points from their overnight stay. If given the choice to stay at a property where they’re not a loyalty member or stay where they are, business travelers will choose the loyalty program benefits over their personal safety.
But before you get images of people staying in rough neighborhoods for the sake of a few points, let’s define the sense of “feeling unsafe” most respondents described. Most wouldn’t put themselves in physical danger, but they would be willing to put up with disruptive fellow guests that made them feel uncomfortable. Others (44 percent) said they would disregard their fear of someone breaking into their room so they could earn more points.
The hotel front desk at the JW Marriott in New Orleans, LA.
Among those traveling for business internationally (37 percent), the personal safety concern was less physical. They were concerned their privacy would be breached by their information being given out without their knowledge or someone discovering their room number or procuring a key.
Many respondents also indicated they believed staying on higher floors of a hotel to be safer. Thirty-two percent said they avoid staying on the ground floor if at all possible.
Bottom line? No amount of loyalty points is worth risking your personal safety for. Your work and your life are too important, so don’t take unnecessary risks. Be smart, and don’t make unwise choices. There are other ways to get points!
How far will you go to earn more loyalty points? Where do you draw the line? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.
Photo credit: Prayitno Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons 2.0)
More Business Travelers Including Bleisure
July 19, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
We’ve been coaching, cajoling, and cheering you business travelers on when it comes to tacking on some extra personal time before or after your work trip. And Expedia says you’re listening!
Expedia Group Media Solutions commissioned Luth Research to find out more about what you’re doing and how you’re making bleisure work for you. The study asked American, British, Chinese, German, and Indian bleisure travelers to share what influenced their decisions, what resources they used to make their decisions, and what their resulting preferences were after their experiences.
Here’s what they found out.
The first thing Expedia discovered is which group of you is taking advantage of this. Those of you who work in technology, IT, and software—you’re making this work for you once every two to three months after you’ve been on the road for a two-to three-day trip.
Next, Expedia found there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of business travelers taking a couple bleisure days: a 40 percent uptick over the same period in 2016. Sixty percent of business travelers reported turning your work travel into a vacation sometime in the reporting period between March 2017 and March 2018. Bravo!
The British Museum Great Court
While the largest percentage of business travel was to participate in a conference (67 percent), the leading factor in whether or not the destination was considered for bleisure wasn’t proximity to family and friends, but other factors such as the availability of great food, a beach, or the opportunity to check it off your bucket list. Way to multi-task!
Even the time and cost of the bleisure trip had an effect: 37% of respondents said the proximity of their trip to the weekend played a role in their decision; the same number of people said the additional costs of the trip helped them decide. That’s always a good strategy: if you can end a trip on Friday or even Thursday, why not stick around for a nice weekend away? (Or if you can manage it, end your trip on a Monday and then stick around for the rest of the week. We won’t tell.)
Among the most popular US bleisure destinations were New York, LA, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco.
What are your bleisure travel habits? What do you do to turn your business travel into a little bit of fun? Share your ideas on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.
Photo credit: David Iliff, License: CC-BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Airlines Predict Fare Increases Due to Fuel Costs
July 10, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
While this summer is already trending to be the largest travel season ever — up 100,000 fliers per day over last year — travelers may find airline ticket prices going up due to a spike in fuel costs, even while seat availability decreases.
According to the International Air Transportation Association, the cost of gassing up is up 50 percent, with oil selling at $65 a barrel this summer compared to $45 for the same quantity in 2017.
Airline executives told attendees at IATA’s annual meeting they were still optimistic about their carriers’ profitability, since they’ve worked to restructure their businesses so they can absorb the increased cost that always seems to come around this time of year.
While you might think a fuel surcharge may be tacked onto your ticket, there’s good news: the Department of Transportation has made such fees illegal on domestic flights five years ago because the DOT determined they were really just a hidden price increase. These surcharges are permitted on international flights, however, and flights to Asia have seen figures between $50 and $200 — almost 15 percent of the ticket price — tacked on.
Ticket prices to popular summer destinations, such as Europe, haven’t been severely impacted due to competition from the low-cost carriers, but flexible business class seats and fares to parts of the country where there’s less competition have begun to see hikes.
While this recent spike may seem large, airlines learned from the disastrous $140 per barrel season a decade ago. To avoid seeing profits plummet, they’ve implemented price hedging policies to protect their margins.
Bottom line, depending on where you’re heading, those fuel costs surcharges may be unavoidable. Just do your best to find the lowest-priced tickets you can and hope for the best. Also, buy your tickets earlier rather than later when surcharges could get bigger.
Do fuel surcharges affect your business travel plans? How do you deal with surprise fees? Tell us about it on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.
Photo credit: Gietje (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
Passport Expiration Dates Can Impact You More Than You Think
July 5, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
A little-known fact about international travel could snarl your plans or bring them to an abrupt halt if you don’t pay attention to it. Just like you read labels for expiration dates, you need to know your passport expiration date.
Turns out, many countries around the world, with the exception of the European nations, require passports to be valid for six months or more before your entry date. The restriction may apply to your date of entry or your planned date of departure. That is, if you’re flying home from Spain on December 31, your passport can’t expire after June 30.
Twenty-six European countries follow a lesser known law called the Schengen Agreement which allows you to enter their sovereignties, provided three months’ validity remains on your passport beyond your planned date of departure. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, no minimum validity is enforced.
The best way to know which countries have which rules is to check the U.S. Department of State’s website. It has a menu of country-by-country details.
Another thing to keep in mind when traveling with children is that their passports are only good for five years instead of 10. For one family, their son’s passport expiration date completely derailed a long-planned trip to Spain.
They were just two hours from departure when an American Airlines representative told them their son couldn’t board the plane because his passport was due to expire. Turns out a valid passport isn’t always a valid passport.
How can you keep this from happening to you? Follow these guidelines as you plan your next international excursion:
- Check your destination country’s passport validation rules before you plan your itinerary. Do what you need to do if your passport will expire close to the country’s expiration date. Don’t try to slip through unnoticed, because they’re looking out for it.
- Check every person’s passport expiration date before you book your flights. Remember that children’s passports expire every five years, so our best advice is to go ahead and apply for updated documents for any that will expire within the year you plan to go abroad.
- Book your flights with points so you’ll have options. The family in the story above had purchased their flights with miles, so they were able to get their flights refunded. But if they had waited to get them refunded until after the flight had taken off, they would’ve forfeited them and the points. Ouch.
The family in question was able to rebook their flights and used points to put together a last-minute trip stateside. They learned their lesson, so let their experience be a cautionary tale.
Have you ever had passport issues when you travel? Any big problems or narrow-misses? Tell us about it on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.
Photo credit: Tony Webster (Wikimedia Commons/Flickr, Creative Commons 2.0)
New Platinum® Elite Collection: Available Only at Travelpro.com
June 18, 2018 by Matt Sill · Leave a Comment
Just because you’re not traveling first class doesn’t mean your clothes can’t. Upgrade your traveling experience when you purchase from the new Travelpro® Platinum® Elite Collection — available exclusively at Travelpro.com through the end of June.
This new 17-piece collection of soft-sided luggage features the PrecisionGlide™ System, which offers precise control and an effortless roll. Three patented features function as an integrated system — just the kind of thoughtful innovation you’ve come to expect from Travelpro.
Travelpro Platinum Elite Vintage Gray
The Contour Grip has cushioned touch points to help alleviate stress on your hand for greater comfort and control. The PowerScope Extension Handle, made with airline-grade aluminum, is lightweight, yet durable and adjusts to four set heights while minimizing wobble. The MagnaTrac® Dual Spinner Wheels are self-aligning, allowing them to roll straight in any direction for excellent maneuverability when you can’t afford to slow down.
The Platinum® Elite Collection features smooth-gliding Spinners and Rollaboard® suitcases, as well as garment bags and personal totes for overnight trips and weekend getaways. Constructed of superior, scuff- and scratch-resistant fabrics with leather accents in online-exclusive colors and all backed by the new Built-for-a-Lifetime Limited Worry-Free Warranty, you’re sure to find the perfect piece of luggage to elevate your travel experience.
The Platinum® Elite Collection warranty “guarantees the functional performance of each piece against defects in material and workmanship for the life of the bag”. Additionally, the new Trusted Companion Promise element offers additional coverage like reimbursement of shipping cost if the product needs to be shipped to an authorized repair center for repair and it also covers the cost of repair for damage caused by an airline or other common carrier as long as you register your bag within the first 120 days of purchase or gift receipt.
Travelpro Platinum Elite
Another design feature created to meet airline regulations is the integrated USB port, which includes a zippered exterior pocket to store your power bank while you charge and use your electronic devices. Your power bank can be removed quickly and easily from the bag’s exterior, allowing you to continue using it during the flight while your bag is stowed in the overhead bin.
From the grab and go, lightweight Platinum® Elite Regional Duffel with built-in strap, easy-access front and back slip pockets for essentials and a roomy interior that accommodates packing cubes, to the sleek, top-of-the-line 29″ Expandable Spinner with fold-out suiter, integrated accessory pockets, and interior tie-down system, this collection has everything you need to elevate your packing game to the highest level—the elite, one might say—with Platinum® Elite.
Are you interested in learning more about the new Platinum Elite collection? You can do so by visiting our website at Travelpro.com. You can also follow us on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter page.