TripCart :: The Travel Blog

Southwest and Bar Refaeli help TripCart kick off Beach season

While half of the United States is buried in snow, Southwest airlines has decided to help out TripCart and cheer up the freezing citizens of the east coast by kicking off Beach Season. They even went to the trouble of painting a plane that will inspire people to plan their beach vacation on TripCart. You should not have trouble spotting this plane, pictured above but for the die-hard aviation nuts out there, the plane can be identified by the FAA Registration number on the tail of the 737-7H4 model, which is:

N922WN

Here are some popular beach destinations that Southwest flies to:

When you are finished with the Orlando, Florida places to visit, head to the coast for more places to visit in Florida -caladesi island state park, bathtub beach and sebastian inlet.

All over California - from glass beach in the north through pismo beach and  bolsa chica beach all the way to blacks beach in San Diego.Besides beaches, there are certainly lots of places to visit around Los Angeles, California

Besides the Norfolk, VA James river cruises, down the coast from Norfolk into North Carolina, follow in the footsteps of the Wright Brothers (without whom Bar Refaeli might not be decaled onto a 737) and visit Wrightsville Beach,Hammocks Beach State Park or Hatteras Beach.

And if a subway ride from JFK is about as exotic as you are getting this summer, head to Riis Beach, Orchard Beach in the Bronx, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn or - if you are a fan of the Ramones - Rock Rock Rock Rock Rockaway Beach. Then head back to the city and enjoy some of the fun things to do in Manhattan and NYC.

Budget Airline Perks

The Onion made a funny with this Infographic about budget airlines around the US.  Click through for a higher resolution version.  We think Midwest Airlines definitely has the right idea.

Don't Take Flight 1659 From Newark To Chicago

American Airlines flight 1659 from Newark Liberty International to Chicago has the dubious distinction of being the most chronically delayed of all flights in the U.S.  You are pretty much guaranteed not to get to Chciago on time, in fact, it was at least 15 minutes late almost 85% of the time in the past year.  On the days it was late it was usually about an hour and a half late, about the same amount of time the trip takes.   It's not just American Airlines though, there are over 100 flights that are at least 15 minutes late 70% of the time.  The New York Times has a great interactive graphic showing the offending flights - basically, you should avoid Newark like the plague.

(thanks nyt)

Can You Smell The Racism In The Air?

What is wrong with us sometimes?  Maybe you should ask Leigh Robbins, she's a certified biggot, racist, xenophobe and an ass.  Robbins was on a plane that was getting ready to leave San Diego for Chicago when she heard several men on the plane speaking in Arabic (we suppose it was with the help of 24 that she was able to discern what language they were speaking).  After she observed one of the Iraqi passengers using the bathroom, she said that he came out and "looked so mean" that she felt compelled to gather up her two little racists-in-training and get off the plane quick.  While the American Airlines crew complied with her request it forced them to miss the 11:30pm curfew for take-offs and the flight was delayed until the following morning.  It turns out the Iraqis on board are hired by a contractor working for the U.S. Military, they are American citizens who fled Saddam's regime in 1991.  Robbins defended her blatant racism and ignorance saying "If people want to put me down, that's their right."  We think she should be banned from ever flying again.

(thanks San Diego Metro News)

Say Goodbye To Paper Tickets

Paper tickets will soon be a thing of the past.  So get ready to tell your grandkids about when you use to have to provide a paper voucher in order to get on a plane.  In less than a year the entire airline industry will be going high-tech and get rid of paper tickets all together.  E-tickets will save airlines an astounding $9 per ticket (which we doubt they'll pass on to you) and better yet, it'll save 50,000 defenseless trees from losing their lives just so you can travel.  Can you feel your carbon footprint getting smaller?

(thanks travelindustrywire)

TSA 86's Pudding But Leaves Swiss Army Knife

Fresh from The Consumerist is another story of aviation travel woe.  A passenger wrote into say that on a recent flight that went through Sacramento, the TSA dutifully confiscated a Hunts Pudding Snack but became so fixated on its sugary goodness that they neglected to notice the 4" Swiss Army knife that was also in the bag, here's the scoop-

I was passing through Sacto airport security checkpoint. I sent my carry-on backpack through the Xray machine. The operator found something, and raised her hand for assistance. Another TSA person came over and pulled my bag out of the machine and commenced with a hand search. Inside he found a package of unopened Hunts Pudding Snacks in my lunch. He confiscated the pudding "it's a liquid" and sent me on my way. Absurd, but forgettable. However later in the day I had a layover, and was going through my backpack looking for a pen and came across my Swiss Army Knife with a 4" locking blade. I had been camping and had inadvertently left it in my backpack. I was stunned that the moron TSA agent had confiscated my pudding, but missed my knife. I am left wondering if the X-ray person ordered the hand search because she saw my knife on the xray, but the hand searcher got thrown off his game by the delicious, and apparently dangerous pudding. If so the lack of communication between the Xrayer and hand searcher indicates a serious weak spot in their protocol. After I discovered the knife, I took a cell phone shot of it in the airport bathroom, and a shot of it as I was LEAVING the secure "sterile" area of the airport.

Rate An Airport Near You

While we were doing research on our next startup venture - a website that lets you rate review sites - we came across this nifty little number where you can get ratings on different airports around the world.  We guess this is useful if you want to know what to expect, but we suspect you're going to fly into JFK as opposed to LaGuardia if the tickets are $100 cheaper, regardless of the rating.  The site, with a super-snazzy name, will also clue you in to what the WiFi situation is like, as well as what to expect in the lounges and whether you're likely to find somewhere to plug in your laptop.

Lighters and Breast Milk Back in the Friendly Skies

August 4th will be a good day for smokers and moms.  The TSA, in it's infinite wisdom, seems to have realized that banning lighters and breast milk might not be worth the trouble.  According to USAToday, the TSA confiscated an incredible 11,616,000 lighters last year.  Taxpayers spent $4 million to get rid of all those lighters and smokers spent over $10 million to replace them (it's a good time to be in the lighter business). Officials from the TSA also decided the overwhelming medical benefits of breast milk finally outweigh the potential threat of someone smuggling explosives onto a plane through their mammories (it still must be declared when going through safety checkpoints).   

TSA Fails Again

Another inspection of the TSA, another miserable failure.  Last week Federal inspectors were able to slip a fake bomb past checkpoints at Albany International Airport.  In fact, the airport managed to pass just two of seven tests.  In one instance, TSA workers competently detected a big scary bottle of water in a passenger's carry-on but missed the fake bomb components.  According to the Times Union last October TSA officials at Newark's  Liberty International Airport failed an incredible 20 of 22 tests.  So percentage-wise, they're failing less now.

(thanks clicked)

Frequent Flyer Mileage Runners

Wired has a great article about mileage runners, people who game the system by finding the cheapest possible flight with the maximum number of connections in order to gain the maximum number of miles for the least amount of money.  For most of the hardcore mileage runners, the fun is simply gaming the system, it's like a very elaborate problem-solving puzzle with hints from the forums over at FlyerTalk.  Head to Wired to read the full article.

7 Hours With Delta on the Tarmac

This video pretty much speaks for itself. We're so thankful it wasn't us that got stuck on the Tarmac for a whopping 7 hours last week.  Lucky for us (and awful for Delta) Robert McKee made a video about the nightmare flight.

(thanks again consumerist)

The TSA Loves Dressing Up Disaster

We always love a good story about the TSA, because whatever they do seems to be moronic.  Over at ZUG, John Hargrave explains his latest encounter with the TSA when he was busted trying to smuggle 12 ounces of extremely dangerous salad dressing on to a flight.  Here's a taste-

Ah, yes.  The "three ounces or less" rule.  According to the TSA Web site, all liquids must be in "three-ounce or smaller containers," placed in a "single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag." I had a 12-ounce bottle of salad dressing, wrapped in suspicious brown paper.  I felt this was close enough.

The TSA agent thought differently.  "Sorry, we can't allow this on," she told me, unwrapping the bottle.

"It's only salad dressing," I told her, hoping to get her sympathy. "For my wife." Chicks love it when you talk about your wife. Unless they're your second wife.

"Sorry," she said.  "I'll have to confiscate it."

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't contain explosives," I said, trying to win her over.  "Unless we're talking about an explosion of flavor."

Get Ready to Wait This Summer

Word on the street is that there are going to be tons of delays for people trying to fly this summer.  David Field, editor of Airline Business magazine, was recently interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered; he cites antiquated traffic control technology and smaller planes as the source of much of the trouble.  Field places the rest of the blame on airlines for padding flight times and over-scheduling arrivals.  Interesting listening, as always, from our bestest friends at public radio.

(thanks smartertravel)

Airlines Suck Worse than the IRS

According to a new survey by the University of Michigan US airlines scored two points lower than the IRS on the American Customer Satisfaction Index.  United Airlines scored the lowest followed by Delta Airlines.  Surprisingly, the budget carrier Southwest Airlines led the industry.  Something is seriously wrong with the airline industry when people would rather fill out a 1040 than fly.

(thanks travelmole)

Bringo Kills Hold Times

You know when you get all psyched to buy a plane ticket and then you get stuck on hold for 20 minutes before some nice man from India helps you?  Well, Bringo aims to save you that time you waste on hold by calling the airline for you and then calling you as soon as you're finally connected to a real live person.  Here's how it works-

1. Find the company you'd like to call by category (credit cards, mortgages, loans, health care)
2. Enter your phone # (we will never disclose your phone number to anyone, not even your mother!).
3. Wait a few seconds while we navigate the phone tree.
4. When we call you back, pick up your phone and you're done.  No more phone trees.

Sounds pretty cool to us, currently they have 25 airlines and 14 hotels they can call for you.

(thanks techcrunch)

FlyLite for the Business Traveler on an Expense Account

As we're sure you're aware, airlines aren't getting any better about mishandling bags.  Add to that the fact that the number of people flying should double by 2010 and you can pretty much assume something you own will get misplaced sometime in the near future.  FlyLite is a new service that ships you your clothes so you don't have to pack, wash or check them in at the airport.  They claim this will save you about 3 hours per trip.  Initially you ship your things to one of their warehouses in Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Washington - then they send them to the concierge of your hotel before you arrive, when you leave FlyLite picks your stuff up, dry-cleans it and stores it away until your next trip.  The service runs a $100 for each delivery and requires a 12-hour heads-up.  They plan to have over a dozen locations by the end of the year.

(thanks cnnmoney)

Cell Phones Still Banned on Planes for 3 Stupid Reasons

We've been waiting ages to annoy the hell out of you by talking incessantly through a whole flight as loud as possible on our cell phones.  But as of yet, it still hasn't come to pass and there are 3 reasons why: the airlines, the cell phone companies and the government.  Officially cell phones are banned for two main reasons; because they could mess with the planes' electronics or because they could mess with cell towers on the ground.  Even though the potential problems stemming from cell phones could be tested the FAA and FCC have refused to come up with any definitive answers over the past 20 years. 

• Airlines want the ban because they don't want to deal with aggravated flyers who are tired of hearing phones ring or loud conversations.  They also don't want passengers to be able to communicate with the ground in case of a terror attack or plane crash.
• Cell phone carriers want the ban so they don't have to upgrade their towers to communicate more effectively with flyers in the air. 
• The Man refuses to allow cell phone use on planes out of incompetence and a lack of accountability - no official from the FAA or the FCC wants to be the guy who said cell phones were OK and then have a plane go down.

In the end, all of this posturing is absurd - about 2 million people a day fly in the U.S., if just 1 in 1000 people forget to turn off their cell phones then there are still over 2000 instances everyday of cell phones being on during flights and yet no crash has ever been determined to have been caused by a wayward cell phone.  The ban will most likely stay in place for the foreseeable future as it cheaper and more convenient for all parties involved, save the passengers.

(thanks computerworld)

Goodsleep on the Plane - Good Luck

Trying to sleep on a plane is always an ordeal and it's always hard to get comfortable cramped up in coach as planes get more and more crowded.  If the pathetic pillow you receive isn't doing the trick you could try getting one of those hemorrhoid donuts that fit around your neck or you could go all out with the 1st Class Sleeper.  This pillow supports your whole back and keeps your head from flopping around.  It also magically creates an extra half a foot of legroom. 

(thanks mobissimo)

Air Fares Still on the Rise

Tickets prices in the US continue to rise and are at their highest levels since 2000 according to the US Bureau of Transportation.  Average ticket prices have risen another 3.4% to a high of $378 but are still about $20 short of 2000's record high.  According to the report the most expensive airports to fly into these days are Anchorage, followed by Cincinnati, Honolulu, San Francisco and New York's John F. Kennedy.  The cheapest place to fly into is Dallas' Love Field followed by the ghetto Midway Airport in Chicago. 

$10 Flights Coming Soon

Europe's had it fair share of super-cheap discount airlines for quite some time now.  But soon we will see the RyanAir / EasyJet model hit the skies over Columbus, Ohio.  Skybus is set to make its debut next month and while most of their tickets will be about 50% cheaper than their competitors, they are also offering 10 one-way tickets on every flight for just $10.  This means if you play your cards right you could score a ticket from Columbus to Richmond, VA for a mere $40.80 including tax - not too shabby.  You can currently book online for about ten cities around the US, as far west as Oakland and Bellingham (100 miles from Seattle) as far south as Fort Lauderdale.  Like its European brothers, Skybus charge for just about everything from pillows to checked bags.  At $10 a flight the company's CEO, Bill Diffenderffer is trying to attract the true cheapskates out there: "We want to stimulate people to travel who otherwise would not go."

Airlines Continue to Pack Them In

Most major airlines flew last month with more seats filled than in any previous March.  Gone are the days of the empty middle seat.  American, Delta, Continental, United, US Airways and Northwest all flew at over 80% occupancy, meaning that virtually every popular flight was completely full.   The March numbers were due partly to Spring Breakers and bad weather that forced airlines to consolidate passengers who were on cancelled flights.

(thanks usatoday)

Northwest Pilot's Pottymouth Gets Flight Canceled

A Northwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit was canceled on Saturday after the captain was overheard swearing on his cell phone in the bathroom as passengers boarded the plane.  Here's the official report from Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman-

He used what was described to me as rude language, at some point during the boarding process, he left the cockpit, went into the front lavatory, locked the door and continued his conversation.  Passengers who were boarding the aircraft could hear his end of the conversation through the lavatory door. When the captain emerged from the bathroom, a passenger confronted him about his behavior, reportedly prompting more cursing by the pilot of the B757 aircraft.

The police determined that there was no need for a sobriety test and Northwest compensated the passengers, however, they were unable to determine why the pilot was so angry with his wife.

(thanks reuters)

Related posts: Don't Take Flight 1659 From Newark To Chicago • Rate An Airport Near You • Airlines Continue to Pack Them In • Atlanta Still Has World's Busiest Airport • Maxim Posts the Top 10 Most Horrific Plane Crashes in Movies

Get Hoooked Up from the Airlines with Rule 240

The Consumerist continues to deliver great advice for those of us flying the friendly skies.  Their newest tidbit involves printing out a copy of the airline's "Rule 240," - My Travel Rights, explains-

Before airline deregulation in 1978, Rule 240 was literally a federal requirement. Nowadays, it's a term describing what individual airlines will do for late or stranded passengers. In fact, the major airlines have filed "conditions of carriage" with the U.S. Department of Transporatation (DOT) guaranteeing their respective Rule 240s.

My Travel Rights (what is there not a blog about these days?) also advises to brush up on the particular airline's Rule 240 before approaching an agent with a printed-out copy.  You could be eligible for meal vouchers, ticket vouchers, hotel rooms and possibly a refund. A list of links to Rule 240 for most major American airlines  can be found at the end of the above post.

Hawaiian Airlines is the Best of the Best

The 17th annual national Airline Quality Ratings study have just been released and the newly included Hawaiian Airlines beat out Jet Blue for the top spot (they were going for their fourth consecutive win).  Coming in third was AirTran followed by Frontier and Northwest.  The study is based on the finding of university research that gauges customer's responses to 15 different elements.  Hawaiian Airlines took the top prize based partly on their top performance for on-time arrivals (93%) and baggage handling (about 3 bags per 1,000 customers were mishandled).   Overall performance for the airline industry in three of the four major areas was worse than in 2005 according to the study.   Here are some more interesting stats from this year's study-

• 1 out of every 3 Atlantic Southeast Airlines flights wasn't on time
• On average 1 in every 4 flight in 2006 was late
• Atlantic Southeast Airline mishandles more bags than anyone else, more than five times more than Hawaiian Airlines (over 17 bags per 1,000 customers)
• Southwest Airlines had the lowest customer complaint rate
• United and US Airways had the highest customer complaint rate

You can view the full report here (warning: PDF file).

Related posts: Top Ten First Class Airlines • 3 of America's Most Beautiful Beaches Voted in Top 25 Sexiest Beaches in the World • Frequent Flyer Mileage Runners • FlyLite for the Business Traveler on an Expense Account • Northwest Pilot's Pottymouth Gets Flight Canceled • Air Fares Still on the Rise • $10 Flights Coming Soon

Related travel guides: Getting to Hilo, Kona, Volcano, Big Island of Hawaii

Picture from Denver International Airport

A little perspective from the moving walkway at the Denver International Airport.

(thanks dangerding)

Surprise: TSA Fails Miserably to Stop Potential Bomb Threat

Homeland Security and the TSA have been driving everyone nuts for months now over their ban of liquids on planes.  In an effort to make everyone safer they have made it much more difficult and frustrating to fly and according to a report last month authorities at the denver International Airport, "failed to find liquid explosives packed in carry-on luggage and also improvised explosive devices, or IED's, worn by undercover agents."  Apparently we're all being hassled incessantly with no real results except we're all a few nail clippers lighter.  According to a study by the government's General Accounting Office, 90 percent of guns and explosives federal agents tried to smuggle on to a plane got through at 15 different airports (they did not report the number of corkscrews that slipped through).  Understandably, the TSA would prefer things like this to go unnoticed, "The last thing TSA wants to do is look bad in front of congress and in front of the public, so rather than fix the problem, they'd rather just keep them quiet."  What a shame that all this inconvenience is doing nothing to make us safer.

(thanks boingboing)

Flight Attendant Armed and Ready

Last week, a United Airlines flight attendant who was in uniform but wasn't part of the crew flew from Atlanta to Dulles International Airport while packing a loaded weapon.  No explanation was given as to why the handgun was brought on the plane and an official from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said: "It seems it was an inadvertent incident, from her description."  If we had a nickel for every time we almost brought our .357 on a plane.  It's still not clear just how Janet Tucker got the gun on the plane (airline employees are supposed to go through the same screening process as passengers) but she has since been arrested.

Related travel guides: • Casino gambling in San Francisco Bay Area • Daytona Beach & Pensacola casinos • Fun things to do in New York City • Fun things to do in San Francisco Bay Area • Luxury hotels Austin, Texas • Michigan family vacation ideas

More Stewardesses of Yesteryear

Everyone loved looking at old pictures of flight attendants so much that Dark Roasted Blend scrounged up another set of fascinating photos from the golden age of aviation.  Enjoy the eye candy.

Here's the previous post about flight attendants from days gone by.

Skycaps Give Passenger Complimentary Suitcase Full of Trash

Skycaps are having a hard time these days - the TSA isn't making their lives any easier and lots of folks assume that the $2 curb-side check-in fee goes in their pocket (it doesn't).  As a result the skycaps in Miami have apparently become more and more pushy about getting the gratuity they believe they deserve-

I checked one bag with him, and, after giving him $2 plus $1 tip, he said my tip wasn't enough. I thought he was joking. He said $2 went to American Airlines, and he needed more than a dollar tip per bag to make a living. I said I thought the gratuity was up to my discretion. He said not if I wanted my bag intact when it arrived in Chicago - and suggested I take my bag inside if I didn't give him a better tip.

I was stunned and asked the skycap next to him if harassing customers for tips was part of American's policy. He said yes, with a smug look. I said I was going inside to talk to customer service. As I walked away with my baggage-claim number, he said he couldn't guarantee my bag would arrive safely in Chicago.

I boarded the plane and picked up my suitcase in Chicago without a problem. But, when I got home, I found bags of messy garbage in my luggage! I had to dry-clean some clothing and am considering throwing away the suitcase. (from the Daily Southtown)

So, if you're not willing to shell out $5 or more to make the skycap feel properly rewarded you're probably better off just taking your bags inside yourself.

(thanks consumerist)

Air Bags for Everyone

Everybody likes airbags, you can throw your trash in them, you can puke in them, some of them you can even use to keep score while you play gin-rummy.  If you're into air bags, and want to see some examples of airlines from around the world, head over to bagophily.com - they have a gallery of air sickness bags from U.S. and international carriers, including a section of their personal favorites.

(thanks jaunted)