Tagged With "Airline Meals"
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Re: What's the Best City in the World to Eat in?
I won't claim any city to be the best in the world—at least not until I have time to visit them all! I'm always skeptical anyway about "the best" "the most" and so forth. That said, I'll also add that the best is not always the most expensive or famous. And I'm pleased to see that he's not pushing posh places, but rather inexpensive curry houses and a 24-hour cafe. His point seems to be that London is the best city to eat in because it is, his opinion, the best city to BE in. So, I'll...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Again thanks, this is incredibly helpful!! So I think I'll look at trains for trips from bigger cities to other cities, and fill in the gaps with bus if the pricing works out. A little more planning is needed. Even though it's expensive, I do want to spend around a week in London. Being an architect, there's just so much to see and do there, like seeing the Houses of Parliament and Westminister Abbey. I plan on being on the go almost all day each day there -- can rest later, maybe in the...
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Re: Renting an apartment in Europe
CICAK, may I suggest you encourage your wife to see the big picture. When you're in a hotel room you are not required to savage the minibar. When you're in an apartment you aren't required to cook. The kitchen just exists quietly should you desire it. What you're there for is to spread out, have privacy with all the comforts of home, possibly be in a more interesting neighborhood & surrounded by people who interest you and who may even be interested in you and any number of other...
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Re: Safe to fly on New Years?
Just don't spill any salt on your meal and make sure you don't walk under any ladders at the airport.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
We flew Norwegian in May, Orlando-Oslo and were really impressed. The 787 made such a difference and we arrived feeling fresh. The moister air, bigger windows and lighting made a world of difference in how we felt post trip. We brought a decent sized carry-on and personal bag each for free too. As far other extra fees, we didn't pay any. They charge for food or drinks, but we just bought those at the airport. And I think they also charge for blankets, but we brought jackets to cover with and...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
This is sounding very promising, Rob. I can think of no reason to pay more money to pay with miles than for a ticket on Norwegian. I have enough miles to go around the world and only the first leg (or last, depending) is more expensive using miles. It makes no sense. So you were able to carry on your main bag plus a smaller one? I'm speaking of the limits for discounted coach tickets (aka "steerage").
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Amazing the way these calculations work out. We're going to England next spring, using American Airlines points. The flight selection offered us flights on British Airways and American. The AA flights cost the points plus government fees. The BA flights cost the points plus the government fees, plus enough surcharges to make a $1000+ difference. If I only had the BA flights, I'd certainly rather find a low-cost carrier! It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming year as Aer...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
The carry-on limits are posted on the site. Still we were a little worried but there were no problems. We each took a carry-on and a personal bag on for free. A note that my same carry-on was too big for Air China so Norwegian had decent limits.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
The website states the limits for a carry-on bag are (approximately, stated in cm) 21 x 16 x 9 inches, and 10 kilos/22 pounds. Plus a "small" item that fits comfortably under the seat. Were your bags within these guidelines, Rob?
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I think that's very similar to American Airlines carry-on allowance. A lot better than EasyJets etc. Whether my bag was over, I can't say. My original bag was lost by Megabus, if you can believe it, so I had a different bag and clothes than what I was planning on The thing about the 787 is there's actually room for the carry-on. in the overhead.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I've checked my bag for years but it sounds like in this case it'd be worthwhile to pack light and carry it on. My usual, without trying, is about 13 kilos, so 10 isn't a huge stretch. Sounding like an interesting possibility.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I was just reading a Chris Elliott piece on when people get so fed up with air travel they stop flying altogether. He interviewed a man who owned a travel company, Spencer Carlson and the positive airline example he gave was Norwegian. So it seems like my good experience is the norm with them. Here is this link: http://www.seattletimes.com/li...-to-take-it-anymore/
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I can live indefinitely with 2 sets of clothes, 1 to wear & 1 to wash, 1 extra pair of shoes, all in a day pack. I wouldn't necessarily WANT to do it, but I could, rather than stop flying if, say, the airlines reduced baggage limits to 10 pounds altogether. It's the same old story, I figure, if for any reason, you can't or won't travel (time, money, fed up, whatever), you just don't want to enough. One excuse is as good as another. Good to hear about Norwegian. I repeated the exercise...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Continuing my search for an economical way to use my miles and avoid absurd fees, I tried a combination of 2 one-way flights, one with miles, one on Norwegian. One way on Norwegian is as low as $286. If I avoid using BA with points, flights on AA to Paris are 20,000 miles (before May 15th) plus a $5 fee (excellent!) but with a stupid schedule, 3 flights and 2 days to get there. And 1 possibility available. All the rest are BA flights, $326 in fees + 20,000 miles. Next thought, why is AA...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
The AA-BA mashup is tricky, yes, but not as devious as it may seem. Between New York and Paris, for instance, AA has only two non-stops a day; BA has a half-dozen (or more, including Open Skies). And, BA has many seats LON-PAR, so availability is greater. A similar situation exists on this side of the ocean, where BA feeds many AA domestic flights. It's sometimes possible to get around better if you don't mind one stop...we've used AA to Madrid paired with Iberia to Paris (Iberia's charges...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Call it whatever you like, but I seem to have missed your point. But, no matter, MY point was simply that I see no excuse for charging astonishingly different prices for the same product, transportation from point A to point B, on partner airlines ostensibly selling the same thing.
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Re: Beating Jet Lag
I hate to say it, but I think that Songhua Ni's advice—sleep as much as you can, and walk around a bit—is going to work much better for front-of-the-plane flat-bed-seat people like him than it is for the rest of us. I recently had the pleasure of New York-Doha round-trip on Qatar, bumped up to the front, and it made an immense difference in my sleep, especially the quality of it. Otherwise, my best advice, based mostly on trans-Atlantic travel, is get on the plane to Europe tired, sleep as...
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Re: Beating Jet Lag
We've developed an easy-to-use method of avoiding jet lag. Instead of changing sleep and/or lighting schedules days before your flight, simply fast for ~16 hrs before your first full meal at your destination. This calculator can help you plan: jetlagcalc.com Happy travels everyone!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Wow ! That is a good deal. I need to drill down through those redeem mileage programs and see what I can learn. Thanks for this valuable lesson.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Thanks for pointing this out! By the way, it is also possible to take a free stopover on the international end. For example, a couple of years ago, we flew from NYC to Copenhagen (the routing) but with a week stopover in Stockholm along the way. We've used that kind of routing a number of times. Adding to your point about Britain: Many of AA's European cities are actually served by their closely-tied partners, British Air and Iberia. With a little persistence, you can find flights that don't...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
So, PHeymont, when you stopped for the week in Stockholm which airline was it and what fees were you charged for the stopover? You mention Madrid. Presumably that was a different trip, so same questions on that one. Also, can these stopovers be scheduled on the AA website or must you speak to an AAdvantage customer service person and pay the ($25?) fee?
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Originally Posted by PortMoresby: .... can these stopovers be scheduled on the AA website or must you speak to an AAdvantage customer service person and pay the ($25?) fee? I scheduled my flights using the website. When you go to the AAdvantage booking site there are three choices: round-trip, one-way and multi-city. When you choose your flights you see boxes showing the number of miles per leg. The leg between Dallas and San Francisco showed no miles. There was also some kind of comment to...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Similar to WorkerBee's experience, I've done these bookings using the Multi-City function, which allows you to specify a date for each segment. It didn't require assistance. Actually I've never had to pay a fee for help when booking something that could not be done on line, but who knows these days. I've done these stopover trips a number of times (NY-Budapest/open jaw/Prague-London w/stopover and then back to NY, etc.) The AAdvantage desk agents, by the way, are some of their best and can...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
All potentially very useful information. Many thanks, Gurus.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
All things to be watched closely, by the way; by January the new AA will start rolling out updated program rules and procedures for what will be a merged program. We'll need to watch closely to see what changes!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
WorkerBee, how long will you be in Spain, and when? We're going for 8 days (not counting the travel days) in February. We'll be in Seville, Cordoba and Granada. Gumbo fans would love to hear how your trip is going and to see pictures along the way!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
I will be there about a month, from February 12 to March 12. I will be in Madrid for a few days after I arrive and then off to Girona and environs for a few weeks. I may wander into southeast France for a few days as well before I return to Madrid for a couple of days before I fly out.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
I envy your trip! We'll overlap in time, but not in place. If you do add France to the itinerary, you might want to look into the new TGV service from Barcelona to Paris that starts this month. I'm not sure of its route as it leaves Spain, but it might go where you want to!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Originally Posted by PHeymont: I envy your trip! We'll overlap in time, but not in place. If you do add France to the itinerary, you might want to look into the new TGV service from Barcelona to Paris that starts this month. I'm not sure of its route as it leaves Spain, but it might go where you want to! For some time the AVE has run from Madrid to Figueres which is north of Barcelona and Girona. The TGV has been running from Figueres to Paris for some time as well. I'm told that it takes...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Now I know why your handle is WorkerBee. Persistence and hard work get the job done! Well Done!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Originally Posted by WorkerBee: It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago. That's one of the things I like about AA...aside from the one-way awards. When everyone else was 50K to Europe, they were 40K offpeak and 60 peak. Now everyone else is 60K peak, and AA still has the winter bargains. Hope it lasts!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Wonderful piece of planning WorkerBee ! Missing off London to avoid the $18 Departure Tax for Spain seems a bit severe. I presume your return journey is more direct.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
$ 18 ? I am puzzled by this. When I have taken flights from London to the US, the tax has been more like $ 150 - $ 200. It was worth it to spend time in London, of course. Still, it was not a small amount.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
The UK departure tax is "Banded" into distances and economy / regular / 1st class. London - Spain is only a short distance.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Well, but if Spain is the destination, passing up UK makes sense. On the other hand, APD leads to calculations such as Flying NYC-LON-Continental Europe: No problem; as long as your time in UK is less than 24 hours, you are a transit passenger and don't pay APD. Flying Continential Europe-LON-NYC: Not so good; you pay the APD on the trans-Atlantic leg, and that's high. The other issue with this is not APD at all; flying to the Continent through Madrid or Barcelona tends to be cheaper because...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Garry RF and PHeymont - Thank you very much for the information. In this case, APD is not incurred - Flying NYC-LON-Continental Europe: No problem; as long as your time in UK is less than 24 hours, you are a transit passenger and don't pay APD. In this case, there is an APD, even if the transit is less than 24 hours ? - Flying Continential Europe-LON-NYC: Not so good; you pay the APD on the trans-Atlantic leg, and that's high. Concerning the third item, this explains why Worker Bee had a...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
I'm not sure on your question about WB's trip, because it depends on routing. From NY, AA most often uses their own seats for the ocean hop, but does use some BA seats from Newark. Other cities...not sure how many BA seats used in that direction. And sometimes it's a matter of class. For instance, last year flying home from Paris, there were AA seats in business class available non-stop, but economy was only available on BA Orly-London-Newark.
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Re: Help with Provence Itinerary
Nearest St-Remy: - Don't miss Les Baux . The village is touristy but the castle complex on top is fantastic and the views are to die for - you don't need to be a fan of scenery to appreciate them. - Roman ruins of Glanum , walking distance from St-Remy - Arles for more Roman ruins (but I think you've been already?) Farther away: - Day-trip to the Luberon for unmatched scenery and charming little villages full of vernacular architecture - what people build themselves, without an architect.
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Re: Classic American Cars #6
Originally Posted by TravelandNature: Thinking '55 4 door sedan with a replacement grill... If I went for a ride in the Black Beauty, I would want a nice Cuban meal - do they have plantains in Cuba ? I would like something made with plantains. Plantains? You betcha!
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Re: ZHANGJIAJIE Visit
Hi Tahir, If you are not a local, join a guided tour is the easier way of visiting. There are many choices of packages from abroad or from the Zangjiajie, depending on how many sites you would like to visit, as well as hotel, meal and transportation selection. At least three days are needed to visit the area. "C-trip" is a very popular and reliable web site to book the China trip, I have done few times. Enjoy and have fun. Dr. Y
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Should a budget traveler "splurge" sometimes?
I read an interesting post written by Rick Steves, discussing the importance of splurging a little even when you're on a tight travel budget. Rick Steves is somewhat of a travel icon these days, and a very wealthy man who can spend as much or as...
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Best Restaurants
I read a lot of food magazines (Saveur, Bon Appetit, etc.) and they are always on top of what's trendy in food and wine...but I'm a little along, and not so interested in the newest thing, because mostly it's a lot of fuss and soon gone. I'd like...
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Can an Airline Video be TOO Funny?
I would have said "I doubt it," but WestJet's April Fools video has certainly stopped everyone here from getting on with their day...have a look. The scary part is...you could almost imagine it happening. 'Nuff said: And if that's not enough, here's...
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Song at 35,000 feet
Southwest airlines posted a fun clip of a band (the Black Cadillacs) performing a song they wrote in Memphis, in a 737 flying to Memphis. The plane's public address system provides far from a perfect sound environment, but the passengers seem to...
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6 Ways to Save Money on Food While on Vacation
Are you planning a trip to Monterey, California? You will want to make the most of your vacation and see all the sights. Eating out three meals a day can be a huge expense. Don't worry. There are ways you can save money and enjoy your trip while staying on budget. Here are a few tips that can help. Choose a Place with Cooking Facilities : Many hotels have kitchenettes or even full kitchens. Renting an apartment, a condo, or a vacation home will offer the benefit of a kitchen where you can...
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The Best 7 Healthy Foodie Lunches in London
While there are many healthy options in the form of coffee shops and restaurants in London, few are mouthwatering. Healthy eating does not need to be boring, especially when you are paying to have it made for you! Here is a hit list of restaurants that are serving healthy food which doesn’t negate your morning workout. 1. Ottolenghi – Notting Hill, Belgravia, Islington, Spitalfields Mouthwatering Middle Eastern food My husband is Israeli and as a result, we have long been paying homage to...
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What Are Best Things To Do In Brisbane?
Brisbane is one of the most vibrant, modern, and sunny cities with unsurpassed beauty and sub-tropical climate. You can always discover some friendly locals who will gladly show you this pretty riverside city. There are so many fun things to do in Brisbane that will give you eternally memorable moments for a lifetime. Here are the things you can include in your list: 1. Abseil Down And Brisbane’s Story Bridge: Climb Brisbane’s Story Bridge is one of the most iconic wonders of this city.
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Things you should do in Singapore
Singapore is a tiny island and may be smaller than many major cities around the world, but this country has succeeded to create a high level of discipline among its people and is today being looked up upon across the world. However, don’t let the country’s inclination for law frighten you. Singapore can promise can extraordinary vacation, as long as you follow certain simple tips that will make your tour much more enjoyable. 1. Throw your litter into the bin Though this is quite a basic...
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Your Dog-Friendly Guide to Santa Barbara
I recently got a puppy shortly after my graduation. Living alone without having anyone to give my endless love was starting to bother me. Plus, as far as the word goes- A dog is a man's best friend, it's very true. So I got myself some time off from work and decided to travel to Santa Barbara. But I was in a real pinch. I have a four-legged friend who needs constant attention and care. I didn't have anyone to leave him behind with, and I personally didn't want to. So I decided to embark on...