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Health & Fitness

Travel Insider Tips – March 2013

Travel Agent Insider Travel Tips for March 2013 - you heard it here!

 

Boeing to Propose 787 Battery Fix to FAA - AP reports Boeing has developed a plan that it intends to propose to federal regulators to temporarily fix problems with the Dreamliner batteries that have kept planes on the ground. Japan’s ANA said they replaced batteries 10 times before the jets were grounded.

U.S. Embassy in Peru Issues Security Message - U.S. citizens are being warned about a potential kidnapping threat in the Cusco and Machu Picchu area.

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Israel National Museum to Open Exhibit on Biblical King Herod - This will be the world’s first exhibition devoted to the architectural legacy of Biblical King Herod, the Jewish proxy monarch who ruled Jerusalem and the Holy Land under Roman occupation.

Delta to go to Revenue-Based Frequent flyer Program in 2014 - At that time, the airline will start counting Medallion qualifying dollars which count towards the 2015 program.  Participants will have to earn status the old way on miles or segments but there is a new requirement to spend what translates to an overage of 10 cents per mile on status.

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Holland America picked as Best Overall Cruise Value - World Ocean and Cruise Liner Society members named Holland America Line as the best overall cruise line value for 2012.   

World’s Best and Worst Airlines - The Hamburg-based Jet Airline Crash Data Evaluation Center has rated the world’s airlines according to safety.  The safest airline is Finair, followed by Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific and Emirates.   The bottom three are China Airlines, Air India, and TAM.

Two British Airways Pilots die from toxic cabin fumes - The pilots had complained for years about exposure and believed they had been poisoned by contaminated cabin air. They had been wearing oxygen masks in order to breathe.  A law suit is in progress.

Crystal Cruises voted Number 1 and 2 medium size ships in the world - Conde Nast Traveler magazine readers gave them a score of 94.5. 

Crime and Airlift Challenge Caribbean Tourism - The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s board of Directors said that crimes, violence, robbery and theft were menacing the tourism industry in the Caribbean.

Windstar to return to sailing in the south Pacific in 2014 - 7-day cruises out of Papeete, Tahiti will take place on the 148-passenger ship.

China continues to have horrific smog levels - The smog levels in China are 20 times higher than the World Health Organization considers safe.  Airlines are being forced to cancel flights.

Southwest Offers Movies on Demand, for a fee - There are already fees for Wi-Fi internet connection.

Travel agents seeing an influx of clients - In a poll of travel agents by Open Jaw, results show agents are seeing an influx of clients who have discovered that do-it-yourself online booking isn’t always the best option. One retailer summed it up this way: A computer can only give you what you ask for. A travel counselor will give you options. In a recent poll, 90.2 percent confirmed sightings of online refugees.  Answering the question, “Are fed-up clients coming back?” 49.4 percent said yes. The responses confirm a number of media reports from across North America in the past year. A 2012 New York Times article put it this way - the rebound is thanks to an uptick in corporate and leisure travel but it’s also due to growing frustration with the sheer amount of travel-related information on the web. That article cited one study that found it takes the average person more than two hours to search and book travel on line. In another survey conducted by the Institute for Business Value, 20 percent said it took them more than five hours.

Maureen Jones is president of All Horizons Travel  at 160 Main Street. Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises, and all types of leisure.

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