On the Sunday, March 31st, 2019 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, United Airlines cuts the miles needed for some short distance flights, Wow airlines calls it quits and the Simon and Garfunkel Story may be coming to Broadway. Airline Code Shares are one of life's great mysteries. You buy a ticket on one airline, and you fly on another. How is a traveler to know when this is happening? Can you prevent it? Our travel expert, Gwen Duncan, of Cordially Yours Travel, joins us to explain what code shares are, and why they are an important thing to pay attention to. Steve LaRosa is in for Tom Romano today, and Steve brings his latest edition of What's Goin' On with him. Music, baseball and even a play with a local story are all on Steve's list. See below for links to everything on Steve's list. Recently, on Flyer Talk, one of the popular web sites for road warriors, a lengthy and vociferous conversation took place about tipping housekeepers in hotels. Mark talks about tipping on the road and shares his personal preferences.
On the Sunday, March 24th, 2019 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the big story of the weekend is the
In the Travel News, the big story of the weekend is the
rescue of nearly 500 people off the Viking Sky cruise ship off the coast of Norway Saturday and Sunday. 20 passengers were injured in the daring rescue after the ship lost power in extremely rough seas. The ship has now regained its engines and is heading to Nolde Harbor to disembark.
Some Las Vegas resorts are selectively reducing or eliminating resort fees to attract more business, and a nationwide fast food chain which specializes in chicken sandwiches has been banned from the San Antonio airport. In the Smarter Traveler segment, Mark talks about his own experience in having his email hacked this week, and how it impacted a number of his credit cards and frequent flyer accounts. He offers some preventative wisdom, including never use your email address as your user name for any account, and consider 2-step verification for your email and any major "points" accounts. Listeners were asked to call in and give us the Five Things You Should Take With You On a Flight. Prizes were awarded. (A list of the correct answers, or at least the ones this article considered important, will be posted below after the show's conclusion.) Mark answered questions from the Mailbag. You can submit questions about travel to Mark and Tom by using the form on this page. Mark will answer as many as possible personally.
On the Saturday, March 16th, 2019 edition of The Travel Guys… On the Sunday, March 17th edition of
In the Travel News, the Max 8 airplane has dominated the news this week. After its second fatal crash, the planes were pulled from the air all over the planet. We have an update on when the planes will be back in the sky, and how you can get a leg up on the situation in the meantime. American Airlines is bragging about the new benefits on its branded credit card...while failing to put the benefits you are losing anywhere in the copy. You can now ship banned items home from some airports at a reasonable cost and we share big news from Broadway, involving Hugh Jackson and something involving the "River City!" If you think someone is watching you, you're right. Especially if you rent from Thrifty Car Rental. And be careful you don't get "Bonvoyed." The new name of Marriott's frequent guest program is being used against them in the most creative ways. Chris Elliott joins us to talk about some of the hidden challenges of Airbnb/Home Away type rentals, and Gwen Duncan talks about some cities where you can get free tours if you have a long layover.
On the Sunday, March 10th, 2019 edition of The Travel Guys… In The Travel News, on Friday, the
In The Travel News, on Friday, the
European Union announced that travelers from the United States will need a new type of visa to visit the European Schengen Area. A European Travel Information and Authorization System or ETIAS visa will be required of U.S. travelers trying to enter Europe effective January 1, 2021. The exact cost of the visa is not known at this time.
The European Schengen Area is made up of 26 countries, but this new visa will only apply to 22 of those countries, which includes popular tourist regions in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Those Americans who wish to travel to the United Kingdom will not need to apply for the visa. Chris Elliott of Elliott.org, has released his site's annual Customer Service Awards. When a website which promotes consumer advocacy tells you who is best in customer service, it might be worth taking a look at the list. * The Green Book won the Oscar or Best Picture, but what is the real story of The Green Book and why was it so important to a huge segment of the population while traveling? The Green Book was the guide which told people of color where they were welcome, and just as important, where they needed to be on alert. We interviewed Candacy Taylor and got the real story on this piece of American History. 150 years ago this summer, the first permanent settlement of Japanese in the United States occurred in Placerville. Now, it's time or the community to celebrate that historic event. In early June, the Wakamatsu Festival will be held, and it's something cultural travelers will enjoy, and it's just up the road.