July 2004 Travel Newsletter

Airlines Fighting Rising Fuel Costs
You may have noticed some small changes in your flying experiences recently.  The airlines are trying all kinds of methods to decrease the consumption of jet fuel in order to keep their expenses down.  Any successful methods will most likely find their way quickly to all types of aircraft and to other airlines in the near future.  Some of these changes may not seem to be related to reducing fuel consumption, but we’ll help to make the connection for you.

One visible change being tried has been the addition of small upturned tabs at the end of airplane wings.  These tabs, called winglets, reduce air resistance and improve a plane’s aerodynamics.  Airlines are finding that planes with them installed are saving as much as 5% of their fuel.  An added bonus with the use of winglets is a slight noise reduction during takeoff.

Changes are also being made in the way airplanes are flown.  Pilots are banking planes steeper when turning which saves fuel.  Airlines are asking for flight patterns at higher altitudes, where the air is thinner causing less drag and consequently less fuel consumption.  They are also holding these higher cruise altitudes a bit longer, making shorter but steeper approaches into airports.  On the tarmac, you might also notice ground vehicles doing more pushing and pulling of planes around the gates, and planes taxiing on only one engine.

Of course, just as with a car, less weight requires less fuel.  Ovens in the galleys, and on some planes whole galleys, are being removed, since hot meals are no longer being served on most flights.  The FAA is allowing airlines to slightly reduce the amount of fuel reserves they require, reducing fuel weight.  Digitized manuals on CD-ROM are replacing the 20 pounds of airplane/flight manuals currently carried in some cockpits.  And, so we the passengers don’t feel left out, some airlines are even reducing weight by cutting the number and types of magazines that they carry for their passengers.
Rental Cars With GPS
Have you rented a car recently?  If you were lucky, you may have rented one featuring a Global Positioning System (GPS).  GPS is an electronic navigation aid that uses satellites to help you find your way around a region or city with which you may not be familiar.  Most of the rental car companies are rolling out these new systems throughout their fleets to keep up with their competition, though it may take several years before all vehicles will have them.

Different rental companies use different systems but all operate in basically the same way.  Satellites track the customer’s location using GPS and provide directions to a specific destination upon request.  As a safety factor, so drivers can keep their eyes on the road, directions are usually provided both verbally from a speaker and visually on a computer display.

There is usually an extra fee for a GPS, around $9 or $10.  Check with the car rental agency that you are using, if you don’t want the GPS, request one without it and save the fee.  If you are in an area or city that you are very unfamiliar with, you may want to ask for a vehicle that features it.  The extra fee for the GPS may save you the time and frustration of getting lost.
Suggested Reading
“At Sea At Sixty: Reflections From A Round The World Voyage” by Catherine Stewart-Roache & Patrick J. Roache, 1999, published by Hermosa Publishers.  At age 60, the authors traveled around the world on the “floating university” program called Semester At Sea.  Engineer husband and artist wife write alternate chapters, each in their own voice, giving two different impressions of their shared experiences.  They gracefully blend vivid descriptions of the ports they visited, people they encountered and adventures (such as a typhoon), with reflections on politics, education, environmental issues, culture and human nature.  You will enjoy the complete experience of traveling with them around the world.
Just For Fun
Here are some travel books that didn’t quite make it into bookstores for one reason or another.
  -   “Sneaking Across International Borders”
  -   “Even More Things To Do In Sunnyside, Nevada”
  -   “Charming Small Hotel Guides: Baghdad”
  -   “Around The World... Someday”
  -   “Disney World: A Natural History”
  -   “North Korea On $150-A-Day”
  -   “Backpacking Solo Across The African Bush”
  -   “Piloting Commercial Airliners For Dummies”
  -   “How To Pack 60 Pairs Of Shoes For Your 2-Week Vacation”
  -   “The Great Subway Journey: By Subway To Hoboken”
  -   “Lonely Planet’s Rap Phrasebook”
  -   “My Summer In Chernobyl”

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"We had thought that we were human beings making a spiritual journey;
it may be truer to say that
we are spiritual beings making a human journey.”
    - Teilhard de Chardin
Happy Travels!
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