July 2005 Travel Newsletter

The Bright Side Of Flight Delays
In last month’s newsletter, we suggested some things travelers could do to avoid flight delays and missed connections.  But if your flight is delayed, there may be a bright side.  United Airlines has initiated a program that offers travelers frequent flyer mileage for flight delays on certain flights in and out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Through the end of the year, United will award 500 frequent flyer miles to passengers on eligible flights that are delayed by at least 30 minutes, even if the delay is caused by flight control problems or bad weather.  The eligible flights are those in and out of O’Hare to/from seven major destinations:  Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Newark (NJ), New York’s La Guardia, Philadelphia, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  Frequent flyer miles, of course, will be awarded for United’s frequent flyer program.

United is trying to give themselves a competitive edge over other airlines that fly these important travel routes, and improve their on-time percentage.  Hopefully, the program will be successful and will be expanded to other flights.  Or maybe, as with many trends in the airline industry, it will become popular and picked up by other airlines in the near future.
Product Spotlight - Travel Towels
Whether it’s a hotel room without a towel or the need for a quick clean-up when touring around some ancient ruins, a travel towel is the perfect solution.  Travel towels are ultra-lightweight and super-absorbant.  Adding one to your suit case or backpack will contribute no noticeable weight, but ensure that you are more prepared for the unexpected in your travels.  Travel towels are available from bath towel size to hand towel size, and in a variety of colors.  They are anti-bacterial to fight germs and quick drying for easy repacking.  Make sure you have one or more in your bag for that trip to town or your next trip overseas.
The World Is Getting Smaller
For those of us considering journeys to very distant destinations, there are new options and great news.  New aircraft fly faster and farther, so airlines are now offering more non-stop, direct flights between the U.S. and formerly hard-to-reach destinations.  That means fewer layovers and connections, un-interrupted sleep on overnight flights, more time at your destination and less time traveling there!  Some recently initiated non-stop flights are: New York to the South Pacific (Air Tahiti Nui), New York to Bangkok (Thai Airways), Newark, NJ to Beijing (Continental Airlines), Los Angeles to Singapore (Singapore Airlines), and later this year, New York to New Delhi (Continental Airlines).  The world may be getting smaller, but there is still so much to see.  These new flights provide new options for travelers to get out and see it.
Internet Travel Resources
Not all seats on an aircraft are equal.  Besides the obvious difference between coach and first or business class, some seats in coach provice a much more comfortable or smoother flight than others.  For example, on some airplanes, some exit-row seats don’t recline.  SeatGuru.com is a website that allows you to locate the good and bad seats on a particular type of aircraft.  If you can find out the type of aircraft you will be flying on, you can look it up and gather information on which seat(s) to request.  Some of the websites where you can purchase airline tickets indicate the type of aircraft used.  Travel agents should also be able to supply you with the aircraft type.  All other things being equal, a basic rule of thumb is that the closer to the front of the plane you sit, the smoother the ride.
Win A Trip To Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
We can’t send everyone on vacation, but we’ll help to send someone.  Through the end of July, you can still enter to win an adventure for two to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil!  The trip, sponsored by Eagle Creek, includes round trip airfare from the U.S., seven nights lodging, a city sightseeing tour and airport/hotel transfers in Rio.  There is no cost or purchase required to enter.  You can enter this contest and/or find out more details by stopping by our store or by clicking on the contest advertisement on our website’s home page.
No Summer Travel Programs
Our popular Tuesday evening travel program series is on sabbatical during the summer while everyone takes the time to get out and travel to a new or favorite destination.  We are already busy planning a new season of travel programs for everyone’s enjoyment in the fall.  Watch our web site and our newsletter for the new schedule later in the summer!  Until then, we hope everyone enjoys a summer full of relasxation, travel adventures, and fun!
Suggested Reading
“Istanbul: Memories And The City” by Orhan Pamuk (translated by Maureen Freely), 2005, published by Knopf Books, Inc.  Istanbul is a unique city where Eastern tradition collides with western progress, where history meets modernity, all to create a mosaic of culture, history, art, religion, and politics.  In this engaging travel narrative, the author, who grew up in the city, mixes urban history and personal memoir, sociology and legend to render an Istanbul filled with meaning, conflict, and cultural contradictions.  This book and the many photographs it contains provide a breathtaking portrait of one of the world’s great cities by its foremost literary resident.
Just For Fun
One of the very best parts of our family vacations for me, as a child, was my mother and her iron.  Every year we would get far out of town on the way to the airport, and she would wail, “Oh, no!  I left the iron on.”  Every year we would always turn around and go back, but it was never plugged in.
When I was 13 years old, we were headed for the airport and, sure enough, Mom gasped, “I just know I left the iron on.”  My father didn’t say a word.  He just pulled over, got out, opened the trunk, rustled around a bit, came back around and handed her the iron.  And every year after that, my father made sure that the iron was in the trunk before we left the house for vacation.
Newsletter Subscriptions
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"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do
  than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.
  Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. "
    - Mark Twain
Happy Travels!
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