August 13, 2023  •   View this email in your browser

Aloha

What a week. I still can't get over the videos of the devastating Maui wildfires that have destroyed Lahaina. My heart goes out to all those who are impacted and huge respect and thanks to all of the emergency responders, especially those who have to go door to door looking for bodies. That's a job I'm not tough enough to do. Here's how you can help. 

On a personal note, a big thanks to everyone who has asked after, and sent well wishes for, my wife. She is starting to feel a lot better after spraining her ankle at the Hollywood Bowl and then testing positive for Covid a couple of days later. She's now negative and out of quarantine but it's definitely going around again.

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In this issue:

• Today's Travel Outlook ✈️
• Travel Tips This Week ✅
• Travel Quote of the Day 💬
• Travel Tweet of the Day 
• 12 Things to Know in Travel Today 🌎
• Travel Video of the Day 📺
• and more… 

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 8:50am PT, there have been 131 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,705 delayed. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and a live look at the FAA's National Airspace System Status. Here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancellations.

✈️ Monday

The Best Sleep Masks For Travelers
Without a doubt, two of the most important products to bring on a plane are a comfortable eye mask and good earplugs. It’s the secret to a great sleep. Here's the sleep mask I swear by, along with some other recommendations. Read the story here.

📖 Tuesday

WARNING: Scammers Are Selling AI-Generated Travel Guidebooks on Amazon … and They’re Awful
There’s an old saying: You get what you pay for. It seems that saying holds true when it comes to buying travel guidebooks these days, as the New York Times has just uncovered the newest trend in book publishing. You have to read the story to believe it and learn how not to get suckered.

✈️ Wednesday

Trip Report: Los Angeles to San Francisco on JetBlue
Last week, my family and I flew to San Francisco on JetBlue. Although I made a few rookie mistakes, overall the flight was a 10/10. Here's my trip report with plenty of photos. 

 🌺 Thursday

Maui Wildfires: Advice for Travelers and How to Help
If you've subscribed to this newsletter for a while, then you know Hawaii is one of my favorite places on earth and I’ve been fortunate to travel to the islands dozens of times. My family and I usually go every New Year’s, including this past one, where we spent nine days on Maui (photo above). It’s an amazing place to visit because of the people, culture, food, landscape, marine life and weather but unfortunately, now is not the time due to the devastating and raging wildfires. Here's what tourism officials and airlines want you to know and how you can help.

🛂 Friday

My Passport is Damaged: What Should I Do?
My wife, who I met on a press trip, just wrote a great article on a topic she knows all too well ... damaged passports. There's a lot of good nuggets of information including: DID YOU KNOW? Souvenir stamps (novelty stamps given at landmarks like ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ in Berlin or Machu Picchu) could possibly be considered ‘damage’ to your passport, thereby invalidating it? Here's what else you need to know.

🍷🧳 Saturday

How to Pack a Bottle of Wine Safely When You Fly
We're approaching that time of year when many travelers in the Northern Hemisphere are gearing up to take food and wine trips. I've been fortunate enough to go on many, including in California, France, Italy, Portugal, Argentina and Australia. If that's your style, there’s no doubt you're going to want to bring some vino home with you, and that means you're going to find yourself with a dilemma: how to safely pack bottles of wine so they don’t break while in transit. Here's my advice. 

📺 Travel Video(s) of the Week

Bravo: American Airlines Captain Turns PA Into a TED Talk That Every Passenger Needs to Hear
If you've flown in the last couple of years, then you know that there's almost always a few rude passengers on a flight. This American Airlines captain is making sure they don't act up. Read the transcript or watch the video here.


American Airlines Baggage Handler Video Goes Viral For Showing How His Job Is Like Playing A Real Life Game of Tetris
A viral video with over nine million views shows an American Airlines baggage handler loading luggage onto a 737 plane at New York’s JFK. It's fascinating to watch and shows something that most people have probably not really thought too much about before. It will also make you think twice about your heavy bags and what happens to them after you drop them off at the check-in counter. Watch the video here.

⚡ Travel Product of the Week

Digital Luggage Scale
I now pack a compact, handheld, digital luggage scale, just to make sure our luggage isn’t over the weight limit. In fact, I used it twice last month, first on an American Airlines flight between YYZ-LGA, and again a few days later on an Alaska Airlines flight from EWR to LAX. Check it out here.

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Brazil is bringing back visa requirements for US travelers 
2 Emergency response questioned as Hawaiians survey what remains after wildfires
3 San Francisco's North Beach streets clogged as long line of Cruise robotaxis come to a standstill
4 Asian capital city named world's most polluted
5 Air Canada flight out of Toronto almost ends in disaster after major system fails
6 Skipper of boat in Italy crash that killed U.S. publishing executive faces manslaughter investigation
7 Alix Dorsainvil: US nurse and daughter released after being kidnapped in Haiti
8 California driver pulled over for using a mannequin in the carpool lane
9 Curtis Mead's family travels from Australia to 1st MLB start
10 Shocking moment British father and son are brutally beaten by bouncers as they are kicked out of a bar in Thailand's 'Sin City'
11 San Diego Zoo reveals new Elephant Valley experience
12  Yesterday's TSA checkpoint numbers

✅ Currency Exchange            ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points