March 10, 2024  •   View this email in your browser

Happy Spring Forward!

🕒 We just changed our clocks an hour ahead here in most of the USA. This has always been one of my favorite days of the year since the days get longer ... especially growing up in Connecticut. 

🔋 I took the advice of our local meteorologist and replaced the batteries in our smoke detectors. You’re supposed to do it every six months, but I've been doing it every year. 

💰 The Easiest Way to Save $70 on Southwest Airlines Flights (Ends tomorrow)  

📰 It's been such a busy week in travel that I decided to add the top 12 news stories from the week instead of just the daily news (that's listed too, below the stories of the week).  

🦘 It's also been a very busy week for me personally. If you scroll down to Tuesday's tip, you can read about how my beautiful Canadian wife became a U.S. citizen. We stayed in two hotels this week including the beautiful Four Seasons Westlake Village where I am now (story to come). We took our kids to a theatre down the road from the Four Seasons to meet their heroes ... The Kratt Brothers from the hit PBS Kids show Wild Kratts. Photo below. Here's what the Wild Kratts 2.0 Live show and meet-and-greet were like. And if you have kids or grandkids who love these guys, it's a really great experience. 

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In this issue:

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

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 12:15pm PT, there have been 305 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 4,352 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.

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel This Week

1 United Airlines suffers 4th emergency incident in 5 days
2 JetBlue abandons troubled $3.8 billion deal for Spirit Air
3 American Airlines orders hundreds of planes from Boeing, Airbus, Embraer
4 FAA finds ‘multiple instances’ of Boeing quality control issues
5 Boeing blasted for failing to turn over records to investigators
6 National Guard to be deployed in New York City subway in crime crackdown
7 Delta is the latest airline to raise its checked bag fee
8 Self-service TSA screening is being tested in Las Vegas. Here's how it works.
9 Millions of travelers stuck as transport union members strike again in Germany
10 All-women flight crew takes off from Newark Airport this Women's History Month
11 Alaska Airlines flight carrying pets arrives with cargo door open 
12 Sailor Cole Brauer makes history as the first American woman to race solo around the world
Read it all here as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week!

😴 Monday

Travel Neck Pillows For Better Sleep and a More Comfortable Flight
The New York Times just ran a story about what they think might be the best travel pillow out there. The problem is it's a whopping $150 and looks ridiculous. I haven't tried it but I'm not spending that much on a travel pillow. Here's a round-up of what I think are the best travel pillows at a fraction of the cost.

🍾 Tuesday

My Canadian wife was just sworn in as a U.S. citizen at an emotional ceremony in Pasadena, California. You can read all about it here. 

🏨 Wednesday

Hotel Review: Hotel Dena in Pasadena, California
If you read part one of this story, then you know that my beautiful and talented Canadian wife just became a U.S. citizen. We decided to make a mini vacation out of it since the check-in time for the Naturalization ceremony was 7:15am in Pasadena, about an hour from where we live. We decided to go the night before so we didn’t have such an early morning start and to avoid traffic. It turned out to be a very smart decision. Read my review of the hotel here.

💰️ Thursday

Your Guide to Tipping in the 25 Most Popular Countries Around the World
To tip or not to tip: That is a question asked by many a traveler … and even by locals here at home who feel that tipping has gotten out of control in the United States. But when you’re in a foreign country, it’s wise to know the local customs. Sometimes, tipping is customary and expected whereas in other countries, it may be viewed as rude and demeaning and may even be refused. Here are some tips to help you navigate tipping in 25 countries around the world.

✈️ Friday

My Friend Learned the Hard Way Why It’s Best to Book Tickets on U.S. Airlines 
A friend of mine sent me an email about a travel dilemma she has and since it’s so relatable and important, I decided to write about it with expert quotes from two travel agents, a 450,000-mile-a-year road warrior and yours truly.

📺 Travel Video of the Week

Jeopardy Featured an Airline Logos Category - How Many Can You Get Right?
Jeopardy recently featured a category about airline logos. I got all five questions - can you? Watch it here.

🎁 Travel Product of the Week

Airplane Tray Table Cover and Seat Back Organizer for Personal Items
We all know how dirty the tray tables are on airplanes. Bring along your own tray table cover to protect yourself from germs. Even better, it's got a pocket for keeping your things organized without having to use the dirty seat back pocket. Check it out here.

✅ Currency Exchange           ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points