March 12, 2023  •   View this email in your browser

👋 Happy Oscar Sunday

It looks like it might be a rough travel day on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Northeast as United Airlines (among others) has issued a travel waiver. It allows for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed:
• Albany, NY (ALB)
• Allentown, PA (ABE)
• Bangor, ME (BGR)
• Boston, MA (BOS)
• Burlington, VT (BTV)
• Hartford, CT (BDL)
• Ithaca, NY (ITH)
• Manchester, NH (MHT)
• New York/Newark, NJ (EWR)
• New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA)
• Portland, ME (PWM)
• Providence, RI (PVD)
• Rochester, NY (ROC)
• Syracuse, NY (SYR)
• White Plains, NY (HPN)
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA (AVP)

Infuriating: Frontier Airlines Busted for Incentivizing Gate Agents to Enforce Outrageous Baggage Fees
And if you're flying a low-fare carrier, especially Frontier Airlines, get a load of this story. No wonder their gate agents are known for being so strict.

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 1:05 pm PST, there have been 210 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 4,560 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

Child Dies of Apparent Fentanyl Overdose in Airbnb and There’s an Important Travel Tip For Every Parent of Young Children and Dog Owners
This Washington Post headline, “Their toddler took a nap in an Airbnb — and fentanyl killed her” is what nightmares are made of. As a parent myself, reading this story and writing about it is extremely difficult but there’s a very important Public Service Announcement (PSA) here that every parent and dog owner should be aware of. And if you don't have any young children or pets of your own, please share this story with anyone you know who does. It could save a life. Here's the story. 

 🏨 Tuesday

The Brilliant Travel Gadget That Has Saved Me a Small Fortune
I love a good travel gadget or gizmo, something that makes travel easier and more streamlined. Some of my favorite finds were discovered courtesy of flight attendants because who knows how to pack smarter than a flight attendant? Here's the gadget that has saved me hundreds of dollars. 

✈️ Wednesday

How Many of the World’s Top 25 Beaches Have You Been To?
Tripadvisor recently released their Travelers’ Choice Awards for the best beaches in the world. I know lists like this are totally subjective and change each year but they’re still fun to read since it helps you daydream, plan a trip or reminisce about some great memories. At least, that’s what it does for me since I’ve been fortunate to have traveled to beaches all over the world, including many on this list. How many have you been to?

🛒 Thursday

When is The Best Time to Book Flights For Your Summer Vacation?
Google Flights released an eye-opening report with five years’ worth of historical airfare data. Since we’re now approaching their sweet spot for buying tickets for summer travel, I thought I would share with you some of their key tips. Read the story here.

🧳 Friday

How International Travelers Can Avoid Scams, Strikes, Disasters and More
I learned this the hard way almost two decades ago. But, it turned out to be a good thing since now, you can learn from my rookie mistake. Here's one of my top travel tips for anyone traveling internationally.

🎈 Saturday

Shocker: TikToker Gives Worst Travel Advice Ever on How to Get 'Poor Man’s First Class'
I’ve seen a lot of bad travel advice in my three decades in the travel industry and this is among the worst. Here's why and how to really get upgraded to first class or even what he calls the "poor man's first class."

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Flair Airlines planes seized in Toronto, leaves passengers scrambling
2 Japan to ease COVID-19 guidelines for mask-wearing on March 13
3 Air Force One to get new color scheme as Trump’s design fails to take off
4 'Unpleasant and miserable': Actor slams Air Canada staff at Pearson airport
5 5,000-mile wide clump of seaweed in Atlantic Ocean is visible from space
6 Illegal hikers in Hawaii may have to pay for their own rescues
7 Lufthansa flight crew told passengers to delete photos after 'severe turbulence' 
8 Airbnb could generate $1.2 billion with sponsored listings and an ads by 2026
9 Man brings 2 women home from Hard Rock, but they steal his stuff
10 This is what years of tourist rides do to an elephant
11 Berlin backs topless bathing
12 Yesterday's TSA checkpoint numbers

📺 Travel Video of the Week

✅ Currency Exchange            ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points