Quickly wanted to share a timely article on Flu and your health on a plane by Mark Gendreau, M.D.,  posted on CNN Health.

Basic points are these:

• Carry hand sanitizer and wash your hands, wash your hands.

  Before and after eating, using the restroom, touching the overhead bin, etc.

• Turn the overhead air vent to low and point it so that airflow is slightly in front of your face.

• Use a surgical mask and bring an extra one for anyone near you.

Please read the full article on CNN Health.

Filed under: Air Travel, General, Health and Safety | No Comments »

Now’s the time to book a getaway  …

Seems like every time I check my inbox or open the newspaper, there’s more news of airfare sales and hotels discounts. Just today, the business section of my local paper reported that airlines have slashed ticket prices to their lowest levels in years.

The article quoted one of my Favorite Links, Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com: “The prices that they’re offering right now are meant to get people off their couches and onto their computers.”

And with occupancy rates plummeting, hotels are offering great deals too. In addition to lower room rates, you’ll find they are offering valuable “extras” like food and drink credits, free breakfast, free internet, and lots of “third night free” deals.

Looks like many of these discounted fares and rates are extending into spring and summer — so if you can possibly manage a getaway, now’s the time to go hunting for deals!

Here’s hoping you can Go … Have Fun!

Carol

Filed under: Air Travel, Budget Accommodations, Budget Travel, General | No Comments »

A terrific insider tip on the best days to shop for airfare deals showed up in my inbox today, courtesy of the FareCompare.com weekly newsletter.

(FareCompare, created by Rick Seany, is one of my very favorite resources for insider air travel info.)

Based on years of tracking airfare changes and looking for patterns, Rick says the best time to shop online for airfare is:

Mondays 3 pm EDT and continuing through Wednesday.

That’s the period when airlines tend to file and match sale fares. Then apparently the sales end on Fridays, plus the airlines often hike the fare on Thursday afternoons — so weekends will usually be a bad time to shop!

You’ll definitely want to check out both FareCompare.com and Rick’s blog, RickSeany.com, for a wealth of more insider info and deals.

And let me know if this airfare shopping tip seems to work for you! Use the comment box below.

Carol

Filed under: Air Travel, Budget Travel, Deals, General | 1 Comment »

$20 for first checked bag, or free? Priority seat selection? $5, $20, $109, or free? Oversize bag? Meal charges? Beverage charges? And on and on …

The dizzying array of extra airline fees keeps growing and changing by the hour, it seems! Let me share a handy tool that just showed up in my inbox:

Airfare expert Rick Seany, one of the founders and CEO of FareCompare.com (an essential airfare comparison tool, check it out), recently posted a handy U.S. Domestic Airline Fee chart on his blog, RickSeany.com.

Rick compiles the fees charged by all the domestic carriers and displays them in one easy-to-read chart, updated frequently. Take a look at the chart, and while you’re there, browse thru Rick’s blog, and check out FareCompare, one of my favorite sites for at-a-glance airfare comparison, discount first-class tickets, and valuable insider travel tips.

And sign up for Rick’s newsletter, full of airline travel tips and insider info — it’s one of the few newsletters I actually read!

Filed under: Air Travel, Budget Travel, General, Travel Tips | No Comments »