Tagged With "denied boarding"
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Re: Dec 15, 2016: Kamloops, BC, Canada
British Columbia, if you've never visited, is a really spectacular destination. The BC tourism board uses the term "SuperNatural British Columbia" when describing it -- and if you don't know why you will after you visit. And it is a nice safe environment for raising polite kids. Canadians, as you known, are mostly polite to a fault (present company excluded).
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Re: 'Flying Dutchman' ends 15-week cruise
UPDATE: Home at last... Costa Deliziosa finally docked in Genoa, Italy around noon today, New York time after being at sea since January 5th. It was the last major cruise line ship still at sea, and has no known Covid-19 cases on board. Debarcation of the remaining 1519 passengers and 898 crew will take several days as Costa and Italian authorities work on how to get them home without exposure to infection.
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Re: Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
I've never flown an A380, Mac. They still haven't caught on in North America, where Boeing clearly dominates the market. One thing that I've wonder about is with all those people to board (somewhere over 500), is the process of getting on and off the plane very slow or have they figured out how to make this move along with reasonable efficiency?
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Re: "Spotted on the Road". Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Cool! Pinned it to my board! Looking forward to seeing more car pics.
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Re: Portland Bill Revisited: Pictures from a small island
Having walked along Chesil Beach, to the NW of Portland, what you describe, DrF, as " nice soft sandy beach", is actually rocks. I suspect those beaches in Mac's pictures are the same, not much fun to walk on and I'm guessing no fun to hit coming off a board.
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Re: Portland Bill Revisited: Pictures from a small island
If its sun-sea-sand and safe surfing you're looking for then try Liverpool -in the North West of England. Where the sand is so soft that even Rolls Royce use it to smooth car bodies prior to painting. So you're guaranteed a smooth landing when your board comes ashore !
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Re: SkyMall's Business Dwindles With Increased Internet Usage In-Flight
Sorry, DrF, but they ARE gone. The name and remaining assets will be auctioned, and there's a fair chance a website under that name will survive, but the paper version in the seatback is doomed. Here's why. First, from the airline point of view, the small fees received from SkyMall no longer match the cost of having cabin and ground crew maintain the placement. That's why Delta stopped placing it a few months ago, and others seemed poised to follow. Second, SkyMall only looks like a catalog.
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Re: Beating Jet Lag
You're quite right DrF ! Usually when I return on a long flight the cabin is like a Doctors waiting room. Coughing and sneezing and spluttering. Headache. But the Dreamliner was - a dream ! So much healthier and with the windows darkened 'til just before breakfast - most people slept well - even the babies on board
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Re: Ferry Service to Cuba Approved by US
The Ferry from Liverpool. UK to Ireland takes 8 hours. That will cost $300. For a car and 2 passengers. Only $60 (£40) for a foot passenger. And that's return too. No baggage charges. The high speed catamaran often gets stuck in port when the weather turns stormy. The Catamaran may be stuck in Havana for a few days with 200 passengers on board. Expensive. SEACAT arriving in Liverpool.
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Re: Ferry Service to Cuba Approved by US
The Ferry travels mostly with Trucks and trailers from the UK and Europe. Fresh produce and manufactured goods. Then its folks on vacation with their car and the occasional caravan. From the UK and Europe. Many prefer their own car when touring Ireland for a few weeks. Full of kids survival kits. Wellington Boots and a beach bucket and spade ! Many travel with tents and trailer tents. And you can continue on from Ireland to Scotland. Travelling on the ferry can be a pleasant day. On board...
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Re: The Bones of the Bridge
My indelible memory of the Brooklyn Bridge is watching Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, being trapped by the police, climbing up the bridge and diving head first into the river to escape. I watched Tarzan religiously as a kid. Today they would have to tell impressionable kids not to try this at home. However, it led me to got our local public pool and learn how to dive off the high diving board which I think has been removed because of insurance costs.
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Re: Apr. 5, 2016: Rovaniemi, Finland
Looks like fun. I think I could get on board and take a Reindeer led Sleigh Ride. How cool would that be Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Mega Cruise Ships: "Too Big to Sail?"
I'm not that much of a cruise ship guy, although when you want to just visit and catch up with people, they're very convenient (no cooking, no driving, comfortable room cleaned daily, etc -- just time to talk and visit with friends and family). But it takes forever to get people off with cruise ships that have 1500 or 2000 people on them. Can't imagine how long it takes to get everyone on board into a port when you've so many more. Plus now these safety factor risks. Nope, no megacruise...
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert
As it snows and storms outside, a welcome diversion! I find all cacti interesting but there's something captivating about the saguaro forest around Tucson. While visiting Saguaro National Park (years ago, before it was a national park), I remember a newspaper clipping tacked onto the park's information board. The headline read something like "Saguaro cactus involved in double homocide". Seems a drunk yahoo with a shotgun drove out to the desert to kill himself a giant saguaro. He did, the...
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Re: "New American" May Get Old Look: Employees to pick design
The old one is not my all-time favorite, but the new one doesn't "say" American or airline to me...it could be anything...and good logos shouldn't be "anything." Some identity-development company got a lot of money for those designs, but... Even the new eagle (see below) on the fuselage takes time to see as an eagle. For my money (and it isn't)...I'd say stick with the old, or back to the drawing board.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov 2, 2013: BootHill Graveyard, Tombstone, Arizona
Ah great memories Dr. F! We had the pleasure of strolling round Boot Hill and then shaking hands with both Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp themselves! (Well, they were the real one's weren't they?). The tomb stones, or grave markers, in Boot Hill make great reading. Quite a number referring to folks being "legally hanged" (did that make any difference to the end result?). I particularly liked the tomb 'stone' (board) saying: "Here lies George Johnson, hanged by mistake 1882. He was right, we was...
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Re: You CAN'T Take It All With You: Keeping the Load Light
A nicely written piece, PHeymont, with lots of good tips in it. I generally have two packing philosophies 1) Road trip (North America0. If I've got a large car trunk, then I'll take a lot of stuff along just not to have to bother with stuff like laundry. Might even throw in a heavy tripod and good pair of hiking boots, as well as a fishing rod, etc. 2) Overseas plane trip. Lighter is definitely better. A carry-on size bag like you and your wife use is idea. Especially if you will be...
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Re: Check Your Statement! A Big Hotel Credit Card Breach...
That's correct. It is, of course, not totally impossible to create a duplicate chip, but it takes major equipment, not $5 worth of RadioShack parts...and it would also require much more information than can be harvested easily. The relative security (and it is relative) has driven over 80% of the world's credit card fraud toward the U.S. as other areas become more difficult. And once everyone is on board, the Trojan Horse mag stripe can come off the card as well.
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Re: New Hope for the Jet-Lagged?
I always put my watch onto the destination time as soon as I board the plane. Like most other travellers it only affects me when I go West to East - US to Europe !
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 1, 2014: Canal Illusion
Fascinating how our mind plays tricks with our perceptions. You know the canal is flat, but your brain, based on the visual input it gets, tells you it's "falling".
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Re: From Corfe Castle to Kingston Lacy - Part 1
A great piece, Mac. I think the English Tourist board better hire you because your post certainly make me want to return soon....Thanks for sharing this with all of us. Like PM, I felt I was there with you.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 1, 2014: Canal Illusion
The amazing thing is that it's not just in the picture that the illusion happens...it really looks that way in "life!" I knew it could not be, but I couldn't shake the illusion until I had taken the second picture and realized I had to visualize the wall and not the water.
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Re: United Campaign: Enforce carry-on limits, reduce complaints and crowding
I hope this effort is a real and continuing one and that other companies follow. Carrying everything onto the plane, to my way of thinking, is like any trend where if enough people say it's a good idea, even when it's not, hoards fall right into step, like lemmings. If I was offered valet service for a nominal fee to have someone carry my suitcase for me and I wouldn't have to touch it from the time I arrived at the airport until the time I was leaving at my destination, I'd jump at the...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 24, 2014: Santa's Wonderland
Santa's Wonderland in College Station, Texas, has evolved over the past 17 years into the largest Christmas light display in the entire state. In addition to the spectacular light show is Santa's Town featuring gift shops, restaurants, hourly...
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Cruising through the holidays
Every year thousands of passengers find out warm tropical breezes and Christmas festivities mix well aboard a Princess Cruise Line ship. “We install more than 347 Christmas trees fleet wide. Each vessel has a showcase tree in...
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Erasmus Hall, Brooklyn, NY: Where Gumbo Was (#81)
As my fellow New Yorker Jonathan L recognized right away, Gumbo was at Erasmus Hall High School, the oldest public school in New York, and certainly one of the most beautiful. The exterior seen in the puzzle picture, in "Collegiate...
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Old City Hall, Toronto. Where Gumbo was #86
Gumbo was visiting the corner of Bay and Queen streets in Toronto, Canada -- specifically the Old City Hall. Congratulations to PortMoreby who correctly solved the problem and notified us by email! Jonathan L also...
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Aer Lingus may become part of British Air/Iberia group
International Air Group, the parent of British Air and Iberia, has made an offer to buy Aer Lingus, now owned 30% by RyanAir and 25% by the Irish government, and unlike two previous offers, the board of the Irish flag carrier has agreed to consider...
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Qatar now biggest investor in BritishAir/Iberia
BritishAir's parent company, International Airlines Group, has a new investor, Qatar Airways, which has bought 10% of the company and says it's maybe interested in more. EU rules limit non-European investors to a maximum of 49%. IAG, which is...
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Frontier's raising bag fees; will the other "low-costs" follow?
Frontier Airlines, which last year joined Spirit and Allegiant in the ULCC (ultra-low-cost-carrier) class that seems to mean ULC (ultra lots of charges) for most folks, is raising its fees for checked bags. The only checked bags that will not go up by...
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Boeing in SC: First 787-9 delivered, union election set
Two milestones for Boeing's plant in North Charleston, SC. This week the plant, which has been building the original 787-8, delivered its first stretch 787-9 version, and the International Association of Machinists, the union representing most Boeing...
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Coast-to-coast road trip...without a driver
Well, sort of without a driver. Delphi Automotive had a driver on board its highly-automated Audi S5, but only to a) satisfy local laws, and b) help out a bit less than 1% of the time as the Audi SQ5 which was chosen for its looks. Delphi added the...
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Dream big! Designer thinks about huge zero-emission planes
Imagine a triple-decker plane that could carry 800 passengers, made almost no noise, and generated much of its own power in flight. Barcelona designer Oscar Vinals is working on that vision, and while much of it depends on whether technologies just...
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JetBlue, Amazon team for free WiFi, Prime benefits
It's almost enough to make you forget JetBlue's upcoming bag fees. Passengers will continue to enjoy the lower-end (Simply Surf) tier of JetBlue's Fly-Fi product, courtesy of Amazon, and Amazon Prime members will be able to use the service to access...
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She believes she can fly...no ticket needed!
Marilyn Hartman seems to have a need to fly, and no intention of bothering with mundane issues such as tickets or security. The 63-year-old California woman has a long history as a serial stowaway, and a number of arrests while trying. Considering how...
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Gold Country, California: The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
I thought this series about Gold Country was done. But I realize now that may not be true for some time. About 6 months ago, wanting to replace the wood stove in my house that was installed when the house was built in 1978, I called...
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Spotted on the Road, Acton MA: 1946 Ford Deluxe 8 Coupe
Outside a restaurant in Acton, MA, we spotted this shiny Ford coupe. It actually may not really be a 1946, but if not, it's a '47 or '48. Subject to correction by someone who knows more, here's the theory. Ford introduced basically this model...
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New startup aims to be "Airbnb for yachts
Airbnb has made a name for offering vacation rentals that range from a couch to a condo to a house or caravan, including the occasional boat. Beds on Board, a new startup, aims to do more or less the same, except they're focusing on yachts. ...
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2014 not a good year for Airline performance
While 2013 was a good year for airlines, performance metrics declined across the board in 2014. The industry performed worse in four key areas — baggage handling, consumer complaints, denied boardings, and on-time arrivals. ...
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Liberland awaits: who will be the first tourist?
Taking advantage of a small (only Monaco and the Vatican are smaller) piece of Europe that is apparently unclaimed by either of its neighbors, Croatia and Serbia, a Czech politician named Vít Jedlička has proclaimed the Republic of...
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Death Valley National Park
Death Valley is one of the most desolate place I have been. Others include central Greenland and the Dead Sea. Death Valley is the lowest place in the western hemisphere at 282 feet (86 metres) below sea level. The Dead Sea in Israel is 1,370...
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Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve
My adventure in Kenya begins in Maasai Mara, widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve. With more than 200 square miles of open plains, woodlands and riverine forest, the Mara is joined by privately-owned...
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Underground Puerto Rico: The Camuy River Caverns
If Old San Juan and the El Yunque rain forest and the beaches have been drawing visitors for hundreds of years, that's certainly not true for this hidden attraction: a vast, and still-not-fully-explored system of caves, carved out by the world's...
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Back to Oaxaca: Michael's House
PortMoresby finds her perfect place in Oaxaca, Mexico, in a strikingly modern house tucked into Xochimilco, the oldest neighborhood in the city.
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Say 'Cheese' and board your flight? Maybe
JetBlue concludes a successful test of facial recognition for boarding, and Delta tries it out at baggage drop.
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Back to Oaxaca: Hoofing It, Dainzú to Tlacochahuaya
This week’s walk in the southern Mexico countryside takes PortMoresby from an ancient Zapotec Ball Game site to a beautifully decorated church in the valley below.
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Sir William Van Horne Billiards Room
Travel Rob takes us to the Billards Room on Minister's Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
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Back to Oaxaca: San Felipe del Agua
PortMoresby visits a community just outside the city and wonders if she’d enjoy staying there on her next visit to Mexico.
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Lyndale Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lyndale Park is a wonderful place to escape the hustle and bustle of Minneapolis without having to leave the city.