Airline seating: On the Spot
Question: Why won"t some airlines allow me to select my seat in advance?Answer: Money and power.
That"s the answer to lots of questions, including this one, which I"ve received several times of late in various forms.
If you"re traveling steerage on some airlines, you often can"t select your seat more than 24 hours in advance without paying to do so. That gives the airline an opportunity to prey upon your worst-case-scenario fears. (Mine is being stuck in a nonreclining middle seat near the restroom on an 11-hour flight from Honolulu to Sydney. I would rather have a root canal — without Novocain — than ever do that again.)
If you want to ensure that you"re not going to be a captive audience, so to speak, you"ll fork over additional cash to get the seat you want. This is, said Jami Counter, a senior director of SeatGuru, "one more revenue stream," adding, "Customers will pay for what they deem "value,"" said Counter, whose company helps you select the best seat by providing "maps" to hundreds of...
Passenger jet lands safely in Boise after engine fails
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Boise Airport officials say an American Airlines passenger jet traveling from Chicago to Seattle carrying 141 passengers and crew landed in Boise on Saturday after the pilot reported an engine failure.
By Alan Diaz, AP
The tails of two American Airlines passenger jets are shown in this file photo. An MD-80 was safely diverted to Boise after reporting engine failure.
EnlargeCloseBy Alan Diaz, AP
The tails of two American Airlines passenger jets are shown in this file photo. An MD-80 was safely diverted to Boise after reporting engine failure.
display_afs_ads(afs_top_ads, "topsponsoredLinks");A Boise Airport spokeswoman tells KTVB-TV that the MD-80 landed safely at the Idaho airport.
Officials say passengers are being rebooked on other airlines to get them to Seattle.
Officials say American Airlines is sending a crew to...
Travel
...L.A. Times Travel Show: Taiwan knows how to draw a crowd
There"s something about Taiwan ... at least at the Los Angeles Times Travel Show. Every year experts on travel to the island nation put on quite a show and attract quite a crowd. The display space includes what every attendee might expect: handouts on trips that focus completely on Taiwan and literature on trips to Southeast Asia and China with a stopover in Taiwan. There are maps of Taipei that display markets and restaurants and hotels.But the biggest attraction each year is the live entertainment and this year did not disappoint. Periodically, three costumed and masked dancers cavorted on stage to the accompaniment of live music, which inspired large crowds to gather around the noisy celebration. Were they performing native folk dances? We"re not sure. The Taiwanese government web site says that "Taiwan"s myriad dance forms are intricately linked with the country"s ethnic composition and historical background, and each of the local dances draws their unique colors from the island"s...
Cheers! Here"s to the Travel Show
“Wanna see my bruise?”
That’s just one of the off-beat moments from Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark panel kicking off the Los Angeles Times Travel Show Saturday morning.
No worries. They’re back Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Travel in Style Stage.
The two spent a funny 45 minutes mixing destination cocktails: Thai tea leaves with vodka, fresh berries mixed with sparkling wine, Irish whiskey, Irish cream, crème de menthe.
While the cocktails are fun, the chatter is the real draw here.
“The biggest difference between breakfast and brunch is if you drink at breakfast, that’s just sad,” said Ward, in introducing a cocktail.
Ward and Hardstark became TV sensations after posting their video for a jocular cocktail called The McNuggetini, a drink made with McDonalds food. Their newest webseries, Classy Ladies With Alie & Georgia, is on CookingChanneltv.com,...