Ash Clouds Delay Air Travel in the Horn of Africa and in Australia

In April of 2010, ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupted travel plans with widespread flight cancellations in European airports. Now a volcano in Eritrea has erupted spewing an ash cloud over the horn of Africa. The eruption began after a series of earthquakes near the Eritrea-Ethiopian border. Although the Eritrean volcano may disrupt fewer flights than the Iceland volcano, affected travelers include U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Secretary Clinton who was nearby Ethiopia for talks, has cut her visit short because of the possibility of flight complications. The Eritrean volcano last erupted almost a hundred and fifty years ago. Elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, ash spewing out of a Chilean volcano since June 4, wafted across the Pacific to Australia and New Zealand. On Tuesday June 14, 2011, more than 60,000 travelers through airports in Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia as well as Tasmania and New Zealand were stranded because of flight cancellations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/clinton-cutting-short-africa-trip-because-of-volcano-eruption-in-eritrea/2011/06/13/AGsErCTH_story.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110614/ap_on_bi_ge/as_australia_volcanic_ash

Tips for the first time flyer

In an article on msnbc.com today Christoper Elliot writes about  What you can learn from first-time air travelers, and raises the issue of aerophobia. I flew between Africa and the United States as a baby so I don’t remember the first time. As a teenager flying from Nairobi to Europe and then across the Atlantic I had no fear at all. I looked down in wonder at the Sahara and  the Swiss alps. I was amazed by the Newfoundland coastline and the Statue of liberty. The same air turbulence that puts me on edge today was matter of fact to me in my teens because I’d read about it and expected it. Fear of flying tends to be absent from the minds of the young because at that time of life everything is an adventure and children probably have not filled their heads with blow for blow reporting of the latest air accidents. According to biography, Michael Jackson, was afraid of flying as a child which strikes me as unusual, and makes me wonder who instilled that fear at such a young age.

Many people have to suck it up and go (fly) for professional reasons, but many others miss out on opportunities to visit places they’ve always wanted to see and to spend time with loved ones because of unmanaged fears about flying. If you are afraid to fly, this free online seminar can help you to change that, open an exciting new chapter in your life.

Other advice. Travel with an engaging book, good music and/or a movie, place your faith in a higher power, and remember it’s safer than driving.

Don’t forget the travel insurance

The ongoing European travel crisis as a result of the Icelandic volcano eruption proves the old saying about the best laid plans of mice and men. We never know when circumstances beyond our control will disrupt or prevent our travel plans. Travel insurance which costs about 4-8% of your ticket price is an easy add on when you’re buying your tickets, and is a worthwhile purchase when you consider that it may save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in the event that you are unable to take your trip or end up stranded in between destinations so don’t overlook it. Here are some tips for purchasing travel insurance from Eilleen AJ Connelly:

• Purchase your policy within seven to 14 days of booking your trip to get the most comprehensive coverage.

• Extra protection is available through policies with “cancel for any reason” riders, which are more expensive. Some of these policies may not reimburse the full cost of a trip, so make sure you know how much coverage you’re buying.

• Theft or damage of personal property is usually covered, but there are typically price limits. Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance may provide backup for expensive items like electronics or jewelry, but check before you leave home.

Click HERE to read the full article on yahoo news.

Volcanic cloud causes flight delays and cancellations across Europe

If you are en route to or from Europe your flight may be delayed by a volcanic ash cloud from beneath beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier floating miles above earth that is capable of knocking out jet engines.  Many flights in Britain will remain grounded until Friday. France has closed 24 airports. Flights from the U.S. and other African, Asian, and Middle Eastern hubs are on hold. Accuweather expects the ash cloud to remain a threat to air travel until Sunday. Although the cloud brings inconvenience to tens of thousands travelers this week, Europeans are now witnessing some spectacular red and lavender sunsets. Click Here to read more about it.

Senators out to block airline carryon charges

Senators — Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Charles Schumer of New York, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey — want a law that would designate carryon baggage as a necessity for air travelers.

Read the full Yahoo News story Here:

This story is in response to the Spirit Airlines announcement that it plans to charge up to 45 dollars for carry on luggage. Airlines say add on luggage fees became a necessary way to recoup costs after oil prices soared to an all time  $147/barrel in 2008. Lets look at both sides of the issue. Oil prices aren’t exactly low in 2010, but we’re not anywhere near 2008 highs (thank goodness). I will say that I saw some pretty bulky carryon luggage on my flights last week. Would you rather be nickle and dimed so that your airline carrier can do what it needs to do to provide you with a safe flight? Or do you see this as more backdoor price gouging by airlines?

Open Skies New Route Between Paris and Washington DC begins May 3, 2010

It’s springtime in Paris. How would you like to fly there with all the leg room you can use plus all of the perks of business class for a reasonable price? Open Skies, the business class only airline owned by British Airways, has been operating flights between New York and Paris since 2008. On May 3, 2010, they begin flying out of Washington DC. Open Skies has two seating options – biz seat which reclines 140 degrees and biz bed with a 73″ seat pitch. I’m tall so either option would make me much happier than being squished into a regular coach seat and suffering the knee cramps and swollen ankles that come along with that. Biz Bed comes with gourmet, a la carte meals, and Biz Seat comes with an abbreviated version of the same. The Special Offers section quotes US $850.00 for the new Washington, DC- Paris route. This is the cost of a one way ticket based on round trip purchase. It all sounds great to me, and if Open Skies continues to offer specials I’ll definitely be using them for my next flight to Paris.

Does your pilot have a license?

He’s attended flight school in the 1980s. Thomas Salme, 41, of Sweden, worked as a passenger pilot for years and has an almost perfect flight record, but the problem is that he doesn’t have a license. A court in the Netherlands was impressed by his skills, banned him from flying but left the door open for him to apply for an actual license in the future but Salme says he’s done with flying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100413/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_fake_pilot

Free your mind, see the world

One of the best things about the 21st century is that the world is more accessible to us than ever before. Today images from around the world piped into our living room TVs and onto our laptop screens around the clock. Through internet social media we communicate with people from around the globe just as easily as we can communicate with people who live around the corner or down the road. Reasonably priced travel packages just about anywhere are available through online travel agencies at short notice. So we know where we want to go and it’s easy enough to find out how to get there at a price we can afford. This blog is for you if you know it’s time for your body to follow where your mind has already been. As I’ve heard a wise person say, “geography is history”. This means it’s time to free your mind, get out and see the world.