Archive for the ‘International’ Category

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of my Bay Area travel news round ups. Here are 17 things frequent travelers need to know this month:

>SIGH OF RELIEF. Ah, fall! If the madding crowds of tourists have knocked you around this summer, relief is on the way. Over the next few weeks, packed planes, sold out hotels, lines at the breakfast bar and shrieks and squeals in the hotel pool area should subside. Airlines and hotels are already rolling out the fall deals and discounts, which is a signal to me that they’re a little skittish about declining demand. That means lower prices, more deals and some welcome breathing room for travelers.

>FREE WI-FI AT SFO. San Francisco International has finally joined Oakland and San Jose airports offering FREE Wi-Fi throughout the airport. Log on and look for the “sfo free wifi” network. I’ve not used it yet. If you have, please let us know how it works below in comments.

>IHG HOTELS PAY BAG FEES. Here’s a deal that should be music to the ears of non-elite air travelers forced to pay those dastardly new fees for checked bags. IHG Hotels (which include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Indigo among others) is offering to rebate $50 to travelers who book two or more weekend nights now through Dec 30. Must use Visa card to pay for your stay. Details.

>A NICE PAIRING. Two very popular brands among Bay Area frequent travelers have hooked up their loyalty programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards & Starwood Preferred Guest. Details.

>JETBLUE PASS SOLD OUT. It only took about three days for JetBlue to sell out of its unique one-month all-you-can-fly pass. The pass is a great idea for someone with a lot of time and flexibility on their hands. . .like the retired or unemployed. Not really something that a frequent traveler would be able to use…but still a fun concept! (Not to mention great PR for the airline.)

>DELTA TO DEMOLISH JFK WORLDPORT. I love Delta’s Business Elite service between SFO and JFK. But I hate using Delta’s dilapidated, ex-Pan Am Worldport facility there. Good news: it will soon be demolished and Delta will move international flights to an updated Terminal 4. Not so good news: Delta’s holding on to its mediocre Terminal 2 for domestic flights.

>VIRGIN AMERICA EXPANDS. Earlier this summer, SFO-based Virgin America bought a bunch of new planes. . . Now they’ve got to find more places to fly them. In coming months, Virgin will add flights from SFO to: Orlando, Dallas, Cabo San Lucas, and Cancun. I’m still hoping that they’ll get into Chicago O’Hare one day soon, but I suspect entrenched legacy carriers American and United are successfully blocking that for now. We’ll see.

>NEW NERD BIRD. Southwest jumps into the Bay Area to Austin, TX fray with new Nerd Bird nonstops from San Jose starting Nov 7. (Looks like Southwest is trying to beat Virgin to the punch…it’s recently been hinting about its own SFO-Austin flights.)

>BUY ELITE SEATS. No longer an elite level on American Airlines? Now you can buy many elite privileges per flight with it’s new “Express Seats” plan. Example: Pay $39 extra when you check in for SFO-JFK and you’ll get a coach seat near the front and early boarding. Details. Worth it?

>AMERICAN SLIMMING DOWN AT SFO. American Airlines is eliminating its non-stop flights to Boston later this year, which seems strange given its big investment and pending move into Terminal 2 at SFO. Did you know that it’s putting in a 10,000 square foot Admirals club, complete with a real FIREPLACE? I learned that little tidbit last week while attending the NBTA convention in Houston.

>KEEP AN EYE ON HAWAII FARES. Mahalo very much! Periodically over the last month, SFO-HNL fares to Honolulu have fallen to just $257 round trip on Delta. If you are interested in getting out from under all this fog, set up a fare alert on routes to Hawaii and then jump when you see a fare of less than $300. Here’s evidence of just how low those fares can go.

>MORE AIRPORT PERKS FOR AMEX PLATS. If you fork over $450 per year for your American Express Platinum card, your benefits just got better– cardholders now get access to US Airways airport clubs, as well as those from American, Delta and Continental airlines.

>SF-BASED PARTNERSHIP. Virgin America Elevate members can now earn one point per dollar spent at participating Joie de Vivre Hotels. To qualify, you must also be enrolled in Joie de Vivre’s loyalty program, Joy of Life Club. In addition to your Elevate points, you’ll also earn Joy of Life Club points for each stay through Dec 31, 2010.

>iPHONE TO THE RESCUE. There’s a very helpful new iPhone application from the TSA that allows users to check airport security wait times and flight delays in real time.

>FREAKISH FEES? The smart folks over at TripAdvisor have fashioned a very helpful “fees estimator” to its search engine– allowing users to enter the number of bags they plan to check as well as their frequent flyer program affiliation and status. Then the site calculates the TOTAL fee you’d pay and presents it for comparison on a matrix. Nice! See www.tripadvisor.com/flights and try it yourself.

>EASIER SEAT SEARCHES. I’m a big fan of Seatguru.com when trying to pick the perfect seat for a long international or transcon flight. In the past it was tough because there are so many different airplane configurations flying around out there. Seatguru’s solved that by letting you enter your actual airline flight NUMBER first, which means you’ll always see the exact layout of your plane. (I just used it to check out the nice business class seat I’ll have on my South African Airways flight to Cape Town next week. Stay tuned for more on that trip.)

>WATCH THOSE VALUABLES. A 47-year-old Air France flight attendant is facing 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to stealing from business class passengers sleeping on long haul flights. She said that she targeted passengers who would fall asleep after a big meal with lots of alcohol.

This week LAN Airlines inaugurated their fourth US gateway at San Francisco International Airport with LAN Peru’s nonstop service to Lima, Peru. LAN Peru will offer four flights per week to Lima on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with continuing service to Sao Paulo, Brazil and additional connections available to over 50 destinations in South America.

LAN will offer the ONLY nonstops between SFO and South America, which means no more stopovers in LAX, DFW or MIA on your way down or back. Nice!

San Francisco will join the existing US gateways of New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

LAN Peru will service the new route on Boeing 767-300s with long-haul reach and a capacity for 221 passengers. These aircraft offer a Premium Business Class cabin that includes full flat, 180 degree reclining seats with a completely horizontal sleeping option that only a select group of airlines in the world offer, in addition to a renovated Economy class. Both cabins feature a state of the art on demand entertainment system with personal high definition screens for every seat.

Flights arrive SFO at 7 a.m. and depart SFO at 1:30 p.m.  Business class passengers will pay a premium for that non-stop flight….LAN fares over the next few months are in the $5000 range while one-stop roundtrip flights on other airlines are more like $2300. Coach fares are in the $1200-$1500 round trip range.

Remember last year when everyone thought that no one would fly in the front of the plane again…forever? Times they are a changin’! And for the better if you are a frequent international business traveler.

Check out what American Express found when looking at its first quarter data:

Historically there has been close to an even split of passengers flying businesses class versus economy for International travel. However during the heart of the recession last year – particularly in the second quarter of 2009 – the percentage of tickets booked in business class hit its lowest rate at 36%. As the trending now shows, percentage rates are on the rise, indicating travelers are moving back to the front of the plane.

> Q1 2010 International Business Class – 41%

> Q1 2009 International Business Class – 39%

> Q1 2008 International Business Class – 51%

SWISS International Air Lines’ new San Francisco-themed Airbus A340 touched down at SFO today nonstop from Zurich, Switzerland. And The BAT was there to see it and join in the festivities that included officials from the Swiss consulate, media and a lot of plane spotters taking photos of the colorful new bird.

For business travelers, this is very good news. First, business class is brand new with lie-flat seats and advanced in-flight entertainment options. Second, SWISS is a Star Alliance partner, which means United Mileage Plus members can earn and burn miles on these flights.

Speaking of business travelers, it’s because of them that SWISS is here in the first place. Remember last year when SF-based Genentech was acquired by Roche? Roche is based in Zurich, and the company played a big part the SWISS decision to come here, according to Marcel Biedermann, SWISS’ managing director of sales and marketing. (Everyone chuckled when I asked  if this should be called the “Roche Coach.”) He also told me that Google, which has a large facility in Zurich, lobbied heavily for the new nonstops.

A quick look at summer fares on SWISS between SFO and ZRH shows: $1600-$1800 coach, $6000 for business class, and $12,500 for first class.

The new six-times-weekly nonstops depart SFO at 7:25 p.m. and arrive in Zurich the following day at 3:40 p.m. From Zurich, the flight departs at 1:15 p.m. and arrives SFO at 4:30 p.m. on the same day.

Here’s a fascinating time-lapse video that shows of the application of the “flower-power” San Francisco themed scheme to the exterior of the A340.

(Stay tuned for more about those new SWISS flights that begin on June 2. I just wanted to get that psychedelic San Francisco themed plane up on my blog for all to see! Can you believe they painted a plane just for us? For now, let’s take a look at summer travel.)

I’ve spent most of this week doing radio and TV interviews about summer travel trends. (Check ‘em out! Good Morning America. KCBS. Bloomberg/BusinessWeek.)

As usual, the stations want me to peel off a list of all the great travel deals out there.

But the reality is that nearly all the good airfare deals are gone. That’s right. If you want to travel during peak summer travel season, those dirt-cheap deals you might be hoping for are, well, dust in the wind.

Here are a few sound bites I’ve been tossing around:

>Over the course of this week, most major airlines raised fares $20 to $60 dollars round trip during the peak summer travel season, which runs from mid-June to mid-August. These are some of the most aggressive fare increases for peak summer travel season that I’ve ever seen.

>When airlines are aggressive like they’ve been this week, it means that it’s very clear to them that people are willing to pay higher fares. They would not raise fares if they were not confident we’d buy them.

>Airlines are calling these fare increases “surcharges” for technical reasons. However, when you are fare shopping online, those surcharges are already added into the fares you see and compare. Don’t get tripped up by semantics. Surcharges = fare increases.

>If you’ve been waiting around hoping you might luck into a great fare, I’m afraid your luck has run out. If you find a summer peak season fare that seems somewhat reasonable, book it now, because I’m afraid it’s only going to go up from here.

>People who last week may have found a pretty good fare but thought they would wait a week were greeted with surcharges this week. A fare that was $400 last week is $460 this week.

>Travelers have had a lot of cabin fever now because they’ve shunned vacations due to recent financial worries. If they did go out, they took shorter trips or they maybe stayed at less expensive hotels or they stayed with friends. But now the summer is here. They haven’t taken a vacation in a while and they’re ready to go. And they seem ready to pay more.

>Some lower prices: While airfares are up, hotel rates are on par with last summer (which means historic lows.) Also, after a year of sharp increases, rental car rates could be down as much as 15 percent compared to last summer. In addition, travelers headed to Europe will find that a stronger dollar will lead to lower prices.

>There are two windows of opportunity for good deals this summer. The first two weeks of June and the last two weeks of August. If you have the flexibility to travel during these windows, you’ll pay less than during the peak (roughly June 15-August 15).

>Other strategies for lower fares (but higher potential for hassles): Take a one-stop flight instead of a nonstop. Take an overnight flight or a very early or very late night flight or fly on an off-peak day. Monday and Tuesday are going to be the slowest days this summer– that’s when you are going to find those surcharges the smallest.

(Photo: griffs0000 / Flickr)

Air New Zealand is offering flash sale: $483 round trip SFO-Auckland incl. tax! Must travel late May-Early June. Book by May 14. This is as low as I’ve ever seen it. Interested? Act fast cuz the cheap seats are selling out.

NOTE: frequent flyer miles are not awarded on this fare.

http://www.airnewzealand.com/hot-deal-to-new-zealand

I have not had a chance to fly Air Berlin so here’s what I have been able to pick up from a few online sources.

>Air Berlin is the second largest airline in Germany (after Lufthansa) and is considered Germany’s “low-cost” airline.

>Ironically, Air Berlin’s SFO flights don’t fly to/from Berlin. Instead, they fly to/from Dusseldorf, a wealthy and fashionable city on Germany’s western edge.

>Roundtrip coach fares for summer travel between SFO and Dusseldorf are running in the $1300 range according to a quick scan on Kayak.com. Round trip in business class is about $3400.

>Nonstop roundtrips between SFO and Dusseldorf (DUS) run just twice a week– on Wednesdays and Fridays– using an Airbus A330-200. The flight arrives SFO at about 1:20 pm and departs at about 3:20 pm (arriving in Dusseldorf at about 11:20 am the following day.)

>Coach seating on Air Berlin is tight. According to Seatguru.com, Air Berlin’s seat pitch in coach on the A330 is just 30 inches. (For comparison, Delta’s A330’s offer 31-33 inches.) There is no in-seat video entertainment. Movies play on overhead screens.

>Business class seats recline, but do not lie-flat.

>What do YOU know about Air Berlin? Please leave your comments below!

Details are emerging from Bangor, Maine where a Delta flight from Paris bound for Atlanta was diverted yesterday due to a security threat.

Wire stories state that Derek Stansberry, a 27 year-old Air Force veteran, told federal air marshalls onboard the plane that he had bombs in his boots and laptop, that his passport was fake, and that he thought he was being followed.

He said that he had taken up to eight Ambien, but then changed his story and said he’d taken only one. (Ambien is a prescription sleep aid.) He also mentioned that he’d taken a Valium before the flight.

After Stansberry was removed from the plane in Bangor, the flight continued on to Atlanta, arriving three hours late.

All this makes me wonder about whether we should be taking hard drugs when we are up there flying across oceans, especially in light of heightened alertness to strange behavior brought on by the well-known Christmas Day “crotch bomber.”

Do you use prescription drugs to help you sleep on long flights? I’ve taken Ambien on overseas flights in the past with no side effects other than a bad hangover. (So bad, in fact, that I no longer use it.)

On a recent trip to Asia, I went the homeopathic route. I tried Jet Lag Formula ($20), an herbal concoction designed to help battle the ill effects associated with flying. I also followed the advice of Bill Ashton who runs the “StopJetLag” program ($35 per trip) out of Palo Alto, which (among other things) encourages the use of melatonin as a sleep aid in flight. I was surprised that I was able to get plenty of good quality sleep on flights in both directions. And jet lag was not nearly as bad as I’ve experienced on previous journeys, although I must say that it was a lot easier going over than coming back.

Have you ever used Ambien or other prescription drugs to help you sleep on transoceanic flights? Is it worth the risks? Have you ever had, or witnessed, strange behavior as a result of taking those drugs in flight?

Please leave your comments and experiences below.

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Imagine what it would be like if you could land at SFO, then jump on a high speed ferry to the Embarcadero, or over to Oakland, or up to Wine Country?

Maybe one day…but for now, Asia’s got us beat when it comes to the world’s best airports.

Hong Kong is one of three “Five-Star” airports in the world according to SkyTrax, a well-respected international organization that ranks both airlines and airports based on surveys of thousands of frequent international business travelers from around the world.

For 2010, the only three airports to get “five star” status are Singapore-Changi, Seoul Incheon and Hong Kong Kong International. (Full report here)

However, note that our hometown airport SFO placed second in North America after Vancouver. SFO’s also the ONLY U.S. airport to place in the top 25 worldwide.

On a recent business trip to Asia, I flew through Seoul’s Incheon Airport on Korean Air and was VERY impressed. I made a two-minute video about that journey which included coverage of Incheon Airport. (See video below)

Have you ever flown through one of these “Five Star” airports? What did you think? How do they compare to SFO or other U.S. airports? Please leave your comments below.

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Korean Air is offering super low business class fares (about $3600 roundtrip midweek) between SFO and Seoul– but you must act fast. The booking window for this deal closes on April 30.

This represents a great value since the lowest round trip transpac business class fares are normally in the $6000-$7000 range. It’s a great deal if you are going to Seoul or beyond, since KAL operates an outstanding hub at Seoul-Incheon with easy connections to cities across China and throughout Asia. Here are full details of the offer.

Earlier this month, Korean Air invited me to give its business (“Prestige”) class a try between SFO and Seoul. I made a short two-minute “Flight Check” video of my experience. Please take a look! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLWJN0-_Vuk

UPDATE  Sunday March 21 1:15 pm. British Airways has told me that both departures from SFO to London will happen today (flights 284 and 286). One flight will arrive from London with passengers and depart with passengers (BA 287). Another (BA 285) will arrive from London with cargo only, but will depart for London with passengers (BA 286).

UPDATE: Sunday, March 21. British Airways contacted me to report that it has reinstated a single roundtrip flight (BA 287 and BA 286) between SFO and London-Heathrow today. They say that more workers than expected are showing up, so they are able to reinstate more flights than expected. No word yet on when BA’s second daily SFO-London flight (BA 284/285) will be reinstated.

SATURDAY: A strike at British Airways has grounded the carrier’s two daily flights between San Francisco International and London Heathrow.

According to BA’s web site, BA flights 285 and 287, which originate in London have been scrubbed today (Saturday), Sunday and Monday. From the BA website it appears that BA planes that are already here or in the air on their way here will operate today (Saturday) and fly back to London. But once there, they will be grounded.

It’s unknown now how the strike may affect flights after Monday.

If you are holding a BA ticket to London, here are your options:

1. rebook your flight within one year (BA waives change fees)
2. rebook your flight via another U.S. city where BA flights have NOT canceled (Note that flights from both LAX and PHX have canceled, too so not many options from SF).
3. cancel your flight for a full refund
4. call British Airways (1-800-247-9297– expect a long wait on hold!) or your travel agent and ask that they re-book you on another carrier.

Note: If you are currently booked to travel to London on another carrier (such as Virgin Atlantic or United which both offer nonstops to London from SFO) expect your flight to be VERY full. And expect the gate area to be rather angst ridden with lots of displaced BA passengers standing by and hoping to board your flight.

For more information and to monitor the situation, go to www.ba.com/strike

News around this strike is changing fast, so if you know more than I’ve been able to include here, or have updates, please add them in the comments section below.

Here’s BA CEO Willie Walsh with an apology and outlook (smart use of social media during a crisis!)

(Photo: Angeloangelo / Flickr)

(This item also appeared on my SF Gate blog, The Frequent Travel Advisor.)

Taking a bathroom break in the sky has always been a rather unisex affair. But that might be changing.

Japan’s ANA airlines (with daily nonstops between SFO and Tokyo) announced today that it will offer “women only lavatories” on its international flights. Citing “numerous requests from passengers for this service” the carrier will designate a single lavatory in the rear of the aircraft “for women only.”

Men will know to stay away when they see the special pink signage (above) on the door. However, there are cases where men will be allowed to use the women-only facilities:

• When required for safety reasons, just prior to the seat belt sign being turned on during take-off and landing.
• When a passenger is not feeling well and a personal emergency requires such use
• When there are very few female passengers and the women-only designation has been lifted for the flight
• An in-flight announcement will be made in such cases.

This is not the first time ANA has engaged in potty talk. You may have read before about its pre-flight boarding announcements which ask passengers seated at gates to empty their bladders in airport bathrooms in order to decrease the weight of the aircraft, which will in turn mean less fuel spent and less environmental impact.

I’d be very interested in hearing your thoughts about this, so please leave your comments below.

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The older I get, the more I’m affected by jet lag, which is not a good thing for someone who makes his living in the travel industry.

Over the years, I’ve tried every drug from Ambien to Xanax; gone the homeopathic route with melatonin and herbs; tried starving myself, avoided alcohol, and experimented with caffeine. I’ve tried sleeping with hotel room drapes open and taking long walks in the sunshine upon arriving. I even tested an oversized visor with a battery-operated light under the bill that was supposed to offer some sort of “light therapy.”

The sad news is that none of them really worked. I still get that prickly, woozy, sweaty feeling on my first few days overseas. I sleep soundly for an hour or so, then lie awake in bed for the rest of the night, and then feel sorta hollow the next day. YUCK!

So every time I hear about a new substance or practice (other than denial) that might help ease the pain of jetlag, I’m eager to learn more.

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Introducing Nuvigil

There was much talk among the international travel crowd this month when the New York Times ran a story about a new jetlag drug called Nuvigil, on the market since last June.

Nuvigil is not a sleeping pill. Instead, it is a stimulant that travelers can take to treat the daytime sleepiness associated with jetlag—it does NOT help shift the body’s clock to a new time zone. (Nuvigil and its precursor, Provigil, are frequently used by people who suffer from narcolepsy and sleep apnea.)

Nuvigil’s maker, Cephalon, has plans to sell the drug to frequent business travelers—those who might pop over to Europe for a couple of days of meetings and then return. The Times article reports that in clinical trials among adults flying to Paris from the east coast, those who took Nuvigil did not nod off during the day as quickly as those who took a placebo.

I asked physician Jim Braude, who travels to Europe several times each year, for some insight and he said, “These drugs work by somehow stimulating the brain (although the mechanism is not clearly defined), and can cause heart palpitations and raise blood pressure. So as much as I personally want to eliminate jet lag, I’m not ready to try these given the risk/benefit formula.”

Several readers have used Provigil, but not the new Nuvigil. BAT reader Matt reports, “I use Provigil. It works well at keeping you up with out giving you the jitters. I can see how it can help when you first get some place and need to make it through the first few days until you get adapted to the new time zone.”

Another reader, MG, wrote, “I have used Provigil for almost a year now, and find it to be a ‘miracle’ drug for jetlag as well as many other ailments. It is astonishing! Somewhat like a stimulant in its results, it has almost no side effects and is a completely beneficial option for dealing with stresses to both the body and mind. Insurance companies (mine, two different ones) are reluctant to pay for it and it is quite expensive.”

Hmmm. I’d still like to try Nuvigil, but I think I’d experiment first on a trip that did NOT include an important meeting.

Since I’m alway curious to try anything to help with my jet lag issues,  I’m considering trying a new herbal concoction for an upcoming trip to Tokyo made by Mountain View acupuncturist and herbalist Ted Ray. He says he’s “tested his Jet Lag Formula on Silicon Valley executives for about seven years  and almost all notice an improvement in how they feel in the days after arrival– though some more than others.” The formula consists of a round of capsules containing a cocktail of various herbs that you take before during and after your flight.

How about YOU? How do you deal with jetlag?

Please leave your comments below! Or leave them on the SFgate by clicking here

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As of today, Canadian authorities have relaxed the  onerous ZERO carry-on bag policy enacted after Christmas Day bombing attempt over Detroit. Passengers on flights bound for the U.S. from Canada can now carry on a single bag, plus a personal item like a purse, briefcase or laptop bag.

This is more or less a return to the rules in force before the Dec 25 incident, but a spokesperson at Transport Canada told The BAT that travelers should expect tighter enforcement of the one-bag rule.

This is VERY good news for Vancouver Winter Olympics-bound travelers headed north in February.

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Since the attempted bombing of Delta/Northwest flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day, airport security has been turned on its head (once again).

While we expect changes, here are SIX things you need to know right now:

1>Most increased security is on inbound-to-U.S. flights. As far as we can tell, the only changes you may notice for domestic U.S. flying are more frequent pat-downs at airport security and the possibility of a random screening of your carry-on bags at the gate. (If you were traveling post 9/11 you may remember this procedure where a handful of passengers, usually those near the front of the boarding line, were chosen “randomly” to have the contents of their carry-ons displayed to everyone boarding the plane…)

2> Canadian authorities have lifted the onerous complete ban on carry-on luggage (except personal items like a purse or laptop) for flights departing Canada for the U.S. Updates here.  British Airways tells The BAT that travelers inbound to the U.S. from the U.K. are restricted to a SINGLE carry on that must conform to normal size standards. (one bag only…which means you need to put your purse or briefcase INSIDE your carry on suitcase)

3>When returning from another country to the U.S., you will go through TWO security checks: First, when checking in for your flight at the airline counter, you will face possible frisking, baggage inspection and questioning BY THE AIRLINE. Second, local authorities at airport security checkpoints will screen you as you make your way to the departure gate.There is also the possibility of random checks at the departure gate.

A remarkably quiet United Terminal at SFO. Sunday, Jan 10 at 5 pm

4>REMEMBER: We are entering the SLOWEST travel period of the year, so don’t expect ongoing huge delays or long lines. Despite media reports, you should not expect chaos at the airport. As a matter of fact, you could probably roll a bowling ball through airport concourses this month and not hit anyone! Just how dead is it at SFO? Check out this photo taken at United’s security checkpoint on SUNDAY Jan 10 at 5 pm. It’s super dead!

5>Expect to see more frequent use of the full-body scanners at the 19 U.S. airports where they are in operation. More international airports are said to be fast- tracking installation of these devices. (Full body scanners are in use at SFO’s International Terminal only. If you are flying United and a full body scan scares you, just go through security at United’s domestic terminal 3, and then take the new “connector walkway” to the international gates.) Silver lining? Check out the 6-month stock price chart below that shows the jump of OSI Systems, which owns Rapiscan, the manufacturer of such devices.

6>Restrictions on on-board activities (such as getting out of your seat or using electronics during the last hour of the flight) that were mandated last week are now left up to cabin crew—and from what we’ve heard, are essentially no longer in effect.

Bottom line: Terrorist incidents, like airplane crashes, happen. No matter how hard we try to prevent them, they are going to happen. No airplane is 100% safe. No airport is 100% secure. We should do our best to be vigilant, but not make long term decisions based on reactive fear.

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