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Travelogger

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

Getting Bumped From a Flight Is Not that Bad

August 17, 2011 By noemi

080205_bumped_flightThese days, not too many people are flying – at least not as much in the old days. This means that airlines are offering fewer and fewer flights, even in the peak of summer. As such, it is still possible that you get bumped off your flight. Alternatively, you can also have your flight canceled. Either way, you might find yourself grounded at the airport.

Some people do not mind being bumped from their flight or having their flight cancelled. This is especially true for those who are in no particular hurry. And why not? More often than not, people in this position find themselves getting a lot of freebies. But this is not always the case. And if ever you do find yourself out of a flight or your flight gets cancelled, it would be great to know your rights as a traveler.

For example, did you know that if you are bumped from a domestic flight in the US, it is within your legal right to receive payment from the airline? The payment is the price of a one-way ticket up to $400 – that is, if you are rescheduled to fly and get to your destination within 2 hours of the original time. If this time period goes beyond 2 hours, you can receive up to $800!

Another example is to look out for the signs that some airlines put right outside the boarding gate. These signs offer cash vouchers for those who volunteer to be bumped off. My tip? Wait till the departure time gets nearer. Usually, the value of the vouchers go higher then. 

No Danger From Blood Clots During Long Air Travel

February 23, 2011 By noemi

c42x16blood-clotI remember all the hullaballoo about deep vein thrombosis, blood clots forming in your legs when you sit still for very long periods of time. Sitting behind a desk every day, sitting at home, etc – all these are “activities” that may leave you prone to blood clots. Air travel, in particular, is one of the main sources of concern. Short flights, of course, do not pose much of a threat, but extended flights just might.

Or at least that’s what we thought. New developments tell us otherwise, though. According to a report published by Reuters, researchers have not found any concrete link between immobility in long flights and the formation of blood clots:

They report in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that 545 patients were diagnosed with venous blood clots within 45 days, and 1394 had at least one reason for immobility. Those included being bed-bound, travel of more than 8 continuous hours in the previous week, and paralysis due to brain injury or disease.

Compared with patients with no immobility, immobility of a limb was most strongly linked with a blood clot, closely followed by paralysis due to brain injury or disease.

Although travel was the most frequently observed reason for immobility, there was no evidence that it was linked to blood clots.

That is excellent news, don’t you think? Even if you have not really been worried about blood clots, knowing that you do not increase your risk for this when traveling should make your trips all the more stress free!

Everything You Wanted To Know About Airline Meals

August 13, 2010 By Zahir

I was actually told to visit this site some time ago by my sister (who has a knack for sniffing out extraordinary sites), but never got around to doing so until today.

Airline Meals is a site entirely dedicated to (surprise, surprise), Airline Meals. It has 8,484 images of airline meals from 534 airlines, gives you the latest news and trends on airline meals and even has a forum for those who want to discuss the meal from the skies which people (more often than not) love to hate.

Quirkiness aside, the site actually has a lot of interesting and relevant information, especially if you find yourself on airplanes a lot, or planning your next trip (which means you’re probably OC though). The creator of the site says in the FAQ, that his mission for this site is not purely for entertainment, but also to inform the Airline Industry about their own products.

And rightly so. I became even more impressed with this site, the more I explored. How could he have turned such a mundane subject into something actually…dare I say it, fascinating?

There are categories on crew meals, special meals, 70’s 80’s and 90’s meals, meals in movies, even lounge food and much, much more. Or you can just browse through the thousands of photos by airline or history.
Truly fascinating stuff and a great interactive site, which is actually so much better than most of the websites out there today.

You gotta see this one.

Tips On How To Get Some Sleep While Flying

May 9, 2010 By noemi

It took me a while to decide whether or not to write about this topic. You see, I am the kind of person who can fall asleep anywhere. And I mean anywhere. I once fell asleep on the bus while standing. Yup, my hands were raised, holding on to the rail, and I woke up when I almost fell flat on my face.

For those who have difficulty falling asleep while on long haul flights, though, the problems can be serious. The last thing that you would want is to feel dead tired because of lack of sleep all throughout your vacation. Here are some tips on how to get that much needed sleep in-flight.

Make sure the seat reclines.
Of course, this is not a problem for those who fly first class, but for those of us who normally fly coach, it is an issue. Seats in the back row and in the exit area normally do not recline so avoid them if you can.

Get the window seat.
Most people like this because of the view, but there is the added advantage of having a wall to snuggle up to. More so, this seat leaves you undisturbed – as you would be if you were in the middle or aisle seat.

Bring a neck pillow along.
This is the best thing that you can bring with you. It helps support your head and helps avoid that awful jerking movement it makes whenever you nod off. The soft material also helps make you feel more comfortable.

Other things to bring along: mp3 player to drown out the ambient noise and covering for your eyes (most airlines provide this but you can never be sure).

Happy snoozing!

2009: Second Safest Travel Year

February 23, 2010 By noemi

I guess that’s just a bit of information that is not really of much to use the average traveler today. Yeah, last year could very well be one of the safest years of traveling – we’re very much alive despite going on several trips last year, right?

Now, enough sarcasm. The data may seem trivial to me (and maybe some of you) but I am sure someone will make good use of it. According to the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, in the year 2009, there was only 1 accident for every 1.4 million flights. That’s an impressive figure, isn’t it? However, the numbers only take into account Western-built jets. Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever flown in a non-Western jet. Have you?

Here are more details from Reuters:

IATA said the 2009 rate was a 36 percent improvement on 2000 levels.

“Having made aviation the safest way to travel, further improvements will come only with careful data analysis,” said IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani.

“We must understand the underlying safety risk trends, not just from the handful of accidents each year, but by bringing together and analyzing data from millions of safe flights.”

Here is something else that you might find useful – which parts of the world had the worst accident rates? The IATA pinpoints Africa and the Middle East. The safest, on the other hand, are North Asia, Latin America, and the Commonwealth of Independent States – they had no losses last year.

I wonder what 2010 will bring. I guess we’ll get the figures in 2011.

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