No smoking ban enforced on planes — why the ashtrays?

24th January, 2009 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Do you know that there has been ‘no smoking’ policy on airlines since the mid 1990s*? How can you possibly not know that? Then, the question I have is: why do airline companies — and their suppliers Boeing and Airbus, in particular — continue to produce doors for the toilets with embedded ashtrays? » Read More

Airline Competition & Inflight Entertainment – How do they fare?

8th October, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - 3 Comments

AIRLINE COMPETITION & INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT ARE YOU ON BOARD? As the competition for airline passenger dollars is only going to get worse — between higher oil costs, personnel issues & union negotiations, terrorism threats, ecological considerations [not to mention economic crisis] — you wonder how most of the companies in the airline industry are going » Read More

Parking Red Light Innovation at Parking Lot in Aix-en-Provence

28th July, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Little inventions that make the world go round… Ever driven around and around in a parking lot looking for a free place? Some parking lots mark on a digital board outside that there are X number of free spaces on certain levels and sometimes, judging by hard it is to find a free spot, you » Read More

Losing Weight on Planes

7th July, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Boy, you’re going to carry that weight… With the rising cost of fuel on the tips of all our tongues, the chase to reduce fuel costs is in full tilt. I am fascinated (if not confounded) by the work done by the airlines in this regard. It seems that every day there are » Read More

The New Age of Travel – Life after changes in the USA Visa Waiver Programme

18th June, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

The US has announced recently that citizens of the 27 visa waiver programme countries (most of Western Europe, Australia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand) will need to register (online) 72 hours in advance of their visit to the US. See here on the official VWP site. The new plan goes fully » Read More

Cell Phone Etiquette on Eurostar: It’s Not Good to Talk

9th June, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - 2 Comments

It’s Good to Talk? An old British Telecom (BT) saying that’s not applicable for Eurostar … or any public transportation for that matter. Having recently done a couple of round trips on the Eurostar I have made a few survey-of-one conclusions about the need for a standard of etiquette for cell phone usage on trains. There » Read More

Emirates Airline: Superlatives for flight to Dubai

21st April, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Wow! I felt like I actually rediscovered the pleasure of traveling yesterday. And, ironically, I did so going on holidays in the economy class of Emirates Airline, on a brand new Boeing 777-300ER. Expectations were totally outpaced. I was left utterly and positively surprised, almost regretting the fact the flight was » Read More

Luxury is in the details, so is…

9th April, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Luxury is in the details, but so, too, is basic service… I was on a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Manila and, according to the Purser, I was lucky enough to be flying on the newest aircraft in their fleet. The Boeing 777-300ER (check it out on seat guru), proudly marked on its nose “National » Read More

Fasten your seatbelts

7th February, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Fasten your seatbelt up at 10,000 feet? Is it any better to buckle up at 35,000 feet? If you are like me and the intimate masses who travel frequently, you will no doubt share a preconceived notion that wearing a seatbelt in an airplane is tantamount to putting a Band-Aid on a sawed off leg. » Read More

Strikes in Paris, Blogger & Yankees

17th October, 2007 - Posted by Minter Dial - 1 Comment

With a transport strike in Paris now underway, a breakdown with Blogger today (although it wasn’t exactly a strike, it almost felt like it) and the general strikeout by the Yankees (and maybe soon the Red Sox in the ALCS), it seems that strikes are in the air. And it doesn’t stop there. » Read More

 

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