British Airways has increased its minimum connection time at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) Terminal 5 from one hour to 75 minutes in an effort to reduce the risk and cost of missed flight transfers.
22.12.2023 - 14:14 / cntraveler.com
I used to really like air travel—largely because of a Disney movie from the late seventies called The Rescuers. The leads are mice: a chic one, voiced by Eva Gabor; and a frumpy one, voiced by Bob Newhart. They’re on assignment to save an orphan girl who was abducted for the purpose of retrieving a diamond from the Louisiana bayou—but first they have to get there from New York City, which involves riding in a sardine tin strapped to an albatross. When the bird wings off the roof of a skyscraper at sunset, poor Bob is practically peeing himself. But not Eva. “Oooo! I just luv takeoffs!” she says. “It’s just like being on a rollerscoater.”
Age eight, I absorbed the soft ballad with horns and strings and a Joni type on vocals that the flight unfolded to. I absorbed the cloud-level views. But Eva was the big thing—so courageous and cosmopolitan. Those were characteristics that a kid like me, growing up in Central Florida, wanted for herself. I decided that I would luv takeoffs, too. And for a long time, because of a cartoon mouse in a pillbox hat and pussybow, I did.
Not anymore. I live in Paris as a culture journalist and fly frequently. In recent months, on short flights to Bucharest, Bristol, Genoa, Venice, Frankfurt, Milan, Copenhagen, Salzburg, and Warsaw, I've been on Xanax, sweaty and scared stiff each time. I've been known to curse, cry, or hyperventilate. If we’re traveling together, I’ll get sharp with my preschool-age daughter (then obsess that she’s definitely going to internalize it). I’ll white-knuckle armrests and the hands of family or strangers and loop Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia” through earphones like an anthem. “Oh, I just luv takeoffs! Oh, I just luv takeoffs!” I tell myself, unconvinced. Because I’m not Eva—I’m Bob.
In the US, some 25 million people fear flying; up to 40% of Americans. We are freaked out by a long list of fears that start before ascent and end after descent, and includes anything from concerns over a flight attendant whose expression could read as an attempt to mask alarm over a failed engine, to the national shortage of air traffic controllers and presence of clouds. It is for such uneasy flyers that airlines and airports offer fear-of-flying workshops worldwide.
British Airways, for example, does one-day private or group courses at Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, New York, and Dubai (with options for children and teens). Lufthansa hosts a weekend seminar in German in Frankfurt, Munich, and Zurich. Virgin Atlantic has been partnering with Lovefly, which has a 30-day e-program and one-day face-to-face courses, since 1997. There are fear-of-flying options via easyJet, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, and Lehigh Valley International Airport in
British Airways has increased its minimum connection time at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) Terminal 5 from one hour to 75 minutes in an effort to reduce the risk and cost of missed flight transfers.
United Airlines has found loose bolts in its own Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft just days after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the planes following a mid-air blowout on Alaska Airlines.
If you are boarding a plane in much of the United States during winter, chances are the aircraft will need to have a specially trained crew spray it with de-icing fluid before takeoff to remove ice and snow (or prevent more from sticking).
Saying that social media videos aren’t always trustworthy feels like the biggest no brainer of the century. But in an era of AI, videography tricks, and influencers trying literally anything to garner attention, it bears remembering that when it comes to TikTok, not everything is as it seems. Take this video of a train journey through Skagway, Alaska.
SÃO PAULO – GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A, the main Brazil’s domestic airline, announces that it has received approval to access a newly developed credit insurance policy structured with the direct support […]
Waking after a night at sea, I was elated to look out of the cabin window and see the city of Algiers, blazing white. The splendid capital rises from its Mediterranean bay in improbable layers, from the arches of the French colonial port to the warren of the Casbah, to the clear blue sky, all overlooked by the Martyrs’ Memorial, which represents the country’s fight for independence. “Never was town more nobly placed,” wrote Edith Wharton, who visited by yacht in 1888. In the cabin, my toddler son was still sleeping. I looked at him and thought, we’ve made it, baby: all the way from West Yorkshire to north Africa by rail and sea in 48 hours.
A year ago, we made our best guesses at what would happen with credit card rewards in 2023.
Saying that social media videos aren’t always trustworthy feels like the biggest no brainer of the century. But in an era of AI, videography tricks, and influencers trying literally anything to garner attention, it bears remembering that when it comes to TikTok, not everything is as it seems. Take this video of a train journey through Skagway, Alaska.
With its pulsing, modern cities, beautiful rural landscapes and world-renowned cuisine, Japan is one of the top stops for travelers seeking a fully immersive Asian experience. And there's good news: travelers dreaming of a long-awaited trip to Japan need wait no longer – after establishing some of the world’s strictest border control policies during COVID-19, Japan has opened visa-free travel for visitors from most countries.
They're going farther. They're planning ahead. And they're taking bigger risks.
Situated around 20 miles from Spain on the tip of North Africa, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, Tangier has been a coveted naval prize for centuries. Phoenicia, the Roman Empire, various Islamic caliphates, Portugal, Spain, England and France all laid claim to this hilly port town. After World War II, the city was an international zone — administered by several countries — until Morocco achieved independence in 1956 and regained full control of it. It was this colorful heritage and these scenic surroundings that helped to entice a steady stream of writers, artists and eccentrics in the mid-20th century, the city’s bohemian heyday.
Hop a plane across several time zones, and you may end up with what scientists call circadian dysrhythmia (aka jet lag). It’s a temporary sleep disorder where your body’s internal clock isn’t in sync with the time cues in your destination—daylight, dark of night, mealtimes.