Patrick Clarke travel tips

Knowing the right time to book your flight to net the biggest savings can be tricky. Fortunately, there's tons of data out there that can provide passengers with key insights to stretch their budget.

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has submitted comments to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would prohibit unfair or deceptive practices relating to fees for goods or services.Focusing specifically on junk fees often charged by hotels and other short-term lodging services that result in a misleading total cost, ASTA expressed support for transparency."As an advocate for not only travel agencies and individual advisors but also the millions of consumers who rely on our members’ services, ASTA believes that the rule as proposed would greatly benefit consumers of hotel and other short-term lodging services, and it is in that context that ASTA has the greatest interest in the proposed rulemaking," the organization said in a letter signed by Peter N. Lobasso, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, ASTA."While charging mandatory resort fees has come under greater scrutiny in recent years, up until now predominantly by regulators and enforcement agencies at the state level, the practice remains common in the industry.""Moreover, the manner in which resort fees, also alternatively referred to by hoteliers as 'amenity fees' or 'destination fees,' among other terms commonly used, are disclosed to consumers is highly inconsistent," ASTA added. "And, as many hotel properties are independently owned and operated franchises, there is little uniformity in this regard even among hotels doing business under the same brand name."The organization is calling for uniform application of the full disclosure obligation."ASTA strongly believes that all consumers, regardless of where or how they choose to book their travel, have a right to expect that hotels, as well as OTAs, short-term rental intermediaries and other distributors of lodging services, provide complete pricing information, exclusive of any Government Charges, upfront in a transparent manner to permit meaningful comparison shopping. Moreover, we are of the opinion that the full disclosure obligation should apply uniformly irrespective of the distribution channel or medium used by the consumer when booking a hotel room."ASTA also asked for clarity regarding proposed penalty provisions in the context of intermediated transactions."As a matter of fairness, we believe intermediaries that reasonably rely on erroneous information provided by the entity charging the fee should be relieved of liability for the error. To that end, ASTA respectfully requests that the Final Rule include either an outright exemption or a 'safe harbor' mechanism to protect an innocent third-party seller from enforcement action in this scenario."

A pair of JetBlue aircraft collided with each other on the tarmac during the de-icing process at Boston's Logan International Airport early Thursday morning, Boston 25 News reported.No injuries were reported but both planes sustained damage when one plane's winglet made contact with the other's tail section.Both JetBlue and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that they will investigate the incident."Safety is JetBlue's priority, and we will work to determine how and why this incident occurred," JetBlue said in a statement."JetBlue Flight 777, an Airbus A321neo's left winglet struck the right horizontal stabilizer of JetBlue Flight 551, an Airbus A321, around 6:40 a.m., local time on Thursday, February 8, while on the deicing pad at Boston Logan International Airport," the agency added.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the bipartisan Senate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2023 on Thursday.

After a record-breaking 115.1 million viewers tuned in for last year's Super Bowl, companies across all industries, including travel, are putting up big bucks—$7 million for 30 seconds of air time to be exact—to get their brands in front of America's eyeballs this February.

Southwest Airlines customers can now book the low-cost carrier's flight schedule through November 2, 2024.

AIANTA Board President Travis Owens (left) and AIANTA CEO Sherry L. Rupert (right) at the 25th Annual American Indigenous Tourism Conference. (Photo Credit: AIANTA)

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) anticipates that airport security checkpoints will be busier this winter holiday travel period compared to last year.Fortunately, the agency says it's prepared to meet the surging travel demand.The official end-of-the-year holiday travel period runs from Thursday, December 21 through Tuesday, January 2. TSA is projecting that the busiest days will be Thursday, December 21; Friday, December 29, and Monday, January 1.TSA said it expects to screen more than 2.5 million passengers each of those days, signaling a 6 percent increase from 2022. The busiest day last year was December 29, when officers screened nearly 2.4 million passengers nationwide.The projections come after the TSA screened nearly 30 million passengers during November's 12-day Thanksgiving holiday period. The agency broke the record for most passengers in a single day on Sunday, November 26, screening more than 2.9 million passengers at security checkpoints across the country."We are prepared to handle the busy passenger volumes this winter holiday season," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement."TSA’s continued success during this record year for travel is a direct result of teamwork, planning and professional execution across the agency, from our frontline employees to those behind the scenes; partnerships with airports and air carriers; and innovative checkpoint technologies that improve security effectiveness, efficiency and the passenger experience," he concluded.Industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) projects that 39 million people will board flights in the U.S. between Wednesday, December 20 and Tuesday, January 2, for an average of 2.8 million passengers per day.

The U.S. Travel Association is praising President Joe Biden's administration this winter after the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security moved to extend the visa interview waiver authority for low-risk applicants ahead of its previous December 31 expiration.The decision comes one month after the organization sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging both agencies to extend the visa interview waiver authority, which gives consular officers the discretion to waive in-person interviews for certain low-risk nonimmigrant visa applications.These eligible applicants have previously visited the U.S. and are still subject to the same strenuous background checks and screening that all nonimmigrants receive.

The most festive time of year is now and with just under two weeks left before the end of 2023, time is running out to explore some of the world's very best Christmas markets.

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Royal Caribbean International has announced that world football superstar Lionel Messi will serve as the official Icon of its Icon of the Seas cruise ship debuting in January 2024.

Travelers eyeing an escape to the Caribbean won't want to miss these spectacular hotel and resort offers. 

The holiday season is underway and while Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday may be over, there are still plenty of awesome deals to score this December.

There's no shortage of excellent opportunities to save and score exclusive perks at the top hotels and resorts throughout Mexico this holiday season.

The top U.S. airlines and airports improved upon their Thanksgiving on-time performance this year compared to 2022.According to the latest analysis from leading global travel data provider OAG, the on-time performance of major U.S. airlines improved by one percentage point over last year's holiday, reaching 85.7 percent.OAG examined the on-time performance of all airports and airlines on Thanksgiving Eve (November 22), which is one of the busiest travel days of the year. In 2023, airlines and airports overcame not only crowds but weather disruptions to improve upon last year.According to OAG, nearly 18,400 flights arrived on time—within 15 minutes of the scheduled time—among the major U.S. carriers on November 22. Two airlines—Delta Air Lines (91.5 percent) and United Airlines (90.5 percent)—even achieved over 90 percent on-time performance across their domestic networks.Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines also saw improvements over last year, with on-time performance rates of 89.4 percent and 89.3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Southwest Airlines reported a dip from 88.5 percent in 2022 to 86.9 percent in 2023.American Airlines (84.4 percent), Allegiant Air (84.2 percent), Frontier Airlines (76.2 percent) and Breeze Airways (62.3 percent) all improved upon last year while Sun Country Airlines (84.8 percent), JetBlue (64.8 percent), Spirit Airlines (61.7 percent) and Cape Air (33 percent) all lost ground compared to Thanksgiving Eve 2022.

The holidays are here and so are the travel savings.

Jamaica is poised to welcome a brand new mega-resort, it was announced at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London last week.The country's Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett and his team met with international hotel group, Lopesan, which revealed it's seeking to develop a 1,000-room luxury resort on the island.Details about the resort remain scarce for now but Bartlett said the development would generate over 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, and positively impact farmers, manufacturers, small businesses and other stakeholders.Lopesan currently boasts more than 17,000 hotel rooms across Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.The announcement comes ahead of the official opening of the recently renovated $30 million Royalton White Sands resort in Trelawny next month.Additionally, the island will celebrate the openings of two major resorts before the summer of 2024. The new Princess Resort in Hanover will open 1,000 rooms and the RIU Palace Aquarelle resort will add 753 more in Trelawny, creating around 2,500 new jobs.