Red-Eye Flights Aren’t Your Only Option to Europe Anymore

At airports around Europe, particularly those with flights to and from Istanbul, it’s not uncommon to see men, their heads freshly shaved — some wearing caps intended to cover red scabs, others wearing forehead bands to prevent postoperative swelling — and all showing the unmistakable signs of recent hair transplant operations.

I'm not a fan of red-eye flights, but as a travel reporter, I often take them.

I left my apartment in NYC at 9 p.m. on a Friday last month for my red-eye flight to Barcelona. It wasn't my first rodeo on a late-night, long-haul flight, and I felt totally prepared. I ate dinner beforehand and took zero naps, so I figured I'd sleep on the plane and wake up in Spain feeling rested and ready to explore without the brutal jet lag.

Hanoi has always been a city of tales and legends. Its ancient name, Thang Long, which means “the Rising Dragon,” comes from a tale about Emperor Ly Thai To witnessing a golden dragon ascending when he moved the capital here in 1010. The city is now the heartland of Vietnamese literature — home to many of our finest writers, literary festivals and book fairs.

The 26-country no-border-control Schengen area is in danger of collapsing under the migration threat. Presumably, the new border controls will be for no more than two years. But for now, you have to figure on reverting to the bad old days of mind-numbing border hassles within the area.

Editors’ Note: On October 1, 2018, Primera Air announced it will cease operations immediately. The following story was published on September 11, 2018.

If you’re looking for yet another reason to cross the Atlantic, WOW Air just gave you one: The Icelandic-based airline is expanding low transatlantic fares and “second city” air routes.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about discount airlines providing low-fare flights to European cities. London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen are now an inexpensive Wow Air or Norweigan Air flight away from the U.S.—that is, if you’re willing to forego an in-flight meal and deal with a layover. But many business travelers and membership-savvy flyers aren’t looking for a cheap, lengthy flight sans free food.

What’s better than free hotel WiFi? Free fast hotel WiFi, of course.

Delta is all in on Seattle.

The average payback for six major hotel chain loyalty programs—the value of what the points will buy, compared to what you pay to earn the points—is near 9 percent. That’s substantially higher than the return from the big three airline programs, which fetch about 4 to 6 percent. Those figures come from IdeaWorks’ 2017 CarTrawler Hotel Reward Payback Survey. Among hotel programs, Wyndham’s payback is highest, at 16.7 percent.

Delta and Virgin America are now posting their “stretched” economy service—a few extra inches of legroom but in regular narrow six-across seats—as “premium economy” on search engines that use ITA’s fare-search software, including Google Flights, along with Expedia and others.