Don’t rely on AI to create your itinerary! A recent study found that AI itineraries are ridden with errors. They’ll recommend visiting places when they aren’t open or places that are permanently closed. Some of them even recommend places that never existed. Plus, they might send you an hour away for lunch and then return you to your starting point. Just don’t use them!
Airbnb insurance? With all the horror stories I’ve heard about Airbnbs, I’ll definitely get insurance if I decide to use the service ever again. Tin Leg and Seven Corners are two companies that offer policies covering Airbnbs, or check to see if your credit card insurance will cover it.
No ribbons on your bags! A baggage handler says that if you put a ribbon on your bag, it makes scanning the bag more difficult. This might mean it gets relegated to the end of the line. Stickers might also be problematic.
Don’t drink the water on airplanes! A flight attendant says the tanks that house the water used on airplanes aren’t cleaned often enough. They recommend only drinking liquids in a bottle or can. That means no coffee or tea, people!
More Boeing problems. Boeing is apparently having fuselage fastener problems (whatever that means) with some of their 787 Dreamliner jets. They say this doesn’t affect any planes that are actually in service, but their ongoing issues certainly don’t inspire confidence.
Italy’s Dolomites opens new hiking trail. The new trail, which takes seven days, is 105 miles long and is meant to promote slow, sustainable tourism. It’s called the Cammino Retico Trail named after the ancient Raeti people, and it goes through Veneto and Trentino villages. A cyclist route will be introduced next year.
The new museum of cheese in Paris. Yum! The Musée du Fromage just opened last week on June 13th in the 4th arrondissement. it will have an interactive gallery to teach you how cheese is made, and yes, you’ll get to taste some. I think this will be quite a popular place!
Private Jet Villa? In Bali, a jet has been turned into a private villa. Check it out: https://privatejetvilla.com/.
AIRLINE NEWS:
Southwest Airlines fee increases. Southwest has increased its fees for early bird check-in to $15-$99 each way and $30-$149 for upgraded boarding.
Fiji Airways joins the oneworld Alliance. Fiji joins other oneworld Alliance members American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, Sri Lankan Airlines, and Oman Air.
American Airlines News. The airline recently said anyone booking through a travel agency wouldn’t receive frequent flyer miles, but it’s now backtracking. A lot of companies in different industries seem to be announcing policy changes, only to discover how unpopular they are. Why don’t they ask us first? In other American Airlines news, the NAACP is threatening them with a travel ban and accusing them of several racist incidents against Black passengers.
Ads on United Airlines. United is now going to put ads on the back of seat TV screens. (Eye roll.)
Spirit Airlines theft. A Spirit Airlines passenger was able to track her luggage back to an airport store employee’s house, and he’s been arrested for stealing quite a few bags. But I can’t figure this out. According to the story I read, she had planned to carry on her bag but was told she had to check it. Yet, she had an Apple iPad and other devices in the bag. Why wasn’t she told to remove those because of their batteries, which are only supposed to be in the cabin not baggage storage (due to fire risk)? And how did a store employee get access to the bags without the help of a Spirit or TSA employee? Spirit did reimburse her for the loss. Things that make you go hmmm…
Bark Air lawsuit. The new Bark Air service that allows dog owners to fly with their dogs (for thousands of dollars between Westchester County, NY, Los Angeles, and London), is being sued by Westchester County because they’re apparently flying a larger plane than regulations allow in their area of the airport. But so far, they aren’t grounded.
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
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