Results tagged “Flying” from Intelligent Travel Blog

For our upcoming January/February 2010 issue, we're preparing tips on how to survive a plane crash. Don't despair! The story's not as morbid as it seems as your chance of being in a plane crash is about the same as giving birth to identical quadruplets! (1 in over 11 million). Fact-checking the story got me thinking about so-called "lap children," kids two years of age and younger who sit on their parent's lap while flying.

Is this a safe way for little kids to travel? Apparently the Federal Aviation Administration does not require infants to be belted in during flight though they do recommend parents use child restraint systems (CRSs) during take-off, landing, and turbulence. It strikes me as odd that kids have been required to be buckled up in cars since 1982, but they're still not required to be similarly secured while on planes.

The FAA said in 2005 that it doesn't mandate the use of safety seats on planes because this would require adults to purchase a separate seat for the infant, and that when forced to buy an additional ticket, many families will choose to drive rather than fly. And, as driving is a statistically much more dangerous way to travel, permitting kids to fly as lap children is seen as the lesser of two evils.

Most domestic airlines don't charge for kids to fly as lap children, hence the perpetuation of this dangerous practice. Restraining your child in a CRS requires a separate seat, for which most airlines charge full ticket price. For many parents hoping to travel with their kids, it's often too steep a price to pay, especially in these tough economic times, if flying with Junior as a lap child is free. While I'm not a mom and thus not personally faced with this decision, I'm inclined to agree with Consumer Reports contributing editor and aircraft dispatcher Bill McGee. Last summer he opined in USA Today that "[i]f a trip is too expensive for a child's seat, then that's a trip that shouldn't be taken."

What do you think?

Photo: Bertabetti via Flickr

File this under odd ways to entertain yourself during a flight: Heather Poole, a flight attendant and the Galley Gossip blogger over at Gadling, recently discovered that the latest mile high club to grace the skies is completely "G" rated. What's their common bond? Taking photos of themselves in airplane bathrooms. Poole noticed the trend while searching photos on Flickr, and quickly dubbed the self-portrait artists "Laviators" (MSNBC quickly followed up with a story of their own on the trend). Here, you'll find a music video of her findings put together by a fan.

 

What's your take? Odd and gross or quirky fun?

[Gadling, MSNBC]

Scott McCartney writes The Wall Street Journal's "Middle Seat" column and is the author of the new book "The Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel: How to Arrive with Your Dignity, Sanity, and Wallet Intact." With the travel season about to take off, contributing editor Chris Elliott asked him for his thoughts on flying in the summer of 2009.

What should air travelers expect this summer?

McCartney: I think this will actually be a very good summer to travel, if you can afford it. The recession has lowered ticket prices considerably, left hotel rooms far more available at lower prices and reduced congestion at airports and in the skies so flights are running more on time. The dollar has rebounded some, and so it's a good year to venture overseas. Crowds should be smaller and merchants should be more anxious for your business. We may well look back on this year and say there was a window of opportunity when the airline system and major tourist destinations didn't bog down as much under the weight of summer crowds and travelers actually had the upper hand. I just think that if you are able to do it financially, it's a great time to go.

I really like the subtitle to your book, "How to Arrive with Your Dignity, Sanity, and Wallet Intact." What do you think is more important to travelers -- dignity, sanity or intact wallet?

Thanks. Full disclosure: It was my wife's idea. I think it depends on the traveler, but for most, the wallet is the bottom line. Travelers will endure a lot to save a few bucks -- just look at the popularity of discount European airlines and the long bus rides, infrequent service, high fees, etc. that people put up with for a cheap fare. While indignities anger them and inane experiences do make them crazy, getting gouged is what really sends people over the edge with airlines. I think to some extent it's a reflection of the animosity travelers have toward airlines. Airlines do bad things to people, and people remember. Goodwill and warm consumer feelings get ruined when a bag is lost, a flight is canceled, a traveler is bumped, a crew times out leaving a planeload stranded. What's more, airlines make the money part of the experience so difficult -- changing prices, limited availability, etc, etc. You go to a car dealer to buy a car thinking that salesman is out to take as much advantage of you as possible, and you know you likely won't get as good a deal as the guy next to you. You just assume that. And I think it's much the same with airlines. Airlines battle their customers over money -- not a good position to be in.

So I'm just back from a trip to New Orleans (much more on that to come) but before I get to all of those details, let me focus for a moment on my outgoing flight. My pilot was either a chatterbox or dreamed of one day being a comic, and made the most of his microphone and our undivided attention by unleashing a series of witticisms throughout the flight. At one point, he even referred to the passengers "sky pirates."

Now I'm all for the occasional banter, but after a while, I couldn't help feeling like it was all little much. Most of the time, I just want my flying experience to be one of vegging out--listening to music or reading without any interruption. So Captain Open Mike was beginning to bug me. So I wondered, what do you think is appropriate pilot-speak? Does hearing the pilot chatter make your feel more or less comfortable during a flight? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo: kfergos via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool