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Indian Airline Fires Overweight Flight Attendants

CitizenSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:07:58 -0800

India's government-run Air India airline has dumped 10 female fight attendants who were grounded last year for being overweight. A report says the firings occurred after the cabin crew was warned about meeting minimum physical fitness standards (as in, not being thin enough, apparently) and given "sufficient time to lose weight." The report also says the flight attendants were offered alternative ground assignments, which they understandably refused.

Last year, the airline won the right to prevent attendants from taking flight for carrying on extra weight after Air India cited contract clauses that barred stewardesses from flight duties if they put on too much weight. The company is up against private airlines (who don't clothe their employees in saris) and seems to focus their competitive efforts on their employees' looks. At a recent recruitment drive the airline refused applicants with acne or bad teeth.

Source

If You Could Wake Up Anywhere Tomorrow, Where Would It Be?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:30:24 -0800

Ask 50 people one question and you'll get, well, 50 answers. Fifty People, One Question travels to cities and does just that. Now it's off to New York, Brooklyn specifically, to ask 50 of its millions and millions if they could wake up anywhere tomorrow, where would it be? Many chose to stay in the fantastic hooray of the city — as if where else to go? — while others looked backward and forward, inward and way, way out there for answers. What would be yours?

Would You Visit an Offbeat Historical Landmark?

LibertySugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:00:23 -0800

Tourists flock to Mt. Rushmore, the Washington Monument and Civil War landmarks like Fort Fisher in North Carolina each year, but would you consider seeking out a more salacious historical site? The restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport where Republican Sen. Larry Craig was arrested in a sex sting is losing its appeal as a tourist stop, according to an official. Craig was accused of soliciting sex in the bathroom in June 2007 and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct later that Summer. Word is one person offered to buy the restroom stall for $5,000, but airport officials say they don't sell fixtures for novelty purposes. The men's room is described as the "busiest restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International," and is in the middle of the main thoroughfare, but no doubt many travelers popped in after hearing Craig's tale. Source

Would You Visit an Offbeat Historical Landmark?

Yay! It's entertaining to take pictures at historical spots, even if they are lowbrow.

Nay! It seems seedy and gross in this case.

Undecided — I guess it would depend.

SF Flyers May Pay For Their Carbon — Would It Fly With You?

LibertySugar — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:00:11 -0800

San Francisco International Airport will soon be populated with kiosks where green, and presumably well-off, travelers can buy indulgences for their environmental sin of air travel. The machines give travelers a chance to buy carbon offsets by calculating their trip's carbon footprint, along with the cost of an investment necessary to reduce general environmental impact by the same amount. Once the travelers pay, they get receipts telling them which projects they have sponsored. All you need is a credit card to save the planet! Offsetting a trip to Europe would cost about $36, while a two-hour trip would only cost $4. Would you participate?Source

SF Flyers May Pay For Their Carbon — Would It Fly With You?

Yes! It's a perfect way to help the environment while still fulfilling practical travel needs.

No. The taxes I pay on my ticket should be used to help the environment.

No way! It's a scam. Why would I pay a random company just to make myself feel better?

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

How Will You Travel This Thanksgiving?

LibertySugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:30:15 -0800

Thanks to relatively cheap prices, wireless Internet on board, and an increase in service-frequency, more Americans are hopping on the bus, rather than traveling by plane or car. Over the past year, intercity bus travel (think Greyhound) has increased by 9.8 percent, a growth rate higher than anything seen in the past 40 years. Considering driving a car rules out multitasking, and flying includes long security lines, taking the bus doesn't seem so bad! It also has its green advantages — CO2 emissions dropped by 36,000 tons, and 3.48 million gallons of fuel were conserved in the past year. If you're traveling this Thanksgiving, what form of transportation did you choose? Source

Obese Air Travelers in Canada Have Right to Free Seat

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:34 -0800

As a tall woman, I am relieved when the seat next to me on a flight ends up empty, since the space I paid for is painfully too small. As of today, obese people flying Canadian airlines officially have a right to that extra seat, at no extra cost.

The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear airline objections to the Canadian Transportation Agency's regulation that states that people "functionally disabled by obesity" do not have to pay for an extra seat.

Earlier this year the agency implemented the nondiscrimination "one-person-one-fare" policy because those with severe disabilities had limited traveling opportunities due to the doubled price of travel. Do you think the decision is a blow against discrimination, or the beginning of a slippery slope for troubled airlines?

Source

I Like You! America's New Self-Image

CitizenSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:30:46 -0800

If you've meandered through Europe with a Canadian flag on your backpack, it's time to switch it up. With the US's improving image, it's suddenly cool to be American again — both at home and abroad.

First off, the US is making new friends. "Yes we can, be friends," proclaimed a German newspaper across its front page, "We have fallen in love with the new, the different, the good America."

US citizens abroad are receiving more friendly gestures and kind words for being nothing other than their American selves. This newfound goodwill isn't just improving America's international image, but also its sense of self at home. For more on unlikely patriots coming out in the bluest of places,

Lonely Planet Releases List of Top 10 World Cities

CitizenSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:53:20 -0700

If you're dying to get out of Dodge, you're in luck. The Lonely Planet series of travel guides has just released its list of Top 10 World Cities. One entry is causing a few raised eyebrows — including mine. Glasgow, Scotland has made its way onto the list despite its not-too-distant reputation for rough neighborhoods, gangs, and general dereliction. When I went looking for photos, indeed most of them told that story.

The guide paints a rosier picture of a city resurrected. It says: "Forget castles, kilts, bagpipes and tartan. You come for the cocktails, cuisine and designer chic (plus the legendary native wit). Glasgow has shaken off its shroud of industrial soot and shimmied into a sparkling new designer gown."

The Lonely Planet travel editor seconds that notion saying, "The time has come for Lonely Planet to let one of its worst-kept secrets out: Glasgow's got everything. We're delighted to highlight such a fun, stylish city." While some say celebration is too soon in a city "more violent than New York and sicker than parts of Iraq," we can hope that the Planet folks have their finger on the pulse of a trend of improvement.

To see the rest of the cities that made the list,

Itching to Travel? Yeah, Bedbugs Are Too. . .

CitizenSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:00:03 -0700

Because I'm a nice person, I made this picture small. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the bedbug that might just be hitching a ride back from your far-flung vacation destinations. Think I'm bugging out? I wish. Increased global travel has caused incidents of bedbugs to rise 40 percent in the UK — and it's not an isolated phenomenon. Discount airlines lure people to travel more, storing suitcases and clothes in tons of hotel rooms and bedbugs latch on from bedding and upholstery. The small blood-sucking creatures respond to body heat, leaving sufferers with itchy welts — and because the bugs can lay up to 4,000 eggs in a lifetime, they're apt to hang around, wherever their final destination.

To see what might be causing the flourishing critters,

Dubai: Land of $1.5 Billion Hotel, More Modern Muslims

LibertySugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:00:27 -0700

A $1.5 billion Atlantis hotel will open tomorrow on Dubai's palm tree-shaped island. The lavish digs include: dolphins flown 30 hours from the South Pacific, a $25,000 a night suite, an open-air tank with 65,000 fish, stingrays, and other sea creatures, and 16 restaurants.

Compared to the rest of the Arab world, where Islamic faith is gaining significance in the lives of youth, residents of Dubai can choose to worship more modern wonders like nightclubs and casual girlfriends. Religion has become a personal choice, rather than a collective identity, according to a recent New York Times profile.

Young workers explain that Dubai, an Islamic state, allows Muslims to embrace a religious life if they choose, while also achieving career advancement and lifestyle comforts. Still others are confused, saying that the contradicting culture — "you can have prostitutes, but don't get caught with a woman" — takes time to get used to.

Perhaps economic growth could mean a new way of life in the Middle East.

Source

Would You Stay Home if US Couldn't Assure Safety of Travel?

LibertySugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Before the United States will vouch for the security of an international flight, the other country must allow the US to assess security at their international airports. Countries like Venezuela have refused to comply with the requirement put in place after Sept. 11, 2001. Thus the US will not vouch for the safety of flights to Venezuela.The US issues various levels of travel warnings, ranging from a lack of guarantee to a complete regulation of travel. For example, the State Department has a list of countries that have conditions making them dangerous for visitors. The list includes the likes of Colombia, Kenya, Lebanon, Haiti, Israel, Philippines, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And if a US citizen or permanent resident wants to go to Cuba from the US or even a third-party country, he or she must qualify for and obtain a license first or face civil and criminal penalties. Would you only visit places that get a clean bill of travel from the US government?Source

Would You Stay Home if US Couldn't Assure Safety of Travel?

Yes. If the government says there are risks, I'll go somewhere else.

Maybe. I respect a country that rejects US inspection, but I'll listen to an actual threat.

For safety reasons, yes. For political reasons, I should be able to decide for myself.

No way! I travel for the adventure, and risks are part of that.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

85 Percent Want Kids-Only Sections on Airplanes — Do You?

CitizenSugar — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:00:43 -0700

Could "Kids or non?" be the new query akin to the smoking section question hitting airplanes soon? Judging by these results, lots would like that. In a survey of more than 10,000 travelers, 85 percent were in favor of special sections for parents traveling with babies or small kids. Oh man, maybe they should remake Snakes on a Plane with kids instead of snakes! Will it happen? Probably not. A spokesman for the Air Transport Association said kids-only sections would be "logistically difficult" to implement, and could result in an "adults-only" (not the XXX kind) passenger being bumped to the kids section in cases of overcrowding, which given the cutbacks in seats is increasingly common. The folks behind the survey, AirfareWatchdog, give some tips to cope in the mixed-age skies, including this one, which seems a little mean even if it is practical: "Take very early morning flights (5 a.m. or 6 a.m., if they're available). Parents can rarely manage to dress, feed, wash, and otherwise organize infants and toddlers in time to catch flights that early in the day." But the ultimate retaliation is a taste of their own medicine: "Just grin and bear it. Or start wailing, kicking and screaming yourself."Is the thought that kids are the ones causing problems an unfair assessment? After all, tons of famous (Naomi Campbell, Courtney Love, et al.) and otherwise adults are removed from airplanes for unruly behavior all the time. Do you avoid kids on planes? Is this a perfect solution, or does it make flying the skies less-than-friendly?Source

85 Percent Want Kids-Only Sections on Airplanes — Do You?

It's a perfect solution! It would make flying more comfortable for all parties! Let's do it.

It's a person's right to sit where they'd like. Having kids is not a crime, this isn't fair.

It could be an option on flights that head to places like Disney, but not a mandate.

Other. I'll tell you how I feel in the comments.

ID or Not to ID — Countries Don't Want to Give US the Finger

LibertySugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:00:52 -0700

Airlines and 34 countries vehemently oppose a plan to require fingerprints from foreigners leaving the US. Opponents, which include the European Union, worry about the privacy violation, as well as the fact that the plan pushes the burden of border security, usually a function of government, to private companies. The plan would require airlines and cruise liners to collect the fingerprints by August 2009.

The financially incapacitated airline industry claims that the plan will cost it $12.3 billion over 10 years, not the $3.5 billion estimated by the federal government. An alliance of domestic and international carriers claim that since September 11, they have spent $30 billion for often duplicative and bureaucratic security measures. The international opposition may spark a debate between Congress, and the Bush Administration who wants the program swiftly up and running.

Which do you find to be the most compelling argument — that collecting fingerprints poses a privacy risk, or that collecting fingerprints is an expensive bureaucratic burden that should be carried by the government not private companies? Would you travel to a country if you had to leave your fingerprints behind?

Source

Europeans Going on American Company Shopping Spree

LibertySugar — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:00:31 -0700

The Europeans are coming to the United States in huge waves, but not just for the Levis, electronics, hamburgers, or Pamela Anderson. They are coming to purchase another quintessential American product: business.

European investors want to take advantage of the weak dollar, which has put lucrative companies on sale. But Europeans aren't the only ones using their purchasing power. The United Arab Emirates invested $7.1 billion in Citigroup; China put $3 billion into the financial company Blackstone Group.

Foreign Policy makes it sound like Europeans considered America some sort of third-world country. To see why,

Residents of Lesbos, Greece, Want Their Name Back

LibertySugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:00:50 -0700

Residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have brought a lawsuit against a Greek gay rights group, alleging that the term "lesbian" is an insult to the homeland.

The lawyer representing the three Lesbos plaintiffs says that the group's name — the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece — "causes confusion by using a geographic term" in connection with social action. The island does not want to be associated with the group's "special character."

It seems the islanders have a seriously uphill battle to fight if they are trying to reclaim the term "lesbian" as a geographical moniker. The ancient female poet Sappho, who hailed from Lesbos, lent the name of her hometown island to female-loving females, as much of her poetry celebrated love between women. Considering travel to Lesbos is popular among the world's gay community, it might be in the island's economic interest to embrace its homosexual association.

Source

Frisky? Airport Security Going Underneath Your Clothes

LibertySugar — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:00:31 -0700

If you're a modest person, you might want to avoid 10 US airports this summer. Cities including Los Angeles, Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas have installed scanning devices, which reveal images of randomly selected passengers underneath their clothing. If you always wished you had X-ray vision so you could see everyone naked, you might want to get a job with airport security.

Those selected must stand inside a portal, raise their arms, and let harmless waves transmit an image of their body unclothed. Security personnel will be looking for plastic or ceramic weapons, undetectable because they are not metal. Faces will be blurred and images deleted.

The ACLU worries that the whole-body scanners could soon be used in office buildings or sports arenas. Are you willing to bear all if it increases airport security? Do you think there is a risk of abuse? Can all privacy be compromised in the name of security?

Source

Face Screening Coming to UK Airports For Summer Travel

LibertySugar — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 09:00:40 -0700

This summer, airline passengers in the UK will be screened with face recognition technology, instead of being checked out by passport officials. The hope is that widespread use of the technology will improve security and speed up travel time.

So how will it work? Unmanned gates will screen passenger faces and match images to those stored on computer chips in biometric passports. Anyone on a police list will not be let though, along with an unknown number of "false negatives." The lines will be open to those with EU and UK biometric passports.

Can machines do a better and faster security job than humans? Even if they can, I'm not sure whether biometric identification is the "silver bullet" to terrorism, or a risk to civil liberties. Also, unlike a regular passport number, if you lose a biometric id you've lost it for life.

Do you trust unmanned clearance gates? Are you worried that this technology could be breached? And on a whole other level, do you think a significant number of airport personnel will eventually lose their jobs?

Source

Guidebook Writer Says He Never Visited Countries

LibertySugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:00:49 -0700

Apparently it isn't essential that a guidebook writer actually visit the country he writes about. A Lonely Planet author is claiming that he made up large portions of his books, and dealt drugs to subsidize his measly salary. Think twice before going to the titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile, and South America, for some first-hand advice.

These damning revelations came out in the writer's, Thomas Kohnstamm, new book Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? He says that he wrote about Colombia without visiting the country because they didn't pay him enough to go to Colombia. He says: "I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating — an intern in the Colombian Consulate."

This guy has the coolest job ever — traveling around the world and writing about it— and he does the arguably hard part while, ditching the fun of seeing the world. I know he's not making a lot of money, but he accepted the job knowing how much he was going to make. Do you think phony travel writers, like Kohnstamm, should go to hell?

Source