My favorite topic of them all, air travel. This story hit the sweet spot for me. While it was fun to read what the experts thought could make air travel less annoying, like arriving on time, a friendly staff and less fees, there’s still something missing. We need ammenities for parents flying with their children. I could writing a list that spans from Oakland to Vegas, but what’s the use? I’ll spare you the details.
Chime in, how do you think air travel can be made less annoying for passengers with children?
The New York Times
The airline industry is suffering through one of its worst summers ever, with travelers pulling back on spending and fuel costs rising. Passengers who can still afford to fly are facing higher baggage fees, fewer flights and less and less contact with airline staff (though there appears to be a limit to how low-service an airline can go).
Granted, the airline industry is struggling for survival and customers are accustomed to cramped seats, no food and long delays. Still, we asked some airline and travel experts what might done to make air travel less miserable.
For me, summer is a great time to reflect on the fullness of life. We often travel to beautiful destinations to get away from it all, or visit family and friends to catch up. Today’s article reminds us to enjoy the engagements of summer, and to be on guard against crime, both while we are away from our homes, and once we reach our vacation destinations.
A few weeks ago, there was a disturbing report about how some Twitter and Facebook followers are monitoring status updates to determine who’s out of town.
Parents, be mindful of how much information you are willing to share about your time away because you never know who may be reading.
Daily World, William Johnson
A high point of summer for many is a trip — sometimes a short trip to visit parents or friends in a neighboring state, sometimes a major trip to see the world.
In the third of his four-part series on summer safety, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz offers advice on ways to make your trip a safe one.
“Preparing for a trip requires a lot of planning. Families spend hours deciding where to go, where to stay and exactly what they want to do each day when they get there. That same attention to detail will also decrease the chance of crime joining you on your journey,” Guidroz said.
To help make your vacation as enjoyable and safe as possible, he said you need to consider the safety of your home while you are away and the safety of yourself and family while on the road.
As far as your home goes, Guidroz said the key to protecting it from crime is to make it look like you’ve never left. (READ MORE)
Traveling to new locations with family is always exciting. What makes a trip even more adventurous is when you stay off the beaten “tourist” path. I’ve always enjoyed going deeper into our travel destination to shop and eat where the locals do. It’s usually less crowded, gives you the “real” hometown experience, and it’s cheaper.
Now, house swapping with friends is the new age way to stay. Of course it requires more organizing and planning, but from what I hear, it might be well worth it for long trips.
Michigan Travel News, Sue Schroder
How do you manage a 22-day vacation covering four international locations, including London and the Netherlands, without paying a penny for lodging?
The answer is house swapping, and West Michigan’s Jeff and Tracy Jansma have perfected the art they have been practicing for about six years, often with their four children.
The Jansmas, who lived in Europe for three years when he was head of Herman Miller Inc.’s international finance group, have swapped homes in Europe, Thailand and China. (READ MORE)
Officials are reporting that the hotel staff failed to notice unusual acts at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, in Jakarta prior to the the attacks. Reports also state that terrorists had spent months, possibly years, studying these two hotels as the bombing location.
The Age, Lindsay Murdoch
INDONESIAN police have taken over responsibility for security at Jakarta’s main hotels, fearing further attacks by a sophisticated network of terrorists.
Following last Friday’s fatal bombings, national police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri called the managers of 33 of Jakarta’s five-star hotels to a private meeting late on Wednesday and “read them the riot act” over their security, The Age has learnt.
General Danuri told them that police were immediately taking over security assessments of the hotels, an unprecedented move as police continue hunting Malaysian-born Noordin Mohamed Top, who is believed to have masterminded the blasts.
The move came as Indonesian police said last night they had arrested a broom-maker in Cilacap, Central Java, who had admitted he had been trained as a suicide bomber for Islamic radicals. The man, identified only as “A”, told police he had been training since 2001. Police gave no details about the Wednesday night arrest.
Hotels are placing sniffer dogs at their entrances, deploying security on all floors and buying devices that can detect explosives.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said security would be tightened across the country of 234 million people following the blasts, the fifth since the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people.
“Everybody has to be screened thoroughly,” Mr Yudhoyono said. “Even when I travel … my bag is checked.”
It is clear the terrorists spent months, possibly years, studying the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, where two suicide bombers killed at least nine people and injured more than 50 others.
Hotel staff failed to notice a series of unusual acts, which security experts say should have raised suspicion.
But the sophistication of the terrorists has stunned investigators, including the bomb makers’ use of electronic components from a television in one of the Marriott’s rooms.
The terrorists’ plans went smoothly from the time one of them reserved a room at the Marriott on July 10, using the name Nurdin Aziz.
The man used a fake identification card when he checked in two days before the bombings.
John McBeth, a Jakarta-based security expert and columnist for Singapore’s Straits Times, has obtained details of how the terrorists managed to detonate bombs at the hotels, which were regarded as among Jakarta’s most secure.
The suitcase of the man claiming to be “Mr Aziz” was not scrutinised or checked through an X-ray machine, unlike hand baggage. All of the Marriott’s four vapour detectors, used to look for explosives, were out of order. So were four at the adjoining Ritz-Carlton.
“Mr Aziz” paid a $US1000 deposit for room 1808, which is unusual because most guests pay by credit card. Experts say this alone should have raised suspicions.
For two days, the terrorists concealed their bomb-making efforts in room 1808 from hotel staff, hiding explosives in a bathroom air-conditioning duct.
The terrorists’ apparent ace card was being able to plant an operative inside the hotel, who provided detailed intelligence to the terrorists. Investigators believe that man was Ibrahim, who had been a flower vendor for the Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton and the Pacific Place shopping centre for about three years.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) released a statement today urging Australians not to travel to Bali. The Family Travel Suite team urge families to stay away as well.
Here’s the latest…
ABC News Reports
The Federal Government has updated a travel warning for Indonesia after bomb attacks on two hotels in Jakarta.
About 8.00am, coordinated bomb attacks hit the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in the city centre, killing at least nine people, including foreigners, and injuring dozens more.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) urges Australians to “avoid travel to affected areas”.
“We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack,” the warning says.
DFAT says it is still receiving advice that terrorists could be planning more attacks in Indonesia, particularly Bali.
The Department says Australians in Jakarta who need consular assistance should call DFAT on +61 2 6261 3305.
DFAT says Australians who are worried about family or friends in Jakarta should first try to contact them directly.
A spokeswoman says if that is not successful, concerned relatives should call DFAT’s Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135.
Both the JW Marriott Hotel and the Ritz Carlton Hotel are near the Australian embassy but preliminary reports suggest no Australian officials are among the dead.
At least one Australian was injured in the explosion at the Marriott and the DFAT spokeswoman says the embassy in Jakarta is urgently trying to confirm reports that at least two Australians were injured in the blasts.
More than 1,000 Australians are registered with DFAT as being in Jakarta.
BREAKING NEWS!
Update: The explosions in Jakarta, Indonesia leave eight dead, according to updated reports from MSNBC on Friday.
MSNBC Reports
JAKARTA, Indonesia – A pair of powerful explosions killed nine and wounded at least 50 people in an upscale Jakarta neighborhood Friday morning, sending debris and glass flying onto the streets.
Anti-terror forces were at the scenes of both blasts, but did not yet want to speculate about the possibility of an attack by militants.
“There were bodies on the ground, one of them had no stomach,” said a man who lives near the hotels and who arrived at the Marriott before emergency services. “It was terrible.”
Alex Asmasubrata, who was jogging by the hotels, said he first heard a loud explosion at the Marriott. Five minutes later, a bomb followed at the Ritz.
The blasts were caused by “high explosives,” Security Minister Widodo Adi Sucipto told reporters at the scene, without elaborating. He said they exploded two minutes apart.
He said a New Zealander was among those killed, and that thirteen other foreigners were among the injured.
An Australian man told local Radio 2UE his son had been hurt at the Marriott and was being taken to hospital.
“Some windows of the Ritz-Carlton building have been shattered, mostly on the lower section. I’m looking at it from my office,” Myra Junor, who works at a nearby building, told Indonesian Metro TV.
The police operational chief Arief Wahyunadi said the bombs were planted in the Ritz-Carlton’s Air Langga restaurant and the basement of the Marriott, which was attacked in 2003. Twelve people died in that assault, which was blamed on Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.
There has been a massive crackdown by anti-terror officials since then. It has been more than three years since a major terrorist attack in Indonesia, and this month the country’s presidential election passed off peacefully.
(READ MORE)
Have you ever had a complaint against a hotel or an airline?
Yes, I’m sure. But did you do something about it? If you did file the complaint, was it resolved?
Well, according to a story in the New York Times, many guests are using Twitter to blast airlines and hotels who aren’t aiming to please their customers. Just another example of how social media has taken on a whole new movement in the world of travel.
The New York Times, Michelle Higgins
If you’re not protesting an election or promoting a product, Twitter, the microblogging site that has been getting so much attention these days, can be easy to dismiss.
It’s been described as an ego-stroker for those who want to broadcast the minutiae of their lives in 140 characters or less. It’s a virtual popularity contest to see who can rack up the most followers. And it’s yet another way to procrastinate on the Web.
But after signing up for my own Twitter account earlier this year (www.twitter.com/michellehiggins) — and being guilty of all of the above — I can now attest to at least one practical use for travelers: complaining.
As hotels, airlines and other travel companies line up on Twitter to promote their brands, customers who voice their grievances in the form of tweets are getting surprisingly fast responses for everything from bad airplane seats to poor room service. (READ MORE)
I remember our first trip to Jamaica. My son was a mere three months old and my daughter was a little over one. I made sure that I had all the documents that I needed to get those kids on the plane, like their birth certificates 
(original copies) and even their social security cards. I remember being really nervous about not misplacing these very important pieces of paper.
Why put that burden on yourselves when you travel with your kids? Applying for a passport is the best and safest thing to do. The process takes a little while so be prepared.
Maury Mahoney from Examiner.com explains how to get passports for your kids.
Happy travels!
When I first heard this story, my first question was, ‘what in the world is a fuselage?’
According to Dictionary.com, a fuselage is the complete central structure to which the wing, tail surfaces, and engines are attached on an airplane.
That’s pretty serious considering the inspection crew overlooked this area, which they probably would have found the hole before that flight from Nashville to Baltimore took off, maybe had they been more thorough.
Parents, what does this mean for airline travel safety?
Well, unfortunately, like many companies, airlines are scaling back and cutting costs wherever they can. I feel that this was simply an oversight, and thank God no one was injured. You’d better believe that this is a wake up call for the airline industry and they will be on their toes when it comes to passenger safety. Chances are, this won’t happen again, or it will be really tough for it to happen again.
Here’s the story from CBS News.
Watch CBS Videos Online
At Family Travel Suite, we don’t post for the sake of posting. We’re passionate about exposing news stories that TRULY inform and/or inspire you to get out there and make those memories as a family. Summer is in full swing and there are stories all over the place about great family travel tips, where to go, where to stay and how to get there.
This story stood out most. This mom talks about how traveling with her family for family vacation is actually stressful, in fact, she wouldn’t consider this time a vacation at all.
How do you feel? I know that oftentimes getting there is a challenge, especially with children under six, but is it really that bad the whole time?
Gilroy Dispatch, Laurie Sontag
About once a year, Harry and I like to do this thing we call “the family vacation.” I don’t know if you’ve ever taken a family vacation, but trust me when I say that if there’s family involved, it isn’t really a vacation.
That aside, we took a family vacation this year and, like most vacations, it involved travel by airplane. Look, I don’t fly well. I’m one of those people who firmly believes that airplanes are a necessary evil. Honestly, before they started tossing drunk people off planes, an hour or two in the airport lounge was time well spent if you wanted to prevent me from having a panic attack the minute the plane backed away from the gate. In fact, the few pleasant times I’ve had flying were when I flew first class. Oh, not for the cushy seats and decent food. It was the free-flowing champagne. I’m not afraid to admit that I need to drink and fly.
To make matters worse, airlines hate me. HATE ME. Seriously. If there is luggage lost, it’s mine. Once, an airline lost my luggage on a direct, nonstop flight. And when I say my luggage, I mean mine. Not Harry’s. Not Junior’s. Mine. Even though we all checked in at the same time and we were all going to the same place.
Yes, I am a little bitter. But frankly that’s what happens when you spend two days rinsing out your underwear each night so you don’t have to resort to sharing man-panties with your husband.
Anyway, this year we did our family vacation and of course, boarded an airplane – and it goes without saying we were flying coach. Anyway, the first leg of our flight was no problem. It was so pleasant that I had only had a bottle of water the entire flight.
And then we got to Dallas and changed planes. The plane pulled away from the gate, went out to the runway and sat. On the tarmac. In the heat. With no A/C on. In a city where the temps hovered at oh, a billion degrees with 99 percent humidity.
And have I mentioned that the flight was completely full? Because it was. And every single passenger was sweaty and gasping for the last of the hot, stale air. Finally, the flight attendant came over the intercom and told us to try turning on those air doo-hickeys that are right above each person. All that did is cause us all to wave our smelly armpits around while we desperately twisted the air thingies and tried not to take a deep breath.
And after that there was silence. Until my son, my only child, decided that right then would be a good time to play with his phone. Specifically, it would be a good time to play with an app called iFart. And yes, the app does exactly what you think it does.
So as we sat in a silent plane full of sweaty, shallow breathing people, an iFart described as “The Wipe Out” went off. You could feel the entire plane tense. Every person in the plane drew a dreaded deep breath and held it hoping like heck that The Wipe Out didn’t translate to green cloud of death. And then my son, my only child, broke the silence with one word:
“MOM!”
Have I mentioned that he’s my son, my only child? Because I swear to you, that’s the only thing that kept me from killing him. Well, that and the fact that every single person on the plane was glaring at me. But before I could protest and say something lame like, “the dog did it” the plane’s engines started up and we took off.
Now I don’t know for sure, but I did hear a rumor that the pilots, upon hearing The Wipe Out reverberate throughout the plane, told the tower in no uncertain terms that the airplane had to take off immediately so the A/C could come on and the passengers could breathe freely again.
And you know what? The airline got revenge on me. On the flight home, we got seats right in front of the airplane’s only working restrooms. Yeah, you can imagine how fun that was. On the plus side, I did arrive home with all of my luggage.
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