Travel-On Travel Industry News
Friday, April 27, 2012
Events We're Watching

  • Spain - EasyJet Airline Strikes April 27-28 and May 2

    Spanish cabin crewmembers with EasyJet airline intend to stage strikes from 0001 to 2359 April 27-28 and May 2 over a collective bargaining agreement. Significant flight cancellations and delays are likely if the strikes are not averted, though airline workers cannot stage a total shutdown because Spanish law requires them to maintain minimum service levels. Madrid-Barajas and Bilbao airports are likely to be the most affected.

  • U.S. Issues Travel Alert for Pakistan

    The U.S. Thursday issued a travel advisory for its citizens in Pakistan, asking them to take precautions for the next two weeks. In a message posted on its website, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad restricted its employees “from going to restaurants and markets in Islamabad during April 27-May 5 due to security concerns.” The embassy did not give any further details for the alert. The period coincides with the one-year anniversary of the killing by U.S. troops of Osama bin Laden in a house in Abbottabad, a garrison town in Pakistan. “We recommend that U.S. citizens in Islamabad during this period take similar precautions,” it added.

  • May Day Events and Rallies

    Many countries throughout Asia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean will celebrate Labor Day on May 1. Labor unions in participating countries will likely organize rallies, demonstrations, and peaceful marches, which could be particularly large in capital cities, around prominent venues and landmarks, and near government buildings.

Q and A

I'm not sure yet which of two flights I want - is it possible to hold both?

Unfortunately, no. Holding more than one reservation is considered an illegal practice by the airlines which can lead them to cancel all of the reservations without notice and send the travel agency debit memos for illegal booking practices. In recent years the airlines have employed increasingly sophisticated technology to identify and cancel multiple reservations that cannot possibly be used by the same person. This includes not only reservations containing some or all of the same flights, but also those that contain different flights operating in the same general area and time frame (i.e. one reservation on May 15 Reagan National to Chicago O'Hare with a return on May 18 and another reservation on May 15 Dulles to Chicago O'Hare with a return on May 17).

  • Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt.
  • Belgium has the highest density of roads and railroads in the world, and more cars per capita than any other country.
  • The San Francisco cable cars are the U.S.'s only mobile national monument.
  • Germany was the first country in the world to adopt daylight savings time.
  • The Philippines is considered the texting capital of the word with more texts per capita than any other nation.
  • Bhutan is the only country in the world where the sale of tobacco is banned.

Amtrak is Going Gourmet for a Day

On May 12, as part of a celebration honoring the railways, chefs will be setting up shop in some of Amtrak's busiest stations to dole out free regionally-inspired food to riders and other passersby. Visit www.nationaltrainday.com for more information.