Tag Archives: air travel

My addiction can only be cured with another fantastic vacation

Posted on by alanwhitt

I’m finally coming clean.

I have an addiction … and the withdrawal pains are almost more than I can bear.

Alan Whitt

I’m one of those guys who says he can hang out in bars and not take a drink … although the last time he ended up washing down his sobriety with a vodka and tonic.

Or the guy who says he can hang with his homies while they smoke reefer … knowing that the last time he said it resulted in another stay in rehab.

If you’ve been hooked on anything you know that your best bet is to stay away from it completely … no matter what … no matter how difficult the task. No one whats a relapse.

Please keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who won’t take his own advice.

Hi, my name is Alan Whitt and I’m hooked on travel.

My last vacation was in March, and I have nothing planned for the remainder of 2012. I’m usually on the go four or five times a year. A cruise here or there … Las Vegas for a weekend … Palm Springs for a romantic getaway … there’s no such thing as too much vacationing.

However, to make ends meet and continue the growth of Allure Quest Travel Experience, I took a job at Nashville International Airport.

Each day I look at those Southwest planes sitting at gates. I hear the roar of jets as they’re about to take off. I see them land and taxi their way to the gates.

And I wonder who’s on those planes and where they’re headed. Then I get upset at those passengers, all the time thinking to myself “That should be me instead of them.”

If I can just get through the rest of this year I know things will be OK. I’ve already got two cruises, a trip to Sandals in St. Lucia, another Sandals outing in Ocho Rios and, of course, at least one trip to Las Vegas.

Until then I just have to do my best to hang on. When your addiction is as strong as mine, you take it one day at a time.

Allure Quest Travel Experience on the web for all your travel needs – including analysis of destinations, insightful videos, the latest travel news and vacations to book.

Kenya Air passenger dies in flight, women gets compensation

Posted on by alanwhitt

I met a woman today who says she would rather die than fly.

She tired it once and freaked out so much that they let her off the plane … before it took off, of course.

Alan Whitt

Believe it or not there are actually people who do die on planes, but usually not from fear of flying.

A Swedish woman sought and won reimbursement of her Kenya Airlines airfare when a passenger died early during an overnight flight and the man’s body was draped across three seats directly across from her … for the last eight hours of the flight.

Unlike a cruise ship and airplane does not include a morgue and with passenger cabins being a lot tighter than years ago there was no place else to place the body.

But that didn’t mean anything to Lena Patterson. When she returned home Patterson sought the reimbursement. Months later she was finally granted half her airfare, collecting approximately $713.

Champagne flights on Sunwing Airlines take you back in time

Posted on by alanwhitt

Remember the “good ‘ol days” … when airlines actually served hot meals instead of peanuts … when your luggage didn’t require a ticket of its own … when inflight movies were simply part of the deal?

Alan Whitt

Barely.

Times change and not necessarily for the better.

Air travel has been more than stressful since Sept. 11, 2001, and the lack of hospitality on flights has made it ever more undesirable. It’s a necessary evil. If you want to get to faraway destinations in a timely fashion then flights are the best way to do it.

However, if you live in close proximity to Nashville, Atlanta or Cincinnati you can get to a modicum of old school air travel with Sunwing Airline flights to three cities in the Caribbean and Mexico.

Elite service on a Sunwing flight includes at no extra cost “Bon Voyage” glass of champagne, hot towel meal or hot snacks, wine with meals, select snacks, inflight first run movies, headsets, non-alcoholic beverages, checked baggage up to 44 pounds per person, kids backpacks with games and toys.

Upgrade to Elite Plus for $40 more each way and get extra leg room seats, advance seat selections, 22 pounds extra checked baggage and priority check-in and boarding.

Here’s where you can fly with Sunwing:

Nashville departures: Cancun, Mexico on Saturdays and Montego Bay, Jamaica on Sundays.

Atlanta departures: Cancun on Fridays & Mondays and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Saturdays.

Cincinnati departures: Cancun on Sundays, Punta Cana on Fridays and Montego Bay on Saturdays.

Champagne flights are available through October 29, 2012.

For a complete selection of vacation packages, prices and flight schedules contact Allure Quest Travel Experience at 615-818-8241.

Check out Allure Quest Travel Experience on the web for all your travel needs – including analysis of destinations, insightful videos, the latest travel news and vacations to book.

Stress turns to anger as ‘air rage’ incidents continue to pile up

Posted on by alanwhitt

“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”

That famous line from the 1976 satirical movie “Network” also describes today’s airline passengers.

Alan Whitt

There is no excuse for bad behavior, but the state of air travel has deteriorated to such a degree that there’s even a website that chronicles passenger incidents … appropriated tagged AirRage.org.

The stress level ratcheted upward post-September 11 with long security lines … and the airlines have contributed in subsequent years with a slew of additional fees, lengthy delays and a general impression that they just don’t give a damn about passengers.

That explains the 29% rise in reported incidents of unruly passengers between 2009 and 2010, following a 27% rise the year before, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Air travel is now comparable to a football game. Most antagonists are male … and many times Alcohol is involved.

There are plenty of contributing factors … such publicized TSA agent transgressions and mental issues with pilots and passengers alike.

Even toddlers are causing trouble, as evidenced by recent episodes where children have been kicked off planes because of disruptive tantrums or an inability to follow rules … the latest involving a three-year-old on a Seattle to Miami flight over the Memorial Day weekend.

The rest of us see that and there goes that stress level again.

And when you’re mad as hell … all hell usually breaks loose.

Check out Allure Quest Travel Experience on the web for all your travel needs – including analysis of destinations, insightful videos, the latest travel news and vacations to book.