7 Days; 7 Travel Stories
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1A. Sacred Cow Tippers

A federal jury ordered American Airlines to pay nine skycaps at Logan Airport a total of more than $325,000 for tips they lost when the airline began charging passengers $2 a bag for curbside check-in service in late 2006. The jury also found that the airline had made it harder for the skycaps to earn a living. Boston Globe

1B. Tipsters

So, what's the correct tip for any type of travel? In Australia and New Zealand, tipping is not widely expected, and may even cause offence to some. However, tipping in restaurants is becoming more common, and a 10% tip for good service will be appreciated by restaurant and bar staff. Taxi drivers and hairdressers do not expect a tip.

In Egypt, learn the word‘baksheesh' which means ‘spread the wealth'. Tipping is discretionary, but a couple of Egyptian pounds here and there goes a long way. Porters, tour guides and waiters all appreciate baksheesh, and whether it's for a meal or for someone carrying all those purchases you made in the souk back to the hotel, every penny counts.
Remember to carry round small change and ask for small denominations when changing your money. Small bills are a prized possession in Egypt because obviously, no one gives change for a tip. One exception is taxi drivers, who you don't have to tip.

In France, service is included by law and your bill may state 'service compris' to indicate this. In any case, it is polite to round up the bill to the nearest euro, or to add 10% for exceptional service. Taxi drivers and porters will always appreciate a couple of Euros for efficient service. However, watch for signs that say ‘Pourboire Interdit', which means that tipping is forbidden.

In Greece, although a service charge is automatically included in your bill when eating out, this does not necessarily mean that it will go to the waiters and waitresses. So, if you're satisfied with your meal, a tip of 8 - 10% is customary. Bear in mind that during the Christmas and Greek Easter holiday periods a service ‘bonus' of 18% will be added to your restaurant bill as a holiday extra for the waiters. When travelling around, rounding up your taxi fare to the nearest Euro is also the norm.

In Germany, although a service charge is included (appearing on your bill as ‘bedienung'), it is the norm to tip up to an extra 10% of the bill, especially in upmarket restaurants. Also, never say ‘danke' unless you are really appreciative of your meal, because more often than not, this will be interpreted by the staff as a signal to keep the change. In addition, hand your tips to the staff when paying the bill instead of placing it on the table as you leave.

A customary practice in the UK to save awkwardness perhaps, but this will cause offence in Germany. In taxis, add a Euro or two to the total to keep the cabbie smiling.

When in Italy, dining in restaurants your bill probably includes a 10 - 15% service charge (coperto your bill. If that is the case, don't feel obliged to add any more, and if not, a 10% gratuity is sufficient. In many Italian cafés, you will often pay more to sit down and enjoy your coffee or gelato ice cream rather than standing at the bar anyway. So, if you do sip your coffee or hot chocolate while sitting down, an extra €0.50 is a sufficient tip. (You won't find better hot chocolate than in Italy, but that's another story.) Smaller trattorias and pizzerias don't expect a gratuity, and tipping a small family-run business may even cause offence. Taxi drivers also do not expect a tip. Again, however, rounding up to the nearest Euro is fine, or if your cab driver helps carry your bags you may want to extend this to a couple of Euros.

The Japanese are pretty clear cut when it comes to tips. Any monies left are more likely to cause offence than gratitude. The number stated on the bill is what you should pay. Service charges are included in the food prices on the menu in Spain, and tipping is a matter of personal choice. Most people leave some small change if they're satisfied and 5% is usually plenty. It's common to leave small change at bar and café tables, or if you eat tapas or sandwiches at a bar - just enough to round the bill to the nearest Euro.

Tipping is serious business in the US. Many service staff get no more than minimum wage, and rely on tips to supplement their income. So, tip generously, and often. You should leave a 15% minimum tip in diners, restaurants and cafes, and if service is really good then 20% is more the norm. In bars, slipping the bartender around a dollar per drink will ensure that service will never be a problem. And finally, when out and about in the States, tipping an extra 15% to your taxi driver is the norm. http://www.fool.co.uk/

2. This and That

JetBlue now gives travelers the option of purchasing a seat with more leg room. The seats have a 38 inch pitch, four more than the airline’s standard seat, and cost $10 extra on flights under 600 miles, $15 up to $1,500 miles and $20 on long-haul flights. NY Times

A new U.S. fine-dining site that features video tours, chef interviews, and cooking instruction: http://www.travelintaste.com/.

http://www.tripology.com/ matches prospective travelers with travel retailers. Visitors to Tripology fill out a detailed trip request, which is matched to a selection of 6,500 specialized agents who best meet the traveler's requirements. Each matching specialist receives an e-mail with the trip request, and the first three agents to purchase the lead are then e-mailed the traveler's contact information. Travel Weekly

Fleet street…An aging fleet is catching up with domestic airlines. Many of the older planes require more maintenance, more safety inspections and more fuel to fly. The bottom line: the planes are more expensive to operate compared to newer ones.

At issue: domestic carriers have bought fewer new planes in recent years and their fleets have aged, hitting an average of 12.2 years at the end of 2006. Only two domestic carriers, Northwest and Continental, have ordered the new fuel-efficient Boeing 787, while dozens of overseas carriers have ordered the plane. NY Times

Cutbacks, aging equipment, and high fuel and maintenance costs are just some of the items on an airline’s list of woes. Add to that a shortage of pilots and their related salaries. FedEx pays among the highest wages; regional airlines like Pinnacle and Mesa play among the lowest. Starting annual pay for a first officer on a regional jet at Pinnacle is $21,000 compared to $122,000 for a widebody jet at Northwest and $164,000 at FedEx. First-year captains earn $55,000, $179,000 and $232,000, respectively. NY Times

3. Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Retired Canadians are hanging up their Bermuda shorts and opting for more exotic adventures where they can explore exotic gems, immerse themselves in foreign cultures and learn something new about their destinations and themselves. To accommodate the changing travel desires of the 50-plus market, the travel industry is not only adapting the packaged trips it offers to the senior segment but altering its travel loyalty programs to attract the interest of travelers in this demographic.

According to one expert, 50-plus Canadians traveling within Canada accounts for 54 per cent of all trips taken, a figure exceeded only by the 55 per cent of foreign trips they take. The 50-plus traveler also represents the largest source of travelers to Mexico, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Cuba. Calgary Herald

4. Prognosticators

The annual Travel Com Conference, produced by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), featured top-level executives from Forrester Research, consumer brands like Travelocity and Priceline, plus GDS companies and software providers.

Henry Harteveldt, vice president & principal analyst of Forrester Research, keynoted the conference with a presentation concluding that the confluence of a shaky economy and slowing online growth had online travel marketers stumbling for answers. The online travel industry has reached a point where 80% of travelers are online and growth for online bookings, which currently stands at $112 billion, has virtually stalled. Also, satisfaction with online bookings is decreasing as only 49% of online bookers feel it’s enjoyable to book a trip online, down from 53% last year.

Also, growth in online travel spending is expected to be greatest among the Generation X and Y generations, not the traditional boomer and senior populations that are prevalent in the group travel industry.Another major theme discussed was shared experiences and how technology is bringing this closer to reality for travelers. Through website blogs, community sites like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook, plus rapid advancements in mobile technologies, travelers can share recommendations, preferences and develop their own communities online.

Complete access to the Forrester Research that contributed to TIA's Travel Com event, visit: http://www.forrester.com/travelcom08

5. Romania, Romania, Romania

Greece, Turkey and Spain are the destinations that generate over 30% of travel agencies' bookings in this country. According to in-country travel experts, more than 300,000 Romanians will head for Greece to spend their summer holidays this year, while the number of Romanians choosing Bulgaria will stagnate at 250,000 people. The number of Romanians leaving for Turkey will revolve around 100,000, while Spain will attract around 35,000 Romanians, a level similar to the number of tourists choosing Tunisia.

6. Bookings Institute

Despite the economic downturn, U.S. travel agents and industry analysts report robust bookings for domestic, international and business travel. If there is any change, say the experts, people are opting for destinations where the dollar goes farther. They are also economizing by opting for hotel rates guaranteed in dollars, buying all-inclusive packages or cruises, or shortening their trips. NY Times

7. Pod Casting

From Amsterdam to New York, travelers seeking refuge from soaring hotel rates have an alternative: 84 square-foot pods with little space and, sometimes, no windows. In London, one pod hotel books rooms by the hour, has an entryway that looks like a spaceship and windows that open into an indoor hallway. In The Netherlands, the new Qbic hotel rents "cubis" the size of a walk-in closet. At the Pod Hotel in midtown Manhattan, a standard room with a bunk bed, two flat-panel TVs and a shared bathroom starts at $89 a night.

These pod hotels are following the lead of low-frills, low-cost airlines. Most don't have grand lobbies, gyms or meeting rooms, areas that can be considered dead space for generating revenue at a regular hotel. There is as few as one full-time employee for every 12 rooms at a pod hotel, compared with an employee for every two rooms at a typical budget hotel. WSJ

Rich’s Weekend Reader is published by AndTyler222 Communications. All rights reserved. Information from various sources and mostly rewritten. andtyler222@verizon.net http://www.itinarod.com/