Starting this Monday, travelers coming to the U.S. from Visa waiver eligible countries (see list below) will face new regulations if traveling under the Visa Waiver Program:

“Effective Monday, January 12th, citizens and nationals from all Visa Waiver eligible countries must have approval through the ESTA [Electronic System for Travel Authorization] system before traveling to the United States on a Visa Waiver…” (from U.S. Immigration-Explained ).

As stated in the same Press Release, “Visiting the United States is not easy for everybody and one almost needs a manual to keep up with all the changes.” That being the case, it’s important that you have all of the information regarding ESTA before heading to the States on Monday or any time thereafter.

Visit CPB.gov to apply for Electronic Travel Authorization (as of Monday it is a requirement) and for answers to a multitude of ESTA-related questions. You can also visit the U.S. Department of State for an in depth breakdown of the Visa Waiver Program.

Visa Waiver Program Countries:

• Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (Recently added countries): Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Malta

Yes, I have predicted — and continue to predict — that 2009 will be the year of the air travel deal.

But don’t think these deals will just be sitting around, waiting for you to pounce on them whenever it’s convenient for you. They won’t. Deals will be targeted to specific times of the year — and you will need to be, flexible.

Procrastinate in this environment at your own risk.

For example, look below at this incredible Presidents Day Weekend Ski Deal?– Miami to Telluride (yes, the “Ski Resort of the Stars”) — just $180 roundtrip, taxes included (Feb. 11 thru Feb. 15 on United). NOTE: If you depart on Feb. 12 instead of?Feb. 11, the price jumps to just under $400! So, as I said, you must be flexible.

I am personally looking for cheap flights to Durango for a bit of skiing at Purgatory, so I have signed up for our Farecompare.com email alerts just like everyone else.

The key to finding the best deals is — using technology, such as our email alerts — this way, you won’t have to hope you simply “stumble” upon a good deal.

This story is NOT your run-of-the-mill “passengers behaving badly” tale.

Well, wait a minute — yes, one passenger did behave badly — but a whole bunch more showed that they were made of superior stuff.

Our sister-blog, Standard Upright Position has the story here — I think it’ll make you proud of some of the people you fly with.

So where did the folks with a taste for adventure, luxury and experience go over the past year?

According to iExplore, they went all over the place — with Egypt taking the top spot. Here are the rest of the rankings:

iExplore’s 2008 Top Ten World Travel Destinations

1. Egypt
2. Thailand
3. Peru
4. Antarctica
5. Costa Rica
6. India
7. Vietnam
8. China
9. South Africa
10. Japan

And where are these travelers going this year? Here are some of the destinations that made iExplore’s list of best-selling tours this month:

1. Vietnam
2. Costa Rica
3. Egypt
4. Guatemala
5. Indonesia ]]> http://rickseaney.com/2009/01/08/hot-spots-of-the-rich-and-adventurous/feed/ http://rickseaney.com/2009/01/08/bad-weather-warnings/ http://rickseaney.com/2009/01/08/bad-weather-warnings/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:09:25 +0000 Rick Seaney http://rickseaney.com/?p=1704

Okay, obviously it’s winter time, so no surprise that the weather is pretty bad in parts of the country — but if you’re getting on a plane in the next few days, consider yourself warned.

First of all, Accuweather says that storm that caused so much trouble in the Northwest is moving east, bringing snow over the Plains as it pushes into the Northeast. The official forecast says: “The band of snow will leave 3 to 6 inches through the weekend, potentially, in the cities of Chicago, New York and Boston.”

TIP: If your flight is cancelled, contact the airline. If you’re at the airport, talk to an airline representative as soon as humanly possibly, and if you have to wait in a line of any size, get on the phone to the airline as well (and see more tips here).

All those capacity cutbacks we’ve seen over the past year means there is less margin-for-error than ever — in other words, fewer seats available for passengers whose flights have been cancelled. Make sure you’re among the lucky ones.

A psychology professor says professional sports teams who fly across the country for games, may suffer from jet lag. And, as reported by Bloomberg — the biggest effects will likely be felt by teams who travel from west-to-east.

Of course, Super Bowl XLIII will be played on the East Coast this year — in Tampa. Believe me, I have no crystal ball, but I feel I have to say — are you listening, Chargers? Meanwhile, there are playoff games to get through…

Luckily, there are a few things teams can do to ease any jet lag effects — one is, showing up for games 3-days ahead of time. The second is, avoiding alcohol — of course, that’s a no-brainer — to save the celebrating til after the game.

It’s not easy being a pilot these days.

The glamour job has lost some luster in recent years, thanks to pay-cuts, layoffs and plain old fatigue (and take a look at this post about tired pilots — the comment left by a regional airline pilot is a REAL eye-opener).

This latest incident involves two unidentified American Airlines pilots who took sick leave — but their medical excuses were rejected by the airline, which forced the pilots to return their sick-pay.

Now, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has said American was wrong, and must reimburse the two pilots.

According to an AP report in USA Today, American will appeal. A little context: the airline has long been at odds with its pilots’ union over sick-leave policy.

But this latest round goes to the pilots.

The last time you had the opportunity to fly coast-to-coast for $99? I’ll bet it’s been awhile.

But right now, the airlines are going nuts trying to outdo one-another with sales (reminds me of those old TV ads: “Crazy Eddie, his prices are IN-SA-A-A-A-A-ANE!”).

But don’t make the mistake of thinking the airlines are desperate — they’re not. In fact, they’re doing pretty well. And that bodes well for all of us.

Yep, we’ll see more sales, and good ones — though regular airfare prices are higher. Lots more on this, in my latest weekly column from ABCNews.com (it’s published every Wednesday).

Air India has fired 9 of its flight attendants who couldn’t meet the airline’s (unspecified) weight standards.

In 2006, the airline warned hundreds of employees to shape-up, and re-assigned some of its cabin crew to less-lucrative ground duties. And some of those folks then took the airline to court — but last year, the court sided with the airline.

Now, the newly fired flight attendants say, they’ll take their fight to India’s Supreme Court.

Air India has long characterized this controversy as a “fitness” issue. Others wonder if the issue had more to do with overall “image” than fitness or weight: according to an Associated Press report, “Air India has tried in the past few years to change a public perception of its cabin staff as — tired, unfriendly and inefficient.”

India’s airline industry has grown enormously in recent years — and competition is heating up.

You may remember this case.

Back in August of 2006, an Iraqi-born U.S. resident was stopped from boarding a JetBlue flight in Oakland, CA because he was wearing a T-shirt with a phrase in English and Arabic. He was eventually allowed to board when he covered up the shirt’s message.

The message? “We Will Not Be Silent”.

And, he wasn’t. The man took the airline and the TSA agents involved to court, and, according to the Washington Post a settlement was reached last weekend, and the man got $240,000.

Representatives for JetBlue and the agents involved, according to the story, say they did nothing wrong — but agreed to the settlement to limit their legal costs.