Les problèmes des compagnies aériennes aux USA se sont améliorées! Depuis quelques semaines les directeurs de compagnies et les agents de réglement du gouvernement ont abouti à un compromis. L' Administration Fédérale d' Aviation continuera ses démarches pour les inspections des avions en fonction et informera les compagnies avec lesquelles des violations ont été trouvées. Les compagnies aériennes auront un certain délai pour réparer le problème qui n' est pas un danger direct. Cette idée de coopération a permis de remettre en service la plus part des avions. Les annulations énormes ont cessé. En plus, les agents de réglement du gouvernement pour les voyages aériens ont fait quelques changements pour faciliter les tracas des passagers. Ils ont augmenté le montant de pénalité attitré à tout passager affecté par un délai quelque soit la cause. Maintenant tout passager qui est remis sur autre avion pour manque de place et qui est retardé de quatre heures ou plus doit être remboursé ou lui donner l' équivalent de $800 en billet d' avion. Pour les délais de deux heures l' équivalent est de $400. Pour les vols internationaux le délai doit être de quatre heures ou plus.

The airline problems in the USA have improved!  In the past few weeks, the airline executives and the government regulators have achieved a compromise.  The Federal Aviation Administration will continue to conduct its strict inspection of all aircraft and will notify the airlines of any violations found.  The airlines will be given some reasonable time to fix any problem that does not seriously endanger travel.  This new spirit of cooperation has enabled the air carriers to place nearly all of their aircraft back in use.  The massive flight cancellations have ceased.

 In addition, the government regulators of air travel have enacted a few changes to ease the problems faced by passengers.  They increased the penalties paid to passengers that were delayed due to airline overbooking of flights.  Now, any passenger that is "bumped" off of a flight due to overbooking, and is delayed more than four hours will be entitiled to a payment equal to the value of the ticket up to $800.  For delays up to two hours, the maximum will be $400.  For international flights, the delay must be four hours or more. 

Depuis quelques semaines les voyageurs aériens vivent un vrai cauchemar à travers les USA.  Tous ces problèmes vont certainement continuer pour plusieurs semaines.  Ça pourrait devenir une vraie nuisance durant les mois d' été qui arrivent si une solution n' est pas trouvée. Ça a commencé il y a quelques semaines lorsque le commité du congès pour la sécurité des vols aériens a découvert que la compagnie aérienne Southwest Airlines avait en fonction des centaines d' avions peu sûr depuis des mois à cause de manque de personnel qui inspectent pour le Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Les bureaucrates haut placés du département Federal Aviation Administration ont châtié pour cette impasse.  Ils ont appliqué par la suite une amende de $10 million de dollars à Southwest Airlines pour leur violation des standards de sécurité.  Southwest Airlines a immédiatement fait garder au sol tous ses avions, une centaine, ce qui a fait annuler des centaines de vols.  Epoustoufflés par les représailles du Congrès le FAA a immédiatement remis en ordre ses inspection de toutes les compagnies aériennes des US.  Ils ont trouvé plusieurs violations. Cette semaine, American Airlines a gardé au sol des milliers d' avions ce qui a fait annuler des milliers de vols.  D' autres compagnies vont certainement suivre.  Ces annulations ont été la cause de milliers de passagers égarés dans les aéroports des USA.  Ils ont été obligés de changer ou d' annuler leur voyage ou plans. Ce désordre est la faute de gâchage bureaucratique typique et de manoeuvre politique.  La plus part des violations récemment découvertes sont de miniscules violations techniques parmis des rêglementations complêxes de sécurité aérienne.  Le vrai danger causé par certaines de ces violations sont pratiquement non existant.  Les avions peuvent voler sans danger jusqu' à ce que la compagnie puisse les faire réviser et remettre en états des standards techniques.  Malheureusement le FAA, après avoir été châtié, a commencé à met tout le monde à la page en les forçant à être aux normes et de pouvoir tout rapporter dans leurs livres.  Les compagnies ont immédiatement gardé au sol leurs engins pour les réviser pour qu' ils soient aux standards et pour éviter une amende donner par le FAA. On a besoin d' un leader raisonnable qui peut réaliser un compromis à ce dilemme.  Malheureusement des leaders raisonnables sont durs à trouver dans notre gouvernement.  S' ils ne résolvent pas ce problème bientôt, ça pourrait être un été terrible pour les passagers aériens qui voyageront à travers les USA. voyage, compagnies, FAA, américain, sécurité, southwest, voyage aérien, avions    

These past few weeks have been a nightmare for many air-travel passengers in the USA.  Those travel problems are likely to continue for weeks or months to come.  They may remain a real travel nuisance during the entire summer travel season if some solution is not found.

It all started just a few weeks ago, when a Congressional Commitee on Air Travel Safety discovered that Southwest Airlines had been flying hundreds of potentially unsafe airlines for many months because of lapses in the safety checks conducted by the government safety inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The top bureaucrats from our Federal Aviation Administration were chastised for allowing this to happen.  They in turn applied a $10 million dollar fine against Southwest Airlines for violation of those safety standards.  Southwest Airlines immediately grounded hundreds of their aircraft and cancelled numerous flights. 

Stung by the Congressional rebuke, the FAA immediately stepped up its safety inspection for all US Airlines.  They found numerous safety violations. This week, American Airlines grounded hundreds of its aircraft and cancelled thousands of flights.  Other airlines are likely to follow.  These cancellations have resulted in numerous stranded passengers at airports all over the USA.  They caused thousands of passengers to alter or cancel their travel plans.

This mess is really caused by typical bureaucratic bungling and political manuvering.  Many of the newly discovered safety violations are miniscule technical violations of complex safety regulations.  The actual danger caused by some of the violations are almost non existant.  The aircraft could safely fly without comprimising safety while the airlines bring everything up to technical standards.  Unfortunately, the FAA, having been stung by the congretional rebuke, is now applying every minute standard in the regulation books.  The airlines are immediately grounding all aircraft until they bring them up to the exacting standards, because they do not want to risk hefty fines from the FAA.

We need a clear reasonable leader to achieve some workable compromise to this dilemna.  Unfortunately, clear reasonable leaders are hard to find in our government.  If they do not solve this problem soon, it may be a terrible summer for air passengers traveling in the USA.

 

Dans la plus part des USA, le 9 mars les gens ont changé leurs horloges et montres d' une heure. C' est le commencement d' heure d' été avec le changement d' une heure qui s' appelle "Daylight Savings Time". Cette coutume existe dans la plus part des USA depuis plusieurs années mais le changement se passait normalement le dernier dimanche d' Avril jusqu' au dernier dimanche d' Octobre. Depuis 2007, le Daylight Savings Time a été étendu et commence le deuxième dimanche de Mars et se termine le premier dimanche de Novembre. A partir de ce dimanche la plus part des gens aux USA se lèveront, iront et finiront de travailler une heure plus tôt. Ça permet d' avoir une heure en plus de jour et de la luminosité plus longtemps le soir pour toutes activités en plein air mais aussi on se couche une heure plus tôt. Tous les horaires d' aéroports, trains, bus ainsi que toutes heures de fonction de commerces ont changé pour respecter la nouvelle heure. Ceci se passe dans presque tous les états. Seulement Hawaii et certaines parties d' Arizona n' adhèrent pas au "Daylight Savings Time".

In most of the USA, people will be moving their clocks one hour ahead on Sunday March 9.  This is the beginning of the annual summer time reckoning known as "Daylight Savings Time".  The custom has existed in most parts of the USA for many years, but the change normally occured on the last Sunday in April and continued until the last Sunday in October.  Since 2007, the Daylight Savings Time period was expanded to always begin on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November.

Beginning this Sunday, most people in the USA will be arising, going to work, and ending their work day one hour earlier.  They will have an extra hour of daylight for outdoor activities every evening, but will be going to bed an hour earlier.

All airport schedules, train schedules, bus schedules and business hours will be changed to reflect the new times.  It will take effect in nearly every state.  Only Hawaii and parts of Arizona do not adhere to Daylight Savings Time.

With the exchange rate of the US dollar near historic lows compared to the Euro and other world currencies, travel to the USA is a great bargain.  The price of hotel rooms, airfares and entertainment is now much less expensive for foreign visitors.  In addition, most US merchandise is bargain priced; thus making shopping in the USA very attractive.  Remember, the USA does not utilize a value added tax system, so most goods are typically lower in price than their European equivalent.  Now, the favorable currency exchange rates, make them even more attractive.

Why not plan a combination vacation/shopping trip to the USA this summer?  You can easily fly to one of the major cities in the USA, partake of some of the entertainment options, travel to a few attractions, lie on a sun-drenched beach, then conclude your trip with a shopping binge at a major discount outlet before returning home.

Here are a few suggested itineraries to consider:

You can fly into New York City, see all of the sights in the Big Apple, catch a Broadway show and take a tour about town.  For the last few days of your trip, rent a car and drive to the Woodbury Commons 90 minutes north of the city; and fill an empty suitcase with bargain merchandise before you catch your return flight. 

Fly to Orlando Florida and spend a four or five days at Disney World and the surrounding attractions.  Drive down to Fort Lauderdale and rent a hotel room on the beach for a few days.  You can lie in the sun during the daytime and spend your evenings at the gigantic Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall with its 500 shops during the evenings.  If you are not an amusement park fan, just go straight to Fort Lauderdale and spend all of your free time on the beach or at the nearby Miami entertainment scene while you get in your shopping during your spare time.

On the West Coast, you can fly to Las Vegas, catch the desert sun around the hotel pool, gamble in the casinos, have dinner in the great restaurants, see some of the great shows, and shop at the nearby outlet malls during your spare time.

Wherever you choose to go, your hotel and entertainment will cost you less because of the cheap dollar.  The shopping bargains will be outstanding.

A severe winter storm system struck Southern California during the first week of 2008.  It brought large amounts of rain accompanied by high winds to the area.  This produced flooding in some parts of the state and fear of mudslides in the areas recently devastated by wildfires.  Los Angeles International Airport was briefly closed.

In the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the storm produced heavy snows.  As much as 3 meters of new snow fell on some peaks.  Nearly all of the mountain passes were closed.  Even the pass along Route 80, which is normally kept open all winter, was closed after the region was blanketed with over one meter of snow.  Many motorists were stranded in emergency shelters as road crews fought to open this main highway pass.

East of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, some of the valleys in eastern California and Nevada also experienced local flooding. 

The storm swept inland and dropped large amounts of snow on the mountains in Colorado and Utah.  This heavy snowfall is proving to be a great benefit to the ski resorts in California, Utah and Corlorado. 

The labor dispute that closed many Broadway theaters, has been settled.  Stage hands, actors and musicians returned to work last week and the famous Broadway Theaters reopened.  If you intend to visit New York City in the near future, you can once again attend a performance of a Broadway play or a Broadway musical.  Remember, there are TKS kiosks near Times Square and at the South Street Seaport that sell last-minute tickets to some of the shows at greatly reduced prices.

The Broadway Theaters of New York are closed!  A labor dispute with the stage hands has closed many of the Broadway Theaters.  If you are going to New York City, you may not be able to see a Broadway play or musical production.  A few of the non-union run theaters are still open, and all of the off-Broadway productions are still open, but the big, lavish Broadway productions are dark.

 Let's hope that this labor dispute is resolved quickly, so we can once again be entertained by Broadway.  Meanwhile, if you are visiting New York City in the coming days, plan on visiting the museums, seeing the attractions and perhaps going to one of the off Broadway productions for entertainment.

The much beleagered city of New Orleans is once again under water.  It is not as bad as the massive devastation caused when the protective water walls failed after hurricane Katrina in 2005.  This time, only a few feet of water (30 - 50 cm) covered the streets in the lowest parts of the city.  It was no hurricane that caused this problem.  Last week, a series of heavy rain storms dumped up to 7 inches (17 cm) of water on the city, and the newly repaired pumps and drainage canals could not handle the runoff.

If you plan to visit New Orleans, I advise you to wait a few weeks until they have a chance to bail out the water and clean up the mess.

In California. the season of wildfires has once again begun and has already brought disasterous results.  There are currently uncontrolled fires in the suburban neighborhoods of San Diego and also in the hills of Malibu immediately north of Los Angeles.  In both areas, homes, businesses and churches have been destroyed by the fires. Today, numerous other fires have erupted in various other parts of Southern California.

These fires can be inconvenient and possibly disruptive for visitors planning a vacation in California.  Such fires frequently cause closure of roads, highways and even entire neighborhoods.  Neighborhoods are sometimes quarantined to protect the curious onlookers from the fires.  Roads are cleared for emergency vehicles, and highways are frequently blocked due to poor visibility from smoke.

The coastal hills of California are covered with grasses, low shrubbery and scattered stands of trees.   Canyons and ravines that crease those hillsides are typically choked with thicker vegetation and more trees.  During the late summer through early winter, dry weather usually turns that vegation into dry tinder.  On rare occasions, the cool moist winds that normally flow off of the Pacific Ocean are replaced by hot dry winds coming from the Mojave Desert to the east.  They are called "the Santa Ana Winds", and they can create extremely dangerous fire conditions.  Southern California is currently experiencing Santa Ana Winds.

Those winds are likely to abate, and the moister air off of the Ocean will once again bring relief to California.  When that occurs, the fires should be quickly subdued.  Meanwhile, it would be wise to avoid Southern California for the next week or two. 

Weather is always an important concern to vacation travelers.  You hope for good weather, so you can enjoy your vacation.  You fear bad weather that could spoil it. 

Hurricanes and tropical storms are a great concern to folks planning a visit to Florida or the southern coastal regions of the USA.  High winds, severe prolonged rainfall and flooding can certainly dampen your enjoyment of a sunny Florida vacation.  After the intensely devastating hurricane season in 2005, forecasters predicted another bad season in 2006.  It never came!  The 2006 hurricane season was relatively mild with no severe storms making landfall in the USA.  This year, they once again predicted a fairly severe hurricane season; but so, far it has been pretty mild.  A few tropical storms developed in the southern Atlantic Ocean, but they weakened or disappated before reaching the US coasts.  We still have a few months left to this hurricane season, lets hope our good luck continues.

Thunderstorms and tornados have been a real problem during the summer of 2006 and once again this year.  Great electrical storms with heavy rains and hailstones are common across the great plains of the Midwest during the summer months.  Some of these storms spawn devastating tornados that leave behind paths of destruction.  We have already experienced quite a few storms and tornados this year, and more are expected.  In addition, the weather patterns in the Midwest caused massive flows of moist tropical air to move up the Mississippi valley eastward.  These brought intensely heavy rainfall that resulted in severe flooding in many areas.

For a traveler to the USA, such storms can create some problems.  They disrupt air travel throughout the areas affected.  Those disruptions create a ripple effect throughout the air travel grid that causes numerous flight delays and flight cancellations all across the USA..  It is not uncommon for travelers to become stranded for hours or even overnight due to storm related complications.

 

I just returned from a short business trip to New York City. The Big Apple was hot, crowded, congested and teeming with tourists. Most of the travel polls now say that New York City is the number one destination for overseas visitors, and my observations certainly support that. Times square was packed with thousands of multilingual tourists snappin each other's photos in front of the glittering neon signs.

It is the height of the tourist season for the Big Apple and it usually gets fairly congested at this time of the year, but this is the worst I have seen since before 2001. Most of the hotels in the city are fully booked and rooms are hard to find. The prices for a night's accommodation have reached some exhorbitant levels. It is becoming nearly impossible to find a decent affordable hotel room in New York City.

If you plan on visiting New York City this year, you should make your hotel reservations far in advance of your stay. The best prices are available to those who book early. Once the occupancy rate gets above a certain level, many hotels cease to offer their lowest rate rooms and begin charging premium rates for their remaining rooms. Eventually, they fill up completely and no more rooms are available. Some business travelers forced to make last-minute arrangements have been forced to pay $500 or more per night for a hotel room.

When the hotel rooms in Manhattan get scarce and the prices elevate, you can look for hotels near the airports. Hotels in the vicinity of John F Kennedy International, LaGuardia International or Newark International are typically lower priced than similar accommodations in Manhattan and less likely to sell out. If you are driving to the Big Apple, the hotels in Secaucus New Jersey are also convenient to Manhattan and typically lower in price.

You may have heard some rumours about US airport security screeners harassing foreign visitors. You may be wondering if the rumours are true. Last week, another story concerning harasment by airport screeners just appeared in the US newspapers. All of which may be causing you some concern about your next visit to the USA.

In the most recent episode, a woman passenger, traveling with a little baby, claims that she was stopped, harassed and detained by airport security screeners simply because she had water in her baby's sippy cup. Her story appeared in many US newspapers.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency responsible for airport security, took the unusual action of issuing its rebuttal to the original story. It claims that the airport screeners simply told the woman that she was not permitted to carry any liquid through the security checkpoint including liquid inside a baby's cup. The woman responded by pouring the liquid on the floor in front of the security screeners. They barred her from passing through security until she cleaned it up with paper towels from a nearby ladies room.

I am not sure that this would constitute harassment? It sounds more like they were responding to a very rude individual.

I have traveled throughout the USA by air many times in the last few years. In my experience, most of the TSA employees are very professional, very polite and often quite friendly. Occasionally, I encounter a less friendly screener who is possibly having an off day. My only complaint is that the TSA screeners are often so overly security conscious and so bound by their rules and regulations that they do not take time to empathize with the inconveniences faced by the passengers.