air travel Posts

How to Fly Healthy

September 24, 2013 3 Comments

Stay healthy with these travel tips

There’s nothing worse than being sick on vacation – especially if you were fine before you got on the plane! From sneezy seatmates to germy surfaces, here are some important tips to help you protect yourself in-flight:

  • Seat pockets, tray tables, pillow and blankets, the airplane bathroom, even the air are all dirtier than you want to know. So pack hand sanitizer – 3 oz. or less – in your carry-on bag to avoid spreading the ick.
  • Flying makes you 20% more likely to catch the common cold. Beat the odds by loading up on Vitamin C and B-complex vitamins before, during, and after your flight with oranges, grapefruit, and leafy greens – and add vitamin-boosting drink packets like EmergenC to your water.
  • Speaking of water, avoid what comes out of the plane’s water dispenser. Ask for bottled water, or bring your own filtration bottle.
  • But don’t just avoid water… Dehydration is one of the biggest health concerns when flying. On the ground, normal humidity is between 20 and 50%, but in flight, it can be as low as 1%, leading to rapid dehydration which often goes unnoticed before it’s too late. To combat it, avoid alcohol, soda, and caffeine in the hours before your flight, drink 8 ounces of water every hour you’re in the air, and choose fruits and veggies over salty snacks.
  • Do lots of stretching and walking in the aisle (when the seatbelt sign is off) to keep your circulation flowing. You may feel silly, but it’s better than a blood clot!

A little planning and prevention will go a long way toward ensuring you’re in tip-top shape to take advantage of every precious day of your trip! Got any healthy travel tips we missed? Share them in the comments!

How Far in Advance Should you Buy Plane Tickets?

August 27, 2013 2 Comments

Timing is everything when booking air travel

Last week, we talked about how much the airline business has changed in the last several decades. Those changes are about more than just mergers and acquisitions – they affect the timing of ticket prices too.

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Has Airline Consolidation Gone Too Far?

August 20, 2013 2 Comments

Airline mergers and bankruptcies have been common in the last several decades, transforming the landscape of the air travel industry.

 

Airline Consolidation Since 1970

 

Airline consolidation over recent decades
The chart above shows airline consolidation since the 1970s and how this has seen the 10 major airlines during this period whittled down to just 5 major players:

  • United
  • American
  • Delta
  • Southwest
  • US Airways

In 2013, we learned that the US Justice Department and six states filed an antitrust suit to prevent American Airlines from merging with US Air. The government’s position is that while the merger would benefit the two companies and the air travel industry as a whole, it would have a negative impact on consumers through higher fares and fees. The airlines disagree, claiming the merger would result in improved service for customers; It would also allow American Airlines to emerge from bankruptcy court protection, where it has been since filing in 2011.

Data shows this pattern has already led to higher costs for consumers, and while some have balked at the government’s intervention in this merger after allowing so many others, the government seems to simple think enough is enough.

What do you think? Should airlines be allowed to merge if it strengthens their bottom line, even if decreased competition means higher costs for travelers, or has consolidation gone far enough?