Affordable Europe: Tips roundup

It's been just over a year since we last reported on Registered Traveler (RT), a program that enables people to zip through separate security lanes if they pay an annual fee of $100 and pass a security check by the government and a private company. Launched in 2005, RT wasn't quick to take off, but the roll-out picked up recently. A total of 19 airports now either offer, or are about to offer, the lanes. In March, Washington's Dulles and Reagan airports introduced the service; Salt Lake City and Atlanta are expected to follow suit later this month. Enrollment at RT's largest supplier, Clear (flyclear.com), is up to 140,000; new providers, such as Flo (flocard.com), hope to attract customers by adding membership perks, such as discounts on car rentals and cruises. Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection started online enrollment in a similar program that would expedite travelers through customs lanes. Like RT, Global Entry (cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel) costs $100 per year and travelers must undergo a background check to join. Dulles, New York/JFK and Houston airports will offer the service in June; others are expected to follow. I've encountered the Clear Lane several times at JFK's Terminal 4. Two thoughts: 1. I've never actually seen anyone go through it, and 2. I was moving through regular security so quickly that there wouldn't have been time to see a Registered Traveler whiz by me. (Not to mention that I haven't had to divulge personal information nor pay $100.) It still seems like a gimmick—and a waste of valuable airport real estate—to me. Regarding Global Entry, my guess is that those who would join aren't the ones getting hassled by customs officials in the first place—which only seems to leave the rest of us, and, more importantly, guests to our country, even more irritated at awfully long lines. Are these programs a good thing? Any Registered Travelers out there who want to talk about their experience? What about Global Entry—would you do it? Why or why not?

If you haven't heard of RSS feeds, then you're in for a treat. "RSS feeds" is a dumb name for a fabulous technology. It's free and a cinch to use. You get your own webpage, which pulls together into easy-to-read lists all of the latest headlines and stories from your favorite blogs and websites. Here's an amazing video--from the supersmart folks at Common Craft--explains how RSS can simplify your life: Most of the top news websites, such as Washingtonpost.com and BudgetTravel.com, offer these feeds, too. So do travel sites and online travel agencies, such as Priceline.com. Once you start using RSS feeds, you'll be hooked. Let's get hopping. It'll take you about 10 minutes to simplify your Web surfing... Create a free RSS feed at Yahoo (my.yahoo.com) or Bloglines.com. (To find other RSS feeds, click here.) Then dial up your favorite site and click the link that says "RSS." This link is almost always in an orange box. Sometimes, it says "XML" instead. ("XML" stands for "extensible mark-up language." No, we don't know what that means either. Who cares? It works!) [On Budget Travel's This Just In blog, you'll find this link as a button that's in a box that says "Subscribe." You'll find the "Subscribe" button in the right column under the photos of our bloggers and some links to recent posts.] Once you've clicked through, you'll find a list of story topics to choose from.The stories you want—and only those stories—will come at least once a day, as our website is updated. The headlines will be stored so you can view them at your convenience. **UPDATE: The link to the RSS feed above has been corrected. Thanks Betty! By the way, "RSS" stands for: "I'm Ready for Some Stories!" (Okay, that's a fib. The acronym actually stands for "really simple syndication," and you can learn the nitty-gritty details by clicking here. But why bother?)

Air One, Italy's second-largest airline after Alitalia, is taking over the routes between Chicago (O'Hare) and Milan and between Boston and Milan that Alitalia gave up because of financial troubles, which we've blogged about before. Air One will use Airbus A330-200 aircraft that is less than five years old. Each plane has 201 economy seats (plus additional business-class seats. Air One starts its first transatlantic flights on June 14, nonstop between Boston and Milan, with connections to Rome, five times a week, and June 21, nonstop between Chicago and Milan, with connections to Rome, six times a week. I spoke this week with Air One's head of marketing, Giorgio De Roni. He explains that Air One is a partner of United, US Airways, and Lufthansa. If you are a member of any of those airlines' frequent flier programs, you can earn miles on your Air One flights (and you can redeem your miles to fly on Air One). Air One currently flies to 22 domestic, 10 international and, as of June, two U.S. destinations. In 2007, the airline flew more than 7 million passengers. To toast its new service to the U.S., Air One is offering economy-class fares for $799 round trip, including all taxes, fees, and surcharges. (Other airlines only list the base fare on their websites; for comparison, Air One's base fare is $491 round-trip, economy-class, with taxes and fees of $308.) Want to fly to Rome? Pay $999—including all taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges. Ditto for flights to the Italian cities of Bari, Lamezia Terme, Naples, and Palermo. What's the fine print? These special non-refundable fares require a 14-day advance purchase with a Saturday overnight stay and are non-changeable. Tickets must be booked by June 13 and you must fly in 2008, You can fly in July and September, but the deal is not valid for flights in August. What about its luggage rules? Many European airlines have tighter luggage allowances than American carriers for transatlantic flights. What is Air One's policy? Giorgio says that Air One allows you to check two bags that weigh up to 72 pounds each for free. If you want to connect to Rome via Milan, you are allowed the same amount and weight of luggage for your on-ward connection. (For comparison, British Airways only allows bags that weigh about 51 pounds. American Airlines maxes out at 50 pounds.) See details at FlyAirOne.com.

Here are some of the smaller—but still interesting—stories that caught our eyes in the past couple of days. U.S. airplanes have been spewing fewer nasty emissions into the atmosphere. Airplanes on domestic routes ran 13 percent cleaner between 2000 and 2006, despite carrying increasing numbers of passengers, according to this report from the Environmental Protection Agency. The pollution from planes—especially carbon dioxide—are said to hurt the Earth's atmosphere and create a greenhouse effect. Apparently, rising prices for jet fuel have prompted airlines to burn less of it, which, in turn, has helped to cut back on pollution. (A related factor was the economic slump—and fall off in air travel—between 2001 and 2003.) Budding aviation expert Evan Sparks has read the report. He says that airlines have done several things to use fuel more efficiently. Perhaps the most vivid example is this one: "Alaska Airlines bought lighter aluminum beverage carts to replace their steel ones." Score one for market-based solutions to this environmental problem. There's a new website with info for students studying abroad, called Students Abroad (studentsabroad.state.gov). It's run by the Department of State and it has a youthful look and feel. It's loaded with helpful info on the documents you'll need and how to handle travel emergencies. Blogger BrilliantTrips points out that you should click on the "To Go" tab in the top right-hand corner of the Students Abroad site. There, you'll find a print-and-go card listing emergency info, plus, handy prep-and-packing lists. It's not too late to book a stay at a national park in the U.S. While more people may be traveling closer to home this summer, the number of people visiting the parks has been on dropping as a trend—down about 5 percent to 273 million visitors last year, from a peak in 1999. What does this mean? Last-minute planners can still find space in lodges. The key is to use online tools. For example, Xanterra.com, an online reservation site for several national parks, recently showed openings on the second and third weekends in July at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Similarly, weekends in mid-August were recently still available at Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins at Yellowstone National Park. Speaking of parks, California state parks have received a budgetary reprieve. In March, we blogged about how dozens of state-run parks were in danger of being shut down because of financial pressures. Well, the current budget plan now includes enough funding to keep most of them open, according to the LA Times Daily Travel & Deal Blog.