Travel News: Don’t Drink In-Flight Coffee, New High-Speed Trains May Be Coming to the U.S., and REI Expands Its Rental Program
From breaking health news about the quality of airline coffee (and drinking water in general) to a potential breakthrough in American train travel, plus great news for outdoors enthusiasts (and we count ourselves among them) about REI’s gear rentals, this week’s travel news is all about being the smartest traveler in 2019 and beyond.
DON’T DRINK IN-FLIGHT COFFEE!
The next time a flight attendant comes through the cabin offering coffee or tea, you might want to opt for tomato juice or beer instead. A study released in November by Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center warns “it’s probably best to avoid drinking water from the tap on a plane, which also means staying away from coffee and tea.” Right now, airlines operate under the 2009 Airline Drinking Water Rule, which is regulated by the EPA, FDA, and FAA and requires disinfection and flushing one to four times a year. But even with maintenance of the aircraft system, other factors can contribute to contamination, like trucks, carts, hoses and other equipment used to transfer water at airports.
“You would think they’d be emptied and cleaned at least once a day,” Dr. Charles Platkin, executive director of the Food Policy Center, wrote in the study, referring to that transport equipment. “But this is not so. So water is just sitting for long periods of time in what appear to be not-so-clean tanks.”
It’s logical to think that because coffee and tea are made with hot water, the heat would kill any contaminants. Not so fast. According to the New York State Department of Health, boiling typically causes pasteurization, not sterilization, which would kill all present organisms. Moreover, tea and coffee on flights isn’t typically made with water that reaches boiling point and even if it was, it wouldn’t boil for long enough to have the desired effect. Happily, there haven’t been any reports of illness, but in the meantime, prevention is the best cure, so grab a bottle of iced coffee once you’re close to your gate. Just make sure to you wash your hands before you board. Those security bins are a veritable petri dish of germs.
NEW HIGH-SPEED TRAINS MAY BE COMING TO THE U.S.
The East Coast has Amtrak’s Acela express service, and next year, if Virgin Group founder Richard Branson has his way, Florida and southern California will have something similar. In November, the brand announced a strategic partnership with a private railroad called Brightline, which has been operating high-speed trains between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach since May. In early 2019, Brightline will rebrand as Virgin Trains USA and look to ring in the new year with expanded service: Routes to Orlando and Tampa are in the works, and construction will begin on a new line connecting Los Angeles to Las Vegas, approvals permitting. If all goes according to plan, a trip from Miami to Orlando could take just a few stress-free hours, and the travelers who make some 50 million trips between Vegas and Southern California each year will have an alternative to a pricey flight or a traffic-filled drive. The takeaway? An escape from L.A. may soon be easier than ever, and leaving Las Vegas looks like it’s going to be a piece of cake, too.
REI EXPANDS ITS RENTAL PROGRAM
One of the most common new year’s resolutions is getting in shape and being more active. It appears that REI, the Seattle-based purveyor of activewear and outdoor gear, wants to make it easier for America to fulfill that commitment. Just in time for the new year, the company, recognized as the country’s largest consumer co-op, announced that they’re expanding their popular rental program, adding snowshoes to their inventory of rental gear at 70 of their 154 stores (rei.com/stores/rentals). Yes, you read that right. The popular store operates a large and growing rental program. (You don’t have to be a co-op member to rent equipment, but you do receive a discount if you are.) And the company, aware that price and storage space can get in the way of taking up outdoor activities, works to make it easier to get outside. So whether you’re looking to dabble in a new sport without committing to buying equipment or you’re a seasoned outdoorsperson nearly ready to make a purchase but want to take advantage of the try-before-you-buy opportunity, they’ve got you covered.cBut it gets even better: at the end of each season, gently used rental equipment is sold through REI's used gear program (rei.com/used).
