British Airways to Passengers: "Lose Weight!"

Just as our March issue was being printed--it won't come out for a couple of weeks--I read in Travel Weekly that JetBlue might be making me look, well, wrong. In my March Editor's Letter, I bemoaned the barrage of choices a traveler has to make these days. It comes down to the same choice over and over again: Namely, should you pay more for a better experience (at the airport, on the plane, at the hotel, on the cruise ship, etc.)? I suggested that one reason people have such favorable impressions of JetBlue and Southwest is because the airlines are single-class; there's no one at the front getting better treatment, and you never have to do that awful walk through business class on your way to your seat in the back. Last week, in a conference call with investors, JetBlue CEO David Neeleman talked about the airline's recent move to get rid of a row of seats on its A320 planes. By doing so, the airline is able to give everyone aboard at least 34 inches of legroom, and some will have 36 inches; the benefit for the airline is that it can put one fewer flight attendant on the plane, per FAA regulations, which will save the airline about $30 million a year. That's commendable (unless you're a flight attendant facing a heavier workload). But then Neeleman said, "We're convinced that some of the highest-paying customers out there don't fly JetBlue today because we don't provide them a first-class section or seats at the last minute, and we're going to roll out programs that will be attractive to them." When someone asked Neeleman if fares would be raised as result of the increased legroom, he replied, "Well, we certainly don't expect to charge lower fares, that's for sure. We have tremendous leverage with our customers and we haven't used it. And we want to be low-fare, we want to offer a really great experience at a low fare, but to think that we're not going to get some additional revenue from this amazing seat pitch we have compared to other airlines, I mean, we are, and we've got some programs that we're going to roll out shortly that we think are going to add to the attraction to flying on JetBlue to those people who pay the most money. So stay tuned." I'd never argue that companies shouldn't have tiers of service; paying more to get more is a fundamental principle of the service economy. But what has happened in recent years is that a company will introduce a special new level of service, then turn around and starting making the basic level--the one that doesn't cost extra--a little shabbier, then even a little shabbier than that. Treating someone better doesn't have to mean treating someone else worse, and yet that's what tends to happen. Let's hope JetBlue, which has a sterling customer-service record up to now--doesn't blow it. Besides, if business travelers (what Neeleman means by "highest-paying customers") don't fly JetBlue, it probably has more to do with the airline's relatively unremarkable frequent-flier program.

On Feb. 14, as snow and ice storms struck the Northeast and the Midwest, passengers on 10 incoming and outbound JetBlue Airways flights at New York's JFK airport sat on the tarmac for as long as 10½ hours, subject to clogged toilets, food shortages and sweltering cabins. JetBlue canceled more than 250 of their 500 nationwide flights that day, and hundreds more in the following days. After widespread criticism, CEO David Neeleman recently issued a public apology and announced a JetBlue Customers Bill of Rights. A similar situation occurred on Dec. 29, when storms struck parts of Texas and one American Airlines flight kept passengers on the runway in Austin for eight hours. After that incident, a group of travelers banded together to form the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights. The group has posted an online petition that asks Congress to require airlines to return passengers to terminal gates within three hours whenever a plane is stuck on the tarmac due to storms or mechanical problems. It also wants airlines to provide passengers with food, water and bathrooms for delays of more than three hours. American Airlines apologized to the passengers and gave them vouchers worth up to $500 for future flights. Would you support an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights? Vote in our online poll.

Some 75,000 football fans will pack Dolphin Stadium this Sunday, Feb. 4, for Super Bowl XLI, and last-minute Miami hotel rates are hitting stratospheric highs. If you're an undeterred fan of either the Indianapolis Colts or the Chicago Bears, consider using the following online resources to plan your visit during the "Indy versus Windy" face-off. To book eleventh-hour hotel rooms, turn to Super Bowl Motel Rooms, a website tracking last-minute lodging options. But don't expect to find any bargains among the rooms listed on this site--or elsewhere. One Days Inn at the Miami airport was recently charging $501 for a stay on game day. Also, note that most of the lodgings are still available in Miami Super Bowl weekend are by the airport, which is roughly 20 miles from Dolphin Stadium. Another resource to consider is HotelChatter, a popular blog that has also been staying on top of Miami's hotel rates and availability in its Super Bowl XLI Hotels section. For adventurous lodging, visit the Miami page of the popular online bulletin board Craigslist, where you'll find listings by many Miami property owners who are renting out their apartments and homes during Super Bowl weekend. For example, we recently saw a one-bedroom apartment within walking distance of the stadium renting for about $250 per night. But before you complete an online transaction with an individual on Craigslist, read these tips. Expect to pay through the nose if you buy tickets. Predictably, the few seats still available are selling for thousands of dollars each at ticket reseller sites, such as Stub Hub and TicketsNow. Seats are slightly less expensive when purchased as part of vacation packages sold by ticket resellers, such as RazorGator Experiences. (To better understand how tickets were first distributed, visit this official NFL website.) Look for affordable Super Bowl-related activities by using this nifty interactive map. For example, we recently used this map to find a listing and a location for the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, a family-oriented gospel music concert featuring top artists such as Yolanda Adams. (Ticket prices range from $40 to $75. Tickets are for sale here.) For restaurant recommendations, read our recent article Eat Like a Local: South Florida. Looking for a family-friendly alternative to football mania and Miami's gridlocked traffic? Consider renting a car and visiting Everglades National Park, a two-hour drive southwest of the city. This time of year, the wildlife is at its most visible. You can stand next to anhingas and crocodiles, among other animals. For help with nabbing affordable tickets to next year's Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., consider the following clever online method. Visit The Ticket Reserve online futures market, which sells contracts for the right to purchase tickets to the Super Bowl and other high-demand sports events at face value (around $200 to $400 each), with the contract prices changing as demand varies over time (from $40 to $180). Options to buy tickets to next year's Super Bowl will be offered by The Ticket Reserve soon. Want the lowdown on year-round Miami attractions and activities that promise the best value for your time and money? Then print out our free Snap Guide: Miami. For general advice on planning a trip to Miami, read this recent Budget Travel article: Secret Hotels of South Beach. For more expert advice, read this Miami Trip Coach Transcript.

Budget Travel editors: Welcome to this week's Trip Coach. Let's get to your questions! _______________________ Westerville, OH: Our ten year wedding anniversary is coming up in August and I want to take my wife to France. We want to see Paris and maybe Provence and the French Riviera, however my wife is a vegan and I am not. Can you suggest a neighborhood to stay in and tell us where there are both good vegan and down to earth French restaurants that cook the traditional French meals, or a neighborhood that makes it easy to visit these restaurants? Budget Travel editors: There is no one area for vegetarian restaurants in Paris; vegie-friendly establishments are scattered in throughout the city's different arrondissements (districts). The good news is that Paris is an intimate, easily walkable city, so nearly every spot is accessible to a centrally located hotel. Check out Budget Travel's Paris Snap Guide for a list of recommended hotels -- and a neighborhood by neighborhood guide to the city. You'll find a lot of helpful information on travel websites and blogs that have forums for traveling vegans and vegetarians. One that is particularly helpful: http://iwanttogotoparis.blogspot.com/2007/01/being-vegetarian-in-paris.html. Another site with an updated list of vegetarian restaurants in Paris is: http://www.happycow.net/europe/france/paris/index.html. If you're worried about any communication barriers, you can pick up the Vegan Passport, a compilation phrases, translated into dozens of languages, to explain the concept of "vegan" to unfamiliar restaurant staff (vegansociety.com, about $6). _______________________ Oak Park, MI: We are trying to plan a trip to Hawaii sometime in July for about 8-9 days. We would like to stay on or close to the beach at a nice hotel for two couples. I don't want to spend a fortune but the other couple wants a 4-star hotel. Can we do find a nice hotel for 100 night? Or should we get a tour company to plan the hotel and tours or is it just as easy to plan ourself. We want to go to a couple other islands, maybe staying three nights at each. Is that too much or a hassle to do? Budget Travel editors: You could happily visit two islands in eight or nine days, but try for more than that and you're likely to wind up exhausted and frustrated. Each island has its own appeal and plenty to keep you busy. Our preference would be for pairing either Maui and Kauai or Maui and Oahu. On Maui, for example, the lovely, low-key area of Napili is a convenient jumping-off point for exploring the island and its low-rise condos are perfect for larger groups. Try the Napili Sunset or the Outrigger Napili Shores. Outrigger owns a series of condos throughout Hawaii. If you want to get the taste of another island, Molokai is a short ferry ride away from Maui and makes a fun day trip--especially for snorkelers. If you decide to go with a tour company, start by looking at Pleasant Holidays, which has practically cornered the market on bargain Hawaii air/hotel and air/car/hotel packages. For more advice, read Trip Coach: A First-Time Trip to Maui and Kauai as well as Maui: Friendly, Quirky, Full of Soul, and our Honolulu Snap Guide. _______________________ Scottsdale, AZ: My son and niece turn 21 in late July. Any ideas where to go with the extended family to celebrate? Budget Travel editors: Great question. Part of the fun lies in the planning, as they say. Consider using an online Web site to allow as many family members as possible participate in the planning. That way, you'll avoid a common problem with group travel--one unlucky family member shoulders the full burden of the trip. A free Web site we recommend is I'm In. Yahoo also has a Trip Planner feature. For ideas, renting a home away from home at your favorite destination is a cost-effective idea. For tips on rentals, consider this article on the topic. For destinations, consider how much autonomy you want to give your 21-year olds during the trip. Vacation resorts and cruise ships will allow your newfound adults the options to set their own itineraries. Just be aware that if booze is available at the resort or on the ship, you may need to set the limits on consumption. For destination ideas, consider our list of recent Real Deals by clicking here. _______________________ Aiken, SC: We are planning to take my son and husband's grandson for a trip to DC this year. Both the boys are eleven but do not know each other very well. We would like to decide about the best time for a trip to DC...during Spring Break, March 31-April 8 (Easter)....or after school is out, perhaps around June 10. We would like to have the best prices and least crowded conditions. Certainly, a place with a pool would be nice so the boys can get some physical exercise after walking through museums all day. Also, If we are only going to have four full days there....which monuments/museums would allow us to make the biggest impact on kids this age? Budget Travel editors: Thanks for writing. D.C. is a great choice for a family trip because its attractions are very family friendly. The free Smithsonian Museums--from the Air and Space Museum to the Natural History Museum--are probably going to be a favorite with your kids. If you're willing to ride the very clean, Star-Trek like subway, you may want to consider booking a hotel that is about a 20-minute ride away from the Smithsonian Museums. Trips closer to the action will be far more expensive. Spring Break is when D.C. puts on its best weather, and during those first few days of a March 31 to April 8 itinerary, you'll find the city is painted pink with cherry blossom trees. However, spring break is also a peak season tourism-wise. For hotels, consider looking across the Potomac River in Crystal City, Virginia. There are many affordable hotels with pools and an easy subway stop to access. More importantly, there's an underground mall full of kid-friendly restaurants. Also consider hotels near the Van Ness Metro station and Dupont Circle metro station in northwestern D.C. for more of a taste of actual D.C. life. The Air and Space Museum features the actual rockets and modules that were launched into space. Be sure to stop by the gift shop and buy your boys freeze dried ice cream similar to the kind once eaten by astronauts. For hours and directions, visit their site. The iMax theater often shows cool G-rated movies on an enormous screen. Learn more by clicking here. Enjoy your trip! _______________________ Asheville, NC: Germany without the beer? Departure gateway: Charlotte, NC. 2 passengers: a married couple in their mid-20s. We are a young couple traveling to Bavaria in February as our newly married, "before we start our family" vacation. I know that Germany is famous for their beers, but can non-drinkers have an exciting and romantic vacation there? Will there be clean water to drink at most restaurants? Our stops include Munich, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Salzburg and Garmisch. Recommendations on sights and restaurants in those cities and between them would really help! We're also hoping to find a great place to go skiing in Garmish that we can both enjoy (one beginner and one experienced skier). Budget Travel editors: Congrats on your recent marriage. You'll find a warm welcome in Germany, where it is a modern national tradition to send young newlyweds away on vacations so they become familiar with each other before the childrearing years. Consider booking your rail travel on Deutsche Bahn, the German train service, on db.de, which has an English language version. Alternatively, try Rail Europe which offers English-speaking sales agents by phone if you run into problems. When in Munich, allow time for a day trip outside the city to Neuschwanstein, the fairy-tale castle on which Walt Disney modeled his architectural creations at his theme parks. The castle is completely accessible roughly two hours from Munich by train and bus. (No expensive private tour necessary.) Stay a full day and night in Nuremberg, a charming city that has been entirely rebuilt in a medieval style. It's a regional gathering place on weekends for its outdoor markets. Try an eis becher (enormous ice cream sundae) at an outdoor cafe there at night. In Salzburg, one-time home of famous classic musicians, be sure to try a concert at Schloss Mirabell, a wedding hall in a palatial mansion with surprisingly good acoustics. Learn more by clicking here. Here's a tip on tipping: On a $25 meal, tip $2.(in euro equivalent, obviously) Waitstaff in Europe don't rely on tips the way their American counterparts do. In Germany and Austria, the gratuity may not be spelled out. Also, in Germany and Austria, don't leave money on the table; hand it to your server. Enjoy your trip! _______________________ Rockville, MD: My daughter, 19, and I are planning to meet in Rome during Easter week (April 8th) since she will be in Ireland studying. We have arranged flights and hotel thanks to points. Our hotel is on the outskirts of Rome (Rome Marriott Park Hotel). What and how is the best way to see it in a week? What are day trips we can't miss? I would even be willing to stay a night somewhere since our hotel is free. We will be there for Easter morning and my daughter would love to see the Pope. What and how is the best way to do that? We enjoy traveling together and are always looking for the unbeaten path and time to relax while seeing everything! Budget Travel editors: What a wonderful plan! A week will give you enough time to begin chipping away at the city's fascinating layers. You can catch the blockbuster attractions (Parthenon, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps...) concentrated in the historic center as well as wander around quirkier, artsy neighborhoods like Trastevere and Testaccio. Context Travel's small walking tours are led by English-speaking experts--archaeologists, architects, art historians, or food critics--and make a great introduction to Rome's history, art, and lifestyles (contextrome.com). You can find insider tips on the best places to eat, shop, and play, in our Rome Snap Guide and in our article Rome Sweet Rome. As for Easter, the Pope leads a procession with the stations of the cross on Good Friday (Apr. 6) from the Colosseum to the top of Palatine Hill and then delivers a public mass before the crowds at St. Peter's Square on Easter morning. For more details on how and where to see the Pope, check Context Rome's handy page, Easter in Rome. Romans traditionally flock to the countryside to picnic and hang out with friends and family on Easter Monday, dubbed "Pasquetta" or Little Easter. You could follow suit with a day trip to the popular seaside town of Ostia Antica. _______________________ Boulder, CO: Where can my family including my 3 year son go for a dependably sunny warm vacation in April or May? Budget Travel editors: By dependably sunny do you mean destinations with little or no rain? If so, there are a number of places you and your family can relax while leaving your umbrellas at home. In the Caribbean look no further than the ABC islands--Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao--tucked away from the main chain of Caribbean islands off the northern coast of Venezuela. Since all three are located outside the hurricane belt, you can expect clear skies with temperatures in the mid-80s virtually year-round (but wait until May when hotel prices and airfare begin to drop). In Mexico you might consider Cabo San Lucas, which typically records very little rainfall between February and July. Like Palm Springs, Calif., most days are hot and sunny with very little humidity. And for options closer to home don't rule out Phoenix, Ariz.--in summertime temperatures sky-rocket into triple digits--but from September to May the weather is bliss with warm days, cool nights, and little to no rain. _______________________ St. Paul, MN: My son (sr. in high school, age 18) and I would like to explore southern India during his spring break. We can travel on the evening of March 8th or anytime on March 9th. We need to be back in St. Paul by Monday March 19th. I had hoped to take a tour, but am not finding much that fits that time line. We are experienced travellers and generally prefer to get around on our own, but our trip to Egypt in 2005 was kind of intimidating to do on our own...hence the initial desire to hook on to a prearranged tour. We are interested in the Kerala region, and would like to learn how to cook some Indian specialties, take a trip into the interior to see some wild life, see the beach, and maybe explore the backwaters. Can you recommend an honest and helpful travel agent that could help us put together a trip that is not too expensive and not too difficult for us to navigate on our own. I would like to have our transportation, lodging and some activities planned in advance to make the trip a little less stressful. Thanks for any help that you can provide. Budget Travel editors: To find out more about the southern state of Kerala, you can start by reading the Trip Coach piece we ran in the Dec 06/Jan 07 issue. A couple from Chicago was headed off to India, and we advised them to visit Kerala to see the wildlife at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (periyartigerreserve.org), take a cooking class with a local family (nimmypaul.com), and tour the backwaters with Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (ktdc.com)-- all the things you've said you and your son would like to do. You should also take a look at the online Trip Coach we ran with Diane Mehta. Those pieces should give you direction in booking some of the activities you've mentioned before you arrive. In researching the piece, we were in touch with a few local tour operators who were very helpful and responsive. In addition to KTDC, Tour India's office in Kerala (tourindiakerala.com) was useful. Both companies informed us about prices, itineraries, and packages and generally responded within a day or two by email.