✈️💸 Cheap Flights are Vanishing

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HAPPY SUNDAY 👋

This week in travel…

Airlines go fancy ✨ | Cocaine washes up in Florida Keys 😮 | Alcatraz turns 89 🚔 | Pilot arrested pre-flight ✈️ | 5000-year-old hike in Britain 🥾….and more.

🚀 Grab Your Passports, Let’s Go…

✈️💸 The Budget Airline Blues

Are cheap flights going extinct?

In a surprising turn of events, that everyone saw coming…

Budget air travel is transforming, with former go-to carriers for thrifty travelers - Southwest, Spirit, and Frontier - making changes that are raising eyebrows among budget flyers. 🤨

🛫 Spirit Airlines, is now offering a domestic first-class experience complete with snacks, alcohol, and free WiFi. Spirit's CEO says it will be "merchandised and sold like a traditional business-class product."

💺 Southwest is abandoning its long-standing open seating policy. The airline plans to assign seats and dedicate roughly a third of its cabin to premium, extra-legroom options.

Consumer Perspectives: A Reality Check

Amid growing consumer skepticism, many travelers doubt whether these airlines still truly offer budget options.

• One frequent flyer commented, "Southwest hasn't had the cheapest flight options for me for several years. I can usually fly cheaper on American or United for the routes I typically fly."

• Another added, "Budget airlines are a myth in the US. We haven't had a real one since People Express. The way they nickel and dime you for everything generally raises fares above standard airline rates."

Why This Matters

These changes reflect ongoing challenges in the airline industry:

• 💸 Spirit has struggled with profitability since the pandemic.

• 📉 Southwest has been under pressure from unhappy investors, especially since its system meltdown in 2022.

• 🚫 Merger attempts (like Spirit-JetBlue) have been blocked by courts.

As budget airlines pivot towards more premium offerings, it's not all doom and gloom for frugal flyers. Smaller ultra-low-cost carriers like Breeze and Avelo are still in the game, though their reach is limited.

🏝️👶 Where Kids Rule and Parents Drool

Best countries for family vacations ranked

👦👧 Which countries rank best for kids?

Go2Africa has the answer. They looked at 4,000 hotels, attractions, and restaurants worldwide. Their goal? To find the best places for family trips.

…drumroll please 🥁, the crown goes to the Seychelles! Yes, the archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean where almost 30% of its amenities cater towards families.

Other Notables:

• 🏖️ Samoa: Coming in second with 28.53% family-friendly amenities. The locals treat visitors like family, making you feel right at home.

• 🐒 Costa Rica: Third place with 28.33%. Here, your kids can safely channel their inner Tarzan in lush rainforests and meet sloths up close.

• 🥝 New Zealand: Fourth place with 27.92%. Where else can your kids re-enact Lord of the Rings while you pretend to be on a wine tour?

Moreover: Italy tops family-friendly hotels (80.90%), Belize leads in kid-friendly attractions (24.78%), and London offers the most family-oriented restaurants (6,328).

Time zone hop 🌍 🕒

"Your passport to the latest travel news around the world!"

😢 🇧🇷 A VoePass passenger plane crashed near São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, killing all 61 people onboard. The ATR 72 aircraft fell from 17,000 feet in an area with severe icing warnings. The cause is unknown and under investigation.

😱 🇬🇧 A 37-year-old British tourist carved his and his daughters' initials into a wall at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in Italy. The man made five engravings on the House of Vestals, including initials and a date. He was reported to local authorities and could face a fine of up to 60,000 euros.

🏝️🛥️ A secretive billionaire's attempt to throw an extravagant party on Sardinia's protected Talmone beach was swiftly shut down by local authorities. The yacht crew began setting up gazebos, DJ equipment, and volleyball nets, violating strict conservation rules. Locals notified the coast guard, who promptly ended the party.

🌍 A 5,000-year-old path

The Ridgeway

An 87-mile prehistoric trackway, offers hikers a unique journey through millennia of British history. Cutting across the chalk hills of southern England, this ancient route has been in continuous use for at least 5,000 years, making it potentially the oldest regularly used path in Europe.

It passes through two distinct halves, divided by the River Thames at the Goring Gap. The western section crosses the North Wessex Downs, while the eastern part traverses the more wooded Chilterns.

…This National Trail showcases a diverse range of historical and natural features:

• 🏰 Iron Age hill forts: Sites like Barbury Castle provide commanding views over the surrounding landscape.

• 🐎 The Uffington White Horse: A 3,000-year-old chalk figure etched into the hillside, demonstrating ancient artistic and engineering skills.

• 🏚️ Historical accommodations: Stay in traditional inns and B&Bs along the route.

Lets cruise the web 🛳️ 🌐

Fly-by weekly updates…

👆️ Whale interrupts Olympic surfing in spectacular fashion. The eye-catching photo was caught on camera - view

🏖️ This beach destination in Nevada is a budget alternative that feels like a Caribbean Island - Zephyr Cove

…🌀 Hurricane Debby's $1M "delivery": 70 lbs. of cocaine washed up on Florida Keys beach - see the packages 😲

🛫🍦 | Sky high scoops

Fasten your seatbelts for the hottest travel news at 30,000 feet

💺 Boeing still clueless after 7-month probe: can't explain missing bolts in Alaska Air 737 Max door plug - alarming safety oversight

🚔 Pilot arrested onboard - passengers witnessed the arrest and their flight canceled - why he was arrested

⏰ Over 77% of red-eye flights are delayed: The worst airports for early and late flights - see the list

🧳 🫠 | Suitcase snippets

Bite-sized travel tidbits that fit into your mental carry-on

🛏️ Five of America's oldest hotels opened their doors before the United States itself existed- stay in a piece of history

🌟 The 50 greatest luxury hotels on earth: Robb Report searched the globe to find the best high-end hotels - see the list 

😄 Travel expert list: 10 cities to travel for cheap within Europe - see the cities

🔍🫡 | First class finds

Essential travel stories and updates from around the globe

🏝️ No water, no power, hordes of birds: who will buy San Francisco’s $25m private island? - for sale

🪱 New fear unlocked: the Australian beach worm, remind us to never go to the beach - video

💸 Ex-Southwest Airlines agent accused of stealing $79,000 in flight vouchers for personal use and profit

🚆🗣️ | Choo-choo chatter

All aboard the gossip express! We're tracking the latest buzz

✌️ Peace, love and happiness - Volkswagen camper vans make a grand return to the US market - see the buzz

🗼 Man seen climbing Eiffel Tower, prompting an evacuation hours before closing ceremony - craziness 

🥃 The US’s oldest prohibition-era bars that you can have a drink in to this day - have a drink to history

🔥 The Hot Zone

👀 Stat of the week: Tokyo is home to a whopping 180 Michelin-starred restaurants. The highest of any city in the world. Paris comes in second place with 132 Michelin-starred restaurants.

🤔 A day in travel history...On August 11, 1934, Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay officially became a federal penitentiary. Now it attracts over 1.5 million visitors each year.

📰 Worth a Read: What’s Going on With the Economy? After 15 years without a recession (ex-Covid), US jobs report sent markets into a free-fall and has a lot of people whispering the R-word. Here’s what it means for the travel industry → Read

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👀 “Poor Man's Business Class" Hack

Empty Middle Seat Roulette

The "poor man's business class" hack, where travelers book window and aisle seats hoping for an empty middle seat, is sparking ethical debates in 2024.

• Is it clever frugality or a d*** move? The jury's still out, but one thing's for sure - in the cutthroat world of air travel, your armrest neighbor might be your next nemesis.

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💬 Weekly Travel Tidbit

The vast majority of passports worldwide fall into one of four main color categories: red, blue, green, and black. These colors are often chosen based on cultural, historical, or political factors.

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