LAX-Vancouver $50 round trip (vice versa)!!

Hurry while it lasts, round trip between LAX and Vancouver for $50 on Delta Airlines.  There are many dates from January all the way to June.

You can find these prices on Priceline.com or Orbitz.com

Los Angeles To Vancouver $10 dates:
January 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
February 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
March 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20
April 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30
May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18
June 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22

Los Angeles To Vancouver $40 dates:
January 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
February 2, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
March 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30
April 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27
May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
June 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

AirAsia flight QZ8501 missing

Earlier today, AirAsia flight QZ8501 carrying 162 passangers from Indonesia to Singapore went missing after losing radio contact for 2 hours. No wrackage was found as of yet.  There was bad weather and the pilot asked to climb up to 38,000 ft to avoid thick clouds.  AirAsia has never lost a plane in their history.

I hope this doesn’t turn out bad.

United – Los Angeles to Cozumel, Mexico $318

Pretty good fare from LAX to CZM from Oct 26 until Dec 25.  Ticket must be booked 7 days prior to departure.

Sample:

AA: NYC-Barbados $328 rt ai!

I absolutely LOVE Barbados! Enjoy the waves and water sports of the Atlantic, The tranquil calm water of the Pacific, and the mix of both Oceans, go to Barbados.  The sands are pink and you can even snorkel or scuba dive with turtles!

This is a great price that is valid until Feb 2015 and I wish I could take advantage of it.  Must purchase at least 21 days in advance.

Search
departing from: JFK
destination: BGI

Things I always do while flying

Accidents during flying isn’t anything new. With the recent barrage of news regarding incidents, I want to share some things I always try to do when I’m flying.

1. Carry sanitizer wipes on board and wipe everything that you think you will touch with your hands. Common things I wipe are, armrests, tray tables, and remotes.

2. Always put your seatbelts on even if the seatbelt light is off. Even during clear skies, unexpected turbulance is very common. It has happened to myself and just within this week, United Airlines and Cathay Pacific had injuries.
If it’s a rough ride I make sure the belt is tight and I make sure my shirt is underneath the belt so I do not get cuts from the belt if things go bad. If the seatbelt light is off, I loosen the belt so one of my hands can fit through.

3. Always keep your shoes on during take off and until the plane is in cruising altitude. I also keep my shoes on during landing. If the plane has an emergency landing you do not want to be caught with no shoes on, making escaping the plane more difficult.

4. Never drink too much. This is for safety reasons. If the plane has an emergency and I’m inebriated, I’m putting myself, my family/friends, other flyers/crews in danger. Keep in mind that alcohol affects you faster in higher altitude as well.

5. Keep my mobile phone fully charged. If there is no charging port on my seat, I keep my phone off during the duration of the flight.

6. We hear this all the time we get on a plane but it’s always a good idea to know where your exists are and where your life jacket is located. Different aircrafts and different cabin classes hasve the life jackets and exists in different locations. And remember, never inflate your life jacket inside the plane!

If you have your own advice, please comment.

Ethiopian flight hijacked, first hand experience

The plane was hijacked one hour after take-off. This is how it went down.
After entering the plane, I went to my seat: economy class, window-side and next to the right wing. As it was around midnight, I quickly fell asleep during take-off. I was waken up an hour later due to the sound of all the oxygen mask going down. I immediatly thought « what the… » I looked at my neighbor, she seemed as confused at me: the plane was not behaving oddly so I thought it was a simple technical glitch or somebody pressed the wrong button. Everybody looked at each other, thinking what’s going on. Suddenly, a deep and angry voice talked through the cabin radio: “SIT DOWN, PUT YOUR MASKS ON, I’M CUTTING THE OXYGEN”, three times. At this point, I realized that the situation is serious: someone is in the pilot cabin and has hijacked the plane. Within a few seconds, the oxygen went down in the cabin: I felt very lightheaded and quickly decided to put on the oxygen mask like the rest of the passengers. Quickly after that, the plane suddenly started dropping down for about 8 seconds then went fast back up, then finally stablized. People were crying, yelling, praying. I was in complete panic. Cold. We were then waiting for an update, an information, what was going on. But it never came. We flew for 6 more hours, knowing only that a pirate was at command. Who was he, what was his intentions ? I started thinking, too far. For he was probably alone, he couldn’t possibly be planning to land at an airport, he would immediatly get caught. So I quickly took away the possibilty of landing safely. As I was looking throught the window, all I could see was dark. Dark up, dark down.

Read full story here

Ethiopian Flight 702 hijacked

Yesterday, Ethiopian Flight 702 departing from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) with destination to Rome (FCO) was hijacked. The aircraft sent out beacon code 7500, which is code for Aircraft Hijacking.

The aircraft flew past its destination, FCO Airport, and headed for Geneva, Switzerland. At one point dropped to 12,000′ from over 16,000′ within a minute. Started leveling the aircraft at 7,000′ and repeatedly circled Geneva Airport.

Minutes before the aircraft landed, one of the engine flamed out and they had only few minutes of fuel left. Once landed, the pilots deplaned via the cockpit windows.
It has been reported that one man is in custody and all 200 passengers and crew on board the plane were in good health.

The reason for the hijacking remains unclear, although there are unconfirmed reports that at least some of those on board the aircraft may have been asking for asylum. Appears one of the pilot hijacked his own plane.

You can hear some of the inflight communication, CLICK HERE

Below is a transcript of some communication:
04:40Z: ETH702 is currently on tower frequency 118.70. It is using the callsign KK001 (could be the escort’s callsign). The aircraft has requested asylum. Tower has responded that they are working on the request but there is a delay “because everyone is asleep” (5am local time).

04:43Z: Request to hold over PAS approved. Still at 7,000MSL.

04:44Z: Aircraft is back on Geneva Approach.

04:45Z: 20 minutes of fuel remaining.

04:50Z: One engine has flamed out.

04:51Z: Geneva Appr: “I know you will not land without a response, but can I give you vectors for the ILS?”

04:53Z: ATC: “Turn right 230 for downwind.”

04:54Z: ATC: “We are still working on a response.”

04:54Z: ATC: “Turn right 320 for base.”

04:54Z: E001: “We will not land with out a positive response.”

04:56Z: ATC: “We have someone on the phone and will give you a response on short final. Descend to 4000, capture the glideslope.”

04:58Z: ATC suggesting a 360 because he does not have a response yet. ETH702 wants to continue.

04:59Z: ATC: “Runway 05, cleared to land”

05:00Z: 001: “We will be stopping on the runway”

05:02Z: ATC: “Can you taxi to the end of the runway?”

05:02Z: ATC: “ET702 is on the ground.”

05:03Z: 001: “I will be coming out via the window.”

05:08Z: 10+ fire dept. vehicles and airport vehicles moving around the airport.

05:09Z: All quiet on frequency.

05:10Z: Pilots stated they would be leaving the cockpit via the windows.

05:18Z: Geneva Tower to inquiring aircraft: “There is an incident going on, so for now, the Geneva Airport and aircspace is closed.”

05:31Z: UAL148 inbound to Geneva from Newark has made an 180 turn over France. It appears to be diverting northwest in the general direction of Paris. It is now holding.

05:32Z: ATC: “We plan on opening the airport at 7am local. The aircraft is still blocking the runway.”

05:38Z: Etihad 053 from Abu Dhabi has been diverted to Milan Malpensa.

05:53Z: ATC: “Airport is still closed”

05:54Z: All passengers and crew are SAFE.

06:01: ATC: “We have no further information on the situation. The airport is still closed and we are taking it hour by hour. The aircraft is still blocking the runway.”

06:02Z: New estimated opening time is 0700Z, 0800 local.

06:12Z: Passengers are still on board.

06:15Z: UAL148 has diverted to Milan, UAL974 has diverted to Zurich.

06:53Z: One hijacker has been arrested, sources indicate situation is under control.

06:54Z: ATC: “Expect normal operations in a few minutes.”

06:55Z: ATC has started to issue clearances again. ATC is asking pilots if they are ready to depart.

06:58Z: Police stated that the pilot has been arrested. Hijacked his own flight to declare asylum.

07:05Z: The airport is officially open again.

07:28Z: The first aircraft have departed since the airport has reopened. Operations are back to normal.

Up to 30% off Intercontinental Hotel Group in Europe

Enjoy more for less when you stay at our hotels this spring, with up to 30% off your booking! Whether you are looking for a weekend city break in Europe to see the sights or just wanting to get away from it all, we have the perfect room for you.

Book now until February 28, for a stay in any of our 500 participating IHG hotels (including Crowne Plaza^®, Hotel Indigo^®, Holiday Inn^® and Holiday Inn Express^®) on a Friday or Saturday night between March 1 and May 6, and enjoy up to 30% off your stay. Best of all? You can also enjoy the discount from April 14 to April 25 for the Easter holidays. Simply make sure to look for dates at least 21 days ahead.

Hotel deals: New Orleans $19, Williamsburg $11 & Ireland $11

Historic Streetcar Inn New Orleans $19
Only for June 24-25, 2014. Book at hotelscombined.com
King room, free breakfast and free cancellation. If you are not sure of your plans, just book now and cancel later if you need to.

Hampton Inn and Suites Williamsburg $11
Only for November 22-23, 2014. Book at hotelscombined.com
Queen Room with Kitchen.

Central Hotel Donegal Ireland $11
Book for September 3-4, 2014. Book at hotelscombined.com
Triple room. Prepaid and Flexible rate available.

Happy New Years!!

Happy New Years everyone! Hope more joyful journeys awaits for each and one of you!
Let’s look forward to another great year in 2014!!