September 24, 2023  •   View this email in your browser

Happy First Full Day of Fall!

It's been a slow travel news day, which is a good thing. So instead of struggling to find news stories for today, I've compiled the top 12 travel news stories of the week below ... because it certainly hasn't been a slow travel news week. Scroll down to read them and all of my travel tips from the week. 

⛈️ Even with the east coast being hit by storm Ophelia, it still looks like a great day to fly. So far, there's an unusually low number of delays and cancellations. Details below. 

🍂 2023 Leaf-Peeping
In honor of today being the first full day of fall, I thought I would share our 2023 Leaf-Peeping Guide. This fall foliage map helps travelers plan their autumn road trips. According to The Hour, the local paper where I grew up in Connecticut, "Connecticut’s yearly report suggests our state is in for “vibrant” colors this year, with leaves in the northern corners expected to start showing off about 10 days from now.”

💵 Guilt Tipping: Do You Feel Pressure to Tip? I Do
Tipping is a topic that most people have a pretty strong opinion about. Guilt tipping is a growing trend and a recent Forbes study did a deep dive on tipping culture in America. Read the story and leave your comments: Guilt Tipping: Do You Feel Pressure to Tip? I Do

Sponsor: Indus Travels

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In this issue:

• Today's Travel Outlook ✈️
• Travel Tips This Week ✅
• Travel Quote of the Day 💬
• Travel Tweet of the Day 
• 12 Things to Know in Travel Today 🌎
• Travel Video of the Day 📺
• and more… 

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 9:23am PT, there have been 72 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,585 delayed. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and a live look at the FAA's National Airspace System Status. Here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancellations.

✈️ Monday

22 JetBlue Passengers Miss Tight Connection Because Seatmates Refuse to Listen to Flight Crew Instructions
If you travel often, then no doubt you’ve seen this happen on an airplane before. Perhaps you observed this behavior or perhaps it was you doing what you’ll see in the embedded video. Unfortunately, in my three million plus miles flown, I’ve witnessed passengers do this countless times. Here’s how to avoid major headaches in this scenario.

🏩 Tuesday

This Simple Trick You’ve Probably Never Thought of Can Help to Keep You (And Your Stuff) Safe
I’ve been writing about hotels a lot lately and I keep getting more tips from readers and colleagues. After I posted this piece, with three reasons to always get two hotel room keys on LinkedIn, a friend and fellow travel writer who resides in Australia left a comment that reminded me of a similar trick I do, too. Here's the tip.

⚠️Wednesday

American Airlines Flight Attendant Share Her Top 3 Pet Peeves
As someone who dated a flight attendant for four years and has spent time talking to hundreds of flight attendants while in the air, I would say that these three flight attendant pet peeves are spot on. In fact, I'm sure she could easily have added a lot more to her list. Here's how to not get on a flight attendant's bad side.

 💰 Thursday

10 Ways to Find Cheap Thanksgiving and Christmas Flights
Friday is the last day of summer so many travelers are going to start buying their holiday tickets soon. Here's my advice: 10 Ways to Find Cheap Thanksgiving Flights and 10 Ways to Find Cheap Christmas Flights

🛫 Friday

America's Best and Worst Airports - Plan Your Travels Accordingly
J.D. Power, one of the global leaders in consumer insights and data, has released their 2023 North America Airport Satisfaction Study … and it has some interesting insights. Perhaps the most shocking finding is that overall passenger satisfaction improved. The study categorizes North American airports by size and ranks them via a variety of factors. Here are the results and what you need to know.

🧈 Saturday

Apparently I’ve Been Storing My Butter Wrong But I’m So Glad I Discovered the French Way
A few weeks ago, we started sharing a series of 'not a travel tip' tips and asked you, dear readers, if you enjoyed them. The first two tips, how I lowered my monthly Spectrum bill by $100 and Trader Joe's best kept secret (and it's not even food!), went over extremely well. 

So, we're at it again this Saturday. Today, Natalie shares her most recent discovery about how the French store butter (which is better and safer than the way most of us do it.) And if you've ever been to France, then you know the French have the best butter on earth. WARNING: This post may make you rush out to immediately buy a fresh baguette. Read the story here.

📺 Travel Video of the Week

Delta Air Lines Flight Crew Grant Aladdin Actress' Wish and Help Her Catch a 'Magic Carpet' to Broadway Performance of a Lifetime
While on a flight home from Europe, a Broadway understudy received a message that she may be needed to play the lead role in that night's performance. Her Delta Air Lines crew went above and beyond to grant her her wish. Watch the feel-good video here.

⚡ Travel Product of the Week

Portable charger
Ask any flight attendant what the one travel gadget is that they never leave home without (besides their phone, of course!) and they will most likely say a portable charger. Not all planes have power ports and when they do, they don’t always work. Believe me: No one wants to get on or off of a long flight with a dead battery. It also sucks when you’re out touring around and you have to run back to your hotel room or find a seat next to an outlet in a restaurant to charge up. To avoid those scenarios, be sure to bring a portable charger so you can charge up on the go. Check it out here.

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 MGM Resorts computers back up after 10 days following crippling cyberattack
2 Flight attendant arrested at PHL for carrying loaded handgun through security
3 Singapore aims for passport-free departures from Changi Airport next year
4 Family says 14-year-old daughter discovered phone taped to back of toilet seat on flight to Boston
5 Disney plans to spend $60 billion on parks and cruises
6 Lawmakers seek to ban cruise ships from spewing dirty fumes at NYC ports
7 Hilton says it will ‘quickly’ move to disclose mandatory fees
8 Brightline opens $6 billion line to Orlando, expands U.S. rail market
9 Bogus jet-engine parts fallout spreads as FAA warns airlines
10 Air Belgium ceases passenger flights to focus on cargo
11 EWR Restaurant fires back at NYT columnist after he complained about the cost of his meal: 'Keep drinking buddy'
12 Airlines are just banks now

✅ Currency Exchange            ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points