What should airlines offer you when flights are delayed and canceled?
LOS ANGELES — If your flight is canceled, you should be able to use your ticket to fly on a different airline to reach your final destination. If your trip is delayed, the airline voucher you receive should have no expiration date. If there’s foul weather or a mechanical problem...
Love Frank Lloyd Wright? Visit Pennsylvania for a house tour or 2
In 1935, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed what was to become his masterpiece, Fallingwater. Situated in the Laurel Highlands just south of Pittsburgh, it’s his most masterful melding of home and environment. It’s a bucket-list destination and, along with his other homes, a UNESCO World Heritage travel site. But...
Cruise ship covid rules are changing as unvaccinated passengers now allowed
The biggest changes to public health protocols on cruise ships since cruising restarted last summer during the pandemic are taking effect in early September, when most cruise lines leaving from U.S. ports will allow unvaccinated passengers. Many of them also are loosening coronavirus pre-boarding testing requirements. Consumers planning cruise vacations...
52 million tickets sold for ultra-cheap travel in Germany
BERLIN — About 52 million tickets allowing people to use local public transportation across Germany for just nine euros (dollars) per month were sold over the summer, a group representing transit companies said Monday, days before the project ends and amid widespread calls for some kind of successor. The “9-euro...
Colorado Democrats call for new national monument in Rockies
Top Colorado Democrats on Friday asked President Joe Biden to declare a new national monument in the heart of their state’s Rocky Mountains. In a letter to Biden, the state’s two Democratic senators, Democratic governor and Democratic congressman who represents the area asked for Biden to create a Camp Hale...
Laurel Highlands in running again for best fall foliage honors
For the third consecutive year, the Laurel Highlands region is in the running to be named the 2022 Best Destination for Fall Foliage in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The region finished eighth in last year’s voting and third in 2020. The contest includes 20 destinations across the...
American Airlines places deposit on 20 supersonic planes
American Airlines has agreed to buy up to 20 supersonic jets and put down a non-refundable deposit on the planes that are still on the drawing board and years away from flying. Neither American nor the manufacturer Boom Supersonic would provide financial details Tuesday, including the size of American’s deposit....
Smokies to require parking passes beginning next March
GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Beginning next March, visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park will need to purchase a parking pass to use the facilities. Park Superintendent Cassius Cash said in an interview the fee is needed to keep up with maintenance and staffing demands at the country’s most visited national...
Travelers are starting to get a break from higher airfares
DALLAS — Travelers got some welcome news in Wednesday’s inflation report from the government: Airfares are coming down, and at a faster clip. The price of the average airline ticket dropped 7.8% in July, to $311, after a 1.8% dip in June, the government said Wednesday. Lower prices for gasoline...
Easing into vacation aboard the Boston-to-Cape Cod train
BOSTON — Boston’s buttoned-up South Station doesn’t typically conjure images of fold-up beach chairs, straw hats and rolling Yeti coolers. But on weekend mornings during the summer, that is what you’ll see. Instead of frenzied passengers running to catch a train to another East Coast city, today’s throng of delighted...
Find quiet wilderness and a touch of luxury on water so treacherous, it’s known as the ‘River of No Return’
SALMON, Idaho — When Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery were in Salmon, Idaho, in 1805 looking for a river that could help speed their journey west, they hoped to find something akin to the Missouri with a slow, gentle flow. Instead, they found the Salmon River, a...
U.S. proposes to increase refund protections for air travelers
WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department is proposing to require airlines to offer passengers a refund if their flight schedule is changed significantly or the airline makes major changes to their itinerary. The proposed rule announced Wednesday would require airlines to give refunds if their departure or arrival time changes by...
Splendid Byzantine churches head Thessaloniki’s holy sites
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Under fluttering strings of Greek and Byzantine flags, three men raised a party tent on the terrace of the 5th century Osios David church one recent Saturday, hoping it would shelter festivalgoers from the heat that already shrouded the view of Mount Olympus across the gulf. That’s...
JetBlue-Spirit deal brings hope and concern for Western Pa.
Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said he’s hopeful a $3.8 billion deal for JetBlue to purchase Spirit Airlines ultimately will be a boon for local travelers. But there are no guarantees. The deal was announced Thursday. Spirit has been the sole carrier at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport...
French riverboat tour was worth the pandemic wait
“We’ve been waiting for you” was the common theme among our cabin crew, bartenders, waiters, tour guides and the Tapestry II River Boat captain. It had been two years of waiting for the riverboats to take to the water since the boats were shut down for the pandemic. The staff...
New owner vows to preserve period appeal of Bedford County’s Lincoln Motor Court
A Bedford County native is the new proprietor and steward of a historic landmark along the Lincoln Highway. Lucas Steinbrunner, 41, said the Lincoln Motor Court, which has been in business along Route 30 in Napier Township since 1940, is a perfect fit for him. “I’ve always liked older things,”...
Up in the Bavarian Alps, rugged trails with German cheer
SCHÖNAU AM KÖNIGSSEE, Germany — At 23 minutes before midnight, at 5,600 feet above sea level, the lashing rain and furious winds outside the darkened bunkroom prompted two questions to turn over in my head: Will the roof of this hut be ripped off in the dead of night? Will...
Europe as a budget-friendly travel option? It’s true in 2022
Flying to Europe this year might sound as absurd as opting for premium gasoline. With prices this high, is it really the right time to splurge? “As a result of labor shortages and all these things going on, travel is more expensive than it’s been in a while,” says travel...
Disney’s Splash Mountain will become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in late 2024
ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney Co. has announced a timeline for the re-theming of Splash Mountain and a new name for the ride set to become based on “The Princess and the Frog.” The attraction’s name will be Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and it will open at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland...
Explainer: When is Manhattanhenge? Where can you see it?
NEW YORK — Didn’t make it to Stonehenge for the solstice? There’s still time to catch Manhattanhenge, when the setting sun aligns with the Manhattan street grid and bathes the urban canyons in a rosy glow. The last two Manhattanhenge sunsets of 2022 are Monday and Tuesday. Some background on...
Black parade culture museum reopening in New Orleans
Ten months after Hurricane Ida damaged a museum celebrating New Orleans’ African American parading culture, the Backstreet Cultural Museum is reopening. A parade is planned Saturday afternoon from the original building to the new museum site just blocks away in the city’s Treme neighborhood, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported....
‘It used to be just retired folks’: Full-time RV residents are getting younger
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thomas Hoff was tired of living in a regular old house. He was fascinated with “tiny-living,” and often dreamed of moving into a recreational vehicle. When his roommates moved out of his Gardner Lake house in Johnson County in 2018, he saw his opportunity. He has...
How a hotel satisfaction promise has led to more discontent
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the “100% Satisfaction Guarantee” was all the rage among many hotels. The gist was simple: Encounter a problem and receive your money back. In theory, this approach addressed fairly serious issues such as early-morning pool renovations that made the jackhammer an unwelcome alarm clock....
Venice unveils mandatory day-trippers’ reservation and fee
ROME — Starting in January, Venice will oblige day-trippers to make reservations and pay a fee to visit the historic lagoon city, in a bid to better manage visitors who often far outnumber residents in the historic center, clogging narrow streets and heavily used foot bridges crossing the canals. Venice...
Air travelers brace for turbulence over Fourth of July weekend
Scott Vargo was among those Thursday at Pittsburgh International Airport taking their chances and hoping for the best. Amid the airline industry’s nationwide struggles with cancellations and delays, Vargo nonetheless forged ahead with travel plans to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for the Fourth of July holiday weekend to celebrate...
