(Yes, I know this is a British report but it probably applies to travel
in usa-can too.)
Great travel misconceptions - http://tinyurl.com/2sqv9s
TRUE OR FALSE? If you want an upgrade, check in late and wear a suit
======================================================================
“You wouldn’t believe how many people travelling on discounted economy
tickets turn up in suits or posh frocks and ask for an upgrade,” sighs
one weary BA check-in clerk, “but it’s got nothing to do with the way
you dress.” Nor is upgrading an arbitrary process – the chances are that
the duty manager has been told who to upgrade long before the desk has
opened.
“It’s a business decision,” says Virgin. “If someone is going to be
moved up to Premium Economy, it’s because we’ve looked at how often they
fly with us and how much they’ve paid for their ticket. By introducing a
frequent flyer who always pays full price for an economy seat to Premium
Economy, we might persuade them to upgrade in future.”
What about chatting up the management? “Schmooze me all you like,
honey,” says JFK check-in supervisor Laetitia Wilson, “but you won’t get
your ass upgraded. I ain’t got the authority.” Verdict: false.
TRUE OR FALSE? Water goes down the plughole in the opposite direction
south of the equator
=======================================================================
The earth’s rotation has an influence on movement across its surface, a
phenomenon known as the Coriolis effect: it’s why winds in the northern
hemisphere tend to move clockwise and those south of the equator move
anticlockwise.
So far, so good – but while the Coriolis effect works on big things like
weather systems, it has no effect whatsoever on the bucket of water in
the hands of the chancer you met in Kenya, Ecuador, or some other
tourist trap along the equator.
The last word on the matter goes to Professor Keith Firman of the
University of Portsmouth. “The forces involved are too small to
influence flowing water,” he says, “and I am not aware of any evidence
to indicate that flow is influenced by latitude.” Even if you’ve seen it
with your own eyes, you’ve been had. Verdict: false.
TRUE OR FALSE? Baggage handlers pick on expensive luggage
=========================================================
Let’s look at an average flight – say EasyJet flight EZY3034 from
Barcelona to Stansted. The aircraft is an Airbus A319, seating 156
passengers, each of whom has checked an average of 1.75 bags. The
four-man baggage-handling team has just 20 minutes to unload 273 items
of luggage – one bag every 4.4 seconds – and they really don’t have the
time to “distress” your precious Louis Vuitton. What will rile them,
though, are overweight suitcases, broken handles and, most of all,
priority luggage labels.
“A lot of people leave the tags on from the one time they flew first
class in the hope that we might give their luggage special treatment,”
says Andy, a Servisair handler at Stansted. And do they get special
treatment? “Sometimes,” he says. “We try to leave their bags until
last.” Verdict: false.
TRUE OR FALSE? Hotels are never full
======================================
International hotels are very rarely full to capacity, and, despite what
the reservations clerk may tell you, there is always room at the
well-managed inn. Kurt Wachtveitl, general manager of the Mandarin
Oriental in Bangkok, says: “We always keep a few rooms up our sleeve.
Bangkok is an unpredictable city: we expect and accept all kinds of
late-night requests and are always the last hotel in town to say no.”
So, if you’re getting nowhere with the reservations desk, phone back and
ask to speak to the GM – but remember, this only works with big hotels.
“When we say we’re full, trust us,” say staff at the Bedruthan Steps
Hotel in Cornwall. “We really are totally booked out.” Verdict: true... ish.
TRUE OR FALSE? Mobile phones can cause plane crashes
=====================================================
In theory it seems plausible that the radio signals emitted by mobile
phones and laptops could interfere with an aircraft’s electronic
systems, but hard evidence has yet to be offered. Despite about 80
reports every year of on-board radio interference, only one plane crash
is thought to have been caused by mobile-phone use: a light aircraft
that crashed in New Zealand in February 2003, killing eight people.
Investigators found that the pilot had made a call on his mobile moments
before on-board avionics picked up an approach-path signal. The
instruments calculated a glide path based on that signal and the plane
crashed into a tree.
But one crash is enough. From July, Air France will test new technology
that allows passengers to make calls and use the internet while
airborne, but the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Britain’s
Civil Aviation Authority remain unconvinced over safety. “We don’t know
if it’s safe or not, and until we do, why take the risk?” says EASA.
Verdict: unproven.
TRUE OR FALSE? Airlines are too stingy to pump fresh air into cabins
===================================================================
Pressurised cabins allow aircraft to fly at much higher altitudes, thus
reducing drag and saving about 40% on fuel costs. The problem is that
the pressurisation of outside air for ventilation purposes adds up to 2%
to fuel costs, so airlines take only half the cabin air from outside;
the rest is recirculated. This recycled air is combined with fresh air
drawn from outside and pumped through the cabin at a rate of 20 cubic
feet per minute per passenger.
This means that cabin air is completely replaced every two and a half
minutes – more often than the air in your house. If a pilot shuts down
one of the air-conditioning packs that feed outside air into the cabin,
the remaining unit will switch to high-flow mode. Verdict: false.
TRUE OR FALSE? It’s the Germans who hog the sun loungers
=========================================================
The shocking truth is that the Germans are no longer the world’s biggest
sun-bed snatchers. “I’m sorry to say that the British and the Russians
are the worst offenders,” says Nick Aristou of the Four Seasons hotel in
Limassol, Cyprus. “But now we’ve put an end to sun-lounger hijacking.
Items such as towels and books surreptitiously deposited before
breakfast will be removed.”
Sadly, this UNstyle intervention has not been universally adopted, and
high-season weeks follow the same depressing pattern, starting with
illegal occupations and ending in open skirmishes. “Undeclared war broke
out between the Germans and the Brits last year,” says Paul Thomas, a
rep in Kos. “They even had night operations, creeping around in the dark
and replacing the other side’s towels with their own. I think we won in
the end.” It’s nothing to be proud of. Verdict: false.
TRUE OR FALSE? The curry is better in Dudley than in Delhi
==========================================================
“The best curries are served not in restaurants but in homes,” says the
Indian-cuisine guru Madhur Jaffrey. “My advice is to wangle an
invitation to an Indian home. Ask Indian neighbours or work colleagues
if they have relations where you are going – or call out the desk clerk
at your hotel and tell him you will pay to eat with a family. Just
remember to take your own water.”
But given that you’re always going to be better off at a family dinner
table, if you do go for a restaurant, are British curry houses better
than their Indian counterparts? “Not any more,” says Jaffrey. “The
Bukhara restaurant in Delhi’s Maurya Sheraton (00 91-11 2611 2233,
www.starwoodhotels.com ) serves the best tandoori dishes in the world,
and Trishna (22 2270 3213) in Mumbai serves the finest Mangalorean
seafood. But if you’re used to eating your curry with lager, you may not
find what you expect.” Verdict: false.
TRUE OR FALSE? Hotel exchange rates are a rip-off
====================================================
It’s so handy, nipping down to the lobby for your cash rather than
traipsing around town for exchange booths and working cashpoints... and
hotel exchange rates can’t be that bad, can they? Oh yes they can, and
we can prove it.
The Sunday Times surveyed hotel rates against the exchange rate on St
George’s Day, April 23, when Travelex was selling €1.405 for £1, with no
commission, meaning that €500 would cost £355.57. The George V in Paris
offered remarkable value, with a rate of €1.41 and no commission: €500
for £354.60. But this was an exception.
The Ritz in Madrid quoted €1.35 to the pound, and would charge £370.37
for that €500. The Excelsior in Rome offered €1.39, added 5% commission,
and came up with £377.50; The Clarence in Dublin offered exactly the
same deal. A week after the pound broke the two-dollar barrier, New
York’s Waldorf-Astoria was offering the shocking rate of $1.74 to the pound.
Worst, though, was Berlin’s Crowne Plaza, unabashedly quoting €1.27 to
the pound and charging £396.82 for €500, a mark-up of £41.25 on the
Travelex rate.
Still planning to buy currency in your hotel? Light my cigar with a
fiver while you’re at it, because you’ve clearly got money to burn.
--
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