Travel Be 4U

Frank Johnson asked:


Why the Discount Carriers are Winning

Over the years, air travel has declined significantly. Bad economic times, acts of terrorism, and the overall high cost of flying have deterred many travelers from flying the friendly skies. Instead, they’re opting for local travel that doesn’t require flying or selecting other methods of transportation such as driving, taking the train, or going “Greyhound”. As a result, the major airlines are making less and less each year, forcing some to close up shop and call it quits.

However, bad economic times and acts of terrorism aren’t the only things affecting the major airlines and the air travel industry as a whole. Discount air carriers who offer limited yet discount air travel rates have put a huge dent in the business of the major airlines. These airlines, such as U.S. based Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines, can undercut the major players in the air travel market because of lower overhead and less labor costs. Since the discount air travel carriers are smaller and often only have one type of aircraft (compared to bigger airlines that have full fleets of varying plane types), they have more flexibility with their pricing and can offer discount air travel deals more often then their much larger counterparts. And when combined with the decline in overall air travel, the discount air carriers are winning out over the larger airlines, causing the major players to rethink their game plan and, in many cases, start offering discount air travel through dynamically priced fares.

Using Discount Air Travel and Carriers for Your Benefit

For the most part, discount airlines operate within their country of origin. In other words, many don’t offer flights abroad. So if you need to fly domestically for business travel or a family vacation, a discount air carrier is the way to go. However, just because the discount airlines don’t offer overseas travel, it doesn’t mean you can’t get discount air travel deals on international flights. Remember, domestic AND international air travel has dwindled significantly over the years; so, the major airlines are often scrambling to fill overseas flights. As a result, the bigger airlines are starting to offer last minute travel deals and dynamically priced fares to try and fill their flights as much as they can. And since the discount air carriers are taking much of their previous domestic air travel customers, the larger airlines are desperate to make a buck any way they can.

Finding Discount Air Travel Deals

Some airlines offer last minute and discounted travel deals directly to the consumer; however, many work with online travel sites and supply them with bulk-rate deals on plane tickets. Either way, the key to finding discount air travel deals is to search the web and call the airlines. Compare prices and give yourself time to research your discount travel options. You may find that booking last minute will save you a bundle on your flight in some cases, but cost you twice as much in others; so be flexible and don’t purchase the first ticket you find. You’ll find a better deal on discount air travel if you shop around.

The discount air carriers have caused a significant shift in the air travel industry. There is more competition and less people buying, causing the industry to offer more discounted air travel deals than ever before. As a traveler, this means there are currently more ways to save on your air travel. All you have to do is go out and find those deals.

Belsebubnoone asked:

Monty Python’s Flying Circus – Episode 31 – Travel agents sketch & Theory of the Brontosaurus

Aurora Brown asked:


When planning a trip to Europe, there are a ton of available resources for travelers. With this is mind, it is often time-consuming to wade through all of the websites to find really valuable information.

Here is a list of some of the top travel resources for planning a trip to Europe.

1) Wikitravel

This is one of the best sites for travel available. It is open source, so it is constantly updated; further, it is usually locals or people who have direct, experience with an area who contribute information. Thus you get localized information you might not have gotten elsewhere.

2) World Travel Tips

This is a huge, comprehensive resource for world travel. It includes forums, articles, links, free membership and much more for every continent. Their European section covers every European Country and offer in-depth information about each one.

3) About.com: Europe for Visitors

This is a great site dedicated to travel in Europe from About.com. Geared towards everyone from first time to experienced travelers, it is a goldmine of European travel and planning information.

4) Virtual Tourist

This is a great travel guide. Their motto is ‘real travelers – real info.” This seems consistent with the site, which has everything from transportation reviews to the best travel deal and trip planners. The site also includes forums where you can read about other people’s adventures in Europe.

5) Travel Europe

This is an swicki (cross between a search engine and wikipedia) where community users can add, remove and improve the results. This particular swicki is geared towards travel in Europe and is a great resource fro planning a trip to or in Europe.

6) Visiteurope.com

This is the European travel commission’s guide to Europe and is packed with tons of useful information, articles, advice and much much more.

7) Europe for Visitors

This is a site that offer European news, general advice, specific country advice, hotels, links to city guides, tourist offices and much, much more.

8.) Europecities.com

This is a comprehensive portal site that offers European city reviews and guides to hundreds of European cities and over 40 European countries.

9) Travel Library

Travel Library is an impartial resource for travelers and offers a plethora of resources that offer in-depth travel information, from hotel and hostel ideas to travelogues and most popular locations.

10) Europa: Traveling in Europe

A huge site that offers tools and information for over 30 European Countries. Each country has their own site dedicated to travel resources, information news and more from that country. Categories for visitors include: documents you will need, choosing a time to travel, getting there, staying healthy, money, shopping, communicating, pets, and if things go wrong.

11) Europa: Your Europe

While this site is geared towards European citizens, it still offers tons of great information for visitors outside of Europe. Information categories include: working in Europe, education and study, living in Europe, traveling in Europe, consumer protection, European citizenship and diplomatic protection.

12) European Union Website

This is the official website of the European Union. It offers news, educational resources and tons of links to information about what’s going on in Europe and well as youth travel portals, travel guides, transportation information and much, much more.

13) Yahoo Answers

This is a great place to ask questions and get answers about anything Europe related. You ask the question and get a number of answers, then choose the answer that fits your question best. This site is great because it gives you several points of view to read and learn from and is focused on sharing knowledge.

14) Travels Wise

This site offers tons of information about travel in Europe and countries including Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Ukraine.

15) Rick Steves’ Travel Tips

This site is a large portal site that offers tips and advice for exploring Europe safely, effectively and confidently. From packing tips and safety to accommodations and communications, you will find what you’re looking for.

16) Travel Punk

This site offers travel tips and advice targeted at backpackers, budget travelers and tourists. Offers tons of great information as well as travel tools and resources for finding cheap flights and accommodations.

17) TERC Europe Travel Tips

Offers tips on traveling in Europe and categories run the gamut from packing tips and staying healthy and safe to money matters, budget planning, food and accommodations and much more. It is a huge site that is well worth visiting for any Europe travel-related needs.

18) Accessible Journeys

This is an awesome travel site that offers a wealth of information, tips and travel advice about accessibility and traveling in a wheelchair. With information on everything from traveling with your wheelchair or scooter to equipment rentals, handicapped parking permits in Europe and accessible ways to travel, it is a great resource.

19) Europe Travel Tips

A large portal with tons of travel tools, articles and information about travel in 40 European countries, from Austria to the United Kingdom.

20) Independent Traveler

Great site offering lots of travel tips and advice to independent travelers.

21) Travel-and-transport.com

This is a highly useful portal that offers basic and necessary transportation information for Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. New to the site is a route planner that is especially handy.

22) Travel Notes: Europe

Comprehensive travel notes and advice for traveling throughout Europe. Lots of links, resources and tools for travelers.

23) Open Travel Info

Great travel site with a large amount of travel and Europe related information. The forums and articles are especially useful.

24) Discover Europe

Another excellent portal site that offers a wealth of tools, resources and links for travelers to learn about different European countries and plan their trips effectively and efficiently.

25) World 66: Europe

This is a great wiki site that allows members (free) to change and information. It has a great travel guide, maps, and resources for getting to Europe and getting around it. Members can also post photos and there is a cool photo gallery of different places in Europe. Well worth checking out.

26) Backpacker.net

Geared towards backpackers, this is one of the better sites for information, advice and travel planning for backpackers. Users can submit and read recommendations for hostels, tours, bars, beers and much more.

27) WorldWideBackpackers.com

This site is another excellent resource for backpackers and other travelers. While it is geared towards backpackers, there is a wealth of rich information for all travelers, so you should definitely pay them a visit.

28) Gate 1 Travel

This is a travel site for Central Europe. there is a wealth of information that is super handy; they offer info from climate and clothing advice to packing, required travel documents, travel insurance, transportation, communication and much more.

29) Backpackeurope.com

This is another site that is geared towards backpackers in Europe but is highly useful for all travelers. Has Europe travel tips, advice on packing, hostels and hotels, transportation and links to other travel resources.

30) Gemut.com

This is a great travel site that offers visitors advice on everything from car rental and rail travel to hotel reservations, money matters and much more.

31) Travels With Friends: Travel Tips for Europe

Travel tips and advice from planning your trip to executing it. The site’s creators travel Europe and research sites, accommodations, destinations and much more, so there is great, first-hand information available on all aspects of travel in Europe.

32) Suite 101: Eastern Europe & Russia Travel

Travel, culture and trip planning and advice. This is an excellent resource for finding out more about Eastern Europe and its cultures.

33) Traveler’s Point

Europe advice, tips and travel help for all European countries.

34) Budget Travel Online

Great site offering ideas, how-tos, advice and tips for travelers.

35) Yahoo Travel

Yahoo’s comprehensive travel site offers a wealth of information on all European Countries and many of its countries. Another great resource to check out.

Mandy Chagger asked:


Train travel is an ideal means of transport in the UK and the rest of Europe. Rail travel is fast, practical and convenient in both urban and more rural areas. Railway stations often allow for car hire services if you need access to a car or perhaps need to venture to an area not accessible by train.

Rail travel is often convenient even if you have flown partway to your destination. Train travel works well for personal or corporate travel, and can be an economical way to transport staff to a conference, event venue, or meetings. It can also be a luxurious and comfortable way to transport clients quickly and efficiently. Train travel is a viable option for conferences, annual meetings and other events throughout Europe. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you can easily opt for rail travel to or from the UK and mainland Europe.

Booking rail travel is easy thanks to online interfaces that offer planning, scheduling and trip organisation services. Both personal and corporate travel arrangements can be made easily and practically online. Whether you need to simply book a rail ticket or opt for a full package, both can be done with little effort. Corporate travel to events including annual meetings, conferences, and other events can be planned quickly and easily. Many online trip organisers even allow you to book airline tickets, car hires, rail travel and accommodations in one step. A well planned trip can be especially important for group travel, or for corporate travel arrangements. Discount on rail fares are even available for groups of more than ten.

Eurostar services offer fast check in and a short trip between London and Paris or Brussels. Eurostar allows you to travel in high speed comfort, with champagne, drinks, and food available at your seat in Leisure Select and Business Premier Classes. Business Premier may be an ideal choice for corporate hospitality or business travel to general meetings, conferences and PR events. Business Premier offers even faster check in services as well as additional business amenities. Standard class offers affordable and practical travel between London and France. Eurotunnel can also offer those travelling by car a helpful and cost effective rail option as you simply drive your car onto the shuttle and make a short 35 minute trip via shuttle to Calais, France.

Train travel is ideal in many ways as a corporate travel option, or even for corporate hospitality events. Comfortable rail travel is convenient and practical, and some train travel routes even offer wireless internet access and charging capabilities for laptop computers. If you are transporting important clients for PR events, product launches or exhibitions, rail travel can be an excellent choice. Train travel is an ideal choice for corporate hospitality, allowing your clientele to use their travel time for business needs or work.

While train travel works well for shorter trips, it is also ideal for longer trips. Sleeper cars are available on some train routes, allowing for a comfortable night’s sleep. While train fares can be quite economical, first class seating in the UK and Europe will allow travellers an enjoyable and relaxing ride to their destination. Long distance train services are most apt to offer first class services. These may include more comfortable seating, tables, upgraded d