Airline Search Hell

Spring is in the air and Ron's thoughts roam to Denver, Iowa and every once in a while Pittsburgh. Yes, it is his any adventure to the US, a place I have not cared to visit since 2003. Its all good that I stay away. 

Before Ron can plan any flights, he has to send out 43 e-mails to family and friends to verify which dates are good, which are not and then coordinate everyone's good and bad lists. There really should be a computerized calculation program that monitors people's behaviors that are fed into a giant data bank. When you want to visit, you plug in your ID and then the data bank spits out a report. This is an optimal time to visit 39.25 out of 43 of your friends and relatives. Of the 39.25, 13.05 don't give a hoot whether you visit or not.

Ron has been poring over airline consolidator sites looking for good deals. BUD>DEN, CID>PIT, and then PIT>BUD with moving dates here and there, but the prices still came out close to $2,000. That is more than what we paid to fly from BUD>ADL and that was a HEL OFA WAY FAR. This is nuts spending this amount of money for 3 weeks, but he insists. My view is if they want to see me badly enough, they will come here every other year. So far, no one has come. All the more reason for me not to spend the money to go there. 

Half of my day has been spent trying to find the best possible fares without having to mortgage my organs to pay for it. It still is beyond my perception why travel authorities praise Kayak search engine. I think bait and switch technique extraordinaire fits it well. Over the years, I have tried it a dozen times with hopes my luck has changed. Today, I found a great multi-city deal for Ron. When I clicked on "Book Now" it shows a message stating it has to redirect me to the US Airways website. Those seconds of transfer raised the price by $1,000. Orbitz was no better. All of the great deals "could not be confirmed by the airlines". So why are they still on the site if they cannot be grabbed. 

I tried different credit cards, different browsers, different sites; it was all an exercise in frustration. Then I gave CheapTickets.com a shot. The price was good if you can call $1,290 good, but still better than the $2,000 offerings elsewhere. 

I booked it not giving a rat's a*$ whether Ron liked the times or not. My day was shot, my patience wore out 2 years ago. Appearing before me was the same form as Orbitz, which did not bode well and I felt Murphy's Law creeping up on me again.

Success!! I was so excited I almost wanted to book a second ticket from excitement, but was able to keep myself at bay. Such are the joys of travel.

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A Year Past

Image via Wikipedia

Almost a year ago, on January 30, 2009, I posted an article regarding Malev Airlines having been taken over by Aeroflot.

Now, today, I received a comment on that posting. Better late than never? Does the speed of the comment say something about their attention to detail? When I went to the website and looked at the destinations that Malev is flying to, what is really telling is that they stopped their flights to both the US and Canada. The rest of the list is of interest also.

Malev Airlines has left a new comment on your post "Russian Bank, Aeroflot to take over Malév followin...":

Hi everybody, For more details on Malev Airlines like

1. Airlines Information

2. History

3. Malev Airlines Destinations

4. Fleets

5. Malev Airlines Phone Numbers

6. Baggage Allowance

7. Images

Visit "Altius Directory". This URL may be useful.

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United World of the USA

Someone created a map comparing the size of different US states with the size of different countries. If you can identify the flags, you are much better than I am. If you find errors, do not shot off at the messenger.

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Visa Free to the US

The citizens of seven countries, including Hungary, will no longer need visas to travel to the United States starting on November 17, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Prague on Monday.

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea will be joining the U.S. visa waiver programme which currently has 27 members, mainly in Western Europe, Chertoff said.

During the initial period, travellers will need to possess a biometric passport for visa-free travel to the U.S., Chertoff added.

Although good news for Hungarians, many have shared with me that they have concerns about their countrymen abusing their status and having the no Visa rule revoked. Time will tell.

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Global Electoral Vote

Ron came across this web site at the Economist magazine site called "Global Electoral College: What if the whole world could vote". Quite interesting take on our politics from a global perspective. http://www.economist.com/vote2008/index.cfm

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Reader Comment

From reader Paul: I've heard similar stories, a Hungarian friend used to work as a Hostess at a downtown BP restaurant, the US customers were always the ones who would eat everything off their plate, then complain and not want to pay when the bill came. In regard to the above comment, it behooves me to add that after almost seven years, I still find that the evil ethnocentrism creeps into my life like a weed in a freshly designed garden. Thoughts still rise to the surface asking "Why can't they (Hungarians) realize that they would be better off if they did it this way?". However, I have eradicated the sub-text of "in America, we do it this way and it is better", but it has been substituted for "in Denmark, or in Germany, or in Finland, or ..." replacing what used to be America as the golden standard for a European country that achieved success in ways we have never embraced.

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US Americans Win the Award

Before you get too excited, this is not a fashionable award any US American should be proud of. If read the posts, you may remember the American husband and wife couple who booked both rooms, came here for a cup of tea the day before to 'find us', spent two hours talking, and then the next morning called to cancel both rooms since we did not have air conditioning. No accommodation under 5 stars has a/c with one exception that I know of and the 4 star hotel that does, rents the air conditioner for an additional 15 Euros a day. Well, something similar happened again. We had a very lovely couple, husband and wife stay here for two nights while they were getting their college aged son situated into his exchange program apartment. They had a friend meeting them here and she booked a room with us. Unfortunately, when she wanted to arrive, we did not have an opening, so I suggested another place for her first two nights and then if she chose, she could move over here. She pelted me with questions and I informed her more than once that her friends would be moving to a self-catering apartment for the rest of their stay on the same day she was to come over to our place. She said she understood, but we still exchanged 12 e-mails back and forth. She came over both mornings her friends were here to have coffee with them and meet up for the day. They raved about how much they liked it here, how comfortable we made it for them and how much they enjoyed their stay. This happened both when we were around as well as when they assumed we were out of ear shot. The morning the friend was to come over, we expected her to have luggage in hand, but she was walking light. She had her coffee, conversation with all of us, and then announced she decided to stay where she is at. In the same breath, she also told us she had her room changed twice in as many number of days. The first room the bed was uncomfortable, the second was too noisy. She was thinking of a third move, but not out of the hotel she was at. She acted surprised to find her friends were moving to an apartment, which was part of our e-mail discussions. As she was listing her complaints about her current living quarters, she said it was closer to the apartment where her friends were staying. She did ask what our policy was for such situations. Up until recently, we did not have a policy, but with US Americans, our fellow country people, being the greatest disappointments of all of our guests, we may have to come up with one. She offered to pay for the first night and we gracefully accepted. After all, she had booked for four nights and we had refused more than one request for those dates. The couple who stayed here, left their baggage until it was time to check into their apartment, so they could tour the city. When they returned, sans the friend, they shared how flabbergasted and appalled they were at their friends' behavior. Last year, there was another husband and wife couple from the US who canceled at the very last minute. Just before they were ready to leave, the wife decided to have elective surgery. Now if you are going on vacation, it is planned out, why would you ELECT to have surgery at the same time? What boggled my mind was that they admitted the fact when canceling. If it were me, I would have omitted the elective part out of the equation. To add insult to injury, they e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago, reminding me of the cancellation and asked if we had a room available in November. When I wrote and said we did, asking if they wanted a booking, they wrote back and said they were just checking. They would get back to me. Insert a Primal scream here! Is this some game? Let's annoy the innkeeper. To be fair, in the years we have been running our B and B, we had one Italian couple who had a motor vehicle accident on the way to the airport causing a no show. They did write to apologize when they were released from the hospital. There was a Dutch couple who went to check in at the airport and found their passports missing from their luggage after taking the train to Amsterdam and called from the airport after being denied boarding. We had one Bulgarian man who booked us through an agency and never showed. He never responded to our e-mails or those of the agency. Though these are just some examples, US Americans win the award for the most last minute cancellations throughout our years of business.

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Voting

Many people who live abroad do not realize they can vote from anywhere in the world. It is simple to register through the computer in whichever US State you lived in last, or for those who have never resided in the US, there are states which will allow you to register in them. Some children of business or government members are now of age to vote, but may never have lived in the US. Everything you need to know is at www.votefromabroad.org/. When still living in California, I often heard people say is that they did not like standing in lines at the polling booths or some did not even know where they were to vote. The simple solution is what I did for each and every election. Sign up for an absentee ballot. You do not have to be away from home to use it and you vote is still as valid as all those who go to the machines to cast their ballots. If you have a transportation or time concern, this will take the pressure off. Just inform your local registrar's office in time to request it. Whether you are in NY, but vote in Kentucky, there is no excuse not to vote.

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The lowdown on U.S. passport cards - This Just In - Budget Travel

The lowdown on U.S. passport cards

Posted by: Danielle Lipp, Budget Travel Newsletter, Friday, Jul 25, 2008, 9:06 AM

The new passport card (Courtesy The Department of State)

This month the government began to produce U.S. passport cards—a cheaper, easier-to-carry alternative to traditional passports. Each passport card fits in a wallet and typically costs only $45, versus $100 for a passport. (Both are valid for a decade; prices and rules vary for citizens under 16 years old.)

Whoa, back up a sec! I've forgotten the rules for traveling in and out of the country. Give me a quick update. Until recently, your needed a driver's license and birth certificate to return home after sea and land travel. Now you have an additional option, called a passport card. Starting June 1, 2009, you'll be required to carry a passport or passport card to return home after sea and land travel (with some exceptions).

Do passport cards work the same way as traditional passports? No. Cheaper passport cards can only be used for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. For any air travel outside of the U.S., you need a traditional passport. Plus only traditional passports can be marked with cool stamps from around the world.

I'm confused. Why would I bother with a passport card when a traditional passport covers both land/sea travel and air travel? Think of passport cards as similar to—though not exactly like—the EZ Pass electronic toll collection system that's popular on Northeast toll roads. Border officers can access photographs and biographical information on your passport card from 20 feet away because each card contains a radio frequency identification chip. Officers pull up your info on their electronic devices before you reach them, speeding up the process. Your traditional passport can't do that.

Hmm.... Can anyone read my passport card and learn my private info? For people who may have concerns about privacy, "there's no danger of any personal information being transmitted from the chip on the card, because there is no information on the card," says Steve Royster, spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department. "Instead, all the chip has is an ID number that will be used to link the card to a secure government database that's accessed as someone drives toward the border." And for added security, each card comes with a protective sleeve that acts as a shield to prevent any kind of transmission.

So which should I get: a passport or a passport card? Do you frequently cross either the Mexican or Canadian border by car? Get a passport card. It will speed your processing at the border.

Plan to fly outside of the U.S.? You need a traditional passport.

Taking a cruise? Ask your cruise line what identification you will need. Some cruise lines have identification requirements that are tighter than the State Department's.

What's the best option for a child? If you don't expect that your child will take an international flight in the next five years—a passport card is best. It costs $35 for kids under age 16, versus $85 for a traditional passport.

Is there any reason why someone might want to get a traditional passport and a passport card? Says the spokesman, Royster, "Some people like the convenience of having a reliable ID they can walk around with in their pocket or purse." When applying for a new job, a driver's license, a marriage certificate, or conducting financial transactions, you may need to show copies of your birth certificate. Now, instead, you can carry a passport card, which is valid in all states as a way to confirm your identity and citizenship. A tip: If you apply for both at the same time or if you already have a valid passport, you can get a passport card for an additional $20.

How do I get a passport card and/or a passport? If you don't already have a passport, you must apply in-person at a passport acceptance facility (such as a post office, library, or courthouse). To find one, search by zip code at iafdb.travel.state.gov. To learn how to apply, visit travel.state.gov. As a general rule, bring proof of identity and of U.S. citizenship along with two passport-ready photos.

If you already have a passport, you can apply by mail—the same way you would renew your passport. Note: Like a normal passport renewal, you'll have to send in two passport photos with the application, plus your current passport, which will be returned to you within about four weeks, regardless of when your passport card arrives.

Is it easier to get a passport card than a traditional passport? Alas, no. The application process for the cards is the same as it is for traditional passports. With both, if you're eligible to mail in the application, you'll save the potential hassle of waiting in line at the post office or courthouse. Royster says that the cards will eventually have the same turnaround time as traditional passports (currently, about four weeks).

But don't expect a four-week turnaround this summer: The State Department began accepting applications, first come, first served, for the cards in February and received more than 350,000 requests. It has mailed out 7,600 cards and expects to have the rest of the preorders sent out by the end of September.

If you applied for a passport card today, the earliest you could expect to receive one is after the initial 350,000 orders are filled.

Expedited service ($60 more plus delivery fees, for a two-week turnaround), like what’s currently offered for passports, will also eventually be available for the cards, but not until production catches up.

Anything else I should know? Travel from U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, doesn't require either a passport or a passport card.

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Fill'er Up

It was that time again when we had to have pages added to our passports. We had them added once before and had the standard numbered pages and then the alpha pages. So many countries require a full page for their Visa, filling up the pages fast. We had a full page for China in the past and one for Chile. Now the Zimbabwe and yearly Hungarian Visas have pages all of their own. Then the Vietnam Visa required a full page too. We called the embassy here in Budapest and found that we could download the application for more pages and bring it in. It is form DS 4085. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80120.pdf I had to have a letter from Ron saying I could have pages added to his passport to save him from having to appear too.

The embassy has the x-ray machines like at the airport and this is long before 9/11. I purposefully left my mobile phone at home; they make you leave it with the guard. After x-raying my bag, the guard pointed to a small object on the machine, but I could not make out what it was. I opened my bag and told him to have at it. I guess they can't do a search. He called someone over to interpret. It was my nail clipper. They made me leave my nail clipper there while I was inside. God forbid I should suddenly go crazy and do manicures while I am waiting. Adding pages is free, but time consuming, especially if you have to mail it in. It can take up to two weeks. I took a number from the automated machine; only one option for US citizens. The wait was 20 minutes for my number to be called. I tried reading my book while I waited, but eavesdropping was too much fun to pay attention. I had to listen to everyone's story. With the forms filled out and tucked into the passports, the guy looked over the application and the passports and told me to wait for my number to be called again. I had to wait for 45 minutes and we now have beige and white picture pages of American scenery in our little blue books.

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