What Happened to Allegiant's Aloha?

[trip style = sun + beach]

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As some of you may remember from this time last year, Allegiant Air, the US-based discount airline serving sunny destinations from Bellingham and elsewhere in the US, announced it had purchased 6 planes with the {fuel} capacity to fly over water. The discount airliner wanted to offer more than just trips to Vegas and give its loyal clientele and other price-sensitive fliers the chance to cross the Pacific and experience the aloha spirit in Hawaii.

Alaska First One of Allegiant's main departure points is Bellingham, Washington---an hour from Vancouver or Seattle and a 6-hour flight to Hawaii. Couple this with Bellingham's airport increasing their runway length to accomodate larger planes and terminal capacity to handle additional fliers, and I was sure Allegiant would announce their Hawaii-bound service from this airport last fall. Turns out, Alaska Airlines beat them to it. Since January 6th, Alaska's been doing daily flights from Bellingham to Honolulu.

Maui? Frustrated that I hadn't heard anything further about Allegiant's impending service to Hawaii, this winter when I flew to California with Allegiant, I asked a check-in agent about Hawaii. The individual confirmed the Hawaii service was coming, but couldn't confirm when. However, they heard that rather than flying to Honolulu like Alaska, planes would potentially fly from Bellingham to Maui.

My Prediction The last update I saw was Allegiant would begin its Hawaii service in mid-2011. Last summer they apparently ordered winglets for their 757s to reduce drag, add range and save money on the 5 - 6-hour, cross-ocean journey. This fall I read that the 757s' photos had been released indicating service was coming soon. It's now the end of March and still no word, other than rumblings of regulatory challenges being the culprit for delays. All we can hope now is that Allegiant will announce and begin service to Hawaii this year, and offer some ridiculous, PR-y launch sale like they did for their Bellingham to Long Beach service, where I paid $9.99 each way {total plus taxes $56 return!}.  Note Allegiant also just extended the advance booking window through November 15th.

What's your prediction: when do you think Allegiant's service will start and what island will they fly to?

Hawaii for Less, Now If you want to get to Hawaii for a great price now, here are your best bets: - Fly Hawaiian Airlines out of Seattle {return fares are usually $400/person} - Monitor WestJet and AirCanada for seat sales {2 years ago in April I paid $400 return for a direct flight from Vancouver to Maui...and heard of some similar fares since, but been unable to take advantage of them personally.}

Related Content A Tropical Weekend Experiment in Maui How to Book a Very Last-Minute Tropical Getaway High/Low Booking a Vacation in Maui

[photo by @tripstyler, taken in Wailea, Maui]

Travel Trends :: Prank Calls

Have you every had something weird happen to you at a hotel? This story definitely falls into the weird category. This week's travel trend is off-base to say the least. It involves a prank call, some hotel guests, an in-room sprinkler and hundreds of thousands of gallons of water.

Recently, a bunch of businesses and restaurants, as well as guests in hotel rooms in North Vancouver, BC received calls from pranksters posing as fire inspectors or hotel managers instructing them to pull the pin out of the sprinkler, immediately setting it off and causing major water damage.

What likely convinced guests was the call's urgency: if they didn't pull the spinkler's pin, the room would supposedly explode within 60 seconds from a gas leak. {read more about it here.}

Although you might think, I'd never follow those hanous instructions, imagine if you'd just travelled for 36 hours, were exhausted, sleeping in a strange room, and well, you get the point.

Hotel Room Safety

• Go with your gut, if something sounds off, it probably is. Get a second or third opinion.
• Remember, anyone can call you at a hotel, so if you get a suspicious phone call, inform the front desk.
• Always cover the peephole.
• As soon as you get to the room, lock the door behind you, using the deadbolt and chain.
• When leaving the room, ensure the door is locked tight.

[photo: dynamic sprinkler systems]

Wifi on Trains

[trip style = train]

Have you ever wanted to take the train to a destination, but opted for other transport because the travel time was too lengthy? Some train travel is bullet-fast and crazy efficient as evidenced in Asia and Europe, other times it's slow and steady, but does that win the race? Full wireless connectivity on trains is a trend that's been around for a few years on the east coast and major routes, but has taken awhile to make its way up the West Coast. Until now.

Why I Love Wifi on Trains Earlier this summer I took a Via Rail train from Ottawa to Montreal, and LOVED the fact I could immediately connect to wifi in the terminals and on the train. It made the journey efficient {thus enjoyable} because I was able to get lots of work done, which meant I could spend more time in my destination exploring.

Where is the Love? Over the past few months, I've taken two trips to Portland and despite desperately wanting to take the train, both times got there road-trip style. Why? Because the Amtrak Cascades, the train running between Vancouver, BC and Eugene, OR didn't have wifi. Yes, I know the scenery is stunning, but 8 hours {in the middle of the day} on a train sans wifi? Non Merci.

The Love Thank goodness Amtrak is getting on track {pun intended} with not only wifi, but free wifi! Redeemed! I bet it will seriously increase their ridership, which was already record-braking in 2010! Whether you wifi your way to Seattle or Portland, or take the Coast Starlight all the way to LA, your trip just got a little easier and more entertaining with wifi. Hulu anyone? {Hulu is a website featuring a ton of popular TV shows which you can only access in the US.}

Now, if only they'd allow dogs...

Related Content Portland {part deux} Portland Seattle :: Springtime in the Emerald City

[photo: you gotta be here]

Overnighting at Versailles

[trip style = luxury]

If you've ever visited the former home palace of France's many Louis the... Kings, you know it's lavish, lovely and lush.There's no shabby in Versailles' version of chic.

For those of you who prefer a more luxurious trip style, this hotel-to-be is for you...

Fit for a King It was just announced last week that a private Belgian company will turn part of Versailles into a hotel as part of an initiative by France's Culture and Tourism Ministers for the economic and touristic development of French Heritage Sites. Slated to open at the end of 2011 {likely meaning 2012} the project will see a 23-room luxe hotel contructed in the existing Hotel du Grand Controle, the old site of the Chateau's treasurers.

Nitty-Gritty The renovation process is only estimated to cost 7.3 million. I say only, because by today's standards that's not much money when you're talking about a high-end hotel's {extensive} renovations. And while we're on the topic of finances, the future hotel's nightly rates have not yet been released, but it's likely they'll be akin to any removed boutique hotel near or part of an oft-visited monument. Expensive.

Either way, I wouldn't mind staying in a lesser version of the 17th-century French Monarchs' unrestrained excess at Versailles. Maybe the hotel will feature nightly galas with period costumes as the dress code? If so, I'm in.

[Via France24 & USA Today Travel]

[photo by buggolo]

Peeping Tom

About 5 months ago, we posted about a hotel in the US offering peephole security curtains to what seemed like paranoid guests. Fast forward to present day and we're seeing more Peeping Tom hysteria over hotel room peepholes. Does the hysteria have some grounding based on this man's {1-min} video showcasing a tampered peephole in his hotel room?

Peeping Problems Based on the above video and responses to the video, it appears there are two ways your hotel room could be creepily viewed via the peephole: 1) the peephole isn't secure and can be quietly removed creating a hole in your door; 2) through a reverse peephole viewer. What? Yep. Gizmodo posted about it a few years ago. The little gadget can reverse the convex lens designed to view out, not in.

Solving the Peeping Problem 1. Bring a post-it note to place over the door. 2. Tape over the peephole. 3. Use toilet paper or tissues to block the peephole.* 4. If you want to get really serious, buy an actual peephole cover (from $6.99) *Using toilet paper is efficient and easy. I just tried it during my stay at the Luxe Hotel Sunset Blvd last night and it worked like a charm.

Although the chances of hotel room peeping are virtually nill, taking precautions by locking the door with all the locks, being mindful of open windows on low floors, and now, covering your peephole are good safety practices. Maybe we should have added a peephole curtain to this week's 2010 Christmas Gift Guide for Travelers?

[photo by kalleboo]