Air Travel Is a Dirty Business

While flying to Dallas this week, a well-meaning passenger offered me a pillow and blanket. I declined.

What lurks here? (The New York Times)

I remembered reading this article, which asked two simple questions: “How often do airlines clean their planes?” and “What about pillows and blankets?”

The report, which appeared in The Wall Street Journal last spring, gives a lengthy explanation. But the bottom line is that most planes only get surface cleaning and trash pickup. Deep cleaning occurs about once a month, and sometimes less often. But the real story here is about the pillows and blankets. The airline I was flying, US Airways, told the WSJ that it washes blankets every five days. That’s better than ATA Airlines, which said it washed blankets every 30 days or “as needed.’’ American Airlines replaces the pillow cases every night, but only removes soiled or damaged blankets.

Tip for travelers: You know you’re getting a new or freshly washed blanket if it’s wrapped in plastic.

Tips For Choosing The Perfect Travel Mug

A good travel mug is a must when you need to take your coffee or tea with you on the road. There are many different types of mugs available, so here are a few tips to consider before you purchase one.

Travel mugs are offered in both stainless steel and plastic with plastic being the least expensive.

Even though stainless steel initially costs more, it will give you much better value for your money.

Plastic mugs can break when dropped and they don't keep your coffee or tea hot nearly as long as the stainless mugs.

You can expect superior performance from a stainless steel travel mug keeping your coffee or tea hot for about an hour. If you are looking for the very best way to keep your favorite beverage hot or cold longer, look for a mug with stainless steel double wall insulation.

Stainless steel also cleans up easier than plastic and the plastic liner over time will absorb coffee or tea. This build up will affect the taste of your beverage and the only way to remedy it is to buy another travel mug.

If you still prefer a plastic travel mug, make sure it has a stainless steel liner. The advantages of these are you won't feel the heat on the outside of the mug and you have a variety of colors to choose from.

You should also decide if you want your travel mug to fit a cup holder in your car or if you want it to have a wide bottom for stability.

The advantage of a travel mug that fits a cup holder is you don't have to hold onto it. Just make sure the dimensions of the mug will fit your holder.

If you don't have a cupholder or don't like to use one, you need a travel mug with a wide bottom.

Look for a non-slip wide bottom because not all of them come that way. You don't want it to slide if you let go of the travel mug.

Next, what kind of a lid do you prefer? The lids that snap on can sometimes come off if the travel mug tips over or is dropped. Screw on lids are better because they stay on no matter what happens and that's the idea of a travel mug to begin with.

Also, consider how the beverage hole will be covered and uncovered when you want to drink. Do you like a flap over the drink hole that snaps shut or do you prefer a slide that stays open or closed? Then there is the Press'N'Sip lever design that opens when you push on the spring loaded lever and closes when you let go.

Travel mugs come in a variey of volume sizes too. If you only drink a small amount, consider a smaller 8 oz. travel mug. On the other hand, if you want a large amount of coffee or tea to drink, consider a larger 16 or 20 oz. travel mug.

Once you get the travel mug that is just right for your tastes, hand wash it instead of putting it in the dishwasher. Sometimes soap residue gets left behind either in the lid or in the travel mug and no one likes that kind of surprise. So be sure to rinse it extra good so all that you taste is the rich flavor of your coffee or tea.

If you leave your travel mug in the car while at work, store it away from direct sunlight. That way the hot sun magnified by the windows won't damage the rubber seals in the lid.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you shop for a travel mug so when you fly out of the door with your favorite hot beverage, it will stay in the mug and remain hot until the last drop.

About The Author

Gary Gresham is the webmaster for http://www.perfectcoffees.com where you can purchase quality coffee, tea, cups & mugs, coffee gifts and delicious desserts online.

Can You Really Travel for FREE?

There are very important reasons why the Travel Industry is looking for reliable Travel Coordinators. One of the major reasons is ‘International Travel Safety’ has become a major concern.

The Travel Industry has long since provided a way to help Americans Travel more safely. Again, this is an ancient old method of travel. Even the wagon trains traveling west were not exempt from this method.

Group Travel

Agencies are looking for Travel Addicts; I mean Coordinators all the time. I guess you are wondering why a Travel Agency would be looking for Travel Coordinators? Most people would say that would be the job of a Travel Agent. Wrong! Most Travel Agents do not travel that often. They are busy booking travel for their clients. They loose money every time they leave their office or computer. Its the Travel Coordinators that travel often.

Travel addicts are the people who arrange their life to accommodate last minute travel. Travel addicts usually will pay the rent or mortgage, however the 401K or any savings or investment of any kind is subject to finance travel at any given time.

A Group Travel Coordinator would have the following attributes: commitment, loves travel, likes people, have confidence in marketing themselves and their travel destination, can give attention to detail, love to coordinate, and can use common sense, then you qualify to Travel FREE.

This opportunity works out best when you start out as a hobby and turn it into a part-time job then a full-time business. It is not necessary to re-invent the wheel - do what others have done before you. I know one retired man who started out selling an exotic travel party in the Caribbean each year. Word of mouth took over, because people really enjoyed themselves, and now he does not have to work a 9 to 5 job. The commission from booking 300 to 500 people a year into a 5 star resort on the islands each year, pays off BIG.

I suppose you are wondering how a Travel Coordinator just starting out travels FREE? Easy, when you book 6 people or 15 people or what ever number the Travel whole seller sets; one person goes FREE.

Example: Say you have 9 people that want to go to China. You have a mark-up of 15% on the wholesale price, plus you get one free hotel and air if 6 people sign-up. Your mother and father, sister and cousin, your girlfriend and her husband want to go and the lady at the church wants to go. And when another lady at the church found out from the Pastor that Mrs. J was going, so she decided to go. (Your husband said if he wants to see China he will go to Chinatown!) So you now have 8 people, 9 counting yourself. You get one free travel pass and you can decided to lower your package price at the last minute because you did not need the extra 15% mark-up, or you can keep it for any emergency during the trip or you can use it to market your next trip. It’s up to you!

Travel Coordinator Trivia. If you can see a problem already with the above travel group, then you truly understand Group Travel. Think about how you would handle the above situation BEFORE a problem occurs.

This article was written by Cassandra Ingraham, webmaster and Travel Coordinator for http://www.travel360degrees.com