Agave Mountain

Ok, so now I've gone over what you can find in the water, and some methods for disinfection.  Some don't work that well.  So what really works and what doesn't?  What do you recommend?

Let's recap:

• Boiling water kills just about everything, but requires fuel and offers no residual protection.  Since I don't want to carry a large dual voltage tea kettle (does such a thing exist?) that method is out.
• Chlorine and iodine will not reliably treat for Giardia or Cryptosporidium.  Additionally, iodine is not recommended for long term usage.  I'm putting various methods of delivery in the same pot without any extensive research: bleach, Halzone, Sodium dichloroisocyanurate, Superchlorination-dechlorination, Chloramine, Tincture of Iodine, Povidone-Iodine, Tetraglycine hydroperiodide, etc.  
• Only chlorine dioxide, MIOX and UV light will kill everything (with enough contact time). 
• You can also mechanically filter the water and treat the remaining water with chemical disinfection to kill the pathogens that are smaller than .2 microns.

In a table format:

Right now, I am leaning towards MIOX or a SteriPEN (or the overkill/belt-and-suspenders combination of a filter and chemical disinfection) to kill viruses.  I tried the Katadyn Micropur and contrary to the sales literature, it turned the water a slight fizzy brownish color, and I just didn't have the courage to drink it with bottled water available.

Comments?

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

Filter, disinfect, boil, or radiate?  You have a few choices when it comes to making water safe enough to drink.  Some are better than others.  Here are the options I considered.

• Boiling.  
• UV Radiation. 
• Filtering. 
• Chemical Disinfection. 
• Mechanical filtration followed by chemical treatment or UV radiation.   

Boiling (heat disinfection)

The CDC and WHO recommends boiling as the sure fired means of killing pathogens in water.  The recommendations are simple -- bring water to a full boil for 1 minute; add 1 minute to the boil time for every 1000 feet in elevation.  At 100 degrees Celsius, most pathogens will be killed.

I have found that there is some disagreement to how long you need to boil the water.  It is safest to follow the WHO and CDC recommendations.

For a backpacker, this means boiling over a camp stove, but as an international traveler, your options are limited to a bulky electric kettle or an immersion coil.  Immersion coils must be submerged in water while plugged in, otherwise it will be permanently disabled if they get too hot (safety feature to keep from starting a fire). 

For me, the electric kettles are too bulky, and the immersion coils require a source of electricity and possibly a travel adapter to be functional.  Additionally, many online reviews point to the device's fragility -- the number 1 complaint is about units no longer functioning.

Chemical Disinfection / Purification

Following boiling, chemical disinfection is the advice most frequently given by municipalities and government agencies when faced with an emergency.  However, the effectiveness of chemical treatment is related to the temperature, pH level, and clarity of the water.

They include:

• Halogens (chlorine and iodine), which are no longer thought to be 100% effective against Cryptosporidium.    
  • Iodine.  Contact time 30 minutes.  Ideal concentration 3-4 mg/L or 4 PPM.  Water that has been disinfected with iodine is NOT recommended for pregnant women, people with thyroid problems, those with known hypersensitivity to iodine, or continuous use for more than a few weeks at a time. Also, it has an unpleasant taste.  Furthermore, recent studies have shown that iodine is not as effective against Cryptosporidium as originally thought [1], [2].   
  • Chlorine. Contact time 60 minutes. Ideal concentration depends on water pH and temperature.  Recommended dose: add 4 drops (0.2 mL) of household bleach to one liter produces a 10 PPM concentration.
• Chlorine Dioxide (Katadyn Micropur MP1, Portable Aqua, AquaMira, Pristine, KlearWater).  Chlorine dioxide is a powerful oxidant with germicidal properties.  It is unaffected by water pH and does not discolor water. 
  • Katadyn's Micropur is EPA approved as a "purifier," and is effective against Giardia and Cryptosporidium if the water is treated somewhere between 30 minutes (20 degrees Celsius and clear) and 4 hours (4 degrees Celsius and dirty).  
• MIOX.  Electricity is applied to a salt-water solution which produces a hypoclorite / mixed oxidant solution, which is mixed with the untreated water.  The MSR MIOX system is an EPA approved purifier.  Contact time: Viruses, bacteria --15 min; Giardia -- 30 minutes; Cryptosporidium -- 4 hours.  These treatment times are conservative, like the chlorine dioxide times.

Mechanical Filtration

Filters do not work against viruses, but they can filter out bacteria and protozoa effectively (as long as the filter has a pore size of 0.2 microns).  Since you are unlikely to find viruses in streams and lakes in North America and Europe, filters are often recommended for hikers.  They can also filter out sediment, and things that can cloud or taint the water -- which are not handled by chemical or UV disinfection. 

UV Treatment

UV light has been used for years on commercial water treatment, and works by damaging the DNA in the microorganisms.  There are several manufacturers, but SteriPEN is the hands-down market leader and has a growing following. 

However, the SteriPEN only ONLY treats water inside the bottle and ONLY the water under the waterline.  Water droplets inside the bottom or on the threats of the bottle will not be treated.

Resources

• [1] "Inactivation of Coccidian Parasites by Water Purification Chemicals and Treatment Device for Campers and Hikers."  Lee, M.B. and Lee, E.H.; Environmental Review.  Winter 2005.
• [2] "Do Iodine Water Purification Tablets Provide An Effective Barrier Against Cryptosporidium Parvum?" Stark, Bowman, Labare, Fogarty, Lucio-Forester, Barbi, Jenkins, Pavlo, Butkus; Military Medicine. October 25, 2001.

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

When I returned from my overseas trip, I soon became stricken with gas, bloating, cramps, fatigue and severe diarrhea.  For 4 hellish days, I couldn't eat any solid food -- I survived on water and Gatorade.  I slept continuously, waking up every several hours to spend quality time in the bathroom.   When I had enough energy to listlessly do things around the apartment, I would have to run to the bathroom at random intervals.  After two days, I had to seek treatment at the local emergency room because I could no longer drink the Gatorade without vomiting.

Thankfully, I am fully recovered and now feel fine, but it was one heck of a wake up call.  It could have been worse... a lot worse. 

Therefore, I started researching how to effectively prevent this in the future.  What could I buy that would render putrid foul smelling water into tasty safe water?  The soft-core camper and gadget freak in me cried out to go shopping for some insurance that I could throw in my suitcase. 

The budget?  The equivalent of my emergency room visit -- roughly $400 or less.

Defining the Mission

I quickly found that most advice on water purification given on backpacking and survival forums seems to be biased towards the biological threats found in the North America.  In North America, you will rarely encounter viruses in streams in lakes.  The number one threat here is Giardia or bacteria (and from what I heard and read about you definitely don't what Giardia).

Worse yet, I found some advice on traveler forums that was ridiculous, conflicting, or simply harmful. 

So I started my research -- I need a portable method of purifying water that would get rid any threats I would face: viruses, bacteria, and protozoa (Cryptosporidium, Giardia, etc).  It is assumed that the water is free of chemical toxins and may have one or more of the following:

• Viruses.  There are over 140 extremely small (0.004 to 0.1 microns) enteric viruses known to infect humans, including hepatitis A, Norwalk, poliovirus and rotavirus.
• Protozoa.  There are several very nasty single celled microorganisms (Giardia Lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum, Entamoeba histolytica (amebic dysentery), and Cyclospora cayetanensis) some of which are associated with death.
• Bacteria. Bacteria range in size between 0.2 and 10 microns, and are the likely culprit behind your travelers diarrhea and gastroenteritis.  Significant bacteria include: E coli, Brucella melitensis, Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae (spirochaetales), Pasteurella pseudomallei, Salmonella typhosa (Typhoid Fever), Salmonella paratyphi (Paratyphoid fever), Salmonella schottinulleri, Salmonella hirschfeldi C., Shigella flexneri (Bacillary dysentery), Vibrio comma (Cholera) and Vibrio cholerae.   

But before I start, here is some generalized advice for travelers.

Prevention (Better Living Through Chemistry)

• Bismuth subsalicylate (2 oz t.i.d.).  Studies from Mexico have show when taken on arrival at the destination (three times a day) can reduce the incidence of travelers diarrhea from 40% to 14%.  That's right, taking Pepto-Bismol -- 2 oz of liquid or 2 chewable tablets can increase your chance of not getting TD, but  you have to take it before you get TD.  Note: this won't work it you encounter a virus.
• Probiotics (Lactobacillus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii) don't work.  All studies to date have been inconclusive.
• Halogenated hydroxyquinoline derivatives, enterovioform, and other substances are effective, but may cause "neurologic adverse events" and best should be avoided.  I'm not sure what a "neurologic adverse event" is, but I'm betting it might land you in a difficult spot in a country where you don't speak the language.
• Antibiotics are effective (attack rate reduced from 40% to 4%), but only on pathogenic bacteria which are sensitive.  However, the medical community in recommends against prophylactic antibiotics except for short-term travelers who are high-risk hosts (immunosuppressed travelers). 
• Antimicrobials have no effect on viral illness.  Hepatitis A and Typhoid vaccinations are a good idea before traveling abroad.

Prevention (Better Living through Common Sense)

This should be common sense for most of us, but for those who have never traveled extensively:

• First, try to figure out if the water is potable.  In most of the U.S., Canada, and western Europe tap water is generally safe to drink.  In the rest of the world, the reverse is probably true.
• Avoid ice, since it probably is made from tap water.
• Do not brush your teeth with tap water (no matter what anyone says).  Use bottled or boiled water.  This is especially true if the hotel has labeled the water "not fit for drinking" above the sink (as I saw this in Macau and in a hotel in the Philippines).  Also, use bottled water or boiled water to wash your contact lenses or dentures (if you have them).
• Coffee and tea are generally safe.  However, cream and milk are not.  If you must have light coffee, bring non diary creamer with you.
• US and European chains (such as McDonalds) and large hotel restaurants are also usually safe choices.  Avoid street vendors.
• Don't drink from or brush your teeth with the water in the aircraft's rest room.  They are filled with regular tap water in whatever country they happen to be in.  A recent EPA study showed the bacterial contamination of various water samples taken from aircraft were extremely high in bacteria.
• Check to see if the bottled water you just purchased has an unbroken sealed cap.  In some countries, unscrupulous vendors will refill used bottled water containers with tap water and sell them on the streets.
• Stick with name brand water.  In some countries, some water companies bottle unfiltered tap water.

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

With some overseas travel planned, I started looking at universal chargers to replace a tangled mass of chargers for my Palm, BlackBerry, MBP, iPod, and rechargeable batteries.  After some consideration I decided to leverage my MBP as a universal charger -- and use USB as the conduit to charge everything -- at home, at the office, on the road and in the air.

The thought of lugging several travel chargers and a tangle of cables across the world wasn't appealing to me, so I started to investigate my options for consolidating my power needs on to a universal charging solution.  Previously, I had owned an iGo Everywhere that worked flawlessly with my old laptop and faithfully charged my portable devices.  Unfortunately, it died long ago.

First off all, there are no universal power chargers that offer a MagSafe tip to charge a MacBook or MacBook Pro.  Apple has forbidden any third party from manufacturing or selling the patented the MagSafe tip, due to the extraordinary markup on the chargers.  The workarounds are:

1. use a power inverter (which is inefficient and bulky) with your Apple charger; or
2. purchase an Apple charger cable and make your own tip (instructions HERE and HERE); or
3. purchase a MagSafe tip from someone who has butchered an Apple charging cable for you. 

I was ready to build my own, but to be honest, I'm simply too cheap to do it. 

An iGo Everywhere130 is roughly $150.  Add to that the cost of a new Apple charger is another $80.  On top of that, I would need to purchase tips for various devices for about $10 each.  After the expense and effort, I would end up with a solution that was far more expensive, heavier, and with more cables and parts to keep up with.  That just doesn't make sense for me.

Clearly, there has to be a better way.  There is -- forget the charging bricks and standardize on USB as a charging platform.  As a bonus, you can use auto or wall adapters to charge your USB devices.

Charging Batteries over USB

I have switched over entirely to rechargeable batteries.  While I'm not sure that purchasing rechargeable batteries is entirely cost effective for most people (including me), my Bose noise canceling headset eats enough AAA batteries (1 or 2 per week) to makes it seem worthwhile for me.  Better yet, I no longer have to make trips to the store or search for batteries -- I simply pop the drained batteries into the charger for a few hours and back into the device.

The only problem with this strategy is that most battery chargers tend to be bulky and take a long time charge.  Additionally, they usually come with their own power bricks and most don't work in the car without a power inverter. 

I have found one solution -- the Energizer Duo USB Charger.  The $14 device comes with two energizer AAA batteries, the charger, and an AC USB adapter.  Also -- you can use AC USB charger to power other USB devices straight from the AC outlet (USB wall chargers tend to be around $14 by themselves).  Likewise, if you have an auto USB adapter, you can charge your AA and AAA batteries in the car.

Cutting Clutter with Retractable Cables

My BlackBerry Curve, camera, and a few other devices use a mini USB connector.  For less than $15, I purchased a retractable USB to mini USB cable that is wound around a spring-tensioned spool.  The cable retracts to put an end to the clutter.  This covers my BlackBerry Curve, Camera, and USB disk drive.  I was also able to find a retractable USB charging/synch cable for my trusty Palm E2 for $9 plus shipping.

At a fraction of the cost, size, and weight this seems like a much better way to go over a universal power brick.

Labels: business travel, Nerdy, Tech, Travel Gear

Posted by Joe Turner at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

Right now I am compiling KDE under Gentoo (Linux), listening to iTunes (on Mac OS X), while writing this on Microsoft Live Writer (under Windows Vista SP1)... simultaneously on my MacBook Pro.

I achieved a software development trifecta -- I now have a laptop where I can simultaneously develop applications (without rebooting) for Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, and Linux, which can also compile code for Palm, BlackBerry, iPod/iPhone, Microsoft Mobile, and Linux (PC, PPC, arm, and MIPS) targets.

I have finally retired my monstrous, heavy 17" desktop replacement laptop; it was far too big for most laptop bags (even the 17" bags), and impossible to use when seated in a coach airline seat.  The notebook also weighed in at nearly ten (10) pounds, not counting the weight of the power brick.

After several years, I had enough and started slowly looking for a replacement that would be my primary development system that I would take with me from home, to work, and on the road.  That being said, when I figured out how much I anticipated using the system, budget became less of a factor than features and capabilities. 

Which led to the question: what should I get and how should I use it? 

• Which host operating system?  First of all, the laptop had to be capable of supporting a host operating system and multiple guest operating systems.  While I prefer Linux, I've been forced to give spontaneous presentations, and found that getting the LCD panel and external monitor working at the same time on various laptops/projectors can be problematic.  I never gave this much thought until I stood in front of a room full of people fiddling with my laptop and X Windows configuration files.  Guest operating system has to be Windows or Mac OS X. 
• Distributed Builds.  Most of the time I'm chained to my dual Xeon, which is situated in a room that lacks an air conditioner.  It would be fantastic to use laptop and wireless to program from the comfort of another room, and by using X Windows and distcc-- I could push most of the work of compilation onto the faster machines.  I would be more comfortable and my work would be completed faster.  Likewise, any new Core 2 Duo laptop I would purchase now would put the decrepit Dell Pentium D desktops to shame (that seem to be so common in the corporate environment).  I could install distcc, on the Linux box at work, and could push some of the work of compilation onto the networked machines, and probably cut compilation time in half, if not slightly more.
• Automatic Backups @ Home. When I connect to the wireless network at home, I want the laptop to automatically backup to the server on a daily, if not hourly basis.  The server is RAID-1 and already backed up on an hourly basis to a 1TB drive.
• Travel size.  It had to be small enough to use on an airplane, and relatively lightweight.  17 " is simply to large for travel.  15" is the maximum usable size on an airline, and even that is cutting it close.
• Large Disk.  Since I planned to be developing with virtual machines (VMs), it had to have a minimum 200GB drive.
• Built in Wireless and Bluetooth.  I don't like carrying around USB gadgets and don't want to be tethered to a specific place.

After looking at the specs for various laptop models, I ended purchasing a MacBook Pro (MBP) at the local Apple store.  The 14 day return policy closed the deal, and so far I've had the laptop for one week.

The first night was taken up by installing VMWare Fusion, Office, QuickBooks, Firefox, Skype, Eclipse, XCode, and otherwise tweaking the setup.  Next, I installed Vista SP1, expecting to be disgusted.  Surprisingly, I found that even operating in a virtual machine that Vista SP1 has been much improved and it is actually usable.  Next was Office, Visio, Live Writer, Visual Studio 2008, and VMWare tools. 

I now hit CTRL-<RIGHT ARROW> and open up VMWare and run Vista in full screen mode on that "space."  I can now hit CTRL combined with the right or left arrow keys to jump between Vista and Mac OS X. 

I then started working on setting up and installing Gentoo Linux.  I started with a minimal install, then emerged fluxbox.  After getting that to work, I started to emerge KDE and some of my favorite development packages.

Hammering the drive, installing three different operating systems under VMWare Fusion, Office, the system was responsive.  The only flaw I have found is that the MBP gets hot-- when hammering the drive (compiling qt and KDE takes a while), and flipping between VMs, the laptop gets hot enough to make me uncomfortable.  The can be solved with installing a utility like SMC Fan Control to turn the minimum fan speed up.

Labels: business travel, Nerdy, Tech

Posted by Joe Turner at 1:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

As the airlines cut and cut-- travel becomes more of an adventure.  Today, I cross my arms, pout, and proudly declare that I will never, ever fly Northwest Airlines again.

In February, my wife and I got "bumped" off of a Northwest flight.  As compensation, we were given paper TCV Exchange Coupons.   The gate agent assured us that this green and white paper voucher (printed on ticket stock) could be traded in for a round trip ticket anywhere in the US, Alaska or Canada.

With some difficulty, including a trip to the airport to physically hand the voucher to a ticket agent, I was able to trade the vouchers for tickets to Las Vegas for my upcoming wedding anniversary. 

When the big day arrived, my wife and I sauntered up the counter to victoriously claim our free trip to Vegas.  The agent took our boarding passes and cast a sympathetic look at our bag.   The bag, which was one pound overweight, would be $50.  I shrugged and handed her my credit card.

She sighed and looked at me with even more sympathy.  "You won't be able to make it." 

I checked my watch (which synchronizes nightly with the atomic clock in Boulder Colorado). It was 6:28 am, and I still hadn't had a cup of coffee yet.  My caffeine-deprived mind couldn't understand what the woman was saying.  Sensing my confusion, she added, "You need check in at least 30 minutes before the flight. We recommend at least one hour and seventeen minutes."  I checked in online the previous night and the flight boarded at 7:00am.  I looked around at the cavernous and empty terminal.  I was dumbstruck.

She pressed on and delivered the bad news -- the flight was overbooked, as were all of the flights for the rest of the day.  For $25 each, we could fly standby but it looked like we weren't going to get to Las Vegas for our wedding anniversary.  She took our bags, charged my card, and gave us some standby tickets.  Our bags made it to Las Vegas on time, but we didn't.

The 9:30am flight was overbooked.  We were #2 and #3 on the standby list (out of 22).  The flight left without us.  The 11:30 am flight left without us also.  The gate agent told us all the flights were entirely full; we weren't getting to Las Vegas unless we drove.

As I looked at my wife and saw that her eyes were welling up with tears, I started thinking of alternatives.  If I did nothing, we were going to get charged for a hotel room we wouldn't sleep in; our tickets to KÀ would be worthless, and our anniversary would be spent pleading with northwest agents.  After discussing the situation with the gate agent (who surprisingly suggested flying Southwest [good advice, I will in the future] ), I opted for a confirmed seat to Orange County, California.  My plan was simple: get as close as I could and drive the rest.

Luckily, I had packed my Garmin 495, with the automotive power connector and bean bag.  I rationalized that we were going to rent a car to drive out to Hoover Dam anyway...

We finally arrived (by car) at McCarran International Airport more than sixteen (16) hours after our bags did.  Not including food and gas, we were out $289 for the over weight bag fee, standby fees, and car rental.  Tired and road weary, we found our bag behind a locked glass door.  The note on the door said that if the baggage office was closed, go to the ticket counter.  So we did.  We walked the length of the concourse, up and down the escalators to find the ticket counter... which was closed. 

On the way to the MGM Grand, I guesstimated how long it would have taken in a Cessna 172 single engine plane to get there, including fuel stops.   Had I had a complex endorsement, I could have rented a Piper Arrow that would have done it easily in 9-12 hours, including fuel stops. 

The rest of our trip was relatively enjoyable and uneventful, but I'm still silently fuming at how consistently bad my experiences with Northwest were. 

On the hundreds of flights I have taken on the other airlines (American, Cathay Pacific, JAL, Continental, Jet Blue, and Southwest)-- not once did I get bumped or denied.  Not once did my baggage get lost.  However, on Northwest, 100% of the trips I have taken I ended up with my baggage being sent somewhere else, and/or I was denied. 

Granted, this is a small sample size, but I now view Northwest as the armpit of the airline industry.  When it came time to book my business travel to Asia, there was no way I was going to use Northwest.  I booked my business class tickets on American/JAL.

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments

I'm currently in the process of nailing down and booking my travel for the rest of the year: one trip to Las Vegas, and two trips to Asia.  Given the tumultuous changes in the airline industry, I foresee that frequent flyer miles will soon be harder to use, and diluted in value, so I've decided to burn all of my 158k+ frequent flyer miles and vouchers. 

In February, my wife and I got "bumped" off of a Northwest flight.  As compensation, we were given paper TCV Exchange Coupons.   The gate agent assured us that this green and white paper voucher (printed on ticket stock) could be traded in for a round trip ticket anywhere in the US, Alaska or Canada.

Tonight, I tried to book the ticket, and even with the help of a very polite reservation agent, I failed. 

The tickets are out of "W class" or the same restricted selection of frequent flyer award seats.  Fortunately for us, there were seats available to Las Vegas, albeit on the less desirable flights (early morning and late night return).

After being put on hold several times, the agent came back with an ominous, "Oh... Is that a green and white paper ticket voucher?"  When I said it was, the agent stated that she could not process the ticket, only electronic vouchers.  I would have to drive to the airport and physically hand the ticket to an agent to process or mail it in.

Of course, no where on the Northwest Airlines web site stated this.  On the contrary, the web site instructed me to call reservations to use the voucher, which is incorrect.  To further confuse the situation, there are two types of TCVs: free roundtrip tickets and vouchers with a cash value.   Additionally there are paper and electronic TCVs.  Paper TCVs cannot be exchanged for E-TCVs.  Confused yet?  So was I.

Not surprisingly, given the restrictions, most paper TCVs are simply not redeemed.  

This Saturday, I will be driving out to the airport to trade in the vouchers for tickets to Las Vegas. 

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

So far this year, the other airlines have levied charges on checked luggage, increased phone and in person booking fees, increased change fees, added fuel charges, and increased ticket fares.

While most of our clients do not require travel to a client's facilities, we will continue to monitor the situation and will be modifying our travel and billing policies to clearly communicate our airline choices, preferences, and strategies to save our clients money. 

Labels: Announcements, business travel, Consulting

Posted by Joe Turner at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

"denial is not just a river in Egypt."

I just got back from a weekend in Atlanta.  As you may notice, my weekend ended today (Tuesday) thanks to what happened last night -- we got "The Bump."

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, and sauntered to the gate just in time to be denied.  Northwest had overloaded the plane with mail, and started pulling people off the plane.

Although I have volunteered on many occasions to get bumped, this was the first time I have gotten bumped, when I didn't want to.

Our bag ended up making the flight but we didn't.  We were stranded in Atlanta without a clothes or toiletries.  By the time we walked back to the baggage office, they had handed out all of the stranded passenger toiletry kits.  Thankfully, the hotel gave us a toothbrush and shaver.  Still, we ended up spending $65 at the airport gift shop so we would have clean underwear and T-shirts to wear in the morning.

We had to wake up at 4:30 am, to catch the shuttle to the airport to make the 6:15 am flight.  My wife barely made it to work on time; I was late by several hours. 

I have sworn to never fly Northwest ever again, if I can avoid it.

Getting Less and Paying More

Last year well over  64,000 passengers were involuntarily "bumped," on top of 4.4 million pieces of mishandled luggage, and a 73.4% on-time performance.

Additionally, fares have risen.  Business class fares have jumped 12.4 % during the first half of February, while rental cars rates have jumped 20% each week this month (when compared to a year ago).  Hotel rooms rates jumped 5.9% in 2007 (source: msnbc).

It seems that the airlines are on a race to the bottom.  Just check out these "enhancements" which have taken place within the scope of the last 12 months:

• Last year, American and United announced that they are expunging accounts that hadn't had activity during the previous 18 months. 
• Beginning May 5, customers who fly United will be faced with a $25 fee for checking a second bag, to provide "...choice, flexibility and low fares."
• US Airways will no longer offer a 500 mile minimum on short trips.
• US Airways has announced it will charge $25 for a second bag, following United.

It makes me wonder what is in store for the future.

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

This week, I discovered TripIt.  TripIt is a dead simple travel itinerary web service.  In a nutshell-- you forward email confirmations from a variety of rail, airline, hotel, and car rental sites to plans@tripit.com and a travel itinerary will be created automatically.  

But it is more than that -- you can invite friends or coworkers to view and collaborate on the itinerary.  You can also publish an ical calendar (think Google calendar) feed so friends, family, and coworkers know where you are.

I tried it with an upcoming trip and the service worked flawlessly, merging an airline confirmation with a rental car confirmation, to produce a unified itinerary. 

I have decided that I will be using it for all of my business related travel in the near future. 

A few random thoughts:

• For business travelers, I can see the value of this.  I can hand an employee their marching orders and tell them to add me to their business trip.  With no effort from me, I know have their flight number, schedule, and rental car reservation information.  Likewise, they can have access to mine.
• When my wife and I visit family, I always forward the flight information to my father who meets us at the airport.  Now I can just add him as a collaborator and he gets the details and changes automatically.
• Although I haven't tried it yet, it crossed my mind that a TripIt generated itinerary would be perfect to submit with a foreign business visa application -- just forward the emails to TripIt and print.   

The site is as simplistic as the idea.

The site's investors hope to make money on advertising and data mining, so someday there will be cluttered ads all over your itinerary, and they will probably mercilessly sell your private information.   However, for now, it is free and it does exactly what it promises to do.

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

• If you have a Starbucks card, you get 2 free wi-fi hours.
• AT&T lowered the price to $4 a day for two hours of access, compared with T-Mobiles $6-10 per hour charge.
• T-Mobile will be a roaming partner onto the AT&T network through a side deal; hotspot subscribers will still be able to access the hotspots.

Labels: Business, business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: business travel

Posted by Joe Turner at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments