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Skip On Over - March 2008

Usually, a direct flight from A to B is best for me. But, not always.

Travelling from Calgary, Canada (home) to Melbourne, Australia involves flying to Los Angeles or San Francisco, about 3.5 hours, and then the long leg of the trip - about 14 hours. I have had touchdowns - wastes of time - in Sydney and Auckland, going both ways. They were simply irritating delays.

Once, though, we were able to work an overnight stopover in San Francisco without adding to the plane fare. (We had to pay the hotel). We got in on Saturday morning, and spent the whole day and evening with very nice friends who treated us to the grand tour. (Thanks to Cathryn and Richard!). On Sunday we had about half a day to wander the Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 area before heading out to the airport for an evening flight. That was great.


I've also flown to Madrid and back on this itinerary:

Calgary to Chicago - six hours on the ground in Chicago - quick trip in to see the Art Institute
Chicago to Copenhagen - overnight in Copenhagen - dinner out and a little walking tour to see Christmas lights
Copenhagen to Madrid

Return: Madrid to Copenhagen - again, overnight in Copenhagen with a full day to explore Tivoli and central Copenhagen at Christmas time
Copenhagen to Chicago - overnight in Chicago, a little more exploring downtown
Chicago to Calgary.

These routes aren't for everyone, but we had the time and the interest in seeing a few more places. The best website I've found for a quick look at odd routes is TravelCuts, the agency that works with university students, teachers, and the general public.

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Happy Travels!
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ExitNow.ca - Budget Travel Deals

March 29th 2008 16:57
A friend just tipped me off to exitnow.ca, a discount travel site for Canadian travel.

Affiliated with charter airline Air Transat, exitnow.ca offers low-cost flights and vacation packages. Air Transat has been around in the charter business long enough to have a following. I flew with them to Manchester in 1996, with a very pleasant refueling stop in Iceland. (Hey, it may be the only time I get to Iceland, and it was very beautiful to see).

I just noticed a 7-day hotel and airfare deal from Calgary to London Gatwick, hotel in Bloomsbury - that's near the British Museum - for under $1100, before tax. That is a steal in my books.

So, if you want a trip from Canada to Europe, or to a sun place, looks worth checking this website.

I am completely unrelated to exitnow.ca and have no financial or other interest in them whatsoever. To my chagrin, I always pay my own way.

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Air Canada Airbus A330-300 by Arpingstone, Public Domain on Wikimedia Commons
Air Canada Airbus A330-300 by Arpingstone. Thank you for putting this into the public domain via Wikimedia Commons.


In January 2008, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled that people who are so obese they cannot fit into a standard airplane seat will be entitled to more room at no extra charge.

One Person, One Fare

Called the "one person, one fare" policy, this ruling comes into effect in early 2009. It only applies to domestic flights within Canada. Both Air Canada (including Air Canada Jazz) and WestJet, the two major air carriers in Canada, are subject to the order.

The ruling is part of a larger decision that also allows disabled persons to travel with a necessary attendant at no extra charge.

The airlines have a year to work out the details of exactly how they will put these new rules into operation.

Canadian Transportation Agency Found that Obesity is a Disability (Sometimes)

There are lots of strongly held opinions about the obesity ruling in particular. To put things in perspective, it only applies to persons who are so obese that their obesity is a disability, not to the average punter with a spare tire.

I have written a few short articles about this ruling.

One of the many interesting dimensions lies in the history of the obesity case. The complainant actually asked to purchase an extra seat for herself, and told Air Canada she was obese and would need the extra space. It was the rude and humiliating response from the airline staff that prompted her to take further action. If the airline had just treated her with dignity and provided the space she requested - at her own expense - this case may never have started.

It definitely was not a case of someone trying to take advantage.

Here are links to two of my related articles:

Obese Air Passengers Win

One Person, One Fare Policy

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Elsewhere in the blogosphere, I have just posted a short review of an interview with Chuck Thompson, author of Smile When You're Lying, Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer. The interviewer, Jian Ghomeshi, is one of my favourites these days.

If you like radio, or ever secretly wanted to be a travel writer, you might find it fun to listen. There's a link on that other blog (which is called Explore Radio, the Voice in the Dark) that should get you to the website for Jian's program on CBC Radio, called Q. From there you will find download instructions for the March 25, 2008 interview I'm talking about


[ Click here to read more ]
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Kicking off the new site, skiponover.com, I've posted some pieces about classic destinations. There's a reason so many people want to see these places.

Palace of Westminster by Andrew Dunn, Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0
Palace of Westminster, by Andrew Dunn. Please respect the photographer's license - find him at andrewdunnphoto.com.

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Welcome to skiponover.com

March 19th 2008 03:13
Hi,

Skip On Over is a collection of travel blogs with a couple of things in common


[ Click here to read more ]
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