After you have done your homework and checked out your cheap traveloptions, such as cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discounttravel deals, and cheap vacation packages, youwould likely benefit from realizing that it is not all glossy brochures andwhite sand beaches at your destination.
The following travel secrets that the travel industry wouldprefer its customers did not know, according to Caroline Morse:
Airlinespad their estimated arrival times. Airlines frequently say a flight takes longer than it really does toinflate their on-time arrival statistics. While todays
planes are definitely not slower thantheir predecessors, the average scheduled flight time in 2012 was longer thanit was in 1995 on 93 percent of domestic routes.
Thereremain only three major rental car companies in the U.S. Those companies control 94 percent of themarket. This explains why rental carprices are very similar from company to company. Avis owns Budget and Zipcar. Hertz owns Dollar and Thrifty. Enterprise owns Alamo and National.
Youwill most likely be flying on an older plane. The average age of the major airlines fleets is about 14 yearsold. If you hope to fly on a newerplane, avoid American and Delta, which have the oldest (16 years old, onaverage) planes. Rest assured that aplanes age is more likely to impact your comfort than your safety. Industry analysts have concluded that a lotof older planes were built tougher, and with proper maintenance can remain safefor 25 to 30 years.
Somecruise lines harm the environment just as much or more than planes. At sea, untreated cruise ship waste,including raw sewage, can legally be dumped directly into the ocean so long asthe ship is at least three miles away from the shore. Cruise ship emissions seriously contribute toair pollution. If the future of theenvironment is important to you, research the eco-policies of your ship beforefinalizing your plans.
Airlinepilots tend to be overworked and underpaid. This is particularly true of regional airline copilots, who often about$28,000 per year and can be on duty 12 to 13 hours a day, four days a week,often making a long commute to airports.
Hotelbeds can be disgusting. Most hotels onlychange sheets not bedspreads between guests. One study found that the average hotel bedspread might be changed onlyfour times a year. Many hotels do notuse waterproof mattress covers to protect their mattresses from the millions ofskin cells, bodily secretions, bacteria, dust mites, and other allergens thatguests leave behind.
Flightattendants have been known to delay flights on purpose if a flight is alreadylate and a further delay will result in the airline having to pay overtime.
Somehotel housekeepers polish glasses with furniture polish because it keepsglassware looking spotless and streak-free. When possible you should drink from disposable cups instead or at leastthoroughly rinse hotel glassware prior to using it.
Someairplane water is not safe to drink. Onestudy found that 14 percent of tank water in planes tested did not meet federalsafety standards and contained bacteria including E. coli.
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