I remember years ago, my Brazilian friends would nag about high airfares in Brazil where you'd pay $400 to fly to Bahia from Sao Paulo. GOL changed that for ever. BUT now I read that JetBlue is after the Brazilian skies.  Yep, JetBlue, or B6, as we airline buffs know it. Another reason for me to finally finish that damn article on low cost airlines that I've been meaning to publish here for so long. But hey, my dissertation first :) As I always say, thank you, JetBlue, I'd never fly you, but I love you, as guys like you make competition fiercer and I can fly to Cancun for $100 OW on a big airline getting big perks and big miles..hurray!!! :) Here's the relevant article on B6 taking its wings in Brazil next year:

Source: David Neeleman

David Neeleman Names His Brazilian Airline `Azul'
Tuesday May 6, 11:00 am ET
Name Was One of 150,000 Submitted by Brazilian Consumers in An Online Competition

Merry Christmas from Buffalo, NY!

Though I’m freezing my ass off in here, I thought it’d be cool to come up with my friend R to meet his family, experience the real Lebanese Xmas feast, and—OK, true—to see some snow for Xmas since there is none in DC. And you know, Xmas has to be white! And I totally don’t mind being freezing cold as I’ll be in Panama in a few days where there is 85 degrees right now (and no rain at this time of the year, halleluiah!) J

 

I’ve been reminiscing about my 07 travels for the past few days and I am amazed at how many places I’ve seen—many of them thanks to my conference and/or research travels, topped off with a few personal trips when I’d visit friends or family .

 

2007 started off in Ljubljana, Slovenia. I remember how my Slovenian, Italian, and Mexican friends that were with me for New Year’s Eve would go to the Preseren Square with Euro coins in their pockets to buy burgers (OK, the burgers those guys over there call pleskavica). And were they yummie, even though we didn’t buy them with Euros—the vendors were SO NOT prepared for the arrival of the Euro. So our “let’s-go-to-the-main-square-to-get-pleskavica-with-Euros-for-the-first-time” didn’t work out as planned, but was still quite fun. Total fare to LJU via LGW (CO, JP) came to like $550. Great deal, right?

 

Before going back to the States I spent a couple of days in Venice, Italy with my Italian friends and then jetted off to London, UK on EasyJet where “my” CO took me across the pond to EWR and then DCA, my adopted home. Though sick’n’tired of flying through Venice and London, it’s almost always worked out as a much cheaper way of going home (unless Adria Airways has some big time sale, in which case I’d fly home from London).

 

Soon after the New Year’s I found myself in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL. God, I loved the weather there. I couldn’t resist the cheap airfare from BWI (thru CLE) into FLL for some 50 bucks OW on CO (and with a free 1^st class upgrade on the way down!). It was my very first trip to Miami (other than merely connecting at the airport) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though it was only a longer weekend, I had a blast….those Long Iceland iced teas were fabulous and my friends down there were real hoots. I had a three day taste of the Caribbean before zooming down to CancunJ.

 

My winter is usually not complete without going down to Cancun and—my fav—Playa del Carmen, Mexico and the special CO offer for $85 OW to Cancun via IAH was a MUST (with a free 1^st class upgrade on both legs from/to IAH). Though I found Playa even more American and touristy than last year, I kept myself away from the crowded areas as much as I could and mingled with the locals, eating “real” Mexican not rather than your typical NY Marriot food. 5 days was so not enough, but at least I had so much fun, thanks to my friends from Cancun, Playa, and Cozumel Island.

 

My first conference (Biolinguistic Explorations) took me to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Unfortunately I had to fly out of EWR for the low fare on CO, but it worked out great—free 1^st class upgrades on both legsJ. It was freezing in DC in February while SD had mild summer weather with some 70 degrees. I didn’t see the gorgeous beaches in the touristy areas that fill postcards at every corner and in brochures, but I was happy to see the “real” Dominican way of life in the capital. Though stricken with poverty, most Dominicans were so humble and nice and they’d take me everywhere and make me try every single food they eat. I ended up at a huge 2-day party with people I’d never see in my life and I had a blast. Some of those friendships were made for life, I’m pretty sure of that! And I am so going back!!!

 

Late February and March were hectic as hell due to my conference presentations. My next conference talk was a plenary address at SHAV Speech and Hearing Association of Virginia that took place in Richmond, Virginia. One thing is for sure—as soon as you drive 20 minutes out of DC people start getting nice(r) and the food a lot cheaper. Picture this: a breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn in Richmond with like 6 stations of omelettes, waffles, eggs, cold cuts, salads, desserts, toppled with unlimited coffee and tea, $8. Can you beat this? Hell no, at least not in DC LOL. Plus, the conference crowd at SHAV seemed so much more “human” than most of my usual linguistic encounters with a lot of stuck-up noses and eye rolling. Linguists, get real, come to SHAV or ASHA!

 

I spent Easter at home for the very first time since I’d started grad school in DC. I flew to Cologne, Germany as CO had this awesome deal for $99 OW, $198 RT from EWR. I added a RT from DC to EWR for 90 something bucks and I got to Germany for some $350 all in (RT, that is!). Tell me if which travel agent could have done this! Eheheh. However, being stranded in the middle of nowhere in the suburbs of Frankfurt is kinda not pleasant, so I took a train to Munich and then Jesenice, Slovenia for next to nothing (another online-only deal). The whole travel ordeal was kinda tiring, but hey, I got home for ham, horseradish, and the “potica” cake for $450 all in. J

 

April and May usually screw up my school and travel plans as I usually start singing “love is in the air” way sooner than I should (and start burning 10s of 1,000s of air miles that I’ve earned since the beginning of the year). May 07 was no exception (even though I still didn’t forget the April/May 06 drama LOL). I found myself in Querétaro, Mexico this time (the name comes from the Otomí language, meaning “the great ball game” or from the P'urhépecha language, meaning “place of stones”—apparently after a gorge that resembles the two opposite walls, used in the ball game by native Indians). I only spent a long weekend there. The city isn’t particularly interesting though it has some nice colonial architecture and the famous aqueduct. The ice cream was yummie, but who went there for ice cream anyway LOL.

 

I spent almost the entire summer in Panama, with a long weekend trip to Mexico City and Querétaro, Mexico (w/ my CO/CM miles, of course—I do almost all my travel in the summer w/ miles to avoid outrageous airfare prices). And yes, I flew up to Qro. again (I know, I know, I never learn LOL). However, I wanted to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Bellas Artes before bussing to Querétaro, but didn’t quite make it as there was no time. Qro. was lotsa fun, though I kinda knew it would be my last trip there (at least in 07). I wrote the bulk of my Ph.D. dissertation in Panama the summer, but also managed to go check out the Pearl Islands in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Panama City and a couple of more beaches on the Pacific side, such as Gorgona and Decameron. No time for my Caribbean this time! On the way to the States late August, I made another stop in Mexico City, Mexico (again, there’s nothing better than a high season reward ticket with open jaw and a free lay over [or even two, if you’re smart and know how to play the game]—something that would cost you between 1,000 and $1,500 on a regular ticket!).

 

My fall semester started off with a trip to London and Oxford, UK. My friend A and I presented at the University of Oxford and I squeezed into my trip a long weekend trip home. In London, I met with my friend S, who’s been living in London for quite some time and though it was only one night, we had a blast drinking Leffe beer and eating Thai. London still has its charm, but it’s becoming so non-English—I kinda felt they’re more and more americanized with Starbucks coffee stores at every corner, Payless shoes, and iPod nanos, toppled with some kinda eastern European and middle eastern mixture of attitudes. It kinda didn’t sit in, I prefer NY J.

 

I made two trips to Boston, MA in the fall/winter—one late October and one mid December. The first one was a trip to the BUCLD conference at Boston University and the second one was a consultation meeting with my Ph.D. co-director. Both cost me $58 OW from BWI (w/ a free upgrade on the EWR-BOS leg in the first one), but I got lucky on the second one where I was rerouted from/to DCA due to the snowstorm. Boston’s one of my fav cities. Though they all say how dull it is at night, I had so much fun with my friends from East Boston. I feasted on Colombian farmer’s platters with frijoles, ropa vieja kinda beef, platanos, arepas, and Brazilian feijoada and big chunks of bacon chicken and beef—not to mention all the good beer I downed at the three bars we went to. The December trip was a bit quieter because of the cold and snow, but at least I saw my friends again.

 

Never before had I wondered around so much in New York City than in the fall & winter of 07. Though the Broadway strike prevented my Panamanian friend R and me from seeing a musical a week before thanksgiving, I went back with F, another Panamanian who was visiting, a few weeks later. He wanted to see the Phantom of the Opera and I agreed I’d go see it again. It was OK, but Christine’s role was sung by a new girl and it just kinda didn’t do it for me—not that she was bad, but I liked last year’s Christine better. NY was crazy as shit—packed with people who were laughing, crying, farthing, peeing, spitting—you name it. Though I love NY, I hate the crowds in NY, I really do, but I did this whole NY in December thing mainly for F. The entire city was lit up—I particularly liked the Rockefeller Center where I’d have my fav hot drink this winter—the Starbucks white chocolate peppermint mocha.

 

I spent Xmas in Buffalo, NY. I saw the glimpse of Niagara Falls from the American side, but didn’t actually go to Canada. Buffalo has been freezing and there’s like half a foot of snow out there on the sidewalks, somewhere even a foot or more, though the roads are clean. I’ve spent nothing but eating, drinking, and shopping at malls since I got here some 3, 4 days ago. Oh, I did the movies—Will Smith's I Am Legend on a big ass 5-storey high IMax Thatre screen. That rocked! J

 

And I’ll top off my 2007 in Panama City, Panama—my second adopted home. Can’t wait for the sun and the heat after this, and—of course—my friends and my little chats over dinners and coffee with them, my escapes to the beach, and me getting back in shape after 2-weeks of pigging out on Xmas food, especially the 5-day Lebanese Xmas feastJ

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

Yeeeah, more airfare war for us living in the US--since Virgin took its wings, United has slashed off tickets to SFO for 20% and more. Here's a Reuters article from a few days ago on the airfare wars, particularly between Virgin and United and Virgin and Southwest. And if you ask me about a great MR (mielage run) [on big airlines] for the DC area right now--it's Seattle time (prices from $99 and up OW from BWI and some $30 more from DCA). I wonder what SEA looks like at this time of the year--probably not like DC, where we're currently stille xperiencing 85 degrees outside-ahhhh.

============================================================================

Virgin fuels fare war between U.S. airlines

By Kyle Peterson

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The launch of low-cost airline Virgin America Inc this year has triggered a fare war that has nearly halved ticket prices on some routes and could erode earnings at rival airlines.

The competition has been especially fierce between Virgin, which is partly backed and fully branded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, and UAL Corp's (UAUA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) United Airlines on the transcontinental route between San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Low-cost carriers JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N: Quote, Profile, Research) also have been drawn into a turf war with Virgin and responded with capacity additions and fare cuts.

"It's pretty apparent that the airlines are worried," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of fare tracker FareCompare.com.

Virgin launched service in the United States on August 8, diving into a U.S. airline industry that is recovering from a years-long downturn.

Through deep cost cuts and fare hikes, U.S. airlines have managed a recovery in the last two years after grappling with low-cost competition and excess capacity. But the Virgin invasion adds fresh fuel to those troubles for some competitors.

FARE PRESSURE

According to FareCompare data, United has cut its lowest advance purchase fares on round-trip flights between San Francisco and Washington by 20 percent since mid-July, when Virgin started selling tickets.

Lowest advance purchase fares do not necessarily reflect average fares, which see some seasonal reductions as the peak summer travel season winds down.

Other carriers have attempted to fend off Virgin by adding more flights to routes where Virgin flies, Seaney said.

For example, when Virgin added 447 seats, or three daily weekday flights, to its San Francisco-to-Las Vegas route, Southwest responded by adding 959 seats, or seven flights, on that route.

When Virgin put 745 seats, or 5 daily flights, on the route between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Southwest said it would add 8 daily flights.

Such capacity additions can attract more travelers, but they also create a glut of seats and pressure fares.

"They don't want to lose market share, so the airlines that run right against (Virgin) start adding aircraft," Seaney said.

It is a trend that is unlikely to reverse any time soon, said Terry Trippler, an airline expert at myvacationpassport.com.

He said Virgin's fares and focus on in-flight services, such as entertainment, make it a formidable competitor for the cross-country business travelers that United and others have courted aggressively in recent years.

"More than bringing fares down, they've assured that fares will stay down," Trippler said.

IMPACT ON REVENUE

A UAL spokesman declined to comment on competition with Virgin, except to say that United welcomes it.

But it is only a matter of time before the fare reductions on transcontinental routes begin to depress industry revenue, said Joe Schwieterman, transportation expert at DePaul University.

He said UAL will be the first to feel the Virgin's squeeze but other airlines will be in a similar situation as Virgin expands.

"I think the fourth quarter is when you could see a modest bottom line impact," Schwieterman said. "Virgin America will likely emerge as a West Coast powerhouse."

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson, editing by Tim Dobbyn)

i'm back in panama city--back to same old same old, work, gym, and my dissertation [not necessarily in this order hehe].

 

the pearl islands were simply AMAZING. i had never seen so many fish in my life, driven a golf cart so damn much, and seen so many beautiful beaches in one little spot.

 

after a 15-minute flight on air panama we ended up on the island of CONTADORA first. we went snorkeling solo version as soon as we got there and everything was great [well, except that i got beaten by a jelly fish, lost my oakley sunglasses, and got a bit sunburned] -- i know, this sounds awful, but i had sooo much fun [ok, the jelly fish thing kinda sucked, but i wouldn't give up, i just went on and on, swimming and staring at those yellow and blue and violet and red fish - i even saw eels! :)]. then i realized i should probably put a t-shirt on as i started feeling the hot sun on my back already. i swam the rest of the way with my t-shirt on and got back just fine. and then i did the ancient medicinal procedure when i got out of the water [i know, i know, it sounds really gross (well, for those who actually know about it heh)], but i didn't want my jelly fish sting to be on my arm for ever]. my whole arm was in small blisters and some kinda rash--watch out where you're peeing, dom lol...i gotta ... what??? p...p...ppp?? LOL

 

the island is so small you can drive around it several times a day in a golf cart. a little cart full of gas for 24 hrs of use will cost you between 35 and 50 bucks, depending on who you are, where you are, and what you speak--yeah, literally!; for example, if you're staying at a hotel where we were [since this is the "official" rent-a-golf cart place], speak to the guy who works there in italian [he's italian], you're gonna get a discount. if you are an outsider, appear like you have plenty of cash and start haggling in english, well, the cart is still yours, but for 15 bucks more :)) [sometimes i just love being european and speaking different languages LOL] -- grazie, piero!!!

 

the next day we took a tour [again, guided by two really nice italians from genoa]. they took us to 3 islands in the pearl islands archipelago (chitre, chepra, and mogo mogo) and it was just *wow*. being in the pacific, you would think the ocean is darker and the sand beaches are brown rather than white, but it's not like that at all. it looks exactly like the caribbean, with crystal clear blue and green water, white sand beaches, and thousands of huge palm trees. the island of contadora is all green and full of bushes and flowers.

 

on the tour, they took us snorkeling--this time "more professionally"--and it was again, wow...amazing...can't believe it. the fish were huge and of many shapes and colors and i couldn't believe my eyes. i saw dory from "finding nemo"; no nemo, though, i guess clownfish don't like those coral reefs hehe. we also saw 2 whales - a momma whale and a baby whale. according to our guide teresa, the baby whale is bigger than our boat. i only saw the two big tales and i even filmed them. they also took us to this part of the ocean that was full of starfish -- they were so big and real pretty.

 

there's no partying and "wild" bars on the island. this is NOT cancun or decameron or something alike. it's quiet and more for couples and families, i'd say. things close at 10 and if you were too busy at the beach or taking a nap in the evening after your snorkwling adventures, chances are you're gonna have to go to bed HUNGRY :). we ended up at a--you wouldn't believe it--an austrian/swiss restaurant eating wiener schnitzels and french fries. it smelled like my mom's kitchen :)

 

on the way back, we flew taca's regional airline, called aeroperlas. they left our luggage on the island and it came with the next flight an hour later :) as if we had come from paris or something LOL we tried to get a couple of free tickets from them for all the inconvenciens and troubles caused (we served them everything from "we didn't have the car keys to go home from the airport" to "dom was beaten by a jelly fish and is feeling really bad") - to no avail. this is not the coutnry with US-like customer service lol

 

so if you ever come to panama, do yourself a favor and go check out the pearl islands. there are more than 200 islands in the archipelago, only some 6, 7 of which are inhabited. contadora is the only one where you can actually live comfortably -- where you'll find restaurants, bars, and small stores. the biggest one, the king's island ("la isla del rey") has a luxury resort called "hacienda del mar" with direct TV and personal jacuzzis in every room. and that's about everything there is on the island. so i'd stick to contadora.

oh, and don't take the "ferry" from panama [we heard it's really uncomfortable and makes you seasick like crazy] & shouldn't be called a ferry at all. it's more like a little boat. instead of a 2-hour suffering voyage on a "ferry", take air panama or aeroperlas and get to the island in 15 mins. then relax on one of some 8, 9 beaches, you can even swim in the buff on the swedish women's beach [they luv blonde swedes, i guess lol] -- this is the ONLY official nude beach in the entire republic of panama! my fav beach was playa camaron/going into playa cacique, in front of the beautiful "villa romantica" hotel. it looked just like a piece of caribbean with white sand beach and light blue color [see the attched pix].

 

all in all, it was an amazing trip and for those who have seen any of the three survivor shows on TV, come see it in person, too. it's *so*worth it!

 

saludos de panama!

  

Oh sweet, Virgina Amercia just announced today that it's taking its wings! Congrats, VA!

Their entertainment system rocks--it features special mood lightning (depending on the mood of the flight, outside weather and time of the day), 1,000s of MP3s, video games, and pay-per-view movies. VA is a cashless airline, it says--all you need to do is order food, movies, video games, etc. on your private in-seat viedo screen and swipe your credit card. Some commodities and perks come for free with your airfare. Sweet!

And the price for all this? Well, Washington DC (IAD) to Los Angeles (LAX) $129 OW total, $258 RT total. Not bad at all. No hidden rules of the game, blackout dates, and 300% higher fares on the weekends--all this with a user-friendly reward system called "eleVAte". First Class on the above-mentioned route goes for $369 OW. Not bad! Well done, VA--I hope yoy stay with us for many years to come and though I'm sticking to "my" CO/CM (Continental/Copa), I will defintiely check out this new birdie just to experience the perks they got to offer.

Chek out VA on http://www.virginamerica.com

 

Greetings from Panama.

 

 

Here I am again--the land of some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet, chicken dresses ("polleras"), crazy carnivals no one but panamenians really appreciate and comprehend, red devil public buses (aka. "diablos rojos"), the cheapest booze i've seen around, and the land of one of my favorite airlines, i.e., COPA.

 

Panama is developing frigging fast and I am really delighted to see many changes, though the skyscraper after skyscraper policy is kinda getting on my nerves already--allright, it *does* look cool to see all these magnificent towers by night (which reminds one of Manhattan), but damn it--for those who live, walk and drive here, the traffic is absolutely atrocious. Avenida Balboa, Via Espana, and Calle 50 get so jammed that I've started walking everywhere rather than taking cabs since it takes me longer to get where I want to get in a taxi. Taxi drivers will tell you how they're closing all the living space with these damn skyscrapers and in 5 years' time, there'll hardly be any space left to walk around. And they're damn right, I'm telling you. It seems that plans are on the way to fill up the bay and add another row of skyscrapers in front of the existing one--ouch, this means 1,000s of people will lose their nice vista, including the billionairs that Donald Trump's company takes around to show them the place where Trump's huge hotel and condominiums tower will stand (check out his georgeous creation at the official website, http://www.trumpoceanclub.com/). We're talking years from now, but still...And I so want to invest in some property here later on when I have the money. There's still time, they say :)

 

What else is new here?

The Panamanians voted FOR the Panama Canal expansion, which will create more jobs, more competition, more cargo--and of course--a bigger flow of cash into the country.

 

I discovered a Sushi Itto restaurant, part of the Mexican chain (http://www.sushi-itto.com.mx/) close to where I live. I pigged out on sushi with my friend Ray the other day. Yummie. OK, it may not be like the nicest shick venue, but it's definitely classy enough to go and be seen. I also discovered BENIHANA (http://www.benihana.com/) a few blocks from here and will defintiely go check it out soon. I *LOVE* Benihana and their sushi. Another new thing I just learned a few days ago--and I was like *WOW*, can't believe it--was that SANBORNS from Mexico (http://www.sanborns.com.mx/sanborns/) is coming to Panama. They're opening their first restaurant at Multiplaza very soon as part of their Central American expansion. I need to go check out if their molletes will taste the same as the ones I always eat in Mexico. What else is new? Copa is expanding big time--they just started flying to DC Dulles (IAD), Guadalajara, Mexico and Cordoba, Argentina. They now fly to some 25 destinaations in the Americas. Bravo, COPA, I love getting your miles and perks--the only thing you need to do is hone on your English, damn it, it was really BAD the other day when I flew to Mexico! [speaking of which, they might contract us to do some training for their pilots before I take off from here].

 

My free lancing ("professional services" as it is dubbed here) has worked out great; I love my job and my boss. I've mainly been doing professional workshop development for call centers such as Dell and Nars (and hoping to do it for Copa, too). I also found a nice cozy apartment to live--just half a block from the office. I'm attaching some pix below so you can check it out. It's so cute, all white and beige. The housewarming party was pretty late--June 30th--but was kinda cool. It was a cocktail night--I ended up making margaritas and other cocktails long into the night--with my beautiful candle-lit living room table made of massive wood from Virginia, US.

 

I've not traveled anywhere but Mexico since I got here late May--too much work plus I've been working on my dissertation a LOT. The weekend in Mexico was awesome and flying first class on Copa was a nice experience, too.

That said, however, I am traveling this coming weekend and I am *SO* excited about this trip. I'm going to--I know you're gonna envy me this one-the Pearl Islands (http://www.focuspublicationsint.com/focuspanama/es/perlas-es.htm)

 

Though not my favorite side (remember how much I adore the Caribbean side, i.e., the Atlantic), the Pearl Islands ("las islas de las perlas" in Spanish) are pushed down south in the calm turquois Pacific waters with amazing white sand beaches that look just like Caribbean beaches. This is where rich Panamanians and foreigners have their weekend houses or even entire islands.

 

I'm attaching a couple of pictures of one of the most popular islands called "la isla de Contadora" ("the Island of Counting"), which got its name by the Spanish who counted their booty and other wealth before it was shipped to Spain. Those of you in the States who watch the popular show The Survivor will remember that the show featured the Pearl Island three times--more than any other destination in the history of the show (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_Pearl_Islands).

 

Allrighty--will post more when I get back from Contadora (I hope to go to a few other islands, too, particualrly la Isla del Rey, the King's Island). Oh, and I can't wait to do some snorkelling, go see some sharks or whales and maybe even do some scuba diving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh, this will definitely *stir up* at least some summer air fares....

all airlines, beware of this baby :)...skybus...the name reminds me of the mexican low-cost carrier called "Aerobus" (basically, "airbus"), the monterrey-based no frill airline that's growing like crazy--just like its parent ryainair in europe. so we got another baby airline in the air.

still waiting to see richard branson's brainchild - "VIRGIN AMERICA" (http://www.virginamerica.com/ is already up and the airline is waiting for the government's approval).

not that i'd do these smaller, cheap airlines--though the new ones boast all-leather seats and individual in-seat screens with satellite TV and VIRGIN promises to be the most high-tech of them all--but i just love competition as this makes me fly cheaper and with lotsa frills :)

here's today's article from USA today on skybus.

 

 

from USA Today, may 1 2007

 

Airline Skybus gets off ground in May

 

By Dan Reed, USA TODAY

 

Airline start-up Skybus announced Tuesday that it will launch servic