American Airlines and United Airlines Merger

Every couple of years, it’s good to take a look at how much we have grown. It gives us a chance to reevaluate how we are doing and what we can change. For American Airlines, it seems that 2013 is that time. They took time to reflect on recent years’ debts, bankruptcy and lay-offs.

American Airlines is coming back with a vengeance to take what they once dominated. So what strategies will they put in place?

-New Look- logo and aircrafts

-New management team

-New merger with United Airlines creating the largest airline in the world

-New Advertising strategies

What does this mean for us jet setters?

American Airlines is trying to modernize our travel experience by offering better customer service, redesigned airport terminals, offering new hubs, Wi-Fi, new apps and smoother check-in.

AMR (American Airline’s parent company) already reported $44 million profit in January. Check out this video with insights on the new aircraft interior.

What are your thoughts on this merger?

New York Travel Show

This past weekend, tourism boards, travelers, travel agents gathered at the Jacob Javitz Center. It was the 10th Annual New York Times Travel Show. There were booths representing every corner of the world, big and small. The signs were big and the representatives were welcoming. It wasn't a competition for the best booth but presentation did not go unnoticed. It was as if you hopped from one country another as you maneuvered through the crowd from booth to booth. It was a blend of voices in different languages. I skipped around only to gather information from countries I'd never been to, establishing conversation and make new friends.

As I looked around, the Taiwan table caught my attention with its bright colors, pamphlets, flags, big crowd,  and display of calligraphy. Yes! There was an older man patiently writing what people requested atTaiwanese table. I ventured onto the line to request that he write the name of my blog. As I explained the best I could in a series of hand gestures and descriptive adjectives, he looked puzzled at me. He had taken the word "wanderlust" out of context. The guy behind me starts to chime in saying that he has seen the movie. No, I said its "an irrisistable desire to travel". "Ahh travel, yes like planes" he replies. Apparently, his english was fairly limited. He smiled and started drawing a series of curved lines intersecting straight ones all over the paper to make into what ended up being his interpretation of what he thought I was saying. He asked me to write down my blog name as he was intrigued by its title and wanted to read up on it. "Very original" he said over and over. I honestly just hope it really says "Mbracing Wanderlust".

If he was any indication as to how friendly and inviting people from Taiwan are, I would definately love to visit sometime. And at the end of it all, isn't that the purpose of this Travel Show?- To open your mind to countries you would not have thought of going to?

Stop Waiting

Do not let routine disrupt this amazing life you have!- GO NOW!!

Cyber Monday Year-Round

Every year we wait for the infamous "Black Friday". It's supposed to be a day of discounted prices for all of our retail needs and wants. How does this translate into the travel industry?
I believe Travel Tuesday is the infinite Cyber Monday. Is this a Loaded statement? Not really, you just have to be aware of when the best time to purchase flights are and use the tips below. If you are interested in taking a vacation at any point during the year, chances are that you will not want to break the bank in the process. When shopping for airfare, there are not many factors we can really control. The airlines have a serious lock down on competitive pricing. But every week on Tuesdays is when we have that slight possibility of finding the best deals on flights 90 days out. Where? you ask. I know, there are so many sites and they all appear to do the same thing. I have taken the liberty of compiling my favorites for your personal use.
(At this point, I suggest that you take notes because these are my best kept secrets and potent weapon)

Skyscanner: Ahh skyscanner. It is my best friend. So, I actually have an app for this website. Skyscanner is a very user friendly, fast comprehensive flight comparison free site. It allows you to insert your home airport in the "From" field and to write in the word "Everywhere" in the "To" field. Once you write in the words "Everywhere" it will show you deals domestically and internationally.

Fly.com: I believe this site is affiliated with another honarable mention, Travelzoo. It has a clear and easy to navigate format. The fare calendars show you which dates will be cheaper based on your departure. Their search engine uses many of the lesser known discount sellers which gives you more options. It also saves your resent searches. So if you are the type that likes to think about it over night or over the next few weeks, your cache will help you out, as the search will be there next time to get on fly.com.

Momondo: It has by far the cheapest prices I've seen thus far. It is used mostly by backpackers to compare airfare prices from 700+ travel sites. If you are flexible on the dates, the monthly bar graphs help you visually see when the cheapest dates to travel will be.  It will then direct you to the travel site or airline.There is also an app for this one.

Kayak: It has one of my favorite features. If you are indecisive like me and have a budget in mind but are not sure where to go, this is the best website to narrow that down. It will show you where you can vacation for that particular price on a map and clicking on the price will reveal the dates in which you can go to your destination for that price.

After finally booking your flight, enter your information at Yapta. This website will track the price so you don’t miss out on savings if the price drops. If the difference in price is more than the re-booking fee (around $75-$100), Yapta will send you, free of charge, an email so that you can claim a credit from the airline.

Tips:

• Best time to purchase tickets- Tuesdays around 1am and at 3pm
• Cheapest day to fly: Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday
• Cheapest time of the day to fly: First flight of the morning (red eye)
• Use your miles

Where will you fly to next?

Another Type of Surfing? Don't Mind If I Do! - Part 2

Jenkie. Or at least that's how I thought it was spelled. I heard it from her voice after every gesture. There were no communication barriers or misunderstandings. She was Polish and that was her way of saying thank you.

Her face lit up like a lighting bug in the dark when I agreed to host her for the night. She was 27, single and on "holiday" to one of her favorite cities is what she said. She was couchsurfin for the second time and it was my first time hosting and depending on this experience could be my last??

She told me, she was picking up her bags from the luggage storage lockers in Hell's Kitchen (yes, I said the same thing. They have those?)  She would take the train up to my house on a Friday afternoon. It would be our second time meeting, EVER. I was going against everything my mother had raised me to do. I was going to open the door to a stranger. As the door bell rang for a second  time,  I was standing there peeking from my balcony, talking myself into proceeding with this ridiculous idea. It was as if I felt a rush of curiosity, I had to know. I needed to know. I can't remember my exact thoughts as I was rushing down the stairs. I do, however, remember the very second before unlocking the door thinking "this is it kid, you can easily walk away from this. It's completely optional". Curiosity trumped cowardliness that day. I flung the door wide open, as I extended my hand to help her with her bags. I exposed every single one of my teeth, but it was a genuine smile.  Standing tall at 5'9, dark brown hair, at a fair 175lbs, with the kind of skin that hadn't met the sun in years was Magda.

First order of business was to get fed. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't deprive myself of the pleasure of hearty meals, the unhealthier the better. Out of courtesy, I asked if she had any place in mind she had read about or wanted to try. She looked at me confused, trying to find a piece of crumbled paper that was in her bag from a couple days ago. She wrote down the name of a place she passed by. "It's, ehh... Mexican food, we don't eat it a lot in Poland" she said. I tell her I know a couple places. In my head I'm thinking: Rosa Mexicana, Dos Caminos, La Esquina etc.. I tell her, "finish getting ready so we could go". She screams my name in a heavy accent to let me know she has found the paper. I had never heard such a horrible pronunciation of Chipotle. That was it? She wanted Chipotle? Lol, I was thinking fancy she was thinking simple casual style dinning. As we started to engage in conversation the second order of business was to help her say my name correctly. All else fails tell her to call me Mimi.

She tells me that she doesn't eat meat. I'm not sure how to take that. Was she vegetarian? Well, I put my persuasive skills to test. Told her she atleast had to try it and if she didn't like it, I would pay for her meal. Let's just say I paid but she loved it. I felt accomplished. If she left that very second, I knew I had made an impact in her life.

That night there was another travel event in the Lower East side. The bar screamed travel, as it was called "Destination Bar". We met up with Glenda and her friend Jackie. Glenda explained to Jackie who Magda was. I immediately saw the judgmental facial expressions, as Jackie battled with this crazy idea and the norm. I wasn't entertaining anyone's view on this. I put myself in this situation, it was something I wanted to do. We met some people and grabbed a couple half priced drinks. I wasn't trying to generalized but she drank like a fish (obviously this was coming from a girl who had two drinks, eyes glazed and was ready to dance). She taught me Polish words and told me she wanted me take her around a day in my life On our ride up to the house, I told her I had a great idea for tomorrow. Her eyes lit up, as I explained to her that there was a beach I wanted to take her to. My exact word were "girl, we are gonna get you some color". I think she was excited about it, if not she was pretty great actress. As the night came to an end, I handed her some sheets, a pillow and a towel. Jenkie!

Blueberry/Strawberry Pancakes

Yankee Stadium

I heard the shower running, she was an early bird. Since I was playin an amazing hostess in this crazy movie, I got up to make her Pancakes. She said they don't eat it much in Poland and they actually call it omelette. Based on last night's conversations, I had learned she loved fruits, snowboarding and pancakes. I like to think I was doing pretty well. Due to the humidity and the sun not showing up to our planned outings, we decided to skip the beach. I took her shopping since she said that Poland was pricier than the states and she loved buying new things. She didn't want to do regular touristy stuff. I took her for a nice home cooked meal at my loving yet judgmental mothers' house. Magda was so thankful and excited, but shy and reserved all at once. She told me it was the best meal she had since she had arrived in New York. I patted myself on the back for the second time, even though my mom had made it. I took her for a walk near the Yankee stadium, followed by a Jamaican restaurant near my house.  As we drove away from the restaurant, she frantically asks me to pull over. She wanted to take a pictures of kids playing in by the water hydrant. She commented on how easy life is as a kid. I drove over to the South Bronx hoping to expose her to the low income housing area. Magda had taken so many pictures, as to capture every single second. We bought some moscato and conversated about the pictures she had taken, the things she had done and compared it to her perception of the Bronx prior to staying at my house. 

A lot was to be learned about this experience. We weren't too different, me and her. She was from another side of the world, but yet she was just as curious and enthused about learning more and wanting more from life. She thanked me for showing her around but I was far more grateful for the experience. It was my turn as i waved goodbye, I uttered the word dziękuję (Jenkie) meaning thank you. She look up in shock, smiled and said "we learned alot this weekend".

By hosting Magda, I had opened my door to another country, lend my couch to another culture and my mind to a world outside my comfort zone. Would you do the same?

Adventure Invite

Daydreaming of cobblestone streets, open air cafes, and amazing colonial architecture.

Great news was delivered right to my inbox today. I have been researching Colombia for little while now. It appears that JetBlue will now offer service to Cartagena, Colombia. The beauty of this all is that you will get the cheapest rates and promotions when an airline adds a new destination, but act fast as this will not last long. Flights are said to be starting at $140 each way starting November 2, 2012. A new adventure in Colombia? Count me in!! :-)

Travel Zoo #traveltuesday Contest

Tuesdays might very well be my favorite day of the week. It is the best day for travel and tourism since most airlines and travel agencies send out their weekly promotion on this god sent day. Nowadays, we even have twitter to help us figure out what deals and promotions and are out with the trending topic #traveltuesday.

Last week, I saw that Travelzoo, a very well known coupon and deals global internet company, had a contest on twitter for #traveltuesday. They asked that followers replied with their favorite beach. I quickly answered it to be Maidstone beach in East Hampton. To my surprise, I was greeted with a direct message from Travelzoo in my inbox congratulating me on my "Twitter Winner Swag".

A week later, I received a fedex at my doorstep filled with promotional goodies, $25 worth of gift cards to be redeemed at Travelzoo.com and an actual handwritten note. Talk about personalization! Woohooo!! ;)



Great Quality Umbrella with Travelzoo Logo



Umbrella, Tote, USB, Pen, $25 Giftcard & Note





Handwritten Note from D. Brooks



Big THANK you to Travelzoo!! 

Bastille Day

French Toast. And of course, a toast to the French!! We owe it to them for; easy to make breakfast, the statue of Liberty, crepes and croissants. So today, we New Yorkers celebrate Bastille Day, the best way we know how.
There are a couple of events around the city commemorating the birth of the Republic and the beginning of the French revolution.

Street Fair

French Can Can Dancers

French Institute Alliance Francaise
Location: 60th Street Between Lexington Ave & Fifth Ave
Description: Everyone is invited to enjoy crepes, canales, French wines, listen to live music and shop the French themed market stalls. There will also be various contests. Prizes include French dinner, gift baskets and a trip to France.
Website: http://bastilledayny.com/


French Eatery
Brassiere Julien
Time: 7pm- Midnight
Location: 1422 Third Avenue (80th Street)
Description: Listen to Janelle Allbritton Trio with a "Paris Around the Corner" themed jazz while enjoying crepes, croque monsieur, omelettes, paired with  mimosas and bellini.
Website:  http://www.brasseriejulien.com/


Opera
Paris Opera Ballet

Paris Opera "Giselle"

Time: 3pm
Location: 20 Lincoln Center Plaza (63rd Street)
Description: This romantic ballet features stirring music, elegant choreography, and amazing performances. It was first performed in 1841.
Website: http://lc.lincolncenter.org/

Colors to Celebrate the Night - NYC

An aesthetically pleasing display of flickering colored flames and sparks flying above the horizon with big burst of lights illuminating the dark sky. It is a dance of colors and loud noises, nothing less than a magical advertisement of a greater meaning. Today is the United States' independence day.

Empire State Building Symbolic Colors

Families gather at parks, beaches, parades, picnics and backyards to celebrate. The smell of the charcoal lighting up the grill in conjunction with the seasoned meats, burgers and hot dogs do not go unnoticed. We have been preparing for this day and set out our red, white and blue for such occasion. This is the way we celebrate and honor the anniversary of the birth of our nation.We were boldly breaking away from the British after a 20 year struggle with a detailed Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was finalized on July 4, 1776.

As you look up at the sky tonight admiring the traditional light show from afar, don't forget the true meaning behind the spectacle.


Biggest celebration: Macy's 4th of July Spectacular
                              75,000lbs of fireworks in half hour
                               2 million people attend the annual event

Tonight, I celebrate you America, but my heart remains with Dominican Republic.

Macy's Firework Display on the Hudson