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Delta resumes flights from Venice to NY and Atlanta

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Beginning March 31 Delta Air Lines will resume summer flight services from Marco Polo airport in Venice, Italy, with connections to JFK International Airport in New York and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, USA, starting May 16.

The daily flights will be operated in collaboration with joint venture partners Delta-Air France, KLM, and Alitalia. Once in the United States, Italian passengers will be able to continue their journey with connecting flights to around 200 destinations throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and beyond.

“Italy is the third largest market for traffic between Europe and North America, with more than 5,500 passengers transported each day,” commented Frederic Schenk, Delta Regional Sales Manager for Southern Europe.

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“The summer months are traditionally a time of travel for the Italians, who [are] also from the Veneto region and neighboring areas set out to discover the United States and the American continent. Conversely, there are many Americans who choose Venice and its region for a trip to Italy, and Delta is proud to support the local economy every year, favoring the arrival of US visitors.”

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Korean Air abandons teens in South Korea

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Two unaccompanied teenage minors, ages 15 and 16, were left stranded in South Korea after being booted from their flight from Seoul to the Philippines before takeoff.

The sons of Rakesh and Prajakta Patel had gone to visit their grandfather in a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and were on the return journey to Manila, where their father is working a temporary job. They were making the transatlantic trip on their own.

The return trip began with a 14-hour Delta flight from Georgia to Seoul, South Korea. This first leg of the journey went fine, but their travel plans took a turn for the worse when the boys attempted to board a second flight from Seoul to Manila with Delta partner Korean Air as a result of one of the boys having a deadly peanut allergy.

Prajakta Patel, the mother of the teens, had informed Delta of her older son’s severe peanut allergy ahead of their big trip, so the brothers were shocked when a gate agent told them that peanuts would be served in the high skies. The boy’s allergy is so severe that even airborne particulates from peanuts could be extremely dangerous.

 

After explaining the situation, the teens were allegedly told that they could either take the flight or exit the aircraft and miss the trip. Though the Patel’s sons chose to board the plane, they were soon booted off.

“The gate agent came on the plane and told my sons to get off,” Mrs. Patel said. “One of my kids was shaking — they’re alone in a different country. Where were they supposed to go?” Mrs. Prajakta claimed that the gate agent even pulled on her son’s shirt “to encourage him to move” off of the aircraft.

Confused, the teens found themselves back in the gate area and told flight officials that they were willing to sit in the back of the plane with the brother with nut allergies wearing a mask. Despite their offer to compromise, a gate staffer reportedly told the boys that were not allowed to get back on the plane that was now “closed.”

Shaken, the boys called their parents, who tried to help them get to Manila without success. The mother spoke with a Delta representative who told her the boys could fly on a different carrier, however, not knowing other airlines’ nut policies, it was decided to fly the boys back to Atlanta, Georgia, on Delta.

Mrs. Patel is pushing for more than just an apology with the hopes that airlines will improve their employee education policies on nut allergies. She has filed a complaint with Delta and Korean Airlines and is reportedly seeking a refund.

Delta and Korean Air issued the following statements regarding the matter: “We’re sorry for this family’s ordeal, particularly during what is already a difficult time for them. Delta and our partner Korean Air are communicating with the family and examining the processes surrounding this incident; we will use our findings in our work to create a consistent experience for customers flying Delta and our partner airlines.”

A spokesperson for Korean Air, too, offered similar sentiments: “Korean Air is aware that peanut and food allergies are an industry issue and no airline can guarantee a food allergy-free environment. But we are reviewing ways to deal with this issue in a safe and feasible way. We totally understand the risks faced by passengers with nut and food allergies and will certainly try to accommodate them better in the future.”

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Which is the top US airline in North America? Depends on how you look at it

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In a recent new study, a detailed analysis of the US airline market-share domination in North America, ranks and lists results by factors such as passenger numbers and miles flown. This particular study focused solely on domestic passengers flying within the US, and depending on how you look at the numbers, the top airline changes over the various categories.

Methodology

The Most-Traveled Domestic Air Carrier (with % market share)

The Top Domestic Carriers by Passenger Count

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) maintains current data that sometimes runs on a three-or-four-month delay, depending on when it is compiled and uploaded. This new study conducted by Upgraded Points represents analyzed data from January 2018–October 2018.

The study also uses a specific table from BTS that contains domestic, nonstop segment data reported by air carriers. This includes carrier name, origin, destinations, as well as other information concerning transported passengers. Finally, data from the BTS directly reflects the number of passengers and the distance flown. This particular information was used to create the concluding graphic featured in the study.

Number of Passengers Flown

Looking at the total number of passengers flown during any given time is the clearest indication of market domination. The final results for this time period were surprising: Delta Air Lines and American Airlines were both in the top five carriers, with 16 percent (106,062,211 passengers) and 15 percent (99,857,863 passengers) respectively — but neither ranked as the number one carrier. Each missed that spot by nearly 5 percent. And the clear winner boasted over 132 million passengers.

United Airlines was another major contender for one of the coveted top five spots, sitting at 11 percent of the market share (71,722,425 passengers).

Most Traveled Air Carrier by State

Geography is a limiting factor when people choose a specific air carrier, especially since further limitations are imposed by air carrier availability at each hub. The Upgraded Points study had to factor in this important detail when ranking its list by state. For example, since Delta Air Lines is based out of Atlanta, it is no surprise that Delta is the dominator of the Georgia market.

But for states like Iowa and Arkansas, the dominating airline is a far less-known carrier. And though American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both flew quite competitively from Texas, one did take the edge over the other in the number of passengers flown from that state.

Most Well-Traveled States

Ranking the states by most well-traveled gives another fascinating look at US air carrier traffic. Researchers expected the most populated states to be the clear winners of the top five spots, simply by virtue of sheer volume. And to a degree, that was true. California, Texas and Florida each flew well over 50 million passengers, securing them the top three spots. But other highly populated states, like New York and Pennsylvania, did not rank in the top five at all.

Those states whose populations travel the least include West Virginia, Wyoming and Delaware. Researchers conceded however that the data might be slightly skewed for these rankings, given that not only does Delaware not have a major airport, it is also one of the least populated states in the US.

Conclusions and Other Rankings

The study concluded by sifting the BTS data into percent of market share by carrier, by month, and revenue passenger miles (RPM). RPM is a particularly important metric that shows the number of miles traveled by paying passengers. At high levels, RPM indicates an airline’s overall traffic. And although there are a variety of large air carriers flying in the US, the final results of the Upgraded Points study clearly indicate that passengers are not evenly split among them.

The full study can be viewed here.

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America’s Best Ecotourism Destinations ranked

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Ranking series of “America’s Best Ecotourism Destinations” were released today.

Whether it is strolling along a beach in California or spotting alligators in the Everglades, traveling is an exciting experience. Caught up in all of this excitement though, few people stop and think about the impact they are having on the environment and the local communities they are visiting. In response to the carelessness of many tourists and money-sucking tourist magnets, a movement known as “ecotourism” is becoming increasingly popular. The staff at RAVE Reviews is a fan of both sustainable living and traveling. It just made sense to find the best Ecotourism destinations that people can sustainably visit and enjoy.

Ecotourism is essentially sustainable travel that focuses on supporting untapped natural beauty instead of massive tourist machines. No more buying overpriced souvenirs in Times Square and throwing the plastic wrapping on the ground. Ecotourism would have you animal spotting along Virginia’s Birding and Wildlife Trail, or maybe even immersing yourself in a Native American living history experience at Colorado’s Indigenous Roots LLC. This ranking plans out the perfect ecotourism road trip across the country. For convenience, RAVE also included recommendations for activities and lodging near each destination.

In determining which destinations to feature, the experts compared reviews from sources across the internet and took into account multiple factors such as the number of eco-tourist attractions in the region, availability of eco-lodging near the destination, degree of community support for ecological initiatives, and if the destination made sense in the routing of the trip.

The full list of featured destinations includes:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Georgia

Asheville, North Carolina

Chicago, Illinois

DownEast Acadia, Maine

Half Moon Bay, California

Hawley Earthfest, Pennsylvania

Indigenous Roots LLC, Colorado

Kasha-Katuwe National Monument, New Mexico

Lake Erie, Ohio

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, New York

Portland, Oregon

The Everglades, Florida

The Ozarks, Missouri

Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail, Virginia

Washington D.C., District of Columbia

World Birding Center, Texas

Yellowstone National Park, California

Yosemite National Park, California

Zion National Park, California

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Maroon 5, Ozuna, Gladys Knight, Third World announced for Curaçao North Sea Jazz 2019

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Curaçao announced first names for the ninth edition of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival. This year Maroon 5, Ozuna, Gladys Knight and Third World will make their appearance at the festival at the World Trade Center at Piscadera Bay. The organization is still busy with various other artists who will be announced in the course of the coming months. The festival opens on Thursday, 29 August with free concerts of Havana D’Primera and Aymee Nuviola.

American band Maroon 5 has sold over 20 million albums and received three Grammy Awards. Their debut album, Songs About Jane, became their big breakthrough and its successor, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, did even better. Hits were aplenty: Harder To Breathe, This Love, She Will Be Loved, Makes Me Wonder, Moves Like Jagger featuring Christina Aguilera… the list goes on. Their latest album, Red Pill Blues, was released at the end of 2017 and contained the number 1 hit single Girls Like You, featuring Cardi B. This past January, Maroon 5 had the honor of performing during the Super Bowl Half-Time Show.

Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado, known simply by his surname Ozuna, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton and Latin trap singer. In early 2016, Ozuna rose to prominence for his appearance on the single La Ocasión, going from strength to strength ever since. He has released two albums to date; 2017’s Odisea and 2018’s Aura, and won two Billboard Music Awards and three Latin American Music Awards, among others. In 2017, he made his acting debut in the film Que León.

Six years after making her debut in Curaçao the ‘Empress of Soul’ Gladys Knight is returning to the island. With her band The Pips she had great hits, such as I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Midnight Train To Georgia, and Baby Don’t Change Your Mind, in the 1960s and 1970s. At the end of the 1980s Knight started her solo career and found instant success with the James Bond title track License To Kill. Her latest album, Where My Heart Belongs, was released in 2014 and is a bona fide gospel album, on which The Pips also performed. Knight now has seven Grammy’s and numerous other awards to her name.

Jamaican band Third World celebrated its 45th anniversary last year. Calling themselves ‘Reggae Ambassadors’ and describing their sound as reggae fusion, Third World mix reggae with many other genres such as soul, funk, and disco. Their biggest hit to date was 1978’s Now That We Found Love. Their success has brought them all over the world and put ten Grammy nominations to their name. Their latest single, Loving You Is Easy, was produced by Damian Marley and released earlier this year.

Cuban Timba band Havana D’Primera was founded by Alexander Abreu in 2008, the band was formed by a collective of musicians in the Cuban music scene, numbering 17 members in total. Abreu is considered one of the best trumpeters of his generation, and is also a skilled composer, singer, and bandleader. Fusing rhythms across salsa, jazz, funk, and Afro-Cuban, the band have released four studio albums so far. The latest is 2018’s Cantor Del Pueblo, which landed them their second Latin Grammy nomination for Best Salsa Album.

Aymée Nuviola, nicknamed ‘La Sonera del Mundo’, is a well-respected singer from Cuba who trained at the Manuel Saumell Conservatory in Havana. Nuviola is one of the biggest Cuban stars of today, and she even recorded a song with American legend Jackson Browne. As a young singer Nuviola moved to Miami where her solo career really took off. Last year she won her first-ever Latin Grammy Award for her 2017 album Como Anillo Al Dedo.

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