News and notes from around the interweb:
- Orlando airport terminal C now offers visitor passes for non-travelers to go through security by applying for a pass in advance, which helps retail shops.
- 21 countries that still have Covid entry restrictions
- Through September 24 Marriott is offering 20,000 bonus points per stay of 3 nights or more consumed by January 26, 2024 booked through their homesharing platform. Registration required.
- I appeared on the Miles to Go podcast, talking (among other things) the new Capital One lounge at Washington Dulles.
- Steven Udvar-Hazy on the How I Built This podcast (HT: Jonathan W)
Before Steven Udvar-Hazy was out of high school, he started working as an airline consultant. You could do that sort of thing back in the 1960’s, if you knew the industry—which indisputably, he did. Born in Communist Hungary, Steven was obsessed with aviation at an early age, memorizing plane serial numbers and schedules for fun. In his early 20’s he started his own small airline in California. But he quickly learned the big money was in aircraft leasing, so at the dawn of the jet age, he started his own leasing company. Today he runs Air Lease Corporation, which has made him a billionaire, and given him the resources to finance the dazzling extension to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum in Virginia – named of course, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
- Biman Bangladesh plans to fly to New York – at a loss of $53 million in the first year alone
- ‘Russian-only’ businesses in Thailand’s Phuket spark backlash
COVID is still, today, a strain on healthcare facilities. I don’t see why we, or any country, would not consider encouraging vaccination in this way.
Umm, maybe because the experimental gene therapies were an abject failure. How is it possible there remains a number of people who still haven’t figured this out?
quote by Gleff on the podcast
” I kind of like my trolls” 😉 🙂 lol to that iconic line
Thank you for your thick skin to deal with all the folks that don’t always say things nicely
Its what separates you from most others.Keep up the great job on your blog
Always one of my top go to read lists theywas Inside Flyer was circa 1999
Umm, that list is actually not correct in my experience. Nothing was required recently for Kenya as an example. Philippines in January I had only to show vaccination card to Etihad before boarding at AUH…a test was not required in addition. The rest I can’t speak for but I wonder now about the accuracy of that list. Some websites I know in smaller countries have just not updated their information in some spots so it can be confusing.
More masks, lock downs, and vaccinations coming to you soon thanks to your local friendly authoritative dictaor government
@Stuart read the article again. This time a little slower. Kenya and Philippines “Fully vaccinated arrivals are exempt.”
The Philippines lifted all COVID restrictions more than a month ago.
Russians have had a large presence in Pattaya, Thailand for many years. It is interesting that they are spreading to another beach area (Phuket) instead of expanding in Pattaya.
@david read the comments. As many times and as slowly as you need. I even placed a link yesterday to back up the information.
@David, Read my comment better, Kenya asked for nothing a few weeks ago. There was no need to show any vaccination as well.
And the post has changed regarding Phillipnines since my comment, fyi, probably because others mentioned it directly on the blog. Before it said that BOTH were required. There is no need to be so nasty. Would you react like that to my face?
Heard the same complaints about Russians from locals when in Bali last month
Looks like only one country that won’t let fully vaccinated people in. Looks good to me. Large scale vaccination was a key factor in getting us to the point where COVID is no longer an important threat for hospitalization and death.
“Large scale vaccination was a key factor in getting us to the point where COVID is no longer…”
It’s fascinating that there are people who still “think” this way. It’s very sad.
That list is flat out wrong. Malawi has lifted all COVID restrictions many months ago and so has Kenya.
@James:
“Umm, maybe because the experimental gene therapies were an abject failure”
Stop making comments as such. It makes you look quite ignorant.
You’re still not a doctor, Leff.
Some of those countries you would only go to if you were a soldier of fortune
Yeah, jacobin, telling the truth makes someone look ignorant. Sorry, you need to check your mirror.
@ James N,
I see the confusion- because mRNA kinda sorta sounds like DNA, you somehow believe that the mRNA Covid vaccines are “gene therapy”. They aren’t- the vaccine works by presenting a ‘spike protein’ to the body’s immune system that then allows the body to develop antibodies against the Covid. There is no manipulation of genes.
I gotta wonder though, given this alphabetic dyslexia, do you have terrible problems when you travel (this is a travel blog, after all)? Go to Lausanne instead of Luzern? Want to fly to Bogotá, end up Morningside Heights instead?