Tag Archives for europe.
Since the Lindner properties have focused on a primarily European market, it’s not surprising that many of the properties aren’t air conditioned. I asked Hyatt about this – whether JdV was going to be marketing hotels without air conditioning?
Fuel prices are at record levels, and that’s bad for airlines. It’s also bad for transportation to and from the airport and hotel It’s bad for heating (which means it’s bad for hotels in chilly weather). It means higher prices for travel, but let’s look at airfare first.
This isn’t just limited to majority state-owned Aeroflot. It applies to all Russian airlines (even private ones, like oneworld member S7). Even Germany is now sending munitions to Ukraine. European airlines, including most recently Lufthansa
What can Americans do?
The European Union wants member countries to require boosters for entry proposing that vaccination be considered valid for 9 months from last shot. Each country sets its own rules but bloc-wide guidance is influential.
Does that mean we’ll need to keep getting vaccinated in order to travel? No, it actually doesn’t mean that.
Prompted by my writing about wide open availability for two first class Suites awards on the Singapore Airlines New York JFK – Frankfurt flight, a reader asks about other ‘fifth freedom routes’ between the U.S. and Europe.
They wanted to fly between the U.S. and Europe on an Asian or Middle Eastern carrier and wanted to know what their options looked like using miles for the best seats possible.
The U.S. is being removed from the ‘safe list’ of countries for travel to Europe, along with Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia. This is a recommendation for non-essential travel only, though some countries may choose to continue to permit travel by those who have been vaccinated.
The European Union has begun the process to re-impose restrictions (quarantine, testing) for unvaccinated Americans. The U.S. will be removed from a list of countries whose citizens are allowed to travel freely in Europe without Covid restrictions.
A key consideration for whether and when countries re-impose restrictions is the extent to which their economies rely on tourism. It’s no coincidence that Greece, France, and Spain were among the first Schengen countries to announce they’d welcome Americans before Europe had taken broader action.
Starting sometime next year Schengen Europe will make Americans get an ‘ETIAS’ (“European Travel Information and Authorization System”) which is $7 electronic travel permission. Americans will apply online in advance and pay 7 euros, and this permission will be valid for 3 years.
The EU is expected to recommend against allowing American visitors, however each country still sets its own entry rules. As a result nothing may change, there could be come changes in rules leading to greater inconsistency, or several countries could ban American travelers.
Delta is running a sale on coach award tickets to Europe starting at 34,000 miles roundtrip. They haven’t announced the sale, which isn’t surprising since at Delta whatever price they quote you in the moment is the price. Sometimes coach saver awards to Europe are 70,000 miles roundtrip, though I often see them for over 50% above that. SkyMiles is usually a dumpster fire for redeeming points.
We don’t know how long this sale will last, so if you want cheap coach awards to Europe book this now. It’s fully refundable without cost.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
