No Guarantees When Booking Flights with Struggling Airlines

Before 2006, if you were to purchase airline tickets and before taking your flight the airline were to go out of business, other airlines were required by law to honor your ticket.

Well, that's not the case anymore since Congress let this law lapse.

So with today's rash of airline failures and bankruptcies, you may not only have to research your airfare online, but also the health of each airline your considering flying with.

Everywhere a Travel Magazine for Everyone

Tired of all the usual travel magazines covering the same places from the same point of view? Then check out Everywhere, a new "2.0" travel magazine.

Everywhere Magazine is comprised completely of "user generated" articles, that is, articles are submitted by readers/freelance writers/travelers and editors select the best of the submissions to put in each issue.

A 1-year subscription (6-issues) is $24.99. If you think that is a bit much you can read the issues online for free.

Hat tip to Rohit Bhargava of Influential Marketing blog for this awesome find.

Think Airport Security is Bad Now?

If you think airport security is bad now, just wait until TSA gets its grimy hands on even more of your private data.

Read this post from Gadling.com about TSA's push to get even more control of your private data.

It's sure to tick you off...

Picture from nedrichards on flickr

Try Mahalo For Online Travel Research

Online travel research can be pretty frustrating, especially if you've never been to the destination your headed and don't know much about the area.

For example, try searching "Las Vegas hotels" in Google. Now, some of what comes up for you may be relevant, but a lot of it is not. This is simply because this search engine result page (serp) is based on an algorithm, with little to no human attention paid to what is displayed.

Mahalo is a new human-powered search engine that uses...you guessed it...ACTUAL people to create their serps.

This is great for the baby boomer who just doesn't have the time or patience to sift through spam search results mixed in with relevant content. If you search for "Las Vegas hotels" in Mahalo, you actually get listings of Las Vegas hotels as well as websites for further research (ie: Frommers, Fodor's, etc.). What a concept!


Check out Mahalo's Travel page today. And who knows, you might just get hooked and start using it for all your web searches. Plus, if you happen to search for a topic not in their results (remember, Mahalo's results are being built by hand and not every possible destination or search term is covered yet) you will be shown results from various other search engines.

Luxury RV Parks - Home is Where You're Parked

Despite gas being over $3 a gallon in most parts of the country, many boomers are shunning the once popular idea of choosing one great place to retire and making it their life to travel (in style mind you) to wherever they feel like.

The luxury RV travel market is on fire in recent years with luxury rv parks popping up all over Florida and other Sunbelt states.

The nomadic lifestyle that rv-ing affords used to be for the budget conscious. But not anymore. Fancy RV's these days cost more than most houses. And getting a space at one of the premier luxury rv parks can be quite an expense as well.
(Image Credit: Aaron Jack on Flickr)

But then again, we're not talking about a simple concrete pad with power and water hookups. We're talking about championship golf courses, clubhouses, swimming pools, all the amenities you could want or need.

So where should you set out finding information about the luxury RV lifestyle? Here are a few links to start with:

• Go RVing
• Go Camping America
• Google Directory Listings by State
  

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Trip

Boomers on the Move took a trip last month to the annual Balloon Fiesta in ABQ New Mexico.

What a trip! Here are some pics and the low-down on what to do and where to stay if you ever decide to go.

Try to go on the weekends (Thursday through Sunday) because this is when most of the events are held like the Mass Ascension or launch of all participating balloons (held early in the morning), and the Balloon Glows and Fireworks (at night). The early and middle part of the week is more for competitions.


We stayed at the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town. It was very close to the balloon fiesta and near everything we wanted to see and do. We paid $169 per night for a Junior suite which was very nice, and we thought the rate was reasonable considering all the people in town.

BUT, next time, we will stay at the Sandia Resort and Casino. We were very impressed by how modern and clean it was. Just as nice and spectacular as the finest casino/hotels in Vegas. It's a little further away from all the Balloon action, but we think the few extra minutes of drive time will be worth it for us if we ever go back.

There is lots to see and do besides the Balloon Fiesta...here is a good guide from the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Plenty of authentic Mexican food to choose from in Albuquerque, so you won't go without some great meals. Ask your hotel or locals you meet for recommendations as there are just so many to choose from. Whatever you order be sure to ask for "Christmas on the side". We'd tell you what it is, but it'll be more fun for you to see for yourself. Live a little!

The best part was the balloon ride we took with Rainbow Ryders (the official flyers for city) which cost $170 per person. One thing that surprised us was that there are 12 people in the balloon (11 passengers and 1 pilot). We went early in the morning, which is recommended because the winds tend to pick up later in the day. The balloon co. picked us up at the hotel and dropped us back off afterwards.

Floating is just too cool (and we are scared of heights!). You hardly feel like you're off the ground and moving. The basket is extremely sturdy.


You pretty much land where you land. There is a chase truck that follows you wherever the wind takes you. We landed on a dirt road, but we saw one balloon that found its way onto a football field.

Your key to first class low cost airline tickets

School is back in session in most parts of the country and that can only mean one thing...boomers like you who have been hibernating all summer to avoid the crowds are ready to take that long awaited and much needed trip. Maybe you even want to do it right...so why not fly first class but dirt cheap this time!



FareCompare.com is a site my wife has been playing with for a while. We read about it in this article in Fast Company and we've been hooked ever since.

FareCompare.com will help you find little known airfare option known as the "Y-up fare". Besides the silly name, these fares can save you hundreds off of normal first class fares. While they won't be as low fare as coach, we've found them to be a happy medium. Give it a try!