Air Travel

In the March ’06 “Person to Person” section, on page 130 Kathleen Nichols asked about planning a one-week trip to Hokkaido, an island at Japan’s extreme north. I would like to give some suggestions.

My husband, John, and I took the “Island Sanctuaries” cruise with Cruise West (Seattle, WA; 800/426-7702 or www.cruisewest.com) in January ’06.

A travel companion (TC) and I visited Paris, Jan. 14-18, ’05. We were lucky with the weather. Temperatures were in the upper 30s or low 40s every day, with no rain except on the last morning of our trip. According to the weather forecast info at www.worldexecutive.com, Paris has less rainfall in winter than it does in spring and summer. If that’s true, then our weather experience for January was the norm.

by Harold Grady, St. Louis, MO

My husband and I took a 23-day trip to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia in October-November ’05 based on recommendations made by ITN readers.

by Deanna Palić

STEVE, in your January ‘06 column you listed a number of airlines “that have not lost a single passenger since they were founded.” Just wondering if Aloha Airlines doesn’t consider flight attendants to be passengers. I recall the loss of one Aloha Airlines flight attendant, in flight, when the airframe came open about seven years ago. — Greg Lucas, Vancouver, WA

In 2005, my wife and I were two of the estimated 60,000 visitors to the Galápagos Islands. Our trip, which we found out about through Bridgerland Audubon Society (BAS Mini-Grants, 1738 Country Club Dr., Logan, UT 84321; 435/753-7744 or www.bridgerlandaudubon.org), took place May 28-June 7 and cost $2001 per person, including everything except international airfare.

We wanted to share a very positive experience we had with our tour boat and guide and also alert readers about an airline’s actions.

My wife and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Tunisia and several countries in Europe, Aug. 5-31, ’05. We had a great time, combining air, rail and autos as basic transportation. Several thoughts come to mind which might aid others planning to travel in Europe.

STEVE, except for a JetBlue flight that leaves at midnight, there are no nonstop flights from Denver to New York’s JFK Airport, and as a traveler who is sick and very tired of flying to Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Dulles, Boston or Detroit to get to JFK (to connect with an international flight), I would really like to know why. — Ellen Jacobson, Centennial, CO