Everett Potter's Travel Report

Comfort in the skies on Qatar Airways

By Everett Potter

Buckling your airplane seatbelt and weight-loss personality Richard Simmons aren’t things you’d necessarily think go together. But if you flew on Air New Zealand in the recent past, it’s Simmons who may have video-instructed you how to buckle up.

Great companies always think outside the box, and Air New Zealand is no exception. In the most recent Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards survey, the Kiwi airline came in No. 2. And while readers didn’t specifically rank in-flight entertainment, ANZ’s fresh, amusing spin on the standard safety video surely gave passengers a memorable impression of the airline.

The factors our readers did vote on, across 76 global airlines: cabin comfort, in-flight service, customer service, value, and food. No one was surprised to see Singapore Airlines topping the list; it has been the No. 1 airline for the past 17 years. And Singapore Airlines must be doing something right—it didn’t even have Richard Simmons entertaining its passengers.  Read more in Travel + Leisure

Best & Worst airports in the US - where did your local airport rank?

By Everett Potter

The major American airport that delivers the most seamless experience isn’t on any coast. It wins over fliers with shopping and dining options, the ease of check-in and security, and the friendliness typical of its city hub.

So breathe a sigh of relief if you’ve booked a flight through Minneapolis (MSP); Travel + Leisure readers have crowned it America’s best airport.

In our first-ever airport survey, we asked readers to rate America’s 22 major airports in seven categories: flight delays; design; amenities; food and drink; check-in and security; service; and transportation and location. The best-scoring airports have tackled these issues head-on, refurbishing terminals and adding amenities that make the worst airports look evermore outdated by comparison.

Get the whole story at Travel + Leisure

Everett Potter is Editor-in-Chief of Everett Potter’s Travel Report.

Where did Hawaiian rank among the best and worst airlines?

By Everett Potter

If you gear up for a delay each time you fly, you’re savvy indeed. Flight delays have become so common that more than 20 percent of all flights in the U.S. run late year after year. So the savviest travelers leave equipped with fully charged and programmed e-readers, snacks, and the patience to weather possible delays.

But which airlines should you fly — and which ones should you avoid?

Read my new Travel + Leisure story …

Rabbit Hill Inn, Vermont

By Everett Potter

That crispness in the air is a sure sign it’s time for the annual pageant of vivid reds, oranges, and yellows that inspires leaf-peepers to explore the towns and byways of New England, the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic, and the Northwest. But what makes a fall foliage pilgrimage truly memorable is where you choose to stay. We searched the country for properties that put you in the thick of things—and discovered that the best hotels for fall colors are as varied as the colors themselves. Read more from my Travel + Leisure story

An expensive fill-up in The Netherlands.

By Everett Potter

The next time you pull over to refuel, be grateful you don’t live in Istanbul. While there may be bargains within the city’s Grand Bazaar, haggling won’t get you anywhere at the local gas station—where Turkish drivers must now pay $9.63 per gallon.

Turkey’s not the only place where gas prices are far higher than those in the US. Read my Travel + Leisure story to learn where locals — and travelers — are paying the highest gas prices in the world.

By Everett Potter

There are tarmac delays and then there are tarmac delays—just ask the Air Canada passengers who sat on a Vancouver runway for 12 hours a couple years ago. Food and water were rationed, and the cabin air was stifling. Even more torturous, the footbridge was still connected to the gate. Yet the airline refused to let passengers off the plane, blaming a combination of weather, fuel, and crew issues.

Fortunately, new DOT rules about tarmac delays went into effect in May, 2010. And yes, things have gotten better. But before those rules came into play, there were some legendary tarmac delays. Read more in my new Travel + Leisure story …

By Everett Potter

First, the bad news. After more than a year of falling ticket prices, the cost of flying is now rising. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average domestic airfare jumped 4.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period last year.

Now the good news. You can do something about it.

Read how in my current Travel + Leisure story.

How did Continental stack up?

By Everett Potter

Remember last year’s flight-delay horror stories about passengers kept waiting for agonizing hours on the runway before takeoff?

Well, get ready for a new kind of airport nightmare: increased flight cancellations.

Read my full story on cancellations at Travel + Leisure …