Will Passports Be Replaced by Biometrics?
In the year ahead, the use of biometrics — an individual’s unique physical identifiers, such as fingerprints and faces — will be expanded at airports in the United States and abroad, a shift to enhance security, replace physical identification such as passports and driver’s licenses, and reduce the amount of time required by travelers to […]
2024 Travel Predictions: Airline Prices, Destinations, AI and More
Jump to: Credit…Chanelle Nibbelink A record 4.7 billion passengers are expected to fly globally in 2024, up from the previous record of 4.5 billion in 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association. Analysts at American Express Global Business Travel say that average ticket prices across all regions are not expected to change significantly. But […]
TikTok Invaded This Cruise for Content. Maybe Someday It’ll Come for You.
The audience on land clearly has a fantasy of what cameras may catch. Something juicy, like a disgruntled crew member struggling to serve an impossibly demanding guest. If you stare long enough, connect the right dots, perhaps you’ll glimpse some tense dynamic, the sort of thing Bravo might send an entire production team racing toward. […]
Need a Passport? You’re in Luck.
The State Department, which issues and renews passports for American citizens, has faced a number of challenges since the start of the pandemic. Staffing shortages caused extensive delays in the application process, including a scarcity of in-person appointments, while a surge of Americans hoping to travel led to a record number of applications and renewal […]
3-Year Cruise Passengers Seek Fraud Charges Over Cancellation
By now, they were supposed to be well into the first leg of the three-year Life at Sea cruise, sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia. Instead, more than a month after the cruise was abruptly canceled, one couple is stranded in an Istanbul hotel and on the verge of becoming homeless; […]
F.A.A. Says Initial Round of 737 Max Inspections Has Been Finished
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that an initial round of inspections of 40 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes had been completed, but that those aircraft and scores of other Max 9 planes would remain grounded as the agency finalized an inspection process for them. On Friday, the F.A.A. announced that it was requiring […]
Judge Blocks JetBlue From Acquiring Spirit Airlines
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways’ proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a victory for the Department of Justice, which argued that the deal would harm travelers. In his 109-page ruling, Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts sided with the Justice Department in determining […]
Swimming in the Rivers and Springs of the Dominican Republic
The tree-ringed lagoon glowed a color you usually see only in the mouthwash aisle, and under the surface of its glassy water, fallen branches looked like open hands ready to make a catch. The boulders at the bottom were either a few feet down or impossibly deep — the clarity of the water made it […]
F.A.A. to Increase Oversight of Boeing and Audit 737 Max 9 Production
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that it was expanding its scrutiny of Boeing, increasing oversight of the company with an audit of production of the 737 Max 9, a week after a panel in the body of one of those planes was blown out during flight. Later Friday night, the F.A.A. said it […]
The ‘Chicago Rat Hole’ Is the City’s Latest Tourist Spot
Winslow Dumaine was heading to a store on Chicago’s North Side when he saw it: a hole in the sidewalk on Roscoe Street with an uncanny resemblance to a rodent. Mr. Dumaine, who is an artist and comedian, said the hole represented two themes often present in his work: morbidity and whimsy. “Had to make […]