Staycations on the rise?

By  Jessica Hartogs

CBS News/ November 20, 2013, 11:18 AM

Fewer people will travel for Turkey Day this year: report

For the first time in five years, travel across the United States over the Thanksgiving holiday will decline, with only 43.4 million people traveling for their turkey, according to a AAA.

It's a slight 1.5 percent decrease compared to the 44 million that traveled in 2012. The average distance journeyed will increase to 601 miles from 588 miles in 2012.

"While the economy continues to improve, the sluggish pace of the recovery is creating uncertainty in the minds of some consumers and therefore AAA is projecting a slight decline in the number of Thanksgiving travelers this year," said AAA Chief Operating Officer Marshall L. Doney.

90 percent of travelers will hit the road and travel by car, a decline of 1.6 percent from 2012.

Air travel is also predicted to decline this year, with 3.14 million people choosing to jump on a plane compared to 3.26 million in 2012.

Americans will spend approximately $465 per household to travel during this holiday period, down from $498 last year.

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the least expensive holidays to travel; Americans spent an average of $804 during this year's Labor Day and $749 for Independence Day.

Wednesday, Nov. 27, will be the busiest day of Thanksgiving travel- with 37 percent of travelers departing that day. Sunday, Dec 1, is when most will head home.

If all these numbers are filling you with anxiety ahead of this year's holiday, you can take comfort in that the AAA estimates most drivers will pay the cheapest gas prices for the Thanksgiving holiday since 2010.

The national average is at the cheapest level of the year and should continue to drop in the weeks ahead, with most stations selling gas for less than $3.00 per gallon.

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At Excelsior we are happy to provide your "staycation" ground transportation. Town cars, SUVs or limousines. You relax. We'll drive.

 

Holiday Travel: Tips for Getting Through LAX Faster

Yup. It's that time again. Beat the stress at LAX. Here are a few tips:

 

1.      Book an Excelsior Limousine town car or SUV to get to LAX. :) 

2.      Check in online.

3.      Check your flight status online.

4.      Arrive two hours ahead of time

5.      Don’t be that guy in the security line. Have ID ready, wear easy to remove shoes, down the water in your water bottle, you know the drill…

6.      Any questions or problems look for employees with red vests.

Batkid's Make-a-Wish Transforms San Francisco Into Gotham - ABC News

Nov. 15, 2013

By CHRISTINA NG

via Good Morning America

 

A little boy's wish galvanized San Francisco today and melted the hearts of people around the world who followed his exploits as the city transformed into Gotham to fulfill the 5-year-old leukemia patient's wish to be Batman for a day.

 

The Make-a-Wish Foundation created an entire day catered to Miles Scott's dream, and thousands of people turned out to cheer him on along the way. President Obama even issued his first ever Vine on Twitter congratulating Miles.

His day began with a special edition cover of the San Francisco Chronicle, whose entire front page was dedicated to the young superhero. The headline for the lead story is "Batkid Saves City."

The author? None other than Clark Kent.

The other front-page stories, all about Batkid, were written by Lois Lane, Brenda Starr and Perry White.

Around 9:30 a.m. PT, Miles saw a breaking news story on a TV. The police chief asked whether anyone knows where Batkid is because he needs his help to solve a crime and "bringing the bad guys to justice," Make-a-Wish said in a statement.

Miles' day included rescuing a damsel in distress tied up across the Hyde Street cable car line and capturing the Riddler in the act of robbing a downtown vault. As Batkid ate his lunch at Burger Bar, he got a special message from the chief, telling him to go to the window where he looked out over Union Square and saw a huge group of volunteers jumping up and down and asking for his help.

While Batkid was eating lunch, the villainous Penguin was kidnapping famous San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal and Batkid rushed to the rescue. His last stop was City Hall, where the mayor and police chief thanked him and presented him with a key to the city as thousands of supporters cheered him on.

Even the U.S. Attorney's office got in on the action, issuing a news release announcing the arrest of the Riddler and the Penguin, thanks to BatKid.

"He is a sunny, positive little boy and finds his inspiration in super heroes," Make-a-Wish said of Miles. "When we interviewed Miles for a wish, he surprised even his parents: he wishes to be BatKid!"

Make-a-Wish decided to make Miles' dream come true and, in a rare move for the foundation, asked the public to participate.

"This is one that we thought of as a great opportunity for people to share in the power of a wish so they can see how it affects not only the children and their families, but also the other people involved," Jen Wilson, marketing and promotions manager for Make-a-Wish in San Francisco, told ABCNews.com. "It has a big impact on many people.

"Since he wants to be a superhero, we felt like having a large crowd there waiting with signs and cheering him on would make him feel like a hero, not just because he battle villains and helped fight crime, but he's a true hero," Wilson said.

The interest level in Miles' wish has been "extreme," Wilson said, and that this is "definitely not the typical wish we grant."

Twitter was ablaze with the hashtag #SFBatKid.

"We've gotten people who want to volunteer to participate, actors reaching out asking if they can play a role, photographers and videographers offering their services, people who want to give Miles gifts, makeup artists willing to donate their services, a fire truck that want to come out and show their support," Wilson said. "It's quite a range."

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We at Excelsior Limousine just love this story. Thank you Make-a-Wish foundation!

 

Excelsior Limousine: Los Angeles premiere luxury transportation. Town cars, SUVs and limousines

 

Nov. 11, 1926: U.S. highway system created | Yahoo Travel

We found this great article on Yahoo Travel.

Did you know that on Nov. 11, 1926 the United States Highway numbering system was unveiled?

There were roads across the United States before 1926, but they weren’t systematically named, numbered or otherwise organized. Instead, the country was crisscrossed by a series of loosely connected local routes.

That changed in 1925, when state transportation officials convened a Joint Board on Interstate Highways. After a year of taking comments on its original proposal, the board unveiled the new highway numbering system on Nov. 11, 1926.

The U.S. Highways (often called U.S. Routes) were the fastest way to drive from one place to another for three decades, until the Interstate Highway System was created in the 1950s, building even speedier purpose-built multi-lane roads.

Some U.S. highways retain something of an iconic status, and they’re ideal for travelers seeking a true road trip with lower speeds, better scenery, out-of-the-way towns and lots of history. Route 66, for example, still retains its old charm. The Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental road, still cuts through the middle of the country from New York to San Francisco (the section through the Nevada is sometimes called “the Loneliest road in America” and is great for escaping the rest of humanity).

For U.S. Routes, north-to-south highways are usually odd-numbered, with numbers going from low to high as you travel from east to west. West-to-east highways are typically even-numbered, and numbers go from low to high as you move north to south.

 

Excelsior Limousine town cars, SUVs and limousines take you north, south, east or west on any road, route or highway. How’s that for service?  LAX and Bob Hope Burbank Airport too.  

The Airline Report Cards Are In

Which Airline Ranks No. 1 In Customer Service? The Rankings Are Here

By Rich Smith
November 9, 2013

Which airline gives you the best customer service? I'll give you a hint: The answer isn't any of the major "legacy" carriers. (Shocker, I know.)

Mega-carriers US Airways (NYSE: LCC ) , American (still owned by AMR), and United (now part of United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) may be some of the biggest airlines in the country, but according to a recent survey conducted by Airfarewatchdog, they're far from the best, ranking eighth, ninth, and 10^th on the consumer advocate's list of the Top 10 carriers.

Even Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) sports only a sixth-place rating on Airfarewatchdog's list. And Southwest's (NYSE: LUV  ) two brands -- Southwest proper and AirTran -- bracket Delta in fifth and seventh places, respectively.

No, when it comes to providing top-level service for getting planes to arrive on time, running flights instead of canceling them, delivering baggage and passengers to their intended destination, and overall customer satisfaction, the No. 1 airline in the nation is Frontier Airlines, a subsidiary of Republic Airways (NASDAQ: RJET ) .

Here's how the rankings stack up, from top to bottom:

Airline	Rank
Frontier	1st Place
Virgin America	2nd Place
JetBlue	3rd Place
Alaska	4th Place
Southwest	5th Place
Delta	6th Place
AirTran	7th Place
US Airways	8th Place
American	9th Place
United	10th Place

How did Frontier Airlines earn "best in show"?
Digging into the details on Airfarewatchdog's multiple surveys, which add up to the overall results shown above, the results do seem a bit curious.

Frontier actually doesn't rank No. 1 in any of the subcategories examined. It's not No. 1 in uncanceled flights (that's Virgin America), or in on-time arrivals (Alaska Air holds that honor). Frontier's not the best in baggage handling, denied boardings, or customer satisfaction, either. Top marks in these categories go to Virgin, JetBlue, and JetBlue (again), respectively.

Yet according to Airfarewatchdog, Frontier does a good enough job in each individual category to make it the best airline to fly, overall.

Maybe that's why when it comes to picking "feeder" regional airlines to supply them, even the majors turn to Frontier's own parent company, Republic, to connect them with passengers aboard brands American Eagle, US Airways Express, and United Express.

Apparently, good enough for them is also good enough for us.

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Not to toot our own car horn or anything, but check out our Yelp reviews. We have a five star rating for our Excelsior Limousine town cars, SUVs and limousines. Thank you Yelp reviewers!

 

 

Stuffed Animals Need R & R Too

We found this at Yahoo travel

This company will send your stuffed animal on a vacation

By Claudine Zap  Compass

Your teddy bear has always wanted to visit Tokyo in the spring. Fortunately for Mr. Bobo, there's Unagi Travel, the "Japan Travel Agency for Stuffed Animals."

The travel agency gives tours not to you but to your favorite plush toy. For fans of the movie "Amelie," in which a garden gnome disappears from a front yard and mysteriously appears in photos taken at tourist sites around the globe, this is kind of like that: Give your teddy a grand adventure while you sit at home. Talk about a toy story.

The odd but oddly adorable idea goes like this: Head to the Unagi Travel website and book your toy's tour. Price points are reasonable, but you pay for shipping to Japan. They send your toy back for free.

Prices range from $35 to $55 for the guided tours to Tokyo, a trip to onsen (hot springs), or a "mystery tour" where the destination is revealed only at the last minute.

According to the website, the Tokyo package includes visits to the shopping district Shibuya; historic Asakusa, famous for its Buddhist temple; and views from the Tokyo Tower.

For your $45, you'll get a postcard from your plush friend and a "printed commemorative photograph along with the data on a CD-ROM," the website states. Photos will also be uploaded on to the company's Facebook page.

 

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At Excelsior Limousine marketing meeting:

 

Luba: "Think about it. Town car, SUV and limousine special rates for stuffed animals!" 

 

Maurice: "No."

 

Luba: "We'd get more Facebook likes!"

 

Maurice: "No."

 

Luba: "Yelp reviews?"

 

Maurice: "I don't know you anymore."

 

 

 

Good News about Gadgets

FAA Says Some Electronics Can Now Be Used Throughout Your Flight

By Reena Ganga at gadling.com

If you're tired of shutting off your gadgets during take-off and landing (or you're one of those passengers who surreptitiously leaves them on) then get ready for some good news. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it is loosening restrictions on the use of electronics in-flight, meaning some devices can now be used the entire time you're on the plane.

Under the changes, travelers will be able to use e-readers, play games, and watch videos on their portable devices throughout their journey. Bluetooth devices like wireless keyboards can also be used on flights. Cell phones will still face some restrictions, with passengers required to keep them in airplane mode. And as is currently the case, no phone calls will be allowed at any time onboard. The FAA says passengers may be asked to stow some heavier devices during takeoff and landing for safety reasons, but in general, the new rules reflect much more freedom for fliers.

The FAA says it came to the decision after receiving input from pilots, electronics manufacturers, and passengers, and that the new rules balance safety with travelers' increasing appetite to use electronics during flights.

The new rules won't necessarily apply immediately, and exactly how they'll be implemented will probably differ from one airline to the next. But the FAA believes most carriers will have the changes in place by the end of the year.

 

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At Excelsior Limousine you may always use your electronic devices in our town cars, SUVs and limousines.