I was shocked to find out I could make phone calls on a recent flight on Emirates

A few weeks ago I was traveling from India to Europe on Emirates Airlines and was shocked to read that I could make phone calls when flying. I even tested the system by calling my son Matt (and woke him up) just to see if the system really worked. It worked slick as a whistle.  Now it appears that airlines in Europe will soon be able to offer phone calls when flying as the European Commission has given the green light for the implementation of 5G technology to allow it to happen. CLICK HERE to read more.

It might be a long time before phone calling during a flight is allowed in the USA – Recent studies show that many travelers are vehemently opposed to allowing talking on the phone during a flight. Flying seems to be the one sanctuary that people have to be able to get away from the hassle of the phone. Plus with such tight quarters, nothing is more annoying than sitting next to someone talking on their phone during pre and post-flight taxiing. What do you think about allowing phones to be used during flight? Please CLICK HERE to take our one-question survey.

United Airlines’ international Wi-Fi service is really bad – I don’t know how many times I have flown with United Airlines to Europe and beyond only to suffer through the most frustrating Wi-Fi service that shows out of service for hours at a time. To add insult to injury this lousy service is after you pay $29.95 to use it. United’s domestic service is a little better but you really can’t count on it working if you have some work to catch up on.  If you fly a lot on United for business they do have a $49/month unlimited plan that is a good deal if the Wi-Fi actually works those days.

Seat-back TV screens are coming back – For the last decade, many airlines started removing TV screens from the back of airline seats. Now they are reversing course and the big thing is to add bigger and better screens in not only first and business class but also in coach class. I think the airlines thought that many people would bring along their iPads and iPhones and watch movies using airplane Wi-Fi. I see that a lot when I am flying. It appears that many people simply download a movie before the flight to watch during the flight so they don’t have to count on the lousy airline Wi-Fi connection to work.

Many domestic airlines now offer in-flight texting without fees – Delta and Alaska Airlines were the first U.S. airlines to offer free inflight texting via iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.  United, Southwest, and American also offer in-flight text messaging on certain messaging platforms. In order to check email you will most often have to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi service. The free texting service is a nice way to notify your friends of early and late arrivals when flying. It also comes in handy if you sign up for the airlines’ text notifications of connecting flight data.   

Escorted Tours for Everyone – Apart from our popular Women of the Midwest travel concept (women-only tours), we offer a wide range of escorted tours to Hawaii, Italy, Iceland, an exquisite “Sound of Music” tour to Germany and Austria, Greece, a bicycling tour of Denmark and Sweden (you can reserve an e-bike, too), and a fairy tale European Christmas market journey. Common for all of them is that we take off with a maximum of 20-30 pax. This gives you a unique opportunity to enjoy your special tour so much more than traveling on a full fifty-seater motor coach. The tours are popular and are filling up fast. To see all the details, CLICK HERE. Next, call or email our friendly group department at (402) 435-8888 to reserve your spot. It’s Christmas; it’s time to treat yourself to the greatest gift ever. Travel while you can!