The Travel Professor
Join me on a journey across the broad spectrum of interesting travel topics. We’ll discuss destinations domestic and abroad, some familiar and some off the beaten path. We take a look at suppliers like cruise lines, air carriers and tour operators and find their bargains and special offerings. Got questions? Email thetravelprofessor@gmail.com.

Monday, December 13, 2010

International air travel

On my last couple of foreign trips I’ve flown American owned and flagged carriers. You know the United’s, US Airways, Delta’s and Continental’s of the sky. The in flight service and cabin comforts on these flights were basically what you receive on their domestic routes.

Then I recently had the opportunity to fly an international air carrier, Turkish Airlines in specific. What a relieving change of pace and totally awesome flight experience.

There were a couple more inches of leg room, seat pitch in the aviation industry, so when the person seated in front of me reclined their seat I did not take the seatback in the nose.

In flight entertainment was free and plentiful. They had to have at least 50 plus movies. Meals were served along with free beverages. Yes even the adult beverages were complimentary.

These foreign carriers participate in many of our US based frequent traveler programs so the next time I need to head overseas I am going to look for a foreign flagged over the water carrier. There are plenty of international excellent airlines to select from but most depart/arrive from major international hubs like New York Kennedy or Chicago O’Hare. The trick may be coordinating the domestic feeder connecting flights and creating a joint airfare from our stateside departure gateway all the way through to our international arrival point.

But I’m up for the challenge and am confident that I can create a sound routing and construct a completive fare. Who knows we may even overnight in the Big Apple and check out a show!

Happy travels!