Weekly Roundup: New Passenger Bumping Rules, & Other Travel, News, Earth Day!, A Pocket Sized Tripod, Flying With Fish On The Radio

Web: www.fishfotoworldwide.com — E-Mail: fish@fishfoto.com

25/04/2008 – Weekly Roundup: New Passenger Bumping Rules, & Other Travel, News, Earth Day!, A Pocket Sized Tripod, Flying With Fish On The Radio

To kick off the Weekly Roundup, I have been asked to be a featured guest on the talk radio show Inside Digital Photo (www.insidedigitalphoto.com). Inside Digital Photo airs weekly in a number of U.S. metro markets, and can be found on iTunes following the broadcast. I’ll be taping my segment this evening and will post an update when I have a broadcast/air date or when I find out where you can download the Podcast.

Elsewhere in the world of Flying With Fish, we had a busy week in news with two stories that affect all travelers in the United States. One works in your favour with new “passenger bumping rules,” the other works against you if you are a foreign visitor to the United States with the new “US DHS foreign visitor proposal.”

The new rules for passenger compensation kicked off the week and details the new compensation allowances for those passengers who have been ‘involuntarily denied boarding,’ from their flights. The new rules finally update the previous rules that were instituted in 1978. Read more on this topic here: 21/04/2008 – Passenger “Bumping Rule” Compensation : New Rules For Passenger Compensation!

Recently the US Department of Homeland Security proposed a new “security measure” to positively identify foreign travelers as they depart the United States. Not only is this proposal full of considerable flaws in terms of implementation and effectiveness, but also it places the financial burden of US$2.7 billion on the airlines and cruise industry (with the majority of the financial burden falling on the already financially strapped airlines). To find more information on this subject check here: 23/04/2008 – Proposed US Department of Homeland Security Visitor Identity Scheme To Further Place Financial Burden On Airlines & Alienate Foreign Visitors

This week was Earth Day, and Flying With Fish reminded you that you could help equalize your environmental footprint when traveling by purchasing Carbon Offsets. We only have one Earth and we need to protect it! To find out how you can help preserve our environment while traveling click here: 22/04/2008 – Purchase Carbon Offsets & Celebrate Earth Day!!

To meet our gadget needs, Flying With Fish reviewed the incredible pocket sized Manfrotto 3007 tripod kit. I was completely blown away with this “table top” tripod. The Manfrotto 3007‘s strength, size and versatility was well beyond what I expected. Even better is that this little wonder if outstanding for not only professional use, but also point-and-shoot use while on family vacations. You can learn more about the Manfrotto 3007 in this posting: 23/04/2008 – Incredible Pocket Sized Tripod : The Manfrotto 3007 Kit

Finally this week I published the top three packing tips submitted by the readers of Flying With Fish. With nearly 200 submitted tips (194 to be exact) it was hard to select the three most effective tips and award them the three PacSafe CarrySafe 100 camera straps. The winners of the straps were Anna Kuperberg, Petra Hall and Jonathan Adams. I’d like to thank everyone who submitted their tips (i’ll do a follow up with 10 more in the next few weeks) and I’d like to thank PacSafe for supporting the readers of Flying With Fish. To read the Top Three Packing Tips, click here: 22/04/2008 – Top Three Reader Submitted Packing Tips : Three PacSafe Carry Safe 100 Strap Winners

Finally, we round out the week with five hidden airline fee that really tick me off! I know the airlines are in financial trouble. I know the cost of fuel is going up and there are other factors contributing to these financial troubles. With all of these financial issues airlines need to generate additional revenue, however some of these hidden fees are just aimed at angering their customers and making it more difficult work with these companies. To find out the five hidden fees that irritate me check here: 24/04/2008 – Five Hidden Airline Fees That Really Annoy Me

Happy Flying!