As I am writing this, it is 7 am on Thursday morning, and after 2 full days of traveling, I finally arrived at the Palau Royal Resort last night with my press group and received a complete, full night’s sleep in a real bed! On Monday, I flew from Newark Airport to LAX and had a very pleasant stay at the Sheraton Gateway Monday night. Since I had some time to relax before my 15-hour journey to Palau on Tuesday morning, I tried to stay up to alter my time clock, so I wouldn’t be so “off” when arriving in Palau. One thing I should have remembered from my journey to the Philippines is that it doesn’t matter how much you prepare or even sleep on the plane; after a 20-hour trip you will be EXHAUSTED no matter what!

Although arriving in Palau at night kept us from seeing the beautiful islands when we landed and the scenery while driving to our resort, I was happy to have nothing on my itinerary but SLEEP when I got to my hotel room. In the morning, I was greeted by the warm, humid tropical air and the sun rising just behind the palm trees. I could wake up like this every morning. The Palau Resort is beautiful and very accommodating, just as I had expected. I was very pleased with the amenities, as everything was provided so that one wouldn’t even need to bring toiletries, except deodorant. On top of that, there was two of everything! Toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, shaving cream, dental floss, toothpicks, lotion, shampoo, conditioner and hair comb.

While traveling, I will be reviewing everything from hotels, flights, restaurants, scuba diving, snorkeling and various tours. Our itineraries are jam-packed. Today is our dolphin tour! I am very happy to be here and review everything you global travelers will need to know about Palau! Who needs fall, winter or spring? Let summer prevail!!

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

Inspired by Alex’s blog on Tuesday, I was hoping to get your thoughts on a situation I encountered quite a few times recently, one caused by airport delays.

When I was on my back-to-back trips to Los Angeles and the British Virgin Islands, I flew in and out of Philadelphia International Airport eight different times in like nine days. Four of the flights were on Delta in first class and four of them were on American Airlines in economy. I think all 8 flights were delayed in some way, either boarding or waiting on the runway. I do not think the following situations are unique to these airlines in any way, and they are more general practices that I began to question.

When boarding was late, I noticed announcements being made that they were going to be eliminating certain services, mostly for first-class passengers, in order to board quickly and take off as close to our scheduled time as possible. They were not going to do the welcome beverage service for first-class passengers or other welcome perks that first-class passengers are technically paying for in the price of their ticket. And I am not complaining because I was in first class; to be honest, I don’t remember which carrier this was on, which leg of the trip it was or where I was sitting (it all kind of blended together!). It just seems to me that by delaying boarding and take off, you have inconvenienced passengers. I completely agree that this is out of the airline’s control, but beverage service is within the airline’s control. Eliminating services, in my mind, would only serve to inconvenience and anger the passenger even more, right? And, let’s face it, those tickets aren’t cheap! There must be a way to incorporate the service and still board the plane in a timely manner.

On another one of those flights, the airline wanted to reduce weight and was having problems with the water system, so they eliminated all hot water, including coffee and tea, and the water couldn’t be used in the bathrooms. This was an early-morning flight. Understandable that they were experiencing problems, but that is a bit disappointing to learn when you are already loaded and on the runway. Plus, can’t bottled water be boiled for coffee and tea? Or supplied in the bathrooms so passengers can wash their hands? With so many changes occurring in the airline industry and so many more charges being incurred by passengers, sometimes you wonder why the airlines don’t go the extra mile to accommodate passengers when things go wrong. I understand they are hurting, but making passengers happy when problems occur will build loyalty and keep people flying certain airlines when times are tough.

And, on a completely unrelated note, celebrities have now apparently jumped on the oil bandwagon. This week, Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and Sean Combs, music mogul, fashion designer, etc., complained to oil companies that prices were too high and were forcing him to fly commercially rather than on his private jet. I am sure everyone reading this blog feels very bad for him. I bet when Diddy is on board, the carriers don’t eliminate his beverage service or hot water!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and PR executive

If you read Fran’s blog yesterday, you could gather my trips to world headquarters (WHQ) over the past years have never been dull. It’s always great to hang out with the team. I’m just glad that Courtney, on her new adventures to TRE, does not have to encounter the “Candyman”! During the strategy portion of this past trip to WHQ, Fran and I planned a last-minute business trip to South Florida to visit some clients Monday. I planned to arrive Sunday evening to get a fresh start for Monday, but my trip was not so smooth.

I was on a 7:20 pm Delta flight out of JFK. I think the Delta terminal at JFK almost makes LAX look good! Regardless, the flight was delayed, so we did not board until 9:30. I believe the initial delay was weather, but once on board, we pulled back from the gate and waited for another 2 hours until we took off. This delay was due purely to congestion on the tarmac as JFK is, I believe, the busiest hub to Europe in the evening. I watched all the international aircraft take off - Lufthansa, Virgin, AerLingus, Eurofly, etc. - normally an enjoyable experience for me, but not so knowing I wouldn’t be landing in Miami until 1:30 am.

Anyway, as much as the delay was frustrating, what I found disappointing was the talk I heard from other passengers. I overheard the group in front of me, after the pilot announced another delay due to all the congestion at the airport, announce that this was another reason why they wouldn’t fly Delta again. Delta apologized profusely and the crew was accommodating and provided a comfortable flight once airborne. I just feel it is very unfortunate when the airlines, in enough trouble already, get an even worse rep for problems out of their control. I’m sure the solution is much more complicated than I want to even imagine, but next time you’re on board and the flight is delayed, remember the pilot probably wants to get where you’re going even more than you do! Delta did a good job at handling a difficult situation and, bottom line, I made it to Miami safe and sound and in time for business!

-Alexandra Young, vice president and associate publisher

After returning from an exciting first experience at NBTA in LA, I was eager to see the Emirates A380 make its first successful landing from Dubai to JFK. It was a part of history seeing this jumbo jet, filled with 489 passengers, land safely on US soil.

From the Emirates First Class lounge at JFK, press, VIP guests and Emirates supporters enjoyed champagne and appetizers as we waited patiently for the A380 to appear out of the sky. At that moment, the dramatic music was cued and we all glued our faces to the window. With a wing span of 261 feet, the A380 resembled a friendly dinosaur. As it taxied its way to the gate, one of the pilots slid open his window and, like a teeny worm sticking out of an apple, stuck his head out and gave a thumbs up to the wide-eyed crowd of workers below.

As it takes a full 2 hours to clean the jet after the passengers exit, a press conference took place before we were able to tour the upper deck of the A380, which is solely for business- and first-class passengers. While the president of Emirates, Tim Clark, answered many questions about the plane, the pilot who made the historical flight stole the show; many of the questions were directed towards him as attendees wanted to know what it was like to actually fly the thing.

After the press conference, we viewed the 76 business seats, 14 first-class seats, lounges, showers and the bar on the upper deck. The technology and showers were most impressive, and the first-class suites, to me, resembled what I would imagine to be the ultimate luxury vanity table, complete with a 180-degree lie-flat bed. Everything needed and wanted for comfort is an arm’s length away in the suites. Business class is huge with 76 seats, but also is impressive and intimate with mood lighting.

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

This is my 108th blog here, and my last. I’ve been providing your weekend reading for the last 13 months, and if I’ve given you anything to think about, enlighten you, or make you smile, I’m glad.

A couple of months ago I was reading the farewell blog of a writer for Techcrunch who was moving on to greener pastures, and he did a great roundup of the favorite tech sites he’d covered during his tenure. I thought about doing something like that, but I’ve already explained how I’d answer the question “What’s Your Favorite Place?” And I told my favorite travel anecdote in my very first blog.

Looking back over the last year, I suppose I wish I’d used this bully pulpit to discuss a bit more the issues that handicapped travelers face. I addressed it early on, in The Elephant Parade, but like most handicapped travelers it’s actually such a small part of who we are overall that it just doesn’t usually pop into mind.

In my experience, kudos need to go to American airports in general for dealing with travelers who need wheelchairs. This is often people like me who can walk, but can’t walk far. Unlike me, they are often elderly. At most U.S. airports, porters who most often handle luggage are also the ones who push the chairs. Since this is America, capitalism rules, and like waiters the good ones–which in my experience is most of them–work hard for a good tip. The airports where I’ve felt the most like left luggage are those run by the British Airport Authority in the U.K., and I had a good four hours in Gatwick recently to explore why. It seems to be a budgetary issue; the B.A.A. hires subcontractors and there are simply nowhere near enough porters, or chairs. I’ve been left sitting on planes, in gates, and in various hallways for up to an hour while they scramble to find someone to push–at Heathrow, at Gatwick, at Manchester. This is no particular airline’s fault, but there’s also not much we can do except to complain (nicely) and write letters to both the airlines and the B.A.A. Plus, if England isn’t your destination, I can strongly suggest that if you need a wheelchair, find another country in which to change planes.

I hate to leave you on a down note, so I’m going to leave you with some nice pictures instead. I recently stayed at the Jan III Sobienski Hotel in Warsaw, which will be the subject of the review in the July 30 edition of eFlyer, and here are some images from that trip.

Bon voyage, and au revoir,

- Mary Hunt, editor (through July 30), eFlyer