Yapta Yapta Blog

According to a number of recent reports, simply erasing your cookies (the text that Web servers store on your computer, identifying you as a repeat visitor) before shopping for travel can lead to some big savings.

It may seem counterintuitive, but in the online shopping business, loyalty isn’t rewarded.  The best discounts are typically reserved for new customers.  And one of the easiest ways to make Web retailers think you’re a new customer is to delete the cookies they leave on your computer.

Don’t believe it?  Well, a blog from PC Magazine recently posted an item about a woman who was able to save at least $19 a night on a room at Bally’s casino in Las Vegas simply by deleting her cookies and hitting the site again to check for rooms.

Give this strategy a try the next time you’re shopping for travel and you could save some cookie dough.

Here’s some more travel news you can use:

• Wanna know how to fly 35,000 miles, visit 4 continents, 9 countries, and 15 cities for $418?  Read this interesting article to find out.  (Caution, you may be venturing into travel nerd territory here.)

• At a special forum on child safety in Washington today, the federal government, flight attendants, and airlines all urged parents to buckle up their babies on airplanes – instead of holding them in their laps, even if it means shelling out money for an extra ticket.

• Ever wonder what the TSA does with the stuff they confiscate at security checkpoints?  This article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution offers a brief explanation.

According to a report from The Globe and Mail, you can now order a private jet to pick you up, anywhere in the world, within 4 hours, from your mobile device.  The service is now available by using a new mobile app from Blue Star Jets.  You simply type in your location and destination, see what’s available and for how much, and order it.  It’s that simple – and, as you may have guessed, very expensive.

The Globe and Mail reports that it a flight from Kelowna, B.C. to Seattle had more than a dozen options, ranging in capacity from 8-13 passengers and in price from $20,097.60 – $61,625.99.  Expensive as it may be, the publication also notes that it may make some sense for business travelers:  If you have a team of eight, $20,097.60 works out to just over $2,500 a person.  Regular Air Canada fares (WestJet doesn’t fly to Seattle) would be more than $1,000, if you could get eight seats with four hours notice, which, on Tuesday, you could not. There were only five departure times available, anyway, just one of which was in the morning, and they all connected through either Vancouver or Calgary with travel times of more than three hours.

Here’s some more travel news you can use:

• The National Transportation Safety Board is asking regulators to require all passengers to have their own seats and seat belts, including children under the age of 2 – who are currently allowed to sit on an adult’s lap.  The recommendation, made last month, is similar to others the agency has submitted to the FAA over the past two decades, only to be rebuffed.  But this time, the agency is using the recent plane crash in Butte, MT as an example.  To be continued…

• The DOT has updated its consumer guide to air travel, which provides a quick summary of what to look for when buying a ticket, and what protections you have during travel.  It’s also a good starting point when you have an airline-related problem and need more information before deciding what to do next.  If you travel frequently, you’ll want to bookmark it.

• Steven Slater, the former JetBlue flight attendant that cursed out a passenger over airplane PA system, took a beer from the galley and proceeded to slide down an emergency exit chute, will be mentally evaluated for a possible plea deal.  This news came after he appeared in a New York City courtroom for a brief hearing on criminal mischief charges.