Apologies for the extended blog hiatus. January was rough: Health issues knocked me out, and it’s taken far longer than expected to regain my footing.

But thankfully January is over, and U:TB is back. Well, almost: Starting next week, we’re back to business, traveling better.

I’ve only just begun the slog through the inbox, so apologies for delays in responding to e-mails and comments. Thanks to those who expressed concern — I really appreciate it.

Hopefully your 2011 is off to a better start, though the weather has obviously been wreaking havoc with many people’s lives. If you’re stuck at an airport, I hope the airport management hired clowns.

Happy New Year!… (ducks)

Upgraded: Deals to Europe
Jared Blank may have posted this on May 27, but if you’ve procrastinated your summer travel plans, you can still (!) book roundtrip flights from Newark to several European cities for only $399 including all taxes, for travel through June 30, 2010. I found seats to Oslo, Berlin, and London, with relative ease. The catch, if you want to call it that: You have to fly via Iceland, with Iceland Express. Be sure to check that volcano ash forecast…

Downgraded: EasyJet’s name
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of British discount airline EasyJet, has parted ways with the company he built, and is now preparing to sue to have them remove the “easy” prefix in their name. Sir Stelios wants to set up an online travel agency with the same name, which sounds like it’s going to be a delightful time for everyone involved. Haven’t the trademark battles over classic rock band names like Pink Floyd, Yes, and Black Sabbath taught us anything?

Upgraded: Me
Yes, this blog has been out of commission for two weeks, and I apologize for the unannounced absence. After some time fine-tuning the work-work balance, traveling to conferences, and grappling with an unpleasant illness, we’re back on the beat, baby! Thanks to those who wrote expressing concern.

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Downgraded: This site’s backend

Just an administrative note: This site’s database crashed over the weekend. In a big way. (Thanks for the emails letting me know you couldn’t move beyond the homepage — which was cached.) I’m still working to restore the content that was lost in the crash — the last two weeks’ worth of content, basically.

My wife and I are unplugging, taking a few days off, and heading to Spain. (No actual fishing will take place; only the metaphorical kind.)

While each hotel where we’re staying has complimentary wi-fi — even the small places in rural settings, amazingly — the U:TB offices will effectively be closed. A few posts are set to autopilot for next week, but forgive me if comments that get caught in the spam filters don’t make it out as quickly as usually. (Or, vice versa, if you see a bunch of ads for pharmaceuticals in the comments, bear with me…) We’ll be back to normal in a week and a half.

Have a great week+!

It’s been over two years since the last site redesign here at Upgrade: Travel Better, and it’s about time for a new look. (That is, unless you were one of the masochists who really liked the orange links… what was I thinking?!)

The site is still a work in progress. The upgrade broke a few things that were working before, and which sandbox-testing didn’t uncover. So there will be more tinkering in days and weeks to come.

In any case, I hope you’ll like the new layout, and I welcome your feedback. Feel free to hit the comments with your thoughts.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to thank you for reading the site, and for the comments, e-mails, backlinks, and support. Readers have left 5007 comments on the site over the last three+ years (not counting the literally hundreds of thousands of spam comments, of course…) And, in keeping up the numbers game, this is my 1018th post. I look forward to writing thousands more, and hope you’ll stick around for them. Thanks again for reading U:TB.

Back to regular posting soon.

Of course, it’s hard to actually read it that way if you don’t have a Kindle, and those are on backorder into the new year, should you wish to drop $359 for a unit.

Personally, I have never actually read anything on a Kindle, or even seen a Kindle, and I don’t know anyone who owns one yet. So I have no idea what this blog will look like on that reader. The content gets delivered wirelessly to the device (via the Sprint network), so it’s always up to date as long as you’ve got a signal.

Anyone out there actually have a Kindle?

If interested, send me an e-mail with your contact information, and I’ll pass it along to the journalist.

Related:
- Reader mail: Why would I want to upgrade my rental car?
- Rental car agent blows smoke up my backside, redux

It’s been a rough few weeks here at U:TB headquarters (not because of the blog, mind you), and we’re taking a bit over a week off, burning some hard-earned frequent flyer miles, and unplugging. You might see a guest post, you might not, but this blogger will be back on the beat, tanned, rested, and ready.

In the meantime: Safe, delay-free travels, with complimentary upgrades galore, to you and yours.

Shameless self-promotional pimping alert!

The government of France’s tourist office is running a contest, and you and I can both win. As part of their promotion of tourism to the island of Martinique, they invited bloggers to offer up their “wildest, funniest, or most exciting travel or holiday experience.” I banged out a quick synopsis of some of my 1992 travels in Russia, a story which features me standing in a train wearing nothing but my underwear at 3 in the morning, with a pimply-faced Red Army recruit pushing the tip of his automatic rifle into my chest.

Hmm… what better way to win a trip to a Caribbean island than to discuss travel to Russia in February?…

Click here to stuff the ballot box read my entry. Click on the stars at the top of the entry to cast your ballot.

Giving it five stars is appreciated (hint hint), and voting enters you into a sweepstakes for free Martinique travel of your own. Here’s hoping it’s — literally — win-win.

Other blogger-participants have been pimping their stories for days — even weeks! (How fair is that?!) I was invited to participate late, so I’ve got some catching up to do. And that’s where you come in.

It’s not often that I ask for your help. In fact, when WAS the last time I asked for your help? But I’m asking now.

The terms of the contest are here. The whole array of stories to consider is here. And, as a gentle reminder (cough, cough) my contribution is here. Vote early and often! Just vote by February 28.

And thanks!

Upgraded: Nude Aviation
Who could forget Naked Air, the chartered “airline” that transported “naturists” to sunny destinations. Now, a German travel agency will make naked flights a regular option. But for those longing for a long overnight trip in the buff, you’ll have to keep waiting. It’s just a short trip within Germany. (Seriously, why bother?)

Upgraded: Business travel blogging
Hirsute frequent flyer kingpin Randy Petersen has gathered a number of blogs related to business travel into one place — BoardingArea.com — and you’ll find Upgrade: Travel Better syndicated there, too. You’ll find some familiar names there as well, plus some spunky newcomers. The site’s launch was featured in the New York Times, too, including a photo of the hirsute proprietor. Check it out.

Upgraded: Hotel thieves
If you’ve ever stolen stuff from a hotel room, you can return those towels, glasses, bathrobes, and … punch bowls? In any case, if you’ve been a pilferer from the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, your day of amnesty is here. Bring back the contraband, no questions asked. (Thanks Dr. Vino!)

Upgraded: JetBlue’s alliance prospects
Perhaps you remember my prediction from February 6 last year, that jetBlue and Aer Lingus would try to sync up in an alliance? Looks like the prediction was right, according to WSJ reports. But Aer Lingus might find some competition from jetBlue shareholder Lufthansa, who is also looking into an alliance of sorts with the ‘blue.

Upgraded: Short runways, long flights, 2-year old sarcasm
British Airways has announced another luxury initiative, aimed squarely at its all-business class competitors. The new all-business class service will fly from London’s City airport — a tiny airport with a short runway — to an as-yet unnamed New York area airport. The flight will feature only 36 seats on an Airbus A318. Not A319. Not A320. A318. The shortest in the family, and the biggest plane legally permitted to depart from London-City. The Cranky Flier has a nice post on the logistics of the proposed service. But jeez, it looks like my sarcastic comments from April 2006 were taken seriously: “What’s next?: Will someone determine that London City airport needs nonstop business class service to White Plains or Islip?” I guess life imitates snark?

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