Sunday, October 26, 2014

Tuesday? Sunday? What's the best day?



Those of us who travel frequently often believe that there is day, and maybe a time, when we’ll find the best deals on airline tickets.    What airline, website, day, time in advance of the trip is best? Advice I’ve received from many a frequent traveler?  Book on Tuesday, after 3:30 pm eastern time.  

But this week the Wall Street Journal published an article telling us that Sunday’s the day.  http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-best-day-to-buy-airline-tickets-1413999377
Read through Scott McCartney’s article and you’ll discover that airlines realized that, especially for leisure travel, many of us do our searching on the weekends.  That what hadn’t sold during the week might be purchased by the casual visitor on a Sunday afternoon.

But those of you who are Tuesday believers, don’t lose hope.  It turns out that Tuesday can be a good time to find that special offer.  An extra discount on the flight you want.

So now it appears there are two days to check those prices.  But whichever day is yours, remember sooner is better than later.  In his study it showed that domestic (US) flights had the best prices 57 days in advance while international flights from the US were best at 10 months in advance.

Now my question is do I book my February Nashville flight today, Sunday, or do I hope for better luck on Tuesday afternoon? 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Pirates, Weapons and an ATM


We think that reading the headlines will tell us everything we need to know about a country far away.  Maybe one we’ll visit or do business in.  But it depends on what headlines you read what you’ll know. 

Looking for news of Somalia in the last two days I’ve seen headlines about weapons, food shortages, kidnapping and pirates.  Familiar themes. 

Imagine my surprise to discover an article about the first ever ATM arriving in Mogadishu. An ATM that gives US dollars, not the local currency the shilling.  According to the author Mohamed Moalimu, the shilling is “almost worthless” and for business, people prefer the US dollar. 


It’s a reminder that when you’re looking at a new destination for business or pleasure you can’t check enough sources.   And not to settle just for what you find on line. Find someone who has been there, is there, get the full story not just the headlines.