International Travel Adventure

Well, I was torn, today; write about the recent (January 31st) engaging of the new “western hemisphere” international travel restrictions, or write about the outrageous fuel surcharges placed on many international flights. While the former is important and timely, the latter stirs more outrage in my mind. Well, then again….

We (the U.S and Canada – and Mexico, to some extent) are finally imposing ‘terrorist-justified’ travel restrictions between countries in the Americas. This comes a little over six years after 09/11/01, commonly referred to here as “9/11” (and 6 more years of terrorists crossing both borders of the U.S., mostly unobstructed). (More of the actual guidelines of these travel restrictions will be found in my free “Smart Tips Handbook”.)

So, what is all the fuss about now? Extra ID will be required, or, in some cases, ID will be required where none was previously required. This is primarily for travel between Mexico, U.S., and Canada. Basically, for only one piece of ID to be effective, it must prove both identity and citizenship in order to avoid long delays in crossing the borders. Actually, it sounds like an idea whose time has come (well, “come long ago” might be more appropriate). So, why would I be outraged at all? Well, let’s see: illegal “immigration” into the U.S. continues at an unabated all-time high, whilst would-be terrorists continue to disguise themselves as illegal “immigrants” for that rare occasion of possibly being caught when there is a “crackdown” on the influx from time to time. Mostly, legitimate people are the ones who cross at regular border stations. OK, enough of that.

The fuel surcharges heaped on travelers wanting to visit another country – that’s the subject of the day! According to a current news item regarding U.S. travelers, as much as $500+ might be the extra charge on some airfares just for extra fuel costs. But for most domestic flights, it is usually no more than $40 at this time; travelers balk at the higher prices on domestic flights, refusing to fly, so it is hard for the airlines to impose them.

But international travel demand in the U.S. is at a near all-time high. So guess who pays! Since I am partial to international travel, that puts a ‘half-twist’ into my thinking. But really, it’s not the airlines that are to blame; they must pay higher fuel costs in the same way motorists must, for driving their cars. So the airlines try to recover their costs where they can. This is a 21st century version of invoking the “whatever the traffic will bear” rule of pricing.

So, again, what would be the source of any outrage on my part? We have the highest sustained fuel prices ever in the U.S., while the news is awash with reports of the oil companies making record profits for roughly the same sustained period of time. Doing the math is what ‘ruffles my feathers’. It’s been said many times in television shows and movies about crime: “Follow the money trail”. While we have more oil reserves on this planet now than ever realized before, and while there is often an “oil glut” (surplus oil on the market), we also find, barely mentioned in the news, the big oil companies refusing to refine oil at anywhere near capacity. That is generally called artificial price control.

Am I still excited about international travel? You bet! But, like many people, I’d just be happier if the world was a more perfect place, with less greed and hypocrisy. Sigh…

If you’re still unsure of anything about your next international travel - and you want it to be cheaper, safer, and more adventurous, get my free “Smart Tips Handbook” available exclusively to Registered Readers! Click the link below.

International Travel Adventure

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 pm and is filed under Travel News, Travel Talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.