winter-travel

The Best Airlines and Airports for Smooth Travel

There's never a good time to experience travel delays, but no matter how thoroughly and carefully planned a trip might be, hangups and slowdowns always manage to pop up somehow. Airline travel is particularly riddled with schedule-related frustrations, and although there's no 'silver bullet' solution you can minimize inconvenient delays by traveling through the airports and on the airlines that have the best reputations for being on-time.

The airline with the fewest delays (according to numbers gathered by Travel & Leisure) is Hawaiian, but unless you're traveling to Hawaii you won't be able to enjoy their lovely 89.5% on time average. Thankfully other top contenders are a little more accessible, however, with Pinnacle and Southwest bringing in the top 3 with 83.4% and 83% averages respectively. (See the complete best and worst airlines list here.)

As for airports, Salt Lake City (SLC) is the #1 place to leave from (or to stop over at, as the case may be) with only 12% of their flights experiencing delays or cancellations. Portland (PDX) comes in at number two with 15%, and both Washington D.C. (DCA) and Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP) score 16% and so are tied for 3rd. (See the complete best and worst airports list here.)

Unfortunately geography often limits what options are available to travelers, but with these numbers in mind you can make the best choice and avoid as many frustrating inconveniences as possible. And in case you're wondering (which I'm sure you are) the single worst airline for delays is Comair with only 70.1% of its flights arriving on time, and the single worst airport is a three-way tie between Philadelphia (PHL), Atlanta (ATL), and Washington D.C. (IAD) all with 22% delay averages.

Tags: airlines, airports, luxist-awards, main-pedia, summer-travel, summer-travel-pedia, winter-travel, winter-travel-pedia

Trendy Winter Travel: Nordic Spas

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Although snow and ice might not be the first things that come to mind when considering a spa vacation they're becoming more common as Nordic spas gain popularity with people looking to get their relaxation and invigoration fix during the cold winter months.

Nordic spas offer services based on the ancient European tradition of going from hot to cold (usually a hot sauna to a brisk cool dip) and back again. The therapy is said to help the body clear out toxins, boost immunity, stimulate circulation, and reduce stress. Sound interesting? Well it seems all the best Nordic spas are in Canada and here a few to get your search started.

Balnea Spa sits on 400 acres of nature preserve about an hour and a half outside of Montreal. The vibe is contemporary and a little urban, although expansive mountain views and a lakeside sauna make for plenty of opportunities to relax. You can even spend time in their winter-only igloo if you're so inclined.

The Scandinave Spa in Whistler is nestled in the northern woods and scheduled to open to the public next month (January 22, 2010). A Finnish-style sauna is supplemented with other options in individual glass and wooden buildings all connected by a series of meandering (and heated from below so you don't have to trudge through the snow) pathways. The feature list also includes open-air hot pools, complete with waterfalls.

Le Nordik is unique in that in addition to a Finnish sauna, four outdoor pools, several hot tubs, and a steam bath it offers a full pool-side restaurant that serves healthy fare like fish and veggie wraps, local artisan cheeses, and wine.

Tags: finnish sauna, FinnishSauna, nordic spa, nordic-spa, NordicSpa, spa, travel, winter-travel, winter-travel-pedia