Creating Children's Travel Journals

Keeping a journal is something that can be a fun and rewarding experience for a child and it will help them with their mental development. Having a travel journal can be make it even more rewarding for a child and help to keep them involved in their writing and help to develop their written expression skills. This is a great activity for the summer time vacation holidays and will help keep your child's mind active during the summer days off. You can either create your own or use printable travel journals available on the internet.
Be Involved
You want the children's travel journal to be theirs and help them express themselves. You can do this by many ways, but you want to keep it simple for them so that they enjoy it and treasure it. One way to help them and be involved yourself is to keep a travel journal of your own to be able to help them when they want you to or may need it. Kids love to be involved and help with things, you can use this to get them involved with what they doing in their journal. Ask them if they may want to make suggestions to their journal and what they should put in it. You will find that children have great ideas that you may have never thought of and you can use this to have them explore their imagination. Or even better give them a printable travel journal with some information already presented so they can learn and explore the country you are visiting!
Make it Personal
You want to help them at every place you can, but individualism is important for developing minds. There are many things you can do to help a child personalize their travel journal. They can design it with their favorite colors or cartoon characters and pictures. There are many ways to make the journal personal with drawings or stationary, you may even download different types if stationery or stickers from the places that you have visited. If you visited Dubai you could find desert themed stationery or stickers. Another thing you could do, is use different stationery for every part of the journey. Another great idea is cutting up old magazines to find the letters or pictures you need to create a great travel book!
Make It Interactive
You can make the journal interactive in a way by adding things to it like a map that will mark the way as you travel across the world or a place near you. All you need to do is print a map of your destinations and use it in the journal with a pin and a string making a route of everywhere you have been. You can also add photos to the album so that it is a more memorable experience. Again printable children's travel journals will offer a great number of interactive activities.

The Top 3 Safest Airlines in North America

According to Superman, flying is still considered the safest way to travel. By flying, we mean riding a plane on our way to our intended destination, whether it's a different city, state or even country. When you look at the facts, traveling by plane holds the lowest number of accidents compared to any other mode of transportation. Reading further into statistics, there is a one in a 4 million shot for any probability of a passenger dying from a crash, which makes it even more of a fact that you won't be experiencing any dangerous situations when traveling by plane. To a lot of people, traveling by air may be the only way they can ever reach their destinations, and they would often question the safety provided by the airlines they've chosen. However, if you need cold, hard facts, below are three of the safest options to travel by air in North America.
Southwest Airlines - This is by far the largest airline in the US, accommodating several passengers all over the country every year. It is also renowned among travelers for being a discount airline, one that provides affordable travel rates in contrast to the rest of its rivals in the airline industry. In terms of safety, there hasn't been a single fatality during its operational run, making it arguably the safest pick for an airline company in the US, let alone the entire world. Statistics state that there is a 0.0000203 percent chance of incidents occurring on its flights.
Delta Airlines - Ranking among the biggest airlines all over the globe, this is a highly reputable company in the US. It merged with Northwest Airlines back in 2008, thus making it possibly the largest commercial airline company in the whole world. It provides flights for passengers traveling to any of the 6 continents. Much like Southwest, it has good standing in terms of safety in flights, boasting 0.17 fatalities for every million miles traveled, as well as an infinitesimal incidents percentage which is just a bit higher than Southwest's
Virgin America - Aside from being one of the many airlines which provides high quality service for its passengers, with individual entertainment screens for watching your favorite movies or TV show, you can surely expect this to be a safe choice. There hasn't been any record of major safety incidents since the start of its operations in August 2007.

Choosing to Travel To An Exotic Destination

Whether you are a traveler who has experienced your fair share of off the beaten track destinations, or are an individual who usually takes a vacation in a regular resort and is now planning to travel to an exotic destination for your next trip overseas, a visit to Morocco would likely be a choice that is not regretted. Though only a short distance from the shores of Europe, Morocco is a world away culturally.
The structure and certainties of the western world vanish as soon as one sets foot in Morocco. Though not as chaotic as some other African countries, it is still a destination that can overload the senses. The country offers an opportunity to immerse one's self in a culture that is both rich and fascinating. There is no shortage of interesting sights and attractions to be discovered in this diverse land. Most visitors start their trips in one of the bigger cities, each of which is unique in its own right.
Tangier, a city once glamorous but now slightly faded is still the first port of call of many international visitors. The Atlantic winds blow strongly along this coast and take visitors down to the cosmopolitan and internationally famous city of Casablanca. Further south lies the fishing ports of Essaouira and Agadir, replete with whitewashed homes and old style Moroccan architecture.
The imperial cities of Fez and Marrakesh, inland from the coastal towns have been attracting visitors for centuries. The ancient medinas and winding streets offer untold surprises, this is why they attract visitors to return time and again. Away from the urban sprawl there are Roman ruins, indicative of just how far this once mighty empire spread.
If you are an individual keen on experiencing nature at its best, Morocco offers a number of possibilities for you to wear your hiking boots and get a true sense of this ancient land. There are endless trails that meander between Berber villages, as well as the option of trekking the High Atlas mountains. The truly hardy can attempt to conquer North Africa's highest peak, Jebel Toubkal, though this is best done with guide in tow.
When you book a flight to Morocco, it is not complete without spending at least one night camping out in the Sahara. Very little can compare to the experience of riding out into the desert on a camel, then settling down for the evening in front of a camp fire with the heavens above dotted with a seemingly unlimited number of stars.

The Truth About Mesa Airlines

There is one facet of business that seems particular accurate in the aviation industry, and that is the strength and power of partnerships. Mesa quickly caught on and within two years of starting their operations Mesa Airlines already had a code share agreement in place. This was a very common move for Mesa because they continued creating alliances which allowed them to grow. Even though this is a regional carrier, they have specialized in this service sector for just over 30 years. And, Mesa have had very profitable quarters since the close of 2001. Below are some very interesting facts about the Mesa Air Group.
Mesa Air Group, which includes Mesa Airlines, seeks to work with aspiring pilots and help them to earn their flying wings. The Mesa Pilot Development program is constructed to teach an exceptional curriculum, while also gaining your accredited documents.
With Mesa and Arizona State University joining forces, they may have an even better chance to achieve success. Students attending Arizona State, after achieving a four year Bachelor degree, will also have earned the required pilot documents. At this point, the nominee will be afforded a consultation with the Mesa Air Group for the standing of copilot, or First Officer.
Mesa Airlines formed a partnership which eventually led to the creation of United Express. This is another example of a code share with guaranteed revenue, and this is fairly standard in the airline industry. United Express has operations running from Chicago's O'Hare airport and the Washington-Dulles airport. They currently operate a number of Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft. United Express, and a number of other airlines, operate under the Mesa Group.
Once in awhile you can be overwhelmed with the many different code shares and fusions between carriers, particularly the less significant airlines. Typical of how these issues are dealt with in the aviation industry.
America West Airlines, an airline associated with Mesa, joined up with US Airways in 2005. Meanwhile Mesa is tied in with the US Airways Group given the code share arrangement. Given the other code share pact, Mesa is still involved as US Airways Express. At long last, Mesa is allowed to maintain its lucrative commercial delivery service. Mesa Airlines is in some ways a typical story of an idea for an airline that starts from very humble beginnings. In order to make an airline truly successful you must spend a lot of time on it. Profits aren't always so great in this industry, and it's very responsive to business cycles. However the people who do this sort of thing know and understand the risks beforehand. The history of Mesa Airlines is a great example of how all businesses must do something about harsh economic times by using every available resource to them to make sure they keep going and making money.

What if the New Chinese Comac C919 Airliner Has Carbon Composite Wings and GE Engines?

One thing we do very good United States is build jet aircraft. In fact, we are quite good at it. We are the best in the world. The other day, I was talking to my father who is a former airline pilot, as we watched a small private jet takeoff from the local airport, I noted that it only went down the runway about 1,000 feet leapt into the air, and climbed out at about a 35° angle. Of course, the private jet was probably empty, it didn't have full fuel, but it was rather impressive.
In any case, my father explained how reliable and powerful these new jet engines were, and how the materials were making the aircraft even lighter, and giving them outstanding performance. Right now as we speak China is opening up its general aviation sector, allowing Chinese to own their own private jet aircraft. At first, they will probably be buying US corporate Jets, and from Europe.
However, eventually they will be making their own, and they will be making them cheaper due to their labor costs, and then they will compete globally making it very difficult for any Corporation to rationalize buying an American made jet aircraft. Sure, at first the quality may not be there, and companies will choose to go with safety, but just like the Japanese in building cars that didn't last very long, today their luxury brands are just as good as American cars. I hope I didn't offend anyone there, but it is the truth, we have to face the facts.
Well, what about airliners? Interestingly enough, China also has a state run company which is making jet airliners, and their first jet airliner is due out in production before 2015. You may think that they won't be able to compete with Boeing or Airbus, but I completely disagree, they will be using the same technology in fact.
There was a very good article in the Wall Street Journal on March 7, 2012 titled "Boeing Forms Alliance with Chinese Jet Maker," by David Kesmodel which stated that Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) was coming along fine and Boeing was setting up a research center and working with their R&D to assist them in bringing their C919 to full production and fruition for the Chinese Market and then as a global export. The article stated;
"This is the first alliance between Boeing and State Owned Comac C919 aircraft, which is also a threat to Boeing's 737 Max and Airbus' A320 Neo in the single-aisle narrow body airliners," and "Other foreign companies in the Chinese aerospace sector have also linked up with Chinese State-Run companies. GE in January of 2011 made a deal with Aviation Industry Corporation of China, also one of Comac's major shareholders. GE's partnership is a 50-50% deal."
Okay so, I'd like to return to the title of this article and ask you the question once again. What if the new Chinese Comac C919 has General Electric engines, Boeing technology, including carbon composite wings? If so, you can bet it will be a viable competitor on the world market and really give all the other manufacturers a run for their money. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Should Chinese Airlines Buy Airbus Aircraft or The Best Boeing Jet Airliners?

The Chinese surely understand how international trade negotiations work, and they also understand bribery, extortion, market manipulations, and disruption of supply chain through competitive maneuvering. So, suffice it to say that the Chinese aren't nearly as naïve as many in the Western World might assume. In fact, in many regards China sees trade as just another lesser version of war, and in case you forgot Sun Tzu was Chinese - so, the only folks naïve are those who think the Chinese are somehow lesser in strategic trade issues or ignorant to business affairs. They are running their own game plan and thus, recognize when someone is trying to pull over a fast one on them.
Okay so, let's take all this to a higher level and leave the Council on Foreign relations, EU's Belgium know-it-alls, UN diatribes, and the WTO's loosely enforced rhetoric out of it for a moment. The reality is that the EU has attempted to put the screws to China, not that China is perfect by any means, and force them to buy 100s of new airliners which meet the EU's new CO2 emissions standards or pay huge fees and taxes to compete in Europe. It appears that the whole Airliner Cap and Trade (tax and fee) program has been concocted by a few higher-ups at the EU who are perpetuating the Global Warming Theory (myth) which states that emissions of CO2 from human industry and activities are causing the planet to melt?
Now then, there was an interesting article recently in the Wall Street Journal entitled; "China Envoy Backs Shunning of Airbus," by Daniel Michaels published on 3/10/2012 which discussed some sharp words coming out of a Brussels meeting recently. The article stated that;
"China's ambassador to the EU said that "it makes sense for Chinese Airlines to shun Europe's Airbus planes in favor of competing American models from Boeing Company in response to the EU's new levies on aviation greenhouse emissions."
Of course it does, it makes a lot of sense, especially as it really appeared to me to be an extortion like move from the EU to get Chinese Airlines to buy Airbus jets, which would have re-balanced trade surpluses slightly and put 10s of thousands of folks to work in factories building those jets - along with another win for Global Warming Alarmists showing they can control markets and introduce a new form of currency to control and force environmentalism down the throats of nations world-wide, while also keeping Chinese, Russian, African, Indonesian low-cost carries with older aircraft out of the lucrative European airline markets.
Then there was the previous WSJ article on 3/9/2012 entitled; "EU-China Battle Stalls Airbus Sales," by Daniel Michaels and David Pearson which explained that the CEO of Airbus accused EU higher-ups of creating a war with the Chinese costing Airbus over $12 billion in new aircraft orders. I'd say it is at least that high, if not higher, and in the future could blossom to an astronomical loss for Airbus, all over climate-gate tactics. Apparently, all this maneuvering in the EU back-fired on them, and it couldn't have come at a worse time considering the financial crisis in the member nations there.
Further, the Chinese don't want to reward bad behavior or succumb to this extortion-like move, nor should they. China has every right to buy aircraft from whomever they want for whatever reason they care to choose. That's what free-markets are about, and the EU knows or should have known better. But in this case the Chinese airlines will be buying superior aircraft from the Boeing Company anyway, so it's a win-win for all. Please consider all this and think on it.