Good morning and happy Frid... wait... what the heck happened to our logo at the top of the email?
No, it's not a mistake. We're just having our "Facebook" moment.
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All that text was really weighing us down, so we decided to ditch it. But hopefully you still love us just the same.
While we're on the topic of change, I wanted to let you know that The Daily Drop will be switching email platforms over the coming weeks.
We want this transition to go as smoothly as possible, and you can do us a huge favor by adding today@travel.dailydrop.com to your contacts list (and/or reaching out to say hello). This is where we'll be sending from moving forward.
Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks and finish off the week with a bang, shall we?
- ✈️ Reader Question: How to evaluate airline safety
- 🏨 Keep your Hilton status for another year by staying 1 night
- 😢 This newsletter is brought to you by…
- 🖼️ Meme of the day
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✈️ Reader Question: How do you know if an airline is safe to fly with?
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As you may know, I fly on lots of planes. It’s kind of my thing.
Many of the airlines I fly are obscure, minor, lesser-known airlines that some people might question flying if they were in my shoes.
I’ve had a few people reach out and ask if it’s safe to fly regional African airlines that operate small prop planes.
And the answer is: Yes. Very. Just because an airline is smaller, uses older planes, and has more... *interesting* safety materials doesn't mean they're not safe to fly.
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And I’ll explain how I know this and how you can evaluate airlines like this for yourself.
FYI that image is a joke, not an actual airline safety card... although that'd be hilarious.
Every country has its own standards for maintaining aircraft safety, operations, management, training, oversight, and more. But some international organizations conduct audits of countries and their airlines to determine if they reach standards set by governing bodies in the U.S. and the EU, for example.
Here are a few resources if you want to dive deeper:
The International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) is administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and gives countries a binary rating of either 1 (the country’s aviation standards are on par with those of the U.S.) or 2 (the country’s standards are NOT on par with those of the U.S.).
I'm kidding. It's painfully boring... but if you want to learn about airline safety, it exists.
As you might imagine, these standards are relatively high, and the audits conducted to determine these results are likely pretty rigorous. If the FAA deems a country’s aviation standards to be acceptable, you shouldn’t hesitate to hop on a plane in said country.
The EU also publishes a list of specific airlines that are banned from flying and/or operating in the EU. This gets a little more granular since it evaluates specific airlines as opposed to the country as a whole.
Generally speaking, if the EU doesn’t think an airline is safe enough to fly in their airspace, I wouldn’t get on a plane with that airline.
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If you want to avoid all of this technical aviation garbage and just get a quick overview, it’s very simple to Google an airline’s history of incidents. The fastest way is to simply look at Wikipedia. Of course, you’ll want to take this info with a grain of salt, but it will at least give you an idea of what the airline is like.
I’m usually pretty comfortable getting on a plane with just about any airline. But when I question things, these are the resources and processes I go through to make a final decision.
Hopefully, this will help you feel more comfortable doing the same.
Wow, that was a doozy, huh? How about something with a bit more pizzaz, eh?
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🏨 Extend your Hilton status for a year by staying one night
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You know that feeling when your favorite local basketball team is in the final inning and just barely comes short of hitting that touchdown they needed to win the game?
As you can tell, I too, am an avid sports person; and I feel your pain.
But this is also exactly how I feel when I come SO close to earning elite status for another year but barely miss it by a few nights… it’s just… devastating.
Thankfully, Hilton is coming in to save the day for certain members who fall into this category.
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Here’s how this works and who it applies to:
If you had Silver, Gold, or Diamond status at the end of 2022 but failed to renew it, you can use the following links to register your account for this offer.
After registering, simply stay one night at a Hilton hotel before March 31st, 2023, and your status will be renewed until March 31st, 2024.
But there’s a catch…
This offer doesn’t apply to everyone (😭).
The best way to see if you’re eligible is to simply use the links I provided. But there are also data points of people finding this offer by logging into their account and registering rather than using the links.
If you have a credit card that gives you hotel elite status, this doesn’t apply to you.
So hopefully this can save a few of you from the nightmare that is not getting free breakfast and room upgrades for another year… because let’s be honest, that would be torture.
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😢 This newsletter is brought to you by...
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Nobody. And I’m very sad about it. Devastated, actually.
But you have the power to make me not sad OR devastated; by filling out this form to let us know if you or someone you know wants to sponsor the Daily Drop.
Still need a nudge in the right direction?
Just look at how much traveling Daily Drop readers do:
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Nearly 50% of our readers have traveled to more than ten countries, and more than 75% have traveled to five countries, which is pretty incredible.
If you want to see serial travelers repping your brand, riding on your cruise ship, or using your travel tools, Daily Drop is definitely a good choice...
...in my completely unbiased opinion.
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🖼️ Travel meme of the day
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That's gonna finish off the week, folks.
Do you consider an airline's safety record before flying with them? Would you stay one night in a hotel in exchange for a year of elite status? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
Have a lovely weekend <3
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