Ryanair annual profit up 26% but warns on oil costs

Ryanair said on Monday that its annual net profit rose by a quarter but Europe’s biggest no-frills airline also warned of a tough outlook as high fuel costs force it to ground planes and hike fares. Ryanair said profit after tax jumped 26 percent to 401 million euros ($575 million) during the group’s financial year [...]

Au pair reunion is good excuse for family trip

There’s nothing like having someone live with you for a year to forge a lifelong friendship. But you can’t just drop by for coffee when that person lives across the Atlantic Ocean. My husband and I hosted German au pairs for seven years to care for our three children. And from the moment we quit [...]

Avoiding a large phone bill when traveling

Ubiquitous connectivity has its downside, especially when it comes to the price of using your cellphone abroad. The proliferation of smartphones and the increased use of data have made it easier than ever to rack up huge communications bills while traveling overseas, even on a short trip. “Many leisure travelers with iPhones are going to [...]

Rome to let tourists see Colosseum underground

Tourists will soon be able to visit the underground of the Colosseum, where gladiators once prepared for fights and lions and tigers were caged before entertaining a bloodthirsty public. Rome culture officials said Wednesday that, after several months of work to make the area safe for visits, the public will be allowed to add the [...]

Caves, canoes in France’s Dordogne

A reader once asked me if I were to bring a spry, 73-year-old grandmother to Europe, where would I go? My response: France’s Dordogne River Valley. I’d take her for a float down the river in a canoe, then cap the day with a great riverside meal — letting her enjoy goose liver (explaining what [...]

Airports up, running as ash clears over Europe

A band of volcanic ash was drifting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean Monday and adding hours to flights from North America to Europe as planes diverted around it. Flights across Europe were operating normally after the dispersal of another plume of volcanic ash that disrupted air traffic and forced some airport closures over [...]

To fly through ash or not? That’s no easy question

To fly, or not? There’s no right answer about when it’s safe to fly through a cloud of volcanic ash. But it’ll be all too obvious if there’s a wrong answer, experts say. With the volcano in Iceland, Mother Nature is giving high-flying Europe a lesson in risk, aviation technology, scientific uncertainty and economics. And [...]