Which Airlines are the Safest?

The Daily Beast recently compiled data and crunched numbers to determine which U.S. based airlines have the best safety records. The rankings were based on two criteria: accidents and incidents. The data took into consideration both 1 and 5 year records. Their findings, for national carriers, ranked from best to worst, are as follows:

1. AirTran
2. JetBlue
3. Southwest
4. US Airways
5. American
6. Alaska
7. Continental
8. Delta
9. Northwest
10. United

Find the Best Parking Rates with Best Parking.com

BestParking.com is a free search engine that allows users to search for parking rates in major cities, such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and more, as well as major airports.

When searching by city, choose daily parking or monthly parking rates and search by neighborhood, address, cross street, or attraction. Details for each parking facility are given, including phone number, capacity, and any type of vehicle restrictions.

When searching airports, both short and long term parking options are available. The airport code is given as well, so you can double check your flight tickets to match codes. A map of the city, with the location of the airport, is also available.

Travel Apps for a Stress-Free Vacation

The following travel apps will help you plan, navigate, locate, and more, so your vacation is as easy and stress-free as possible.

WorldMate Live
With WorldMate Live, you can create an itinerary, look up a flight status, flight alerts, flight schedules, find hotels, get maps and directions, check the weather, check the time, view exchange rates, and more. WorldMate Live is available for all smartphones, including the Blackberry, iPhone and iPod Touch, Windows Mobile compatible devices, and certain Nokia models.

GPSed
Mark your favorite restaurant, retrace your way back to your hotel, find your position anywhere in the world, and more with this app—even if you're without network coverage. You can also add photos to your tracks, add text to your tracks, and share your tracks with other users.

GPSed is compatible with mobile devices equipped with internal GPS receivers, such as the iPhone 3G, the Blackberry Storm, Blackberry Bold, and Nokia N95. It is also compatible with mobile devices that have access to external GPS receivers via Bluetooth, and any GPS receivers, such as Garmin, TomTom, and others.

Around Me
With AroundMe, you can quickly find out information about your surroundings. Locate nearby restaurants, hotels, gas stations, supermarkets, hospitals, banks, and more, and AroundMe will show you a complete list by category within a certain distance of where you are.

AroundMe is available for free on iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

How-to Get Free Wi-Fi at Airports

While many airports have, or plan to implement, airport wide free internet access, many more only offer internet access for a fee. If you happen to be at an airport that requires you to pay for an access code, here are a couple of tips on how to get around that fee.

1. Look for free minutes from Boingo, which provides Wi-Fi at over 500 airports, at airport food establishments and gift shops.

2. Call Boingo, or the airport's internet provider, directly and ask for a promotional or complimentary code.

3. Check LoungeGuide.net for airport lounges that offer free internet access.

Airline Services that might Sweeten the Deal

In recent years, airlines have cut services such as meals and free on-board entertainment. They've also raised booking fees, and started charging for baggage. But what, if anything, have they added to their service list that might make flying more affordable and/or enjoyable?

WiFi
American Airlines, Delta, Virgin, Southwest, and Jet Blue airlines offer, or have plans to offer, WiFi access on many fleets. Unfortunately, access isn't offered for free. On American Airlines, for example, laptop users will pay $9.95 for flights under 3 hours, and $12.95 for longer flights. Other device users will be charged a flat fee of $7.95.

Frequent Flyer Programs
Nearly all major airlines offer frequent flyer programs, but some claim to be better than others. Check out this article from Smarter Travel, and pick the program that's right for you.

Non-Stop Flights
It's often hard to get a non-stop flight between destinations, but as the travel industry continues to struggle, airlines are adding more non-stop flights to try and lure travelers their way. Many of these non-stop offers are seasonal, however, such as Alaska Airlines service between Seattle or Portland to Cancun, Mexico. Check airlines for specific details.

6 Easy Ways to Save on Vacation Expenses

• Book your airline ticket after midnight on Wednesday in the time zone where the airport's hub is located. This is the time when budget fares hit the market.

• Use alternative airports. Big city airports aren't always the cheapest. Compare surrounding areas.

• Check out "Driveaway Deals." Car companies often have too many cars in certain locations, so you can get great deals on renting these cars and driving them to different destinations.

• Skip car rental insurance. Your car insurance on your personal vehicle usually covers you driving a rental car. Check with your insurance company for details.

• Book hotel rooms with kitchenettes. That way, you don't have to eat all of your meals out.

• Negotiate. Many hotels, resorts, and other vacation destinations offer freebies, such as the 3rd night free. Work them. Ask for a better rate, an extra free day, and the like. You'll be surprised on the deals you can get!

Solar Radio

Powered by the sun's rays, this portable AM/FM radio will play for seven hours when fully charged. On rainy days, use the hand crank to play your favorite tunes and programming. One minute of hand cranking will give you thirty minutes of play back time. The Solar Radio measures just 3.25" x 3" x 2.25", which makes it easy to store in windowsills, garages, workshops, vehicles, and even camping boxes.

Solar Radio from Useful Things.