August 25, 2022
Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 3 seconds
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Good afternoon. Or evening. Or morning. I don't know, I'm writing this from 39,000 feet over the Atlantic so you can take your pick of time zone. Wherever you may be, I've got some good news, a great deal, and some fun travel trivia for you today so let's get started:
Coming up today:
- 🖥 Exciting Daily Drop news
- ✈️ Fly to Europe for $98
- 🇯🇵 Japan reopens... maybe?
- 🍫 Chocolate waterfalls
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🖥 The Daily Drop website is live |
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I am very excited to announce that our website, DailyDrop.com, is now LIVE! 🎉🎉🎉
In addition to all of our old newsletters, you can also find other resources like a comprehensive guide to miles and points for beginners, credit card recommendations, and even a personalized survey for getting airport lounge access.
We also have a dedicated signup form for the newsletter, so if you have any friends who might enjoy my daily ramblings, be sure to let them know that they can sign up without needing to join FareDrop. |
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You may remember a certain airline called Wow Air that used to exist. If you aren't familiar, Wow was an Icelandic airline that operated flights between North America and Europe for under $100 each way... until they went bankrupt a few years back. Probably because they were selling $100 tickets to Europe. Or maybe their name didn't inspire much confidence from passengers. |
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Anywho, I guess there must be something to this model because last year ANOTHER Icelandic airline called Play began operations with a similar budget airline model.
Their latest news is that they will be launching flights from Washington (IAD) beginning next Spring with tickets starting at just $98 one-way.
To make sure this news was in fact true, I did some quick searches and found the following deals on their website 👇
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So what's the catch?
Well, to be frank - it's probably going to be pretty uncomfortable, you can't bring much baggage with you and the service will probably leave much to be desired… But for $98, I think we could all sacrifice a little comfort 🤷🏼♂️
There's one more catch - you need to book your tickets by tomorrow in order to get these discounted prices. Since the Washington route doesn't start until next Spring, that means you'll need to plan pretty far in advance.
If this sounds like something you could take advantage of and you're willing to roll the dice on the latest trans-Atlantic experimental business model, then I say go for it.
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🇯🇵 Japan (maybe) removes COVID restrictions
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I don't know about you, but I've been checking the news every day just waiting for the moment Japan reopens like most of Asia already has. I've booked, canceled, and rebooked numerous trips there over the last year expecting things to open up, and have been disappointed when they never do…
Well, there is some (potentially) good news this week. I say potentially because these are not confirmed, but have been reported by multiple media outlets, and will likely become policy in the coming days.
Here's the "hot goss" that has been coming down through the grapevine:
- Japan will increase the current daily passenger cap from 20,000 to 50,000
- They will remove the pre-departure COVID testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers (meaning those who have had 3 doses)
- Organized tours without tour guides will be allowed.
This is definitely the biggest step from Japan that we've seen in months, effectively removing some of the biggest hurdles for travelers looking to explore the country.
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If these changes are confirmed, I will definitely be putting another trip on the books. However, based on the way things have gone over the last year, I won't get my hopes up until I've planted my two feet on Japanese soil…
This was originally reported on by LoyaltyLobby, who cites the original sources of these possible updates.
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Don't get your hopes up too much, it's not LITERALLY chocolate. But it's still pretty cool to see muddy-brown water barreling down a cliffside to form a waterfall taller than Niagara Falls! |
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Photo courtesy of flagstaff.com |
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In a small area of the Arizona Navajo Nation called Grand Falls, visitors can witness this rare phenomenon either in Winter after snow melts or during the Summer monsoon season. Locals have always referred to it as Chocolate Falls (which I think is way better than the real name).
There is no cost to visit this naturally beautiful place, so if you find yourself somewhere near Flagstaff, Arizona during the Summer, it might be worth a quick visit!
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That's all for today, folks. Tomorrow is going to be a big day because I have yet another very exciting announcement to share with you all. You're not going to want to miss it.
Would you fly to Europe for $98? You don't have to answer that, I know the answer is yes… But feel free to reach out anyway by email or social media if you want to say hi or have thoughts on today's newsletter. 😊
Have a great Thursday,
Mike Dodge
Head Writer, The Daily Drop
55°50'24.1"N 21°38'36.8"W
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