Travel guide ranks best, worst airport terminals

Travel guide ranks best, worst airport terminals

Written by Gary Stoller

USA Today

Terminal 3 of John F. Kennedy Airport was ranked by Frommers as the worst due to its "hallways that could have been designed by M.C. Escher for vomiting international travelers out onto an underground sidewalk" and "a sense that the cleaning crew gave up in despair a while ago." / Andrew Burton / Getty Images

Stuck in a weather delay at Newark Airport two days before Christmas last month, travel editor Jason Clampet said he saw an airport terminal at its worst.

"An hour-long wind delay made a mess of Terminal A," said Clampet, senior online editor of Frommers.com. "There weren't any seats, people were sitting on any available floor space, and the bathrooms looked like the aftermath of a Giants-Cowboys game."

For many travelers, an airport terminal provides the first impression -- and the final word -- about a destination. It's also a place where travelers spend much time, particularly waiting for departing or connecting flights.

With that in mind, Frommers.com provided USA Today with its choices of best and worst airport terminals. Newark's Terminal A -- despite Clampet's bad experience -- did not make the worst list. But another nearby terminal did.

The travel guide publisher said the best and worst choices were based on cleanliness, services, on-time departures, navigation and the ease of getting to and from a city's center.

The world's best, according to Frommers.com, is Hajj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It covers 120 acres and is open only during the six-week Hajj, when millions of Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Two years ago, the terminal received an American Institute of Architects award for an architectural design "that has stood the test of time for 25 years," the institute said.

"The most stunning feature," Frommers.com said, "is that the terminal consists of 210 white fiberglass tents that create a chimney effect cooling the hot desert air."

Only one airport terminal in the USA -- JetBlue Airways' Terminal 5 at New York's JFK airport -- finished in the top 10.

The terminal, designed by Eero Saarinen for now-defunct airline TWA, is "one of the greatest icons of the mid-20th century jet age," Frommers.com said. The terminal, it said, "has been intelligently swallowed by the grasping tendrils of JetBlue's modern new terminal, which has by far the best airport food court in New York."

Cozy with a dramatic view

The world's second-best terminal is Leifur Eiriksson Air Terminal in Keflavik, Iceland, about a 45-minute drive from Reykjavik, the nation's capital.

Fourteen passenger airlines fly into the airport during the summer, including Icelandair and SAS, which operate year-round service.

"Iceland's cozy, little international airport looks like it arrived in a flat pack from Ikea," Frommers.com said. "It's all blond wood and volcanic-looking stone with big windows looking out on the dramatic Icelandic landscape."

The seven other terminals in the travel guide publisher's top 10 are at airports serving Seoul; Wellington, New Zealand; Singapore; Madrid; Marrakech, Morocco; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Bilbao, Spain.

"If a city has an excellent terminal, it said to the visitor that they're thought about," Clampet said.

"Cleanliness, good light, space to rest between flights, decent food and some strategically placed plugs are enough to say to visitors, 'We know you'd rather be somewhere else right now, but while you're here, we'll take care of you."'

Frommers.com said such customer care is lacking at the world's worst terminals.

The worst, according to the travel guide publisher, is JFK Airport's Terminal 3, an old facility that was once the base of now-defunct Pan Am's flights and now is used by Delta Air Lines.

An expansion and renovation project, scheduled to be completed by 2013, will make the terminal "a modern facility that will warmly and efficiently welcome travelers," Delta said.

"Terminal 3 is known for endless immigration lines in a dank basement, an utter lack of food and shopping options, three crowded and confusing entry points, and hallways that could have been designed by M.C. Escher for vomiting international travelers out onto an underground sidewalk with no cabs available," Frommers.com said. "There's also a sense that the cleaning crew gave up in despair a while ago."

Terminals at two other New York area airports -- Newark's Terminal B and the US Airways terminal at New York's LaGuardia -- also make the 10 worst list.

Delta, which shares the terminal with US Airways at LaGuardia, announced plans to expand and renovate it and an adjacent terminal beginning this spring.

Having some issues

Chicago's Midway is the only other terminal at a U.S. airport on the worst list.

The six other terminals on the travel guide publisher's worst list are at airports serving Manila; Moscow; Paris; Nairobi, Kenya; and Amman, Jordan.

Paris is the only destination besides New York with terminals at more than one airport on the list.

Frommers.com said that Paris' Charles de Gaulle received the 2010 and 2009 awards from SleepingInAirports.net for worst airport to sleep in. This year, the website decided to give the airport a break, in part, because of reports "that the homeless population was being segregated to Terminal 3 at night."

Those reports, plus de Gaulle being "an awful airport to change planes," landed Terminal 3 on Frommers.com's worst list.

"Many flights require a change between de Gaulle's various, scattered terminal buildings, which are connected primarily by slow, confusing shuttle buses," the travel guide publisher said. "Changing planes is tiring, irritating and sometimes, a little terrifying."

The terminal at Paris Beauvais Airport, 50 miles north of France's capital city, is also the pits, according to Frommers.com.

The travel guide publisher blames discount airline Ryanair for adding Paris to the name of the "depressing, low-cost box of an airport in Picardy." It's rated one of the world's worst airports by SleepingInAirports.net because of a lack of seating, lack of services and "general half-tent, half-warehouse atmosphere," Frommers.com said.

Paris Beauvais Airport "lacks a rail link to Paris and closes overnight, so hope that your flight doesn't get too delayed, or you may be camping out on the lawn," the travel guide publisher said.

Large number of UK visa applications to be affected by IT changes

Large number of UK visa applications to be affected by IT changes

The UK Border Agency has announced that a large number of visa application centres around the world will be unable to take biometric information on certain days in February.

There are also a number of changes in various centres to the way visas are paid for and visa sections in Panama, Guatemala and Belize have closed.

A large number of centres will be affected by a major IT maintenance programme. Applicants will not be able to submit UK visa applications on this date. The visa application centres will be open for the collection of documents at the usual times.

The mobile biometric clinic in Lisbon will be affected slightly earlier than others. The service will be suspended from 30 January for a week.

On Friday 03 February visa application centres in Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkey, Gaza, Kazakhstan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Morocco, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia will be unable to process biometric information.

Applications in a number of major cities will also be affected on 03 February. These include Madrid, Jerusalem, Rome and Paris.

And on Sunday 05 February the biometric service will be unavailable in Iraq, Jordan, Bangladesh, and Egypt.

‘We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have a genuinely urgent or compassionate need to travel please contact our visa information service,’ said a UK Border Agency spokesman.

Also from 30 January 2012 all applications for a UK visa submitted in certain countries must be paid for online in US Dollars. These include Georgia, Turkey, Jordan and Hong Kong. The measure has already been introduced in South Africa earlier this month.

The UK Border Agency has just introduced a priority visa service in Ukraine. The priority visa service is available to applicants who meet specific criteria and who pay an additional fee to have their visa application processed ahead of others.

Meanwhile the visa sections in Panama, Guatemala and Belize have closed. Visa applicants in Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Honduras and Nicaragua will now need to use the monthly biometric clinic in Panama City or visit the visa application centre in Bogota to enrol their biometric information.

Special Visa required to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea

Special Visa required to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations informs the public of a correspondence from the Government of the Republic of Gabon through their Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York stating certain special travel arrangements (Visa) for Diplomatic and Official passport holders, official delegation and journalists who wish to participate in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for January/February2012.

According to the press release, nationals with a valid passport and international certificate of vaccination or another agreed document from qualified countries are entitled to this visa. Also entitled are nationals from other countries wishing to participate who have a valid passport or another agreed travel document , proof of sufficient living expenses for the duration of stay requested. A hotel booking or another type of accommodation is necessary.

Members of Official Delegations, journalists and press technicians, coaching staff of teams, players, guests of the African Football Confederation (CAF) and the African Football Associations, official sponsors of the CAF can be granted the same visa provided they produce letter of accreditation

While the special visa will be issued free of charge to executive members of CAF and their guests, official delegations for the teams that qualified( 30 members per team) and official sponsors, a visa fee of 30 000 CFA or about R850.00 will be required for journalists and fans. Botswana wishing issuance of the special visa will be assisted at the Embassy of Gabon in South Africa.

Warnings of ecological timebomb after Italy ship wreck
By Dario Thuburn (AFP)
GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy — Fears rose of an environmental disaster from a wrecked cruise ship in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Italy on Monday as hopes faded of finding any more survivors on board.

The ship has 2,380 tons of fuel (AFP, Filippo Monteforte)

   

The island is a major marine sanctuary and popular for whale-spotting (AFP, Filippo Monteforte)

"This is an ecological timebomb," Sergio Ortelli, mayor of the picturesque Tuscan island where the luxury Costa Concordia liner hit underwater rocks and keeled over on Friday with more than 4,200 passengers and crew aboard.

Ortelli said there were 2,380 tons of fuel on the ship, which had just started its cruise when it ran aground. "This is the second worry, after human lives," he said, as crews began putting down anti-spill booms.

"I hope that the fuel can be taken off the ship soon and maybe the ship can be removed too because it is hampering navigation," he said.

"We are monitoring constantly but there has been no spill so far," he added.

At least 15 people were still feared trapped in the wreckage after the disaster which left at least six dead, including two French passengers and one Peruvian crewman who drowned jumping off the ship in a chaotic evacuation.

Famous for its sandy beaches and rustic charm, Giglio is a major holiday destination in the summer when the population swells from around 800 permanent residents to some 5,000 people and is dotted with exclusive villas.

The island is also a major marine sanctuary and popular for whale-spotting.

Local officials are calling for new rules imposing strict limits on navigation in the area and in particular an end to the practice of "showboating" when cruise ships file past close to the island.

The owners of the ship, Costa Crociere, have been instructed by coastguards "to remove the wreck of the ship and avoid any spill of oil into the sea," said Filippo Marini, head of the local coastguard press office.

"We are putting in place booms right now but so far there hasn't been any leak. There is maximum attention on the environmental problem. We are all working together to resolve this as soon as possible," he said.

Dutch firm Smit, one of the largest marine salvage companies in the world, told AFP it had been hired to pump out the fuel from the 114,500-ton wreck.

"The owner of the vessel has asked us to ensure that the oil is brought out of the vessel safely," said Martijn Schuttevaer, spokesman for Boskalis, Smit's holding company.

He said the operation was expected to start within days and that 20 workers from Smit would travel to Giglio on Monday to coordinate the operation.

A representative from US-based Titan Salvage, who was also on Giglio, said the contract could run into the millions of euros (dollars).

"They've been phenomenally lucky there's been no spill. If the hole in the hull had been four or five metres further along it would have punctured the tanks," he said.

"It's very close to the edge of much deeper water," said the man, explaining that the waves could push it off its resting place and it could sink entirely.

The fuel pumped out of the ship will be replaced by water in the tanks to ensure that the ship remained stable in a practice known as "hot tapping."

Environment Minister Corrado Clini meanwhile said that the environmental risk has been "our nightmare."

"The vessel has reservoirs full of fuel, it is a heavy diesel which could sink down to the seabed, that would be a disaster," he said.

In a worst-case scenario, the fuel could "leak into the sea, contaminating an exceptional coastline and affecting marine and bird life," he warned.

"We are ready to intervene if there is a spill," Clini said. "As soon as possible, the fuel will be removed from the vessel. But we have to take into account the precarious state of the ship."

Costa Crociere head Pier Luigi Foschi said Monday the company had commissioned several firms to look at the best way to salvage the vessel.

He said the first priorities were pumping out the fuel and plugging the gash in the hull.

Foschi said he understood fears of an environmental disaster from leaking fuel oil, but stressed that there had been no signs of this.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.

PLUS Model Magazine's Katya Zharkova cover highlights body image in the fashion industry

PLUS Model Magazine's Katya Zharkova cover highlights body image in the fashion industry
'Most runway models meet the BMI criteria for anorexia', claims plus-size magazine in powerful comment on body image in the fashion industry
By TAMARA ABRAHAM
A magazine dedicated to plus-size fashion and models has sparked controversy with a feature claiming that most runway models meet the Body Mass Index criteria for anorexia.

Accompanied by a bold shoot that sees a nude plus-size model posing alongside a skinny 'straight-size' model, PLUS Model Magazine says it aims to encourage plus-size consumers to pressure retailers to better cater to them, and stop promoting a skinny ideal.

Size 12 (U.S.) model Katya Zharkova, 28, stars in the shoot, which has a powerful statistic accompanying each image.

Size matters: PLUS Model Magazine has shot size 12 Katya Zharkova pose with a 'straight-size' model to demonstrate the difference between them
One, printed alongside a photo of the Russian beauty holding a tape measure across her rear, reads: 'Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23% less.' Another states: 'Ten years ago plus-size models averaged between size 12 and 18. Today the need for size diversity within the plus-size modeling industry continues to be questioned.

'The majority of plus-size models on agency boards are between a size 6 and 14, while the customers continue to express their dissatisfaction.'

And finally, further highlighting how poorly the fashion world caters to plus-size women, the magazine tells us: '50% of women wear a size 14 or larger, but most standard clothing outlets cater to sizes 14 or smaller.'

Body image: The Russian beauty poses with a tape measure around her rear alongside a statistic that shows how different models are from real women
In an accompanying editorial, the magazine's editor-in-chief, Madeline Figueroa-Jones, explains that the feature is a response to a fashion and beauty industry which continues to endorse a skinny ideal that is not always healthy and alienates a huge percentage of the market.

She writes: 'We are bombarded with weight-loss ads every single day, multiple times a day because it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that preys on the fear of being fat.

'Not everyone is meant to be skinny, our bodies are beautiful and we are not talking about health here because not every skinny person is healthy.' Ms Figueroa-Jones says consumers can no longer identify with models; the disparity between real woman and those that grace ad campaigns and the covers of magazines is to wide now.

Body image: The model proudly bares her U.S. size 12 curves in the magazine shoot

'Small women cannot be marketed to with pictures of plus-size women, why are we expected to respond to pictures of small size 6 and 8 women?' she asks.

The PLUS Model Magazine feature has generated a mixed response from its readers though.

While some have praised the statements the shoot makes, others believe that positively endorsing a fuller figure is as dangerous as advocating a skinny one.

Big deal: The magazine wants to encourage women to embrace their bodies as they are, and not strive to emulate an unrealistic ideal

One reader on the magazine's website comments: 'If this article is saying you should feel pretty at any size, fine. but don’t tell me you’re obese and healthy. We have a twisted sense of what healthy is in this country and an even more twisted sense of what people are allowed to say about it.'

Another adds: 'I don’t think the fashion world should support obesity, just as I don’t think it should support anorexia.'

The article has also generated an equal share of agreement, though. Reader Danae writes: 'We all women are brainwashed to believe that we are ugly and men will never look at us if we are not starving... We need more variety of healthy female body images.'
The January issue of PLUS Model Magazine is on sale now; plus-model-mag.com

Tragedy in the skies

Tragedy in the skies: Striking photos show horrific 1960 Brooklyn airline collision that sparked new era of crash investigations relying on 'black boxes'
By BETH STEBNER

Decades before the September 11th terrorist attacks, New York City saw another tragic event in its skies, when two airliners collided in mid-air over Brooklyn, weeks before Christmas.

Two passenger planes – United Airlines Flight 826 and Trans World Airlines Flight 266 – collided while they were making their descents toward Idlewild and LaGuardia on December 16, 1960, leaving a trail of carnage and flames in their wake.
But out of the tragedy, a new era of airline safety measures was instigated, including the way flight recorders - commonly called black boxes - are used to investigate airline crashes.

Early on that December morning, the United Airlines flight was flying from O’Hare Airport in Chicago to Idlewild Airport, now John F Kennedy International Airport. The Douglas DC-8 carried 84 people, including seven crew members.
It overshot its holding point by nearly 12 miles, and collided with the TWA plane, a Lockheed Super Constellation carrying 44 people from Columbus, Ohio to LaGuardia. Officials say the snowy weather also played a role in the collision.

Shortly after 10.30am that morning, the DC-8 crashed into the quiet Park Slope neighbourhood of Brooklyn, which was in the midst of preparing for the upcoming holidays.
Residents were horrified to see a passenger jet’s plane wing careening down a narrow street. Next, there was an explosion, as the plane crashed to the neighbourhood, demolishing the Pillar of Fire church as well as several houses. The explosion as well as flying debris blew out many nearby windows.

Ten miles away, the TWA flight crashed onto a small military field, killing all aboard the plane. The New York Daily News reported that wreckage was strewn four miles, miraculously, no one on the on the ground was killed.
Those in Brooklyn weren’t so lucky. The plane’s pilot made a desperate effort to land at LaGuardia, but instead landed at Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place in the heart of Park Slope. What was moments ago an idyllic Christmas scene had turned into carnage – twisted metal, burned plane pieces, and charred corpses littered the streets.

The New York Daily News reported that more than 200 homes were ablaze, and six on the ground – including a Christmas tree seller, a butcher, and a dentist – were dead.
The 2,500 responders comprised of police and fire crews found only one survivor in the entire wreckage – an 11-year-old boy named Stephen Baltz of Wilmette, Illinois, who had been flying alone to join his mother, who was waiting for him at the airport.

He told a doctor that he had seen snow falling on New York City from the plane. ‘It looked like a picture out of a fairy book. It was a beautiful sight.’ Stephen lived for 27 hours, but then succumbed to his injuries.
After subsequent inquiries, investigators concluded the deadly crash was 61 per cent liable to United Airlines, 24 per cent the U.S. government, and 15 per cent for TWA. The worst airline accident of the time also called for a revaluation of air-traffic control systems.

In total, 134 people died from the disaster. Sir Edmund Hillary – one of the first to conquer Mount Everest – had booked a seat on the doomed United Airlines flight, but missed his flight after a late arrival at O’Hare.
On the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, a granite monument was revealed in nearby Greenwood Cemetery.

WARNING: Photos may be disturbing to some readers

Disaster: A United DC-8 crashed into the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Park Slope after slamming into another flight mid-air
Where to begin? When the United jet crashed on December 16, 1960, it set ablaze more than 200 homes in the neighbourhood of Victorian town houses
To protect and serve: More than 2,500 firefighters and policemen arrived at the grisly scene to battle the raging flames
Their eyes were watching God: Onlookers to the carnage look on helplessly as much of the neighbourhood remained in flame

Timeline of tragedy: Eyewitnesses said that after they heard a whistling noise and saw the plane crash into Pillar of Fire Church, left



Pillar of fire: Firefighters take away a body on a stretcher (left) while a police officer and a detective inspect a piece of the TWA flight in a Staten Islander's yard (right)
Grisly sight: Firemen, each wearing expressions of horror, pull corpses from the wreckage of the flight. There were 83 people aboard United Airlines Flight 826
Unbelievable sight: The crash happened at the intersection of Sterling and Seventh Avenues in Park Slope, and looks more like a scene from a post-apocalyptic film
Amid the snow and slush: Firefighters carry away yet another victim. Only one person survived the crash - an 11-year-old boy who died a day later from severe burns
A point of contention: The United Airlines flight was said to have been 12 miles off of its mark, but New York's air-traffic control was also deemed liable for the collision

Tangle of metal and wires: One of the plane's jet engines and wings can be seen as well as the ruins of a car in the midst of indistinguishable rubble
Sign of the times: The New York Times said the Park Slope neighbourhood was 'in transition' after more lower-income families moved into the once-fashionable area
On another island: Ten miles away on Staten Island, Trans World Airlines Flight 266 crashed in a military field, killing all 44 on board
Another scene of chaos: The New York Daily News described the Staten Island wreckage to resemble a battlefield, with bodies and Christmas presents strewn across the field

Gauteng e-tolling won't begin in February

Gauteng e-tolling won't begin in February, Sanral says - Business LIVE

The South African National Roads Agency announced on Friday that e-tolling in Gauteng would not commence in February as initially planned.

Image: Gallo Images

The agency said it was exploring different modalities which would be presented to Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele.

The latest about-turn followed the board's meeting with Ndebele on Thursday during which Sanral's mandate, Gauteng e-tolling and future roads programmes were discussed.

The minister has previously requested the agency to resolve the financing model regarding the cost of the controversial Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project phase 1 (GFIP) amounting to R20 billion.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions was mobilising its members for mass action next month against the implementation of the project.

Amid the public furore, the department halted any future planned tolling of roads in the country, including the planned phase 2 of GFIP, Cape Winelands and the Wild Coast.

Cabinet approved GFIP 1 in August last year, with light motor vehicles and class A2 expected to pay tariffs of 40c per kilometre, while medium vehicles, class B, would be R1 per kilometre. Longer vehicles, class C, would be charged R2 per kilometre.

Spaceflights Get Ready to Board Business Class

Spaceflights Get Ready to Board Business Class - NYTimes.com:

Booking a Flight to Space, With Travel Insurance

Ramin Rahimian for The New York Times
Catherine Culver, in her training suit, reserved a $200,000 seat with Virgin Galactic, which hopes to start flights this year.

By KENNETH CHANG

To go to outer space, Catherine Culver went to a travel agent.
The first flights of the new airlines that will take tourists past the threshold of space are poised to take off in 2012, and getting a seat on one is not all that different from booking a trip someplace on Earth. You can sign up on the Web site of, say, Virgin Galactic, the most prominent of the new space tourism companies, or go to a travel agent and put down a hefty deposit. Soon you will be able to buy travel insurance, just as you can for any other vacation.
Until now, space tourism has been limited to the ultrawealthy: just seven people have paid tens of millions of dollars each for a trip to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket.

But that could change this year, when Virgin Galactic intends to start offering flights just beyond the space barrier on a rocket ship it has built, featuring five minutes of weightlessness during a two-and-a-half hour jaunt. At $200,000 a seat, this will open the final frontier to far more people.

“Hopefully by next Christmas, myself, my daughter and my son will be the first people to go up into space” on a commercial craft, Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Galactic, said in a videotaped interview in November (with a touch of his signature grandiosity).

At least two other specialty airlines have jumped in as well, taking reservations (and deposits) for future space flights. Allianz, the big insurer, will introduce an insurance product in 2012, lending space tourism the trappings of the regular travel industry.

“Just to be able to sell space travel as a regular part of your business, really, just how cool is that?” said Lynda Turley Garrett, president of Alpine Travel of Saratoga, Calif., who is one of 58 accredited space agents for Virgin Galactic in the United States.

In five years, Ms. Garrett has sold three seats, including Ms. Culver’s. But she expects that to change once passengers start going up and coming down to tell their friends.

By 2017, “it’ll be just like scheduling a flight to L.A.,” Ms. Garrett predicted.

Ms. Culver, who has worked as a mission controller at NASA and now gives motivational talks, has always wanted to go to space; she applied four times to become a NASA astronaut, with no luck. To book her spaceflight, she wanted a face-to-face conversation, so she looked through the list of Virgin’s space agents and was pleased to find one near her home in San Jose, Calif. She and Ms. Garrett spent some time chatting, then went to lunch and chatted more.

Soon afterward, Ms. Culver put down her $20,000 deposit, becoming one of 475 people who have reserved a place on a Virgin Galactic flight. Most of them have already paid the full ticket price to rise above the 62-mile mark, which is considered the entrance to outer space. (People who pay in full will get the first seats.)

These flights will not orbit the Earth. Rather, they will be up-and-down “suborbital” jaunts more akin to a giant roller coaster ride, offering about five minutes of weightlessness at the acme of the flight. The trip is not for the faint of stomach: NASA used to train astronauts on a fast-diving airplane that offered intervals of weightlessness and was nicknamed the Vomit Comet — apparently for good reason.

For Virgin’s customers, the ride to space will culminate a three-day trip to the newly built Spaceport America in Las Cruces, N.M. Part of the time will be spent on training and preparations. Part of it will be fun on the ground. “Typical Virgin, there’ll be parties going on,” Ms. Garrett said.

On the third day, a carrier airplane with the SpaceShipTwo rocket ship slung underneath will take off from the runway and fly to 50,000 feet, where the rocket ship will be launched. At that point, the force of acceleration will press passengers deep into their chairs — someone who weighs 170 pounds will feel like half a ton.

Then the roar of the engine will fade to silence, the blue sky will fade to black, and weight will turn to weightlessness. “You’ll be able to unbuckle, move about the cabin, do somersaults, get your picture taken with the Earth’s curvature in the background,” Ms. Garrett said.

After that, the passengers will strap back into their seats before SpaceShipTwo re-enters the atmosphere, exerting another few minutes of crushing force. Once it has slowed, it will glide back to the runway.

For Ms. Culver, the Virgin flight will fulfill a dream, albeit an expensive one. “In California, it would be similar to buying a house,” she said.

Astronaut dreams could reach the grasp of even more people if prices drop. In addition to Mr. Branson, the entrepreneurs who have introduced space ventures include Elon Musk of SpaceX and, more recently, Jeffrey P. Bezos, the Amazon.com founder, and Paul G. Allen, a Microsoft founder. The companies are primarily focused on carrying satellites to orbit and winning NASA contracts, but they have indicated that passenger trips may eventually be part of the plan.

Virgin Galactic is not the only one with paying customers. XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, Calif., has more than 100 reservations for a $95,000 seat on its small space plane, which will have just two seats — one for the pilot and one for the passenger. XCOR could begin flying as soon as 2013.

	Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images - A plane carried Virgin's SpaceShipTwo over Spaceport America in New Mexico in October.

And Space Adventures Ltd. of Vienna, Va., which has been taking reservations for a while at $110,000 a seat, has signed up more than 200 people. Its partner, Armadillo Aerospace of Heath, Tex., plans to build an automated spacecraft — no pilot — that can take up two people at a time.

One Space Adventures customer who paid his deposit more than a decade ago is Madsen Pirie, a British researcher who founded the Adam Smith Institute, which is dedicated to free-market policy. “I was the first person in Britain to sign up,” he said.

He is disappointed that the wait has stretched out — Space Adventures has yet to set a target date for its suborbital flights — but he has no regrets. “It has been a story of postponed hopes,” Mr. Pirie said. “I shall be hugely delighted when my turn comes around.”

In a sign that things are speeding up, Allianz, which has a $1-billion-a-year travel insurance business, announced recently that it would offer insurance to Virgin Galactic customers to cover a range of possible problems, including last-minute cancellations and coverage for medical issues before or after the flight.

When the question of whether to offer space travel insurance first came up three or four years ago, “we said it was a joke at that time,” recalled Erick Morazin, global accounts director at Allianz Global Assistance.

Currently, Virgin Galactic, XCOR and Space Adventures refund almost all of the deposit if someone wants to cancel, but Mr. Morazin said he expected their policies to become less forgiving in the future. “We will be prepared for this milestone,” he said.