More — and cheaper — Europe flights from MSP
Twin Cities travelers will be a direct flight away from fresh Danish pastries and Da Pope in the next two days.
Why it matters: Delta Air Lines' new nonstop flights to Copenhagen (starting today) and Rome (tomorrow) add to a growing menu of international travel options for Minnesotans.
State of play: With average airfare prices falling, there's some sweet deals for a European summer vacation.
Zoom in: Axios found plenty of nonstop, roundtrip airfare to Europe for under $800, including:
🇩🇰 The new Copenhagen flight on Delta can be had for as little as $617.
🇮🇪 Under $600 for Dublin, thanks to competition between Delta and Aer Lingus.
🏴 🇫🇷 🇳🇱 Delta has $773 London flights, $652 Paris flights and $638 Amsterdam flights.
🇩🇪 Discover Airlines, which has taken over the Lufthansa's service to Frankfurt, has $636 flights.
Of note: These prices were for midweek travel and valid when Axios looked on Tuesday, but they change regularly.
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Washington Post
32 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Do you have what it takes to become a flight attendant?
ATLANTA — The worst-case scenarios kept coming: lavatory fires, turbulence that propelled oxygen masks from the ceiling, baby CPR. By the time we got to ditching — aviation terminology for an emergency water landing — my nerves were wrecked. But this was a normal day at the Delta Air Lines flight attendant training center, where current and future crew members prepare for disaster scenarios you hope to never encounter while flying. I've spent years reporting on the world of flight attendants: how they dealt with the rise of unruly passengers during and after the pandemic, how they've faced low pay and homelessness. But I'd never seen the extent of what it takes to become one, so I flew to Atlanta with video producer Monica Rodman to learn about their training firsthand. What we saw at Delta shattered all notions of the 'waitress in the sky' stereotype. Instead, we found something more akin to basic training: physical, technical and designed to save lives. Flight attendant training isn't about service; it's about safety, which has been amplified after recent high-profile aviation accidents. Inside a sprawling brick corporate campus near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, trainees — freshly accepted from a cutthroat application process — spend seven weeks learning everything from pre-takeoff safety demonstrations to self-defense tactics; they commit the mechanics of Boeing doors to memory and run drills on handling medical emergencies. Very little time is spent on in-flight service, the part of the job with which they're most associated — that is, if they get the job. Before they can join Delta's fleet, they first have to pass their final tests. From what we saw, that's a lot harder than you'd think. Our day started with an outfit change. A team of Delta representatives — communications people, program managers and flight attendant instructors — serving as tour guides escorted us into the maze of building hallways. We wound up in a room full of jackets. Delta trainees are given branded navy zip-ups that feel both sporty and professional, like a British soccer coach or a Silicon Valley exec on casual Friday. The jacket means a lot; Delta's flight attendant program is said to be the most difficult to get into among the domestic airlines, allegedly harder than getting into an Ivy League school. When I asked what Delta looks for in a candidate, Rachel McCarthy, the vice president of in-flight service for Atlanta operations, said it wants people who are resilient and adaptable, people who can take care of their mental and physical well-being while adapting to the unique lifestyle. 'You're going to work unusual hours; it's not 9 to 5,' she said. 'You might have early mornings, late nights, overnight flights when you're looking at some of our global routes.' The job description also states that applicants must be able to sit in an assigned jump seat with seat belt and shoulder harness fastened, and to open aircraft doors weighing 40 to 60 pounds. Applicants must be at least 21, have a high school diploma or high school equivalency, and be able to speak, read and write English fluently. Outfitted with a new (loaner) training jacket and a red 'earning my wings' lanyard, I followed our guides to a room that would fit in an episode of 'America's Next Top Model.' It had rows of high tables furnished with well-lit makeup mirrors and basic beauty supplies. Here, flight attendants learn about Delta's 'appearance requirements' — which are a far cry from the sexist early days of the industry when airlines marketed their young, thin crew members more like in-flight amenities than safety professionals. Today's dress code stresses grooming basics over beauty standards and is more inclusive of varying backgrounds. Makeup is not required but can be worn by any gender. So-called extreme eyelashes and visible tattoos are not allowed. A nose piercing is okay, but not ear gauges. Jewelry cannot interfere with safety. That means no dangling hoop earrings. Trelawney Bundrage, a flight attendant instructor who's been with Delta for 29 years, assessed our appearances to see whether we met the requirements. Like many instructors on our tour, she wore a perfect red lip. Mo's androgynous, bleach-blond mop would fly; hair may be dyed, so long as it's a natural hue. If your hair is longer than shoulder-length, it must be pulled back away from the eyes. And if your hair is up but still hangs longer than mid-back, it must be pinned. My loose hairdo, pinned back with a claw clip, would need to be tightened up. 'We would talk about these, we call them romantic tendrils,' Bundrage said, pointing out the loose strands of hair tucked behind my ears. Had I been in training, I would have learned to smooth my tendrils and frizz with hair products and to try a bun for more refined look. When a Delta plane retires, it's chopped into pieces to create 30- to 40-foot 'trainers' to serve as realistic classrooms. They can drop oxygen masks and make sound effects, shake, rise and fall to simulate turbulence. Mechanics also extract specific parts for isolated training; for example, there's a corridor of different aircraft door models for students to master opening, closing and securing. Mo and I took turns heaving them open; they're heavier and more complicated than they look. Inside an Airbus A350 trainer, instructor Janae Bride, who's been with Delta 12 years, explained the importance of knowing your 'galley geography.' Planes are full of hidden compartments for efficient storage, and flight attendants must memorize their many secrets so 'they're able to find out where items are located without opening the doors and having to slam them,' Bride said. It's not just beverage carts and service items hiding in the walls. There's a seemingly endless bounty of emergency supplies, like flashlights and first-aid kits and exotic contraptions like protective breathing equipment, which looks like an astronaut's helmet from a low-budget 1960s sci-fi movie. It's yellow and maybe Mylar, designed to give oxygen in an emergency. It's also awkward to put on and incredibly loud when activated. Your flight attendant was trained to deploy the pseudo-scuba gear in the event of a fire in the lavatory or extinguishing toxic gases. I put one on in the 'smoke and fire' training center, an all-metal replica of a plane in an auxiliary building where trainees can learn to put out flaming lavatory waste bins and portable chargers. My head was spinning as I chased various smoking disasters. Mark Fields, an instructor with 31 years with the airline, shouted commands. These instructions are designed to be short and clear, delivered with a sense of urgency but also calm, all of which is more helpful to digest in an emergency whether they're directing crew or passengers. Such protocols are critical to achieving the Federal Aviation Administration's rule that flight attendants must be able to evacuate an entire plane in 90 seconds. Mo ran through command-heavy drills, shouting at invisible passengers: Bend over! Stay down! Bend over! Stay down! The lines would be stuck in our heads like earworms well into the next day. These commands and procedures must become muscle memory. To prove it, new students must maintain a 90 percent average on all 'knowledge assessments' and successfully complete all hands-on evaluations within three attempts throughout the program. Mo crouched alongside Alana Calhoun, an instructor with more than a decade of experience, to execute CPR on dummies to the beat of Lady Gaga's 2008 hit 'Poker Face,' which has the correct cadence for the lifesaving procedure. Calhoun is the platonic ideal of a flight attendant: chipper, helpful, attentive. She didn't just greet colleagues as we passed; she beamed at them. So it did not surprise us when Calhoun mentioned that she worked at Disney World before pivoting to aviation. Before that, she worked at the children's restaurant Chuck E. Cheese as the titular mascot himself. It was good training for working flights; she reminded us that Chuck E. Cheese serves alcohol. Flight attendants also face unruly, inebriated customers, although Calhoun says the landscape is different from when the issue peaked after the pandemic. These days, she's noticed passengers seem more aware and step in to help when they notice trouble. Still, flight attendants are trained in self-defense and de-escalation. With CPR dummies resting at Calhoun's feet, we took a break from touring so Mo and I could ask the instructors our lingering questions. Are they afraid of flying after the accidents of late? (All said no.) Will dressing up get you upgraded on a flight? (No.) Can they date passengers? (Yes, but there's a policy against sharing the location of the layover hotel with strangers to protect the safety of the rest of the crew.) What are the most-ordered drinks? (Sparkling water on the West Coast, Coke in the South, tomato juice in Florida, coffee in the Caribbean.) How often do they have to stop people from attempting to join the 'Mile High Club'? (Very rarely; some have never encountered the problem.) What do they think of passengers giving them gifts? 'It means the world,' Calhoun said, particularly when you're working over the holidays and someone gives a $5 Starbucks gift card or a thank-you note. Maybe my arm would come out its socket, or maybe I'd pull the man helping me out of the raft and into the water. By the time I could wrap my mind around the possible outcomes of this last drill, my body was hurtling to safety; I flopped in belly first, like a fish. We were ending the day with a ditching drill. I'd changed into a swimsuit and a Delta long-sleeve shirt, along with my slacks, and boarded a trainer plane installed alongside an indoor pool with a group of giddy students. They'd just passed their final exams and were officially flight attendants. Once we were buckled in our seats, sound effects simulated a problem — the plane was going down. Life jackets on, we followed commands from Fields on when to jump out of the door into the 80-degree water. Pulling the tab to inflate my vest was a life highlight after seeing hundreds of safety demonstrations over my traveling career. But in the pool, we had to join forces to get into a tall life raft. I felt like I'd sneaked into a Navy SEALs boot camp, attempting to hoist up my fellow evacuees while treading water. We all made it in and spent the next few minutes erecting a canopy to protect us from the hypothetical elements we'd meet floating in the ocean. People moved quickly in the awkward, slippery setting, and then we were done, smiling like kids under a parachute. We had made it through a day of flight attendant school, not with honors — just with a new appreciation for the people who do it for real.
Miami Herald
43 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Tesla sales plunge in key European markets with one shocking exception
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
European ETFs Set to Gain as ECB Cuts Rate Again
The European Central Bank (ECB), as widely expected, again cut its interest rate by 25 bps to 2% in a move to shore up a weakening economy. The move marks the eighth consecutive quarter-point cut in the past year. The ECB also signaled it is nearing the end of its rate-cutting cycle as inflation decision underscores growing concern over the eurozone's sluggish recovery in the face of global headwinds, most notably, the destabilizing effects of ongoing U.S. trade policies under President Donald Trump. The ECB's dovish stance will push European stocks and ETFs higher. With rates at their lowest in years and inflation subdued, European bonds, especially corporate debt, may gain renewed investor interest. A weaker euro will likely boost multinational earnings denominated in stronger foreign such, we have highlighted five European ETFs that stand to benefit from the ECB's decision. These are Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF VGK, iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF EZU, iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF IEUR, SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF FEZ and JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF BBEU. These funds could be excellent buys for investors seeking to reap benefits from the current measures. Economic growth has slowed across the eurozone, especially in France, Germany and Italy, and the outlook for next year is weak, according to forecasts by the European Union (EU). Eurozone inflation fell to 1.9% in May, slipping below the ECB's 2% target for the first time in nine months. Additionally, Trump's protectionist trade agenda has led to rate cuts by the ECB. The White House's imposition of fresh tariffs on European industrial goods and autos, along with retaliation from EU partners, has curtailed exports and dampened business investment. The eurozone's export-driven model, especially in manufacturing-heavy Germany, has proven vulnerable. A further escalation in global trade tensions could further hit euro area growth by dampening exports and dragging down investment and consumption (read: 6 Factors to Play Europe ETFs Now).The ECB's latest rate cut brings borrowing costs in the eurozone to less than half the level in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the Federal Reserve and Bank of England have held rates at 4.25%–4.5% and 4.25%, respectively. "While the uncertainty surrounding trade policies is expected to weigh on business investment and exports, especially in the short term, rising government investment in defense and infrastructure will increasingly support growth over the medium term," the ECB said. Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK)Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF offers exposure to companies located in the major markets of Europe by tracking the FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. It holds a broad basket of 1241 stocks with key holdings in financials, industrials, health care, and consumer discretionary sectors. Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has AUM of $25.5 billion and trades in an average daily volume of 4 million shares. It charges 6 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU)iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF provides exposure to developed market countries using the euro for currency and follows the MSCI EMU index. The fund holds about 223 securities in its basket with financials, industrials, information technology and consumer discretionary taking a double-digit allocation each. From a country look, France and Germany take the biggest share in the basket with 31.3% and 29.3%, respectively. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF is one of the most popular ETFs in the broader European space, with AUM of $7.9 billion and an average daily volume of 2 million shares. It charges investors 51 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook (read: Europe ETF (EZU) Hits New 52-Week High). iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR)iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF tracks the MSCI Europe Investable Market Index, holding a broad basket of 1019 European companies. It has key holdings in financials, industrials, and health care sectors with double-digit exposure each. The United Kingdom is the top country accounting for 22.8%, followed by France (15.6%), Germany (14.9%), and Switzerland (14%). iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF has AUM of $6.7 billion and trades in an average daily volume of 1 million shares. It charges 9 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank # EURO STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ)SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF follows the EURO STOXX 50 Index, which measures the performance of some of the largest companies across the components of the 20 EURO STOXX Supersector Indexes. The fund appears rich with AUM of $4.6 billion and average daily volume of around 1.4 million shares. It charges 29 bps in annual fees and holds 50 securities in its basket with key holdings in financials, industrials, information technology and consumer discretionary sectors. In terms of country allocation, France and Germany lead with 36.9% and 29.1% share, respectively, followed by the Netherlands (23.3%), Spain (8.7%) and Italy (8.4%). SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF has a Zacks ETF Rank # BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BBEU)JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF provides investors exposure to developed European equity markets by tracking the Morningstar Developed Europe Target Market Exposure Index. It holds 396 stocks in its basket with key holdings in financials, industrials and consumer discretionary sectors. Here again, the United Kingdom is the top country accounting for 22.3% share, followed by France, Germany, and Switzerland with 14% share each. JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF has amassed $4.6 billion in its asset base and charges 9 bps in fees from investors. It trades in a heavy volume of nearly 330,000 shares a day on average and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ): ETF Research Reports iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU): ETF Research Reports Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK): ETF Research Reports iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR): ETF Research Reports JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BBEU): ETF Research Reports This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
