16 | WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION
tr av e l
The roar of a jet engine, the vroom of a
car, the vibration of a moving ship.
These sounds and sensations, com-
monly associated with travel and mo-
tion, share a common source: fossil-fuel-
powered engines.
But as regulators and businesses
around the world try to reduce carbon
emissions, airplanes, automobiles and
ships are going electric. It’s good for the
environment, but it also means travel it-
self may be changing. Here’s a look at a
few of the initiatives that are underway.AIR
Starting later this year, Mokulele Air-
lines, of Hawaii, and Ampaire, a Califor-
nia-based electric airplane start-up, will
begin testing a hybrid aircraft over Maui
on a commuter route between the Kahu-
lui and Hana airports.
The flying public won’t be able to buy
tickets for those early test flights, but
the companies behind the tests say it’s
an important step in proving that elec-
tric service is viable.
“You uncover a lot of gremlins when
you start flying in a true operational ca-
dence,” said Kevin Noertker, Ampaire’s
co-founder and chief executive. He add-
ed that the current plan is to introduce
commercial hybrid service by the end of
2021.
The planes have a range of around 200
miles, but because they are hybrids, test
pilots don’t need to worry if their batter-
ies run out of juice midair.
“We’ve designed the system with re-
silience in mind,” Mr. Noertker said.
Hybrid and fully electric airplanes
can also have lower operating and main-
tenance costs than traditional fossil-
fuel-driven aircraft, because they use
less fuel and have fewer moving parts.
Those savings may ultimately be
passed on to passengers. They also
mean that more rural airports could one
day see commercial service as the eco-
nomics of flying to low-population desti-
nations improve.
“Scheduled air service can come back
to communities that have lost it in all the
consolidation with the airlines,” saidRob McKinney, the president of Pacific
operations for Southern Airways Ex-
press, which operates Mokulele Air-
lines. “Rural communities will have air
service again that haven’t had it in 20 or
30 years.”LAND
Nevada has been undergoing a years-
long project to build out its electric vehi-
cle charging infrastructure. It has
deemed a stretch of U.S. 95, the primary
route between Las Vegas and Reno,
along with portions of other major road-
ways in the state the “Electric High-
way,” and it is encouraging visitors tosee the state by taking an emission-free
road trip. Nevada is also home to the
Tesla Gigafactory, which in some ways
has jump-started its electric vehicle ef-
forts.
“We have so many cultural and his-
torical sites that people are interested
in, and we promote the state through the
road trip,” said Chris Moran, a public re-
lations specialist at Travel Nevada. “It’s
great to do it in a sustainable and re-
spectful way to the environment.”
In some ways the new technology
also allows people to travel in a more
old-fashioned style. Because charging
takes longer than filling up a gas tank, itmeans electric vehicle drivers are more
likely to spend time and money in small
communities along their route.
“If you think of what the interstate
highway system is, how it so dramati-
cally changed the nature of road travel
and road trip tourism, this is a different
way to travel and see places,” said David
Bobzien from the Nevada Governor’s
Office of Energy. “We have a lot of car
enthusiasts who love their electric vehi-
cles and they love to drive them, so it’s
the road trip and the joy of the road trip
that lures them to use the highway.”
Similar infrastructure can be found in
the Northeast of the United States, withTesla charging stations along the Inter-
state 91 and 95 corridors.
Hamlet Aguilar relies on those sta-
tions as the anchor for his new business,
Bound. The car service, which began
earlier this year, shuttles passengers be-
tween New York and Boston in Teslas
for prices that begin at $99 each way.
“The electric cars allow us to provide
a price point that the other transporta-
tion companies cannot do,” Mr. Aguilar
said. “The high cost of maintaining a
fleet and the gas, it was never cost effec-
tive. Being able to use these Teslas en-
ables us to offer a very attractive price
point.”SEA
Water and electricity are finally begin-
ning to mix.
Hurtigruten, a Norway-based expedi-
tion cruise company, is investing heav-
ily in sustainably powered ships. The
company focuses on exploration
cruises, with its ships traveling places
far from the usual Caribbean and Medi-
terranean destinations that most cruise
passengers visit.
“This is something that has been a na-
tural part of the development of the
company and driven by a lot of very en-
gaged people,” said Daniel Skjeldam,
Hurtigruten’s chief executive. “One of
the reasons they have been so proactive
on it, since we’ve been sailing in these
areas, they’ve been seeing the changes,”
like glaciers retreating, firsthand.
The company’s efforts include invest-
ing in an all-new hybrid-powered cruise
ship, which will launch in September.
That Alaskan cruise is already sold out.
In the next few years, the company
will also convert its older diesel-burning
ships to liquid natural gas and biogas-fu-
eled hybrids (biogas is made from or-
ganic waste), and will launch a battery-
powered hybrid catamaran for expedi-
tions near the Norwegian coast later
this year, with more coming into service
in 2020.
The company is working to develop
solar chargers for those vessels.
None of these first-generation ships
will be fully electric, but Mr. Skjeldam
predicts that in the not-too-distant fu-
ture, some vessels will be able to sail en-
tirely under battery power for hours at a
time.
He also said he thinks his company
isn’t too far ahead of industry trends.
“I think we’ll see, to be honest, a revo-
lution on sustainable travel in the next
decade. I think a lot more ports world-
wide will be much more demanding to
the industry on what kind of ships they
will accept into ports. The local emis-
sions from a cruise ship are huge if
they’re running on heavy fuel oil,” he
said, adding that Norway will require
ships in its Unesco-designated heritage
fjords to be emission-free by 2026.
He admits though, that battery-pow-
ered vessels are still technologically
limited.
“We don’t think batteries can be the
only source for power, but it’s the perfect
way to operate ships into sensitive ar-
eas.”By air, land and sea, travel goes renewable
A Tesla charging station in Hawthorne, Nev. Nevada has been building out its electric-vehicle charging infrastructure over the past few years.TRAVELNEVADACompanies are testing
the use of electric and
hybrid-powered vehiclesBY ZACH WICHTERFrom bachelor parties to family re-
unions, group trips are opportunities to
explore the world with the people you
love.
They also have the potential to be
planning messes. But they don’t have to
be.UNDERSTAND YOUR GROUP DYNAMIC The
first step in planning a successful trip:
Ensure the travelers will get along well
together.
Group dynamics can play a big role in
determining where to stay. Families
might prefer the ease and facilities of a
hotel or resort. Big groups of friends
might opt to search through home rental
sites like VRBO and Airbnb.SHARED APPS ARE VITAL Once you’ve de-
cided on the group, figure out when ev-
eryone is available. Doodle allows users
to create a poll online of possible travel
dates and then vote on options.
Google Sheets is a decent way to orga-nize options for destinations, housing
and more in a spreadsheet and track
when and how people will be traveling.
Beyond the spreadsheet, TripIt is an
itinerary-building app that allows you to
collect details for flights, hotels, car
rentals and more into a master itinerary
— the app’s Inner Circle feature allows
you to share your itinerary with other
members of your group.FIGURE OUT FINANCES Tracking expenses
is doable via spreadsheet but still re-
quires a fair amount of work to divvy up
shares and figure out who owes what.
Splittr and Splitwise are popular mo-
bile free apps for tracking, prorating and
ultimately balancing expenses, avail-
able offline and in multiple currencies.
Looking to treat your friends or fam-
ily to free rides during your trip? Uber
Events allows you to set up a code to
cover transportation for your crew, with
options to customize the time window,
location and pickup radius (we particu-
larly like this option for weddings and
family reunions).GET GROUP DEALS Investigating group
deals may be a bit time-consuming, but
the research can save you money. Some
airlines offer perks for groups booking
together, including discounted fares and
flexible ticketing options (while other
apps and services for booking group
flights exist, we found they were neither
streamlined nor consistently well re-
viewed).Group planning that works for all
BY LAUREN SLOSSLARS LEETARUWhen Nicole Thibault had her first
child, she imagined traveling every-
where with him. But by age 2, he would
become upset by simply passing a
restaurant that smelled of garlic.
Waiting in line elicited tantrums, and
crowded places overwhelmed him. A di-
agnosis of autism came within the year.
“I thought maybe our family dream of
travel wouldn’t happen,” said Ms.
Thibault, 46, of Fairport, N.Y., who now
has three children.
But she spent the next three years
learning to prepare her son for travel by
watching videos of possible destinations
and attractions so that he would know
what to expect.
The preparation helped enable him,
now 14 and well traveled, to enjoy ad-
ventures as challenging as exploring
caves in Mexico. It also encouraged Ms.
Thibault to start a business, Magical
Storybook Travels, planning travel for
families with special needs.
Now the travel industry is catching up
to the family. A growing number of
theme parks, special attractions and ho-
tels are introducing autism training and
sensory guides that highlight triggers,
providing resources in times of need and
assuring families they won’t be judged.
According to the United States Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention,
one in 59 American children falls on the
autism spectrum disorder, up from one
in 150 in 2002. Autism spectrum dis-
order is a developmental disability that
can cause challenges in social interac-tion, communication and behavior.
Some may have sensory sensitivities,
and many have trouble adapting to
changes in routine, which is the essence
of travel.
“There’s still a lot of stigma for fam-
ilies with children on the spectrum,” said
Meredith Tekin, the president of the In-
ternational Board of Credentialing and
Continuing Education Standards, which
certifies organizations from schools to
hospitals in cognitive disorders. In the
past two to three years, the organizationhas worked with more than 100 travel
providers on autism programs. “We
went from zero in travel to getting re-
quests from dozens and dozens of
places,” she said.
Some families skip travel altogether
— a study from the International Board
found that 87 percent of families whose
children have autism don’t take family
vacations — but others insist, saying it
feeds minds and teaches coping skills.
Board certification requires 80 per-
cent of staff members who interact with
guests to undergo up to 21 hours of train-
ing in sensory awareness, communica-
tion and social skills; to pass an exam
demonstrating their understanding;
and be recertified every two years. The
organization also conducts an on-site re-view to suggest changes that would bet-
ter serve travelers on the spectrum.
Among the newly certified destina-
tions are SeaWorld Orlando, the Aquat-
ica Orlando and Discovery Cove, where
visitors can swim with dolphins and
snorkel with tropical fish.
Additionally, the International Board
created sensory guides for the parks,
available online, that rate attractions on
a scale of one to 10 in five senses —
touch, taste, sound, smell and sight.
There are also corresponding signs in
the parks with sensory ratings.
The website Autism Travel (au-
tismtravel.com) lists board-certified
destinations, including Beaches Re-
sorts, three family-friendly all-inclusive
properties in Jamaica and the Turks &
Caicos that qualified in 2017. In April, the
resorts received advanced certification,
introducing new one-on-one child care, a
private room for check in and a culinary
program that allows for a greater range
of special requests. Beaches also ex-
tended autism training to its dive in-
structors.
The most ambitious among autism-
spectrum efforts is in Mesa, Ariz., the
Phoenix suburb that draws significant
family traffic, with Major League Base-
ball spring training and water sports on
the Salt River. The city aims to be the
first autism-certified travel destination
in the United States, requiring 60 mem-
bers of its travel bureau, which includes
hotels and attractions, to undergo au-
tism training and to implement pro-
grams to make travelers with autism
welcome.Trips that keep autism in mind
BY ELAINE GLUSACSome families skip travel
altogether, but others insist,
saying it feeds minds and teaches
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The Galápagos:
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