Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly has issued a call for help on a very serious matter: his next Halloween costume.  As you can see from the picture above, where he’s portraying Hairspray’s Edna Turnblad, the guy likes to go all out. Pretty much the only thing he doesn’t want to do to get into costume is shave his legs. Anything but that. And while that stipulation may rule out Michael Phelps as a candidate, it does leave other suggestions populating Southwest’s Nuts About Southwest blog, like Batman and Indiana Jones, in the clear. The folks over at Jaunted have their own suggestion, but, as shown above, Kelly did the drag thing just last year. What do you think?

Whether it’s a weekend away or a month-long backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, booking solo travel comes with its own set of special considerations. When you’re going it alone, travel can be a lot simpler. After all, you’re not going to be stuck debating every move, schlepping your traveling companion’s overstuffed suitcases or jockeying for toiletry space on the bathroom’s single shelf. But traveling as a single person can also be more expensive. And while many of us travel solo specifically for the solitude it offers, for others, the  experience can be a lonely one.

But single travel doesn’t have to be more expensive than traveling with companions, nor does it have to be an isolating experience. I’ll tackle tips for the solo travel experience itself in a future post, but for now, some things to keep in mind while researching and booking an upcoming solo trip:

1. Pay attention to pricing schemes. It may seem like “duh” advice, but it’s important. Hotel rooms (and especially special hotel packages), vacation packages and cruises are often priced based on double occupancy. If you choose to purchase them as a single traveler, you can run the risk of paying more - i.e the dreaded single supplement - for your accommodations than you would if you were traveling along with a companion. But not every company prices its offerings that way. Your job as a savvy traveler is to pay attention to the breakdown and make the best choice based on your needs. Luckily for solo travelers, many travel search sites and online travel agencies (including Kayak.com, Sidestep, Orbitz, Expedia) price their vacation packages per person.

2. Choose a hotel with solid on-site services and amenities. When it comes to lodging in a major city, choose a property that offers onsite dining and other services (a good concierge, complimentary car service, overnight laundry, etc.) that will make your life easier should you end up arriving in the middle of the night after a delayed flight or without your luggage. Sometimes, this can mean choosing a hotel that caters more toward business travelers, who are likely to be traveling alone. Sure, you’ll strike out on your own to eat, drink and explore your surroundings, but it’s nice to have a solid home base from which to operate - and to count on when you’re jet-lagged, tired or met with some unexpected travel complication.

3. Research group travel tours carefully to find one that meets your needs and suits your goals. With more single travelers hopping around the globe than ever these days, it’s no surprise that there are more companies and tour operators catering to them than existed a decade ago. But before you book based solely on price, spend some time considering your goals for the trip. If your goal is meeting people, try booking a tour with a company or organization based in your hometown (universities with continuing education programs, civic organizations and culinary groups often offer good options). That way, the majority of the people on your trip are likely to live in your area. You can also look for companies that offer some sort of forum or community for participant feedback to give you an idea of participants’ overall experience. You might also want to consider a volunteer vacation or educational trip (anything from surf camp to language immersion) that combines interaction and socializing with time for independent activities.

4. Ease into the solo experience. If you’ve never taken a solo trip, don’t start with a month in a country where you don’t speak the language. Strike out for a weekend by yourself first or prep for that upcoming solo adventure by tacking a day or two of single travel onto a longer family vacation or group trip with friends.

5. Consider the offbeat and unusual. Before booking your plane ticket and a room at your favorite hotel chain for a quick getaway, consider new ways of traveling that may be less attractive or feasible with multiple people. Couch-surfing, for example, is often easier when you’re a party of one. If you always opt for flying, consider taking an overnight train instead, just for kicks. Opt for a hostel over a budget hotel or bunk in at a tiny bed & breakfast, where interaction with hosts is part of the package. Stay in a yurt, visit a car-free island or overnight in a lighthouse inn.

Do you have any tips for single and solo travelers? Leave comments below or send me a direct email at lsanders (at) kayak (dot) com.

Just ran across the new Gas Card Promo from Holiday Inn. While many of the free gas promos I’ve seen are nearing their expiration dates as summer draws to a close, this one is good through Sept. 30, 2008. Just stay three consecutive nights at a U.S. Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express property while paying the Best Flexible rate, and you’ll receive a $50 American Express gas card.

As is often the case with promos like this, you’ll have to become a member of the hotel’s rewards program and book directly through the hotel to receive the card.

These days, I almost always grab something edible during the post-security, pre-boarding stage at the airport - even if the flight is just an hour or two and I’m not really hungry and there’s nothing really exciting on the grab-and-go shelves. I’m the kind of traveler airports must love - because I always leave a little cash in my wake. The reason? I’m never quite sure what sustenance I can expect to find on board - and who knows how long I’ll really end up on the plane when it’s all said and done. As many travelers know all too well, these days, boarding the aircraft does not necessarily lead directly to one’s ascent into the friendly skies.

But as the NY Times‘ Michelle Higgins points out in the paper’s Practical Traveler column today, being late for a connecting flight often rules out time for water and snack purchases. And that means relying on the airlines for sustenance. The column concludes by rounding up the drink, snack and meal options on a handful of major U.S. carriers. You can find similar information for a variety of airlines on the Kayak.com Airline Fees page.

If you do plan to dine during your next flight, a few things to keep in mind:

- When searching for and purchasing flights, pay attention to the flight schedule’s layover time. Choosing a slightly longer layover will not only give you enough time to buy bottled water or a snack in the airport, but it gives the airline adequate time to transfer your luggage to the next plane.

- Whenever possible, bring both cash and a credit card to pay for in-flight food and beverage purchases. Some carriers, like Alaska Airlines, no longer accept cash in the cabin. But for just as many other airlines, cash is the only option you’ll have - and paying with exact change often expedites the purchase process.

- International flights will usually offer a free meal to passengers, but the type of meal depends on when and where you’re flying. If you have special dietary needs or preferences, it’s always important to check with the airline before you travel.

- Even water may cost you these days. Though airlines traditionally offered soda and water free of charge, US Airways’ decision to charge $2 is setting a new precedent for the industry.

Remember the couch-surfing trend? Well it’s alive and well, but slightly more civilized, thanks to Airbed & Breakfast, a new company from two San Francisco design industry dudes with a dream to house budget-minded travelers, make breakfast and drum up a few extra bucks at the same time.

Travelers can enter their destination to find locals willing to put them up for a night. Willing locals can offer up their extra rooms, set their own nightly rates and accept payment through the site.

Right now, there are listings both in the U.S. and abroad, but the lion’s share of available digs are in the San Francisco Bay Area, Denver, Minneapolis and St. Paul.

…besides our own fabulous Kayak.com Airline Fees page, of course, here are some of our favorite airline fee charts:

• The Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees (Seat Guru, Airfarewatchdog, SmarterTravel)
• FareCompare U.S. Domestic Airline Fee Chart
• Airfarewatchdog’s Airline Frequent Flyer Fee Chart

I’m a man who loves a good book, and after a recent trip out east I realized there are so many destinations that honor their writers that it might be worth a ‘literary vacation’ at some point. My five favorites, and a quick note on each:

Boston
Thoreau’s Walden was written during his time living in a cabin on Walden Pond, just outside Boston. Nearby Salem is where Nathanial Hawthorne made his home, and Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick nearby.

London
Visit Westminster Abbey where authors like Chaucer, Dickens, and Tennyson have been laid to rest. The British Library holds original transcripts from such notable writers as Jane Austen and James Joyce.

Paris
Home to ‘The Lost Generation,’ this was where famed scribes like T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and Ezra Pound found writing styles that differentiated them from other Americans at the time.

New York City
Greenwich Village is famous for authors drinking heavily in the pubs, and you can even take a literary pub crawl! Visit Central Park’s Literary Walk to witness sculptures of famous writers throughout time.

San Francisco
The town owes quite a bit to literary pasts, and has streets named after authors like London, Twain, Bierce, and Kerouac. Many of them spent time in the city and surrounding pubs talking books and travel.

You know Kayak.com helps you find cheap flights, hotels, and car rentals. But did you know it can also help you make your next holiday, business trip, or beach vacation more environmentally-friendly? Here are the top five way to go green with Kayak.com, courtesy of guest blogger and Kayak.com friend Elizabeth Sanberg, avid traveler and co-founder of Go Green Travel Green:

1. Search for Nonstop Flights. Nonstop is better for the environment than flights with layovers because as much as 50% of a flight’s fuel is burned during takeoff and landing (when the engines need to generate the most power). Thus, by choosing a flight with just one takeoff and landing — even if it’s a little more expensive — you’re significantly reducing your carbon footprint. Kayak makes it easy by offering a check box to indicate your nonstop flight preference.

2. Show Nearby Airports. If the closest airport doesn’t offer nonstop flights, see if a nearby airport does. For instance, Washington Reagan Airport doesn’t have nonstop flights to London. But by using Kayak’s “show nearby airports” feature, you’ll find that nearby Washington Dulles Airport does. Instead of choosing an itinerary with a layover, choose to fly nonstop from an airport a little further away. You’ll create fewer carbon emissions during your car ride to the airport than you will with an extra flight.

3. Choose Economy Seats. Yes, the extra legroom and free meal in business and first class are nice, but you’ll lower your environmental impact when you choose to fly economy. Economy seats take up less space; thus, more people fit on a plane, which lessens your individual carbon footprint.

4. Search Hotels Near Preferred Location. Kayak has a nifty feature that lets you plug in an address or attraction and find hotels nearby. When you’re planning your trip, think about where you will be doing most of your activities and stay at a hotel in that area. You’ll be a greener traveler if you walk or take public transportation to your activities, instead of driving or taking a cab.

5. Request a Smaller Rental Car with Good MPG. When you search for rental car deals on Kayak, set your preference to the smallest size car that meets your needs. Then use the new Miles Per Gallon feature to exclude cars that get worse gas mileage. Not only you reduce your carbon emissions, you’ll also save money on gas.

+1. Search Green Travel. Search Green Travel is a new tool that lets you use your favorite travel search engine while giving back to the environment. Travelers use Search Green Travel to search for cheap flights, hotels, and rental cars. Search Green Travel then donates 50% of advertising profits to environmental charities.

Elizabeth Sanberg is avid traveler committed to reducing her environmental impact without spending a fortune. She currently lives in Washington, DC and is the co-editor of Go Green Travel Green and co-founder of Search Green Travel.

Tired of the same scene? Wish you could just abandon your possessions and freely travel the globe with no set itinerary? Well, a stuffed animal named Wilbert has been doing just that. A little less than three months ago, Keith DeVey started a website chronicling the journey of a stuffed animal hitchhiking around the world. At www.cruisingwilbert.com, viewers can track Wilbert’s (a little blue monkey) expedition as he explores a new destination every seven days. Wilbert has already experienced New York City, Maui, San Francisco, Vancouver, the British Virgin Islands, and more!

Seems people aren’t down with staycations, after all. In that spirit, here are some happenings, festivals and events to help you get out of dodge on one of summer’s final weekends….

Music

47th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (pictured)

Essex Music Festival, Essex, Massachusetts

Jazz and Beyond ‘08, Carson City, Nevada

Higher Ground Music Festival, Winsted, Minnesota

Jackson Hole Music Festival, Jackson, Wyoming

Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, Mt. Hood, Oregon

Hot August Blues, Cockeysville, Maryland

Recreation

Gunnison River Festival, Gunnison, Colorado

Bear Valley Adventure Sports Festival, Bear Valley, California

Los Angeles Festival of Sail, Los Angeles, California

Culture

Peace Village Festival, Ashland, Oregon

Great Falls Balloon Festival, Auburn, Maine

Milwaukee Irish Fest, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Minnesota Renaissance Festival, Shakopee, Minnesota

Arts & Entertainment

6th Annual Baltimore Tango Festival, Baltimore, Maryland

American Craft Show, San Francisco, California

Boulder International Fringe Festival, Boulder, Colorado

Food

3rd Annual Minnesota Garlic Festival, Howard Lake, Minnesota

Decatur BBQ, Blues and Bluegrass Festival, Decatur, Georgia