April 2006

If you like things that are simple, stylish and stainless steel then you may want to pick up this little 24-sided world clock. Each of the clock’s 24 sides is printed with the names of two major cities in each of the world’s 24 time zones. The clock displays the local time at whichever cities are currently pointing straight up.

How cool.

Forget to transfer that important file to your laptop before leaving on your business trip? GoToMyPC can help save the day. From any web browser, you can access your home PC and all your files, programs, network resources and email–even drag and drop files from your desktop to your laptop. You can even print from your home PC to a local printer. Thats cool. Just $20/month (or save 25% on an annual plan). Well worth it for a little peace of mind.

Compared to a similar product, pcAnywhere™, GoToMyPC seems to have the upper hand. pcAnywhere™ charges for live technical support and requires its software to be installed on both the client and host PC (GoToMyPC does not).

Go here for a free trial.

Walkabout Travel Gear has a great site devoted to just ‘travel tips’–all provided by globetrotters such as ourselves. Every topic is covered….from pre-departure suggestions to money management tips. For example…..if you are staying at a place that does not have a business card, take a digital photo of the hotel sign and the nearest intersection–helpful in getting directions back to your hotel. Or–do you usually travel with a roll of bulky duct tape in your baggage? (the tape has a multitude of great uses)–try wrapping some around a pencil instead–saving lots of space in the meantime.

Check out the rest of the tips here.

30 Million checked bags were lost last year–a new global record. The scary part is that 240,000 of those bags were never returned to their owners. The airlines reportedly spent $2.5 Billion just trying to return the bags to their rightful owners. And you wonder why many are bleeding red. I’d say they have one major problem.

Rumors are flying about airlines starting to enforce more restrictive carry on baggage rules to help speed up the boarding process (and in turn more passengers would need to check their bags). That will never ‘fly’ until they get their lost and forgotten bag problem fixed. In the meantime, one possible way to help with the problem is trying a private baggage recovery company such as globalbagtag.com. Of course this is ineffective if theft is involved.

Via Digg.

Flight Global reports that Apple is holding talks with inflight entertainment providers to host iTunes on airplanes. The service would potentially allow users to spend frequent flier miles on videos and music from the store. The content would be available anytime during flight, even without an onboard Wireless network.

Courtesy of The Lobby, the Subway Navigator is like Google Maps for the subway, which is bound to help when you’re totally lost in downtown Manhattan.

What I want to know is, will it run on a PDA or cell phone. Someone out there with a capable device, let us know.

The Travel Post.com Insider has some good tips for getting over jetlag.

British Airways also has an excellent jet lag advisor.

Sorry to be depressing, but there are a number of bad news business travel-related stories floating around out there. Here are some handy tips for the coming weeks:

• Watch Your Laptop. All travelers, but particularly those headed to the San Francisco area should be aware of a disturbing trend. Laptop theft in coffee shops has gone up in recent months, even turning violent in one recent instance.
• Cell Phones on Airplanes. Air France will begin experimenting with the use of cell phones at 30,000 feet according to the Travelpost.com Insider. This comes despite recent study findings that cell phones could indeed interfere with critical systems onboard aircraft. Also, many business travelers have indicated that they would prefer to keep cell phones off during flights. After all, who wants to listen to their neighbor yakking all flight long?
• Summer Blues. The summer looks like it may be a particularly difficult time for business travelers. USA Today’s Joe Brancatelli has some solid advice.
• Strike Rhetoric Steps Up. Delta Pilots’ Union has stepped up the strike rhetoric, instructing pilots to clear out their lockers and staging practice strikes. The pilots have overwhelmingly given their union permission to call a strike anytime after April 17th, which could bollox up people’s Easter travel plans rather severely. If you’re flying Delta in the next couple of weeks, make sure to stay flexible. Pack a few extra changes of undergarments and hope that the other airlines will be able to
  accommodate the overflow despite already overcrowded flights.

Next time you need a rental car in the Los Angeles area and are enticed with the idea of getting up to 800 miles to the tank and not burning fossil fuel in the process……check out Bio-Beetle. You’ll be burning non-toxic, biodegradable, sulfur-free vegetable oil. It was the brain child of Shaun Stenshol, who started the Maui Recycling Service. According to his bio, he was just ‘looking for ways to make Maui (and the planet) self sustaining, and their lives as close to zero waste as possible’–and came up with the Bio-Beetle idea.

The rental fleet includes VW Golf, Jetta, Beetle and Passats. To rent the car at LAX call 310-337-1729 or fill out this online request form. They also have a location at the Kahului Airport in Maui.

In its annual Airline Quality Rating study, the University of Nebraska at Omaha/Wichita State University found JetBlue held the top rank for the survey. The only ‘legacy’ carrier to make the top 5 was, surprisingly, United. Ranking for the 17 largest U.S. carriers are as follows:

1)JetBlue
2)AirTran Airways
3)Independence Air (no longer in business)
4)Southwest
5)United
6)America West
7)Northwest
8)Continental
9)Alaska
10)American
11)ATA
12)Delta
13)SkyWest
14)American Eagle
15)U.S. Airways
16)COMAIR
17)Atlantic Southeast.

That would make the 3rd consecutive year JetBlue has been ranked #1 in the survey.

Passenger complaints increased 17%, with lost luggage coming out on top (mishandled baggage rates increased over 25% from 2004). The airline with the highest percentage of lost baggage (17.41 per 1,000 passengers) was Atlantic Southeast, followed by COMAIR and then American Eagle.

The figures in the Airline Quality Study are derived from U.S. Department of Transportation statistics for airlines that carry at least 1% of the passengers who flew domestically last year. Get the complete survey here.

In the Wall Street Journal Article The Gate Less Traveled - With Terminal Waits Set to Rise, We Find Faster Security Lines, reporter Conor Dougherty reveals some secrets for getting through security faster at several airports. The key is to find the terminals with out-of-the-way screening checkpoints.

At Detroit Metro Airport, travelers can get through security via the terminal’s Westin hotel, where the wait is often less than a minute.

When flying JetBlue out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, the checkpoint farthest from the escalator (next to Dunkin’ Donuts), has a line that’s often half as long as the next one over.

At the Dallas airport, once flyers pass through security, they can travel to any terminal via train. Doughterty advises taking a speedy line (typically at the ends of each terminal.) Terminal A, for American flights typically has short lines. The best checkpoint is on the northernmost point of the terminal, beside gate A12.

At O’Hare International, Go to the southern end of Terminal 1. Where a fast checkpoint takes you into Terminal 2. If you turn right — down a dark and narrow hallway — you’ll end up on the secure side of Terminal 1.

At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the lines leading to “B” and “D” gates of Terminal 4 (America West and U.S. Airways) are usually the shortest. Moving walkways can take you to the other gates.

One of the reasons, I never sleep well on a planes is that I fear I’ll miss something important like being on the wrong flight! (That, and another opportunity to get a small bag of salty snacks when the surly stewardess walks by.) The Associated Press reports on a business traveler [who landed in Taiyuan](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Long_Strange_Trip.html) instead of Taiwan.

Pam left Germany 30 minutes ago is en route to India and just checked in via Instant Messenger. She’s flying [Lufthansa](http://www.lufthansa.com/) and online with [Connexion By Boeing](http://www.connexionbyboeing.com/). It was snowing [in Germany](http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/tourist_office/57799/index.html) and 100 degrees in India — good thing she knows how to pack for light travel.

Connexion by Boeing (which sponsors this blog) recently hosted a group of gamers traveling from Copenhagen to the TransAtlantic Showdown video gaming championships in New York. On their Scandinavian Airlines flight, the gamers were treated to Connexion access so that they could compete with one another while flying over the North Atlantic. The gamers had a great time, and the story was picked up by news outlets the world over (though some curmudgeonly naysayers thought it was a “waste of time and technology”).

Apart from the gaming community, a recent study by Burke Research that includes responses from nearly 3,200 participants worldwide found that in-flight internet is changing traveller behavior. Fully 83% of those surveyed said that the availability of the Connexion by Boeing service will have an impact on future travel plans and their choice of airline carrier and 94% said they plan to use the service again on a future flight.

Now we know that Connexion sponsors this blog, so we’re supposed to say nice things about them. But even beyond that, I think it’s really cool how they’ve decided to promote this service to geeks and gamers. I really, really can’t wait until the service becomes domestic, as I never get to go on overseas flights. And popular as it is becoming among those who have used it - I think that Internet access at 30,000 feet will become the rule, rather than the exception.

CNN reports that Delta’s pilots union has voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike in the event that a three person arbitration panel grants the airline’s request to void the pilot’s contract and unilaterally impose a pay cut.

The article goes on to say that although 95% of the pilots voted to support the strike, industry analysts predict that many will cross the picket line in the event of an actual walkout. After all, nobody wants to lose their job in this climate. “There aren’t a lot of folks hiring pilots out there, and even if you get a job, you start at the bottom, at $15,000 or $20,000 a year,” said industry consultant Michael Boyd.

The panel is scheduled to come back with a decision about the pilots’ contract by April 15th. Delta has said that they will take responsibility for either rebooking or rescheduling all passengers on their flights in the unlikely event of a strike. Previously, I advised passengers holding Delta tickets to trade in their e-tickets for paper tickets, based on information from the frequent flier survival manual. While that still may be good advice, Delta’s reservation agent recently advised me to keep my e-ticket for an upcoming Delta flight. She said that there was no reason another airline could not honor an e-ticket, but paper tickets work just as well.

Sorry if anyone changed his or her ticket unnecessarily.

Calling it their ‘Shut-Eye’ service, JetBlue has started to offer free spa products on its transcontinental (eastbound only) late night flights. The kits (provided by the New York based Bliss Spa) contain mint lip balm, earplugs, lemon-sage body butter and eye shades. This is in addition to a new self serve pantry with snacks and hot towels that JetBlue has started offering on these flights as well. Desperately trying to keep market share, this is a smart move by JetBlue to remind people of their brand and help differentiate them from their competitors.

I’d say that anything would help trying to survive one of these flights. From my own experience, I would offer this advice: try to hydrate yourself sufficiently before (and again after) the flight–giving your body a chance to sleep a little more soundly, try to get into ’sleep mode’ as soon as possible after departure (use the earplugs and eye shades!) and grab a window seat if at all possible.

If you are an American Airlines AAdvantage member, and you don’t mind spending a few hours at your local Lincoln dealership, here is an opportunity to earn some easy miles. You can earn 250 miles just by viewing a video, 2,500 miles for a test drive and 25,000 miles for buying a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr. I participated in a similar program by test driving a Jaguar a few years ago. After the drive, the salesperson said if I had just mentioned that I was there to get the miles and was not really interested in the car (which I was not), he would have gladly just signed my certificate without bothering to do the test drive. Keep that in mind……

The program offer ends May 20th. Find out more info here.

Japan Airlines anounced that it will boost its schedule from 10 to 14 flights per week on the Chicago to Tokyo route. Northwest canceled its ORD-NRT (Narita) service last year and American canceled its Chicago-Nagoya service as well, leaving Japan Airlines to pick up the routing with a vengance.

In the article Remote skycap service designed to impress conventioneers Chicago ABC affiliate reporter Sarah Schulte describes how conventioneers at McCormick Place (who intend to fly out of O’Hare) can now get a seat assignment, boarding pass and have their luggage checked for a $10 fee right at the convention center.

A private company called BAGS operates the service and is aligned with the Transportation Security Administration. After checking in, the checked luggage is transferred to the airport where it goes through the normal TSA screening process.

This may just be the beginning. “We hope to expand it beyond McCormick Place to major hotels throughout the Chicaco area.” says Mayor Daley.

Could this catch on in a big way? We’d love to see this tried in some other cities…

We don’t normally post fare deals and such up here, or we’d have a million random posts every day, but I thought this one was too interesting to not point out. If you’re headed to Osaka anytime soon, stay the weekend and enjoy first class accommodations for three bucks a night.