July 2006

Apparently some clever hackers have gone through the code in the latest iteration of iTunes and found several references to integrating a phone into the system.

It’s been enough to get all the Apple fanboys (and girls) salivating over the idea of chatting away on a pretty little phone that integrates seamlessly with their pretty little computer.

The LA Times (registration required) has a great article about the benefits of joining the VIP club at your favorite airline.

Road warrior Travis Mason-Bushman told the Times:

I’ve flown about 56,000 miles so far this year and will do another 20,000 miles. My memberships are a small price to pay, considering all the time I spend in airline terminals. I cross the country about 15 times a year. The lounges are a lot more civilized place to work and to get help.

There are a number of ways to get in the door, from a $50 one-time fee to the use of your high end credit card for free access.

Via About Business Travel.

The $200 add-on known as iSee, which is made by San Carlos, CA-based ATO will apparently play high definition video even if you’re using a non-video iPod!

What’s particularly cool is that the video doesn’t even need to be from the iTunes store, which means that you can enjoy clips from YouTube, or even a pirated copy of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Via JK on the Run.

Jeff Sandquist’s AirPower Wiki is designed to help users find WiFi and power outlets at airports around the world.

Via Scobleizer.

Southwest Airlines president and corporate secretary Colleen Barrett receives almost 100 letters each day from frequent Southwest travelers who love the Dallas-based carrier’s open seating system. They don’t like the fact that Southwest has been testing out assigned seating.

Via The TravelPost.com Insider.

British silverware maker Arthur Price recently unveiled a line of terrorist-proof cutlery to be used by first class airline passengers, the International Herald Tribune reported today.

The knives and forks do not compromise on food-cutting capabilities, but are less likely to serve as effective weapons for would-be hijackers.

Also in the Herald-Trib’s Travel Update section: a story about a drunken China Airlines passenger aboard a flight from Ho Chi Minh city to Taipei who smashed his fist through one of the airliner’s windows - causing an emergency landing in Kaohsiung.

I guess putting your fist through a window while drunk is as possible in the air as it is on the ground.

Via Digg.

The Transportation Security Administration today released its findings after a year and a half collaboration between governmental organization and security, aviation and architectural experts.

The recommendations encompass safety requirements for airport layout, security screening, emergency response, access control and communications.

If you’re making more than one stop inside a country while traveling internationally, make sure that your luggage weighs in at 44 pounds or less. Otherwise you might get charged a surprise fee.

The international baggage weight limit for many airlines is 70 pounds, while domestic baggage must way 44 pounds or less. This means that you can fly from the US to Acapulco with a 77 pound bag, but if you’re making a stop in Cancun on the way out, you’ll be charged additional fees for the bags.

• The US no fly list has been mistakenly flagging dozens of innocent Canadians. How many times to people need to say it before it sinks in? Making lists doesn’t work.
• There’s still power out at two terminals at La Guardia Airport.

I certainly wouldn’t mind kicking back in one of these puppies on a long flight.

The airline is planning to revamp its business class cabins on its 767’s and 777’s over the next year. There’s some controversy over whether the seats - which recline like armchairs, but do not lie flat - are worth the money that the airline is spending on them.

Many thanks to Fast Company Magazine for sending love our way (subscription only). They think you should read us because:

Sponsored by Boeing’s in-flight Internet service, these bloggers offer advice and links to gear and services that make your time in the tin can more bearable (such as JetBlue’s free spa products for red-eye flights). Also: Opinionated reports on the airline industry’s missteps, such as Airbus’s Hannibal Lecter–inspired upright “seating.”

Gee! I guess they really liked it when I compared the horrendous “standing room only” seats to Hannibal Lecter on his gurney. I’m really glad someone else thinks I’m funny, because I was beginning to think I was the only one.

The other blogs featured in Michael A. Prospero’s article, entitled “On the Road…Again” were:

• Juliana Shallcross’ Hotel Chatter . Apparently, we can’t miss her annual review of the best and worst WiFi hotels.
• Shel Holtz’s Road Weary. His travel tales are so deeply steeped in woe that they put your laid-over-for-a-day-in-Denver story to shame. Shame!

So yeah, thanks to Michael A. Prospero, wherever you are, for covering us in your story. We’re definitely impressed by the wealth of travel tips and tricks over at Fast Company. You’ve obviously got good taste in sources for travel information. We’ll be paying attention.

It looks like Air Traffic Controllers really do have your best interests at heart. They’ve teamed up with other airport safety professionals to start a site, AvoidDelays.com, that provides information about the biggest offenders for delayed flights, the worst times during the day to fly, and the top ten most delayed flights in America.

That information might come in handy when trying to decide whether a low fare is really worth it if your flight is likely to be delayed.

The ATC’s also offer a number of tips and tricks for avoiding delays. Some of my favorites:

• Avoid tight connections.
• Obey carry on restrictions.
• Know the difference between “direct” and “non-stop.” Direct flights continue on to your destination, but only after landing at another airport. This creates an additional vulnerability to delay. Look for “non-stop” flights only.
• Avoid major hub airports like Salt Lake City, Atlanta, and Chicago O’Hare whenever possible.

Via Fly Away Café, which actually forgot to link to the Avoid Delays site.

Update 7-20-06: Mary Jo from Fly Away Café pinged us to let us know the link was fixed. Thanks Mary Jo!

Owen N. Wild has a few packing tips for business travelers in this month’s Fast Company.

My favorites:

• Refer to your schedule when you’re figuring out what to pack and try to pack items that can do double duty for more than one event on your list.
• Roll up socks, stockings and other small items inside your shoes to save on packing space.
• Make it a habit to take a little extra time to pack. Never leave it to the last minute.
• For long trips, ship stuff ahead so you don’t have to lug it through the airport.

When you’re trying to find the lowest possible fare, information is power. Sure, you can do a price comparison by looking at Expedia, Orbitz and SideStep. You can even check out the latest tips and tricks for bidding on PriceLine.

But if you want a really good guideline for the lowest possible fares, it looks like FlySpy has the goods. It gives you a nifty little chart that shows how airfare prices fluctuate by day, and picks out the optimal time for you to fly.

Combine that information with a good bid on PriceLine, and you’ll probably wind up with a bargain basement ticket.

FlySpy is still in its alpha-stage infancy. They’re testing now, and are due to launch a beta late this summer. Right now, you can only look at fares from Minneapolis - which is great news if you happen to live there. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait with the rest of us.

Via Fast Company.

Flyaway Café has an interesting post today about hotels that charge an additional fee for the use of the hotel safe. In addition, some hotels apply the incidental safe fee unless guests intentionally opt out of using it.

They recommend checking your bill before you check out to make sure that you haven’t been charged for any services that you didn’t use during your stay.

An investigative report yesterday revealed a huge infestation of mice onboard an American Airlines 767. The whistle blower, who asked to remain anonymous, filmed the video from the inside of the airplane and sent it to investigative reporter Leisa Zigman at KDSK St. Louis. The informant said that American Airlines knew about the mouse problem but continued to defer maintenance on the plane.

The whistle blower also made repeated calls to the FAA, saying that mice were chewing on wires. He told Zigman that he was concerned that a short could have caused a catastrophic fire onboard the plane. Meanwhile American Airlines contends that the plane was always safe to fly.

Mice are not a widespread problem in aviation, but infestations do happen. There is currently no FAA regulation requiring airlines to dispose of mice or other rodents before allowing infested aircraft to return to service. However, this very public incident is likely to raise awareness and new industry guidelines about the issue.

My solution: just release a few dozen snakes onto the plane. They would eat up all the mice. Problem solved!

Via Digg.

In the New York Times article Hotel Guests Can Try Latest Digital Gadgets, reporter Michelle Higgins says hotels are partnering with companies like Sony and Fuji to offer free use of gadgets during their hotel stays.

At four Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, guests can try out Sony’s PlayStation Portable. The hand-held game console is available on a first-come-first-served basis at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Arizona, the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia, and two hotels in Bermuda. In conjunction with Hewlett-Packard, Fairmont also offers free use of HP digital cameras to guests in Washington; San Jose, Calif.; and Aventura, Fla.

Yeah your ATM card is convenient. It’s just sitting in your wallet, waiting to be used. It’s accepted everywhere. And getting travelers’ checks just seems so 1994. But as one unlucky traveler discovered, banks will often charge you hefty fees for using your ATM card overseas.

Gadling’s Neil Woodburn came back from a recent trip to Europe to discover that his bank had charged him a 1% out of area fee for every transaction, plus a $2 fee every time he used a foreign ATM. He cites Rick Steves’ article on the subject as further evidence of the growing trend of banks sticking it to international travelers when they spend their money.

Steves has a lot of good advice for travelers who are using their ATM cards, but I think it’s probably best to stick with old fashioned travelers’ checks.

In their 1995 annual report, Southwest Airlines cited their open seating policy as one of the seven secrets of their success. Intrepid travel reporter Chris Elliott recently wondered why they would “about-face” on what they once touted as a crucial part of their business model.

In a recent blog post Southwest CEO Gary Kelly wrote that potential switch to assigned seating is mostly a byproduct of a computer systems upgrade. Currently, Southwest’s computers don’t have the capacity to assign seats. In the process of upgrading the computer systems company-wide, they’ve decided to add this functionality.

Kelly also noted in his post that some customers have requested the switch, and that in order to constantly keep their service cutting edge, they’ve decided to pilot assigned seating to see how it works in a limited setting. They’ll be evaluating the assigned seating model on about 200 flights from San Diego International Airport in the coming months.

Looking at the big picture here, I’d say that assigned seating at Southwest is still very much up in the air (pardon the pun). Computer upgrades and efficiency testing do not an “about-face” make.

I’ve flown through both airports in the past year, and I can honestly say that Atlanta still seemed busier and more congested than O’Hare, but according to the numbers, O’Hare is the busier airport this year.

I think it’s partly because O’Hare is so much better in terms of public transportation. Once I collected my luggage there, I just jumped on the El and was on my merry way to my hotel. In Atlanta, I had to wait for an hour for the van from my hotel to show up, then fight my way tooth and nail through a throng of people before I could get to my hotel to go to sleep.

Via Digg.