iPhones Help Airlines Get a Little Greener
October 23, 2008
Airline and government officials are continuing the push to do away with paper boarding passes and converting them instead to electronic means.
Pretty soon when you get your boarding pass from an airline, you’ll be able to have it on your cell phone or PDA. In fact, this is already happening in some airports. The boarding pass will be displayed in the form of an electronic bar code that will be scanned at checkpoints by a TSA screener wielding a $1,000 scanning device.
The TSA plans on expanding the passes to be nationwide within the next year and have been testing out the new paperless passes to make sure that they are secure. Read more
Airplane Interiors to be used as Advertising Space
October 16, 2008
The airline industry can use all the revenue they can get. In an attempt to raise revenue without raising prices for customers, some U.S. airlines are beginning to sell advertising space on the interior and exterior of airplanes.
Airlines outside the U.S. such as Dublin’s Ryanair have already been taking advantage of the opportunity to sell ad space on planes, offering spots on tray tables, overhead bins and the aircraft’s exterior.
Ads are already being put on the bottoms of security bins, on boarding passes and in-flight t.v. screens, in addition to the usual ads that are on beverages, magazines and napkins.
Ad space in airplanes could be considered very valuable because passengers will be exposed to them for hours at a time.
So, next time you get on a plane, you could be seeing ads as you stow your bags, go to the bathroom, even when you get air-sick and need to use the little baggie in seat pocket.
Passengers are likely to be annoyed by the onslaught of ads, but may be thankful that they won’t have to cough up more cash for a plane ticket.
(link)
Cranial Billboards to appear at LAX
October 10, 2008
Would you shave your head for $660?
With the airline industry suffering globally, some airlines are taking extreme measures to attract more business. A New Zealand airline is planning to use human heads as advertising space, starting later this month.
An incentive of $660 is being offered by Air New Zealand for people to shave their heads and don temporary tattoos promoting the airline. The human billboards will be stationed at California’s LAX airport.
Air New Zealand will be paying people to shave their heads (people who are already bald can participate too) so they can be used as “cranial billboards.” The backs of their heads will bear temporary tattoos that advertise slogans like “Need a Change? Head Down to New Zealand.” Read more
Airport Polls Passengers: Do You Prefer Fox News or CNN?
October 7, 2008
Which news channel would you prefer to watch at the airport: Fox News or CNN? This is the question that South Bend Regional Airport in Indiana is asking passengers after receiving complaints from five University of Notre Dame professors about the airing of Fox News on airport televisions.
The complaints from the professors called for the airport to switch over to news broadcasting that was more politically neutral than Fox News, which tends to be “the right-wing Republican voice,” said ethics professor Darcia Narvaez, who also said that many cable news stations are biased in their political coverage.
Narvaez said that such programs essentially become propaganda when they are aired in public spaces that are financed by money from taxpayers.
Because airports are considered a public space, the people inside them can be considered to be a captive audience, according to Erik Bucy, an Indiana University Professor. Bucy is currently working on a project that deals with the way in which candidates’ images are displayed in visual media.
Since it is election season, news broadcasts could have a bigger influence on the voting mindset of a casual viewer at the airport.
The airport has decided to conduct a survey asking passengers whether they’d rather see news, sports, or weather broadcast on the airport’s 15 television monitors. If someone answers that they would like to see news, they are asked which station they would prefer.
The survey aims to collect responses from 1,000 passengers to help figure out what changes need to be made.
So far, 300 out of 400 responses wanted to see news instead of other kinds of programming such as weather or sports. Out of the people who responded in favor of news, 132 of them wanted to see CNN, 113 wanted to see Fox News, 58 were for MSNBC and four preferred CSPAN.
John Schalliol, the airport director, said that the results so far have not given reason enough to make a change.
(source)
Havasu Falls in Grand Canyon Closes due to Flooding
August 28, 2008
On August 16th, flash floods tore through the popular Havasu Falls area of the Grand Canyon, causing a great deal of damage to the access trail and campground areas.
Most tourists/campers made it up to the village of Supai, which sits well above the Colorado River, before being flown out by helicopter.
The Havasupai tribe had planned on re-opening the campgrounds within a few weeks, but now says the area will have to remain closed for the next six months in order to repair parts of the 8-mile trail and damaged campgrounds. This area of the canyon is only reachable by foot or helicopter.
The flood waters caused a lot of damage to waterfalls that attract thousands of tourists to the area every year. The popular blue-green travertine pool below the falls has even dried out.
Read more
Will Laptop Policy Change Reduce Airport Checkpoint Stress?
August 22, 2008
As of last Saturday, airline passengers are no longer required to remove laptops from their cases at airport security checkpoints. As long as the laptop is inside a “checkpoint-friendly” carrying case, the passenger will not have to remove it from the case for inspection.
The TSA has set guidelines for what constitutes a “checkpoint-friendly” bag; including a few common styles of laptop cases like butterfly style, trifold style and sleeve style.
Backpack and accordion style cases are not on the approved list because they can obscure the x-ray image. It is essential that the bags provide a clear and view of the laptop that is not obscured by any other contents that the bag might have.
It is hoped that the use of x-ray friendly bags will help speed things along at airport checkpoints, but not everyone is so sure that will be the case.
As this article points out, many styles that are x-ray friendly do not allow much extra room for items and components that usually accompany a laptop, and might mean that people will need to bring an extra bag along to accommodate all of their belongings.
Read more
10 Most Pet-Friendly Hotels
August 13, 2008
If you’ve ever owned a pet then you are sure to know the hassles that come with trying to plan a trip and make sure your pet is taken care of.
Will you be able to find someone you trust to take care of your pet or will you have to put them in a boarding facility with all those fees?
Believe it or not many hotels have started to allow pets to check in with you to help eliminate some of your travel stress. Here are the 10 best pet-friendly hotels.
1. Gazebo Inn Ogunquit, Ogunquit, ME
The Gazebo Inn Ogunquit knows how great it can be to bring your pet on vacation. Guests may bring well-behaved, non-barking dogs. Out of concern for other people’s allergies, cats are not allowed at the Inn.
There are five designated rooms for dogs, and common areas are off limits to the dogs. The Inn offers fine lodging.
When you check in, they will provide you with information on nearby vets, as well as parks, beaches and other places where you can take your dog for a walk.
Read more
Airlines are Now Selling Ads on Boarding Passes
July 15, 2008
It seems that selling alcohol for $5, or $6 on some airlines, is not the only way that airlines are trying to make a few extra bucks.
Several major airlines have decided to sell advertisement space on your boarding passes when you check-in from home to help deal with the increasing costs of oil prices.
If you happen to fly on Delta to Las Vegas, you may already have noticed the ads. If not then you should start to see them on all domestic Delta flights soon and other major airlines are soon to follow. Sojern Inc., the company selling the ads, indicated that American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental and United, are all set to start putting ads on their boarding passes in the near future.
“I think this is going to be responsible for many millions of dollars for each airline”