April 8, 2008 by kb3ljm.

“Baltimore/Washington is the latest airport to embrace the new landscaping trend of installing artificial turf on the tarmac. It’s ideal for unpaved areas on the tarmac because foreign debris in dirt and soil near runways can be safety hazards, says Joe Dobson of AvTurf. Airports have typically grown natural grass in these areas, but grass can be difficult and expensive to maintain and attract unwanted animals and birds. In addition, Astroturf is being used to replace the green paint or yellow X signs used to help pilots distinguish decommissioned taxiways. Painted asphalt can be hard to see at night for pilots, especially if paint fades, says Dobson. Among airports that have recently laid down artificial turf: New York’s John F. Kennedy, Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto, Chicago O’Hare, Chicago Midway and Boston.”

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2008/04/airport-check-i.html

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March 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

From USA TODAY’s Airport Check-in column: “Last fall, Iowa’s Sioux Gateway Airport gave up trying to jettison the SUX airport identifier code and embraced it. T-shirts, caps and, now, coffee mugs, luggage tags and bumper stickers sport the ‘Fly SUX’ slogan. There was even a Valentine’s Day ‘Luv SUX’ T-shirt. ‘People have been buying this stuff online, at a downtown store and at the gift shop in the airport,’ says airport director Rick McElroy, who adds that the airport allows 30 minutes of free parking to accommodate shoppers.”

“Now, the airport has removed all seven of its leased payphones and replaced them with four phones that let callers make free local and toll-free calls. ‘No one was really using the pay phones anyway,’ McElroy says. ‘These days, most people use their cellphones. But now people are using the free phones for local calls instead of burning up their cell minutes.’ ”

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2008/03/airport-chec-11.html

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March 21, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Emirates says in a press release this afternoon that it has become “the first airline in the world to commercially launch an in-flight mobile telephone service, affording even greater convenience to passengers wishing to stay connected while traveling. The first authorized mobile phone call made from a commercial flight was made today at 30,000 feet en route to Casablanca, onboard an Emirates Airbus A340-300 aircraft — the first in the airline’s fleet to be equipped with the AeroMobile system.” Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum says: “As the world leader in innovation for our customers, we are delighted to now offer them the choice of using their own mobile phones to contact friends, family or colleagues while flying with us.”
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March 17, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Denver International Airport is blocking certain websites from its free Wi-Fi network, fearing that some customers could find the sites offensive, according to The Associated Press.  For example, The Denver Post writes that if you “want to browse Vanity Fair magazine,” then “you’ll have to buy it at the newsstand, because (Denver’s) Internet filter blocks Vanity Fair as ‘provocative.’ ” The Post says other blocked sites include celebrity gossip site perezhilton.com on and “hipster-geek favorite” boingboing.net.” The Post adds the Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit photos are also blocked, although the paper says that’s “even though the magazine’s bare-breasted cover shot is on prominent display at airport stores, right next to Penthouse and Hustler.”
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January 30, 2008 by kb3ljm.

German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm. Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from (today) for a trial nudist day trip from the eastern German town of Erfurt to the popular Baltic Sea resort of Usedom, planned for July 5 and costing $735. ‘It’s expensive, I know,’ managing director Enrico Hess told Reuters by phone. ‘It’s because the plane’s very small. There’s no real reason why a flight in which one flies naked should be more expensive than any other.’ The 55 passengers will have to remain clothed until they board, and dress before disembarking, said Hess. The crew will remain clothed throughout the flight for safety reasons.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2008/02/bonus.html

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January 30, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Productivity-minded travelers at Denver International can work at new self-service kiosks equipped with word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Marketed by Louisville, Colo.-based Zoox Stations, the four office-service kiosks feature an Internet connection, laser printers, USB ports, laptop-charging outlets and booths for privacy. Cost: 25 cents a minute. Video game enthusiasts can also get their fix at the 64 game stations the company has installed throughout the airport.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-01-27-check-in-denver_N.htm

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January 30, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Continental will add live television programming and onboard e-mail and instant messaging capabilities on some of its aircraft beginning next year, the airline announced today. The airline says it’s offerings will include 36 channels of live television, The Associated Press reports. The Houston Chronicle says “first-class customers will get free access to the entertainment system, while other passengers will have to pay a $6 fee. … The service will be installed aboard Continental’s new Boeing 737s and Boeing 757-300s.”
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January 29, 2008 by kb3ljm.

In case you missed this from last week, Southwest says it will begin testing in-flight Internet service on some of its flights this year. The Dallas Morning News (free registration) writes “Southwest’s partner is Row 44, a California-based company that has already announced a partnership with Alaska Airlines to test its system on one airplane beginning this spring. Southwest hopes to start testing the technology on four of its Boeing 737 aircraft this summer.” The New York Times (free registration) says “Southwest passengers with Wi-Fi-enabled devices would have Internet access for e-mail and Web browsing after the tests and subject to approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.”
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January 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

American Airlines said it has upgraded its mobile website to let customers check in for flights and look at itineraries on their Web-enabled cellphones.

The airline said Thursday that it would expand the service this spring to let customers book flights, change reservations and request upgrades from a Web-enabled device.

American said its website recognizes users of mobile devices and directs them to a mobile version of AA.com.

Content is more condensed than on the regular site for users of desktop or notebook computers, but it’s designed to be navigated from a mobile device, the airline said.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-01-25-aa-cell_N.htm

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January 24, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Vietnamese authorities seized more than a ton of snakes that were smuggled into the country on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Thailand. The Associated Press says “thousands of non-venomous rat snakes” were sent on the flight as cargo. The 60 boxes of snakes had been declared as live fish. AP says “many of the snakes, which were surrounded by plastic filled with ice water, died,” according to local officials. It’s also not the first time that Vietnamese authorities have had to deal with snakes. Last month, they found more than 1,540 pounds of dead snakes on a Thai Airways flight. Vietnam Airlines spokesman Trinh Ngoc Thanh says he suspects a problem with cargo inspection at Bangkok. “We plan to send a letter to the Bangkok airport authorities urging them to enhance inspection to avoid this incident from happening again,” Thanh tells AP.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2008/01/snakes-on-a-pla.html

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