Exclusive video: inside Virgin America’s DFW launch

by Stephen Greenwood on

If you’ve been reading Gadling in the last week, you’re probably aware that Virgin America launched their first mid-continent destination just one week ago in the heart of Texas. Now, see what it’s like to shake hands with Richard Branson and be on the inside of a Virgin America launch event – bulls, barbecues, bandanas & all.

Special thanks to the W Dallas-Victory, Winspear Opera House, & the entire Virgin America crew. For more photos and a closer look at the company’s future plans, check out the in-depth article here.

Oprah’s lucky audience lands in Australia, begins eight-day adventure

by McLean Robbins on

There are a number of times we wish we’d been audience members on Oprah, but none more so than the day when she gave away a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia to celelbrate her 25th and final season.

Dubbed “Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure,” the journey for 302 lucky individuals officially begins today as show members arrived on a 747 in Sydney, Australia.

The audience members hail from 38 U.S. states, as well as 13 from Canada and one from Jamaica. Audience members will be staying at Intercontinental Sydney, their home for the duration of their stay in the harbour city.

Comprising 242 women and 60 men, including 48 couples, and ranging in age from 18 to 75, the audience will travel throughout Australia, with various groups visiting all eight Australian states and territories. Following their excursions, the audience members will reunite for two tapings of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” at Sydney Opera House on December 14. The programmes are scheduled to air in the U.S. in syndication in January 2011.

Said Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director, Tourism Australia, “We are thrilled that viewers of these shows will get to see a broad spectrum of life throughout Australia, with all eight states and territories on the itinerary. We’re proud to welcome Oprah’s ultimate audience members to Australia.”

Daily Pampering: Experience the “Best of the Southwest” at Lake Austin Spa Resort

by McLean Robbins on



Locally-sourced, seasonal and eco-friendly. These buzzwords have taken over the spa (and, quite frankly, travel) industries in recent years. Lake Austin Spa Resort melds all three into one specialty “Best of the Southwest” treatment ($195) that is sure to tickle the fancy of any spa lover. Drawing on the abundant local mesquite’s natural anti-microbial and anti-oxidant properties, the treatment begins with a sugar scrub that gently polishes and refreshes with mesquite honey and mesquite meal enriched with jojoba oil and pure sugar. After a shower, your skin is soothed and protected with an application of honey and orange blossom body lotion. While you’re swathed in a warm wrap, your hair and scalp are treated with a Desert Dew conditioning treatment and your feet will be soothed with ginger tea tree mango butter foot cream.

But such pampering doesn’t always have to be bank-breaking. Book a two-night stay for two at this #1 Conde Nast-rated spa and recieve 50% off the second person’s rate from now until January 7, 2011.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Don’t piss off Ryanair: Disgruntled pilot transferred to Lithuania

by McLean Robbins on

Thanks to OnlineTravelReview for this gem: A Ryanair pilot has quit after being transferred to Lithuania, allegedly in response to his remarks against CEO Michael O’Leary in the Financial Times newspaper.

Captain Morgan Fischer, a five year RyanAir pilot with more than 20 years of experience, is the first senior staff member to comment publicly against his employer. He wrote a letter in response to CEO O’Leary’s suggestion that a 737 aircraft only needs on pilot and a “trained flight attendant” to jump in in the case of emergency. Fischer, who is no longer with the company, is quoted in FT as saying:

“I would propose that Ryanair replace the CEO with a probationary cabin crew member currently earning approximately €13,200 net per annum,” Capt Fischer has written in a letter to the Financial Times, which reported Mr O’Leary’s comments last week.

“Ryanair would benefit by saving millions of euros in salary, benefits and stock options,” the captain said, and there would be no need for approval from the authorities.

Fischer, an American, was recently transfarred from his base in Marseilles, France to Kaunas, Lithuania after his based closed. Cooincidence? We’re not sure. But Fischer believes it’s more than just bad luck – other pilots were offered spots in Spain, France and Italy, he says. Fischer has since quit.

That will teach you not to argue publicly with your employer. Or not.

[Image via Flickr user Mielko]

The stinking streets and subways of Seoul

by Tom Johansmeyer on


Look, it’s been a long time since I got off the 4 Line at Samgachi Station – a dozen years, in fact – but I remember it being rather clean and pleasant. The train itself was, too. Well, I guess I was wrong. I now have it on good authority saw on the internet that Seoul is “well known to the world as heavily polluted.”

Yep, that’s what you’ll find in North Korean geography textbooks.

According to The Chosun Ilbo:

North Korean geography textbooks, the main source of information for students there about South Korea, distort or disparage South Korea’s economic development by way of exalting the North Korean system, an academic here says.

And it doesn’t stop there. The books accuse South Korea of producing goods at the behest of the United States and Japan. This is a big problem up north, because “[r]elying on others for raw materials and fuel is like leaving your economic fate in their hands.” This stands in stark contrast to the North Korean “Juche” philosophy, which preaches self-reliance.

So, if you head to the “den of reactionaries,” brace yourself for a real stench. But, if you’re planning to go to the place the rest of us know as Seoul, you’ll probably be fine.

[photo by Koshyk via Flickr]