Name Richard Branson’s Virgin America plane for charity

by Melanie Nayer on

Have a knack for creativity? Always dreamed of seeing your work at 38,000-feet? Now’s your chance.

Sir Richard Branson is auctioning the chance for the highest bidder to name one of Virgin America’s brand new Airbus A320-family commercial aircraft, all in the name of charity.

Virgin America and it’s fearless leader are known for being a little cheeky when it comes to in-flight fun, and the names of the planes are no exception. Join the ranks of celebs like comedian Stephen Colbert and create a plane name that will be permanently painted onto a new Virgin America plane in 2011 or 2012.

Here’s how it works:

Head to charitybuzz, the leading destination for online charity auctions, and submit your bid for a plane name until Nov. 11, 2010. The highest bidder wins bragging rights! All proceeds will benefit Virgin Unite & The Eve Branson Foundation, a nonprofit that tackles tough social and environmental problems with an entrepreneurial approach.

If the plane doesn’t suit you, bid on other items up for auction including a trip to Richard Branson’s private Necker Island, a trip to his Moroccan hideaway Kasbah Tamadot, and many more travel and luxury experiences. You can find the full list of auction items here.

Bad week for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – more delays and cabin smoke

by Scott Carmichael on

It has been a pretty lousy couple of years for the new Boeing Dreamliner. Initially, the 787 was supposed to be delivered to its first customer in May of 2008 – that was then delayed till November 2008. And since then, the delays have kept on coming.

The previous delay set a 2010 target, but last week it became obvious that they’d hit another snag – so the first delivery won’t take place till some time in 2011.

Delivery delays are not the only issue grounding the new plane – this afternoon one of the flight test planes had to make an emergency landing at Laredo airport after the pilot declared an emergency due to smoke in the cabin. The plane landed, and the 40 members of the test crew had to evacuate down the emergency slides. According to one report, there were several minor injuries.

Boeing and the FAA will gather as much data as they can about the incident, and it is currently unknown what kind of impact this latest setback will have on the 2011 delivery dates.

Update: The Seattle Times reports that the smoke came from a serious fire in the electronic equipment bay of the plane.

The fire affected the cockpit controls, and the the plane lost its flight displays and auto-throttling systems. This means that the plane had to land with limited electronic flight controls. Flames were observed coming from the bay, and a person “close to the situation” said that if the incident had happened at 25,000 feet, the fire could have been extremely serious.

[Photo: JEREMY MELLOUL/AFP/Getty Images]

Four American Airlines baggage handlers charged with theft

by Scott Carmichael on

If you recently passed through Philadelphia International airport, and arrived at your destination with items missing from your luggage, then you may have one of the fine gentlemen on the right to thank.

The four were arrested and charged last week with “multiple counts of criminal conspiracy, theft, unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and attempted theft”. The men were part time employees of American Airlines, but may have screwed up last month when the airline saw signs of a problem.

Detectives started an investigation and set up security cameras. When the cameras caught the men helping themselves to electronics, cameras and jewelry, police arrested them. Each of the men had been working baggage for American Airlines for nine years.

A court date has been set for December 8, and the men were all released until then.

The most important lesson from this incident? Never, ever pack valuables in your checked luggage. Checked bags are for clothes and cheap souvenirs – anything of value should always go in your cabin bag, or be shipped to your destination.

Google spreads holiday cheer with complimentary Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi

by Scott Carmichael on

Once again, Google is giving away some really nice holiday presents this season. Last year, the search giant provided free Wi-Fi at airports around the nation, and this year they are bringing their generosity to the skies by offering complimentary Wi-Fi on flight aboard AirTran, Delta and Virgin America flights. These three airlines have outfitted their entire fleet with Wi-Fi, powered by Gogo Inflight.

The promotion starts On November 20, and lasts till January 2 – which means flying during the holiday season won’t be that bad this year. Google is using the promotion to create some buzz for their Chrome Browser. If you haven’t tried Chrome, I can highly recommend taking it for a spin.

You can connect to Gogo Inflight using your Wi-Fi enabled laptop, PDA, smartphone or tablet – and you’ll enjoy broadband speeds as soon as the captain says you can safely use your device.

If you are flying one of the Gogo Inflight enabled airlines not included in the promotion, you can still get online – and prices start at just $4.95 for flights under and hour and a half. For the entire overview of pricing options, head on over to Gogo Inflight.

For more on the promotion, head on over to freeholidaywifi.com.

Flying over the mighty Zambezi River – video

by Annie Scott on


One of the highlights of my recent safari trip to Africa was taking a low flight over the mighty Zambezi River. We did this on Proflight Zambia, a local airline offering both scheduled and chartered flights on very tiny planes.

Often, my two companions and I were the only passengers on a 9-19 seat plane. It was like having a private jet. On the smallest planes, the pilot would do the security briefing. We all listened, considering that the emergency exits tended to look like the one pictured at right — well worn, to say the least. We hoped the wear and tear was due to drills and dug into the beer and snacks in the cooler in the back of the plane.

The most memorable of these flights was the one from Mfuwe to Jeki, on which we watched in stunned awe as we flew over the Zambezi, looking at the herds of animals on the endless islets. Even our pilot and co-pilot were pointing out animals to each other like they were experiencing it for the first time. We loved that.

Check out this video to see the stunning scenery — and the awesome “airport” we end up at.

You say “airport,” I say “shack and a fire bucket.” Let’s call the whole thing off.

[Photo and video by Annie Scott.]

My trip to Zambia was sponsored by Abercrombie & Kent and Sanctuary Retreats, but the ideas and opinions expressed in this article are 100 percent my own.