Virgin America and American Airlines are rescuing Chihuahuas from California by the dozens. As it turns out, California is not a place to be a Chihuahua. There are just too many of them. When Chihuahuas became the dog flavor of the day, thanks to the movies “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and “Legally Blond,” and the Chihuahua carrying habits of celebrities like Paris Hilton, dog breeders overshot the numbers of Chihuahuas. Supply, in essence, overshot the demand.
The numbers are astounding. 4,700 Chihuahuas have been taken in by animal shelters in California this year, some from owners who couldn’t afford their dog any more due to the recession.
Thankfully, people on the east coast don’t have enough small dogs so Virgin America and Project Flying Chihuahua, and American Airlines and Kinder4Rescue, a non-profit started by actress Katherine Heigl, are taking the Chihuahuas there. The Chihuahuas have a discounted fee and money is being raised to help with the Chihuahua rescue efforts. So far Chihuahuas are going by air to New Hampshire and New York City.
Dogs have also been sent to Arizona, Washington and Oregon, but by S.U.V.
There is a chance that Virgin America may offer a week of half price trips to people who are willing to take a Chihuahua to New York from California. This doesn’t mean you’d be the one adopting the dog, just the one helping it make it to its new home.
One of the best innovations in travel over the past year has been the roll-out of wireless Internet access on flights. It has allowed us to check e-mail, get work done, and update our Facebook status, all at 35,000 feet. What cold be better? It truly is a wonder of modern technology on par with the Hubble Telescope and the Large Hadron Collider.
Fortunately, if you’re traveling this holiday season, there is a good chance you’ll get to test it out for yourself, and for no cost. Our pals over at Gizmodo have the scoop on how you can gain access to free inflight WiFi at least through the end of the year, thanks to some well timed promotional codes that may have been delivered by Santa himself.
According to Giz, the following codes will work through Dec. 31st. If you are flying Delta, then use DELTATRYGOGO, if you’re trip is booked with AirTran, then AIRTRANTRYGOGO should gain you access, and finally, if you’re on American Airlines, then give AATRYGOGO a shot. If for some reason you have issues with those codes, Gizmodo has a few other promotional codes , that are good through January 7, you can try as well. Travelers flying on Virgin America don’t even need a code at all, as they have partnered with Google to offer free inflight WiFi until January 15th. And before you head out for the airport, be sure to check out Jaunted’s awesome Inflight WiFi Guide, which offers a quick and easy way of determining your chances of having Internet access on your upcoming trip and how much it’ll cost you if you do. Not all airlines have installed the service as of yet, and others are still rolling it out, so it’s nice to know ahead of time if it is even an option.
A big thank you to Gizmodo and Jaunted for sharing this information. It’ll definitely come in hand for many of us over the next few weeks.
When the chairman of Thai Airways arrived at Tokyo’s Narita airport, he did so with his wife, and 30 pieces of luggage. His official luggage allowance is just 132 pounds, so the 840 pounds of stuff he was dragging along with him on his trip was about six times too heavy.
Based on the excess luggage rates for Thai Airways, Mr. Wallop would have been expected to pay about $12,000 for the right to bring his luggage on the plane – but apparently he felt he was too important to pay. And that is where a firestorm of criticism started.
Thai Airways hasn’t posted a profit in several years, and the chairman was already on shaky ground. This incident has finally forced the airline board to investigate the incident, and they placed Wallop on administrative leave.
The whole story gets even better, because apparently Wallop demanded that all his luggage be sent to the lost and found depot at Bankok airport, in order to prevent it passing through customs (and being subject to import taxes). As the storm grew, Wallop even claimed all 30 bags were filled with donations for a local Buddhist temple.
Even the Thai government managed to get involved – and with growing calls for his resignation, Mr. Wallop will probably really regret pushing the limits on luggage allowance, since it will end up costing him his job.
As the northern half of the US starts to get cold and skies turn grey with threats of snow, thoughts naturally begin to turn to weekend getaways to warmer climes. The Caribbean is calling, but when it takes two or more connections to get there from your city, it’s hard to escape for a quick weekend warm-up.
If you don’t know which islands can be reached in one flight from where you live, Budget Travel can help. The magazine has a new online tool that can help make planning a trip to the Caribbean islands a little easier. Their “Nonstop Caribbean” destination finder shows you which islands are accessible via nonstop flight from your city. It also tells you which airlines make the flight and how long the flight lasts. The tool can even help you plan your vacation, with suggestions on which hotels to stay at and what activities to do on the island.
Imagine an airline experience free of middle seats, standing in line or dealing with nut-job flight attendants who withhold orange juice, water and any other service not related to “safety.” Tom Stuker, it seems, doesn’t have to close his eyes and pretend: he lives the dream. He’s spent 700,000 in non-middle seats this year alone, with complimentary cocktails, a hidden check-in process and a taste of luxury not present even in first class having become the norm for him.
Now, with 8.8 million miles racked up on United over his travel-intensive career, Stuker has been admitted to an elite frequent flier program, of the sort we covered here at Gadling not to long ago. This is the type of secret society noted in George Clooney‘s new flick, “Up in the Air.” Airlines don’t like to talk about it, but they actually do treat people well on occasion. You just have to spend a fortune to matter enough to them.
United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski Janikowski likens the airlines super-duper-premium offer, Global Services, to Yale’s Skull and Bones society. Like the elite underworld of the Ivy League, its members include CEOs, senators and other people envied by the rest of us.
So, how does this work?
1. You get a special check-in area. Avoid the great unwashed, and get greeted by name, as a concierge, of sorts, dispatches with your bags quickly. Your boarding passes will be waiting for you. At some airports, you’ll be able to pass through a hidden door to the front of the security checkpoint.
2. You’ll be watched. When? Well, when you move to the front of anything. We are all aware of those guys who occasionally are allowed to board before the elderly – before any announcements are made.
3. You’ll choose first. For everything, all the time. The meal will come to you before anyone else even knows there’s food on the plane.
4. Your lost luggage is scouted. If the airline loses your luggage, they actually try to find your luggage. Actively. A special team takes care of this.
None of this is truly life-changing, though, except the security piece. The real value of being a member of this type of secret society becomes apparent when something goes wrong … not unusual when airline employees are involved.
If you have a connection that’s too tight, the airline will rebook you on the next available flight – while you are still in the sky. A special agent will meet you at the gate with your new boarding pass, and a set of wheels will be furnished to take you to the next gate. If you need to go through security again, you’ll be escorted personally. In rare cases, a car will be waiting for you to dart you across the tarmac to your next plane. Terminals are for prolie scum.
Thinking back to Stuker, he’s got insane props with several airlines, but his favorite is United, because, “I am treated like a king.” Simply, he notes, “If I was in coach, I would shoot myself.”