Phil Keoghan’s tour of Air New Zealand’s 747-400

by Jamie Rhein on



If you wondered if Phil Keoghan of the Amazing Race has the most awesome job, stop wondering. He does. Just look at this video. What could be more sweeter than this job?

Here Phil takes viewers on a tour of first class of Air New Zealand’s 747-400 at the Air New Zealand hanger at Los Angeles Airport. The plane was part of an Amazing Race publicity photo shoot. Here was Phil’s chance to look sort of James Bondish. Because Phil has flown to New Zealand on one of these planes twelve times this past year, he knows all the bells and whistles. The video is number one of Amazing Race 14’s “Phil’s Diary.” The videos are posted on the Amazing Race website and give a bit of back story as to what it takes to film the TV show.

‘Premium’ seat traffic on airlines in significant decline

by Jeffrey White on

Here’s something you can check out: On your next international flight to Europe or Asia, take note of just how crowded the first class and, more importantly, business class cabins are as you shuffle on back to economy.

I did that the other week on a Continental flight from Berlin to Newark. Continental only has a “Business First” section, and during the flight I peaked through the curtain to behold only about four passengers sitting there.

You’ll probably notice the same.

And here’s why: The International Air Transport Association, a trade group, said yesterday that first and business class travel has experienced significant declines in recent months. Overall in 2008 first class and business class travel was down about 3 percent.

But in December it was down nearly 14 percent compared to the year before, and in November it was down nearly 12 percent. The IATA says premier travel will fall even more in the months ahead.

Why? The global financial crisis, which has bitten sharply into companies’ foreign business travel. Everyone is trying to save money, so executives that are still making trips are now often asked to go coach.

The route most affected by this downturn is easily Asia. Asia traffic is down 25 percent compared to 2007, the Associated Press reports.

Economy class traffic is also falling, but at a much slower rate. This past December saw declines of about 5 percent, compared to the 14 percent up front.

Southwest Airlines announces service to BOSTON

by Grant Martin on

At long last, Boston has been freed from the grips of legacy carriers. Virgin America just started service to Beantown this month, and tomorrow morning, Southwest Airlines plans to announce that they will be starting flights. Coincidence? Maybe. Great for the everyday passenger? Definitely.

Because with Southwest, comes competition, and with their low fares (read: hedge) driving the market, other carriers are forced to match prices and in many cases, stop gouging. For example, for this blogger to get from Detroit to Boston it often costs more than to get from Detroit to Frankfurt, Germany. Compare that to Chicago or Baltimore, both Southwest cities, where I can often fly for under $150.

Sure, both Baltimore and Chicago (Midway) are hubs for Southwest, but the two gates that will soon operate out of Logan will definitely make the legacies think twice about gouging.

Southwest plans on starting service into Boston Logan this fall, and it can NOT come soon enough. CEO Gary Kelly will announce more details this (Thursday) morning, so stay tuned.

South African flight crews know how to get high

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you’re having trouble staying awake or just like to party, book your next flight on South African Airways. The UK Border Agency arrested 15 SAA crew members – nine men and six women – at Heathrow Airport. Why are they now guests of the Queen? This crew was caught trying to slip 11 lbs of cocaine into the country.

The episode is just another example of poor timing. The drugs are estimated to have a street value of ???250,000. If nose candy is pegged to the U.S. dollar, it would have been worth almost twice as much six months ago.

Last month, another 15 SAA crew members were busted at Heathrow for hauling cocaine and cannabis into England. They were a bit more ambitious, with a haul with an estimated value of ???310,000. The outcome, however, was the same. BBC News calls it a separate incident, but it smells like a pattern to me … and my nasal passages are clean.

The most recent perps were given bail and instructed to return to court on March 23. The only question that remains is how much more cocaine they’ll have to “import” to cover their legal fees.

[Via BBC News]


Only these women have caused more problems than SAA’s pilots!

Inside the Virgin America Boston Launch

by Grant Martin on

Virgin America kicked off their service to Boston with a bang last week, in an evening filled with excitement, celebrities and as usual, more than a few delicious beverages.

Gadling bloggers were on hand to capture the event that started at Logan Airport around 3PM. Naturally, Sir Richard Branson made the last minute decision to come down from the jetbridge in drag, after which a brief ceremony introduced us to the gate area, some foxy New England Patriots cheerleaders and a mishmash of Virgin crew and media.

Afterwards, the entire crew migrated over to the Liberty Hotel in Downtown Boston, where our old friend Mark from Jaunted was already setting up camp, then the whole lot of us headed down to the atrium for more festivities.

Proper ceremonies from the Revolution Takes Flight campaign started at seven, with CEO David Cush and Richard Branson both making speeches over the throbbing crowds below.

Check out our video covering the event after the jump.


Virgin America Boston Launch Highlights from Gadling on Vimeo.

All of our thanks to the staff and crew of Virgin America who worked their asses off during the event.

Until Orange County,

Gadling