A luxurious Airbus A380, as conceived by Lufthansa

by Jeffrey White on


With the economy the way it is and companies across the board cutting back on luxury perks for its executives, it’s probably a little surprising to learn that some airlines are nevertheless moving forward with plans to pimp out their orders of the much-anticipated, double-decker Airbus A380.

Back in 2007, Justin gave us this look inside an Airbus A380 model purchased by Korean Air.

Now, the folks over at Dvice gives us this look at the Airbus A380 as being conceived by German national carrier Lufthansa’s customization and decoration division, Lufthansa Technik. It is calling these renderings the Airbus A380 VIP Saloon.

This design is long on luxury — full bars, sitting rooms, huge beds, showers — and can almost feel sorry for the “poor” sods that opted for a cheaper ticket and are thus relegated to the back of the plane, where the normal seats are positioned.

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TSA to test encrypted boarding passes

by Jeffrey White on

Can any moron make a fake boarding pass? Some security analysts say so, and the Transportation Security Administration seems to be taking that threat seriously.

The TSA has announced that beginning this year it will test encrypted boarding passes at most of the country’s airports, with an eye to eventually making the paper boarding pass obsolete.

What exactly does this entail? The TSA says it is considering purchasing nearly 2,500 boarding pass scanners (they look like any bar code scanner), which breaks down to roughly one scanner for every airport security checkpoint in the country. At test airports, TSA workers will scan boarding passes with these scanners rather than simply comparing the name on the pass to an ID, reports USA Today.

It is the bar codes on these boarding passes that will be encrypted, making it nearly impossible, in theory, for a terrorist to forge.

This is good news for those travelers out there who rely on mobile devices. If airlines are forced to give up their paper passes for the new encrypted passes, it will usher in for good an era where boarding passes will be e-mailed to your PDA or other mobile device and all you’ll have to show at the airport is a bar code that will be scanned at security.

Love in the air – Germans most likely to flirt, Swedes most likely to have sex

by Scott Carmichael on

It’s the most romantic time of the year – which means companies are releasing all kinds of love related news and surveys.

The latest comes from British Airways, who did a quick interview of European travelers, and how often they flirt with their fellow passengers.

According to the survey, Germans are the most likely to try and hit on you in the sky, followed by the Swiss.

The “passionate” Italians are all the way down in 6th place. At the bottom of the list are the Dutch and Belgians.

To spice things up a little, British Airways also asked passengers if they belong to the Mile High Club.

The results are quite surprising – 7% of Swedes claim they have joined the club, followed by 5% of Norwegians and 5% of the Dutch passengers who participated in the survey.

Once again, the Belgians painted a pretty bleak picture of their country, by coming last with just 1%.

Of course, these numbers could also be the complete opposite, and the results might mean that 7% of Swedes lie about having sex.

So, lets have our own little survey, and see whether Gadling readers are kinkier than the Swedes (or that we can lie more than they did!)

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(Via: Dutch Telegraph)

Which of these ladies got busted for “loving in the air”?

Bad economy? Quit whining and buy a private jet!

by Scott Carmichael on

Sorry about the rude title for this article, but it’s the heart of the message being delivered by the poor jet makers at Cessna.

See, they are fed up with the bad publicity the private jet has received in recent weeks. Fed up with the press complaining about broke automakers taking their jets to DC, fed up with the public complaining about their morally corrupt bankers flying the company jet to their vacation destination while you watch your retirement fund sink deeper every day.

So, if you make private jets, what do you do? You tell people to shut up and buy a jet!

The message Cessna is trying to deliver, is that the corporate jet is not a luxury item, it’s a business tool used to outperform your competitor, it’s apparently “all about availing yourself of the tools to do your job”.

This is all part of their new “leadership campaign“, and in this economy I guess its the only thing you can do – beg and grovel. And if you are one of the sad people who can’t afford a private jet, I guess you could always rent one for a little loving!

Love on a private jet

by Annie Scott on

Ever wanted to have a romantic evening at 33,000 feet? Hot, right?

Though it’s available all year, we thought Valentine’s Day would be a good time to talk about SwiftJet‘s “Love is in the Air” packages, which start at just $3,500.

SwiftJet is a Canadian private jet company with an easy-to navigate website where you can even check their fleet’s availability! Their motto is “Anywhere. Anytime. Fast.” We like this notion.

Their “Love is in the Air” package includes champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and red roses. It is especially intended for marriage proposals, but really, you can’t go wrong with a surprise private jet rendezvous any day of the year. A concierge can help you arrange a limo, fine dining, and a hotel at your destination, and the plane can even be personalized with monograms and special love messages. Basically, they’re into making it awesome.

There’s sofa-style seating, soft lighting, and the usual audio-visual entertainment systems for you to cozy up to with your loved one. Quiet evening in … the air? Now that’s a Valentine’s Day.