Continental Airlines voted best for North American business travel

by Grant Martin on

Recent polling by Business Traveler Magazine on the best carriers in North America reports that Continental Airlines is on top of the heap.

The newswire report is ambiguous on what criteria the contenders were judged upon, but I’ll bet its got a great deal to do with updated technology, solid accessibility to the North American markets (and Central America for that matter), meals in all classes and their superior first class product.

I flew on Continental a few times over the past year and I mostly agree. While their economy section is on par with other carriers, their first class is pretty excellent. Their pursers bring a miniature table cloth to put on your tray during meals and bring every course (yes, there is more than one course) out with nice table and flatware. Perhaps that’s why it was rated so well by Business Traveler Magazine — they’re the ones that are most often in first.

Random chunk of wing found off the runway in Indonesia

by Martha Edwards on

Recently, aviation officials in Indonesia have found a 10-foot chunk of wing discarded on the side of the domestic flight runway of Jakarta’s Sukarno-Hatta International Airport. If that wasn’t disconcerting enough, consider this: They don’t know which plane it came from. Wow, sure makes an air traveller in Indonesia feel safe, eh?

Couple that with the fact that Indonesia has experienced a number of aircraft accidents in the last little while and you’ve got a questionable-at-best airline industry. In fact, Indonesia’s airline safety rating, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration, is in the lowest possible category. Why? Their maintenance record is poor, they cut corners and they have a lack of trained professionals working in the industry.

I’m not really a nervous flyer but this all sounds a bit dodgy. You might want to consider taking a ferry for domestic travel in Indonesia. Though lord only knows how safe that is …

Cellphones to replace boarding passes?

by Catherine Bodry on

In a three-month pilot program at Houston Intercontinental Airport, passengers will be able to board flights using only a cellphone or a personal digital assistant instead of a boarding pass.

Passengers boarding Continental flights will show a code on their screen that has been sent to their phone or PDA. A bar code stores the passenger’s name and flight information, and a TSA screener will confirm the bar code’s authenticity by scanning it with a special handheld device. Passengers will still need to show photo ID.

Air Canada has also been offering this service since September, and reports that “passengers love the new service.”

What do you think?

Foreigners To Give 10 Fingers to US Customs

by Iva Skoch on

Travel to the US will, once again, get a little bit more annoying for foreigners. Since 2004, the Homeland Security Department has been collecting their index-finger prints, gathering a whopping 90 million sets of prints. Is this ultra-private information safe with the US government? Who knows.

That was apparently only the beginning. The new security program, called US-VISIT, will require foreigners to get all 10 fingerprints scanned. Homeland security spokesman Russ Knocke said to USA Today that biometrics can be a game-changer: “They represent what terrorists fear most – an increased likelihood of getting caught.”

That’s very interesting, Russ. I thought the entire problem with the war of terror is that we have no idea what terrorists want. Clearly, we now do. They are petrified of getting caught. OK then.

By March, foreigners arriving at the following airports will have to provide 10 fingerprints:

• Washington, D.C. area (Dulles)

• Boston

• Chicago (O’Hare)

• Detroit

• Atlanta

• Houston (Intercontinental)

• Miami

• New York (Kennedy)

• Orlando

• San Francisco

Source: Homeland Security Department

In-flight matchmaking from the seat pocket in front of you

by Iva Skoch on

Paging through the November 2007 Continental in-flight magazine really makes you think air travelers are a bunch of loners. I found 3 large advertisements for matchmaking services in that issue.

I won’t mention the company’s names but their headlines read:

  1. Eligible?
  2. We have all been there. All your life you wonder if you’ll find her. Does she even exist?
  3. The more you have to offer the more difficult it seems to find the person who is right for you.

Hmm, is anyone really that bored while flying that they would page through the mag and suddenly realize they are, in fact, lonely?

The main question is: does extensive traveling make you lonely OR is it loneliness that makes you want to travel more.