Learning Languages in the Sky

by Neil Woodburn on

Certainly the most constructive use of one’s time while onboard an aircraft is to take the opportunity to study the language of the place to which they are flying.

Although learning to speak Chinese fluently while on a ten-hour flight to China isn’t going to happen, such a large chunk of concentrated study time will at least get you through some simple greetings and basic grammar.

I’ve brought language textbooks along with me on flights before, but I have to admit I wasn’t the most dedicated of students while being distracted by in-flight movies and a handful of magazines to read.

But now some airlines are making it easier for aspiring linguists. According to Travel & Leisure, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Continental, and Singapore Airlines offer language lessons via personal viewing screens. The program, in conjunction with Berlitz International, offers 23 languages at a beginner’s level. Simply plug in a pair of earphones and start repeating uno, dos, tres… By the time you land in Madrid, you’ll be able to order dos cervazas without any problem.

Flight Memory

by Willy Volk on

Flight Memory is a geeky but fun way to let you keep track of where you’ve flown. After inputing your data, Flight Memory will tell you your total time in the air, distance flown, and even keep track of aircraft types and airlines.
However, the really cool part of the service is that Flight Memory will produce a nifty looking map of your travels.


Useful for travel bloggers, general travelers, business travelers, pilots, and some stalkers, Flight Memory will even produce a high-quality poster documenting your RTW trip. What a cool way to visualize the trips you’ve taken! Want to be super-cool? Plot out your travels in advance, so the lines on your Flight Memory map spells out your name!

[Via MeFi]

BING-DING: RyanAir’s Obvious Southwest Rip-Off Even More Obvious

by Justin Glow on

Last month we reported on RyanAir‘s cheap airfare notification program called BING! that is strikingly similar to Southwest Airlines own DING! program. A reader pointed us to an even more glaring rip-off from Ryanair’s FAQ, which was cribbed directly from Southwest’s. Someone did a search-and-replace (s/DING!/BING!), but even so, both companies have nearly-identical FAQs. Have a look:

Could RyanAir be this dumb? I certainly don’t think so. My guess is the company who developed Southwest’s DING! program also wrote the FAQ, and RyanAir commissioned the same company to build their cheap airfare notification system. Even so, you’d think they’d have the brains to spend a few hours making it look like they didn’t completely rip-off another company verbatim. Screen shots after the jump.

Southwest Airlines:

Ryanair:

Afraid to Fly? Bring Your MP3 Player

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps you’ve heard stories of people who will take incredibly long train rides to avoid getting on an airplane, or know people who don’t travel more than a couple hundred miles because of their fear of flying. I know two people who are like that.

There’s help though. I came across a round-up article that presents some options, a couple you can add to your music mix on your MP3 player. The style and prices vary.

One download, Fear of Flying at www.meditainment.com has a visualization, deep breathing exercise that is designed to mentally transport you to a calmer place. Instead of sweating bullets in your plane seat, you can picture yourself on a tropical island.

Another, Psychology of Flight Anxiety offered at www.iamplify.com uses down-to-earth talk therapy and anecdotes to help an anxious flyer to feel grounded. You can purchase the whole series, or just sections of it.

Fear of Flying Help Course (www.fearofflyinghelp.com) gives practical, how-to-tips on how to not feel fearful and anxiety ridden.

The bummer about these solutions is that you can’t use an MP3 player during take-off and landing. I guess you listen to as much as you can before take off and landing so that when you do have to switch off the voices, you’ll still hear them.

One-Way Tickets Cheaper than Roundtrip?

by Neil Woodburn on

Do the math, dummy!

A recent investigation by the Daily Telegraph has revealed that buying two one-way tickets on British Airways can be up to 15% cheaper than buying a round trip ticket to the same destination.

We’ve all heard over the years how this is simply not true; two one-way tickets are always more expensive. Apparently no one told British Airways this–either that, or they didn’t bother to do the math.

The recent study by Telegraph reporters has left the airline embarrassed at the discovery and scrambling for excuses (they’ve blamed the fuzzy math on a restructuring of their website).

Hmmm… it just goes to show you that nothing in the airline industry should be taken for granted anymore.