Tracking Celebrity Planes With FlightAware

by Justin Glow on

We’ve talked about FlightAware before, the one-stop-shop for everything aviaton-related, and we’ve also discussed the jumbo jet-owning John Travolta a few times too. This post is a mashup of those two topics. Exciting, huh?

Actually, it is pretty cool. Travolta’s 707 has the registration tag “N707JT” and if you put that into FlightAware’s tracking system, you can see where the plane currently is. You can also see where it’s been in the last four months with more data and visuals than anyone would ever possibly need. I’m not sure why you’d want to see all this, except so that the next time you’re at dinner with friends you can say, “you know, John Travolta flew into LAX today from Oakland today. He was going about 480 knots at 31,000 feet. Awesome, huh?”

[via The Cranky Flier]

Let Virgin America Fly

by Justin Glow on

“Who here is happy with airline service?” asks Virgin America’s “Let VA Fly!” website. “Most Americans say no.”

When I thought about it — am I happy with airline service? — I came to the conclusion that yes, for the most part I am. I’m able to get reasonably priced fares to the cities I travel to with minimal hassle. Sure, the flights are no-frills, pack-em-in-and-take-off, but I don’t pine for anything fancier. Really, I don’t. That’s not to say that things like in-cabin chat rooms and wireless broadband Internet access at 30,000 feet wouldn’t be nice — it would, but is it necessary? Not really, and I wouldn’t be interested in paying more for a plane ticket even if these things were offered.

“It’s the journey, not the destination” might work for train travel or long-distance hikes, but the age-old traveler’s mantra falls apart when you’re cramped between two people on a crowded flight, even if you can watch a movie in your headrest. The scenery may be nice up in the clouds, but after you’ve flown a few times (or played with Google Earth) the novelty of it wears off. I just want to get to my destination the cheapest, quickest way possible — that’s why I chose to fly in the first place. Am I presumptuous in thinking that most Americans would agree with me?

Regardless, Virgin America does have some pretty cool things to offer, and more variety in any industry is always better. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Transportation rejected their application last December due to “some issues regarding [their] ownership,” and they’re asking Americans to help them convince the DOT that their application should be approved the second time around. They’ve setup a petition at LetVAFly.com, so head on over and see what they have to say.

“Flying While Muslim” Prejudice?

by Jonathon Morgan on

You’ve probably heard the expression “driving while black,” referring to law enforcement’s tendency to pull over a disproportionately high number of African-American drivers. Now there’s “Flying While Muslim” — an expression used by some Islamic groups in protest of perceived prejudice against Muslim passengers by U.S. airlines.

However, other, more moderate Islamic organizations, disagree about the size of the problem.

A Saudi-funded website references an incident with Northwest airlines, in which the company barred 40 American Muslim passengers en route the U.S. from Mecca from boarding a German flight bound for Detroit. In the same article, the site notes similar incidents with the same airline, quoting one passenger who said Muslims had dubbed Northwest “Northworst.”

On the other hand, Freemuslims.org, a more moderate site, suggests that the real problem is flying while American — noting that Saudi Arabian Airlines routinely bumps American Muslim passengers in favor of friends and relatives of the Saudi royal family.

Is this a real problem, or just imagined injustice? Have you experienced discrimination while flying?

The Barf Bag Art of Gruntusk

by Willy Volk on

Who knew? Flickr actually has several hundred images tagged “barfbag.” While the vast majority of them are simple Warhol-inspired two-dimensional shots of the iconic bags from different airlines, a few actually caught my eye. Specifically, I’m talking about the barf bag art of Gruntusk.

Although he’s only fashioned a few of these unique little barf bag people, Gruntusk created these incredibly dynamic sculptures while on a boring flight. Among his creations are a barf bag person reading, praying, breakdancing, and — the one pictured — doing Capoeira, which is an esoteric form of martial arts.

Next time you’re on a plane, don’t complain that you’re bored. Pick up the barf bag in front of you and make some art!

[Via Jaunted]

Virgin America’s Airbus A320 In-fight Entertainment

by Justin Glow on

The guys over at Engadget got the chance to jump on a new Virgin America Airbus A329 (they always get to do the cool stuff) and check out all the wicked entertainment options these flights will have as soon as VA goes airborne in early 2007. It’s got so much stuff, I don’t even know where to begin! Touch-screen headrest monitors, USB and ethernet ports, wireless broadband Internet access, in-cabin chat rooms, and much, much more. It’s just like an episode of Pimp My Ride.

Engadget’s got the scoop on this, so I’m just going to send you there to check out the rest of the details. Looks like I’ll be flying Virgin America next time!