It’s Cheaper To Fly To Maui Than … Cleveland?

by Kyle Ellison on

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, yes, it is.

No, the beaches of Lake Erie didn’t suddenly become in high demand. Rather, Hawaiian Airlines just doubled the amount of non-stop flights on its direct routes to Maui out of Oakland and San Jose. To celebrate this momentous occasion the airline is offering unheard of fares that will leave you digging through your closet for that old aloha shirt.

So what kind of fares are we looking at?

Let’s take a look:

For travel purchased by October 8 and completed by December 13, round-trip tickets are going for as low as $290.

A flight to Cleveland during the same time period? How about $410.

This is just another example of off-season travel offering up affordable deals to destinations frequently lumped into the “too expensive” category.

Need more reasons to visit the islands during the fall? How about football on TV by the time you wake up.

Everyone loves a mai-tai in the morning!

$1 Billion Dollar Taj Mahal Replica Planned For Dubai

by Jessica Festa on




Dubai is already known as a hub for glamorous hotels and over-the-top architecture, and it’s not stopping now. With hopes to build the emirate’s reputation as a wedding destination, a replica of India‘s beloved Taj Mahal is now being built.

Called the “Taj Arabia,” the new property will feature a 300-room, five-star hotel, along with apartments, offices, shops and restaurants.

“The Taj is made as a monument of love and we hope to promote this in Dubai as a major wedding destination,” developer Arun Mehra told news.com.au.

Taj Arabia will be part of the massive Dubailand, which the city hopes will be the “world’s greatest theme park.” With the upcoming expansion, it will be double the size of all the Disneyland and Disney World resorts combined.

Developers are estimating the hotel project will cost $1 billion. Completion is estimated for 2014.

[Image via Shutterstock]

Japanese Firm Unveils Bomb-Detecting Departure Gate

by Jessica Festa on




Thanks to a new piece of technology created by Japanese firm Hitachi, airline passengers may soon by scanned for bombs as they swipe their boarding pass.

It is the world’s first explosive detecting departure gate, and works by blowing a puff of air on each passenger’s hand as they swipe their ticket. The air is then sucked back inside the machine along with any small particles from the person’s hand. In one to two seconds, the machine is able to read if the person has recently been in contact with any explosives.

“This allows screening of all passengers and can make air travel safer,” Mr. Minoru Sakairi told news.com.au.

The invention works well for detecting people who have non-metal-based bombs hidden on them. If it passes further testing, the machine will be used in addition to already in-place safety measures.

[Image via Hitachi]

Alaskan Town Invaded By Record Number Of Polar Bears

by Kraig Becker on

The 250 residents of the remote town of Kaktovik, Alaska, have grown accustomed to living on the edge of the wilderness, but even they had to be a bit surprised at all the ursine visitors that came calling last month. In mid-September, the sleepy little community found itself over run with a record number of polar bears who came looking for food while they wait for the return of the pack ice.

Located above the Arctic Circle, the people of Kaktovik routinely supplement their meager supplies with an annual whale hunt, which provides meat for the lean winter months. Following the hunt, the carcasses of the whales are left on the beach for predators and scavengers to pick clean. Typically this attracts numerous polar bears that are looking for an easy meal, but this year there were far more bears than normal. On September 13, observers counted 80 polar bears in total, which broke the old record for the most spotted in a single day. The previous record of 65 was set back in 2004.

Researchers believe that it could be more than just the promise of a free meal that brought so many polar bears together at the same place and time. This summer saw the Arctic ice melt at an unprecedented level, which may have forced more of the creatures to head to solid ground while they waited for temperatures to drop and the ice to return. Unlike most animals, polar bears actually eat more regularly in the winter and look to their fat stores to get them through the leaner summer months. Any time they can get an easy meal it is a cause to congregate.

Lucky for the bears, the ice began to form once again on September 16 and now has started to thicken and spread across the Arctic Ocean. That means the animals will soon be able to head north once again, leaving Kaktovik behind for anther year.

[Photo credit: Loren Holmes]

We Must Be ‘Dreaming’: New 787 Boasts Rainbow Ceiling

by McLean Robbins on

Move over, Virgin. You’re not the only ones with in-flight mood lighting. The new 787 Dreamliner is taking ambient lighting to a new level, offering up a literal rainbow of color on the ceiling.

The inaugural 787 flight took off on Tuesday from Seattle to Tokyo after a day-long delay due to a faulty cooling valve.

Want to take a ride on the Dreamliner? You’ll probably have to tackle a long-haul route, but United will show off their shiny new plane on a flight from Houston to Chicago on Nov. 4, and alternate routes between Houston, Chicago and Newark over the next few months, USA Today reports.

A special thanks to Mary Jo Manzanares (Traveilng with MJ) for the tip.