New international travel phone service from National Geographic

by Kraig Becker on

National Geographic and Cellular Abroad have joined forces to introduce a new option for those who need to stay in contact while traveling the world. The National Geographic Travel Phone includes an unlocked Motorola handset, a charger that comes complete with international outlet adapters, and a Nat Geo SIM Card, all for just $99. A second phone, dubbed the National Geographic Duet, is also available and includes all of the above, plus dual SIM Card slots, a larger screen, upgraded performance, and additional features for $179.

The new pay-as-you-go service works in more than 150 countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa, and includes free incoming calls in more than 70 countries, plus 30 minutes of credit for outgoing calls in most countries as well. The service comes complete with two phone numbers, one based in the U.S. and the other the U.K., and both are always active and do not require a monthly fee. The U.S. based number also works for text messages and call-forwarding too.

For more information on both handsets and the Cellular Abroad service check out this page. You’ll not only find a list of countries in which the phones will work, you’ll get a breakdown on the costs and services, and a handy calculator to help you determine just how much you’ll pay when calling from one country to another.

For frequent travelers, this looks like a great option for staying in touch while abroad. The list of countries where these phones work is quite impressive, which can save you time and hassle when looking for SIM Cards after you arrive at your destination.

Breaking: Virgin America set to enter Chicago in 2011

by Scott Carmichael on

Right after the announcement of a massive order of new planes, Virgin America has confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that they want to start flying to Chicago in 2011.

The airline had originally planned to start O’Hare routes back in 2008, but a gate shortage forced them to shelve those plans.

According to Chicago Breaking Business news, they are negotiating terms with the city of Chicago for a “economically Viable” deal which could mean flights in early 2011.

Speaking from his Caribbean island, Sir Richard Branson said he was happy to celebrate his 60th birthday with an order of 60 new planes – and it isn’t often that you treat yourself to a $3.3 Billion birthday present. Happy birthday Sir Richard, fingers crossed you make it O’Hare to launch your new routes next year!

Update: We reached out to Virgin America for confirmation, and have been told that they are indeed “hoping to bring their unique, low fare service there in the first half of 2011.”

Spokeswoman Abby Lunardini added one other piece of interesting information – Chicago is top of the list of requested destinations by members of the Elevate Frequent Flyer program.

Business travelers poised to take fun out of social media tools

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Where are you looking for the latest travel information? Well, if you’re a business traveler, especially with a mid-sized company, you’re probably turning to social media tools. And, that makes more than a little sense, given the reach of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (the former of which pierced the 500 million-user mark this week).

According to the latest research by American Express Business Travel, the white collar crowd is turning to social media more and more to stay in touch with other travelers and keep up with travel industry developments. This is just the beginning, however. Down the road, many expect to use these online utilities to engage more directly in business, particularly through webcasts, forums and online video.

Basically, businesses will figure out how to put to work what kids have been doing for years. The good news? Since social media tools will become synonymous with work for this population, wasting time on Twitter won’t be fun any more, and the boss will recapture some productivity.
According to Christa Degnan Manning, director, eXpert insights, American Express Business Travel, “As businesses around the globe alter the way they communicate and receive information from clients and prospects, social media has also proven to be a useful and effective tool to share pertinent information with employees and drive change in organizations.”

Half of the respondents to the American Express Business Travel survey indicated that “they use social media to some extent to support travel management today,” and the proportion went up to 59 percent for mid-sized companies (defined as $3 million to $10 million in air volume).

So, why do they use social media tools? Forty-four percent say they want to stay up on the latest travel information, with 43 percent reporting that they can “learn and communicate best practices and reduce business travel costs”. Other priorities include finding preferred vendors and services (42 percent), hunting for travel patters that could result in improved rates or services (34 percent) and encouraging networking among travelers (26 percent).

What’s most horrifying about this research? Well, it’s that social media tools are becoming useful …time to kill that FarmVille account, right?

Top five reasons passengers are getting nastier

by Tom Johansmeyer on

As much as passengers complain about airline employees (and we do), we give them reason to complain about us. And, we complain about each other. There’s clearly no risk of a love-fest breaking out in the gate area, and if you look closely, you can see how the situation will only get worse. There are all kinds of conditions set to make air travel miserable (well … more so), and that means everyone involved will wind up getting a little nastier. Here are the top five reasons why:

1. We have no space, and there will be more of us on the plane: the lack of legroom isn’t exactly new, but everything around it is going to get worse. In the wake of the financial crisis, airlines cut flights to shave expenses and boost revenue per available seat-mile (RASM). This means the odds of having an empty next to you have dropped.

2. There will be more of us in the air, too: the economy is turning the corner, and businesses are starting to spend some money again. Look for more business travelers on the road, which will make flights even more crowded.3. We’re thinking about value: because of economic conditions (including high unemployment), we’re now acutely aware of what every dollar we spend means. A reclining passenger translates to the erosion of a purchase – “That’s my space!” We want as much for our money as possible. So do the people next to us, in front of us and behind us. Elbow room is a zero-sum game: there will be losers.

Want to make the situation worse? The coming increase in passengers will likely bring with it an increase in fares. So, an economic recovery means we’ll effectively be paying more for less. I don’t know who fails to crack a smile over that!

4. Let’s not forget about the service: beyond economic conditions and market drivers (e.g., RASM), there is another airline factor at play. We need to be realistic, here: this industry has a long-standing reputation for delivering abysmal service. Passengers know this and expect an uncomfortable experience, so they get primed for it. Remedying this will take concerted effort by airlines – and it will require years of unrequited love.

5. There’s no shortage of blame, and it’s everywhere: airline employees think passengers are unreasonable, demanding and often inappropriate. Passengers think airline employees feel (and act like they’re) entitled, self-obsessed and controlling to an unwarranted degree. Our zeal to point fingers only makes the situation worse for everyone. Passengers are getting nastier because we expect the worst, and crews expect nastier passengers. We’d all rather win than fix the situation.

[photo by Pink Sherbet Photography via Flickr]

Virgin America’s next destination…

by Melanie Nayer on

Well, we actually don’t know where Virgin America’s next destination will be, but we do know the airline just purchased 40 new Airbus A320 aircraft, with options for 20 additional aircraft. What’s this mean? Well, more planes mean more flights; more flights mean new routes; new routes means… well, you get the point.

So far this year Virgin America announced new routes into Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Toronto. Rumors are still flying high about the airlines’ potential entry into Mexico, and the Midwest is still hopeful the big red planes will land in Chicago but for now, we just have additional planes… no additional destination confirmations.

From Virgin America:

The new aircraft would be delivered from 2013 through 2016 – with 10 firm orders per year on average, and options for 20 additional aircraft in 2017-2018. With today’s order of 40 new aircraft and growth from other sources, Virgin America’s fleet is projected to grow from its current 28 aircraft to 90 aircraft by 2016.

The beauty of these news planes is the fuel-saving “Sharklet” option that is available beginning in late 2012 on A320 aircraft. These sharklets were designed to enhance the “eco-efficiency and payload-range performance of the A320 aircraft,” which Airbus says will reduce fuel burn at least 3.5 percent on long hauls.

Virgin America has operated via the Airbus A320 since its launch. So, with the addition of 40 new aircraft coming in, where do you think Virgin America’s next destination should be?