Japanese resident of Mexico City Airport relocates to new home

by Grant Martin on

We’ve been following the story of Hiroshi Nohara for a couple of months now, the Japanese man who showed up at Mexico City‘s Benito Juarez airport last fall, put his bags down and effectively set up residence in the terminal. He wouldn’t explain why he was there or where he was going, but since his tourist visa was still valid, authorities had to let him stay.

Nohara, who had been living on food and clothing donations from visitors and local sponsors, had turned into a bit of a tourist attraction until he mysteriously disappeared from the airport a couple of weeks back, vanishing into a taxi with a woman who nobody knew.

Now, the Mexican newspaper Reforma has positively identified the woman only as “Oyuki,” who tells the media that she just wanted Nohara to have a warm bed to sleep in. Perhaps the woman, whose husband is currently working in Japan was just lonely.

With a new place to stay, Nohara is apparently now sporting a new, cleaned up look and leading a normal life. He probably needs to make himself presentable for meeting the movie producers.

Top 10 stupidest laws you could encounter abroad


This year in tech – what 2009 will bring for travelers

by Scott Carmichael on

I’ve already looked back at the best gadgets 2008 had to offer, and in this list I’ll take a look at some of the travel technologies I expect to take off in 2009. Come back next year to either laugh in my face, or remark how amazingly clever I am.

Computer/data bundles on sale

Back in November of last year, Radio Shack started selling a bundle including an Acer Netbook computer, an integrated 3G modem and a 2 year AT&T data subscription. This combo would normally retail for about $430, but the inclusion of the 2 year subscription lowers the price to just $99.

This practice is not new, and bundles of hardware and mobile subscriptions have long been the norm in many European countries. What is new, is that these deals have finally made their way to the USA.

I predict more of these promotions in 2009, and for the deals to become much more widespread. Offering one laptop at just one store is hardly going to change the way we subscribe to mobile data services, but it is a great start.

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4G wireless broadband data

Many people are just making their first steps with 3G mobile data, but some of the major players in the market are already hard at work on 4G.

4G wireless data promises even faster speeds than what we currently get from the 3G services on Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.

Building these new networks takes an astounding amount of money, but the largest and most ambitious network already has the support (and money) from companies like Intel, Google, Comcast and Sprint.

By the end of 2009, we should see 4G networks available in about 20 major US cities. The speeds offered by a 4G service like Clear (previously called Xohm) run off a technology called Wi-Max and should reach about 4-8Mbit/s, which is the equivalent of most residential DSL or cable connections. Unlimited service will run between $30 and $50 a month, making it a very viable alternative to slower 3G services.

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A new iPhone (nano)?

In December of each year, things in the Apple rumor department start to get kind of wacky. That is mainly because January is when the years largest Apple exposition starts (Macworld). The notoriously tight lipped company apparently “leaks” all kinds of amazing stuff, 95% of which is all bogus, fake or downright stupid. One rumor that keeps popping up this year though, is a smaller iPhone.

This “iPhone Nano” has been leaked by several phone case manufacturers, and has all the die-hard Apple fans foaming at the mouth.

Whether we actually see a tiny iPhone remains to be seen, but it sure does sound like a fun little phone.

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More Netbook computers

Netbook computers were the big hit in 2008, and 2009 promises to be even bigger for the little machines. We’ll probably see even lighter machines with more power, and lower prices.

As more and more manufacturers hop on the Netbook bandwagon, companies will start putting a lot more effort into innovation, and sooner or later we’ll finally get the perfect computer.

The first fairly basic Netbook computers launched for about $350, but prices have slowly been dropping, and at the moment that same price will get you a very well equipped machine with a 160GB drive and a powerful 6 cell battery.

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Better battery technology

Current notebook computers have about 4000 times the processing power of the first portable computer, but just 2 times the battery life. Each year promises to be the biggest year ever in battery developments, but 2009 actually seems like it might come through for us.

Big players like HP have signed up for a new battery design by Boston Power, which promises battery charge times as low as 30 minutes for an 80% charge as well as higher capacities with the same weight as current cells.

What this means to you and I is that sooner or later we really might get a computer that can last an entire long haul flight on a single battery charge and can be recharged during a short stopover.

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Paperless boarding documents

I wrote about the future at the airport last week, one of the items in that futuristic lineup is already here, and will probably become more popular in 2009.

Paperless boarding involves having your airline email you a bar code that can then be used to get through security and onto your flight.

Our very own Grant Martin tested it, and says it sort of works, assuming the airport staff know what they are doing.

Galley Gossip: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

by Heather Poole on
Happy New Year, everybody! For the first time in fourteen years I’ve actually got the day off. I know, even I can’t believe it. “So what do you have planned for New Year’s Eve?” several people have recently asked.

They always look a little surprised when I say, “Not much. Just hanging out at home and making my famous spicy blacked eyed peas.”

“You’re not going out?”

“Nope. I never go out. Usually I’m working,” I say because I am, usually working.

“Really?”

“Really.” And that’s a good thing! Trust me

This year, unlike other years, I plan to stay home and celebrate quietly with my family. Because in three days I’ll be on reserve, which means that except for a few scheduled days off, I’ll be on-call to the company 24/7 for the entire month of January. I’ll be stuck in New York where I work, not in California where I live, which is why I’m trying to make the most of what little family time I have left before packing my bags and heading back to work on the 3rd. Don’t worry, you’ll get to hear all about my time waiting around at my crash-pad for crew schedule to call and send me who knows where at a moments notice. It’s not fun.

In the past I’ve always bid to work New Year’s Eve, because most times when you bid to work one holiday in December you can usually get the other, more important, holiday off – Christmas. However, even though I’m working on such a festive night, I’ve been fortunate enough (a few years) to descend into Kennedy or La Guardia airport just at the right time. There’s nothing like being in that dark, quiet, cabin, everyone so still and content, the lights of the city twinkling on the ground beneath us, when the Captain or a flight attendant makes the announcement I’ve been waiting for all night.

“Happy New Year!”

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And just like that every single passenger, and flight attendant, is smiling. It’s always a beautiful sight.

2008 was a good year, and not just because of all the amazing flight attendants I was fortunate enough to work with on each and every trip, but because of all the wonderful passengers I met, and I did meet many. Some I’ll never forget. So here’s wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2009. Happy travels to all and to all a good flight!

The photo gallery above consists of photos taken from one of my last flights in 2008

Newark security: proactive or disruptive?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

These guys never catch a break. A by-the-book private security guard at Newark International Airport was compared to a “prison guard” by NY Times travel columnist Joe Sharkey. Intent on enforcing carry-on luggage size, the guard apparently hassled a young lady as she waited to reach the metal detectors. And, it must have been bad. The people in line seemed to side with the traveler. Usually, we blame the carry-on carrier. So, the situation must have been pretty awful.

While this may look like a case of poor customer service – or even just rude behavior – the problem is actually much worse. Outgoing Transportation Security Administration head Kip Hawley says in the article, “In the hurly-burly and the infinite variety of travel, you can end up with nonsensical results in which the T.S.A. person says, ‘Well, I’m just following the rules.'” Wow, it sounds like he’s flown lately!

The guard , it seems, caused a “needless disruption,” which is what outgoing Hawley hopes to see prevented. These disruptions, apparently, make it easier for terrorists to compromise security. Of course, what could be more dangerous than an oversized carry-on?

[Via NY Times]

The future at the airport involves your phone, fingers and eyes

by Scott Carmichael on

The year is 2016, you wake on time and make your way to the airport in your battery powered car. At the UnitedDeltaContinental airlines desk you wave your phone in front of the check-in kiosk and a green light indicates that you are cleared to proceed to the security checkpoint.

At the checkpoint, an agent waves his rfid reader tag in front of the wallet in your pocket, and you stick your hand in a biometric ID reader. The agent stares at a hidden display for a few seconds and allows you to walk through the full body scanner. As you pass through the device, you think back to the days when you had to place your bags on that stupid conveyor belt, and how it always delayed getting to the gate on time.

At the gate, you connect your iPhone 5G with the gate information system, and you instantly receive a message about your upgrade request, sadly you’ll be stuck in coach again for this flight.

Boarding is delayed 20 minutes, once it begins, your phone begins to vibrate that your boarding group is allowed to get on the plane. At the gate, you stare into the airline iris scanner, and the gate attendant allows you to board.

A lot of what I just wrote sounds very much like science fiction, but the idea behind it is based upon developments being made in the world of aviation technology. Airlines and airports have long been very outdated places, and innovation meant investing in new equipment, which is something airlines hate doing.
Mobile boarding passes

The “swipe to board” mobile phone boarding pass may not be here just yet, but the foundations for this kind of technology are already in place. Our very own Grant Martin was one of the first people to post a real life review of using an iPhone instead of a paper boarding pass, and wrote about his experiences here.

The idea of using your phone as a boarding pass is nothing new, but now more and more phones are being sold with large high-resolution displays, airlines are beginning trials that will allow you a true paper-free experience. There are even some phones out there with the ability to “swipe and read”, like a system being offered on some Nokia phones called “Near Field Communications“

My prediction? We’ll be seeing more airlines introduce trials of mobile phone boarding passes in 2009, and by 2011 all airlines will have the equipment in place to let you board using a bar code image on your phone display.

TSA/immigration biometric ID readers

In an ideal world (in the minds of the Department of Homeland Security), we’ll all be fingerprinted, and will have our personal information stored in a massive government database.

The first steps are already being taken at the immigration checkpoint where visitors to the country are fingerprinted. The next step beings early next year, when US Permanent Residents get fingerprinted when they return to the US.

As the fingerprint database begins to grow, it probably won’t be too long until someone floats the idea (again) of a national ID with fingerprint information.

Some airports already have government backed biometric systems in place; Amsterdam Schiphol introduced the Privium system back in 2001 and London airports have been offering passengers the ability to bypass the immigration desk with their IRIS system since 2006.

The US “INSPASS” biometric immigration system was in place as early as 1993, but was abandoned in 2002. The foundations of INSPASS are now being used for border crossings between the US and Canada in the NEXUS system.

My prediction? A nationwide US biometric database won’t happen for at least 10 more years. Privacy is something far too important to allow technology to intervene with, especially when the government has a poor track record of implementing these new projects. I do forsee larger projects by the private sector allowing travelers to pass the checkpoint faster. Clear already does biometric authentication at the airport, but only at a limited number of cities.

Security checkpoint full body scanners

The full body scanner is not new, but it is needless to say that the concept of a full body x-ray doesn’t sit too well with many people. The scanners are currently being tested at 10 different US airports, but the trial only involves offering the scanner as an alternative to a pat down in a secondary security search.

The obvious question is whether the scanner can see “everything”, and the answer is yes – the full body scanner will see all your “parts”, the TSA tries to alleviate passenger concerns by moving the screener away from the machine, hidden away in a dark room. Your face is also blurred on the display, so there is no risk of TSA agents pointing at you while giggling like little school girls.

Sadly, the truth is that the full body scanner is probably here to stay, and will eventually become the way all passengers are scanned at the airport. There is no denying that the ability to see right through you and your clothes is the most effective way to scan for weapons or other unwanted items at the airport. Whether this technology will also involve you walking through with your bags is just a matter of time.

My prediction? By 2012 we’ll have full body scanners at some of the major airports in the country, and by 2015 all airports will be scanning passengers with these devices.

Gate technology improvements

A large number of passengers at the airport already walk around with a Bluetooth enabled phone in their pocket, so when you mix that technology with tracking software, you end up with something that can tell where you are, or more importantly where you are when you should be at the gate getting on your flight.

Copenhagen airport has a system in place that uses this technology to track passengers who voluntarily participate in the program.

Imagine a world where the airport announcement doesn’t just ask Mr.Jones to proceed to gate 12, but also tells him to get the hell out of the duty free store and run, because it is a 9 minute walk from where he currently is.

My prediction? Within the next couple of years, we’ll see a true “real time” boarding announcement system that can communicate with your mobile phone. It may be as simple as an email telling you to hurry up, but I have no doubts that airlines will do everything they can to speed up the boarding process, and try to get a better idea of where passengers are when they should be at the gate.