1. Saturday Night Live: Flight Announcement (staring Kristen Wiig and Megan Fox)
2. Pam Ann: Cabin Service (staring Pam Ann)
3. Carol Burnett Show: No Frills Airline (staring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, and Harvey Korman)
4. MadTV: Flight attendants (staring Susan Sarandon)
5. Saturday Night Live: Total Bastard Airlines (staring David Spade & Helen Hunt)
Traveling with pets can be a complicated and time-consuming task. Carry-on pets must be small enough to fit comfortably in a small kennel under the seat. Larger pets must meet minimum standards that may vary between airlines. To fly, pets need a wellness exam, food in-transit and they too will have to go through security at the airport. PetRelocation.com specializes in just that sort of travel and can make it easy.
“If you’re traveling for the first time with your pet on a flight you need to put some extra effort not only to make the reservation and get the documents completed, but also to train your pet physically and psychologically,” blogged Caitlin Moore, new media coordinator for PetRelocation.com
The PetRelocation.com approach designs a custom plan for each individual pet. Clients receive their pet’s flight schedule the week before the flight detailing all of the flight numbers, departure and arrival airports along with the pet’s “Air Way Bill” (or ticket) number. 24/7 flight tracking instructions keep pet owners informed.
“When you first contact PetRelocation.com, either by phone or email, you are put in touch with a PetRelocation Service Consultant familiar with your destination region who will obtain all of the necessary details to provide you with an accurate quotation and answer any questions you might have about the move,” says PetRelocation.com on its website.
PetRelocation also only works with “pet friendly” airlines that have climate controlled waiting areas and pressurized cargo holds. Airlines used must guarantee that their dedicated live animal cargo staff will care for pets. When layovers are necessary, they route pets through airports that have on-site pet hotels.
PetRelocation.com has a helpful social element too with an extensive blog where pet owner questions are asked and answered. Their online pet owners community at MyPetMove.com features message boards, secure live chat and more.
Recently, PetRelocation.com employees and about 8,000 dogs attended the Great Texas Dog Walk, an annual event held by Texas Hearing & Service Dogs. Austin dog lovers gathered with a goal of raising $125,000 to support the work that they do.
“Moving with your pets shouldn’t have to be stressful,” says PetRelocation.com. This looks to be a good resource when traveling with pets.
Today, in-flight connectivity has its share of challenges. Technology companies are keenly aware that in the not too distant future, demand for in-flight connectivity will grow considerably. Travelers have become more reliant on a good connection than a good in-person relationship to conduct business and support social ties. A partnership announced this week promises passengers will have fast, reliable in-flight connectivity for their devices anywhere, even while crossing oceans.
As reported by MarketWatch, Honeywell recently acquired EMS Technologies, Inc., a company with broad technology offerings and will combine them with Honeywell’s global aerospace franchise to launch the Inmarsat Global Xpress aerospace network.
“With this new service, the flow of information will no longer stop when the door to the aircraft closes,” said Tim Mahoney, President and CEO, Honeywell Aerospace.
By the year 2016, there will be 10 billion mobile devices in the world serving a global population of over 7 billion people, many of which will take to the sky when traveling. Those travelers will be using tablets and smartphones for working on the go and watching video.
“We believe this new network will significantly expand the connectivity options of consumer, business, and government customers around the world,” added Mahoney.Promising land-like communication capabilities and connectivity in the air, travelers will be able to do real-time social media, video conferencing and multi-media presentation development while in flight virtually anywhere in the world.
The American airports of tomorrow are being built today as ongoing projects take shape to handle an increasing number of fliers. Around the country, projects are being considered, underway or nearing completion as travelers from around the world make their way to the United States.
As reported by Aviation Pros, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s nearly $350 million comprehensive modernization project at Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal B is nearing completion with the final phase slated to start in May.
“When people from across the globe arrive at Newark, they should find an airport welcome second to none,” says Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni. “The Port Authority is fulfilling our commitment to making Newark Liberty Airport one of the world’s best.”
Improvements to the international arrivals area include consolidating lost baggage offices, relocating the ground transportation desk to a more convenient location and improving travelers’ aid and concession spaces. Additionally, there will be upgrades to the public address, signage, escalator, alarm and fire protection as well as the heating and air-conditioning systems.
Work is also underway on a $1.2 billion enhancement and expansion of Delta’s facilities at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport reports Travel Daily news. That expansion brings a new Delta Sky Club in Terminal C, due to open this summer, and the Delta Sky Club in Terminal D will undergo an expansion.Delta will also increase service at LaGuardia by 60 percent, adding 4 million seats into New York, with 100 new flights and 26 more new destinations coming on line by summer 2012. As reported by Forbes, when its full schedule is implemented by this summer, Delta will run more than 260 daily flights to over 60 cities, more than any other carrier.
“All together, with our expansion projects at JFK and LaGuardia, Delta is investing nearly $1.4 billion in our New York airport facilities,” said Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson. “No other airline is approaching that level of commitment to New York in the next 12 months.”
It’s big money and not just on the East Coast. Los Angeles International Airport marked a milestone in its modernization program late last month, dedicating the renovation of Terminal 6, a new home for Alaska Airlines. The $238-million project includes a variety of improvements to bag checking, ticketing, security screening, waiting areas at gates and more.
These new facilities might not be waiting for long to handle increased traffic and pay back those investments.
In Texas, two studies were done to evaluate the economic impact on the city from Southwest’s international flights. They found the potential for an additional 1.5 million passengers to, from and through Houston per year. The increase would create more than 10,000 jobs and an annual economic impact of more than $1.6 billion.
Think US airports have high ambitions? Dubai International is already the world’s fourth busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic, but wants more too.
Travel search engines commonly claim to produce the lowest prices or best selection. Some say they have the most accurate reviews or are quick at what they do. When we received a press release from hotel-finder Room 77 claiming “blazing fast” results, we put them to the test.
On our 25.5 Mbps DSL line, it took just 3.5 seconds for Room 77 to deliver 573 results for an overnight stay in a hotel in Miami later this month. That did seem fast so we compared it to a couple other hotel-finding sites. Hotels.com brought 437 in 3.6 seconds and Kayak returned 354 in 3.8 seconds – about the same speed-wise. But in addition to more results, Room77 delivered lower prices and included hostels in the search.
“Room 77 searches other sites for you and compares the prices right in the search results,” Kevin Fliess, Room 77’s general manager and VP of product development told Gadling. He added, “In addition to a fast and comprehensive search, we also allow travelers to earn loyalty points or pay at the hotel.”
Going a step further, Room 77 has their Room Concierge, a free service when booking a 4-star or above hotel that helps travelers identify a hotel room matching their preferences. Buyers specify what type of room attribute is most important – size, noise level or view – and Room Concierge staff goes to work finding just that room for buyers.
On Room 77 and other travel-related sites, it’s all about providing detailed, intuitive results that match what buyers want: a search process that is quick and easy.
Another site that delivers rich content fast in a very “we’re not wasting your time” sort of way is a new feature from Nerd Wallet that searches and compares airline fees.
Nerd Wallet, best known for finding and comparing credit card offers, says they “scour the financial universe to bring you any and every bank and credit union we can find, along with our own unbiased take on what various rewards programs or deposit accounts are actually worth,” on their website.
Now, Nerd Wallet’s Search and Compare Airline Fee finder, gathers information for pretty much all domestic airlines quickly and efficiently. Users can compare, say, the baggage fees of all airlines or find out all the details about one airline in a speedy and easy search.
The results at Nerd Wallet also are intuitive and consistent with predictions made earlier this year; new technologies may create changes for our future travel planning methods.
“Today, we stand at the forefront of a technological evolution in travel that we refer to as Online Travel 3.0, which recognizes the power shift from suppliers to retailers and to end consumers,” Stephane Durand, Director, Online & Leisure at Amadeus, a major provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel and tourism industry told Gadling earlier this year.
That was just back in February when Gadling covered how travel search was becoming more personal, focused and nosy.
Then, we told of a global study that identified the online shopping behavior and future motivations of trend-setting travelers: micro-targeting information to specific consumers offering products that are actually relevant for the buyer.
Today, sites like Room 77 and Nerd Wallet’s Airline Fee Finder are delivering on that promise.
Up next, look for sites that learn from our online behavior over time and become interconnected, sharing information about us among each other.
[Flickr photo via Viernest]