Houston Travel Guide

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United Finally Took Its Baby Boeing 787 Dreamliner Home to Houston

September 28, 2012 at 4:13 PM | by | Comments (0)


The 787 gets a water cannon salute after landing in Houston

The skies above Texas today were absolutely speckled with the green and yellow radar blips of thunderstorms. That sucks for Texas, with the exception of one other radar blip: United Airlines' very first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which came home to Houston on its delivery flight from Boeing Field in Washington State.

Those thunderstorms did add a twenty minute arrival delay, though; it was the final delay in a what's really been a saga of delays leading up to the first delivery of a 787 to a US airline.

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Space Shuttle 'Endeavour' Waves Goodbye to Houston for the Last Time

September 20, 2012 at 10:08 AM | by | Comments (0)

Houston, Texas isn't in the best mood today. After all, around sunrise this morning "Space City" lost what it should have kept: the NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour, which departed for the last time from Houston's Ellington Field, en route to its final resting place in Los Angeles. The Endeavour first hit the sky in 1992, flying 25 times, with 123 million miles in space and 4,700 circles around Earth.

It won't be a direct flight to LA for the Endeavour, atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier plane; it's booked to stop at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, before heading to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Then, tomorrow, the journey in the skies completes at LAX Airport before the shuttle takes to the streets in October.

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Houston-Hobby to Serve South of the Border with Southwest

June 15, 2012 at 9:27 AM | by | Comment (1)

Not that long ago we discussed the city of Houston’s plan to develop the city’s smaller airport into a true international hub. That didn’t sit too well with United—they’re pretty darn happy over at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport—and they put up a stink.

Southwest Airlines stayed the course with their plan to add some international options out of Houston-Hobby, and now it looks Southwest will end up getting exactly what they wanted.

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Houston's Hobby Airport May Become Southwest's First International Hub

March 22, 2012 at 10:28 AM | by | Comments (0)

There’s still plenty of unknown this and that with the Southwest Airlines and AirTran merger, but one thing that is intriguing—to us at least—is how the newly combined airline will handle international flying. Of course we dream of cheap flights down to Mexico or over to the Caribbean, but it’s still not totally clear on how the Southwest planes will get there or where the flights will originate.

Although nothing is official as of yet, it does sound like one airport is planning for the possibility of some international departures and arrivals. Houston Hobby Airport—a favorite of Southwest—is now considering what it might mean to the airport and the city to add the capacity to handle international flights. It sounds like the city is looking into the possibility, as Southwest has already expressed interest about adding some planes and people to spots in Mexico and South America.

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Cat Cora's Second Airport Restaurant is Now Cooking at Houston-IAH

December 22, 2011 at 8:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you’re looking for a great layover lunch—or dinner—during your holiday travels be sure to check out one of the latest options at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Iron Chef star and all around celeb chef Cat Cora recently opened up a new restaurant in Terminal E at IAH—it’s near E10. Cat Cora’s Kitchen is intended to actually provide you with an enjoyable airport meal, and if travelers like this new outpost as much as the version out in SFO—check out the Yelp reviews—this should be quite an addition to the airport.

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Three March Madness Vacation Packages to Take You to the Final Four

March 17, 2011 at 2:26 PM | by | Comments (0)

We know there were some other games the other day, but the real March Madness starts this afternoon. Sure skipping work to watch the games is fun, but it would be even better to leave work and not come back until April. If that’s your plan—and we don’t see why it shouldn’t be—here are three Final Four packages to get you to Houston:

· Sports Traveler
The folks at Sports Traveler won’t judge your bracket, so don’t feel ashamed if your picks didn’t get you too far in your office pool. However, they will judge your credit card, as you’ll need to shell out some serious cash for one of their vacation packages. For roughly $1,900 per person you’ll get four nights at the St. Regis Hotel, a four-day rental car, and tickets to all three games. Just don’t expect courtside seats, as these are upper level options behind the baskets. If you want to upgrade to the lower level seats just throw down another $2,400 per person—oof.

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Continental Airlines Reveals Their Tricked-Out 787 Dreamliner Interior

August 12, 2010 at 9:44 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you have the necessary credentials to sneak into this year’s National Business Travel Association International Convention and Expo in Houston, you might just get a sneak peak at Continental’s plans for their Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The soon-to-be world’s largest airline revealed bits and pieces of what the insides of the new bird will look like.

One of the things Continental is bragging about is lower cabin altitude. The plane will change cabin pressure to simulate 6,000 feet to help passengers feel more comfy throughout their flight. Additionally, there’s to be way more natural light thanks to larger windows, and plenty of room for carry-ons in the overhead storage bins; in fact, Continental claims there'll be room for everyone's bag. We'll believe it when we see it.

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Lady Gaga Dons a Straitjacket for Her Flight into Houston

Where: Houston International Airport [map], Houston, TX, United States
July 30, 2010 at 3:24 PM | by | Comment (1)

In what's quickly becoming a weekly edition of "what crazy costume Lady Gaga wore on a plane today," we report that the infamously fashion-bold singer made her way into Houston International Airport in a straitjacket.

Well, it wasn't your typical straitjacket, but a custom-made, cowl-neck straitjacket dress designed for Gaga by stylist Asher Levine. The Daily Mail UK reports that yet again, Gaga found it difficult to walk in her high heels as the dressed cinched closely around her knees. And yet it seems like just yesterday that she was having that deep vein thrombosis scare onboard another flight.

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Air Marshals Do More Than Just Chat Up Celebrities

February 23, 2010 at 9:10 AM | by | Comments (0)

We knew Kim Kardashian was a trendsetter—or at least plays one on television—but apparently her sense of style has taken to the skies. After she had a little in-flight meet up with an air marshal it seems that now everyone wants to get in on the fun of hanging out with a federal official. Unfortunately for one gentleman, his visit wasn’t a good one.

A couple weeks ago a dude from Alabama was headed to Houston aboard a Continental Airlines flight from Amsterdam, but things didn’t go as well as he probably planned. Apparently this guy was bothering a female passenger in an inappropriate manner, and the flight attendants had an air marshal switch seats with him in attempts to get a handle on the situation. Well that didn’t go so well since the troublemaker hit the air marshal a couple times, but the air marshal got things under control and probably administered an in-flight beat down.

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Come Artists And All To Cinema Arts Festival Houston

October 21, 2009 at 4:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

Austin gets all the credit for being the arty city in Texas, and Houston residents probably like it that way: When no one's depending on you to bolster your state's reputation, you get a lot more work done! But the city where "Reality Bites" and "Rushmore" were filmed is stepping into the limelight with next month's Cinema Arts Festival Houston.

Held November 11 to 15, the fest says it focuses on "films by and about artists," offering events like a conversation with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga ("Babel") Nov. 13 and a screening of the new documentary "Yes Men Fix The World" with one of the Yes Men, who have been wreaking havoc in Washington D.C. this week with fake press conferences and silly costumes—that's on November 14 and 15.

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How Past Amazing Racers 'Survive': A Reality Show Challenge In Houston

October 9, 2009 at 11:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

Kelly Crabb competed in Season 13 of The Amazing Race, taking 6th place with her best friend, Christy. Coined as "America's Divorcee," this freelance writer and travel enthusiast lives life to its fullest in Houston, Texas and remains "bitchy with a heart of gold." Here she recaps the latest Amazing Race/Survivor alumni event in Texas:

Stars of reality shows don’t always return to normal, everyday life. After such an eye-opening experience, most go on to alter their lives by making special appearances, continuing to travel the world, posing for pictures like a regular celebrity, working towards good causes, and some even hold political offices. Of course it's even more drastic if you win a reality show, as they usually drop work altogether.

Houston’s Jolanda Jones of Survivor: Palau, and now Houston City Council Member, has put on The Houston Survivor Challenge now for the second year in a row. Many reality stars from different shows were in attendance this year, including the event’s Emcee, Uchenna Agu, Winner of Season 7 of The Amazing Race.

Who else was there, after the jump>

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Houston Aquarium's 'Shark Trains' Collide; Sharks Unharmed

July 13, 2009 at 8:44 AM | by | Comments (0)

In some sad news that's all too similar to last week's Disney Monorail accident, a typical small amusement park train rear-ended another, injuring 31 visitors, 27 of whom who went to the hospital. The accident happened Saturday night aboard the Shark Voyage mini-train, which runs on a 10-minute-long loop through Houston's downtown Aquairum.

According to the Chronicle, the trains "never travel faster than 7 mph, and neither train left the track. Passengers were not thrown from the trains — just jolted in their seats." That hardly sounds like the type of accident which would send so many people to the hospital.

There is good news however for anyone anticipating a visit to the Houston Aquarium this summer: the trains were back up and running yesterday, and making their famous loop through an acrylic tunnel under a 200,000-gallon shark tank. Good thing the crash didn't take place in there, we say.

Related Stories:
· Accident at downtown attractions injures 31 [KTRK-TV Houston]
· Several injured after 2 trains collide at downtown Aquarium [Houston Chronicle]
· Accidents Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: waymarking]

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