When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Buying off-brand Peanut Butter Cups is risky. Oftentimes they just aren't as yummy as Reese's and, even worse, they could come in a holiday tin with a Currier & Ives scene printed on the top. Yuck. That's why it's high time to share a secret indulgence of our own which can only be gotten in parts of Ohio.

The peanut butter and chocolate treats are Buckeyes, shaped like the actual nuts they're named for, but tasting so much better. Their existence is a school- and state-spirit thing, and you'll find them in Columbus to honor OSU, and Toledo, because that's nearest where they're made (in Perrysburg, Ohio). Both cities are usually passed through on road trips, but we advocate taking an hour to detour and find Buckeyes. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-11-11T13:43:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/12/17/10213/836

Yesterday, it was announced that the latest airport to receive a Full-Body Scanner was Toledo Express Airport, in Toledo, Ohio. Our first thought: "umm, why?" Toledo Express isn't exactly known for being a high-traffic airport with a variety of passengers passing through; in fact, it's barely known at all, seeing as how it serves a whopping average of five flights a day to such exotic locales as Chicago and Minneapolis, and—if they're lucky—Detroit, only 45 minutes north by car.

Now we're not blindly hating on TOL; we've got family in the area and we've flown into and out of this airport more times than we care to admit. It's just that Toledo Express Airport has no reason to have a full-body scanner, other than the vague cry of "terrorism." All the potential knife-wielding gang members flying out already hustle up to Detroit to catch flights anyway. Toledo can't even call itself "Toledo International" because it only offers regional flights. But wait, now let's talk about the current security at TOL and why it's enough... ]]> JetSetCD 2010-12-17T10:36:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/9/214426/4893

And the JetAmerica drama continues, as more details about their issues with the FAA emerge, and the struggle for landing slots continues. An article published yesterday in the Toledo Blade not only names the dates when JetAmerica's web began to unravel, but also quotes the Port Authority as being "not that optimistic" about the carrier.

So remember back when JetAmerica boasted of selling 20,000 tickets in their first 48 hours of having their website active? It turns that this publicity, and their May 27 press release even announcing their ticket sales, were the straws that broke the camel's back; they caused the FAA to contact JetAmerica and inquire about exactly what their plans were for landing slots, since they now needed them as an obviously regularly-scheduled carrier. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-10T09:04:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/25/92952/5664
Christopher Grazel, COO of Jet America stands at right

Have you been following the news out of Toledo, Ohio? No, of course you haven't, but if you had you'd know that JetAmerica, that enigma of a new LCC, is starting to kick things off in their hub airport.

At a recent press conference at Toledo Express, the motto "Let's Get America Flying Again" was announced, and since then our contacts on the ground report that a full-out barrage of both TV and newspaper advertising has hit the Northwest Ohio area. Thanks to grants and some deep pockets of their own, the Toledo Port Authority will be spending $900,000 on promoting the start-up airline, even though when it first flies on July 13, it'll only be going direct to Newark, Minneapolis, and Melbourne, Florida.

Nonetheless, Toledoans are flocking to embrace the airline as a local news station poll asking "Do you think you'll use Jet America to fly out of Toledo instead of going to Detroit Metro?" has thus far received 85% "yes" responses. Is it because their laughable TV ads sound like an intro to a Billy Mays informercial? Probably.

Related Stories:
· Jet America spends bundle to lure flyers back to Toledo [WTOL-Toledo]
· Jet America Does The Impossible: Sells 20,000 Tickets In First Week [Jaunted]
· JetAmerica Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: WTOL]]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-25T10:12:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/8/113412/7784

As skeptical as we've been about new LCC JetAmerica and its plan to service secondary airports like South Bend, IN and Melbourne, FL, it seems as though travelers are biting.

Our people in Toledo, JetAmerica's soon-to-be hub city, called in to report that the local news is boasting of Jet America's ticket sales: 12,000 tickets sold in the first 48 hours after their website launched, a number that was expected to reach 20,000+ by the end of that first week. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-08T11:53:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/29/84145/4222

It's barely been 48 hours since new Midwest LCC JetAmerica announced their intentions to fly between Toledo, Newark, Minneapolis, South Bend, Lansing and Melbourne, and already the $9 fares for its first few weeks are being snatched up.

But will Jet America last longer than those first few weeks anyways? It is, after all, another airline from the folks behind the former Skybus LCC, who couldn't make it work in Columbus and folded in April 2008 after less than one year in business. Nonetheless, JetAmerica has enough extra fees for them to float on for at least a little while, assuming people want to travel between Toledo and Lansing with surfboards and five cats. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-05-29T09:37:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/26/194531/129

JetAmerica has opened up its reservations for flights starting on July 13. And as promised, the flights will be super cheap.

Fares will start around $9 each way out of Toledo (for only nine seats) but much like Ryanair, JetAmerica will make most of its money on fees. According to the St. Petersburg Times:

Jet America will charge an additional $20 for a round-trip with an assigned seat, $20 to buy a ticket by phone and $10 to book on the Web site (www.jetamerica.com).

We plugged in a trip from Newark to Toledo for the opening date and indeed found a fare of $9 each way. (The return flight that first came up was a 6am flight but there were other ones available.)

We actually found that JetAmerica charges a $5 "convenience fee" if you book on JetAmerica.com (not $10) which means that $9 fare each-way is really $14. But the website was incredibly slow loading pages this morning and we couldn't see what their checked luggage fees are but we expect them to be similar to other airlines.

Nevertheless, JetAmerica is on track to deliver passengers on July 13 in a Boeing 737-800 jet from Toledo to Newark, N.J., Melbourne, Fla., Lansing, Mich., and South Bend, Ind. An official announcement is coming from them in an hour. Also, don't confuse Jet America with JetAmerica, the private jet share program.

Related Stories:
· JetAmerica is the New Air Azul is the New Skybus? [Jaunted]
· Jet America set to begin service in July [St. Petersburg Times]
· Discount airline plans flights from Newark Liberty International Airport [NJ Star-Ledger]]]> juliana 2009-05-27T09:20:12-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/