This is some next level stuff. First Class in-flight meals on Etihad—the Abu Dhabi-based airline—are now being prepared by a qualified chef. No, really; one person is dedicated to cooking, preparing and plating the meals served in the front of the plane. Yes, you read correctly: cook!

Etihad announced the hiring of 110 restaurant-caliber chefs to fly back and forth from Abu Dhabi to a handful of cities while preparing the menu for the Diamond Class cabin. The chefs will also be responsible for contributing to the evolution of the menu and meal choices both in-flight and on the ground in the each of the airline's lounges. Each chef will need at least 6 years experience in a 5-star restaurant to be welcomed aboard, and there are even some Michelin-starred restaurants that have lost their chef to the airline. ]]> jetflyboy 2011-12-13T13:13:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/7/22825/3787

Our sis site HotelChatter does a bang-up job of covering the latest news and trends in the hotel world. We're also including a few links from VegasChatter, the newest member to the family. So check in and stay awhile.

HotelChatter:
· Sneak peeks inside the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
· Three Euro resorts for skiing (including Branson' Swiss chateau)
· Inside a room at the Swissotel Chicago
· Hotel-shaped jewelry. Yep, it's a thing.

VegasChatter:
· Tourist helicopter crashes into Lake Mead
· Which hotel has their own tennis courts?
· One fun thing at Encore, Wynn and Fashion Show Mall
· Things we learned during Cirque Week
]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-08T18:01:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/10/94014/076

Usually we're pretty critical when it comes to staged flash mobs, but trust us that this one is pure awesome.

It happened recently at Dubai International Airport, and the performers are meant to represent flight attendants, Dubai airport employees and passengers passing through. We're pretty sure they're all hired for the purpose, however.

Okay. No more talking. Just dancing.]]> JetSetCD 2011-11-10T18:34:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/11/29/115141/90

Lovebirds Joe Jonas and Ashley Greene had some explaining to do when the singer was stopped by airport security after forgetting he packed a cheese knife in his carry-on. The young couple was flying from Abu Dhabi to New York City when Jonas was flagged before making it to the gate for their flight.

“We had too many bags to check so we took one as a carry-on instead of checking it through security. We were going from the Middle East to New York - to JFK, so tons of security, tons of screening," Ashley explained to George Lopez on a recent "Lopez Tonight" appearance. "We got through one actually, surprisingly enough, but at the second one, they all of a sudden stopped and kind of looked at us with these really stern faces and they were like, 'what is in your bag.' And I look at [Joe] and then [had] flashbacks of this knife set that we got."]]> cmb 2010-11-29T12:30:46-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/11/15/81630/060

There’s nothing Dubai wants more than to succeed as a global vacation destination, and that’s especially true when it comes to luring western visitors out into the desert sun. Unfortunately every now and again there are reports of some extreme behavior when it comes to punishment for those that don’t live up to all the rules and standards within the Emirate.

The latest news involves a man getting sent to the slammer for doing something that several passengers probably do each day in especially aggravating airports like JFK and O’Hare. Apparently a British gentleman decided to flip the bird to an airport worker, after the airline employee refused to let him use some kind of customer service telephone. ]]> kjb 2010-11-15T08:40:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/11/8/125846/830

Last week, a few tourists in Dubai got the surprise of a lifetime when they peered over the observation deck of the world’s tallest building and saw Tom Cruise dangling from only a wire, with no safety nets.

Cruise, who is notorious for doing all of his own stunt work, was shooting a scene for the upcoming movie, Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, in which he chased another man around the outside of the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai.

At a press conference held after the stunt was completed, Cruise said:]]> cmb 2010-11-08T13:30:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/10/11/84418/119

We were pretty eager to learn about FlyDubai and their low-fare options to and from Dubai last summer, but since then there hasn’t been too much news from the low cost carrier. There have been some new routes and plans for the future, but now the big news has to do with the airline not being a big fan of travelers with disabilities.

An American flyer was stopped from taking to the skies above Dubai last week, for the sole reason he was blind. The passenger was planning to head off to Amman, but the airline said they wouldn’t be able to take him there because he was blind and flying alone. Despite pleading his case, this guy was out of luck, as apparently the policy is that blind travelers can’t fly if they aren’t utilizing the buddy system. ]]> kjb 2010-10-11T09:08:39-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/