We admit there have been times that we may have put noise cancelling headphones just to give the illusion of listening to music, warding off fellow passengers' incessant blabbing. There also have been times we've noticed someone that looks interesting—ahem attractive ahem—and wished we could swap seats to get a little closer.

The latter is how KLM prefers to fly, and they'll soon offer passengers the ability to pick their seatmate based on Facebook or Linkedin profiles. By next year, the airline will not only offer a window or aisle preference, but allow customers to view the profile of other passengers, then choose whether or not to sit next to them.

The first red flag we see is the obvious privacy of personal details. Passengers must opt-in to have their social media profile available for other travelers to see. Which means, not everyone will be taking part in this singles bar in the sky. Sigh of relief! It also begs the question; will the aircraft have a cabin area set aside for these passengers who are single and ready to mingle? ]]> jetflyboy 2011-12-19T12:45:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/7/62034/5776

Scribbling out a welcome sign on crumpled paper from your backseat usually doesn’t promote a warm welcome, so that’s why Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport is ready to help you out.

Those tasked with picking up loved ones—or the company CEO—now have a new option at the airport. AMS just installed some sort of banner-making vending machine; so all you have to do is pop in a few euros and pick out your salutations.

BannerXpress is the company behind the idea, and they’re thinking about expanding the fun to more airports, stadiums, and other spots. Users are welcome to select all kinds of different things to create their custom sign including font size, colors, and background images. It’s not cheap at €15, but after waiting three hours instead of 15 minutes to pick up a pal, we probably couldn’t resist taking the machine for a test drive.

[Photo: The Consortium] ]]> kjb 2011-12-07T09:24:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/21/65815/126
Indonesian rice dish

Ordering off-menu while jet setting is not only limited to first and business class passengers, you know. Just as we last told you about American Airlines upgrading their menus, KLM is now offering specialty meals on intercontinental flights from Amsterdam. Last week, the Flying Dutchman announced the expanded dining offering in the back of the plane with a little pre-ordering and few extra euros.

The expanded menu is in addition to the gluten-free, kosher, and other special dietary meals that KLM usually stocks, but these will explore ethnic themes, like traditional Dutch fare, Japanese delights, Italian comfort food, Indonesian rice dishes and an upgraded veggie option. At 12-15 euros each, the meals will still give you spending money for bringing home souvenirs. ]]> jetflyboy 2011-11-21T17:05:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/13/23437/321

It's happening! That ban on selling marijuana to tourists and allowing them in Dutch pot cafes—the one Holland's been discussing since earlier this year—will begin taking effect next year. And while "next year" seems like a far enough time away to not freak about this, may we remind you that next year is little more than a month-and-a-half away, and the ban hits January 1, 2012.

Don't go booking the first KLM direct to Amsterdam quite just yet, however. This first phase of the pot-for-tourists ban will only reach the southern parts of the country—Limburg, North-Brabant and Zeeland—where drug tourism is more of a problem (the rest of Europe just comes across the border down there for a joint or two, you see). Maastricht has been trialling the program since October, actually. Regardless, officials promise to include Amsterdam and the rest of the country in the ban come January 2013. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-11-14T15:36:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/2/65720/3136

If you have ever flown KLM long-haul, you probably already know to get psyched for the in-flight shopping to start. This excitement is not due to tax-free bottles of liquor or J.Lo's latest perfume. Well, maybe for some it is, but the magic is really in the Royal Delft souvenirs.

If mini porcelain houses aren't your thing, Dutch Tourism (@visitholland) recently tweeted to say that visitors may design their own plates using the iconic hand-painted blue and white Delft pattern. This is your chance to get your face on a plate, people! After some thinking and wandering around the Royal Delft website for gift ideas, we came to the conclusion that this might actually work for a few people on our list this year. ]]> jetflyboy 2011-11-02T10:48:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/3/83819/0777

We're not going to say "I told you so," but we kind of did back in May when Holland first announced plans to possibly close "coffee shops" to tourists after crime rose. Now, from this last Saturday, the hammer has dropped and foreign tourists are not permitted in the coffee shops of Holland's southernmost city of Maastricht.

There are exceptions: Germans and Belgians are still welcome, but no Americans or Italians or English or French or...we could continue but you get the point. And if you are German or Belgian, then be prepared to show your passport and allow the coffee shop to retain your identity information for up to two days, even if you're only in the shop to smoke weed for fifteen minutes. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-03T10:35:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/15/84716/0497

Okay, okay. So we just finished spreading the gospel of Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, but we're kinda not done since we didn't say anything about the food. Oh, THE FOOD!

Instead of giving you a huge gallery and making you drool on a Monday evening when you're likely nowhere near the international departures area at AMS, here are just a few tidbits to give you an idea—hints to get your appetite going on a day you're traveling through Schiphol. Here's the biggest tip: save your tummy for some good stuff; skipping breakfast or another meal is fine if you're on your way to this airport. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-15T17:07:02-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/