As part of the love and marriage that is the Continental and United merger, there were plans for the former Continental planes to update their seating maps. That’s because Continental—along with now having Thanksgiving at United’s parents’ house—is bringing EconomyPlus seating onboard.

It’s going to be a long process to upgrade and update all those planes and seats, but there’s been a little bit of progress. Just recently the combined carrier announced that the first Continental plane with EconomyPlus made its debut earlier this week. That means four extra inches of legroom towards the front of the economy cabin, but that also mean paying a few extra bucks for the privilege. As of now the only way to pay for the upgrade is during the check-in process, but as more planes get the seats it’ll also be available online. ]]> kjb 2011-11-23T10:03:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/21/54827/367

Huge billboards plastered with advertisements and buses slapped with sales-y stickers are the norm when you’re headed to the airport. However, there’s a new spot that ads are showing up, and before long every airport might just have one.

Out in Medford, Oregon the city council just approved 25-by-25 foot signs that will soon be added to all sides of the airport’s air traffic control tower. The tower is around 100-feet tall, so this is going to be quite a billboard for those heading to and from the airport. ]]> kjb 2011-11-21T09:15:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/22/1258/47443
A seatback TV on a United/Continental flight recently

You know what an "Easter Egg" is, right? Not the type laid by a mythical Easter Bunny, but the type of surprise unexpectedly found hidden in video games or other programs. Well, if you're flying United, you'll be happy to know that the airline has its own sort of Easter Egg embedded into the flying experience and it's called Channel 9.

Channel 9 is exactly what it sounds like: the 9 channel on a plane's in-flight entertainment radio at your seat. Instead of "The Hits of the '60s" or "Smooth Jazz Classics," Channel 9 plays the actual transmissions between your pilots and air traffic control, plus any other ATC transmissions your pilots are hearing. You're essentially listening in on the cockpit, catching everything from discussions of turbulence to pilot jokes. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-22T08:15:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/4/17/235039/492
Neil Patrick Harris as an Air Traffic Controller on SNL

If you had a difficult time getting up and out of bed this Monday morning, then just take a moment to be so, so thankful that you're not an Air Traffic Controller who, short on sleep, has to head to work and be responsible for the lives of thousands to tens of thousands of travelers today. After several controllers were recently caught sleeping on the job (one of whom fell so asleep that planes landed on their own, uncontrolled), Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has altered the rules for ATC shifts.

Now, instead of having only minimum 8 hours between shifts, controllers will get at least nine hours. They can also no longer be scheduled for a surprise midnight shift after a day off. They are small changes that mean a great deal for those working in this high-stress position. A single hour extra could be all the extra shut-eye they need to keep their eyelids up and their brain focused while in the Tower. Thankfully no crashes have occurred due to ATC sleep issues, so it could always be worse. And they could always be into fancy manicures... ]]> JetSetCD 2011-04-18T09:05:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/3/27/214024/327

At this point you’ve probably heard all about the air traffic controller snoozing on the job while two planes tried to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. We’re thankful everyone is fine, and that the pilots for each airline were awesome in such a situation. We’re also pretty glad that we weren’t the ones that fell asleep—because heads are going to roll.

This might come as a surprise, but apparently some airports don’t even have air traffic controllers. We always thought that an air traffic control tower was filled with many workers—and for some reason, probably lots of cigarette smoke—but it’s not. Some airports just have a couple workers directing flights in and out of the airport, but after hours that isn’t always the case. ]]> kjb 2011-03-28T09:31:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/3/8/155153/2954

A week or so after it was discovered via taped air traffic control conversations that a controller at New York-JFK had allowed his young son to speak on the radio and briefly communicate with planes, it was revealed that the controller's daughter had also been directing flights in the same manner.

The whole issue is way overblown by now, with many pilots stepping up to defend the controller, but the second child adds fuel to the flames, especially when it was discovered that the occurrences were on separate days and not just a quick moment where they took turns. Obviously the biggest issue is safety; a child speaking to planes, even while being prompted by a trained adult, could misspeak and endanger the lives of those in the sky and on the ground at the airport. ]]> JetSetCD 2010-03-08T17:00:02-05:00 40.6349932 -73.775456 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/14/41720/0129

Want to fly in or out of Australia's biggest city, Sydney? It could be tricky, because apparently there aren't quite enough people there to guide your plane in to a safe landing.

On Sunday night, a number of flights out of Sydney were canceled and many incoming planes had to fly around for ages before being cleared for landing, because of a shortage of air traffic controllers. Three of the controllers who should have been working called in saying they couldn't come to work (we don't if they were sick, or just had a really good party to go to) and Air Services Australia, who run the tower at Sydney Airport, couldn't find any replacements.]]> amandak 2009-09-14T15:18:52-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/