Jaunted - Tag: Airports

Bangkok: Beware Of The Unlucky Demon Statues At Bangkok Airport

amandak — 2009-11-19T10:34:29-05:00

Checking in at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is about to get a bit weirder, not mention more unlucky. How is this possible, you ask? Well, airport management has decided to move twelve "demon statues" from the arrivals area to the check-in area.

Officially, the airport says they are moving the statues so that passengers can "appreciate the statues' beauty". But the real reason behind the move—which will cost them around $50,000 and take three months—is that shopkeepers in the arrivals area blame the statues for the bad luck which has plagued them since the airport opened, including the protests which closed the airport for more than a week last year.

So if you end up unlucky at the check-in counter, like with no good seats left on the plane or an excess baggage charge, then at least you will know that you can blame those demon statues for it.

Related Stories:
· Bangkok Airport Moves 'Unlucky' Demon Statues [The Age]
· Thai Airport Standoff Proves World Is Indeed Flat [Jaunted]
· Bangkok Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: antwerpenR]

Grozny: First International Flight In 15 Years Leaves Chechen Airport

JetSetCD — 2009-11-18T09:19:29-05:00

Is winter cabin fever setting in yet? Are you itching to travel before the holidays ground you with too much cranberry sauce? Well, all we can say is just be happy that you don't live in the region of Chechnya because they just had their first international flight in 15 years.

Okay, so there are other reasons why you should be thankful you don't live in Chechnya, like all that conflict and the human rights violations over the last 18-plus years. But since we've got the current state of Russian carrier Aeroflot on our minds, this bit of news made our ears perk up.

George Clooney Exclusively Flies American Airlines For 'Up In The Air'

cmb — 2009-11-17T12:34:29-05:00

Why should kids' movies have all the cross-promotional fun? According to the folks at Paramount, they shouldn't. That's why they teamed up with American Airlines who, in exchange for product placement in the new George Clooney movie "Up In The Air," let the film's director, Jason Reitman, have free filming access to its terminals, planes and the Admirals Clubs. The access came in handy considering the movie is about an executive who flies around the country and fires people.

But the partnership doesn't end there. Last weekend American hosted a press junket on one of its 767 that featured a screening of the film, a live performance by Sad Brad, the band that composed the film's soundtrack, and an interview with Anna Kendrick, who plays Clooney's apprentice in the film. American is also sponsoring tie-in auctions exclusively for AAdvantage Miles members for upgrades and movie-related items.

Frequent Flyers On Qantas Can Simply Swipe And Fly In 2010

JetSetCD — 2009-11-13T10:33:23-05:00

With the rise of LCC (low cost carrier) airlines and their love affair with new technology, it seems like the airport check-in process is becoming the least time-consuming and easiest portion of catching a flight. There's the touchscreen kiosks, dedicated bag drop counters, and even the ability to check-in and print your boarding pass online.

In Australia however, Qantas is still the gold standard, and luckily they're just as into updating the check-in process as we are. Focusing on cutting check-in time for their domestic passengers in half, Qantas is rehauling their system with the "next generation of check-in."

What that means for you Qantas flyers out there.

Saint Barthelemy: World's Most Dangerous Airports: Saint Barthélemy

JetSetCD — 2009-11-12T10:35:48-05:00

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

The French island of Saint Barth�lemy in the Caribbean might be the winter playground of the rich and famous, but unless you arrive via private yacht or boat charter, all the gobs of money in the world can't save you from enduring the white-knuckled landing on the short airstrip at St. Barth's Gustaf III/St. Jean Airport (SBH).

The concrete runway begins at the base of slight hill, and goes for only 2,100 feet before landing right on St. Jean's beach and the harbor of the island's second largest town. Sunbathers can totally lie out right next to the sand strip at the end of the runway, this it's a hugely popular plane spotting destination for those who enjoy small, prop planes. You see, because of the itty-bitty airport and runway size, major flights must land at the neighboring island of St. Maarten, where they have a big, modern airport. From there, the Barths-bound folks either jump aboard a ferry or hop a WINAIR, Air Cara�bes, and St-Barth Commuter flight in planes usually holding twenty or less passengers.

An airplane crashes, after the jump.

Google Gives The Greatest Gift Of All: Free Airport WiFi Over The Holidays

kellycrabb — 2009-11-11T10:47:15-05:00

Flying for the holidays and intrigued by the possible availability of free In-Flight WiFI? How about free WiFi in airports as well?

You may be entitled to a Christmas, Hannukah or Kwanzaa gift, compliments of Google. The multi-billion dollar corporation is bucking up and plans to help soften the blow of flight delays this holiday season by offering free wifi at select airports all over the country. This promotion begins November 17 and will run through January 15, 2010 at 47 airports nationwide. Some of the airports that will offer free wifi with your delays include Miami, Las Vegas, Houston, Boston, Seattle, and even little terminals like Toledo and Central Wisconsin.

Unfortunately, this "B-list" of airports excludes "A-list" hubs like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Dallas. Either way, we are thankful for any freebies this holiday season. For the complete list of airports, check out Google's cute little holiday WiFi website here.

[Photo: jessamyn]

Google And Microsoft Battling To See Who Can Provide More Free Holiday WiFi

Omri — 2009-11-10T17:04:25-05:00

When the tech world's two major borgs square off for travelers' time and attention, that can only be good news for the rest of us. Google had already arranged for free WiFi on Virgin America flights and—as of this morning—they're also giving it away at more than 40 airports across the country. But that's small time compared to the deal Microsoft just struck to promote their search engine Bing.

Bing has worked out an arrangement with WiFi provider JiWire which will allow users to get free Internet in exchange for doing just one search on Bing. This is a campaign that will reach all of JiWire's hotspots which, more or less, amounts to just about everywhere: