We'll fully admit that we save our ticket stubs even sometimes our bag tags. Of course travelers of decades ago were no different; in fact, they were worse. Sometimes we dig up vintage gems that deserve to be shared. All week, we'll look at a few lost pieces of ephemera that continue to inspire.

The 1960s were a great time to hop a helicopter ride in New York. These were the days when buying a First Class ticket on Pan Am or TWA meant the inclusion of a chopper transfer to the airport, and helicopters weren't yet clogging the skyways above the rivers, causing the accidents and concerns that exist today. In 1964 specifically, families keen on spending a day at the 1964-1965 World's Fair could take a scenic ride on New York Airways' helicopters from Manhattan out to the fair at Corona Park in Queens.

Landing was the fun part, actually; the choppers set down atop the first completed structure for the fair, the Port Authority Exhibit Building, which counted the helipad, a restaurant ("Top of the Fair"), cocktail bar and 360-film feature theater as attractions. Coincidentally, the 360-degree film shown was also shot by helicopter, as the cameras dangled and captured the beauty and geography of the New York region. ]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-19T14:40:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/20/8351/7523

Tis the season to head for sunnier, warmer climes. For many this means the Caribbean and Mexico while for others, they're keeping it closer to home in Palm Springs, CA. Since we know many who'll head to the desert on Virgin America's new route to Palm Springs, we're thinking it's time to let you in on a few of our own personal favorite PS secrets.

When you're not guzzling all-you-can-drink champagne in Palm Springs, the thing to do is take in the sights. Just be totally sober before hopping behind the wheel, of course. There's no shortage of vistas in this desert valley surrounded by mountains and blue skies, and we confess that our favorite thing to do in Palm Springs is actually just leisurely cruise around.

Driving here (any time other than Coachella) is a breeze. The streets are wide and well maintenanced, traffic is extremely rare, and oftentimes the buildings that line that road are as photo-worthy as the natural scenery. There's just something about that midcentury modern look, and luckily it's something in which Palm Springs specializes.]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-20T16:49:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/22/2730/3975
The departure hall

Riddle us this: What has four jetways, five security lanes, 484 seats, but no one yet in them or on them? The answer is simple: an airport terminal that hasn't opened yet, and in this case we're talking about Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia, Costa Rica, where a $40 million terminal is ready to cut the ribbon as soon as authorities give the thumbs up.

Late last week we had the awesome opportunity to snoop around the place before most anyone else, and what we saw, we liked. We liked very much. Travelers who typically head down to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica for vacation or to visit family will be knocked off their butts next time they fly in and, instead of pulling up to the open-to-the-elements corrugated metal tents that are the old terminal, arrive instead to a jetway, air-conditioned immigration and a baggage claim so clean and spacious that it almost puts a tear in your eye.

Oh, and did we mention that they've managed to break ground on this terminal and complete it in just one year and one month? It's been "Extreme Home Makeover: Airport Edition" for Liberia Airport (LIR), a description straight from the mouth of Wogbe Ofori, the Senior Vice President of Global Operations for ADC & HAS, the good people charged with making the place a reality (though not a reality show, ha).]]> JetSetCD 2011-11-22T10:39:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/27/101758/19

In case you haven't heard, London's famous landmark Big Ben is leaning. The announcement was made just this month, with the detail that the very tippy top of the clock tower is 1.5 feet off center. This has naturally sparked fears that Big Ben may take a dive into the Thames, but—from all we know of Venice's various leaning towers, this won't happen in our liftetime...nor that of our children or children's children, so chillax.

For comparison, see the Campanile (bell tower) of Chiesa di Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's church) in our photo above. It's one of several towers with an impressive lean in La Serenissima, and it's been boozily tilting (and twisting) since it was rebuilt in the 1800s following a lightning strike nearly three centuries earlier. Although it's in constant danger of collapse, tourists still absentmindedly gather below it at pasticcerias and ristorantes.

Even worse is the 143' white campanile of San Giorgio dei Greci, which was completed in 1592 and has been leaning from the start. Paranoid travelers will now likely add "hard hat" to their Venice packing list, we suppose.]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-27T10:17:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/19/103054/61

Have you ever gone to the airport just to check it out? Not to take a flight, but to plane-spot, dine at a restaurant before security or just appreciate the architecture? You know we have, and do, but no matter your answer there's a huge chance you'll be champing at the bit to get to Kuwait International Airport in the next few years as they build a whopper of a new airport, with some seriously chic design by Foster + Partners.

Just look at it above, and the rest of the photo gallery of renderings below. That is some slick stuff. First thing we thought of, though? The Eero Saarinen TWA Flight Center, probably because we were just in there admiring the clean, white curves on Sunday and mostly because it actually looks derivative of the design. Do you agree?]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-19T11:51:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/17/22120/335

While this last weekend was spent at New York's JFK Airport fondly remembering the glamor days of the jet age and seeking to further preserve them through the TWA Flight Center/Terminal 5, the complete opposite was going on next door.

The old "Sundrome" Terminal 6 designed by architect I.M. Pei is in the process of being completely demolished. Don't say we didn't warn you! The modernist building was constructed in the 1960s very much like the TWA Flight Center, but unlike the Center, it does not have a coveted spot on the National Register of Historic Places. BOOM goes the wrecking ball. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-18T11:37:52-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/16/22910/552

For years, the old TWA Flight Center at New York's JFK International Airport has taunted us. Situated right in front of the new-ish JetBlue Terminal 5, the Eero Saarinen-designed masterpiece was so close and yet, so far.

Opened in 1962 and closed in 2001 after TWA went bust and was taken into American Airlines, Terminal 5 is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and undergoing slow renovations (that's what happens when you've got asbestos and close proximity to functioning flights). It's not been open to the public since, save for a few short months in 2004 for an art exhibition. This weekend, however, the Open House New York event flung open the doors for four hours and half the city showed up to check out this historical gem.]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-17T12:24:22-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/