After a challenging year for some of the founding members of the Oneworld alliance, 2012 will surely be brighter. In 2011, the alliance saw American Airlines file for bankruptcy and Qantas' chief grounding the entire network to challenge labor disputes, plus Iberia closing out the year with rounds of employee strikes.

There were some shining stars, however, with the finalization of International Airline Group (the conglomerate that combines British Airways and Iberia), Cathay Pacific offering overhauled cabins and in-flight amenities, and Japan Airlines emerging from bankruptcy stronger and more stable.

As we get going with 2012, we can't help but notice the huge changes happening amongst these airline buddies. Oneworld is the world's smallest of the major airline alliances, yet consistently hits the high marks in passenger ratings. With the addition of 3 new carriers, Oneworld will gain a fighting chance to excel in years to come. Here's what's happening meanwhile:]]> jetflyboy 2012-01-05T16:19:56-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/14/13440/989

Demonstrating impressive complete disregard for the liklihood of a global financial meltdown, AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes is launching a premium Malaysian airline to run shuttles between Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore.

Dubbed Caterham Jet, the regional airline will cater to business executives rich enough to pay for ultra-premium flights but not so rich that they have access to private jets. We're presuming people like that exist, but it seems like kind of a specialized demographic. Even worse, it's the exact demographic that Qantas is already targeting with their new RedQ airline.

Global economic retraction plus niche customer base plus direct competition from Qantas equals...no way this works, right? We're quite sure they had focus groups and market studies and everything, but this just doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would work.]]> Omri 2011-11-14T14:03:00-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/27/91059/7946

Forget strangers who nap on your shoulder, clip their toenails in the aisle or talk to you straight through the flight; the universal worst seatmate a flyer could (not) hope for is a crying baby in their ear. Don't get us wrong as we love babies, just not when we've paid good money to get to where we're going in one piece and in peace.

As you can imagine, the frustrations are magnified when noisy babies are brought into the higher priced Business and First Class cabins. Oftentimes travelers choose to pay the premium cost for the premium benefit of sitting in a quieter cabin, in more spacious seats, and maybe getting sleep to adjust to time zones or prepare for a stressful day. And then a baby cries and what's the point anymore?]]> JetSetCD 2011-06-27T10:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/6/28/9141/46112
A different sort of iPad kiosk being tested

Are you one of the almost 3 million people who have purchased Apple's new iPad? We already know that Australia's low-cost airline Jetstar is, since they'll be the first airline to bring the gadgets onboard as in-flight entertainment next month. But now Malaysia Airlines is also getting in on the game by becoming the first carrier to use iPads as kiosks for selling tickets.

If you're in Kuala Lumpur say, and you'd like to buy yourself a Malaysia Airlines ticket and you'd prefer to drop by their offices to do so, you'll now find the new "iPad MHkiosks" there, which ask you to select your itinerary and pay with a credit card. You'll then immediately receive confirmation via SMS and email. The kiosk eliminate any need to print tickets and you steer clear of having to pay an admin fee, such as you would pay using one of their agents. ]]> JetSetCD 2010-06-28T09:31:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/2/4/8347/91533

Here we go again—and we say that with a smile, since we're talking about the sixteenth season of Amazing Race, which premieres quite soon, on Sunday February 14th at 8pm EST.

It feels like only yesterday that we concluded our "Chasing Racers" map that followed Amazing Race 15's teams around the globe, as we've done every season, but then it still feels like yesterday that we watched the adrenaline-heavy finale to the very first season.

Who will be this season's backstabbing villains and who will be the cute couple whose mantra is "you can do this, baby! I love you!" We still have to wait and see, but already there's a spoiler on the web from when a traveler spotted the pairs on the road, filming.

SPOILER ALERT, after the jump ]]> JetSetCD 2010-02-04T09:35:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/12/16/121319/56

If you were following Dexter this season, you know that the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) cemented his youngest victims into new construction for Four Walls, a fictional charity that built homes for the needy. In the end, Dexter took care of Trinity, but there are still plenty of people in the real world who need a home, and its Habitat for Humanity who is helping them.

Habitat for Humanity has several volunteer opportunities available in local communities and at build sites across the globe. One of them, the Global Village Program, lets volunteers experience another culture while making a difference in the lives of others. ]]> cmb 2009-12-16T17:04:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/12/11/161624/67

From putting up a million free tickets to giving lifetime travel to babies born on their planes, Air Asia has developed a reputation for quirky and consistent customer service. Their 8th anniversary sale, which continues through Sunday, has also been getting some pretty good attention. Now the Malaysian LCC's reputation has been confirmed in the form of a Brand Of The Year award from Media Agency awards in Singapore. It turns out that branding matters! ]]> Omri 2009-12-11T16:49:41-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/