Jaunted - Tag: RyanAir

Hungary's Malev Shuts Down after 66 Years, LCCs Rush In

Omri — 2012-02-06T13:56:46-05:00

Hey, remember when journalists started weirdly declaring that everything was fine with the airline industry? And then travelers took that to mean that good times were here again while the government swooped in with expensive new regulations? And then remember how American Airlines went bankrupt and then Spanair shut down and then Hungary's Malev shut down? Good times.

There's not much to say about this latest casualty of the global economic crunch. Hungary really, really wanted to keep Malev operating, with the government declaring the airline to be a "priority objective." But they just couldn't make the carrier viable—specifically, they couldn't convince suppliers that the government would be able to pay them for services—and thus ended the Malev's 66 years of almost continuous service. Sad.

Lots of New Cities and New Routes from Porter, Peach, and Air Asia X

kjb — 2012-01-13T10:18:53-05:00

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Porter Airlines:
This week the Canadian carrier announced that they’ll be doing their thing back and forth between Washington-Dulles International Airport and their home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The new flights start on April 16 and will run three times each week, and we really need to get with the program and fly with them before 2012 is over!

· Air Asia X:
They’re on the move again, and this week brings a new option between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney thanks to the folks over at Air Asia X. It sounds like the airline is putting the final touches and plans on the new city pair, and flights begin April 1. Tickets could go on sale as soon as like next week. Air Asia X needs like a few more days to shake things out so just stay tuned.

The Naughtiest Flight Attendants of 2011 Are...

Jaunted11 — 2011-12-30T09:03:32-05:00

It's that time of the year again, the time when the year just plain ends. Alas, we can't just let 2011 go that easily, especially since travelers spent it both up in the air and up in arms over a crazy range of topics, encompassing everything from nudie scans to tarmac delays. Needless to say, we're ready for 2012, but first we're taking a brief look back at the best of 2011 with the Jaunted Travel Awards,—or as we fondly refer to them—The Jauntys.

Each and every year there are plenty of naughty flight attendants getting into trouble, and it usually involves wearing something a little bit different from the company-issued uniform, or not wearing something at all. This year, Canadian flight attendants stripped for their Turbulence Calendar of 2012—nice, eh—and of course getting frisky in the cockpit is sure to get you on Santa’s naughty list. However, when the final votes were tallied we just had to give out this year’s naughtiest flight attendants award to the high-flying ladies of Ryanair.

The Most Ridiculous Travel Idea of 2011 Is...

Jaunted11 — 2011-12-29T15:05:02-05:00

In 2008 we favorably covered the efforts of American Airlines flight attendants who were trying to block airplane wifi from showing porn. In 2009 we disgustedly called out in-flight porn reading on our "Top Ten Gross Things People Do On Airplanes" list. In 2010 we specifically chastised Democratic Representative John Conyers for flipping through a Playboy while sitting in couch.

Apparently none of that helped. 2011 was the year when in-flight porn viewing—enabled by technological innovation and monetized by some of the most obnoxious companies in the travel industry—broke into the mainstream. Ryanair used iPad porn as a publicity stunt and Qantas started screening an explicit guide to the female orgasm.

And so we're declaring airline-sponsored in-flight porn, which is frankly pervy beyond belief and seems to be catching on, to be the Most Ridiculous Travel Idea of 2011.

EasyJet Will Assign You That Seat, Thank You Very Much

Omri — 2011-11-21T13:44:18-05:00

On one hand, EasyJet shows all the signs of being an ultra-budget LCC. The airline isn't as obnoxious about their exorbitant fees and/or lack of services as Spirit Airlines or Ryanair, but they did pointedly ring up Prince Harry on a bunch of fees the last time he flew with them. They even charged him extra for checking through his green army bag, which was issued to him while he was serving in Afghanistan, among other places. Thoroughly charming.

On the other hand, the British airline has made a number of moves implying that they want to be something more than a "frugal LCC" also-ran. They've led the way on genuinely innovative features like offering in-flight trip insurance, and they were the first UK commercial airline to coat their planes with nano-paint so they could fly more efficiently.

Ryanair Now Giving Interviews on Mountain Goats and Porn

Omri — 2011-11-09T16:42:10-05:00

If you were going to do a chart of all the obnoxious ways that Irish LCC Ryanair tries to get media attention, first of all it would be an awkwardly large chart. Second, it would have to cover - at a minimum - the ads that are tasteless, the ads that are sexist, the ads that are sexist and tasteless. Then you would have to cover their heavy-handed intentionally sensational "news" announcements, which usually revolve around things they're never going to do and almost always involve bodily fluids. So bathroom fees and toilets, mostly.

Sex and pee pee. That's what their PR people usually bring to the table. And now, a new bodily fluid to add the chart: semen! How innovative. How risque.

Ryanair Flight Attendants Strip Down to Lingerie for 2012 Charity Calendar

JetSetCD — 2011-11-03T10:15:59-05:00

It's that time of the year! When pop-up mall kiosks are chock-full of shiny, shrink-wrapped new calendars for the the next year and Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair asks their flight attendants to strip to join the selection. Yes, the 2012 Girls of Ryanair charity calendar is now on sale.

This is the fourth year Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has sold the calendar, which features 13 cabin crew (of nationalities Irish to Italian) wearing little more than skimpy bras and panties—underwear we highly doubt they regularly sport beneath their Ryanair uniforms. But that's not the point! The point is supposed to be that Ryanair employs hotties, and booking a Ryanair ticket comes with a chance to interact with these girls up close while en route to a long weekend on in Lanzarote.