That's right lady, go ahead and type in our checked baggage fees and holiday surcharges; we now know to avoid your airline in future travels. You see, three airlines have become the grinches of the holiday travel season. Not only are they throwing down the baggage fees, but they're already upping recently-announced peak travel surcharges, some of which continue through to 2010.

The offending airlines are: United, Delta and US Airways. Might as well just throw all your spare change and travel coffee money at them now, with all the little additional nicks they're taking at your wallet... ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-23T13:59:00-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/125221/46

After some tense days in China, President Obama puddle-jumped up to South Korea, opening the flood gates to jokes about how Obama's got Seoul.

But, like in China and Tokyo, Obama wasn't about to hit the karaoke bars or down soju (rice wine); no, he had business to do and soldiers to visit. After meeting with the South Korean president at the historical "Blue House," Obama headed to Osan Air Base to addressed 1,500 US and Korean men in uniform. There would be no trips to the border with North Korea with Barack, since tensions run so high this year. Too bad though; we enjoyed looking at the little barbed wire souvenirs you can buy at the border base at Panmunjom.

Although Obama's first trip to Asia as president was focused on China, he had to give some attention to South Korea. It's a good thing he didn't bring the family though, since we doubt Malia and Sasha would have liked eating living, wriggling octopus tentacles.

Related Stories:
· Commander-in-Chief Obama shares stories with U.S. troops in Korea [LA Times]
· Obama's S. Korea visit free of major protests [Washington Times]
· Obama Around The World [Jaunted]

[Photo: AP/WashingtonTimes]]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-23T13:21:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/11044/203

Where to go after you've won big in Atlantic City? Spend it on Christmas presents for your favorite people in New York, of course! Amtrak's Atlantic City Express Service is ferrying shoppers from Jersey to NYC with its "Shopaholics" train on Fridays but offering ticket discounts all December long if you're heading to New York.

Passengers on the Shopaholics Train (#7162, $39 one-way, departing 10:02AM) get a free tote bag to collect their purchases in in the city. Once there they can save 10 percent on a room at the just-opened Ace Hotel, in case making a list and checking it twice takes longer than previously planned. ]]> egw 2009-11-23T12:29:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/105629/76

Who doesn't end up watching "A Christmas Story" on TV at least once during the holidays? This year, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre is bringing Ralphie, and his dream of getting a BB-gun for Christmas, to the stage too. "A Christmas Story: The Musical" will run through Dec. 27 at the Spencer Theatre in Kansas City, MO. The musical includes all of the movie's best moments, like a tongue frozen to a lamp post, a bar of soap in the mouth, a mannequin leg lamp, and a Chinese Christmas dinner, plus new music created to compliment each scene.

Tickets for "A Christmas Story: The Musical" can be purchased from the online box office. You can select any date to see what seats are available before purchasing. Most shows are sold out or close to it though so you'll have to act fast. Adult tickets are $60, Senior Tickets are $47 and Student Tickets are $20. ]]> cmb 2009-11-23T11:39:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/04918/206

British Airways CEO Willie Walsh is going around telling people (like Financial Times journalists) that he thinks a merger with Aussie airline Qantas could still happen. They talked about it last year but dismissed it as a bad idea, but now British Airways is considering nicer ways to ask.

Basically, Qantas is a successful airline on its own, even though their old CEO thought merging a good idea. So British Airways is now saying they could merge in the same way as they did with Spanish airline Iberia, which would still give Qantas a fair bit of autonomy.]]> amandak 2009-11-23T10:39:33-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/125/82595

We all know about the rare instances of airline passenger misconduct that make it to the headlines, like the case of the naked, angry flyer or the fighting Lohan, but every day little instances of pure gross occur unnoticed or just unreported.

Perhaps you've spotted someone getting a little too frisky beneath their $5 on-board purchase blanket or going about some hygienic business, but chances are you haven't seen all Top Ten Gross Things People Do On Airplanes:

10. Browse dating websites over the in-flight WiFi
We know that having in-flight WiFi is new and great and magical, but it's best to keep your private profile and your preferences for "18/F/Asian" private. Even if it's something as innocuous as passing the time on HotorNot.com, just remember that you're not the only one who can see your computer screen, and we bet everyone else that can is secretly laughing at you. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-23T09:48:52-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/8398/5162

Remember when some pilots were recently screwing around on their laptops instead of paying attention to the whole flying-the-plane thing? It would have been nice to hear portions of their conversations in the cockpit—just to see what was actually going on. Well a new bill might allow airlines to listen to portions of cockpit communications.

The current union contracts kind of prohibit eavesdropping on what the pilots are chatting about while they are doing their job. However, this new bill would allow the airlines to use recorded data to discipline or fire pilots if they weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing. As it stands now, the recordings only become available if there’s an accident or other serious situation, but if the bill goes anywhere, listening in to evaluate pilot performance could become law. ]]> kjb 2009-11-23T09:24:32-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/