Jaunted - Tag: Technology

Lufthansa Gets a Yelp of Its Own with New 'MemberScout' iPhone App

kjb — 2010-03-19T09:00:22-05:00

If your social networking dream is to become the Foursquare Mayor of a Currywurst stand in Berlin, then Lufthansa has a new app that might interest you. It doesn’t reward you with badges, but it does help you connect with new friends overseas.

The MemberScout app is now available for iPhone—coming soon for your BlackBerry users—and it allows Miles and More members to chat up one another while on the road. It’s like a Lufthansa-only version of Yelp, where you can share reviews, stories, tips and anything else related to travel. Just ask the app what you want to do, and it will try its damnedest to reveal the best place for dinner and drinks.

Soon, You'll Be Able to Check In via iPad on These Airlines

kjb — 2010-03-18T12:37:18-05:00

This might become the year for electronic boarding passes. Sure, there have been plenty of airlines offering airplane access via smartphone for some time, but it’s no longer just for elite flyers leaving from some of the nation’s busiest airports. Especially now that United Airlines is the latest to ditch the paper and head to the promised land.

Last week United starting using mobile boarding passes at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport, and they've quickly expanded their offerings to other major markets including Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco—among a few other locations. As long as everything works out well, they plan to be in about 30 different cities by this summer, so maybe you can flash that new iPad to board the plane as you begin your summer vacation.

This is the Future! Oman Air Successfully Starts Long-Haul In-Flight WiFi

JetSetCD — 2010-03-05T09:35:00-05:00

Happy Friday! Oman Air is officially the first airline to get long-haul in-flight WiFi up and running on one of its planes (Lufthansa's abandoned FlyNet of years ago doesn't really count).

Oman Air, which is already known for having some of the poshest airplane bathrooms, has just added to their in-flight amenities with all sorts of fun connectivity. The excellent announcements comes after a successful first flight with the WiFi onboard an Airbus A330 between Muscat and London-Heathrow. It might not be a super long-haul, 13+hour flight, but it's better than nothing.

The service is from OnAir, a company that hasn't worked to supply any US carrier with in-flight WiFi, although maybe they should think about it. Plus, the WiFi is joined by Oman Air's GSM/GPRS abilty, which allows passengers with the proper GSM/GPRS phones to make phone calls and even text message from 35,000 feet up. SWEEET.

Related Stories:
· Mobile and WiFi Internet Access on Oman Air [AsiaTravelTips]
· Phone Home from Oman Air, as They Allow In-Flight Cell Phones and Texting [Jaunted]
· In-Flight WiFi [Jaunted]

[Photo: drewski2112]

Three Reasons Why Shoe Scanners Are the Stupidest Airport Security Idea Ever

JetSetCD — 2010-03-03T14:11:37-05:00

It's an idea that's been batted around by the TSA and airport security for at least five years now: Why don't airports get shoe scanners to eliminate passengers having to take off their shoes at security? And in those five years, despite brief testing periods at airports like LAX and TLV, not one airport has stepped up to buy a slew of the machines and make shoe scanning mandatory. Why? Because it won't make a difference in the long run. And here's why:

· It's something full-body scanners should take care of

The words on everyone's lips these days, post-Christmas crotch bomber, are "Full-Body Scanning," and thus we're not surprised that the argument for separate shoe scanners is back. But if a full-body scanner is doing its job of scanning your full body, why would we need shoe scanners? Well, if you look at one of the machines, you'll see that the scanning doesn't go down to the floor. Perhaps they should just add a special attachment that does, so that airports aren't spending millions more dollars buying new machines and making space for those.

Amtrak Does Something Right! There's Now Free WiFi in Trains and Stations

JetSetCD — 2010-03-02T10:34:59-05:00

The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived! Kind of. We mean, it's probably not the biggest piece of news ever, but it's exciting nonetheless and a step forward for USA rail travel when we say that Amtrak's Acela have free WiFi right now! They promised us that they'd have it flowing by March, and we're surprised to see that they were good on their word.

According to the AP, the free WiFi isn't just on the 20 Acela routes, but it's even at a few of their stations. You'll find a free Amtrak signal in the gate areas of Washington Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station, New York Penn Station, Providence Station and Route 128 Station in Boston. They also report that Wilmington Station will get it when they finish up their station renovations next year.

Alaska Airlines Joins The Electronic Boarding Pass Party

kjb — 2010-02-25T08:37:39-05:00

Way to go, Alaska Airlines; they're using the upcoming spring to really update their services and not be left behind by technology. The airline just signed up for eventual fleet-wide in-flight WiFi, and now they’re looking to streamline the boarding process while saving some trees. Both Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have launched the option to use electronic boarding passes.

Thanks to a new mobile website, passengers leaving from cities like Anchorage, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Denver can stop wasting all that valuable printer ink. There are seven cities in total, but if all goes well, they’ll expand things to other cities into March.

Believe It or Not, The Pope Does Not Like Full Body Scanners

JetSetCD — 2010-02-23T08:40:58-05:00

It seems like since the Christmas Day crotch bomber, everyone and their moms have been sounding off on airport security, but apparently it's not a real topic until the Pope adds his two cents. That's right; Pope Benedict XVI has an official stance on full-body scanners, and if he's saying it, that means it's the stance of the Catholic Church and...umm...God's stance too?

You can probably already guess what he said, that body scanners violate the integrity of a person and that "It is essential never to lose sight of respect for the primacy of the person." He made these comments over the weekend during a "meeting"—but we're betting it was a Papal audience—with airline employees, including airport and airline executives, pilots, flight attendants and ground staff. It must have been a holy day of aviation.