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.

Think back to 365-ish days ago. What was the hottest travel innovation then? Well, at the time we highlighted in-flight WiFi as the coolest thing, and not too much has changed for 2011. Or rather, everything has changed since now it's not just in-flight WiFi we're loving, but long-haul in-flight WiFi. ]]> Jaunted11 2011-12-29T10:40:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/15/62050/825

Two huge bits of in-flight entertainment news dropped this week. Let's sum 'em up:

· Emirates A380s join the In-Flight WiFi bandwagon

Guess the airline with the largest amount of orders for Airbus A380. It's Emirates. Guess the airline with the largest amount of the superjumbo already flying the skies. Again, it's Emirates. Guess the airline that's already got in-flight WiFi on most those babies. Duh, Emirates. Still, the news that passengers may pay up and log on during A380 Emirates flights came in 2010 with the projected log-in date June 2012. They've arrived at their goal a whole seven months early!

The service is OnAir, the same long-haul WiFi provider for Oman Air, TAM, Singapore and more. Pricing begins at $7.50 and is arranged in service bundles of MB. And yes, even First Class will have to pay.]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-15T11:11:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/8/123537/660

These days, with so many WiFi-equipped planes criss-crossing the skies, we definitely think twice before booking flights not equipped with it. In-Flight WiFi is just so...integral to keeping our mobile lifestyle moving, but also it's becoming expected. We're happy to report that someone else joins in this thinking—none other than the jolly elf himself, Santa Claus.

Earlier this month, Gogo gave Santa the Christmas gift at the top of his list: an upgrade to the newest ATG-4 onboard internet, including the new media platform to allow Santa to watch movies and TV shows while on those long, transocean crossings on Christmas Eve. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-08T12:35:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/28/55134/413

Hopefully you’re safely back in town after a weekend of holiday travels, and if you’re lucky you might have even been served a bag of peanuts by one of the best flight attendants around. Apparently she’s been hard at work—and extra friendly—aboard plenty of Southwest Airlines flights, and she’s so nice she even got the airline a customer for life.

On a recent flight, a passenger and his girlfriend were quite impressed with a flight attendant by the name of Holly. It just happened to be a WiFi-enabled flight, so the traveler logged on to Facebook to let Southwest know what a great flight it was. On a whim he suggested that someone meet them at the gate to give Holly a raise, a promotion, or even a burrito from Chipotle. He even agreed to sign a contract pledging to only fly with Southwest Airlines as long as Holly was in charge of passing out the peanuts and serving up smiles. ]]> kjb 2011-11-28T10:49:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/21/53752/315

We knew that Air China was testing out in-flight WiFi aboard some of its domestic flights, and it sounds like the initial tests must have gone pretty darn well. That’s because even more tests and trials are planned for additional flights through the first part of 2012.

Again, the in-flight WiFi is technically for accessing the airline’s entertainment system, so online holiday shopping high above China isn’t exactly an option just yet. However, we can’t imagine that it’ll remain that way for long, because it's actually our buddies over at Gogo providing the in-flight magic. Just like back at home in the nifty fifty, it’s Gogo that’s responsible for all the wires, transmitters, and other do-dads that makes the system hum along. ]]> kjb 2011-11-21T09:52:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/11/73422/325

Alright this might not be as groundbreaking as United’s announcement to finally equip their planes with plenty of WiFi. However, it does have to do with airplanes and in-flight connectivity, so we think it’s a winner.

Air China is testing out their own flavor of in-flight WiFi this week, and that makes it the very first airline in China to do so. It’s even free for all passengers while the airline works to test it out, so that’s definitely a step in the right direction. ]]> kjb 2011-11-11T09:50:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/9/72643/3629

London is the best when it comes to all kinds of stuff, but the city is unfortunately not too great when it comes to finding free WiFi. It just really hasn’t made the push for large hotspots or other all-encompassing connection options, but that might be changing soon. This is especially good for those visiting from abroad, because those overseas roaming charges—especially for data—can quickly ruin your travel buzz.

It sounds like Nokia and the city are working on a plan to bring hotspots to several popular areas around the city. In total there are plans to bring WiFi to 12 different spots including places like Oxford Street, Sloane Square and beyond. The first installations will be part of a pilot plan, but eventually the goal is to expand elsewhere. ]]> kjb 2011-11-09T12:48:19-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/