Jaunted

Airport News / Southwest Airlines / Southwest / Airports / Airline Mergers / AirTran / HOU / → All Tags

Houston-Hobby to Serve South of the Border with Southwest

Not that long ago we discussed the city of Houston’s plan to develop the city’s smaller airport into a true international hub. That didn’t sit too well with United—they’re pretty darn happy over at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport—and they put up a stink.

Southwest Airlines stayed the course with their plan to add some international options out of Houston-Hobby, and now it looks Southwest will end up getting exactly what they wanted.

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Airport WiFi / Airport-WiFi-Map / Airport WiFi Map / Free WiFi / Airport News / Airports / DFW / → All Tags

DFW Teams Up with AT&T for Free Airport WiFi, Finally

With in-flight WiFi gaining popularity, the importance of WiFi in the terminal isn’t exactly quite the necessity it once was. Nonetheless, that hardly means that we’re going to pass up some free terminal-wide WiFi, especially in a pretty big airport. Thankfully, Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport is the latest airport to flip the WiFi switch from costly to complimentary, and it's going to be accessible to travelers throughout the terminals, concourses, and even the parking garages. We’re just kind of curious if you can pick up a signal up in the airport’s Skylink train.

Airport officials at DFW are teaming up with everyone’s favorite mobile technology carrier—kidding—AT&T to offer up the free WiFi to the masses. It sounds like the behind-the-scenes work is already underway, and that things should be good to go as soon as September. Unfortunately there’s a bit of a catch—of course there is—as you’ll need to watch a 30-second commercial before signing into the service for the first time.

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Rental Cars / Bill Diffenderffer / SkyBus / SilverCar / → All Tags

SkyBus' Former CEO is Back in Business...Running Rental Cars

We’re all about awesome rental cars, so we’re especially intrigued about a new rental car company that’s poised to hit the scene sooner rather than later. Of course we’re excited to see what kind of awesome wheels will be available to the masses, but we’re also kind of pumped to hear about the company’s management team. Usually we couldn’t care less, but this time is different as the former CEO of SkyBus is apparently behind the new venture.

SilverCar is an Austin—of course—based start-up rental car company, and according to government paperwork they’ve already raised around $3 million bucks towards their hopes and dreams. The website for the new idea is still lacking, but it does look like they’re describing the endeavor as “a technology company that will make renting a luxury car as simple as pushing a button on your phone.” We love luxury cars and pushing buttons on our phones, so we’re pretty much sold.

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SXSW 2012 / SXSW / Travel Tech / Events / SXSW 2013 / → All Tags

Save the Date: SXSW Interactive 2013

Now that the tech and social media part of the SXSW Festival is over and done and the Google party confetti long since in the dustbin, it's time to look back. What exactly happens during SXSWi, the "interactive" portion of the fest? Well, to put it simply, there's lots of partying, lots of attempting to look cool and social while staring at your phone reading Twitter, and a few panel discussions here and there. Tens of thousands of people attended, and for each of them there's like 7 more who wish they had.

Specifically, there's 71,462 people who wish they had gone to SXSW this year. That stat comes from this brilliant infographic. If you're one of the 71,000+, then check it out for a little taste of what was missed. Otherwise it's time to start planning now for SXSW 2013. Really, it is.

SXSW Interactive will return next year March 8-12. Pencil it in, clear the sched and keep watch here for more updates. And pass the PBR.

[Image: Tracx]

Southwest Airlines / Southwest / Airports / Airport News / Airline Mergers / AirTran / HOU / → All Tags

Houston's Hobby Airport May Become Southwest's First International Hub

There’s still plenty of unknown this and that with the Southwest Airlines and AirTran merger, but one thing that is intriguing—to us at least—is how the newly combined airline will handle international flying. Of course we dream of cheap flights down to Mexico or over to the Caribbean, but it’s still not totally clear on how the Southwest planes will get there or where the flights will originate.

Although nothing is official as of yet, it does sound like one airport is planning for the possibility of some international departures and arrivals. Houston Hobby Airport—a favorite of Southwest—is now considering what it might mean to the airport and the city to add the capacity to handle international flights. It sounds like the city is looking into the possibility, as Southwest has already expressed interest about adding some planes and people to spots in Mexico and South America.

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SXSW 2012 / SXSW / Rachael Ray / Food Travel / Free Stuff / → All Tags

SXSW To Do List: Rachael Ray's Feedback Party

After a week of club-hopping in Austin most SXSW attendees could use a free meal about now, and luckily for them, Rachael Ray has it covered.

Tomorrow, March 17, Rachael Ray will host the fifth annual Rachael Ray's Feedback Party at Stubb's BBQ. And as always, the event, which will take place from 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m., is free and open-to-the-public.

Rachael will be serving up an Austin-inspired menu at her Feedback including lil' Devils (slider size corn dogs), Brisket on a Biscuit with Smoky BBQ Sauce and Sweet 'n Spicy Pickles, Sloppy Chicken Suiza Sliders, and Veg-Head Nachos with Green Chile Queso and Spicy Refried Beans.

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SXSW 2012 / SXSW / Austin Travel / Music Travel / Music Festivals / → All Tags

SXSW To Do List: IFC Crossroads' Three Nights of Music Showcases

Last year, the IFC Crossroads House was one of our favorite hang outs in Austin, and this year they are continuing the tradition of hosting awesome music and comedy events during SXSW. The IFC Crossroads House will close out the week with 3 nights of SXSW Music Showcases starting this evening with the Boise Showcase. The six act event kicks off at 7:00 PM with Hillfolk Noir. DJ Matt Jones will also be on hand to spin tracks between sets.

On Thursday, March 15, the Paradigm Music Showcase will bring together Polica, Retar, and the Punch Brother, with DJ Traktor Skratch performing between acts.

And on Friday, March 16, the Freecreditscore.com Showcase will welcome You Can Be A Wesley, Lissy Trullie and others to close out the fest.

The IFC Crossroads House 2012 is located at 302 E 6th St Austin, TX. To see each night's complete line-up and learn more about the IFC Crossroads House, visit http://www.ifc.com/sxsw/schedule.

[Photo: IFC]

SXSW 2012 / Beatles Travel / SXSW / Austin Travel / Music Travel / → All Tags

SXSW To Do List: The 'Beatles Complete on Ukelele'

For the third year in a row record producer Roger Greenawalt is returning to SXSW with his unique twist on the Beatles' catalog—.Beatles Complete On Ukulele.

On Thursday, March 15, Greenawalt will play all 185 Beatles song in one day with special guest musicians and singers joining in throughout the day. To kick off the festivities, everyone is invited to bring their uke and take part in the first three songs. The event is completely free and open to the public.

Beatles Complete On Ukulele will take place from noon to 6 pm at the Hickory Street Bar & Grill, 800 N. Congress Avenue in Austin, TX. For more information, visit the event's Official Facebook Page.

[Photo: austinukulelesociety.com]

SXSW / Music Festivals / Austin Travel / Music Travel / → All Tags

SXSW To Do List: The Red Bull Thre3style Concert

Open your iCal and mark this down. All this week, we'll be highlighting events at Austin's SxSW festival. So if you're there, you're informed. And if you're not...well, next year?

Red Bull Thre3style will return to Austin, TX this week for a special SXSW showcase. DJ Z-Trip will once again headline with a surprise guest (last year LL Cool J joined him on stage), along with The Crystal Method, Erykah Badu, DJ Jazzy Jeff (yes, he's still around), Satsik, Dan The Automator, DJ Hedspin, Bog Once and Shortkut.

The Red Bull Thre3style will take place Saturday, March 17 at 8th and Trinity in Austin. Gates open at 7 pm, show starts at 8. There is no badge necessary; the event is completely free and open to the public.

[Photo: mxdwn.com]

SXSW / Film Festivals / Music Festivals / Austin Travel / Food Travel / → All Tags

Zagat Uncovers Austin's Best Eats for SXSW Festival-goers

The legendary restaurant ratings guide Zagat Survey has just released their Guide to the Best of SXSW Dining. The guide, which can be viewed online for free, will help festival-goers find the best food spots in Austin, from BBQ joints to food trucks.

The complete Texas Zagat Survey will be released in March, but they decided to make these Austin reviews available now so fest attendees can start planning.

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SXSW / Festival Travel / Events / Comedy Travel / Film Festivals / Austin Travel / → All Tags

SXSW Announces Their 2012 Comedy Line-Up

South By Southwest is once again presenting some of the country's top comedians as part of their SXSW Comedy line-up, which will take place from March 10 - 17 in Austin, Texas.

There are more than 62 comedians expected to take part in SXSW Comedy 2012 including Todd Barry, Doug Benson, Mike Birbiglia, Wyatt Cenac, John Hodgman, Marc Maron, T.J. Miller, Eugene Mirman, Kevin Pollack, Amy Schumer, Paul Provenza, Kristen Schaal and Reggie Watts.

SXSW will also present the return of WTF with Marc Maron, Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson, Comedy Bang Bang with Scott Aukerman and Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show as part of their live comedy podcast tapings.

All of the SXSW Comedy events are free to badge and wristband holders attending the interactive, film or music portions of the fest. For more information and to see the complete schedule, visit SXSW.com/comedy.

[Photo: SXSW]

Volunteer Travel / Hotels / Voluntourism / → All Tags

Sleep, Eat, Party and...Volunteer at a Five-Star Hotel?

The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is once again offering guests the chance to do good in 2012 with their Give Back Getaways project.

The philanthropic initiative gives guests the chance to spend a half-day volunteering with Ritz-Carlton employees in the communities surrounding their properties across the world.

The Give Back Getaway projects often also include an experience volunteers wouldn't be able to have otherwise. The Dallas Soup Savior Project, for example, lets hotel guests work with the culinary team behind the scenes in The Ritz-Carlton kitchen. The end result is a soup that will be delivered to the SoupMobile, which serves approximately 600 meals to the homeless in Dallas on a daily basis.

For more information about what projects are available this year, visit RitzCarlton.com.

[Photo: Ritz-Carlton Dallas]