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Tag: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards View All Tags

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2007 Awards: That's All, Folks!

December 31, 2007 at 2:00 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

That's it for this year's Jaunted Travel Awards. What fun, right? We laughed, we cried, we even managed to slip in a mention of Kyla Ebbert.

Already ready to re-live all the excitement that was this year's awards show? It's just a click away:

· Best Domestic Airline: Virgin America
· Worst Domestic Airline: United
· Best Travel Newcomer: Skybus
· Best Travel Media Story: Airport Congestion
· Worst Travel Media Moment: Colombian Gold in Cartagena
· Celeb Travelers of the Year: JT and Jessica Biel
· Destination of the Year: The USA
· Best Villain: Kip Hawley
· Worst Travel Experience: Getting Trapped on the Tarmac
· Best Jaunted Map Mashup: The Gossip Girl Map
· Best Airport Photo Shoot: Ashley Tisdale at LAX
· Best Embedded Report: AJ McGuire's Osaka Travel Guide
· Best Jaunted Field Trip: Claire Duffett in Guatemala

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to Jaunted this year. We couldn't do it without you. See ya back here Wednesday morning!

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2007 Awards: Best Jaunted Field Trip

December 31, 2007 at 1:30 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

If there was ever a Jaunted Field Trip that made us want to close the laptop and report immediately to the airport, it was Claire Duffett's Romp through Guatemala and Belize. Hell, with views like the one above, how could you not wanna skip down to Central America right now?

Claire worked her way through drug-happy San Pedro La Laguna before trekking to Semuc Champey to get in touch with nature. Though her Rough Guide occasionally steered her wrong, it also got things right. And there's no question that while most of us freeze our way into the new year, her snorkeling trip sounds just divine.

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2007 Awards: Best Embedded Report

December 31, 2007 at 12:45 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

Our embedded travel guides have filed reports from around the world this year, from London to Buenos Aires. But our favorite was AJ McGuire's Osaka Travel Guide for its mix of great info, booze-soaked stories and absolute weirdness.

Whether he was drinking up the nightlife scene, shopping for life-size Predator statues or eating every dumpling in sight, AJ brought us the best of Japan's Second City. And when all the stress of seeing the sights got to be too much, he even had some useful tips on how to mellow out in the countryside. Think you know your town as well as AJ knows Osaka? Get in touch, and maybe you'll be taking the prize for Best Embedded Report next year.

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2007 Awards: Best Airport Photo Shoot

December 31, 2007 at 12:00 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

It had to be Ashley Tisdale at LAX. While Paris' luggage made us laugh, it took a photo shoot with this High School Musical star to put us in touch with our inner tween.

Ashley wasn't the only Disney girl snapped in an airport this year. Vanessa Hudgens showed up at LAX this month, toting a teddy bear and tons of luggage. Christina Aguilera and Cameron Diaz both went further afield, dropping in at Seoul's Incheon Airport this summer. But for nailing that "airport comfortable" look--and reminding us that some people are too young to have seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles--Tisdale takes this year's top honors.

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2007 Awards: Best Jaunted Map Mashup

December 31, 2007 at 11:00 AM | by Jaunted | 2 Comments

We love tracking the Amazing Race, and this year brought us not one but two seasons. But the mashup that took the interwebs by storm in '07 was our Gossip Girl Map.

All credit due to Cecily von Ziegesar, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage for turning New York City into the character of the show. With Dan, Serena, Blair, Nate and the rest of the team running all around town, we never ran low on places to map. Here's hoping the TV writers' strike doesn't kill the show before we get the chance to plot a few more of Chuck Bass' favorite spots.

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2007 Awards: Worst Travel Experience

December 31, 2007 at 10:30 AM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

This year, it was all about Getting Trapped on the Tarmac. JetBlue started the trend way back in February with the Hostage Crisis at JFK. (We got lucky and spent our delay at JFK at the airport bar.) Those who weren't so lucky got together and started a movement--and a blog, natch.

As the summer of delays wore on, more and more passengers got trapped by airlines, including the rabble-rousers on Continental Flight 1669. (We can't imagine spending 14 hours on the ground, like some poor souls on a Royal Air Maroc flight.) The worst of the tarmac horror stories involved backed up toilets and other nastiness we'd rather not think about this early in the morning.

All that said, get ready for an interesting 2008. New York State's new passenger bill of rights goes into effect tomorrow--and is sure to spark some litigation. Fun!

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2007 Awards: Best Villain

December 31, 2007 at 10:00 AM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

As much as we hate to do it, this award goes out to Kip Hawley for the second year in a row. Had he unintentionally sent another email criticizing his customers, maybe Ben Baldanza would grab the prize. But for overseeing the TSA through 2007, Hawley takes it again.

Doesn't the agency have an incredibly difficult job? Sure it does. But the TSA can keep planes safe without meaningless (and randomly enforced) liquid bans, behavioral profiling (that doesn't work) and data mining. If Hawley wants to avoid the hat trick in '08, he could start by implementing smart, effective security that's proactive not reactive.

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2007 Awards: Destination of the Year

December 28, 2007 at 3:00 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

This was a tricky category this year, but after some debate, we finally came up with the top spot of 2007: It's the United States of America.

Seriously! We can't walk down the streets of New York for the crowds of Europeans who are shopping up a storm in the city on the backs of their strong currencies. And with prices so high on the Continent, Americans can skip it for all the stuff to see on their home turf.

Need some help with ideas? This year we've discovered music venues from San Francisco to Seattle, explored New Orleans, tracked down some great raw bars and scoured Upstate New York. If none of that suits, you can always just set out on an epic road trip.

[Photo: jurek d.]

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2007 Awards: Celeb Travelers of the Year

December 28, 2007 at 2:00 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

Earlier this year, we predicted that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel would end up as the Celeb Travelers of the Year. We're happy to say they've clinched the title. (They've even been globe trotting more than the Virgin Mary!)

Beyond Jessica's airport photo shoot and JT's own appearance at LAX, the couple was spotted in Copenhagen, Oslo and Amsterdam. The pair scores bonus points thanks to Justin's new restaurant in NYC and heavy travel schedule for the Futuresex/Lovesounds tour.

Sorry, Paris, there's always next year!

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2007 Awards: Worst Travel Media Moment

December 28, 2007 at 1:00 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

Oh, there are just so many! But we have to give this year's award to the New York Times, which also takes an honorable mention.

The worst story of the year was "Colombian Gold in Cartagena", from the NYT's T Magazine. Basically, the story goes, the city has plenty happening besides coke-fueled parties. So why the constant discussion of drugs, the cocaine-focused rhetoric of a government official and the interviews with "sophistonauts" who get wasted, dance all night and recover on the beach? With airlines competing to expand service to the country, and a tourism boom brewing, Colombia deserves so much more than this.

Running close behind "Colombian Gold" was "Attracted by a Blend of Centuries and Cultures" from the NYT's travel section. It's not that Jeff Koyen did a bad job on the story about Grenada, Nicaragua. It's just that we'd read it all before. How can the Times avoid this prize again next year? Less coverage of phony trends and more Matt Gross!

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2007 Awards: Best Travel Media Story

December 28, 2007 at 12:30 PM | by Jaunted | 0 Comments

Must. Not. Mention. Kyla Ebbert. Oh no!

While the Girls of Southwest debacle was fun, there was a much bigger story line this year, and the travel media did a great job covering it for the most part. Airport Congestion, particularly at New York area airports, created delays across the country, cost airlines gobs of money and infuriated passengers who sometimes got stuck on taxiways for hours on end. It was, as it turned out, the worst year ever for delays, as problems affected everyone from soccer moms to Nick Nolte.

The story got so big that President Bush got involved, though his proposed fixes didn't do much. That left it up to the travel media, us included, to keep reminding you to avoid New York's airports whenever possible.

[Photo: Ho-Yeol Ryu, via NYM]

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2007 Awards: Best Travel Newcomer

December 28, 2007 at 12:00 PM | by Jaunted | 2 Comments

Nothing has shaken up the travel scene more this year than Skybus. The dirt cheap, if-you-don't-like-it-too-bad carrier promised to bring European-style low cost flying to the States. And, as we discovered, Skybus succeeded.

While you'll more often than not end up at out of the way airports, you won't be able to call customer service and you may find your flight axed from the schedule, the good news is the flight only cost you 10 bucks.

Like Allegiant Air before it, Skybus isn't competing with the legacy carriers or even Southwest. The airline has turned travel (and vacationing) into a commodity, as easy to buy as a new sofa--and in so doing has created an entirely new way to travel.