Jaunted

Airline News / LCCs / Airlines / New Routes / Sir Stelios / FastJet / EasyJet / New Airlines / Africa Travel / → All Tags

Sir Stelios and 'FastJet' Scheduled to Depart Soon from Africa

When we least heard from Sir Stelios there was news about a potential new low-cost carrier that would focus on more long-haul routes. We guess the potential for cheap flights between London and New York is still there, but now it sounds like his low-cost model is shifting to a different continent altogether.

The founder of easyJet is thinking that the next great success in the airline industry will take place in Africa. He’s already working to get funding in place, and there are some deals being done between his group and Rubicon Diversified Investments in hopes of creating a new low-frills, low-cost airline. The placeholder name—FastJet—is now apparently the working name of the new air venture.

more ›

Flight Reviews / Airlines / British Airways / Premium Economy / LHR / SAN / → All Tags

The Only Plus to British Airways' Premium Economy? Being Up Front

Flying coach: not good. Flying business: very good but rarely affordable. Flying premium economy: fast becoming our preferred method of transport, when we have a little extra cash. Over a crazy six-week period a couple of months back we made eight transatlantic flights (mainly West Coast-London). Most were in economy, buying seats with extra legroom. So when we saw a deal to fly British Airways’ premium economy product, or World Traveller Plus as they call it, for the same amount of miles as an economy ticket, we cashed right in, and bought a Heathrow to San Diego ticket.

After all, BA's WTP seats usually sell for around double the amount of their economy seats; plus we’d flown premium ec on both Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand, and found them both the shiz. Tough acts to beat, but we were sure BA would measure up in some respects. Wouldn’t it?

Sadly, no it didn’t. At all. In fact—flying premium economy was one of the biggest wastes of money we’ve ever experienced. And yes, we say that having technically paid no extra. Here’s why.

more ›

Airline Lounges / Shopping Travel / Delta / Continental / United / American Airlines / US Airways / Airlines / → All Tags

Gift These: Annual Memberships to Your Favorite Frequent Flyer's Airline Lounge

What's shaking at the Delta SkyClub...

Frequent flyers in your family don’t want one of those inflatable neck pillows, and they especially don’t want anything from the SkyMall catalog—well, probably. However, what they do want is access to an airline lounge, so they can think of you each and every time they escape the madness of the terminal in favor of a comfortable chair and an adult beverage. Sure, there's a significant annual admission to what lies beyond the automatic doors, so maybe you should just get it for yourself instead of asking Santa.

Here's a quck rundown of the pricing and features of the four major US carriers' lounges, just in case you're feeling extra generous:

· American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge
If you’re a big fan of American Airlines and their shiny planes, there’s no better lounge to access. Membership gets you free beverages—both boozy and not—as well as some snacks, WiFi, and access to computers and printers. There’s 40 clubs across the airline’s network with the majority in the nifty fifty. Getting in will set you back a cool $500 for the year, but if you just want to test things out before committing it’s $50 per visit. That way you can check out their additional food offerings, as select clubs have a little bit of a restaurant thing going on.

more ›

Japan Airlines / JAL / In-Flight Entertainment / Airlines / Airline News / Boeing 787 / 787 / Boeing 787 Dreamliner / 787 Dreamliner / Cartoon Travel / → All Tags

Japanese Manga Will Be Yours for the Reading Aboard JAL's 787s

We were certainly all pumped up over the arrival of the very first Boeing 787 to All Nippon Airways, but now we’re getting just as enthused over the offerings arriving aboard Japan Airlines’ new bird.

To get everyone in the mood for a little slice of Japan the airline is planning to roll-out in-flight manga—like Japanese comic books—on all 787 flights. There’s going to be like 30 different comics from which to choose, and they’ll all be there for your reading pleasure right in the seatback entertainment screen. The airline is partnering up with Japanese publisher Shogakukan Inc and eBook Initiative Japan Co—just in case those names sound familiar to you.

more ›

New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / Lufthansa / Southwest Airlines / JAL / JetBlue / Turkish Airlines / Frontier / → All Tags

New Route News for the 787, A380, JetBlue, Southwest and More!

Boeing 787s Being Born...

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Japan Airlines:
There’s new stuff to talk about when it comes to where Boeing’s 787 is headed next. Japan Airlines—they’re getting the plane too—just announced where the plane is headed, and it sounds like it’s going to Boston, Moscow, and Beijing. The super long-haul routes will depart from Tokyo-Narita, and the shorter flight over to China will depart from Tokyo-Haneda. For those in the nifty fifty looking to test out the plane, the flights to and from Beantown are scheduled to start doing their thing on April 22 of 2012.

· Turkish Airlines:
They might not need help from Kobe anymore—especially since he hasn’t been playing too much NBA basketball lately—as Turkish Airlines is busy expanding to here and over to there. Their latest new route plans to connect their home in Istanbul with Los Angeles with an additional route—guess things are going well. They’re now up to five flights per week on some pretty snazzy Boeing 777-300ERs, and if all goes well it sounds like the plan is boost things into daily service next March.

more ›

Big Ash Problems / EasyJet / Airlines / Airline News / Sicily Travel / Volcano Travel / → All Tags

EasyJet Buzzes Above Active Volcanoes to Test Anti-Ash Technology

Has it already been nearly two years since the massive, international air travel mess that was the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano? We suppose it's awesome that the world hasn't ended in the meantime, but now when the holiday travel season rolls around, we get a little anxious. Any weird Earth-spewing activity can throw a wrench into the whole delicate system, but not if EasyJet has anything to say about it.

In June 2010, the European low-cost carrier announced that they'd had enough of this volcano nonsense and would take it into their own hands (and US government laboratories) to develop a system to detect ash in the air in the plane's flightpath. It's called AVOID—airborne volcanic object imaging detector—and that's exactly the idea, to avoid ash so it doesn't gum up the engine and crash or cause malfunctions in planes.

more ›

Free Stuff / Airlines / Airline News / YTZ / Porter Airlines / Holiday Travel / → All Tags

Fly Porter Airlines, Get a Free Manicure

Joe Fresh might not be that familiar a name to those living in the nifty fifty, but for those above the border the apparel, accessories, and cosmetics company is pretty well known. A flagship store in New York City just debuted, but you can always check them out—for free—thanks to Porter Airlines.

To celebrate the season, the airline and the brand are teaming up the bring a little fun to travelers at the airport and in the skies. At Joe Fresh stores in Canada there’ll be chances to win different travel-related prizes, and of course Porter Airlines will provide your airfare. Prizes include a weekend in New York City as well as a $500 gift card to one of the Joe Fresh stores.

more ›

Airline News / Airlines / American Airlines / Charity / Holiday Travel / → All Tags

What is the American Airlines 'Snowball Express?'

There’s plenty good causes that would appreciate a few moments of your time or a little extra funding this holiday season, but American Airlines’ Snowball Express has to be one of the best for #avgeeks. Despite their own misfortune this holiday season, they’re going full speed ahead to bring a little cheer to the children of fallen military heroes.

American Airlines has been doing this for a few years now, and this year is no exception. This year’s events kick off of December 9 and run through December 13 in Dallas. It all begins with a Walk of Gratitude on December 10 in and around the American Airlines Center, as one and all are encouraged to welcome the children and families flown into town for a few days of rest, relaxation, and fun.

more ›

Airline News / Vladivostok Air / Airlines / New Routes / Russia Travel / Alaska Travel / → All Tags

From Alaska to Siberia on Vladivostok Air, All of Which Sounds Dubious

We’re always intrigued by some of the air carriers based in Russia, so when we heard about Vladivostok Air bringing some flights to Alaska we just had to share. The airline is the new face of Russian aviation—at least according to their website—but they’ve actually been around for quite some time, doing their thing since the 1930s in one form or another.

Vladivostok Air is now planning weekly flights for a couple of months beginning next summer between Anchorage and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Sure it’s not Moscow or St. Petersburg, but a trip there will definitely get your friends to haul out the atlas and try to figure out where the heck the Kamchatka Peninsula is. Oh, and it’s pretty much Siberia, so there’s always that perk.

more ›

New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / Delta / United / JetBlue / Etihad / → All Tags

Etihad, JetBlue and United Bring It with This Week's New Routes

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Etihad Airways:
There’s been a few flights trickling back into Libya now that things have—uh, stabilized—a bit, and now it’s time for the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates to do their thing as well. Etihad Airways is planning to fly some planes between Tripoli and Abu Dhabi beginning on January 17. Initially the flights will arrive via a stop in Alexandria, Egypt, but the flights will supposedly become a nonstop option once the airport in Tripoli can handle a little more traffic. Flights are scheduled to do their thing three times a week, so if you still need a collectable Tripoli shot glass for your collection, you know what to do.

· VietJetAir:
If you haven’t heard of VietJetAir—that’s okay—we just learned about them too! They’re the region’s newest low cost carrier, and they’re planning to do their thing starting on December 25—that’s Christmas in case you didn’t know. According to our pals over at AirlineRoute.net, the new airline will offer a couple daily flights between Ho Chi Minh – Hanoi, and if all goes well they’ll up it to thrice per day starting in January. After that, the plan is to link Ho Chi Minh with Da Nang beginning in February—happy holiday hopping in Vietnam!

more ›

Airline Lounges / Business Class Travel / US Airways / DCA / Washington DC Travel / Star Alliance / Photo Gallery / Airlines / → All Tags

Inside the US Airways Club at Washington DC's Reagan National Airport

Have you ever entered a fancier doctor's office and been directed to "take a seat," and then looked around and thought, "hey, this isn't all that bad?" Of course you have; an experience like this is common enough, but what isn't so common is finding that exact same feel in an airline lounge.

Every so often we fly through Washington DC's Reagan National Airport and, this last time, we actually had enough of a layover to warrant spending some time drinking the complimentary coffee and soaking up the tarmac views from the US Airways Club in Concourse C.

Getting there: The lounge is after security, but up an elevator before you head down the concourse to the gates. A simple silver plaque lets you know this, and upstairs you'll hit the regular reception desk. It's here however that you may encounter problems if you're a Star Alliance Gold member, but not with US Airways. The receptionist at first wouldn't allow us entry, because we weren't traveling on an international ticket.

WRONG. Star Alliance Gold members (*of airlines other than Continental, United and US Airways) are allowed up there, so long as they're traveling on a Star Alliance flight in any class that day. Explaining the right to enter a lounge is not only embarrassing but it also immediately sours our impression of the place.

more ›

Airline Bankruptcies / American Airlines / Airline News / Airlines / Twitter / Lists / Comedy Travel / → All Tags

The Six Funniest Twitter Reactions to American Airlines' Bankruptcy

In news that surprised no one (except maybe stock holders), American Airlines' parent company AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Nevermind the warning signs and our own horrible experiences with them in just 2011—of three long-haul flights on them, two had long mechanical delays, all served crap meals and all were less than half-full—the Twitter community is still taking the opportunity to find humor in the situation.

Without further ado, Six of the Funniest Tweets on the American Airlines Bankruptcy:

more ›