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Passbook to the People Thanks to American Airlines and British Airways

Lots of Apple news this week, as the company known for iPads and iPods just released all kinds of details on the next big things in tech—at least in theory. While we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of iOS 7, at least there's some fresh Passbook action as more airlines update mobile boarding passes to work with the app.

Just last week Alaska Airlines updated their app to show a little love and support for Passbook, and this week it’s British Airways' turn. The carrier is adding the feature to the current version of their app, and they’re promising that from now on all boarding passes will be available in Passbook. Not only that they’re already working on the next update and upgrade, as mid June is when direct links will appear within your lock screen when you’re ready to take off. We don’t have any British Airways flights coming up, so we’ll take their word for it.

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British Airways Forecasts a Panda Epidemic for Chengdu Flights

Are these the best promotional pictures for a new flight route you’ve ever seen? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. Of course they are.

As you might know, British Airways is launching flights from Heathrow to Chengdu in China in September – the first direct route between the two cities. Chengdu is a huge business hub, which is presumably the reason behind the route launch, but it also happens to be home to the giant pandas – the most famous breeding center (which you can visit) is on the outskirts of the city, while there are a few other centers/sanctuaries scattered around Sichuan province, within a few hours of Chengdu.

Hence the pandas—or panbassadors, maybe?—checking in and checking out the Club World cabin.

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Austrian Airlines, United and Southwest Lead This Week's New Route News

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.

· Austrian Airlines:
We try not to pick favorites when it comes to the week’s new routes, but we just might be most excited about the new option that’s heading to Chicago-O’Hare. This week Austrian Airlines filled up the tanks for the first time, as they started flying between Chicago and Vienna.

In case you’re interested in what they’re using to head across the Atlantic, it will be Boeing 767-300ERs doing all of the heavy lifting. With their hub at Vienna International Airport the fun just doesn’t stop in Austria, as connections will get you to here and there over in Europe as well.

· Lufthansa:
It’s been about a week since the first planes started heading back and forth, as Lufthansa is now flying from Vancouver all the way over to Munich. It’s Airbus A330s that are doing all the flying, as the carrier adds another option to go alongside their service between Vancouver and Frankfurt.

According to the press release this is the only international long-haul route Lufthansa is adding to the scheduled this year, so you might as well go ahead and enjoy this one. We’re not really sure if this is the best flight for a long weekend, so go ahead and ask for that time away from the office—you’ll need it.

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Three Quick Contests to Score a Free Vacation

If getting back into the workweek is a little hard this morning—no problem—as we’ve got some daydream destinations to get you through the day. Sure the odds aren’t exactly in your favor when it comes to winning a contest, but you can’t win if you don’t play. So here’s a couple contests going on this week, so take a few minutes and throw your name into the hat for a chance to win.

Hawaiian Airlines – Lei Day

Over in Hawaii, Lei Day—May 1—is already over, but Hawaiian Airlines is celebrating for a few more weeks. On Facebook they’re inviting you to take a little Lei Day quiz to find out which lei fits you best. It only takes a few clicks, and then your answer is revealed. However, the potential payoff is that you could enjoy 140,000 HawaiianMiles as well. The fun runs through May 22, so waste a few minutes and discover your lei—today!

Alaska Airlines - Explore Denali National Park

Thanks to Alaska Airlines there’s new nonstop flights between Fairbanks and Portland, and now they’re running a little bit of a contest to help celebrate. Along with Denali Park Resorts and the Alaska Rail Road they’re giving away a Denali National Park trip for two. You’ll get a couple nights at McKinley Chalet Resort, a pair of Tundra Wilderness Tour tickets, and roundtrip tickets to Denali from Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad. Of course to round things out you’ll also score two roundtrip tickets on Alaska Airlines to Fairbanks, but you need to remember to enter first. Just be sure to head over to Facebook to enter your details, as the sweepstakes ends on May 24.

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Savor One Last Sip of Scotch at British Airways' New Whisky Bar

Flying through Glasgow? Like Whisky? You're in luck! Thanks to a match-made-in-heaven partnership between British Airways and Pernod Ricard, some travelers passing through Glasgow International Airport who prefer a scotch on the rocks (or served any other way) will be treated to special Whisky Bar and Snug.

Located in BA's Executive Lounge, passengers lucky enough to gain entry to the lounge can settle back with a stiff one in the special section devoted to the national drink of Scotland. The Glenlivet Whisky Bar is just part of the $1.2 million the airline forked over to refurbish the lounge.

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Video Interlude: One Jumbo Art Project for One Jumbo British Airways Jet

Even though British Airways is champing at the bit to get their hands on the superjumbo Airbus A380, they aren't so quick to forget the original jumbo—the Boeing 747.

Just last week, the airline gathered together some creative employees and cleared a space in a hangar to generate a massive mural made up of the many thousand items which go on each BA 747 aircraft before it heads up into the skies. This are the soft products of the service, and they aren't anything minor: "With a combined weight of 6,120 kg, the items have to be unloaded and re-loaded before every take-off."

Now consider that each 747 on its own is made up of nearly 6 million pieces, and we're talking Puzz 3D, extra difficult edition for sure.

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Finally! The First Real Photo Emerges of British Airways' A380

This is not a computer-generated rendering. This is the first real photo of the first Airbus A380 belonging to British Airways.

Early this morning, the image appeared on BA's instagram with the announcement: "Meet MSN95, our first A380 superjumbo to be painted in the famous red, white and blue livery." Airbus then also chimed in: "The next new #A380 operator in full livery fresh out of our Hamburg paint shop. Looking good @British_Airways."

There are 469 passenger seats inside of it, and all are already on sale from $830 and up, as we announced a month ago. First flights won't happen for several months, however, as regular service is due to begin between London and Los Angeles on October 15 and between London and Hong Kong on November 15, 2013.

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How British Airways Turned Their Tea from Swill to Swell

Just as Italians love their carbohydrates and Americans their right to bear arms, Great Britons adore their tea. Not that you’d have realized from the brew served on British Airways until recently; it was just as undrinkable as tea on any other airline.

Being the UK flag carrier, BA decided last year that its shoddy tea situation simply wasn’t good enough. And so, in a process that’s lasted nearly a year, they commissioned posh tea brand Twinings to make a new blend, especially for their planes. After much leaf-tinkering and several test flights (long and shorthaul), the blend is now arrived, and is being served everywhere in the plane (yes, even Economy).

You’d think there wasn’t much to it, but a couple of months back, BA invited us on its final test flight (between New York and London, natch) to sample the contenders. And it was there, as Twinings’ senior buyer Mike Wright talked us through what he was looking for in the teas, that we realized tea, especially in the air, is a really complicated thing.

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This Week's New Routes Arrive from American, Delta and British Airways

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.

· Delta:
Not too long ago we heard that American Airlines was getting ready to fly down to Brazil, and now it looks like Delta has also applied for the ability to fly some new routes. Delta is awaiting approval to get things moving, but they’d like to add some more flights to their current schedule between São Paulo and spots like New York-JFK and Atlanta. They’re looking to get the necessary stamps and seals lined up as quickly as possible, as they are ready to start flying as soon as this year.

· British Airways:
So this one isn’t exactly a new route, but it is a new airplane on an old route. British Airways is finally prepping to receive their very first Airbus A380, and they’re thinking about where to send it.

It sounds like they’ll use the big bird to do the nonstop thing between Los Angeles and London-Heathrow beginning on October 15. Airbus A380 number two will be deployed out of London over to Hong Kong, and those flights should start doing their thing on November 15. There’s 469 seats across four different cabins, so you better start looking for a seat now.

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A Flashback to the 1980s on British Airways Breaks World Records

Chalk one up for British Airways. Actually, chalk a few up for the airline since they have broken several world records and entered the Guinness Book of World Records for a (not so) little concert they hosted in the air. Lucky winners of the exclusive flight became part of the record books, all th while raising money for a great charity.

It's called "The Gig In The Sky" and it took place this last Sunday as part of BA's fund-raising for the 25th anniversary for Red Nose Day. Since the charity started in the 1980s, the music should be from the 80s, right? Kim Wilde, Spandau Ballet's Tony Handley, Bananarama and Go West performed for the passengers of a chartered Boeing 767 for 22 minutes, at an altitude of 43,000 feet, breaking James Blunt's previous "highest concert" record of 42,080 feet.

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Score a Seat on the First British Airways A380 Flights Later This Year

Six years! That's how long the Airbus A380 has been flying the skies with paying passengers on both decks. That's also how long British Airways has jealously watched other airlines fly their superjumbos around, anxious for the day they could play with their own.

That day is now within reach, as British Airways prepares to take delivery of the big plane later this year. Travelers may already book flights on the first British Airways A380, as it flies from London to Los Angeles from October 15, 2013 and London to Hong Kong from November 15, 2013. Tickets went on sale this morning, and you know British Airways is already rolling out special rates.

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A Special British Airways Course Seeks to Beat the Fear of Flying

Confession: I used to be afraid of flying. I would fly, so it wasn't enough of an all-consuming fear to keep me off airplanes, but I would get terribly nervous during takeoff though climb, and especially during turbulence. This is not abnormal as many, many people suffer from varying degrees of a fear of flying. I conquered my fear by flying more, and more, and more, and eventually I learned to love and even look forward to being in the air.

British Airways offers courses—titled "Flying with Confidence"—to overcome fears like this, and though they typically take place in the UK, they'll be mounting a special course in New York City this April. Virgin Atlantic offers a similar course, but we're afraid their iPhone app is the closest to the USA it's getting.

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