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The Little Things: In-Flight Birthday Cakes on Korean Air

In the midst of the bustle of travel, it's all too easy to overlook the details. We're talking about special touches others have stressed over just so you can enjoy a unique experience, whether you know it or not. Every so often we'll highlight The Little Things like this, so now you will know.

The Little Thing: Korean Air's surprise, in-flight birthday and honeymoon cakes.

Remember Midwest Airlines? They delighted passengers for years by servinb complimentary warm cookies onboard. Then they were taken over by Frontier and, though Frontier tried to keep the cookie tradition alive, they eliminated the treats earlier this year.

It's hard out there for an airline, trying to stay in the black while still giving passengers a little extra something special. But then there's Korean Air, who still offer a free dessert that get all your seatmates talking: in-flight birthday and honeymoon cakes.

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In-Flight Cocktails / Airplane Food / In-Flight Meals / Booze Travel / Drinking Travel. British Airways / Airline News / Airlines / → All Tags

Boozin' on British Airways: A Few Fun Facts

Fun fact: Lufthansa is the world's largest purchaser of caviar, buying over 10 tons every year.

Another fun fact: British Airways was once the world's largest purchaser of champagne, with BA passengers drinking down a minimum of 90,000 cases every year.

Now that the trend is turning towards appreciation of in-flight wines and considering how much the UK loves their booze, we wondered: are there are any British Airways routes that do not serve alcohol?

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In-Flight Meals / Airline Food / Food Travel / Zagat / Airlines / → All Tags

Zagat Ranks the 10 Airlines with 'Awesome' In-Flight Food

Here at Jaunted, we admit to spending an unhealthy amount of time obsessing over airline food. Heck, we've got a whole category packed with photo galleries of foil-wrapped chicken dishes and melty pats of butter to prove it. Still, we haven't gone so far as Zagat has with ranking airlines by the awesomeness of their meal choices.

Check it out: Zagat's "10 Airlines with Awesome Food Options"

We won't spoil too much for you, but do note that the only US airline with an entry in their list is Virgin America, coming it at a respectable #9. Their awarding Singapore Airlines with the #2 spot comes as no surprise to us, as we've already lauded everything from the beverages to the way the Singapore Girls are taught to plate entrees.

Perhaps the only shocker in the list is their inclusion of Air France in the #3 spot, since we've rarely heard any praise of their meal service, despite France's whole culinary reputation. Agree? Disagree?

[Photo of Premium Economy meal on Cathay Pacific: Jaunted]

Jaunted Reporting Live / Lufthansa 747-8 First Flight / Photo Gallery / Business Class Travel / Seats / Seating / In-Flight Meals / Airplane News / Airplanes / Boeing / Boeing 747-8 / 747-8 / Lufthansa / FRA / IAD / Frankfurt Travel / Travel News / Airline News / Aviation / → All Tags

The Definitive Guide to Lufthansa's New Business Class, Onboard the First 747-8i

New airplane alert! Last Friday, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet made history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

It used to be that flying in luxury on a jumbo jet meant somewhat wider seats with better recline, friendlier flight attendants, a spiral staircase to the upper deck and lobster on the menu. This was the premium class of the 1970s, when Pan Am took off with the very first Boeing 747 passenger plane, a 747-100. Fast forward to 42 years later (!!) to the new 747-800 Intercontinental and, as much as we bemoan the loss of the "jet set" glamor, stepping into Lufthansa's new Business Class forces the realization that—holy mackerel—these last few decades have actually produced a plane that can again cause passengers to mouthe "wow" (or "toll" if you're German).

The 747 has always been an impressive work of aviation engineering, but it's this 747-8i that Boeing is calling "a flagship aircraft that airlines will want to customize" and "a cornerstone of the Lufthansa fleet for years to come." So, no surprise that Lufthansa chose this baby for the grand debut of the new lie-flat Business Class seats, right? So let's check it out...

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In-Flight Meals / Airline Food / Cathay Pacific / Photo Gallery / Food Travel / Premium Economy / Airline News / AIrlines / Hong Kong Travel / → All Tags

All the Cathay Pacific Premium Economy Food from Hong Kong to New York

FOOD. Think about it. Food is so awesome. AIRPLANE FOOD. Now think about that. Not so awesome, right? Well, an airline can only do so much to develop an appealing onboard menu, while battling with catering companies, onboard kitchen appliances, altitude issues and passenger diets. Obviously it's best to go for First or Business Class for optimum yumminess, but we're happy to report that Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy meals are better than economy, which aren't too shabby on their own.

Flying CX840 from Hong Kong to New York in Premium Economy, we were first presented with a welcome flute of champagne, followed by a hot towel to refresh. Then, a printed menu arrived, laying out the options for a dinner, brunch, drinks and snacks at any time.

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Beer Travel / Drinking Travel / Froniter / Airlines News / Frontier Airlines / In-Flight Meals / → All Tags

Cast Your Vote for Frontier Airlines' Next In-Flight Brewsky

Photo of the current leader...

Fresh off voting for their new animal tail, it looks like Frontier Airlines is looking for your help making a business decision once again. The airline is planning to bring a brand new beer to the in-flight menu, and they want to you pick from a couple different options of ales, lagers, and stouts.

There’s four different options from which to choose, so be sure to do the necessary research before casting your vote for Dale's Pale Ale, Upslope Pale Ale, Colorado Native, or Crabtree Oatmeal Stout. All the different options are brewed right in Colorado, so they’re definitely showing a little bit of hometown—or home state—pride. We’re kind of torn about which to choose, but we know that any of them will be a good fit alongside Fat Tire and Coors Light on the beverage cart.

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Booze Travel / Delta / Airlines / Airline News / Drinking Travel / In-Flight Meals / Food Travel / In-Flight Cocktails / Airplane Food / → All Tags

The Latest News from Delta Will Nurse That Cinco de Mayo Hangover

It’s been quite some time since we heard about Delta and their partnership with Avión Tequila, but it sounds like all must be going well as the spirit is headed toward the in-flight beverage cart.

The two companies are hooking up to offer some tasty drinks aboard plenty of Delta flights, and the new beverages made their debut over the weekend. If you flew between JFK and LAX, you may have just been part of a little Cinco de Mayo celebration as flight attendants also passed out some complimentary chips and salsa.

If you’re flying this week however, you'll miss out as it sounds like the planes won’t be loaded up with the new drinks and mixers until later this month. Delta is promising that that the tequila and margaritas will be available on plenty of flights heading around North America, the Caribbean, and Central America for the summer months. We hope they stick around into the fall as well, because we’re pretty sure margaritas are equally tasty no matter what the calendar says.

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Booze Travel / In-Flight Cocktails / In-Flight Meals / Airplane Food / Business Class Travel / Airline News / Virgin Atlantic / London Travel / JFK / LHR / Airbus / A330 / Upper Class / → All Tags

Virgin Atlantic's Revamped Upper Class Bar is Crystal-Covered and Pretty Kinky

Look at the image above. Now scroll down and look at the image at the very bottom. Now glance back and forth and we dare you to tell us that the new, improved onboard Upper Class bars on Virgin Atlantic aren't crazy awesomer. Yeah, we said "awesomer." Things like this call for words like that.

Let's handle all this goodness bit by bit: yes, Virgin Atlantic has a bar onboard each of their planes. They're only for Upper Class passengers, however, but all the drinks are complimentary and a bartender will shake that Vesper Martini no problem. Yes, the revampment of Upper Class means the bar has been overhauled and now it looks like something torn from a Starship Enterprise-themed kink club or Tron's cut scenes, and we're more than cool with that.

Oh, and there will be Swarovski crystals. *cue the Marvin Gaye*

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In-Flight Meals / AirAsia / Food Travel / LCCs / Airlines / → All Tags

AirAsia's Incredibly Long List of Onboard Meals

This morning we booked a flight on Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia. It's an hour-long flight and there were five flight times available that day. Simple, right? Sure...until we reached the extras which included a list of 19 different onboard meals.

"Chicken or beef" we've heard, and of course there's usually options for kosher, vegetarian and halal, but 19 options blows away all that.

With this much variety, you better be ready to pony up the extra cash. Meals are either 23,900 IDR ($2.61) or 29,900 IDR ($3.27), unless you go big with the "monthly promotion" meal at 41,900 IDR ($4.58). It's not bad at all considering that snack boxes on US airlines average $8, but, on the other hand, this AirAsia route between Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia regularly offers the whole one-way flight beginning at $45.

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Airline News / In-Flight Meals / Airplane Food / Dessert Travel / Frontier / Midwest Airlines / → All Tags

Breaking: Frontier Airlines Lost Its Cookies!

This day had to come eventually. Frontier Airlines is doing away with handing out free oven-baked cookies on flights, starting at the end of this month.

Of course this sucks. Who doesn't love free stuff on flights when such things are quickly going extinct? Frontier served nearly 700,000 cookies every month! We feel for the flight attendants, who'll likely spend the next many months politely informing flyers of the change, when they ask where their free cookie went. Though this is sad news, Frontier has recently done a few positive things to balance it out, like the lowering of fees and the addition of Fat Tire beer to the onboard drinking menu.

So how do Frontier frequent flyers feels about this? We asked Jill Smith, domestic jetsetter, for her thoughts on this breaking news:

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The Little Things / Singapore Airlines / In-Flight Meals / Drinking Travel / Airlines / → All Tags

The Little Things: Special Tea Onboard Singapore Airlines

In the midst of the bustle of travel, it's all too easy to overlook the details. We're talking about special touches others have stressed over just so you can enjoy a unique experience, whether you know it or not. Every so often we'll highlight The Little Things like this, so now you will know.

The Little Thing: Singapore Airlines' in-flight TWG Tea, specifically the "Singapore Breakfast" blend.

TWG Tea is a Singapore tea purveyor that sells the allure of Singapore's history with every teabag. Singapore Airlines chose them to provide their onboard tea variety, and the assortments (with flavor notes) are even listed in the Singapore Business and First/Suites menus. Here's what the official TWG site has to say about "Singapore Breakfast":

A tantalising elixir to inspire new beginnings, this noble TWG breakfast blend is evocative of the sophisticated harmony of Singapore. Boasting a natural blend of green tea, black tea, rich vanilla and rare spices, this tea yields a complex flavour with a sweet and lingering aftertaste.

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Photo Gallery / Food Travel / Airplane Food / In-Flight Meals / Business Class Travel / SCL / LAN / Chile Travel / Santiago Travel / JFK / → All Tags

All the Food Onboard LAN Between New York and Santiago, Chile

Look out of the windows by your gate at the airport, before boarding a flight, and you'll likely spot the catering truck raised up to load its munchies directly into the airplane. There's a mystery about it, like "ooh ooh wonder what we'll get?" If you're flying LAN Airlines to South America, the answer to this questions is "something good from Gate Gourmet," to put it simply.

Although menus differ from route to route, there's still some standards to look for on LAN long-haul flights. For one, expect Chilean and Argentinean wine selections (even in economy), Pisco Sours in Business Class on flights to and from Chile and Peru, quality beef as an entree option, and a dessert incorporating dulce de leche. All this we saw and devoured ourselves on a recent roundtrip between New York-JFK and Santiago, Chile onboard one of LAN's 767s.

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