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United / United Airlines / Drinking Travel / Drinks / Booze / In-Flight Comfort / → All Tags

Why Your Next Vodka Tonic on United May Taste a Little Better

Cheers! Let’s raise a glass to United Airlines, as they’re bringing a new spirit to the in-flight beverage cart. They’re calling on an Austin, Texas based company to provide all the vodka to their flights all around the world. It’s Tito's Handmade Vodka that is now the exclusive choice of United Airlines.

We’ve got to admit that we’ve never had a sip of Tito's Handmade Vodka, but we’ve heard good things. We like that it's a somewhat local company, as the new United has family ties down in Texas—thanks to Continental.

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Shopping Travel / In-Flight Comfort / Airports / Airport Shopping / Best Thing I Ever Bought / → All Tags

The Best Thing I Ever Bought at an Airport...Travel Pillow Edition

With airports these days resembling malls filled with clothing stores, gadget shops and restaurants-fine, casual and fast, it was inevitable that we would do a little shopping while we wait to board our flight. In our newest series, we take a look at some of the airport swag Jaunted contributors have found and loved, even years later. Today, Jaunted's Editor Cynthia shares her cherished purchase.

I'm actually quite embarrassed to admit that my "best thing bought in an airport" was done purely with the thought of saving my own butt. Before I had ever flown to Asia, and indeed before I'd flown anything longer than the 7 or 8-hour hop to Europe, I purchased a Cocoon Travel Pillow stuffed with goose down feathers.

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Alaska Airlines / Airlines / Airline News / In-Flight Comfort / Seats / Boeing / → All Tags

Alaska Airlines Slims Down Seats, but Beefs Up In-flight Power

The folks over at Alaska Airlines are cashing in all the spare change they find between the seats, as they’re looking to spend around $100 million to upgrade the interiors on some of their planes. Unfortunately they’re not adding wider more comfortable seats, but at least the upgrades they are making should give the airplane cabins a nice refresh.

Upgrades are coming to all of the carrier’s Boeing 737-800s, 737-900s, and 737-900ERs, as they replace the old seating surfaces with some new designs from Recaro. The new seats have a much slimmer design, so traveling butts might be a little less comfortable. However, the slimmer seats add more space for more travelers, and that’s a good thing when you’re an airline trying to make money.

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Airline Seats / In-Flight Comfort / Airplane Seats / Airplanes / Airplane News / → All Tags

It Probably Won't Happen, but the Airplane 'Side-Slip Seat' Idea is Unique

It’s been a little bit of time since we first heard about the Side-Slip Seat, but now it looks as though the latest idea in airplane seating design is making the rounds once again. We’ve got a few more details and some additional renderings, since Molon Labe Designs sincerely hopes this will be the next great thing in airplane seating.

The basic premise behind this new design is that the aisle seat can slide over the middle seat, with the goal that the aisle of the airplane gets a little bit roomier during the boarding process. Faster boarding means quicker turnaround time for the airlines, and as a result that might just lead to more cash in their bank accounts.

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In-Flight Comfort / Airlines / Delta / Airline News / Toilets / 737 / → All Tags

Can Airplane Bathrooms Get Any Smaller? Yes, Yes They Can.

It seems that we’re at a unique place in the world of commercial aviation. Carriers are either reducing services and amenities as much as possible—like in the economy cabins—or they’re going all out in the business and first class cabins in hopes of securing some of those VIP travelers. Or both!

This time we’re looking at one of those cutbacks, as one airline is reducing the space available in the in-flight lavatory.

There’s a new bathroom design from the folks over at B/E Aerospace, and what it does is shave off a little bit of space from the lavatory in order to add a little space to the main cabin. Of course this does not mean more legroom for those in economy, as it’s all done to cram in yet one more row of seating. More seating means more dollars and, after all, the airlines are running a business.

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American Airlines / Airlines / AIrline News / In-Flight Comfort / Amenity Kits / First Class Travel / Business Class Travel / Flying the New American 777 / → All Tags

Onboard American Airlines' First Boeing 777-300ER: The Final Word

Economy doesn't look too painful

There's something new in the air. Smell it? That's the scent of a refreshed American Airlines and their shiniest new toy: the Boeing 777-300ER. AA is the first US airline with the plane and we just stepped off one of its first flights. So let's talk about it.

The Jaunted Series on American's Shiny New Toy

Over the past several days, we've shared what's new inside the American 777-300ER and what happens during the flight, but now it's time for a final judgement and what you need to know for when you're all set to jet.

Although we flew in Business Class (window, seat 7A if you're looking to snag the same), we made a point of spending time back in Economy (Main Cabin) as well, to get to know the new bird in for both the premium and budget travelers.

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JetBlue / Airlines / Airline News / Travel Tech / In-Flight WiFi / In-Flight Comfort / TrueBlue / → All Tags

All Sorts of New Stuff for JetBlue Includes Premium Seats

Just when you think you know an airline, they go and change up all kinds of stuff. JetBlue isn’t revamping their whole system anytime soon, but at a recent analyst day they did reveal some secret plans they’ve been working on behind the scenes. Thankfully a lot of the stuff—if not all of it—sounds like a plus, so the free blue chips and free sodas are going anywhere anytime soon.

We knew the airline was hard at work refining their in-flight WiFi technology, and now it sounds like they’re getting closer to flipping the switch for the very first time. The name of the new service will be "Fly-Fi," and there’s even a snazzy little logo letting you know that things are powered by exede internet—nice.

JetBlue is claiming that their new service will be smarter, newer, faster and better than anything else up in the skies, and it should be arriving by the end of the year. There’s been rumors that the WiFi will be complimentary for all aboard the plane; however, we haven’t seen any confirmation regarding that just yet.

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KLM / Airlines / Airline News / Boeing / Airplanes / In-Flight Comfort / Seats / Business Class / Skyteam / → All Tags

KLM is Gonna Get You Laid All the Way to Amsterdam

We’ve been squished, squeezed, and smooshed into all kinds of economy seats during our long haul travels, so when a new business class product comes along we get pretty darn excited. It’s not just because it makes flying for long periods of time that much better, but it gives us something to dream about when we’re crammed into the coach cabin.

This week it’s KLM revealing some big news, as they’re planning a revamp of their World Business Class seating options. These days it seems like everybody and their moms want lie-flat seats, so KLM has decided to get in on the fun as well.

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Airline News / Airlines / Emirates / First Class Travel / In-Flight Comfort / Airplanes / Airplane News / A380 / → All Tags

Your Chance to Get Naked on an A380 May Be Threatened

One of the craziest things you can do—at least legally—at 35,000 feet is to strip down to your birthday suit and take an in-flight shower. We’re not talking about a quick refresh in the airplane lavatory with a first class amenity kit, but we actually mean hot water, soap, and shampoo while on an airplane. Right now it’s only available to first class flyers aboard Emirates' A380 flights, but if Emirates gets their way there might just be a few less in-flight showers moving forward.

It sounds like Emirates is considering what a lot of carriers have already done, and shifting some of their planes to just a two-class configuration. That means just business and economy, no first class. The plan is to cram more seats into the oversized airplane, and more seats means more money. We’re hardly airline industry economists, but it’s pretty clear how this new move would benefit Emirates in a good way.

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Delta / Tech Travel / Travel Tech / In-Flight Comfort / Jet Lag / Travel Health / Science Travel / → All Tags

Can Jet Lag Be Cured by a Scientific Shower?

We thought Delta was hard at work adding plenty of those Economy Comfort seats as well as WiFi on each and every flight, but apparently they also have a little extra time to work on some other projects. They’re actually trying to solve the problem of jet lag, and they just showed off some of their most recent ideas at the Technology, Entertainment and Design—TED—conference out in Long Beach, California.

This stuff might be a little bit above our pay grade when it comes to understanding the science behind things, but basically what Delta has created is some kind of light shower. Photon light rains down upon you, and then like magic you’re cured from any and all jetlag—at least in theory.

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In-Flight Comfort / Business Class Travel / Delta / Airlines / → All Tags

Delta's Westin In-Flight Bed Collab and Other Dream Airline Partnerships

It's already a done deal that Delta is hopping into bed with Starwood's group of hotels for shared points and rewards, but yesterday we also learned that Starwood is doing their part to likewise get under the covers with Delta's flyers.

Starting June 2013, Delta will offer Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, designed and manufactured exclusively for the airline, in the BusinessElite cabins on international flights and BusinessElite flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and between Atlanta and Honolulu. If the flight is under 12 hours, that means a Westin pillow and comforter. For flights over 12 hours, add a lumbar pillow to the mix.

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Southwest Airlines / Airlines / Airline News / Southwest / In-Flight WiFi / WiFi / In-Flight Comfort / Row 44 / Travel Tech / → All Tags

Will You Pay $5 to Watch a Movie on Your Own iPad? Southwest Hopes So.

Southwest Airlines hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of in-air technology, but slowly but surely they’ve been adding to their in-flight WiFi abilities. In-flight connectivity won’t be available on each and every one of your Southwest flights just yet, but they are boosting some of their offerings in hopes of keep passengers entertained at 35,000-feet.

The airline’s video-on-demand service just finishing rolling out to each and every one of the tech-enabled planes, so now you’re free to check out this and that from the comfort of your seat. It’s $5 per movie or $5 for television, and it sounds like that rate is the price regardless of whether or not you’re signing up for the full WiFi. Obviously you’ll need your own device, so please don’t ask the flight attendants where you can get an iPad with the TV on it like the guy seated in 18A.

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