Jaunted

Tags: Helictopter Travel / US Helicopter / JFK / EWR / Airport News / Delta / Airline News / → All Tags

It's A Sad Day For Frivolous Travel As US Helicopter Abruptly Shuts Down

US Helicopter, which ran Sikorsky choppers from the Wall Street and Midtown West heliports to JFK and Newark airports, shuttered its service abruptly on Friday. What a bummer for ballers in the NYC-area, and for Jaunted too since we've splurged on the 8-minute flight a few times—one review is here.

The 'copter company, which landed at Delta terminals at the airports and offered seamless transfers to your Delta flights, only began 3 years ago and yet has been plagued with financial problems from the first. Sometimes their desperation for cash would work out for us, since their $99 special would appear every so often and drive us batty with fantasies of flying in friends from the airport as a gift and totally blowing their minds.

The good news is, US Helicopter claims that this stop is only temporary for, as their Vice-President says, "getting our act together." Once they do get their act together, we hope that $159 one-ways that take 8 minutes to get to the airport still include a few specials.

Related Stories:
· US Helicopter Halts Shuttle Service To JFK and Newark [NYT]
· First-Person Flight Reviews: US Helicopter Is Real-Life Google Earth [Jaunted]
· US Helicopter Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: US Helicopter]

Tags: iPhone Travel Apps / iPhone / iPhone 3GS / Air Traffic Control / JFK / AMS / Airports / Airport News / → All Tags

Listen In On Air Traffic Control From Your iPhone

Noting that Labor Day weekend means one of the busiest travel times of the year, we're tuning in to something other than our iTunes on our iPhone. It's a newish app, released this summer, and it comes from the great people behind LiveATC.net, which lets you tune in to streaming air traffic control at select airports around the world.

At $2.99, it's the most expensive app we've bought, but there's just something exciting about listening in on JFK's Tower as flights depart and arrive for everywhere from Nice, France to Rochester. A few mornings ago, we even caught the air traffic controllers wrestling with some Coast Guard traffic and the occasional helicopter.

more ›

Tags: Airplane Hell / Airline News / Travel Storms / Sun Country / JFK / → All Tags

No Brett Favre For Passengers Stuck Onboard Grounded Flight For Six Hours

Here we go again. Just a couple weeks after another flight was stuck in Minnesota for hours, a Sun Country airplane was delayed on the tarmac at JFK for hours en route to the North Star State. Flight 252 was supposed to leave New York on Friday around 11 am, but after a late boarding and weather delays, passengers were forced to spend most of the day stuck aboard the plane. Total delay time just sitting on the runway was about six hours.

Instead of throwing the passengers a bone and distributing some complimentary snacks and beverages to keep people comfortable, the airline rolled out the cart and began to charge for service items. Apparently travelers were quick to open their wallets despite the inconvenience as the snacks soon ran out leaving many thirsty, hungry, and cranky.

more ›

Tags: Celeb Travel / Mischa Barton / Travel Pillows / JFK / Airport Photo Shoots / → All Tags

Mischa Barton is Tempted Again...By a Travel Pillow

Mischa Barton has had a rough go of it lately. First, there was incessant scrutiny about her cellulite from the press. Then came a very public DUI arrest. Even losing her "extra" poundage didn't seem to help her image or suffering career as her partying habits started to spiral out of control.

Just the other weekend, she pulled "a Britney" and was placed on an "involuntary psychiatric hold" at a Los Angeles medical center. After a few days, she was released and sent back to work on an upcoming CW show called, The Beautiful Life in which she plays a down and out model.

Because that's a lot of drama to endure--heck, we still can't function normally after a wild Friday night out---we'll have to forgive her for contemplating a fellow passenger's travel neck pillow after arriving in JFK on a flight from Los Angeles.

Mischa, we strongly hope you make the smart decision and just say "No" to this silly type of travel pillow but you know, we all make mistakes sometimes. At least it's not a Komfort Kollar. Also, note to self: do not stand next to celebrities getting their picture taken at the airport after a long cross-country flight. You could be photographed by the paps!

[Photo: JustJared.com]

Related Stories:
· Travel Pillows [Jaunted]
· Mischa Barton [Jaunted]

Tags: Upscale Airport Restaurants / JFK / T4 / → All Tags

The Palm Will Open Its First Airport Location in T4 at JFK

In news that is sure to make your next layover at T4 within JFK (home to Virgin America and Emirates flights) a little more savory, The Palm Bar and Grille, from The Palm steak house restaurants is expected to open later this year.

Founded on Second Avenue in New York City by Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi in 1926, The Palm has grown to be the oldest family-owned white tablecloth restaurant to expand across the United States. Characterized as the place "to see and be seen,” The Palm is known for its hospitality, huge portions, and caricature adorned walls.

In its first airport incarnation, The Palm Bar and Grille will serve prime cuts of meat along with their top Italian and seafood dishes.

T4 will also get a few more dining options like the Seafood Bar by Caviar House & Prunier (That's right, a caviar bar!), a healthy pizza shop, Zpizza; two new sit-down restaurants, Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar and Tigin Irish Pub & Restaurant; two new bakeries, Upper Crust and Panopolis; and in the fast-food department, a Panda Express.

Lastly, East Coasters can celebrate their love of Peet's Coffee throughout Terminal 4 as several locations are expected to open up here. With all these new options in addition to the old ones (like the Xpress Spas, Kosher vending machines and the bird-watching), we should have no problem killing the average three-hour dwell time in T4.

Related Stories:
· Craving Peet's Coffee in New York? Then Book a Flight Out of JFK [Jaunted]
· T4 At JFK Has Gone To The Birds [Jaunted]

[Photo: Lemoncat1]

Tags: Airport Spas / Airport News / XpresSpa / JFK / → All Tags

Do You Use Airport Gyms? How About One Of JFK's 30 XpresSpas?

Forbes just put out a list of "Ten great things to do in airports," presumably because Forbes hadn't done a story about airports in a while. Once you get past the first couple paragraphs—reprinted press releases from the Denver Airport—there are nonetheless a few interesting suggestions.

One paragraph that particularly caught our eye was about the growing number of airport gyms and day spas. Most of the facilities are provided by hotels attached to the airports: the Hilton in O'Hare Terminal 2, the Westin in Detroit's McNamara Terminal, and so on. There's also a growing number of airport spa storefronts; for instance, JFK has over 30 XpresSpas, offering massages, facials, and waxing.

more ›

Tags: Crime / JFK / Baggage / Lost Luggage / → All Tags

Two Airport Workers Caught In Baggage Theft Sting At JFK

Reason number 1,679 to avoid checking baggage: yesterday, cops nabbed two JFK airport workers, one a TSA agent, who had been going through passengers' baggage and blatantly stealing items of value.

It seems that the airport and Delta Airlines had noticed an unexplainable amount of missing items from luggage over the past year, and so set up a sting operation to test for sticky fingers among ground crew. The police checked a bag, filled with a laptop, two cell phones and an iPod, onto a flight from JFK to Miami and easily caught the pair of thieves pilfering the goods before the luggage had even boarded the plane.

To confuse matters for the unlucky passenger claiming the bag at its destination, the pair then tore off the bag tag. If convicted, each man faces up to 4 years in prison, so let's hope there's some more condeming evidence back at their homes to keep them out of our baggage claim forever.

Related Stories:
· Sting nabs stickey-fingered JFK airport workers going through luggage [NY Daily News]
· Airport employees caught in theft sting [ABCNews]
· You Know That Thing You’re Afraid Happens to Your Luggage After You Check It? [Daily Intel]
· Travel Crime Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: tttallis]

Tags: Animals / JFK / Turtles / Airport Hell / Runway Drama / → All Tags

Wherein We Politely Ask Our Animal Friends To Stop Shutting Down Airports

Just to be very clear: if we were in the midst of a blurry, rushed JFK layover and they delayed flights for 90 minutes because of a turtle orgy, we would be hard-pressed to maintain our pristine environmentalist credentials. Seriously:

Dozens of turtles, presumably on a mating spree, shut down a runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport Wednesday morning for 35 minutes, causing flight delays of an hour and a half... It is unclear whether the turtles pair off, or if the numbers indicated it was a group activity... These turtles were 8 to 10 inches long and weighed 2 to 3 pounds.

more ›

Tags: Airport News / SFO / JFK / DFW / Travel Health / EWR / → All Tags

Pill Popping And Flight Hopping: Airport Pharmacies Proliferate

It's crunch time for your flight and you're desperate to pick up your prescription or some nasal spray or just some St. John's Wort *wink*, but you know the airport is notorious for having lots of only one thing: a greasy, overpriced food court. Thankfully, this is no longer the case as some airports welcome Harmony Pharmacies, regular pharmacies stocking necessities and more when you don't have the time to hook yourself up with some last-minute NyQuil.

Back in 2007, Newark International was the first United States airport to welcome a functioning pharmancy with on-site nurse practitioner and prescription service, all of which is still located in Terminal C1, near Gate 91.

Then, during last fall when T5 at JFK opened, another Harmony moved in near Gate 7. And now the health has spread to San Francisco Intl Airport and it won't stop there; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Cleveland-Hopkins, and Baltimore-Washington Intl should all have their own Harmony airport pharmacies by the end of next year.

Until then, feel free to fill your Viagra Clarinex prescriptions with the full-time pharmacist or check your blood pressure; SFO's Harmony Pharmacy is located in the "F" hub of Terminal 3.

Related Stories:
· SFO Welcomes Airport Pharmacy [SFO Press Release]
· Harmony Pharmacy [Official Site]
· On the fly and forgot to pack your meds? San Francisco Airport's new on-site pharmacy [Examiner]
· Airport News Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Harmony Pharmacy]

Tags: T5 at JFK / Jetblue / JFK / Music Travel / → All Tags

Buskers in a Dangerous Time: Win The Chance To Play At JFK's Terminal 5

Despite their common name, not many New Yorkers confuse Terminal 5, JFK's recently renovated home of JetBlue and Terminal 5, the concert venue which hosts bands like Metric and Phoenix. But in April when JetBlue launched its concert series "Live at T5," they crept slightly closer together and now JetBlue is opening Live at T5 to the amateurs. Thus, the real competition begins.

Aspiring background musicians for airline boarding can apply by submitting original music to OurStage.com where it will be voted on by people who notice these things faster than we do. The Grand Prize includes a performance at both Terminal 5s as well as two round-trip flights on JetBlue, which just might be, as one famous singer of our age would say, the best of both worlds.

Related Stories:
· April: JetBlue's Live at T5 Will Get JFK's Groove Back [Jaunted]
· T5 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: tedmurphy]

Tags: Scams / JFK / Airport Transportation / Airport Hell / → All Tags

Welcome to New York, Now Get in The Van

When the airports say avoid transportation solicitors in the terminal, they really mean it. Five French tourists had to find that out the hard way. They were approached by a "steerer" after arriving at JFK on their Air France flight who directed them towards a van that would take them to Manhattan. The NY Post reports:

PA cops recognized [Ian] McFarland as a longtime "steerer" and Officer Michael Bestany reached inside the van to try to grab the keys, the source said.

The driver floored it, knocking Bestany to the ground.

With cops right behind, the driver roared west along the Belt Parkway and onto Linden Boulevard, forcing other cars to get out of the way.

It then snaked through residential streets, went in circles and crashed through the mechanical gate arm of a US Postal Service facility on Forbell Street in East New York.

more ›

Tags: Jetblue LAX Inaugural / LAX / Jetblue / Travel Videos / JFK / Betablue / → All Tags

Jetting Coast To Coast On Jetblue: Our Videos and Juicy Details

It's been a full 24 hours now since the inaugural flight of Jetblue's LAX routes landed, and although we've detailed the ribbon cuttings on both coasts, we haven't yet told you about the party in the sky.

Since this flight was a regularly scheduled one, many of the Chinese tourist passengers sitting around us thought it their lucky day to get free mimosas on board in addition to gift bags featuring airplane-size Absolut vodka. And so we noshed on cookies and crackers and drank our drinks 35,000 feet above the flyover states, as Jetblue's VP of Airports, Alex Battaglia, went up and down the aisle collecting our trash. You won't catch any of the higher-ups at the legacy carriers doing that.

more ›