Jaunted

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2012 is Totally Japan's Year...for Aviation

2011 wasn't a banner year for Japan, not to mention for any industry in the country. We saw the ripple effects of natural disasters throughout the aviation world with the Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami topping the list. What can be more indicative of Japanese pride, but to quickly rebuild stronger and better? Fortunately for us, airlines are towards the top of the progress.

· Peachy Keen
Last year we talked about the introduction of ANA's budget carrier based out of Osaka, Peach. With only 3 destinations, the airline will draw business passengers, eventually moving into the leisure market. Flights are taking off in March and tickets are already to purchase.

Happy Peach Fares have no baggage allowance or advanced seat selection but are quite affordable at around $175 return to Sapporo. If you need the sweet little perks, cough up about $75 more. Happy Peach Plus fares allow you to pick where you park yourself on the plane and some space in the belly for your luggage. With a bright purple livery and cabin, Peach is on our short list!

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Three Airlines That'll Fulfill Your Krispy Kreme Donut Kravings

It's Wednesday—the middle of the week—and we're traveling. We need something to get through the rest of the week and you know what would do the trick? A sugar rush brought on by some Krispy Kreme donuts. It'd be even better if they were in-flight Krispy Kreme donuts.

Good news for us and everyone! Krispy Kremes aren't just limited to standalone stores and the occasional airport kiosk; some airlines actually do serve up the glazed masterpieces direct to your traytable. For this they get major brownie donut points!

Three airlines serving Krispy Kreme in the skies:

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You Get an iPad, and You Get an iPad...

...it's like being on The Oprah show when she gives away her favorite things.

Back in early 2010, we brought you the story of iPads being launched as in-flight entertainment options; it just took a while for plans to come to fruition. This week, our friends "down under" at Jetstar actually came through and rolled out new in-flight entertainment options. The LCC is now offering passengers in all cabins the option to rent an iPad on flights from Oz to New Zealand, plus other short-haul internationals. Eventual roll-out across the whole domestic network is in the works.

This is the first time iPads have been offered in the short-haul economy cabin and, frankly, this really makes us super giddy. The rental cost of $10-15 AUD (depending on flight duration) isn't too bad either, considering the entertainment options. Each device is preloaded with TV shows, new release movies and music with a line-up of the hottest games *ahem Angry Birds*, e-mags and e-books.

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An In-Flight Meal Proves Deadly for One Jetstar Passenger

We’re always quick to criticize in-flight meals as hazardous to your health due to their taste, but a recent dinner aboard a Jetstar flight was actually deadly for one unlucky passenger.

During a flight from Singapore to Auckland, a passenger—Robert Rippingale—choked on his in-flight meal only an hour or two into the 11-hour journey. He was sitting next to his girlfriend, who initially thought he was just laughing, but soon the scene turned very serious.

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Chile's Puyehue Volcano Eruption Grounding Flights Across Australia and New Zealand

Well this is getting kind of tired. In March Big Ash Problems caused by erupting volcanoes grounding flights throughout Japan. Then in May it was Europe's turn, with the ash cloud from Iceland's Grimsvotn eruption disrupting air travel first in Scotland and then in other parts of the continent.

Now the Puyehue volcano in Chile has blown its top. First the ash cloud first wrecked havoc on Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Then over the weekend it traveled across the Pacific and shut down airports from Melbourne to New Zealand. With some flights still grounded indefinitely, 2011 is shaping up to be even worse than 2010, the year of vengeful air travel volcano gods.

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New Routes from Allegiant and Alaska Airlines, but Big Winner is Puerto Rico

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.

· AirTran:
If you need some time in the sun but lack a passport, Puerto Rico is always a good option. AirTran is starting up nonstop service between San Juan and another sunny destinations—Tampa—beginning on April 5 of next year. Tickets are on sale now, and there will be two flights each day. We’re going to need to brush up on our high school Spanish a little bit, but we’ve still got a little bit of time.

· Allegiant Air:
This November will bring a new destination into Allegiant Air’s route network, as the airline is bringing its vacation packages and cheap airfare to Savannah, Georgia. The new flights will start on November 18, and will run between the low country and Fort Lauderdale. As always the fares will be a pretty good deal, as introductory rates will start at just $30 each way. The new flights will run twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays.

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Tiger Airways Also Considering Pee Fees and Stand-up Airplane Seats

Until an airline actually goes through with it, we are going to be continually reminded that stand-up seating is a pending possibility. Ryanair started things off, but now there’s another airline that might just want to get a little attention with it as well. Tiger Airways is also thinking about bringing a bit of in-flight discomfort to the masses.

The airline stated that they’d consider the possibility of stand-up seating in order to pass on lower fares to their customers. Just like their pals over at Ryanair, Tiger Airways would also think about installing those infamous coin-operated toilets. Apparently the airline is all about anything that can make flying cheaper for the flying public.

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The Top Five Stupid Travel Stunts of 2010...So Far

The year is more than half over, which means we're more than halfway done with 2010 travel stories. Since things slow down over the summer, we figured this was a perfect time to pause and reflect on just how insane this year has been. And by insane, we mean stupid.

We wanted to avoid things that were stupid in the "that obviously won't work" kind of way and instead turn to the mind-boggling, inexplicable, "what could they have been thinking" sort of stupidity. And, thanks to the nature of the travel industry and airport security, there was more than enough to go around.

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Jetstar Pilot Gets Distracted by Texting, Almost Crashes Plane

We’ll freely admit it. We sometimes jump the gun and flip on our cell phones right before touchdown, but so far we’ve been safe. That’s not the case for a Jetstar pilot who apparently needed to update a Facebook or Twitter account to let friends, family, and grandma know that all was well. The pilot busted out the technology a little too soon, and kind of forgot that there was an airplane to fly.

The plane was about 400-feet off the ground on its way down into Singapore, when the pilot realized that he hadn't even lowered the landing gear, and so he pulled the plane back up towards the wild blue yonder. The nearly 170 passengers aboard the flight are fine, but some probably updated their own accounts with some choice words regarding their second landing attempt.

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Jetstar Plans Another Long-Haul Route, Continental Flies to Tuxtla Gutierrez and More

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.

· Jetstar:
For fans of long-haul service that combines low fares with limited niceties, Jetstar has the flight you’ve been looking for. The airline has announced plans for an Auckland to Singapore flight—starting next March—as well as a Melbourne to Singapore flight that will launch this December. Promotional fares on the Melbourne route start at around $99 AUD each way, so this is a pretty awesome deal. The flights will be about ten hours long aboard Airbus A330-200 aircraft, so let’s hope that they bring enough iPads for everyone!

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Jetstar Will Begin Using iPads as In-Flight Entertainment This Month

The Apple iPad—so new and yet already so embraced by the travel industry. The TSA doesn't ask you to take it out of your bag for screening, we've seen travelers using them at every airport we've been to since iPads were released for sale, and now the airlines themselves are looking to offer them as in-flight entertainment.

We've already reported on a company called Bluebox Avionics, which markets iPads to airlines as IFE, will have a carrier already rolling out with the iPads in July. And that airline is Qantas' low-cost spin-off Jetstar, who will begin testing the gadgets on select routes later this month.

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Jetstar Says 'No Flight For You' To Blind Couple With Guide Dog

Here’s a not so good story if you’re in charge of marketing or PR for Jetstar. Apparently a blind couple was attempting to board a flight to get out of Melbourne—hopefully en route to somewhere fun—but they weren’t allowed on the plane because of their guide dog. The airline’s policy states that’s it’s totally fine to bring service dogs on the flight; however, the agent wasn’t too familiar with this.

The couple reached the check-in area at the airport, but weren’t offered too many solutions. The agent at the desk just shouted “no dogs, no dogs, no dogs,” which doesn’t sound like a response right out of the customer service manual.

Eventually the couple took a flight on another airline and finally did get an apology from Jetstar. They also got a couple of free flights, but we’re thinking the couple will be a little hesitant to try out Jetstar again in the future. Maybe they can call ahead to get the all clear for their furry friend helper.

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