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What Malaysia Airlines' Addition to the Oneworld Alliance Means for You

We knew it was happening, but now it’s official. Your travels around the world have just gotten a little bit easier, as Malaysia Airlines is now the newest member of the oneworld global airline alliance. They’re joining buddies like American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific—along with plenty of others. Plenty of stuff will remain pretty much business as usual now that Malaysia Airlines has found a new family, but there’s also a few changes that will improve the way you get around.

One of the newest things we find most useful is the ability to burn frequent flyer miles on Malaysia Airlines flights. All those flights on American Airlines to spots like Dallas-Ft. Worth and Chicago just got more valuable, as they’ll now jet you all the way over to Kuala Lumpur. From the United States options are somewhat limited, but redeemable flights exist out of Los Angeles International Airport to both Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo. After that you’re in Malaysia, so your options to travel even farther are plentiful.

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What's Up with the Oneworld Alliance in 2012

After a challenging year for some of the founding members of the Oneworld alliance, 2012 will surely be brighter. In 2011, the alliance saw American Airlines file for bankruptcy and Qantas' chief grounding the entire network to challenge labor disputes, plus Iberia closing out the year with rounds of employee strikes.

There were some shining stars, however, with the finalization of International Airline Group (the conglomerate that combines British Airways and Iberia), Cathay Pacific offering overhauled cabins and in-flight amenities, and Japan Airlines emerging from bankruptcy stronger and more stable.

As we get going with 2012, we can't help but notice the huge changes happening amongst these airline buddies. Oneworld is the world's smallest of the major airline alliances, yet consistently hits the high marks in passenger ratings. With the addition of 3 new carriers, Oneworld will gain a fighting chance to excel in years to come. Here's what's happening meanwhile:

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Flight Attendants / Richard Branson / Air Asia X / Tony Fernandes / F1 Racing / KUL / Air Asia / → All Tags

Delayed Again! Will Richard Branson Ever Dress in Flight Attendant Drag?

If you didn’t book your tickets last week for Richard Branson’s in-flight drag performance, you might have a little more time to do so, as it looks like the charity flight will be delayed once again.

Originally things were scheduled for April 1 and then May 1, but now things are being pushed back until July 4. The problem this time is that there are just too many people flying in and out of London to celebrate the Royal Wedding—that’s this Friday in case you didn’t hear. So the flight should leave from London on July 4 on its way to Kuala Lumpur.

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Tickets Now On Sale for Sir Richard Branson's In-Flight Drag Performance

There’s less than a month to go until Richard Branson finally walks down the aisle—of an airplane—dressed head to toe as a flight attendant. We’re just wondering if he’s going to sport those snazzy new heels that are on their way to his ladies at Virgin Atlantic.

What happened was he lost a bet with Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes regarding whose F1 racing team would have a better 2010 season. Team Lotus did a little better, so now Richard Branson gets to dress in drag and serve drinks on an Air Asia X flight from Kuala Lumpur to London. We like that the man is true to his word and recognizes that a bet is a bet, but more so that he has a great sense of humor.

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Richard Branson Moves April Fool's Day to May 1, When He'll Dress in Flight Attendant Drag

Do you enjoy seeing billionaires publicly embarrassed? Then have we got a date for you to mark on your calendar. May 1 is the reschedule date for the Air Asia X flight from Kuala Lumpur to London on which Sir Richard Branson will dress in drag and serve as a flight attendant. Of course this is due to him losing a bet with Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes over whose F1 racing team would have a better 2010 season. Fernandes' Lotus won the bet and now, instead of Tony as a Virgin Atlantic trolley dolly, Branson will don an Air Asia skirt suit (hopefully specially made).

You'd think this whole stunt would be best suited to April 1—April Fool's Day—but it's already been delayed. The original drag day was planned for February 21, but had to be postponed due to Branson breaking his leg (after another skier ran into him) on the slopes in Switzerland.

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We'll Be Waiting a Bit Longer to See Richard Branson in Flight Attendant Drag

We were all excited for February 21, as that was the day that Richard Branson was supposed to dress in full drag aboard an Air Asia X flight. You might remember that Branson lost a bet to Tony Fernandes, the head honcho over at the Malaysian low cost carrier, over whose F1 racing team would have the better record.

Apparently Branson has a little bit of a knee injury, so it looks like wearing high heels up in the air for a long haul flight might aggravate things a little too much. Over the holidays, another skier ran into him on the ski slopes in Switzerland, and he was forced into the hospital to undergo surgery on his knee.

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Richard Branson, Loser of a Bet, Will Dress in Flight Attendant Drag for Charity Flight

February 21. Mark your calendars now, as that's the date Virgin head honcho Richard Branson is due to dress in drag as a flight attendant for Malaysian low-cost carrier Air Asia X. It's all the result of losing a bet he made with buddy, former colleague and fellow multi-millionaire Tony Fernandes, the CEO of Air Asia X.

You see, Branson and Fernandes also both have Formula One racing teams, and the bet had it that whoever had the poorer performing team of the season would be dressing up to work the other's airline on a flight as a regular flight attendant. Since Fernandes' Lotus team ranked higher than Virgin's it's Branson who'll be shaving his legs and donning his Air Asia wings for a February 21st London Stansted - Kuala Lumpur flight on Air Asia X.

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Are The Oakland Raiders Getting an A340 Jet Or Just An Air Asia Route?

A while back we heard some rumors that Air Asia X, a low-cost long-haul carrier would be opening up a new route out of the U.S. Back then we heard:

Azran Osman Rani (CEO of AirAsia X) has been talking to JFK and 2 California airports regarding launching long haul service from KL. There's nothing definitive lined up, but the time-frame would be in about a year.

This weekend, we were tipped off about a thread over at Airliners.net where a member noticed this plane adorned with an Oakland Raiders logo peeking out of an SIA hanger at the Changi Airport in Singapore. There's a lot of speculation going on in the comments of this thread, ranging from the Raiders owner Al Davis forking out money for a new team jet to the rumor we like the most--Air Asia X is going to start an Oakland service soon.

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Airport WiFi: Our Map, Going International

Contribute your airport wireless report by leaving it in the comments, uploading your airport photo to Jaunted Flickr Photo Pool, or via email, and we'll add it to our U.S. Airport Wireless map.

After adding tons of US airports to our WiFi Map, we've decided to take it international. And thanks to some of our ever-mobile tipsters, we can fill you in on a couple spots right away.

Naha Airport in Okinawa has free internet at all the ANA gates, and Kuala Lumpur International has WiFi throughout, including in its Low Cost Carrier Terminal. In Europe, a tipster reports that there's no trouble getting online at Shannon International.

This doesn't mean we're giving up on domestic airports, btw. Lately we've heard that Gerald R. Ford International in Grand Rapids has WiFi as does Bradley International outside Hartford, Connecticut.

Related Stories:
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]

[Photo of KLIA: bchow]