It's been a while since we've held a real, paper ticket for a flight, but they do still exist... for the next couple of weeks, anyway. The industry's given themselves until June 1, 2008, to change over to completely paperless tickets.
Estimates are that around 90 percent of plane tickets are issued electronically at the moment, and that might not change too much before the deadline. Routes where they're having trouble changing over include some to China, Vietnam, India, Africa and South America, and bringing a baby along on an e-ticket is also still problematic; some round-the-world routes are also only issued on paper.
All hail the paperless ticket world, we say, not just because we like trees but also because it's much harder to leave an electronic ticket at home. We're gunning for paperless passports and baggage-less baggage, too.
We'd be lost without Google Docs. From piecing together itineraries to storing flight times and phone numbers, it's a central part of our non-stop trip planning.
The only bad part is that you have to be online to use it. Well, that was the bad part. Starting today, the Google overlords will be rolling out offline access to some lucky users. (It should be out for everyone by mid-month.)
The tech stuff that makes it work is actually pretty interesting, at least to web dorks like us. But more importantly, you'll now be able to access your stuff while stuck at an airport that still doesn't have free WiFi.
We went by the office of the Zagat guides yesterday for a little chat with Tim and Nina--more on that next week--and they reminded us about their new mobile service, which debuted this summer. Just point your web-enabled phone or BlackBerry to Zagat.mobi and get more restaurant reviews than you'll know what to do with.
Once you've got the page up, you can search by neighborhood, cuisine or new openings. We like the "SMS to Friend" feature, which we imagine would make meeting up with pals much easier. And since the service is ad-supported, it's free.
Zagat is also cracking Facebook with a new application for nightlife spots and restaurants that have pages on the social network. Once they're approved by the survey, businesses can drop the widget on their Facebook page and see it constantly updated with the latest, imminently quotable reviews.
Russian inventors have finally solved the problem of the heavy, unwieldy suitcase. They have produced the first smart suitcase that will follow the owner through the airport. (They're still working on the photo of it.)
The tech geeks at Robotronic have been more into robotic dogs and dinosaurs in the past, but have finally put their minds to something useful. The $2,000 suitcase, due to come on the market late next year, uses a gyroscope, light detectors, ultrasound and infrared sensors to make its way around obstacles and can follow you around for up to two hours.
If this were a really smart suitcase, it would follow its owner onto the plane rather than getting itself stowed in the baggage hold--especially if it's a British Airways flight, the only airline with the ability to lose 358,000 bags in three months.
While most websites can't track your flight, we know a few booking aggregators that can find you great deals. At least, we thought they could. The Andy Rooney of the travel world, Arthur Frommer, recently tried a Danish site, Momondo.com, and he says it's the best.
Frommer plugged in searches for three flights--a trans-con, a trans-Atlantic and an intra-Europe--and was wowed with Momondo's work:
I won't bore you with every pricing detail, but suffice it to say, the little Danish-based Momondo was the clear winner every single time, finding fares that ranged from 20 percent to 40 percent cheaper than the next-closest results.
Leave it to the Danish to come up with something cool that also works like a dream. Momondo tops other sites like Kayak, Mobissimo and FareCompare by searching an even broader range of airfare vendors. The one caveat with all that is to always check the airline website--you never know when a secret sale could be on.
When you see this, only one website can get you accurate, updated info.
Tracking your flight online is hardly news, but the Wall Street Journal recently took the time to test out all those services. Sadly, what they found wasn't any more impressive than the latest on-time numbers we've been crying over.
For significantly delayed flights--or those that push back from the gate but get stuck on the taxiway--most online services don't cut it. The Journal found a tough flight to track (AirTran 1699, that took off very late on Wednesday) and plugged it into some sites to see what happened:
FlightView.com...was less than helpful: It listed the flight's status as "Call Airline"...FlyteComm.com knew something wasn't quite right: It listed the flight's current altitude as zero and its current speed as zero, but still showed it arriving on-time. FlightArrivals.com correctly figured out that the plane had not yet departed...FlightAware.com and FlightExplorer.com couldn't find the flight.
So where should we turn for answers?
The most useful source of more information was at FlightStats.com, which collects data from airlines, airports and the Federal Aviation Administration and sends frequent updates.
We'd have to agree because we adore FlightStats both for on-the-road info and planning purposes. One of our fave things about it is historical data, which helps when picking flights. If it's down to one or two flights from our origin to destination--and they're about the same price--we'll almost always take the one with the higher percentage of on-time arrivals.
It's only Tuesday, and we've already heard about plenty of new travel technology. It seems like the more we get used to toting gizmos and gadgets with us on the road, the more we want them to do stuff for us.
While the TSAis testing a new wave of advanced security equipment (none of which will let you skirt the 3-1-1 rules), biz travelers may start meeting via teleconference more than they're used to. And JetBlue is jumping on the cashless cabin bandwagon.
True, podcasts and narrated tours have been on the travel radar for awhile now. But it would take more patience than we have on an average vacation to listen to all of them, good and bad. Fortunately, New York Times writer Seth Kugel digs up gems for a living and found some of the best podcast tours of the Big Apple.
He's particularly fond of a series called Soundwalk, with its multiple tours of the city's neighborhoods. The Chinatown walking tour is particularly cool:
Jami Gong, activist, comedian and Chinatown native, leads you on a refreshingly disorienting jaunt to semihidden shops, into alleys and through Doyers Street, a jagged block no Chinatown visitor should miss but most do.
He'll guide you into a teahouse and tell you to look for the owner, Mr. Wong, reading the newspaper. "He's been sitting there and reading the newspaper forever," Mr. Gong says into your ear. And there's Mr. Wong reading the newspaper in front of your eyes.
We also have to mention the MoMA Audio Guides that Seth name checks, too. Created by college students tired of wonky art museum audio guides, you'll be chuckling while learning about modern art with these tours. And iPod's a lot easier to listen to in the museum than your cell phone.
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by amandak
