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American Airlines Shows Off Upcoming New Seats Via Instagram

Last week we told you about the slurry of airlines using this year to refresh their aircraft cabins and service. Not a few days later, American Airlines dropped some major news as well, and they supplemented it with Instagram shots of the goods.

AA will take delivery of their first Boeing 777-300ER late this year and, from photos posted on Instagram last week, the big birds will look pretty flash on the inside. Since the airline is the first US carrier to take delivery of the shiny, new aircraft type, the introduction will surely be huge.

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Onboard the Singapore Airlines A380: The Iconic Singapore Girl

The Jaunted Singapore A380 Series:

This is how you usually spot The Singapore Girl: whizzing through an airport in a swirl of color, turning heads with her poise, polite smile and designer luggage. And then, just like that, The Singapore Girl has vanished beyond the security check and you're left wondering...who is she? where is she off to next? how does she keep her figure?

Naturally there are answers to all these questions, some of which we've discovered over the last few days in Singapore, both from flying for 20+ hours with them on the inaugural Singapore Airlines A380 flight on the route JFK - FRA - SIN and from visiting the official SIA Training Facility near Changi Airport.

Spoiler alert: The Singapore Girl keeps her figure thanks to "extracurricular activities..."

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Onboard the Singapore Airlines A380: The Grand Tour

On Monday, January 16, the massive Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 took off on its inaugural flight for the epic route JFK - FRA - SIN. This is flight number SQ 25, and we'll be sharing tons of details and photos from it for the next several days.

The Jaunted Singapore A380 Series:

We're going to be totally straight with you; jetting off into the sky onboard an Airbus A380 makes our eyes well up a bit. No, it's not quite tears, but it is being overwhelmed by the thoughts surrounding what exactly is happening right then. It's the fact that one can be cozy in an engineering masterpiece, a double-decker airplane, which can lift off from the ground as gracefully as any tiny aircraft and then manage to fly to places it once took weeks of travel to reach by uncomfortable boat.

On this route, the famous SQ 25 running New York-JFK to Frankfurt to Singapore, Singapore Airlines has now traded the 747 for this fresh A380, an upgrade on every level and totally deserved by passengers who spend over 20 hours traveling on it. Just before zipping away on this first run, we quickly snooped around the plane, peeking into all the leather-lined nooks and meticulously clean crannies to discover just why the Singapore A380s have been causing a hubbub since debuting in 2007.

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Up Close with Singapore Airlines' New First Class Kiehl's Kit

Next week, the massive Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 will finally begin regularly scheduled flights from New York-JFK. It only makes sense, then, to have Singapore upgrade some smaller things to go along with this literally superjumbo change. Namely, they are also introducing a new amenity kit in First Class and the Suites, on SQ flights from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston.

The products—five travel-sized formulas to work against dry airplane skin—are from NYC's Kiehl's Since 1851. And no, this isn't the entire First Class amenity kit; it's just the skin care portion, as there's plenty other goodies on your seat if you're traveling in the fancy classes.

Curious what other brands airlines will have you slather on your face mid-flight? United has Murad, Delta has Korres, LAN goes with Bulgari, British Airways gives D.R. Harris & Co. in First, Cathay has Dermalogica and American has recently switched theirs from Burt's Bees to Dermalogica as well.

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From Nice to Monte Carlo in 7 Minutes on Heli Air Monaco

How do you make flying to the Cote d'Azur even more glamorous? By taking a helicopter transfer from Nice International Airport to Monaco, of course.

We were lucky enough to hop this speedy leg of a long journey from the U.S. to Monaco on a recent work trip, and we can't recommend it enough. Sure, the drive from Nice to Monte Carlo doesn’t sound bad at around 30 minutes (or, we’re told, 20 minutes by scooter). But why not reduce that trip to seven minutes and throw in staggering views and the inimitable glamour of helicopter travel?

Heli Air Monaco has over 20 daily flights between the airport in Nice and the Principality—from 110 euros each way. For this price, you get the aforementioned speed, views, air of fabulousness, and the ease of checking your bags straight through from the helipad in Monaco to wherever your final destination may be.

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Thief Steals $13,000 of Air France First Class Swag, Gets Caught on Tiny Island

The French, suffice it to say, are not a nation renowned for their devotion to industry. Retirement ages are low, work weeks are short, and benefits are plentiful. The stereotype is that French workers will erect barricades in the streets for a month before they agree to increase the retirement age by a day.

And that, boys and girls, is how stereotypes can sometimes be misleading. It turns out that some Frenchmen are very industrious indeed. Take for example the main character in this simply insane story. A French thief managed to steal $13,000 worth of goods—"airline napkins, glasses, plates, blankets"—from the first class cabins of Air France flights. He was at it for a full three years apparently. Just imagine all the hard work and dedication that took.

When he was finally caught it was red-handed with a carry-on full of trinkets from the Air France flight, which landed in the tiny Indian Ocean island of Réunion.

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First Class Food from a Five-Star, Onboard Chef? It's Coming to Etihad.

This is some next level stuff. First Class in-flight meals on Etihad—the Abu Dhabi-based airline—are now being prepared by a qualified chef. No, really; one person is dedicated to cooking, preparing and plating the meals served in the front of the plane. Yes, you read correctly: cook!

Etihad announced the hiring of 110 restaurant-caliber chefs to fly back and forth from Abu Dhabi to a handful of cities while preparing the menu for the Diamond Class cabin. The chefs will also be responsible for contributing to the evolution of the menu and meal choices both in-flight and on the ground in the each of the airline's lounges. Each chef will need at least 6 years experience in a 5-star restaurant to be welcomed aboard, and there are even some Michelin-starred restaurants that have lost their chef to the airline.

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Know Your American Airlines Lounges at Miami International Airport

In our frequent travels through Miami International Airport, we've only been to the American Airlines Admirals Club on a handful of occasions. But what we have learned is that all Admirals Clubs are not created equal.

When you have a choice between three lounges—as you do at MIA if you're flying American—you may just opt for the one closest to your gate. But, not so fast! There are pros and cons to these lounges: size, crowd, amenities, etc.

To help you navigate the sprawling land of AA at MIA, here's a little breakdown of what you'll find at each AA clubhouse:

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Inside the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at SFO

There are airport lounges, and then there are Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses—the type of lounge that makes you pray for a flight delay. Happily, when we scored access to the Clubhouse at San Francisco International Airport the other week, we were early for our flight. Unhappily, it left on time. Here’s what we found.

The room is bright and airy, overlooking the runway like most lounges. But unlike most, it’s sexy. Take the vast bar, for example—it’s colored an icy blue, and takes up about half the length of the (lengthy) room. Propping up the bar is even more appealing when there’s a shelf of travel guides to flick through, too. Over by the window, facing the bar, is a row of armchairs.

There aren’t many snacks scattered around—just a plate of fruit and cookies at the bar—but, instead, the end section of the lounge works as a restaurant, with a cluster of TVs to watch while you wait for your table service, and pictures of pinups if you’re bored by the telly. By the window down that end are sofas, which also get table service. Windows have blue and pink-tinted filters over them, which is weird at first but quite soothing.

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In-Flight Cocktail of the Month: Virgin Atlantic's 'Indian Summer'

As many already know, we have a serious obsession with airline cocktails, and so much is our passion that we've created a whole first-Friday-of-the-month feature called In-Flight Cocktail of the Month, which highlights the special concoctions that flight attendants whip up with only a cocktail shaker, some tiny liquor bottles and a whole lot of hope that it won't make you drunk and unruly.

You can probably guess this, but the lushes at Virgin Atlantic have one of the best airline cocktails menus out there, with some 15-ish choices and and even full bars at their airport Clubhouses. If you just happen to hop the pond on Virgin, you can toast and tipple with a "New" New York Sour, but London gets to join in on the fun as well.

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Pajama Party on American Airlines as First Class Gets New Turndown Service

American Airlines giveth and American Airlines taketh away. In case you missed it (and they probably hoped you did, AA announced on Friday that they'd begin charging "premium seat" fees. This means $4 and up on top of your airfare if you'd like to grab a window or aisle seat towards the front of the economy cabin. No, the seats themselves aren't nicer or the service better; they're just...closer to the front.

To counter this, today American came out with their "Fly Better. Feel Better." advances for First Class flyers. They will now be the first US airline to offer turndown service on flights, complete with a quilted bed topper for lie-flat seats, a light duvet, large pillow, revamped amenity kit, AA logo-embroidered slippers and a pajama set. There's even a new "day blanket" for cuddling up with your book or iPad, but not so cuddled up you'd drift to sleep.

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Kicking Back with DJ Max Graham in United's First Class Suite

And now a special review from international superstar DJ (and Jaunted reader) Max Graham:

I’ve flown in First Class more than a few times thanks to surprise upgrades and my own hard-earned loyalty points, so I was understandably eager to try United’s new “First Suite" while hopping between Europe and the US. I booked it direct from Amsterdam-Schiphol to Chicago-O'Hare, snapped up a middle seat to avoid the “interrogation lighting” that still seems so common on airliners, and happily settled in for the journey.

As so often happens, a family wanted to sit together and I gave in and shifted to a window seat; not too bad of a trade-off with a 1-2-1 configuration in First.

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