Jaunted

Passports / Travel News / iPad / iPad 2 / Apple / Travel Tech / Canada Travel / US Travel / → All Tags

Guy Crosses US-Canada Border with an iPad in Place of a Passport

Whoa whoa whoa. We're not even a week into the new year and already stories of stupid travel happenings are hitting the news. The latest? Oh, just that some guy from Montreal managed to cross over the US border by producing not his physical passport, but a scan of his passport displayed on his iPad.

Look, we love iPads as much as (maybe more so?) the next tech-happy traveler, but we draw the line at two things: using the iPad as your main camera and using it as your primary form of ID. Martin Reisch violated the latter when he and his friends drove into Vermont and the border patrol okay-ed him.

Here's what went down, according to the CBC:

more ›

Travel Tech / Jetstar / Australia Travel / Ipad / In-Flight Entertainment / LCC / Technology / Travel Gadgets / Lists / Apple / → All Tags

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.

more ›

United / Continental / IAH / ORD / Biofuels / Lufthansa / KLM / Air China / iPad / Alaska Airlines / Green Travel / → All Tags

Watch the Skies for United's Eco Plane, Already Flying on Biofuels

Huge news. Yesterday marked the first time a US airline used biofuel in a commercial flight. No, it wasn't Alaska Airlines even though they are trying; it was United, and they flew their eco-friendly 737-800 from Continental's's former home base, Houston, to the United home base of Chicago.

For the #avgeeks: The biofuel is algae-based and includes 60 percent petroleum fuel and 40 percent biofuel produced by a company named Solazyme.

The eco-consciousness isn't limited to what goes in the tank, either. United flight attendants now push lighter serving carts and pilots traded in their 38-pound flight bags for more weight-conscious iPads (already loaded with their in-flight navigation charts and aircraft manuals). Furthermore, United makes it easy for plane spotters to identify the Mother Earth-friendly aircraft by its green winglets and 'eco-skies' written towards the front of the fuselage.

more ›

Travel Tech / Boeing / Airline News / Pilots / Travel Gadgets / iPad / iPad 2 / Apple / Technology / → All Tags

Now It's Boeing Going All In with iPads in the Cockpit

At this point we’ve seen iPads everywhere up in the air, from the cabins to the cockpits, and now it looks like even airline manufacturers are getting in on the tablet craze.

Boeing is now recommending that airlines switch to computer-based navigation charts, maps, and other trajectory tidbits, and that they utilize current electronic options available for the iPad. Jeppesen makes the app—conveniently they’re part of Boeing—and they will soon be offering these pilot friendly products in an Android flavor too. What's happening might not allow for in-flight Angry Birds for passengers sitting in the back, but it will allow pilots to ditch some of their heavy paper products.

more ›

British Airways / iPad / iPad 2 / Airline News / Travel Gadgets / Travel Tech / Apple / Technology / → All Tags

British Airways Introduces iPads to Its Cabin Crew

So we’ve had iPads for lounges, inflight entertainment and pilots, and now British Airways is taking it in another direction by doling them out to cabin crew.

According to the airline,

The iPad lets crew quickly identify where each customer is seated, who they are traveling with, their Executive Club status and any special meal requests. It gives cabin crew a whole library of information at their fingertips including timetables, safety manuals and customer service updates. It also means any issues can be logged with ground-based colleagues around the network prior to departure so solutions can be delivered while the flight is airborne.

more ›

Travel Tech / American Airlines / Continental / United / Airline News / Pilots / Travel Gadgets / iPad / iPad 2 / Apple / Technology / → All Tags

American Airlines Pilots Get iPads; Will They Play 'Flight Control' In-Flight?

We already knew that Alaska Airlines was working on ditching flight bags for its pilots in favor of iPads in the cockpit—assuming no Facebook, Twitter, or Angry Birds of course. Now it looks like American Airlines is the next carrier to start thinking about electronic flight manuals in the front of the plane.

American has already begun to hand out the tablet computers to some pilots, as they’re thinking that they can save over a million bucks per year by just removing all the paperwork from the flight deck. It probably also improves employee morale—if ever so slightly—as it’s just one less thing that pilots have to lug back and forth between flights and across airports. Apparently flight bags can weigh as much as 35 pounds, so it’s going to save a little bit on gas as well—every little bit helps.

more ›

In-Flight Entertainment / American Airlines / Travel Tech / Airlines / Airline News / In-Flight Comfort / Travel Gadgets / iPad 2 / iPad / → All Tags

American Airlines Upgrades First Class Flyers to Samsung Galaxy Tablets

It looks like there’s a little tablet computer competition coming to the first class cabins of airlines around the world, as the mighty iPad is no longer the sole provider of complimentary in-flight Angry Birds sessions.

American Airlines—fresh off their in-flight streaming video announcement—is moving forward with even more technology in the cabin. The airline is now looking to add a whole bunch of Samsung Galaxy tablets to portions of its fleet. In total they’re looking to add around 6,000 of the devices on select routes within the nifty fifty as well as around the globe. Unfortunately for those that frequent the back of the bus—like us—the new travel technology will only be available to those sitting at the front of the plane.

more ›

Travel Tech / Eiffel Tower / Paris Travel / iPad / Landmarks / → All Tags

The iPad Arrives at the Eiffel Tower for Just $10 Per Hour

After huffing and puffing our way up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower—we don’t know what we were thinking—we stumbled upon a new way to experience one of Paris’ most famous tourist attractions. Instead of simply enjoying the views of the city from high above the ground, there’s now the option to digitally explore things thanks to the landmark’s very own app.

If you’re brave enough to download something despite the international roaming fees, you can add the Eiffel Tower app right onto your device, but what we thought was even more interesting was the opportunity to borrow an iPad right at the top.

more ›

iPhone Travel Apps / iPad Travel Apps / iPhone / iPad / Europe Travel / Train Travel / RailEurope / → All Tags

Rail Europe's New App Puts 35 Rail Lines in 32 Countries on Your iPhone

OMG—open up your apps and get ready to download the newest of the useful iPhone travel apps out there: Rail Europe in bite-size. It's essentially a mobile booking tool and wealth of information for 35 of Europe's rail lines across 32 countries (the first app to unite so many). You'll likely already be familiar with Rail Europe from having used Eurail passes or booked Euro train tickets online before arriving to the continent; that's their typical area of expertise.

With their newly released (and free) app, travelers will now be able to book selected tickets, look up train schedules between most any Euro stations (the awesomest feature, in our opinion), and get advice on everything from passport information to night trains, and even lockers and luggage storage at train stations.

more ›

In-Flight Entertainment / American Airlines / Travel Tech / WiFi / Aircell / iPad / In-Flight WiFi / Airline News / Airlines / → All Tags

You Bring the iPad and American Airlines Will Bring the Movies and In-Flight WiFi

Chalk another one up for American Airlines. The carrier is moving quickly in the new in-flight entertainment arena, announcing later yesterday that they're beginning to experiment with a new way from Aircell to stream media from the internet directly to your WiFI-enabled device, in flight.

American really isn't slouching on in-flight tech. They've had an iPhone app—which now tells if your flight is equipped with the WiFI they're installing—and American is totally down with mobile boarding passes, too. So hey, if streaming content is available then why not trial it, right? Right.

more ›

Literary Travel / Technology / Apple / Travel Magazines / In-Flight Magazines / In-Flight Entertainment / iPad / iPad 2 / Travel Tech / Travel Gadgets / Lists / ANA / Malaysia Airlines / United / Continental / Lufthansa / → All Tags

Don't Check the Seatback; These Airline In-Flight Magazines are on Your iPad

Pay attention, because you may never hear us admit this again: in-flight magazines aren't all that bad. Actually, some are quite good! We've been known to actually take them home and read the articles or—gasp—rip out pages and magnet them to our fridge for future reference. If you're a closet fan of in-flight magazines like we are, then this is your time, friend; more and more airlines are moving their print rags to be in more than just your seat-back pocket, but in your iPad too (and iPad 2).

Here's the airlines and their iTunes-downloadable iPad magazines:

United/Continental Hemispheres: This is the newest player on the scene, as the merger airline only launched their iPad version earlier this month. March is the first issue, featuring the Mexican Riviera and Peru's culinary scene. Happily it makes great use of iPad's interactive features, allowing for 360-degree image views, videos and direct links to buy advertised products (of course advertised creatively). Hemisphere is free to download direct from iTunes HERE.

more ›

Jaunted at SXSW / SXSW / Austin Travel / Festival Travel / Shopping Travel / Apple / iPad 2 / iPad / Etsy / → All Tags

Skip the Apple Pop Up Shop at SXSW and Check Out Etsy's Instead

Apple, who consider themselves the epitome of cool, weren't going to miss a chance to be a part of SXSW, even if it meant doing it half-assed. Their pop up store is located at 6th and Congress Ave in Austin, in an empty storefront below Gold's Gym, and the only thing separating the Apple store from any other is the lack of merchandise.

When we stopped by the pop-up on Sunday they only had a limited number of 64 GB iPad 2s left and couldn't say how many they would get in the next day. Secrecy seems to be a recurring theme in the Apple pop up at SXSW, as not only will they not tell you about their inventory, but they won't let you browse through the store alone or, God forbid, take a picture of it.

more ›