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LAX Direct To Havana From $689; Cuba Libres Not Included

July 1, 2009 at 10:32 AM | 0 Comments

Light a cigar in celebration, since yesterday marked the first day of direct flights to Havana, Cuba from LAX. Obama relaxed travel restrictions to Cuba back in April, allowing people to visit their relatives in Cuba and resume educational and journalistic travel to the Communist nation, but it takes some time to put the direct flights into place to get them there.

According to USA Today's Today In the Sky, the weekly flights are chartered by Cuba Travel Services of Long Beach, and flown on a Continental Airlines 737-800, which can accomodate 150 passengers, Perhaps Continental should consider putting their retro-liveried planes on this route just for kicks.

If your papers are in order, you can book one of the roundtrips starting at $689 and settle in for the five-hour flight landing in Havana at 7:25pm EST, perfect timing for dinner with the family you haven't seen in forever or just for kicking back with a few cuba libres.

Related Stories:
· Continental begins flights between LAX, Havana Today [Today In the Sky]
· Obama eases Cuba travel restrictions [CNN]
· Cuba Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Samuel Negredo]

Kendra and Hank Head For A St. Lucia Honeymoon

June 30, 2009 at 11:32 AM | 0 Comments

Newlyweds and "Kendra" stars, Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett, were spotted Sunday catching a departing flight out of LAX bound for their swanky St. Lucia honeymoon. The 24-year-old Playboy Playmate and 26-year-old NFL player were married on Saturday at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles thanks to Kendra's ex, Hugh Hefner. One of the bridesmaids, Kendra's former "Girls Next Door" co-star, Holly Madison, dished for People:

She looked like a princess. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding. [Kendra and Hank are] definitely ready for their honeymoon now. They need a vacation.

In the airport, Kendra was wearing a t-shirt proclaiming her status as a “High Maintenance Bride,” which may have just been an attempt to take attention away from her growing baby bump and redirect it towards her more famous assets. Kendra and Hank's bundle of joy is due on Christmas Day and, yes, her ex will also be the godfather.

Related Stories:
· Kendra Wilkinson weds [San Francisco Gate]
· Kendra and Hank Head To Their Honeymoon [Radar]

[Photo: Just Jared]

Start Your Weekend Off With Some 'Magic'

June 19, 2009 at 5:58 PM | 0 Comments

It's Friday and the travel news is slow so we thought you'd like to start your weekend off with some "Magic" from Robin Thicke who performed at the JetBlue-LAX extravaganza the other night. No need to thank us. Just enjoy yourselves. "I got it, You got it...."

Related Stories:
· Jetting Coast To Coast On Jetblue: Our Videos and Juicy Details [Jaunted]

Jetting Coast To Coast On Jetblue: Our Videos and Juicy Details

June 18, 2009 at 3:01 PM | 0 Comments

It's been a full 24 hours now since the inaugural flight of Jetblue's LAX routes landed, and although we've detailed the ribbon cuttings on both coasts, we haven't yet told you about the party in the sky.

Since this flight was a regularly scheduled one, many of the Chinese tourist passengers sitting around us thought it their lucky day to get free mimosas on board in addition to gift bags featuring airplane-size Absolut vodka. And so we noshed on cookies and crackers and drank our drinks 35,000 feet above the flyover states, as Jetblue's VP of Airports, Alex Battaglia, went up and down the aisle collecting our trash. You won't catch any of the higher-ups at the legacy carriers doing that.

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You Know You Want A Piece Of This: JetBlue Lands At LAX

June 17, 2009 at 5:50 PM | 1 Comment

It was a seemingly normal Jetblue flight that departed this morning from JFK; the Dunkin Donuts coffee was flowing, the seat-back TVs were turned to morning newscasts, and passengers were eagerly chatting about their plans in Los Angeles.

Wait a second—Los Angeles? Jetblue doesn't fly there. As of this morning, they do now! It was apparent that this morning's flight 671 to LAX was more than routine, what with the free mimosas and in-flight movies, the limited WiFi access as we were traveling on LiveTV-enabled BetaBlue, the raffle for free tickets, and NY Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams petting her Yorkies up front.

It was just over five hours of beautiful flying, and landing at LAX was the best part. BetaBlue was greeted in true inaugural flight style by an arc of water from LAX's firetrucks—we've got a video of this and more, just wait until tomorrow. Jetblue CEO Dave Barger was there at the exit to welcome every deplaning passenger to LAX with breakfast pastries, cake, a youth mariachi band, and the announcement that they'd be making a huge donation to VH1's Save the Music Foundation. And if there's one thing that gets LA's attention, it's money.

Related Stories:
· Head to Hollywood: Jetblue Cuts the Ribbon on LAX Route [Jaunted]

Heidi and Seal Indulge In A PDA Outside Of LAX

June 16, 2009 at 9:22 AM | 0 Comments

Heidi Klum was spotted kissing Seal goodbye at LAX Sunday before boarding a plane to NYC. Heidi headed to the Big Apple to attend last night's CFDA Awards, where The Council of Fashion Designers of America celebrates the biggest names in fashion, and Klum was included with these stars, without regard to what Karl Lagerfeld says.

Since Heidi was taking along some special cargo—kids Leni and Henry—she will probably appreciate the announcement LAX made recently when they unveiled a $7 million radar system designed to eliminate aircraft runway incursions. LAX is the third airport to install the radar, after Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego.

Now that LAX is safer, both you and Heidi can feel even better about taking advantage of the great deals to Hawaii this fall. The LA Times Travel Blog found fares between Los Angeles (LAX) and Honolulu (HNL) as low as $214 round trip, including tax, through Dec. 16 via Airfare Watchdog. Similar deals exist on Travelocity, where fares run around $235; no doubt Klum needs a vacation after all the dissing on her lately.

Related Stories:
· Heidi and Her Kids Head East for CFDA Awards [Pop Sugar]
· Airport Check-in: New LAX radar cuts runway incursions [USA Today]
· Airport Photo Shoots [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pop Sugar]

Cali Countdown: Jetblue Begins LAX Flights Next Week

June 11, 2009 at 10:34 AM | 1 Comment

For anyone (un)lucky enough to live in the flight path of LAX, the skies are about to get just a tad more crowded as Jetblue like, so totally prepares to launch their long-overdue direct service to LA from New York-JFK and Boston-Logan.

It's all going down less than a week from now, as next Wednesday sees the first blues touching down on the tarmac and giving dominators of the JFK-LAX route, American and Delta, a run for their money (literally).

If Hollywood is calling your name and you'd rather not rent a car in Long Beach or Burbank, Jetblue has their twice-daily LAX route priced nicely at $184 each way for select dates. Adios Long Beach Airport; one can only justify landing at you with a visit to the Queen Mary so many times.

Related Stories:
· Jetblue's LAX Service Is All About the Benjamins [Jaunted]
· Jetblue Sick Of the Drama in the L-B-C [Jaunted]
· Jetblue To Launch Long-Awaited LAX Service [Jaunted]
· Jetblue Coverage [Jaunted]

LAX Will Fill Its Belly With Fresh New Concessions

June 5, 2009 at 9:07 AM | 0 Comments

We admit to being excited upon learning that Pinkberry is opening a counter at LAX's Terminal 1, but the airport's next move is really beyond our wildest hopes. LAX, an airport that has explicitly prided itself on having meager concessions, is upgrading their offerings in all seven of their regular terminals.

This massive improvement will be it's first airport-wide renovation in over a decade, and will cover everything from bars to newsstands.

Although the space devoted to beverage, food and retail services at the nation's third-busiest airport remains comparatively small, LAX officials say they now want to offer the traveling public more concessions than they have ever had. "We want more variety, more dining and beverage opportunities, and better-quality food and service," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of the airport agency. "We need more cutting-edge, more contemporary and more L.A.-centric approaches."

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Shanghai-Bound Passengers Stranded for Three Days at LAX

June 3, 2009 at 9:01 AM | 0 Comments

We knew LAX has delays, but this has to be one of the worst we've ever heard of.

Dozens of travelers have been stranded at the airport for more than two days after their Shanghai-bound flight was delayed. The China Eastern Airlines flight was scheduled to depart 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, but passengers sat on the plan for several hours before being asked to deboard because the plane was experiencing mechanical trouble. A second attempt was made Monday, when passengers reboarded the plane, sat on the tarmac for another hour, traveled a whopping 100 feet and then were told to return to the terminal.

The airline is paying for hotels and food, but passengers are peeved that CEA has refused to book them on another airline or provide a more thorough explanation. After leaving the plane for the second time Monday, they even staged a mini sit-in, refusing to leave the airport terminal.

On Tuesday evening, the airline flew in a mechanic from China and finally got the plane ready for takeoff -- at 10:54pm -- a three-day ordeal overall. But by this time, we wouldn't be trusting the mechanics anymore than on the first day.

Related Stories:
· China-bound passengers stranded at LAX [LAT]
· Flight leaves LA after nearly 3-day delay [Mercury News]
· JAL Engine Incident Proves Airlines Do Eat Your Luggage [Jaunted]

[Photo: balajijegan]

JAL Engine Incident Proves Airlines Do Eat Your Luggage

May 12, 2009 at 9:01 AM | 1 Comment

We're not the only ones who get sucked in by the airlines checked baggage fees. Apparently, luggage containers are now a target too. At LAX yesterday, 250 passengers were evacuated from a Japan Airlines jet after a metal luggage container got sucked into the jet's engine as it was preparing for take-off. The LA Times reports:

The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. when Flight 61 to Narita, Japan, pulled back from Gate 101 at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Airport officials said the vacuum created by the air intake of the left outboard engine was so strong it pulled the empty container off a baggage cart that was either parked or driven too close to the aircraft.

The passengers and crew were all fine and other flight arrangements were made as the airplane was taken to a hangar for evaluation. While JAL does allow its economy class passengers to check two bags for free on flights to and out of the US, they recently put in place a new policy that will charge you $50 if your bag weighs more than 50 pounds (previously, 70 pounds was the limit.) Hopefully, anyone who had to pay the excess baggage fee on this aborted flight will get it free the next time around.

Related Stories:
· Metal baggage container sucked into jet engine at LAX [LA Times]

[Photo: MyFoxLA.com]

An Injection of Frozen Yogurt for Terminal 1 at LAX

May 11, 2009 at 11:31 AM | 0 Comments

It's not enough for LA-based frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry to already have storefronts dotting the retail landscape of New York City and California, but now LAX will get a taste of their $5 servings.

Pinkberry's thirst for expansion won't stop with inhabiting their home airport either; here's the flavor of their hopes:

Pinkberry also announced three new partnerships focused on domestic expansion, including HMSHost, a leading retail operator of specialty travel venues operating in more than 80 percent of U.S. airports, which will open their first Pinkberry store at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Terminal 1.

This is financed by the $9 million injection of new investor capital that they just received. The company is also expanding to the Middle East, suggesting an endless array of funny-because-they're-true "this is why they hate us" jokes.

Terminal 1 is dominated by USAir and Southwest. It's one of the LAX terminals that's gone the longest without a renovation, making it a potentially odd choice for image-conscious Pinkberry. Maybe they are just trying to do something nice for the strippers.

Related Stories:
· Pinkberryswirl [Twitter]
· Jaunted Takes the Pinkberry Challenge [Jaunted]
· Pinkberry Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: VirtualErn]

Allegiant Will Fly From L.A. In May

February 19, 2009 at 9:01 AM | 0 Comments

More new airline routes announced!

They've got stars in their eyes: Allegiant Air will be headed to Los Angeles next. The Cranky Flier was right!

The low-cost carrier based in Enterprise, Nevada takes off May 1 from LAX to Medford, Oregon, with more nonstops to follow priced between $59 and $99 each way. Who wants to go to Fargo with us? We'd love to get on that flight just to see who's going.

Truth is, Allegiant Air is still something of an unknown quantity to us, but since they're profitable, they must be doing something right. Have you flown Allegiant Air recently? And is it Southwest (capable of staying airborne in a difficult time) or another Skybus?

Related Stories:
· Allegiant Air to launch LAX service [LA Times]
· Last Week: Where Is Allegiant's New Destination? [Jaunted]
· Allegiant Air Makes Mo' money, Has No Problems? [Jaunted]
· 2007 Airline Flight Review: Allegiant Air Sends Customers Off with Smiles [Jaunted]

[Photo: wavy1]