Jaunted

Tags: Celeb Travel / Kanye West / LAX / Airplane Etiquette / Full Body Scanners / → All Tags

Did Kanye Really Throw A Fit On a Plane at LAX?

Even though Kanye West hasn't been making many public appearances lately, that doesn't mean he's been keeping quiet. He has been taking to his blog, defending himself against the haters and setting the record straight.

According to the NY Post, West freaked out in LAX Monday night on his way back to NYC from the Grammys because he and his assistant were seated in business class, not first class.

more ›

Tags: Airport Lounges / LAX / Lounges / Airport News / Airports / → All Tags

The reLAX Airport Lounge Welcomes All Flyers...For A Price

We’ve been hot and heavy over airport lounges lately. Unfortunately most of them require first-class tickets or loads of cash to gain access, and this makes us a little sad. One company is looking to bring the comfort and conveniences of the airline lounge to the masses, and they’re starting with a pay-per-access lounge at Los Angeles' LAX Airport.

The reLAX lounge—clever—is located in the Tom Bradley Terminal, welcoming passengers to swing by for a little visit. The place is located next to the Daily Grill on the departure level, so think about stopping by on your next trip out of the area. Once inside the lounge you’ll be enjoying complimentary coffee, tea, juice, and soda. There will be cookies and fresh fruit as well, and you'll be enjoying it all while listening to the best mix of easy listening music—their words, not ours. Of course there will be free WiFi as well, so you can get some work done while watching airplanes come and go through the lounge's large windows.

more ›

Tags: Smuggling / Lizards / Crime / U.S. Customs / LAX / Weird Travel / Animal Smuggling / Money Belts / → All Tags

Leapin' Lizards! Cali Man Busted Smuggling Aussie Reptiles in Money Belt

Things travelers should put in a money belt: Passport, tickets, cash, emergency contact information. Things travelers should not put in a money belt: lizards. It may seem rather obvious to most readers of this blog, but there's one guy in California who somehow never picked up this basic tenet of travel wisdom. As the LA Times points out, 40-year-old Michael Plank was arrested by U.S. Customs agents at Los Angeles International Airport this week when he was found to have 15 lizards stuffed in a money belt. Plank was on his way back from Australia and apparently decided to bring 11 skinks, two monitor lizards, and two geckos with him to his LA home, where they'd be worth around $8,500.

more ›

Tags: Travel Snapshot / Flight Attendants / Uniforms / LAX / Guessing Games / → All Tags

Can You Guess The Stylish Flight Attendants?

Yesterday we were participating in some research at Los Angeles International Airport around the baggage claim at Terminal 4 which aside from being home to domestic airlines like American, is also a part of the airport's international terminal.

While we were there, three young ladies in stylish khacki trench coats with adorable little bows in their perfectly coiffed buns caught our attention. We've seen these international flight attendant uniforms before but we were never quite sure what airline they worked for. We now know the answer but do you? Hint: The answer lies in the hair bows.

Do you know the airline that puts their flight attendants in such pretty outfits with cute hair decorations? Put your guesses in comments below. We'll reveal the answer tomorrow.

Tags: Airport Restaurants / Airport Food / LAX / Pinkberry / Airport News / Airports / → All Tags

Load Up on Pinkberry Before Your Southwest Flight

It was only a matter of time before the faux fro-yo craze that is Pinkberry would hit the airports and we were oh so privileged to see it in action last night at LAX's Terminal 1, known to locals as The Southwest Terminal (although US Airways does have some presence here.)

Wedged in between a Starbucks, a California Pizza Kitchen ASAP and a Gordon Biesch brewery, the Pinkberry seemed to hold its own. We saw many a customer in our 45-minute wait in this airport fast food haven that solely came in to get some Pinkberry.

The bonus? You can also get Pinkberry as soon as you deplane as the location is right before the escalators down to the baggage claim.

Related Stories:
· Pinkberry Coverage [Jaunted]
· An Injection of Frozen Yogurt for Terminal 1 at LAX [Jaunted]

Tags: Airport Photo Shoots / Twilight Travel / Passports / LAX / Kristen Stewart / → All Tags

'Twilight's' Kristen Stewart Demonstrates How Not To Handle A Passport

With current hot starlets like Twilight's Kristen Stewart constantly flying out of LAX all the time, it's no wonder the paparazzi stake the place out. However, when Stewart flew back to Vancouver on Alaska Airlines to continue filming Eclipse after the weekend, she wasn't looking much like a starlet at all. In fact, she kinda resembled how we might look if we traveled after having been bailed out of jail after a fight with a bartender over the ratio of margarita mix and tequila. In other words: she don't look good.

On top of it, she is barely hanging onto that passport. Note to impressionable young international travelers: this is how not to handle your personal documents in public places. We're not asking you to wear a fanny pack or even get one of those hidden stash pocket things, but just don't be so careless with it. And with Kristen surrounded by grabby paparazzi, you'd think she'd be extra careful with her personal information. One slip while shuffling that heinous bag, and she's got no passport to return to filming in Canada and some guy has a new lot to add to the eBay.

Related Stories:
· Kristen Stewart Drowns Out The Paparazzi With Her iPod At LAX [EntertainmentWise]
· Twilight Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: WENN/EntertainmentWise]

Tags: Airport Photo Shoots / Celeb Travel / Rihanna / LAX / → All Tags

A Little Airport Security Won't Stop Rihanna From Leaving New York

You can leave your hat on: Rihanna lines up for security at LAX with a hat and sunglasses that do nothing to throw off the paparazzi.

After renting an apartment in New York for the summer, the pint-sized pop star is starting to make public appearances again after a tumultuous year which included testifying against ex-boyfriend Chris Brown in a California court. A few weeks ago, she was spotted riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain and last week she made her first concert appearance during Jay-Z's 9/11 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for a performance of "Run This Town." She repeated that performance during her recent trip to Los Angeles for the premiere of Jay Leno's new show, although her appearance was overshadowed by Kanye West's VMA-related antics.

more ›

Tags: Airport Food / LAX / Airport News / Hot Dogs / → All Tags

Chili Dogs And Long Flights: LAX To Get Pink's Hot Dogs

The need for in-flight Tums just increased dramatically. Although they are already building a new outpost in Vegas, the famous Pink’s Hot Dogs is now coming to LAX airport. Let’s just hope the long lines don’t prevent travelers from boarding their planes on time.

This wiener palace will be situated within the airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal, so you’ll need to leave the country to get one of their hot dogs for your carry-on snack. The place should open by the end of the year, and they’ll be offering up 11 of their 21 famous creations. We’re pretty sure that their chili dogs will be one of the different varieties—in-flight curious smells warning!

For now you can find them at their original location at the corner of Melrose and La Brea Avenues in Los Angeles. Just look for the line that snakes around the building, and be prepared to wait for a bit.

Related Stories:
·Pink's Hot Dogs To Open At LAX [LAT]
·LAX Will Fill Its Belly With Fresh New Concessions [Jaunted]
·LAX coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pink's]

Tags: LAX / Pinkberry / Airport News / → All Tags

LAX Terminals 2 and 3 Temporarily Lose Access to Drinking Water

LAX gets brownie—er, yogurt—points for the impending arrival of Pinkberry, but an unfortunate event that took place last Thursday, July 16, caused the critical lack of a resource even more essential than fruit-topped swirls, though we're sure some Angelenos would disagree.

According to reports on the official Los Angeles World Airports website, a main water pipe burst under Parking Structure 2B, leading to partial flooding of the space, temporary roadway closures, and a halt in water service to Terminals 2 and 3, including restrooms and drinking supply. While the incident didn't cause any flight delays or major disruptions, portable toilets had to be brought in, and travelers turned to terminal vendors selling pre-packaged bottled water for hydration needs.

more ›

Tags: LAX / Restaurants / Los Angeles Travel / Airport News / → All Tags

LAX's 'Encounters' Restaurant Has Us Perennially Befuddled

The "Theme Building," that iconic spaceship-looking thing in the middle of LAX, has certainly had its ups and downs. It opened in the 1960s to great fanfare, though in subsequent decades suffered from the same neglect as the rest of the airport. In 1997 it was finally given a $4 million face lift and opened as the current iteration of "Encounters Restaurant." It's now billed as a Fine Dining @ LAX experience and is again covered in scaffolding.

The building itself is striking and almost disconcerting. The interior is consciously constructed as a kind of kitschy space-age experience, with low stools and lava lamps. While offering genuinely fantastic, panoramic views of the airport, the food is not fantastic and so you're paying for the view and the experience more than the cuisine.

more ›

Tags: Cuba Travel / Havana / LAX / Continental / New Routes / → All Tags

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

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]

Tags: Airport Photo Shoots / Kendra Wilkinson / Hank Baskett / Hugh Hefner / St. Lucia / LAX / Los Angeles / → All Tags

Kendra and Hank Head For A St. Lucia Honeymoon

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]