Travel
- United Airlines announces wireless check-in and paperless boarding passes 10 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: Airlines
A mere 24 hours after American Airlines announced the expansion of their paperless boarding passes, United Airlines becomes more mobile with their own services. The United Airlines announcement involves two new technologies - mobile check-in and paperless boarding passes.
With mobile check-in, you simply point your mobile browser to mobile.united.com, and enter your flight information. If you are flying out of Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York La Guardia, San Francisco or Washington Dulles, you can have your boarding pass emailed to your device.
For other airports, you'll need to pay Mr Easy Check-In a visit to have a paper boarding pass printed. Of course, if you have baggage to check, you'll still need to stop at a desk or use a Skycap.
With the paperless option, you save a bar code image to your device, ready for the checkpoint and boarding gate staff to scan.
United expects to expand the paperless option to other airports as soon as possible. Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland and Seattle are next on the list to receive the service.
At the United Airlines mobile site, you can also check flight status, flight availability, Mileage Plus statements, Red Carpet Club locations and airport codes. I'm happy to see airlines invest in these technologies - anything that can speed up the process of getting from the front door of the airport to the plane is great.
Have you used mobile boarding passes yet? How was your experience with them?
United Airlines announces wireless check-in and paperless boarding passes originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Video of the week (3.12.10) 11 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: Video of the Week
Last week we kicked off our new feature, the 'Video of the Week' with a wonderful scene taken from the nose gear of a 747 that was flying freight in Africa. This week, the pilot and videographer uploaded a "How-To" video that shows just how those exceptional scenes were captured, and just how they managed to lower the nose gear without dropping the main landing gear at the same time.
While that's not this week's video of the week, we just couldn't get away from Balleka's YouTube channel just yet. I wanted to share a video he did from the perspective of the Flight Engineer or "FE." The FE is in charge of that rather large panel that sits behind the pilots on older aircraft like the 727 and, in this case the 747-200. In this rather amusing video, the "FE" laments that he's working with "Clowns to the left of him and Jokers to the right."
Full disclosure: I was an FE for over 4 years and I can certainly relate. It's a thankless job that doesn't even offer the chance to hand-fly a landing at the end of the day-which is the best part of the trip.
So here's Balleka's tribute to the FE, called the FE's Lament 2010.
Do you have a great travel related suggestion for our Video of the Week? Fill out this form or just include my twitter handle @veryjr in your tweet about it. Maybe we'll use it as next week's Video.Video of the week (3.12.10) originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Gadlinks for Friday, 3.12.2010 12 hours ago Gadling
It's the weekend-- time to pour yourself a stiff drink and kick back with some Gadlinks. Here are our favorite stories from today...
- New York lawmaker demands bland food in New York restaurants.
- Brief, inspiring dispatch from Vagablogging writer Ted Beatie who is volunteering in Haiti.
- The Arctic: The harshest work environment in the world.
- Our favorite web comic Toothpaste for Dinner on backpacking across Indonesia.
- Ever wanted to quit your job to travel the world? "Every day," you answer. Bootsnall tells why it's not as crazy an idea as you think.
Want more Gadlinks? Here they are.
Gadlinks for Friday, 3.12.2010 originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Paris metro gets an IKEA design upgrade 13 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: Europe, France, Transportation
Mass transportation sure is convenient, but it's often far from comfortable. Hard plastic seating. Harsh fluorescent lighting. Pungent smells. It's not the type of environment where you linger longer than necessary. Global furniture uber-retailer IKEA feels your pain and is trying to do something about it - at least temporarily.
From now until March 24th, the company is giving four Paris Metro Stops an interior design makeover, complete with comfy couches and warm mood lighting. Considering the state of your average urban subway stop, covered in old chewing gum and smelling of urine, the idea seems like a good one. IKEA gets some attention-grabbing advertising and riders get a comfy place to chill out while they wait.
The question remains - how long will those couches stay clean? It's one thing to enjoy an IKEA couch in your home, but with over 10 million residents in greater Paris, you've gotta wonder how long those seats are going to stay clean...Paris metro gets an IKEA design upgrade originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Hold the dog, please. China's proposed ban on sale of dog and cat meat 14 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: Activism, Food and Drink, Stories, Asia
Most people will agree that dog is man's best friend. In parts of Asia, however, it's also what's for dinner. The consumption of dog and cat meat by humans is practiced in parts of China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Philippines. Cat is eaten in parts of China and South America. The times they are a-changin', however, because the Chinese government is considering legislation that would make eating dogs and cats illegal there, in part because of how the practice negatively impacts overseas tourism.
The Chinese government has signaled a willingness to take the meat off the market. To avoid upsetting international visitors during the Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat off the menus at local markets. Officials in Guangzhou have warned vendors to stop selling it ahead of the Asian Games, which will be held there later this year.
Professor Chang Jiwen of the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences is one of the law's top campaigners. "Cats and dogs are loyal friends to humans," he said. "A ban on eating them would show China has reached a new level of civilization." Anyone else finding irony in that statement, considering 2007's massive pet food recall -- the result of melamine-tainted exports produced in China?Continue reading Hold the dog, please. China's proposed ban on sale of dog and cat meat
Hold the dog, please. China's proposed ban on sale of dog and cat meat originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Gadling's Friday travel tunes - episode 0 15 hours ago Gadling
Today we are going to try out something new - and share some travel tunes to help ease you into the weekend.
In this very first (zero edition), I've picked an all UK lineup. Not necessarily because American music is bad (I'll admit that I occasionally listen to Taylor Swift!), but because I've often found British music to be the best for traveling.
Tell us in the comments what you think, or leave your anonymous opinion in the poll.
Gadling's Friday travel tunes - episode 0 originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Atlantic City hotel vying for 'Jersey Shore' tourists 15 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: North America, United States, Hotels and Accommodations
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the "Jersey Shore" debacle, but it's true I can't get enough of the super-fist-pumping-hair-bumping promotions hotels are doing to cater to wanna-be Guidos and Guidettes.
The most recent hotel vying for the attention of "Jersey Shore" fans is none other than The Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, site of episode 7 of the hot MTV reality show. Get your spray tan on and get a load of this deal:
The "Jersey Shore Package" includes:
- Overnight accommodations in a standard guest room starting at $878 per night per room, or $4,230 per night for the suite where cast members stayed
- One dinner at Il Verdi, the resort's Italian restaurant
- Breakfast at Seaside Café
- Gift certificate to the Tropicana Salon, good for a "Jersey Shore Do" (for girls, guidette poufs with bumpits and for guys a guido "blow-out" ala Pauly D)
- A room service basket stocked with Italian delights, including (but not limited to) Italian cured meats, bread sticks and biscotti
- VIP admission to Providence nightclub and complimentary IN Cards which give access to nightclubs, food and beverage and parking discounts and more.
The "Jersey Shore" package is available through June 26, 2010. If you go, please take pictures of your new 'do.
Atlantic City hotel vying for 'Jersey Shore' tourists originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- OneTravel brings quick airline ticket purchases to your iPhone with "Wanderlust" 16 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: Gadling Gear Review
Online travel agency OneTravel just released their very own iPhone app - Wonderlust.
The application brings easy air ticket reservations to your phone, allowing you to find fares from almost any airline in the world. Searching is simple - and if you regularly use the application, you can securely store your travel profile inside the program, making booking a ticket quick and easy.
During my review, I did run into a minor glitch - when entering an airport code, the app first matches the letters to countries. This means that AUS turns into a list of all the Australian airports. To actually find Austin, I had to scroll all the way to the bottom of the list.
Other than that, the program functioned perfectly - I had a list of all available fares in 10 seconds, and could book a ticket right away. The booking screen allows you to select the number (and type) of passengers, and even lets you pick a premium cabin. Some other apps require you to pay for their premium version to get access to first and business class travel.
Once you have booked a ticket, the app also acts as your booking manager, providing quick access to your itineraries.
Wanderlust is free of charge, and is available in the App store (iTunes link).
OneTravel brings quick airline ticket purchases to your iPhone with "Wanderlust" originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Travel with kids, Wine in Paris & Eco-friendly Madrid 17 hours ago Venere Travel Blog
Discover the Monterrey Bay Aquarium with your kids. Travel to California to get fun and discover the sea universe with your children.
Or you'd rather enjoy a Segway tour in Madrid and travel green?
- American Airlines expands mobile boarding pass system to 19 new airports 17 hours ago Gadling
Filed under: Airlines, Airports
Yesterday, American Airlines announced on Twitter that their mobile boarding pass system has been expanded to 19 new airports.
The system allows you to receive an email link to a mobile boarding pass on your (smart)phone, and to save the image to your device. At the security checkpoint and boarding gate, you simply show your phone, and allow the bar code to be scanned.
Now, this all sounds great on paper, but I've had my fair share of problems getting it to work correctly - the scanners at the checkpoint don't always work, and when you are in line at the gate waiting to board, you'll need to be sure you can pull up the image quickly.
When your phone goes into standby, it can take 20 seconds or more to get back to the image. Also, on the iPhone I've noticed that the image needs some zooming to work correctly. Back in 2008, our very own Grant Martin was one of the first to take the system for a spin - and had similar issues.
Still, paperless boarding is the future, and eventually the minor issues will be resolved, which means you no more late night hassles to find a working printer at your hotel.
The airports participating in the mobile boarding pass system are: Albuquerque (ABQ), Atlanta (ATL), Austin (AUS), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Cleveland (CLE), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), El Paso (ELP), Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH), Jacksonville (JAX), Las Vegas (LAS), Little Rock (LIT), Los Angeles (LAX), Memphis (MEM), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Oklahoma City (OKC), Orlando (MCO), Phoenix (PHX), Santa Ana/John Wayne/Orange Counte (SNA), Salt Lake City (SLC), San Antonio (SAT), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), Tulsa (TUL), and Washington Dulles (IAD) airports.
Continue reading American Airlines expands mobile boarding pass system to 19 new airports
American Airlines expands mobile boarding pass system to 19 new airports originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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