Dec 11
Southwest is so awesome. You can watch TV for free onboard
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Nov 28
If you thought the lowest fares for flights listed on sites like Expedia or Kayak were the cheapest way to jet around the world, you’re wrong. Using every trick in the air travel book, Steve Kamb flew some 35,000 miles across nine continents. It cost him just $418 out of pocket, and this is how he did it:
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Nov 28
Every year around the holidays airports are jammed with travellers heading all over the country. And it begs the question: if this happens so regularly and reliably, why don’t airlines just add more flights this time of year to keep up with the demand?
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Nov 26
Flying this holiday? I’m sorry. Here’s to hoping you don’t get stranded in East Nowheresville on the way. As for the rest of us, the Misery Map is a fantastic way to sit back and bask in the misfortune of others. Or, uh, give thanks that we’re not stuck at an airport. Yeah, that second one.
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Nov 26
With the East Coast on the verge of an ill-timed storm, worse than usual holiday delays seem inevitable, and there’s one question on everyone’s mind: How long am I going to be stuck in airort purgatory? Depends who you fly.
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Nov 23
After yesterday’s very promising news
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Nov 22
British Airways’ digital billboard identifies planes as they pass overhead (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
We’re no stranger to digital billboards — Engadget made its own big-screen debut in Times Square back in 2011 — but British Airways’ latest endeavor is unlike any we’ve seen before. According to The Drum, the new advertisement, installed front and center at London’s Piccadilly Circus, uses “custom-built surveillance technology” to track incoming BA aircraft, prompting the screen to display a child pointing directly at the plane as it passes overhead. The adjacent text offers up the flight number and its origin or destination, along with a custom message, such as the lowest fare for that route or the current weather where that plane is headed. The airline’s new #lookup campaign is marketing at its best — see for yourself in the video after the break.
Filed under: Transportation, Internet
Via: @clintonjeff, The Drum
Source: British Airways
Nov 21
FCC reportedly proposing that passengers can use cellular service in mid-flight (update: confirmed)
Posted in: Today's Chili
While the FAA has cleared the use of electronics on US passenger airplanes at all stages of flight, there’s still one major restriction in place: you have to shut off all cellular access. That rule may not exist for much longer if the FCC has its way, according to sources for the Wall Street Journal. The agency will reportedly use its December meeting to propose letting passengers make phone calls and use cellular data whenever they’re flying above 10,000 feet. Don’t be too eager to start chatting in mid-air, though. The FCC hasn’t publicly confirmed the proposal, and any new policy wouldn’t be mandatory — carriers could still ask for radio silence, and special equipment would need to be installed in order for each plane to communicate with towers on the ground. If implemented, though, the relaxed rules could make your phone’s airplane mode seem like more of a relic than a necessity.
Update: Chairman Tom Wheeler has issued a statement about the earlier report:
“Today, we circulated a proposal to expand consumer access and choice for in-flight mobile broadband. Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues, the FAA, and the airline industry on this review of new mobile opportunities for consumers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Wall Street Journal, FCC
Nov 21
Southwest Airlines To Offer Gate To Gate WiFi For Personal Electronic Devices
Posted in: Today's Chili
Recently we heard how aviation regulatory bodies, such as the FAA and EASA started to allow passengers to use their personal electronic devices (PED) from gate to gate, meaning that you wouldn’t have to turn off your MP3 player, tablet, smartphone, etc., during the takeoff and landing phases of the flight like you normally would. Of course this would also require airline companies to hop on board with the new rules as well, and the good news for those who fly Southwest Airlines is that they have decided to allow gate to gate use of PEDs as well.
This makes them the seventh airline carrier in the US to hop on board the program, with companies such as Delta, JetBlue, American, United, Alaska, and US Airways accepting the new change in regulations before them. This also means that Frontier Airlines and Virgin America are all that is left. However if there’s one thing Southwest Airlines is offering that other carriers aren’t, is that they are offering gate to gate WiFi access as well. Of course this means that you would need to subscribe to the carrier’s WiFi service, but for those who need to stay connected throughout the flight, you will be able to do so before you board, while on the plane, and after you land as well.
Southwest Airlines To Offer Gate To Gate WiFi For Personal Electronic Devices original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Nov 21
Southwest Airlines now allows gadget use during takeoff and touchdown, offers WiFi that works gate to gate
Posted in: Today's Chili
Soon, Delta and JetBlue will have the right to say they’ve adopted FCC’s new electronics policy before it was cool. Still, not everyone’s just following suit — the latest carrier to allow passengers to use mobile devices during takeoff and landing, Southwest, says it’s adding something extra. According to the company, it’s the only US airline offering gate-to-gate WiFi that keeps you connected the whole flight, including stops and transfers. That’s made possible by the company’s satellite-based WiFi technology, which (unlike the Gogo tech that many rival airlines use) works even if a plane isn’t 10,000 feet up in the air. You know what’s even better, though? Southwest isn’t jacking up the price for the gate-to-gate privileges: it’ll still cost the same $8 per device the airline currently charges.
[Image credit: Michael Dorausch, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets
Via: USA Today
Source: Southwest Airlines
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