Was there passport control at the Sea of Tranquility?
Annoyed you have to fill out customs declarations during international travel? Of course, it’s not personal. Even the Apollo 11 astronauts had to do it and had to declare the rocks they collected. It’s like leaving the Petrified Forest National Park. “Mr. Armstrong, did you take any rocks?”

500 free miles
Gary Leff, always on the lookout for a free mileage bonus, tracks down thanksagain.com, which offers 500 United, Continental, or Delta miles for signing up. The gist: Register a credit card and earn miles by shopping at local stores. In my area, it’s all dry cleaners for some reason, but none that I frequent. Is the free 500 miles worth the junkmail bombardment you’re bound to receive? You make the call.

TSA: A day in the life
Aviation Week’s Benet Wilson shadowed a TSA agent for a full day. I’m sure you’re jealous. It’s a worthwhile read.

The lowdown on watchlists
Wired has the backstory on where passenger watch lists (and no-fly lists) came from, how they’re maintained, and more. Well worth a read. A series, in three parts. Part one, part two, and part three.

Inflight cellphone use moves ahead
Air France has announced that their six-month trial of inflight cellphone use begins in July… on a single plane. This isn’t exactly a major rollout. I guess this is a baby step. The baby steps of a screaming, colicky child.

At the other end of the earth, Qantas will run a similar three-month test, but won’t allow voice calls, just SMS and e-mail. Passengers won’t know if their flight is cellphone-enabled until they board. Sounds like a variation on the Australian “mystery flight.”

All lounges, all the time
Seems like everyone is writing about ways of getting into airport lounges lately. There’s Joe Brancatelli’s debut column in the new business glossy Portfolio. The New York Times’ coverage of lounges brushes across the same issue. I’ll join you. Allow me to pimp a “vintage” post of mine which lays out the five ways to get into lounges: How to lounge in airports.

(image)