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The New York Times’ David Pogue got up one morning, packed ten different noise-canceling headphones into his carry-on bag, went to the airport, got onboard a flight, and proceeded to freak out his seatmates by pulling out each pair of headphones and testing them out. All in the name of science.

But we benefit from his socially awkward experiments. The winners in the test: Unsurprisingly, the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 (~$300) and Quiet Comfort 3 (~$350) ranked highly. But perhaps more impressively, Panasonic (~$100) and Audio-Technica (~$140) produced similarly high quality noise reduction at a price that blew Bose out of the water. A third of the price of Bose, for cryin’ out loud!

Notably missing from the experiment: the Shure earbuds, such as the e4c or e5c models. Not cheap, either — heck, the e5c’s cost more than the Bose. Also missing: the Sony models, whose clever advertisements (like the one pictured above) have been plastering airports for the last couple years. I don’t blame Pogue for not testing every headset on the market — a man’s carry-on can only hold so much — but it would have been interesting to see how they stacked up.

Products mentioned:
- Bose Quiet Comfort 2 (Amazon.com — aff)
- Bose Quiet Comfort 3 (Amazon.com — aff)
- Panasonic RPH-C500 (Amazon.com — aff)
- Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint (Amazon.com — aff)
- Shure E4c (Amazon.com — aff)
- Shure E5c (Amazon.com — aff)

(Thanks Dr. Vino!)

Getting paid to eat airline food?
Malaysia Airlines had to pay the equivalent of US$5,700 to a vegetarian who ended up eating chicken on board one of the airline’s flights. The payment covers “depression, shock, mental anguish and humiliation” that the man, an Indian Brahmin, suffered. Insert airline food joke here.

Flight attendants pan United’s “bill of rights”
United Airlines’ pathetic attempt at warding off the passengers’ bill of rights was slammed last week by its own flight attendants. No surprises there. After all, they’ll bear the brunt of the policy: Upset passengers tend to take their anger at the company out on the staff.

Resort fees revealed
One of my longtime pet peeves has been resort fees — the generally unadvertised yet mandatory surcharges on top of published hotel room rates. They’re the definition of customer-unfriendly. They’re usually unadvertised. They’re often mandatory. They’re sneaky, in that they make rates look cheaper than they actually are in online searches. And they charge you money for amenities that should either be standard to the room, or that you should be allowed to opt into. Grr… Anyway… Some destinations are more infested with the plague of resort fees than others. Hawaii is one such place. Now, via SmarterTravel.com, comes this handy list of resort fees in the 50th state. You’ll see the cost, what’s included, and whether or not it’s mandatory. Check it before you book.

Who’s on the No-Fly List?
CBS’ “60 Minutes” obtained a copy of what is allegedly the entire consolidated No-Fly List, and found numerous errors, including long-deceased revolutionaries, the 9/11 hijackers, and the president of Bolivia. The list contains 44,000 names, plus an additional 75,000 names of people who are required to undergo secondary screening. Honestly, I assumed the list would be even longer, especially when you consider that some people appear several times, with spelling variations (e.g., Usama and Osama bin Laden). (via Benet Wilson, whose blog just moved to new digs and got a new title)

Spend a day in Jamaica for $179
I get peppered with e-mails promoting all sorts of travel-related products and services, but this one struck me as sufficiently bizarre to warrant a post. Sandals Resorts is luring honeymooners by offering one-day trips to their Royal Caribbean Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica as a “test-drive.” For $179, you fly down in the morning, get their sales pitch (with lunch and a spa treatment seemingly included), and fly back in the evening. Mileage run on Air Jamaica, anyone? Have fun explaining that one to the passport control on your return.

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Every travel magazine seems to relish in their hotel rankings, and Consumer Reports is no exception. But the CR ratings aren’t “top five,” “top ten,” or “top 100″ lists. Instead, they’re overall quality and value ratings, based on a survey of 35,000 readers who actually plant their heads on hotel pillows every year, and not the musings of magazine editors creating an aspirational fantasy narrative for their subscribers. After all, how many people really will stay at the finest hotels in Bora Bora and Monte Carlo, anyway? Far more likely, the bulk of travelers (and travel magazine readers) will be staying at a chain hotel.

So which chains came out on top in their survey? Consumer Reports keeps their full report behind a subscriber wall (click here for a summary and a link to the full report), but the folks at ConsumerAffairs.com have created a synopsis:

Consumer Reports rated hotels based on five categories: Fanciest, Luxury, Upscale, Moderate, and Budget, as well as the typical nightly rate readers paid. Per category, the highest-rated choices are:

• Fanciest: Price between $130 and $350. Simply the best according to readers, the opulent Ritz-Carlton, which earned top marks for value, service, upkeep, and low reported problems.
• Luxury: Price between $89 and $218. Scores were consistently good with slight differences separating the best from the pack. Among the best: Renaissance, Embassy Suites, Westin, Courtyard by Marriott, Omni, and Hyatt. Upkeep and service scored generally high for this group.
• Upscale: Price between $70 and $235. CR readers found this group to provide the best bang for the buck. Homewood Suites and SpringHill Suites were among the best. Residence Inn by Marriott, an all-suite chain also scored well. Walt Disney Resorts in Orlando and in California offered stellar service.
• Moderate: Price between $58 and $100. Drury Inn/Suites, Hampton Inn and Wingate Inn were top choices in this category. The Drury Inn and Wingate Inn showed much better than average scores for value.
• Budget: Priced between $40 and $85. Microtel was the star of the budget bunch, scoring as well or better than more well-appointed chains. It typically builds new hotels rather than converting older properties from other brands.

“Fanciest” makes me chuckle. While positive, it’s sort of old-fashioned, and doesn’t use the marketers’ narrative of luxury lifestyle branding. And the “luxury” category doesn’t really strike me as all that luxurious. I mean, Embassy Suites are generally nice, and they have that manager’s cocktail hour, but “luxury”?

And some chains didn’t make the top of their group, which surprised me. (No Holiday Inn Express in the “moderate” category?)

Added bonus in the report:

Making matters worse, some hotels are tacking on fees for everything from maid service ($5 to $18 a day) to the *chance* to use a tennis court, hiking trail, golf course and other resort amenities ($12 and up). That’s right — guests will pay even if they don’t play.

I’ve heard of resort fees, but maid service fees??! Classy.

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Upgraded: More trans-Atlantic business class
Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is planning to launch all-business class flights across the Atlantic. They’re joining the fray with Maxjet, Eos, Silverjet, L’Avion, not to mention British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, and Swiss, which each fly (or plan to fly) all-biz flights on particularly lucrative routes. Virgin’s plan involves a wholly new airline, not just flights within the regular schedule. But with all these new business class seats coming online, can business class price-slashing be far off? Supply and demand, after all…

Downgraded: Thai Airways miles
Yet another frequent flyer mileage program loses its value. Star Alliance founding member Thai Airways is hiking the number of miles necessary for award seats. Gary Leff has more.

Upgraded: Competition, luggage allowances
This is something we don’t see in the United States: In an effort to compete with its competitors on service and not just on price, SriLankan Airlines is raising the luggage allowance for flights out of Qatar. Admittedly, that’s a niche market, and they’re not raising the allowance across the board for all flights in the system. But it’s still interesting to see someone trying to differentiate their product, and not just compete on price.

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I’m not sure why this isn’t getting more play, but the TSA is rolling out liquid explosives detection equipment at six airports. But don’t throw away those 1-quart plastic bags just yet. All the existing prohibitions on liquids, and all the procedures for bagging and scanning your 3-ounce liquid containers, are still very much in place.

This hit the news last week, but our inside man at the TSA nudged us out of complacency with this reminder:

On Tuesday (22/05), the TSA announced operational pilot testing at a number of large airports of the technology capable of screening sealed bottled liquids for explosives. The first unit ready for testing is the ICx Technologies Fido PaxPoint. Because the technology has performed well in initial testing, TSA anticipates deploying up to 200 bottled liquid scanners to the nation’s busiest airports by October. The device is currently being used by the U.S. government domestically and overseas, but this is the first time the system is being deployed in an airport environment. Bottled liquid scanners have been or will be piloted at Miami (MIA), Newark Liberty (EWR), Detroit (DTW), Los Angeles (LAX), Las Vegas (LAS) and Boston Logan (BOS).

The handheld ICx scanner can supposedly sense the presence of explosives or components for making an explosive device through glass, plastic, or metal.

I’m a little confused as to why these devices are being deployed, given the other restrictions that already exist on liquids. If 3-ounce bottles are deemed harmless, then a liquid scanner isn’t necessary. Or, if a liquid scanner is in place, then the 3-ounce limit on liquids would no longer be necessary. But why keep both?

Hopefully this test will prove successful and allow the TSA to eventually rescind the 3-ounce rule. I’ll happily offer my liquids for scanning, if that means I can carry a larger container on board.

Boston Logan Airport apparently got the first allocations of the scanners. Has anyone witnessed liquid scans in action? If so, hit the comments! Let’s hear about it.

Related:
- Japan and China introduce liquid-explosive detectors: Why can’t the US?
- Update: TSA compresses 100ml to 3.0 fluid ounces
- Are unlabeled bottles legal through airport security, and how do you deal with agents who make up rules?
- TSA apparently prefers its water in aerosol form

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Want to class up that rental car? Avis launched a new service in ten cities today, letting Avis Preferred members hire a chauffeur to drive them around.

As part of the new “Chauffeur Drive” program, the drivers are provided and billed by WeDriveU, which specializes in this sort of thing, and by not Avis.

Personally, I love the idea of someone renting a little crapbox like a Kia Rio, but insisting on having a chauffeur. Somebody please do it, if just for the photos.

But more seriously, this could come in handy if time is short, and you want both an airport pickup and the freedom to drive your own butt around town. Your chauffeur can pick up your car and be there ready to pick you up at the airport, curbside. They can also do drop-offs. Thereafter, you can drive the car yourself, as normal.

Every time you use their service, it has a three-hour minimum, but you can dismiss the driver at any time. Of course, hiring the help isn’t cheap ($30/hour), and it requires 24 hours notice.

Avis has featured chauffeur service in certain cities outside the US, such as Mexico City, for some time, but the joint venture with WeDriveU will be available in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Details here.

Another one bites the dust. American Airlines is the latest airline to cut your frequent flyer miles’ lifespan, this time from 3 years to 18 months.

In an e-mail to members, American announced that the changes would go into effect on December 15, 2007. On that date, if your account hasn’t had any activity after June 15, 2006, your account will be zeroed out. If you’re not a recent customer, consider your past loyalty discarded.

At least they had the decency to write, though the letter essentially reads, “What have you done for me lately?”

Frequent flyers who continue to regularly earn (or spend) miles on the airline don’t have anything to worry about, since the clock is reset every time you accrue or redeem. But for infrequent flyers who are slowly collecting their points, watch the calendar.

The change follows the trend: United and US Airways have recently introduced a similar 18-month account activity window to keep miles alive. Delta’s window is 24 months. Air Canada’s is merely 12 months — and even if you remain active in their program, they expire your miles after 7 years. Nasty.

Northwest and Continental sort of have expiration policies. Your miles don’t technically expire, but if you have no activity, the account may. (Northwest’s window is 3 years, Continental’s is 18 months.) That may be a matter of semantics, but from what I’ve experienced firsthand and heard from others, they haven’t been canceling stagnant accounts wholesale. Yet. Just a matter of time, I’m sure…

The lesson: No hoarding! So spend those miles, if you have them. If you don’t have enough for a trip, and want to burn through them, consider magazines.

Related:
- AAdvantage Mileage Retention Policy (aa.com)
- United cuts the lifespan of frequent flyer miles
- Air Canada joins race to the bottom on frequent flyer mile expiration
- Reader mail: Whose miles are worth the most?

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These posters are fantastic. They’re pitching the Star Wars weekends at Disney/MGM in Orlando, taking place this month, but for whatever reason, the Star Wars characters are moving through airports, instead of cavorting in the Magic Kingdom. (FYI, this weekend is your chance to meet the diminutive Kenny Baker, who actually controlled R2-D2 from inside the “robot.”)

Regardless of the reason for their origin, these posters are great. The image above is my personal favorite. Darth Vader may have the power to choke a man from afar, and his Death Star could obliterate Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan, but when he’s flying coach, he suffers the same security indignities that we all share.

(Something tells me the metal detector is still going to go off.)

Tip o’ the hat to AviationWeek’s Benet Wilson for finding these.

More pictures from the series after the jump.
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Upgraded: Airport food
A positive trend: The resurgence of local restaurants, snacks, and food gifts at airports across America. Ironically, these local brands are often being brought in by the national mega-vendors like HMS Host, who sense that people are tiring of finding the same five food options in every airport. (Thanks Dr. Vino!)

Upgraded: Irony
The passenger who recently flew internationally despite being diagnosed with tuberculosis and warned not to travel? His father-in-law is a microbiologist at the Center for Disease Control in (wait for it…) the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. What are the odds?

Downgraded: US Airways tray tables, again
They just keep classin’ the joint up, don’t they? First it was tray table advertising in coach. Then they added ads to the tray tables in first class. Apparently people were able to ignore the ads sufficiently, though, so they’re adding editorial content from BusinessWeek magazine. Why? “Research showed that passengers remembered the ads better when they were accompanied by editorial content.” Other blogs are already deriding this (see here and here for two examples) and I’m all too happy to pile on. May I suggest that the following recent BusinessWeek articles be considered for lamination onto US Airways’ tray tables:

• “The Worst Airline Meltdowns: US Airways, Philadelphia, December 2004“
• “S&P Cuts UAL, AMR, US Airways, and Continental“
• “Airlines Brace for a Bumpy Ride“

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United Airlines seems to really enjoy taking half-steps to appease dissatisfied customers lately. To wit:

Skimpy bill of rights
In response to the brouhaha over passengers being stuck on planes, and in an attempt to fend off pending passenger bill-of-rights legislation, United has devised a new policy (leaked Sunday to our friends at the Consumerist, and made public later this week) for delayed flights and trapped customers. You won’t be impressed. Or if you are, snap out of it!:

Flights delayed for more than four hours on departure, or an hour and a half on arrival, will be declared “flights of note.” Passengers on “flights of note” will receive the following:
# An apology note;
# 20% off one (1) roundtrip economy ticket on a future United flight;
# One (1) $10 airport meal voucher.

That is all. Passengers delayed for less than four hours get nothing.

And remember, this only applies to delays where the passengers are on the plane, away from the gate, and stuck out on the airfield somewhere. If you’re delayed but the door is still open, this doesn’t apply.

While jetBlue’s policy revision had its problems, and didn’t go far enough in my opinion, it’s miles ahead of United’s policy, which is really laughable. At least jetBlue offered cash refunds.

Upgrades converting to miles again… for some
Remember United’s policy change for 500-mile upgrades? United’s policy of worthless expiration won no praise from this blog.

Well, they’ve backed down, for middle and upper-level elite frequent flyers. If you’re a United Premier Executive or higher, your upgrades will still convert to miles if they expire unused, but only if you register at their special site, and if you maintain your status level (or higher). And you can’t call up and ask for upgrades to be converted in advance of expiration.

But if you’re a lowly Premier, who flew 25,000 to 49,999 miles last year, you might be a good customer, but you’re out of luck. No corporate mile-love for you.

The policy still stinks. Remember, United’s top competitor, American Airlines, doesn’t put any expiration dates on their upgrades, and allows customers to convert their upgrades to redeemable miles with a simple phone call.

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