If you’ve flown through major international hubs outside the United States in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed that some airlines offer self-service turnstiles at the gates. Passengers either slide their magnetic-stripe boarding pass or swipe their barcoded passes over the scanner. The turnstile opens, and off you go. And now, Continental is bringing the concept to Houston, where it’s testing a single self-service gate.

The image above shows a Lufthansa self-serve gate — the German airline has been doing this since 2003. 13 other airlines in Europe and Asia do this as well.

You may be thinking, “How will this ever meet the often-arbitrary standards of the TSA?” Well…:

The Transportation Security Administration, which is in charge of air security, “determined it does not impact the security of the traveling public,” says Greg Soule, a TSA spokesman, adding all passengers are screened at airport checkpoints prior to arriving at boarding gates.

Huzzah.

With self-service, you’ll also be more likely to sneak an extra or oversized carry-on. Just sayin’.

The self-service option won’t be the only way to board. Customers who can’t (or won’t) use self-service can typically hand their boarding pass to a human being, as before.

Lufthansa spokesman Martin Riecken says while loading customers at self-boarding gates is “a little faster” than traditional gates, the airline’s primary goal was to free agents from the mundane task of scanning boarding passes. It frees them to handle other customer issues that require individual attention, such as upgrading seats, he says. The number of agents assigned to automated gates isn’t different from other gates: one or two agents for short-haul flights, three or four for longer ones, he says.

I’ve used these gates at Munich and Frankfurt; they’re loveless but efficient. I don’t mind the self-service option, since the taking of boarding passes isn’t really a deep, meaningful interpersonal interaction that I am going to miss. But I realize that others might feel different.

I’ll look forward to hearing the details of how Continental will change their boarding process at the gate. For example, what does this do to zones? Better enforcement of the zone, or the opposite? And if you add a self-service line, though, that makes it harder to leave room for red carpeted (or in Continental’s case, blue-carpeted) lines for early elite boarding.

Thoughts? Is this something you’d want to use, or something to avoid? Hit the comments.

Before this morning, I had never heard of Socotra. Now, it’s on my “places to see before you die” list.

For those, like me, who never heard of it before: It’s an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, just 150 miles off the coast of the Horn of Africa. One third of its plant life is found nowhere else. It’s the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, for lack of a better metaphor.

The natural formations and flora look like scenes from Avatar. It looks like an alien landscape. Roads were only built on the island, which belongs to Yemen, in 2006.

Accommodations on this island of 40,000 are, as you might suspect, quite limited. As per Wikipedia, Yemenia and Felix Airways fly from Socotra Airport to Sanaa and Aden via Mukalla (RIY – Riyan Airport). The Sanaa service is everyday, while Aden flights are available only Mondays (as of December 2009).

There’s an amazing set of photos over at Dark Roasted Blend, so I just suggest browsing over there and looking at the whole thing. If anyone has been there, I’d love to hear about it.

Thanks to reader J for the tip!

So United and Continental got an unconditional green light from the European Union to merge their operations. This was hardly a surprise — the antitrust review by the U.S. government is far more relevant, given the greater domestic competition between the currently-separate carriers.

It’s not clear if it’s coincidence or providence, but United is “celebrating” by offering a free alcoholic beverage to each passenger in Economy Plus from August 6 to 16.

But don’t let the free drinks distract you. The real issue is the merger going forward, and what that means for customers. And while there are no concrete changes being announced, there are telegraphed changes through the shifts in the management lineup.

While the Continental CEO will be at the helm of the combined firm, the frequent flier program will be managed by a United executive. United execs also take the COO and CIO position. (I just hope that the CIO adopts more of continental.com than united.com…)

So, in all likelihood, the mileage program will look more like MileagePlus than OnePass. Gary Leff has speculated some on the direction that the program will take under the merged airline, and I agree fully with his assessments. Most importantly, during a transition period immediately following merger, the two programs will likely feature the best of both worlds.

Check out Gary’s comments for a glimpse into what will likely happen on the mileage front.

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British rail hasn’t reached the stature of French, German, Japanese, or Spanish high-speed trains, but if PriestmanGoode’s plans for a new high-speed double-decker train system are any indication, things in the UK will reach a global level soon.

Their pitch:

Introducing an entirely new concept in the way we travel, the train will incorporate a flexible, open plan design allowing for interaction, space and relaxation without compromising privacy. Both commuting and longer haul journeys will be more relaxed, comfortable and akin to modern living, featuring traditional commuter seats (designed to incorporate in-transit entertainment systems) alongside private berths – for families, private parties or business meetings echoing the nostalgia of compartmental train travel. A children’s play area will be integrated into the train and a luxury first class section will mirror the choice offered to air travellers with a luxury lounge and bar.

The exterior of the train, designed to emulate design classics such as Concorde, the Spitfire and Rolls Royce, will be 400 metres long and the extended nose section will be one of the most extreme in the world – vitally important for the aerodynamics of a train which will travel at 225mph.

On the one hand, I’m always excited to see advances in contemporary transportation design. On the other hand, I feel like I’m a tool, just for posting this. Most of these designs are vaporware — you’ll never see any of these in real life. Bars, showers, tennis courts… Ok, no tennis courts. But we’ve seen this sort of innovative design before, but the reality never lives up to the prototype.

Want to imagine what train travel could be like? Check their site and dream the dream.

There’s always hope… except in the United States, where the plans for high-speed rail involve trains sharing track with freight lines. Coal — 45% of volume and 23% of value transported on the tracks — is king in the US. The Economist has a thorough takedown of the prospects for realistic high-speed rail traffic, for those interested.

Upgraded: The power of coffee and tea
Sometimes it really is the little things: At Easyjet, the UK-based discount airline, flights haven’t been particularly ontime this year. Under 50% for flights from London-Gatwick — which is terrible. And one of the reasons for the delays: “rostering problems.” And, in turn, these “rostering problems” are allegedly driven by … (wait for it)… the airline’s decision to stop giving pilots free tea and coffee.

Upgraded: Lawsuit chutzpah
So a disgruntled passenger who paid $25 to American Airlines to transport her checked back, and whose bag was lost, is suing the airline for $5 million. Umm, I think the suit is a little out of scale here. And now American is saying that they weren’t even the airline to transport the woman: the passenger was apparently rebooked onto another airline (presumably United) when the original American Eagle flight was canceled. Pass the popcorn!

Upgraded: ANA
Japanese airline ANA has made technological breakthroughs that will allow it to start serving draft beer in flight. Bravo, ANA! (Via View from the Wing)

Upgraded: Laughs, literally at Carnival’s expense
Carnival Cruise Lines is introducing comedy clubs on all 22 of its ships. It’ll be dubbed “Punchliner.” Har har har. Take that, Lido deck!

Upgraded: oneWorld
The oneWorld alliance got a boost recently when American Airlines, Iberia, and British Airways got the green light for anti-trust immunity on transatlantic routes. Not a big surprise. A bigger surprise: German semi-discount carrier Air Berlin is joining the alliance. That adds a few more locations to the oneWorld map.

Upgraded: Taking airport privacy to absurd levels
If the prospect of a full-body scan disturbs you — and yes, they CAN see your privates — then perhaps it’s time to invest in some FlyingPasties. (Warning: Potentially unsafe for work, if a pasties-covered female figure doesn’t make the cut for your at-work monitors…)

Upgraded: Alaska Airlines’ green cred
Alaska Airlines has tested a new method of landing, which uses satellite technology to guide the plane down more smoothly than traditional “descend and maintain 5000 feet” directions can do. The airline claims the procedures can reduce noise and cut fuel burn by a third. A third. Yowza.

Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare, has a column that makes a number of suggestions for snagging an upgrade if you’ve got no status. You’ve heard most of them before — buy an upgrade at check-in or at the kiosk, participate in an elite challenge, or throw in the towel and fly Southwest. Wait, what? Yeah, he really suggests “upgrading” on Southwest by boarding early. Sorry, Rick, but if the seat isn’t wider and has more legroom, that’s not an upgrade…

Also missing from the list: the “ghetto upgrade” of sleeping across an empty row of seats.

Anyway, this post isn’t about sleeping in coach or opting for an all-economy carrier. There’s one suggestion for an actual, genuine, bona fide upgrade that struck me as a little offbeat. Make the gate agent an offer:

Be Alert for Desperate-Looking Gate Agents

Next time you’re sitting around the gate area waiting for your international flight, take a good long look at the gate agent — does he or she look a little anxious? Do you see a pad of paper and a pencil with the agent? You could be in luck.

My friend and co-founder of FareCompare noticed just such a scenario right before he took off from Scotland for the U.S., and he quickly figured what was going on: agents were offering passengers “extreme” last minute upgrade deals. It worked this way: an agent would briefly confer with a passenger, then write a number on his pad — a monetary figure –show it to the individual, and wait for a “yes” or “no.”

My partner was waved over, but he didn’t like the price he was shown, so he suggested his own, lower figure, and it was accepted. In other words, he and his son each got an upgrade to business class worth thousands, for pennies on the dollar. Sweet.

I’ll admit, I’ve never tried doing this myself. But as long as the price isn’t entirely absurd, why wouldn’t this work? After all, this is a perishable commodity, so if the airline wants to fill the seats, they’ll take what they can.

But then again, how likely is it really that you’ll be able to pull off this kind of dealmaking? If the airline has empty seats to begin with, they’ll likely push upgrades-for-sale way earlier than the gate, such as via the online check-in channel.

So the question goes to you: Have you ever actually tried this and made an offer for an upgrade at the gate? Successfully? What kinds of deals have they taken, and what have they rejected?