Good news for travelers on Delta’s larger regional jets: You’ll soon be able to surf the internet at 35,000 feet.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announced it will add onboard Wi-Fi to 223 regional jet aircraft operated by Delta Connection carriers, expanding by 40 percent the number of Delta aircraft featuring Gogo Inflight Internet service. Delta will be the first domestic carrier to deploy Wi-Fi across its entire mainline and regional aircraft fleets with two classes of service.
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Installations of Wi-Fi on Delta Connection jets will begin in January and will be complete by the end of 2011. Once complete, customers flying on all Delta domestic flights with a First Class cabin will enjoy Wi-Fi access, including service on every Delta Shuttle flight between New York-LaGuardia and Boston, Chicago-O’Hare and Washington, D.C.
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Delta Connection aircraft featuring First Class cabins include Embraer 175, Bombardier CRJ700 and Bombardier CRJ900 models operated by Delta Connection. The aircraft feature between nine and 12 seats in First Class and between 56 and 64 seats in Economy.

This is an interesting move. First, it makes the regional jet experience a little more tolerable, by providing an option for inflight entertainment or productivity that wasn’t there before. With regional jets traveling on routes that have traditionally been handled by larger aircraft, it’s good to see Delta making the regional jets a little more “real.”

But perhaps more interestingly, the introduction of wi-fi actually brings a product typically only found on mainline jets to the subcontractors. These aren’t Delta’s planes. Sure, they fly with the Delta logo, but flights labeled “Delta Connection” are operated by a litany of regional airlines.

The only downside, for the time being, is the lack of wi-fi on the smaller jets. Sure, some of those 50-seat CRJ’s and ERJ-145s are just going to fly from Atlanta to Savannah, but some of those planes are for two-hour flights, regrettably. The people in the flying soda cans need distractions, too!

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As we near year-end, it’s mileage run season, as travelers who play the frequent flier game make sure they’ve crossed the thresholds they need to attain or retain their elite status for another year. Some travelers are about to embark on a mileage run — unnecessary travel that’s solely for the purpose of mileage accrual.

There are those who embrace the mileage run — like my mom, again, this year — and those who think that the people doing mileage runs are off their rockers.

Spencer Howard sends in this animated video of a conversation between one person who has sipped perhaps one glass too many from the mileage run Kool Aid, and a colleague who thinks he’s an idiot or worse.

If there’s a critique to be made, I have to say his cents-per-mile is not particularly good…

I laughed, I cried, it was better than “Cats.” Watch it below.

Black Friday, the big-markdown day after Thanksgiving, has been a part of the American holiday shopping landscape since 1966, but the travel sector hasn’t really been a big participant in the past. Sure, a few sales here and there, but the majority of Black Friday deals have been at the big-box stores that opened early for the hyper-dedicated shopper.

But this year, more and more travel companies are getting in the Black Friday game (and the lame online follow-up Cyber Monday). My inbox has filled up with deals and offers from companies trying to get a piece of the Black Friday revenue pie. Many (most!) are vacation-package related.

Here are a few deals of note, for your comparison shopping needs. Note the expiration dates on these promo codes:

• Hotels.com is pitching an offer of 50% off hotels — plus a free Flip camera if you’re among the first 500 people to book a 4-day hotel stay using the promo code 4DAY — for bookings made from 11/26 to 11/30. Don’t count on that camera, but a 50% off rate is solid, if you can get it.
• InterContinental, Holiday Inn, and other hotels in that group are offering “up to” 20% off for bookings made on 11/26 or 11/29. No code needed.
• Travelocity is offering $100 off flight+hotel packages of 4 nights’ stay or more, off a $1000 or more package. Use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY on 11/26 or 11/27.
• Expedia is offering a similar $100 off coupon for vacation packages to Hawaii, the Caribbean, or Mexico, with the promo code BlackFriday2010. Their deal is valid from 11/26 through 11/29.
• Expedia, again: Get a $50 pre-paid debit card if you book a 3+ night hotels stay “at select Expedia hotels.” From 11/26 to 11/29.
• LuxuryLink, which has both auctions and buy-it-now vacation packages for sale, is giving 10% off vacation packages with promo code 1NOV25LL through 11/29.
• FamilyGetaway is giving 15% off vacation packages with promo code THANKS15FG. Through 11/29.
• CheapCaribbean promises good deals for packages to the Caribbean (duh) on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but I haven’t seen any specifics. Their sales have historically been strong, so it may be worth a look. No promises on this one, though.
• Funjet is offering up to $300 off flight+hotel packages to Mexico, Caribbean or Hawaii with promo code ULTRABFCM. Valid longer than most, through 12/2.
• Southwest Airlines is offering flight+hotel package promos, with discounts up to $125. Use promo code: BLKFRI2010 by 12/2.

The warnings were everywhere — protestors opting out en masse from the TSA’s nude-o-scopes and the generalized mayhem that comes with the busiest travel days of the year were going to snarl holiday travels and bring America’s airports to a standstill. Didn’t happen.

My wife and I traveled yesterday, and, contrary to all the expectations, news reports, and hype, our walk through the TSA checkpoint at Charlotte Douglas Airport was the smoothest part of our trip.

The traffic to the airport? Hellish. Clogged interstates, with cops and speed traps everywhere.

Parking? The normal long term lots at CLT — and even the daily lot and deck — were full. Overflow parking, as far from the terminal as could be, was the only option.

The flight? Delayed. (Thankfully, since traffic had delayed us so badly.) We pushed off the gate late, but were towed to a parking area to wait for well over an hour for air traffic control in Newark to give the flight clearance. Hurry up and wait.

The seat? Not only was I in a middle seat in coach, but the gentleman-of-size next to me took over 30% of my personal space. I subsequently leaned into the missus, but still, playing contortionist for the flight (and ground delay) time is never fun. (Alas, no upgrades on this flight…)

But the security checkpoint? A breeze. The “advanced imaging” machine wasn’t even turned on. There was neither scanning nor groping. A short line of travelers shuffled quickly through three traditional metal detector lanes, without any junk-touching. Agents were even in a decent mood.

For all the doomsday hype, it was a real treat to walk through security so quickly and efficiently, and without any violation of fourth-amendment rights.

The national anger at the TSA is not just taking a toll on passengers’ patience — and rights. It’s now also taking a toll on airlines’ bottom lines: In the abstract, of course, some people will be dissuaded from traveling because of the bad press the airline experience is getting. But now Delta is, in limited cases, refunding passengers’ tickets even when the tickets were purchased as nonrefundable.

That’s a big deal.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said Monday that her airline is issuing refunds on a case-by-case basis for customers worried about the new screening steps. The move, however, does not constitute a new refund policy at the airline.

Their competitors haven’t bit yet. No other airlines are cutting passengers any slack. Perhaps that’s because they (and Delta, actually) aren’t actually raising a red flag yet:

The Delta and American officials said they were not seeing large numbers of cancelations related to the new security checks, but they had no specific numbers.

“I can’t say no one has canceled,” [American Airlines spokesman Tim] Smith said, adding that it’s “just not a trend.”

Hmm. Well, if it’s not a trend, then why is Delta giving anyone any refunds for this reason? …and why are they admitting it to journalists?! I suspect that Delta’s admission is a tell, and that we’ll hear more in coming weeks about how the TSA’s rules are affecting the airlines’ businesses. Not this week — planes are full for the Thanksgiving holiday — and maybe not even in December, as other holiday travel ramps up. But if public anger is still high in January (and it very well could be if changes are slow in coming) then expect to see airlines lobbying to change the TSA gropefest.

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A couple months ago, I was in Massachusetts and saw this newspaper insert for the regional discount chain Building #19 in the weekend paper.

Unfortunately, the ad headline is woefully out of date (“Many years ago, we sold these airplane slides…”) and the slides are NOT available for sale. But I still love the idea that a local store was selling airplane escape slides for personal use.

I wrote to Jerry Ellis, the proprietor of the retail chain, asking if anyone wrote in with stories of how they enjoyed their slides. Ellis replied, but alas, apparently no customers have sent in their tales.

Just think of the possibilities. You too could re-enact your own passenger evacuation procedures! Or grab a couple beers and pull a Steven Slater!