A recent article on Chow.com identifies a trend in American aviation catering: The surprisingly high demand for ginger ale on America’s planes. Why ginger ale, and not Coke, 7UP, or Bloody Mary mix? The most popular theory among flight attendants is that it relieves nausea. “If [passengers] have motion sickness, it settles their stomach,” says Elizabeth […]

So what happens to planes that fly through volcanic ash clouds?
It’s been a bad day for travel to, from, or across northern Europe, with flights canceled wholesale due to the eruption of a volcano in Iceland. So, what would happen if a commercial airplane flew through a volcanic ash cloud? It’s happened before, to a British Airways 747 traveling over Indonesia in 1982: Aircraft avoid […]

Air New Zealand reveals new lie-flat design for economy class
Air New Zealand is launching new seats in its long haul economy class, with a section of the plane fitted with “Skycouch” seats designed to create a three-seat wide airborne equivalent of a foldout couch. It’s an effort to create the first lie-flat bed in coach, a worthy goal if ever there was one. Starting […]

Snowglobes are banned… for your safety
It didn’t make it into Gadling’s top ten list of items not to attempt to carry through a TSA checkpoint, but Matt Daimler, founder of the invaluable SeatGuru.com, sent in this photo he snapped at LaGuardia Airport security: That’s right, don’t bring a snowglobe in your carry-on this holiday season. Bah humbug and all that. And […]

Huh?? FAA rule bans storing anything in seatback pockets
A couple weeks ago, Joe Sharkey posted a tale on his blog of a flight attendant requiring passengers to keep their personal belongings out of the seatback pockets. He thought it was an overzealous airline employee. He was wrong. The original story (that prompted him to do further digging) has strangely disappeared from his BoardingArea […]

What a shock: Your e-passport isn’t secure after all
Backtracking from earlier claims that e-passports are “totally secure,” the U.S. State Department is now urging travelers to keep their RFID-chip enabled passports in “radio-opaque sleeves” to protect owners from having their information skimmed by unauthorized readers within a 30-foot range. The State Department’s warning comes with the caveat that “hackers won’t find any practical […]

A step up for economy class seating
A Cambridge, Massachusetts independent designer has come up with some interesting alternative designs for inflight economy seating. The key concept: making use of the empty space that’s currently headroom. Emil Jacob’s website offers a range of patent-pending design options, from double-decker business class to tiered economy class designs. The Boston Globe recently profiled Jacob and his designs. […]

Baggage wrapping: Brilliant or stupid?
It hasn’t yet taken off in the US, but checked-luggage wrapping stations are cropping up in airports around the world. For a fee, an attendant will encase your suitcase in plastic wrap. A few small incisions to restore access to the handles and wheels, and off you go. I’m admittedly a skeptic, though I jealously […]

Airline seat advice showdown 2009: SeatGuru vs SeatExpert
Not all airline seats are created equal. For those who understand this simple but important point, SeatGuru has been an invaluable resource for years. Rarely do I choose a seat without consulting the Seatguru charts first. But now, the competing site SeatExpert has gotten a makeover. Is it finally the worthy competitor it promised to be, or […]

Rail website charges double if you search in English
Last week, I was trying to book tickets for travel between Barcelona and Madrid on the relatively-new AVE high-speed rail line. I soon realized that the price quoted on the website of RENFE, Spain’s national railway, depended on the language in which you chose to conduct your searches. When I searched the site earlier that […]