- VIRGIN AMERICA
Last week, Virgin America (VA) opened up their new home at LAX with champagne, deadly designer cookies
and a DJ
who was moonlighting from his day job as a Virgin America flight attendant. Terminal 3
used to be home to TWA and a few other now-defunct airlines. Today, the renovated check-in hall
is shared by Virgin America, V Australia
(coming February 27) and Alaska Airlines. They haven’t completed the gate areas yet but if it’s anything like the downstairs check-in
area, travelers are in for a treat.
As you can see from the picture, it’s very chic and modern. Afterwards, I had a chance to chat with Virgin America’s President and CEO David Cush
who said, "Our new face at LAX is a nod to the airport's glamorous past, with all of the upscale,
tech-savvy amenities that today's travelers expect." Indeed. In other VA news: They will begin flying LAX to Boston Logan
International Airport beginning on February 12, 2009.
- BUSINESS TRAVEL’ AWARDS
This week I
attended the 20th annual Best in Business Travel Awards put on by
Business Traveler magazine and hosted at
the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles. It was a well-run awards show as they quickly
revealed
the winners between the appetizers and main entrée. The token celebrity on hand was
Mena Suvari
who was there on behalf of amfAR, which is dedicated to ending the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research. I don’t have space to list all the winners (see below) but at the top was Emirates, which was named the Best Overall Airline in the World. The Park Hyatt won for Best Hotel Chain in the World, while Marriott won the Best Hotel Chain in North America. Best airport was not surprising; Singapore’s Changi and Best First-Class Service in the World went to Jet Airways; I will begin to tell you all about their service in detail next week. Business Traveler is published 10 times a year and geared towards high-income executives who spend a great deal on domestic and international travel. The Best in Business Travel Awards were based on surveys of Business Traveler readers conducted between June 1 and September 15, 2008. Surveys were sent to 4,000 print and online subscribers. For complete results, click here.
- JetBlue Bolsters its Boston Schedule With More Flights to 12 Cities
- The-Business-of-Terrorism
- Take holiday travel photos like a pro: 3 insider tips
- US Airways memo: “We have nothing to give anymore”
- At United, all frequent flier miles are not created equal
- Today’s Holiday Travel Deals (TV Segment)
- OMG: Russia entrepreneur looks for $$$ from ;-)
- Anderson Cooper free dives with great white sharks in South Africa
- Belgian police arrest 'al Qaeda legend'
- U.S. State Capitals without Air Service
- Roger Collis: The pro's and con's of a la carte air fares
- Star adds Brussels Airlines, targets up to 50 members
- Gogo Inflight Internet Service Ready to Take Flight for Delta Customers
To celebrate the launch, Delta passengers traveling on the Gogo-equipped MD-88 Shuttle aircraft will be treated to a holiday surprise with complimentary access to Gogo during a Dec. 16 - 31, 2008 promotional period.
- American Airlines was voted “Best Airline for First-Class Service in North America” for 2008 by the readership of Business Traveler magazine. And earlier this month, more than 31,400 readers of Global Traveler selected the airline as “Best Airline for Domestic First Class” for the third consecutive year in the magazine’s annual GT Tested Awards.
- Officials report 57 dead in
Egyptian bus crash" Egypt has a history of serious bus and car crashes because of speeding,
careless driving and poor road conditions. At least 8,000 people were killed in accidents in 2006,
the most recent statistics available.
- Passports with Purpose - a fundraiser to benefit Heifer International. They have 50+ travel bloggers who have acquired prizes for the raffle. They’re selling $10 tickets and people choose the prize(s) they want to win. They’ll be drawing winners on 12/30.
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