A Roundup of Entertaining Travel Reads Around the Web

-A Sneak Peak at the Renovations & Plans for San Francisco Airport's Terminal 2 (FlySFO)

-San Francisco Detours Into Reality Tourism (NY Times)

-Intercontinental becomes first hotel to trial iPad (Breaking Travel News)

-Celebrate the Golden Age of Meissen at San Francisco International Airport (SF Examiner)

-A Hotel Made of Key Cards (Places)

-Potty Policy Has Air Travelers Holding It In (AOL)

Gogo To Connect Flyers To The World - At 30,000 feet

Those needing an Internet or email "fix" during flights will soon get it. Several airlines are working on installing technology which will enable passengers to connect - textually - to the rest of the world, even at 30,000 feet.

A program called Gogo, combined with ground towers positioned throughout the United States, will provide reliable connectivity, at a fairly decent speed, to passengers flying high above. Check out this marketing video describing Gogo, followed by a review by USA Today, putting Gogo to the test.



So how well does the technology work? Check out this review (text & video) from USA Today's Walter S Mossberg, who tested Gogo during a recent flight from San Francisco to Denver.

Flying Foul; Passengers Behaving Badly

(Thanks David)
Dropping nail clippings and melted chocolate in the seat back pocket; resting bare feet on the bulkhead and blowing noses into blankets other passengers will later use. All these are examples of inappropriate behavior some passengers partake in when flying.

In this article from the Wall Street Journal, author Scott McCartney shows us the less than glamorous side of airline travel - the flying foul.

SPOT - Call Home Without a Phone

Planning a trip to the great outdoors, or perhaps up Mt. Everest sometime soon? A new product on the market allows you to contact home in locales where a traditional or mobile phone would otherwise not work. SPOT, which employs GPS satellite technology keeps track of your whereabouts and sends messages to family and friends of your progress. In case of an emergency, you can press a 9-1-1 button which will trigger a call for help. The device is waterproof and floats on water. $170 + annual service fee. Visit http://www.findmespot.com/

Here is Gizmo Report of some pros & cons of the product.

Free Magazine Subscription to Sherman's Travel

Sherman's Travel is fairly well known for great travel deals by way of daily emails and occasional pop ups when visiting certain travel sites. Now they have moved into the print business, bringing in-depth destination discussion into a colorful quarterly magazine. Best of all, and for a limited time, they are offering a free subscription. Click this link. Enjoy!

Operation SPOT in progress at airports throughout the country

Behavior detection officers are on active duty at dozens of airports throughout the U.S according to SeattlePI; they're looking for unusual behaviors, facial expressions or questionable emotions and reactions during brief interactions with passengers during the standard screening process.

Screening Passengers by Observation Technique (SPOT) was designed by the TSA to stop terrorist activity. Carl Maccario who helped design the program said, "We're looking for behavior indicators that show a certain level of stress, fear or anxiety above and beyond that shown by an anxious member of the traveling public."

Since January 06' the program has identified 70,000 people for the secondary screening, and made 600-700 arrests for a variety of charges.

Passenger Jet Makes Historic Landing in...Antarctica

A passenger jet has made a historic landing on a new blue ice runway in Australia's Antarctic territory and regular flights are expected to start within a week, officials said Wednesday.

But trips on the Airbus A319 to the Wilkins Runway will be for scientists and research staff only, with no plans to open the airlink to tourists, project manager Charlton Clark told AFP


Full Story from AFP