Business Travel Tips

Aircell, a leading provider of inflight internet, announced it has installed Gogo Inflight Internet on its 1,000th aircraft.

The aircraft, a Delta Air Lines DC-9, will fly today from Detroit. Its passengers will be greeted by Gogo brand ambassadors, and treated to complimentary Gogo Internet access on board.

Aircell says in a press release that “Gogo Inflight Internet is now available on more than 3,800 flights daily, up from just 2,100 at this time last year.  Roughly one-third of all mainline domestic aircraft now offer Gogo’s Inflight Internet service”.

Gogo service provides passengers with full Internet access — browsing the Web; accessing online music and games; sending and receiving e-mail; and connecting to virtual private networks while flying — on any Wi-Fi-equipped laptop or personal electronic device.
(source)

A new iPhone Application has been launched by the luxury hotel chain Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

The application will provide access to booking, reservations, hotel information, packages, destination recommendations and more.

It provides a quick resource for individual profiles of each of the hotels, complete with photos, room descriptions and restaurant details.

In addition to having the ability to book, modify and cancel reservations at any time, with Fairmont application users can search for packages by theme.
Fairmont application provides users with a wealth of information also including a destination guides — “10best” — which direct guests to the best food, activities and shopping the area has to offer.

The new application is available globally in Apple’s iTunes Store and the iPhone App Store.

After launching its social media ‘Ticket Window’, Delta Air Lines unveils its mobile apps plans.
A new iPhone application is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks.

The app will offer Delta customers the ability to check in for flights, check flight status, review flight schedules, set a parking reminder, review SkyMiles account balance and use eBoarding passes — in select cities — directly from their mobile devices.
Future releases of the app will enable customers to book flights, select their seats and track their Medallion status and other features that will streamline customer real-time travel experiences.

The newly launched Delta social media ‘Ticket Window’ enables bookings directly from its Facebook page and other social media sites.

The expansion of Delta on social sites includes facebook.com/delta, twitter.com/delta, twitter.com/deltaassist (providing real-time travel assistance), and blog.delta.com.

To help travelers get the information they might need to get through the security checkpoint, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) launched the MyTSA mobile web app and iPhone app.

The applications feature tools such like “Airport Status” providing general airport conditions and delays for U.S. airports and “TSA Guide” including information on TSA’s liquids rules, information on IDs, and tips for travelers with children and those with special needs.

A very useful tool is “Can I Bring”, designed to answer the most commonly asked questions to TSA’s Contact Center about items passengers want to bring onto a plane. Just enter the item you want to pack, and the tool will tell you if it’s permitted and which bag you should put it in.
Here are TSA tips on how to better use the tool:
- Just type the item, for example, “baseball bat” – don’t include “my,” “a.”
- Only enter one item at a time.
- Make sure you’ve spelled the item correctly.
- Enter “deodorant” instead of “Old Spice Deodorant.” In most cases, avoid brand names.
- Instead of typing a general item like “food,” be more specific and type “apple,” “sandwich,” or “yogurt.”

The app also enables travelers to see wait time information posted by other travelers, and return the favor by posting their wait time.

To get the iPhone app, you can download MyTSA on iTunes for free, or look for it on the USA.gov Apps gallery. You can find MyTSA on your smart phone at www.tsa.gov/mobile.
(source)

A new airfare shopping mobile app has been launched for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.
The app, OnTheFly by ITA Software, Inc., offers the powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at http://matrix.itasoftware.com.

OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience.

Travelers can download the shopping-only version for iPhone and iPod touch for free from the App Store.

ITA Software is planning to launch mobile applications for BlackBerry and Android platforms later in 2010.