If you fly often, you know that many air passengers like to strike up conversations with their seatmates -- whether they're in the mood to chit-chat or not. We think this week's fab find is the solution to the too chatty seatmate conundrum.
When faced with 1,000 questions, we say you invite your seatmate to partake in the Pocket IQ Test. You get an accurate reading in 45 minutes.
Whether they partake or not, you're sure to come home with an interesting story.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, so if you think you're stuck for a place to stay, think again. You can find deals everywhere this season.
Read the hotel rate report from HotWire.com:
Hotwire.com, the discount travel site, last week released its Hotel Rate Report, which highlights the cities that have experienced the most significant rate declines over the year. The study takes into account trends from last year and monthly price variations.
The biggest drop goes to Houston, at 24 percent. The city's top ranking is due in part to the return of normalcy after last year's Hurricane Ike, which uprooted many South Texans, forcing them to seek refuge in hotels and causing rates to spike. Tampa also experienced a 24 percent reduction, with Miami and Fort Lauderdale close on its heels with 21 percent.
"This sun-soaked state continues to offer amazing deals and price drops mainly due to a lower demand for leisure and business travel during the down economy, both a key source of traffic," wrote Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group, in an e-mail. "Moreover, the majority of people who travel to Florida cities are Floridians themselves and considering the state was one of the hardest hit by the housing market crash, many inhabitants have likely cut back on traveling drastically. These factors have resulted in tons of hotel rooms that are going unsold, thus lower prices."
With its glut of rooms, Las Vegas was no surprise, but Austin made an unexpected appearance, as did San Diego and Oahu. Good vacation destinations made even more attractive by inexpensive lodging.
We reposted an article from the Palm Beach Post yesterday, which said Google would be providing free Wi-Fi at 47 airports nationwide. Well, apparently the competition is intensifying among Google, Yahoo!, eBay and Microsoft.
Read the article by the Associated Press here.
According to the Palm Beach Post, holiday gifts are coming early this season as Google announced it started offering free Wi-Fi in 47 airports across the country.
The company will pay the wireless costs for these airports through Jan. 15. It's also currently offering free Wi-Fi to all domestic Virgin America flights until that time.
The idea, according to a statement from the company, is to offer a gift to travelers who may have to spend considerable time in an airport this busy holiday season.
It's also a way for Google Inc. to get free advertising.
According to PBIA spokeswoman Cassandra Davis, Google will be getting an advertisement on the airport's Wi-Fi splash page — the screen that appears when users try to access the Internet from the airport — in exchange for footing the Wi-Fi bill.
PBIA already offers free wireless Internet to travelers in its airport.
"They're basically using this as a way to sell their name and advertise their name out there," said Michael Simmons, PBIA's deputy director of finance, "and we make a little money, so it's definitely a win-win."
Simmons said that Google is giving the airport about $20,000 over the three-month period. He said it is the first time someone has advertised on the airport's splash page.
Both he and Davis noted that the airport will continue to offer free Wi-Fi after Google's promotion is over in January.
Other airports that Google is offering free Wi-Fi do not routinely offer free Internet; an operator at Miami International Airport said that after the Google promotion is over, travelers will again have to pay for Internet access in the terminals.
Google is just the latest company to offer a free Wi-Fi promotion in recent months. Yahoo is offering free Wi-Fi for a year to users in Times Square in New York. That promotion also began today.
Meanwhile, eBay will be offering free Wi-Fi on more than 250 domestic Delta flights over Thanksgiving week, Nov. 24-30. And car maker Lexus recently completed a promotion for its new 2010 Lexus LS in which it gave a free week of Internet on American Airlines flights.
Microsoft and mobile-advertising firm Jiwire also started a free Wi-Fi promotion in airports and hotels around the country, but it has a caveat: you must use Microsoft's Bing search engine to do at least one search in order to get the free Internet.
The decision to offer free Wi-Fi in airports during the holidays appears to be a smart one, since travel tends to go up during that season. PBIA's Davis said that about 500 travelers connected to the airport's Wi-Fi on an average day, but that "in the past, holiday season has meant more people in an airport and more users getting online."
Want to check in for your flight and check your flight's status all from your iPhone? AutoPilot from USA TODAY says it has everything the seasoned traveler would desire.
Here are the AutoPilot details:
a check-in reminder for your flightFlight Tracker
- Look up flights quickly by flight number, airport or route.
- Review details on individual flights including on-time status and departure and arrival gates.
- View live maps of domestic flights currently en route, including speed, altitude, and estimated arrival time.
- Add any flight to a new or existing trip in AutoPilot.
Airport Delays
- Review a map of delays at major U.S. airports.
- View detailed delay information including delay time and reason.
Travel Directory
- Browse or search an extensive directory of major airlines, hotels, car rental services and more.
- Review valuable phone numbers and websites for each entry.
Weather
- Review live weather conditions, up-to-the minute radar and the five day forecast and live radar at any U.S. location.
- Departure and destinations from AutoPilot trips are automatically added by airport, including delay information for each.
- Review national weather maps including Doppler radar, temperature and precipitation forecasts.
Destination Galleries
- Browse through Flickr photographs taken at your destinations.
- View information about each photo and a map of where it was taken.
- Share a link to the photo via email.
Articles & Experts
- Browse through USA TODAY travel articles including our Destinations stories and 10 Great lists.
- Read updates from any of our travel blogs and columnists, including
Today in the Sky, Cruise Log, Hotel Check-In, Business Traveler,
Traveler’s Aide, and At The Airport.
- Share any of the stories via email, text message, Twitter, or Facebook.
Do you use AutoPilot? Love it? Hate it? Write your review.
Not sure if you can bring Grandma's famous fruitcake on the plane? Let us help you. Check out this list of items from the TSA.
Put these items in your checked bag, ship them ahead or leave them at home.
The Philadelphia Enquirer had THIS to say about the H1N1 virus's impact on travel:
We have not heard much lately about how business travel may have been affected by the spread of the H!N1 flu virus (aka swine flu). One explanation for that may be in the resuls of a survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives of 109 international companies taken earlier this month. It was released at the group's global conference in Prague, Czech Republic.
In a statement issued today, the organization said that despite President Obama's declaration of a national emergency to deal with the rapid spread of swine flu, the vast majority of the companies aren't canceling meetings or business trips because of it. ACTE executive director Susan Gurley said companies have serious concerns about the potential spread of the disease, but they have yet to alter travel plans for the rest of 2009 or 2010.
In the survey, 91 percent of those responding said they were not holding off on planning meetings or conferences. Even more telling, 96 percent said business travelers had not asked to hold off heading out on trips during the flu season.
We say, if you're going to travel, pour some hand sanitizer in a TSA-compliant GoToob to have some germ-fighting power on the go. When you arrive at your destination, remember that frequent handwashing is key.
It's hard to juggle sippy cups and suitcases throughout the airport and then tell a 4-year-old he or she has to sit still for two and a half hours while the nice pilot man flies the plane to Grandma's house.
That's why we're offering up our top four choices of the best toys to take on a flight. They will help keep your kids occupied without driving other passengers crazy.
1. Little Ladies - A new take on the age-old paper dolls, this dress up kit by Melissa and Doug offers tons of imaginative options, plus your kids are more apt not to lose the bigger pieces.
2. Little Einsteins - It's their favorite Banagrams game travel style. It's a fun learning tool to pass the time for older children.
3. No-mess crafts - This Fun with Felt book from Klutz is the ultimate no-mess art project for your little Picasso.
4. Playful Puppets - For your littlest travelers, fun and friendly finger puppets will help distract them in between naps.
If you normally procrastinate with holiday travel plans, you might pay big time this year. Buying airplane tickets late this season can mean paying premium prices or not getting a seat at all on in demand flights.
According to AAA, more than 50 million Americans will fly for the holidays, but during the recession airlines have started offering few flights creating the perfect conditions for travel-induced migraines for travel procrastinators.
Travel experts suggest shopping now for holiday tickets and purchasing them before the end of the month.
With the flu, colds and everything else flying around as you fly this season, make sure you're armed with the tools to combat germs this season. Check out our small, travel-size hygiene personal care products that keep you clean on the go. They're TSA compliant, too, which means you don't have to worry about security.
Body Wash Soap Sheets
Shampoo Sheets
Hand Soap Sheets - Perfect for airplanes, fair grounds, concerts and more.
