AOL Travel Ideas

American Airlines Invites Social Media's High Flyers Into Its Elite Lounge

AOL Travel Staff — 2013-05-09T17:35:00+00:00

Airline lounges have long been the exclusive province of the high rollers willing to spend hundreds of dollars for the privilege of waiting for their flights in comfort. But they'll soon be joined by another kind of elite traveler: The person who's really popular on the Internet.

On Tuesday, American Airlines launched a new promotion that grants access to its Admirals Club - which has free WiFi and complimentary booze and snacks - to travelers who wield the most influence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. To do so, it will team up with Klout, a service that measures just how big a player you are in the online world.

-- View the full story on DailyFinance.

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Flying High with Used Cooking Oil, Canola Oil -- or Pot?

Harriet Baskas — 2013-04-22T11:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, EcoTravel

We know pot can get you high, but can it also help airplanes fly? A biofuel company in Washington thinks so.

The Evergreen State recently legalized the personal use of marijuana and officials are hammering out the rules for governing how commercial growers will farm and sell the cannabis to be sold in-state.

Washington pot farmers will have plenty of unused stalks and other plant material left over after harvest and the folks at Ballard Biofuel in Seattle don't want all that potential energy to go to waste. They think they can make it into high-quality jet fuel.

The company already sells soy-based hydraulic oil and other biodegradable, plant-based lubricants and fuels for use in industrial machinery. Now it is working on securing cash backing to build a bio-plant that can convert the leftovers from what is expected to be a hefty, legal marijuana market into jet fuel.

More: 10 Innovative Green Hotels in the U.S.

"A lot of airlines would love to have renewable fuels in their jets," says Joseph Koniak, spokesperson for Ballard Biofuel. "And the potential customers we've talked to don't have a problem with marijuana waste being used as [raw material]. It's just making sure the quality is high enough for jet fuel."

After all, notes Koniak, if your put a bad batch of bio-diesel in your car and it breaks down, it can be a hassle. "But if you have a bad batch of biofuel on an airplane, it's going to be an emergency," he says. "So any alternative jet fuel has to be excellent."

Fuel is subject to erratic price changes and represents the largest piece of most airlines' budgets. And despite energy-saving improvements in the design of airplanes and airplane engines, commercial aviation burns gobs of conventional jet fuel and emits vast quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2).

To address some of those issues, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the aviation industry has voluntarily committed to achieving a 1.5 percent improvement in efficiency through 2020; carbon neutral growth starting in 2020; and a 50 percent reduction in net carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

"Biofuels are seen as crucial to achieving these targets," says IATA spokesperson Perry Flint. "And the industry is focused on sustainable, drop-in biofuels that do not compete with food crops for water or soil."

More: Green Travel: After Devastating Tornado, Kansas Town Re-emerges 'Like No Other Place In America'

To that end, the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) was established in 2006 and, since then, plants, woody biomass from forest products, algae, municipal waste, recycled vegetable cooking oil, animal fats and sugarcane have been considered or tested in aircraft in search of safe, alternative, sustainable biofuels.

Tests using blends of conventional jet fuel with alternative biofuels began in 2008 with a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight that used coconut and babassu palm oil. Since 2011, when the American Society for Testing Materials certified a few types of biofuels for use on commercial jets, there have been more than 1,500 flights on United, Alaska, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air New Zealand and several other airlines using a mix of traditional and low-carbon alternative fuels.

The most recent demonstration is currently underway. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is operating a weekly flight between JFK International and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport using fuel obtained from used cooking oil.

"There is no silver bullet," says Flint. "Biofuels work. But for them to become a viable alternative to fossil fuels, production has to take place on an industrial scale, supplies have to be made widely available and costs have to drop."

For now, the process remains complicated and still quite expensive.

"These alternative fuels have to be specially made and the cost now is about six to eight times higher than [that of] conventional jet fuel," says Carol Sim, director of environmental affairs for Alaska Airlines. Even if an airline signed an order for a large amount of a specific jet fuel alternative today, Sim says, "a supplier would need time to ramp up production and would probably not be able to deliver a reliable supply for a few years."

That may be why "airlines continue to hesitate a little bit because there's still work being done to mature the technology and the supply chain," says CAAFI executive director Steve Csonka.

But the dedication is there and definitely moving forward.

"Passengers are increasingly interested in things they can do to reduce their impact on the environment. And travel is one of those thing they can influence," says Jimmy Samartzis, managing director of environmental affairs and sustainability for United Airlines.

"Passengers care. Our company and others care," says Samartzis. "We hope passengers recognize that and it makes them feel better not just about what we're doing with our aircraft but what we're creating for the future."

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Virgin America Tops List of Best Airlines; United Ranks Last

AOL Travel Staff — 2013-04-08T16:31:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel

The report ranked the 14 largest U.S. airlines based on on-time arrivals, mishandled bags, consumer complaints and passengers who were bought tickets but were turned away because flights were over booked.

Airline performance in 2012 was the second highest in the 23 years that Wichita State University at Omaha in Nebraska and Purdue University in Indiana have tracked the performance of airlines. The airline's best year was 2011.

Read the rest of Virgin America Tops List of Best Airlines; United Ranks Last on AOL's Daily Finance.

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Travel and the Sequester: What You Need to Know

AOL Travel Staff — 2013-03-04T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel

The sequester - $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board spending cuts in U.S. Government spending - officially began last Friday at 11:59 p.m. In the pre-sequester debate, many pointed to the travel industry as an area that would be hit hard by cuts. The FAA would suffer $600 million in cuts, which would affect air-traffic control staffing. Within terminals around the country, it was suggested security lines would grow and flights would be delayed.

Now that the sequester is here, what's happening? Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said this morning at a Politico playbook breakfast that longer lines at airport security checkpoints could be blamed on the sequester. She said lines are"150 to 200 percent as long as we would normally expect." Elsewhere, the Department of State announced its passport agencies will be closed March 9 due to the cuts.

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This Man Earned 4 Million Airline Miles by Buying Dollar Coins

AOL Travel Staff — 2013-03-01T10:49:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel

Brad Wilson's scheme involved using rewards cards to buy money directly from the U.S. Government.

"The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 sought to put dollar coins into circulation by allowing citizens to buy the coins directly from the Mint's website at face value," Matt Brownell writes at Daily Finance. "Shipping was free, and the website accepted credit cards. So Wilson pulled out his rewards card and bought nearly $3 million in coins."

Check Daily Finance for the rest of Brownell's fascinating story.

[Photo: Brad's Deals / YouTube.com]

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American Airlines and US Airways to Merge

AOL Travel Staff — 2013-02-14T13:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel

The $11 billion dollar deal announced today combines American Airlines and US Airways to create the world's largest air carrier. The new airline is expected to keep the American Airlines name.

As for what the merger means for travelers, Daily Finance runs down what should happen to frequent flyer miles, routes, fees and ticket costs.

In the story on Daily Finance, Airfarewatchdog's George Hobica says the merger could cause a ripple effect in the industry: "'Airlines hate to be No. 2,' Hobica said. For that reason, United and Delta might soon start looking to consolidate other small airlines, such as Frontier, Alaska and Hawaiian, to earn back the top spot in the industry. United's already taken Continental under its wing (thought it wasn't exactly a smooth transition)."

Not much should change soon, though. The merger could take a while to complete.

For more on the American Airlines-US Airways merger, watch the video below.

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Guns at the Airport: TSA Catching Firearms at Record Pace

Harriet Baskas — 2013-01-16T16:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel

Firearms top the list of items passengers are prohibited from taking past airport security checkpoints and onto airplanes. Yet, during 2012 that didn't stop travelers from trying to get more than 1,500 handguns and other firearms past Transportation Security Administration officers at U.S. airports.

"It's definitely more than previous years," said David Castelveter, the TSA's director of external communications. He attributes the increased number of "catches" in part to "the continued vigilance of our officers and the higher volume of people traveling."

According to the TSA, last year 1,543 firearms -- 1,215 (78%) of them loaded - were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints at 199 of the nation's more than 450 commercial airports.

MORE: Guns in America: How Guns Affect Jobs, Money, Culture and Community in America

Most of the firearms discovered were handguns. One gun was found inside a hollowed out book at the Honolulu International Airport. A dissembled gun (and ammunition) was found hidden inside three stuffed animals at Providence T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island. And while some people certainly try to sneak guns past checkpoints, Castelveter says most travelers caught with firearms at airports claim they simply forgot they had the weapon with them.

"It perplexes us. But our role is to keep guns off airplanes to insure bad people don't try to do bad things to the American public," said Castelveter. So "no matter what the excuse," once a firearm is found in a carry-on bag "a passenger is turned over to local law enforcement, which determines whether or not to press charges," he said.

TOP FIVE AIRPORTS FOR GUN DISCOVERIES

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (where in 2008 officials tried - and failed - to have the entire airport declared a gun-free zone), transportation security officers (TSOs) reported finding 95 firearms in carry-on bags at checkpoints during the past year. That secured ATL, the country's busiest airport, the number one position on the 2012 list of "Top 5 Airports for Gun Discoveries" posted on the TSA's blog.

Other airports on the "Top 5" list include Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (80 firearms), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (54 firearms), Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (52 firearms) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (42 firearms found).

At ATL, anyone without the authority to travel with a firearm who attempts to take one through a checkpoint is arrested and charged with possession of a weapon in a secure location and taken to the county jail.

"I believe the majority of people simply made a mistake and forgot the gun was in their bag," said Major Lane Hagin, commander of the airport section of the Atlanta Police Department, "And I'd like to think nothing more nefarious is going on. But people try law enforcement every day to see where the holes are. So who knows?"

In Arizona, where residents 21 and older do not need a permit to carry a concealed weapon, no criminal charges were made in 2012 against any of the 54 travelers TSOs discovered with a firearm in a carry-on bag at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).

As with many other airports, "the majority of our cases are folks who say they forgot they had a firearm in some sort of carry-on, pack or bag," said Sergeant Trent Crump, spokesman for the Phoenix police department. At PHX, when a TSO discovers a firearm, "what we really look at is culpability," said Crump. "Was the person hiding [the firearm] in some sort of compartment or some sort of container that looked like they were trying to get it through? Just because someone has [a firearm] doesn't mean it meets the element of a criminal offense" in Arizona.

For that reason, Crump said a firearm found at a checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor is usually returned to its owner. And "if the owner has the ability to secure the weapon," i.e. place it in checked luggage, they can usually travel on a later flight.

GUNS AND AIRPORTS IN 2013

In response to the Newtown school shootings, President Barack Obama has put new gun control laws on the table, including a universal background check and an assault weapons ban. But Adam Winkler, a constitutional law professor at the UCLA School of Law and the author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America," says he hasn't heard any new proposals for banning guns in the pre-security areas of airports.

"People are talking about more broad-based types of laws," said Winkler, "But if there was a mass shooting in a non-secure area of an airport, you'd hear it being discussed. It's clear TSA has the authority to issue broader security commands to airports that include the public areas and that Congress could ban guns in these areas."

In the meantime, TSA continues its efforts to keep firearms (and other prohibited items) from passing through airport checkpoints.

In the first two weeks of January 2013, 49 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at U.S. airport checkpoints, including one handgun at the Atlanta airport and two at Phoenix Sky Harbor. During the first two weeks of 2012, 38 firearms were spotted in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints.

-- Harriet Baskas reports on airports, air travel, museums and many other topics for a variety of outlets, including her blog, Stuck at The Airport.

[Photo: TSA]

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Gerard Depardieu Pees on a Plane (Not in the Bathroom) (UPDATE)

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-19T10:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, Weird, Celebrity

UPDATE, 8/19: Depardieu has apologized, via his flying companion, for peeing on the plane.

Fellow actor Edouard Baer was flying with Depardieu when the incident occurred. In a statement, Baer said that Depardieu has "prostate problems" and he had not been drinking at the time, the BBC reports.

The statement read: "Gerard was upset at this and offered to clean up the mess. He has prostate problems and it was very worrying and humiliating for him. He was also stone-cold sober at the time. This is not the way he usually behaves."

Depardieu was removed from the flight and caught a later plane to Dublin.

Previously, 8/17: The French actor Gerard Depardieu gave the passengers on a CityJet flight from Paris to Dublin quite the show on Tuesday when he reacted to the news he would not be allowed to use a bathroom until after take off by urinating on the plane's carpet in full view of the cabin.

The story broke when an eyewitness went on the French radio station Europe 1 and recounted Depardieu's urinary performance. The witness said that Depardieu begged a stewardess to let him in the bathroom, saying "Je veux pisser" repeatedly.

The stewardess asked the actor to wait fifteen minutes for the plane to reach its cruising altitude. Depardieu, who the witness claimed -- believably -- seemed drunk, declined to do so.

"There and then he did it on the floor..." the witness said. "No one said anything. It all happened with courtesy."

After Depardieu relieved himself, the plane returned to its gate, where a grounds crew reportedly spent two hours cleaning up the mess.

A CityJet spokesman confirmed to Agence France Press that the incident had taken place, but did not say whether Depardieu had been been removed from the plane.

Gerard Depardieu, who runs a vineyard when he isn't acting, has a reputation for drunken antics. In 2009, he literally beat up a car near his home -- smashing the windshield with his fist -- and in 1990 was convicted of drunk driving.

The actor's turn in the role of public urinator is just the latest instance of what seems to be a growing trend: peeing-on-a-plane stories. A drunk skier may have peed on a sleeping 11-year-old last week and, in June, a drunk Jetstar passenger relieved himself in the aisle of a Singapore-bound jet.

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'Galactic Cosmic Rays' Threaten Fliers Health, Claims Scientist

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-18T09:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

maz.nu/Flickr

A British solar scientist is warning long haul fliers that they may be subjected to cancer causing cell damage on flights near the poles due to an increasing number of solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays.

The alert, which sounds like something out of an early James Bond film, is based on shifts in solar weather.

According to Mike Lockwood, a Professor of Space Environment Physics at the University of Reading, the sun has spent the last decade spitting out flares and superheated gas and is about to transition into a period of relative calm. That transition, according to Lockwood, will be marked by highly irregular behavior during which gas particles will shoot from the sun towards Earth.

These gas particles can be carcinogenic, so Lockwood is urging those who frequently fly the long routes over the North Pole region - Seoul to New York, London to San Francisco, Chicago to Moscow - to get regularly tested for cancer.

Writing in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Lockwood claimed: "The supersonic nature of the solar wind means open solar flux can only be removed by near-Sun magnetic reconnection between open solar magnetic field lines."

Obviously.

Lockwood dumbed it down a bit for the Daily Mail, saying "Analysis shows that the risk of the space-weather effects is considerably enhanced over the next century compared with the space age thus far."

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Fear of Flying Gets Woman Lighter Sentence For Drunken Plane Incident

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-16T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

twicepix/Flickr

An English woman's fear of flying got her off the hook on Monday as a judge refused to send her to jail for drunkenly brawling with other passengers and the crew on an EasyJet flight.

Lynn Grimes, a 41-year-old woman who was returning to Manchester from vacation in Athens on December 7, spent most of her flight back to England sitting with the cabin crew, who she had told she didn't fly well, and drinking wine. When she was told to return to her actual seat for landing, she was less then pleased and more than tipsy.

According to the Daily Mail, Grimes grabbed one passenger by the hair and kicked a steward in the stomach. He refusal to sit forced the pilot to abort landing until she could be calmed down.

Grimes pleaded guilty to endangering an aircraft and two counts of assault, normally more than enough to earn passage to the clink, but judge Jonathan Geake said he wouldn't imprison somebody who "simply panicked."

Grimes' lawyer claimed "She was at the time very apologetic and severely embarrassed by her behavior." The lawyer also noted that she has since flown to Greece multiple times "without incident.:

Grimes received a 18 month suspended sentence and an appointment with a medical professional. She also serve 60 hours of community service.

Grimes joins a growing list of drunken airplane passengers. In April, a drunk American Airlines passenger forced an emergency landing after he became unruly. On May 3rd, a drunk Air France passenger claimed his name was bin Laden while trying to get a boarding pass for a flight to Paris. On May 4th, a drunk British Airways passenger groped a flight attendant as she served him coffee. In June, a drunk Jetstar passenger urinated in the plane's aisle. And just last week, a former Olympic hopeful reportedly drunkenly peed on a girl on a redeye JetBlue flight. The girl's family has come forward saying he peed on the aisle, not their beloved 11-year old.

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Robert Vietze, JetBlue Passenger, Pees On 11-Year-Old Girl On Flight (UPDATES)

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-16T08:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News, Video

HeatherHeatherHeather/Flickr

UPDATE, 8/16: The teenager allegedly caught urinating on a young girl on a JetBlue flight last week was actually relieving himself on the floor, claims the girl's family.

According to The Oregonian, the family released a statement that Robert Vietze was actually peeing on the floor next to their daughter's seat - not on their daughter.

"While family members have cooperated with authorities in the investigation, they neither welcome nor encourage further publicity," The Oregonian reports. "The family's main concern is the welfare of their daughter."

After being taken into custody Wednesday, Vietze was issued a federal summons for misdemeanor indecent exposure. If convicted, he could face a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison.

Before flying, Vietze admittedly consumed five to six beers and two rum and cokes before boarding his flight. The alcohol apparently "hit him" while in the air, and he walked to seat 15A (where the girl was sitting) and relieved himself. When confronted by the girl's father, Vietze said "he had an accident," reports the paper.

--------
UPDATE, 8/12: 18-year old Robert Vietze was a member of the U.S. Ski Team. He has seen been kicked off the team. He is (was) considered one of the most elite skiers in the nation.

The New York Post reports that Vietze was returning from a training camp at Oregon's Mount Hood when the incident occurred. Vietze was in the running for the 2014 Olympics, but is name was removed from the team's development roster on Thursday.

"We have no comment, nothing to say," Vietze's mother told reporters outside their Vermont home.

The kicker? Turns out the girl was with her father, a Stage 4 cancer patient, and sister on the way to visit her grandmother in Long Island for the first time since her father's diagnosis.

--------
PREVIOUSLY, 8/11: A drunk male passenger was caught peeing on a sleeping 11-year old girl on a JFK-bound JetBlue flight on Wednesday.

18-year old Robert Vietze of South Warren, Vermont was on a red eye flight from Portland, Oregon when he started peeing on a sleeping 11-year old girl who was traveling with her sister and father, the New York Post reports.

Vietze was drunk, having consumed eight drinks, and stumbled five rows behind him (presumably towards the bathroom?!) when he started peeing on the girl. The girl's family was using the bathroom at the time.

"I was drunk, and I did not realize I was pissing on her leg," the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Vietze told law enforcement.

The unidentified girl's father caught Vietze peeing on his daughter and started screaming, "F--- that kid! I don't want him near my family!" a fellow passenger told the Post.

Flight attendants separated the father and Vietze, whom they moved to the back of the plane. They also tried to clean up the pee with soap from the bathrooms.

Yet the already exciting flight was far from over. An hour before the plane landed, another passenger started complaining of chest pains and vomited. The pilot addressed the plane, asking "Is anybody on this flight a nurse or doctor? We have a medical emergency." Yet no one stepped forward so flight attendants worked to keep him calm.

A witness told the Post that the pilots "kept coming out of the cockpit to talk to the flight crew about what was going on."

Six Port Authority cops greeted the plane when it landed at 6:30am. Two helped the sick passenger while four carted Vietze into custody.

Vietze has been issued a federal summons for indecent exposure.

This is not, surprisingly, the first time a passenger has peed on another under the influence of alcohol. Back in June, a drunk New Zealand man on a Jetstar flight from Auckland to Singapore peed on the plane's carpet, a man's leg and a woman's scarf after drinking whiskey out of Burger King cups with friends. The man, Michael Aitkin, eventually came forward and apologized profusely to his fellow passengers for his actions.

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The "Sleepbox" Makes Airport Dozing More Comfortable

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-15T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, Arts & Culture

YouTube

A Moscow airport eager to cater to tired travelers has installed the "Sleepbox," a modular dorm room, in a terminal so travelers can get a little shut eye while waiting for the final boarding call.

The box, a brainchild of the design firm Arch Group, is essentially a tiny cabin with bunk beds and mood lighting. The BBC reports that the Russian design team is hoping that its boxes will be installed in terminals where travelers will be able to rent them for short periods of time.

By-the-hour hotel rooms may not have the best reputation, but the BBC reports that the "Sleepbox" is proving popular with Russian travelers. Though the current model being used in the airport is actually built for hostels (thus the bunk bed), Arch Group has designed a one-person model specifically intended for airport use.

The single person pods will have Wifi connections, a tv screen and easily adjustable lighting.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Helicopter Pilot Jailed for Sugary Pacific Island Detour

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-15T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

Kirti Poddar/Flickr

An Australian helicopter pilot got more than he bargained for when he landed on the Pacific island nation of Nauru in search of a snack.

The 24-year-old pilot and his companion, stir crazy from months stationed on a fishing vessel in open water, hopped a helicopter and headed to the remote Pacific island nation in search of a snack.

The pair parked their ride on a beach and hit Nauru's main supermarket to stock up on chocolate and soda. Island police were waiting when they returned to the helicopter. They were arrested and the helicopter impounded, reports Agence France Presse.

After spending a night in Nauru's slammer, the pilot and passenger face a $100,000 fine for unauthorized landing and breaching the island's immigration act.

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Shanna Marie McLaughlin, Playboy Playmate, Arrested For Trying To Bring Gun On Plane

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-10T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

WKMG

Shanna McLaughlin, a former Playboy Playmate and current graduate student, was arrested on Monday night at Orlando International Airport for trying to board a plane with a concealed weapon.

McLaughlin, aka Playboy's Miss July 2010, was headed to Los Angeles for a photo shoot, local Orlando station WKMG reports.

McLaughlin, a graduate student at University of Central Florida, was passing through security when a TSA officer saw what appeared to be a handgun in her bag.

When asked, McLaughlin "spontaneously" told the agent that it was her boyfriend's, she had no idea the gun was in her bag and that she does, in fact, have a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Nevertheless, the gun, a Ruger SAA .45 Colt was loaded with hollow point bullets. McLaughlin landed in an Orange County jail with a misdemeanor, and she has since been released, the Daily Mail reports.

There have been quite a few instances of loaded guns at airports this summer. On July 11, a man tried to steal a deputy's gun at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Later that month, a woman was arrested for trying to sneak past security with a loaded gun at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, while a United employee was accidentally shot by a hunting riffle at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans.

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Australia Tests Radiation Free Body Scanners

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-09T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

evawisten/Flickr

Now that the whole "nudie pic" situation has been cleared up, it seems the main concern surrounding airport body scanners is the radiation they emit.

But, at airports in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, tests were run in July on scanners that emit no radiation, reports the BBC. Instead, the T8000, developed by UK-based ThruVision Systems, uses a "passive" screening technology.

According to the company's website, whereas other scanners emit X-rays and "active" radiation, ThruVision's scanners do not "illuminate" people with X-rays, radiation or millimeter waves. Instead, they receive terahertz waves naturally produced by objects and people. When a concealed object blocks those waves, it appears as an anomaly.

And, regarding those invasive images, the T8000 doesn't capture or display intimate body details.

ThruVision's Director of International Business Development, Ron Frye, told the BBC that the scanner successfully spotted contraband on test subjects, though Australian authorities have not yet decided to permanently implement the T8000.

ThruVision is also being used in Bermuda. Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are considering using the company's scanners.

Let's hope these aren't the ones that were being set off by passengers' perspiration.

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Newark: America's Most Delayed Airport (UPDATE, VIDEO)

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-09T09:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

skyfaller/Flickr

UPDATE: Newark Airport, aka, America's most delayed airport, has gotten the Taiwanese animation treatment.

Newark's Liberty International Airport may just be the worst for travelers in America.

According to a new Wall Street Journal survey, 40 of the 100 most-delayed flights in America either depart from or arrive at the New Jersey hub.

Five of the top ten most frequently delayed flights originate or terminate at Newark and the top two most delayed flights are both Delta routes to Atlanta from the Brick City.

The Journal concludes that Newark's problem is two-fold: Many of the planes travel through the airport after experiencing delays in Washington D.C, and the airspace in the New York City area is the most crowded in the country.

WATCH the treatment below:

The Federal Aviation Administration has been redesigning air traffic pathways near the Big Apple for several years and was planning to implement a new system next year, a project that could face delays if the FAA shutdown continues.

In the meantime, travelers moving through Newark can think of the delays as an excuse to wander around the airport with the second worst facilities in America. Liberty International had lower satisfaction scores than only New York's LaGuardia in a J.D. Power and Associates study published last year.

The airports with the highest number of frequently delayed flights are (in order of likeliness travelers will end up sitting in uncomfortable seats sadly eating Cinnabons):

1) Newark's Liberty International
2) Chicago's O'Hare International
3) Boston's Logan International
4) New York's LaGuardia International
5) Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International
6) Miami International
7) Minneapolis-St. Paul International
8) New York's JFK International
9) Los Angeles International
10) Northwest Arkansas Regional

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Racy Cathay Pacific Cockpit Pictures Prompt Investigation (VIDEO)

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-08T09:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

YouTube

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways is launching an investigation into pictures that appear to show a pilot receiving oral sex from a flight attendant while in a commercial airplane cockpit.

Low quality photos of the act, featuring a woman in a red outfit not unlike those of Cathay Pacific's flight attendants and a pilot, have circulated through Chinese media. According to some reports, the two are a couple.

"We are conducting a full investigation into the matter and there are some indications that the female shown in the photos may be a member of our cabin crew," a Cathay spokeswoman told Agence France Presse. However, she added that, "There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the act took place in-flight, and there are no reasons to believe that any safety breaches have occurred."

The pilot, who is apparently not from Hong Kong, issued a legal letter to local paper Apple Daily saying the photos had been stolen from his personal computer and he had filed a police report.

According to GlobalPost, industry sources suspected the photos' release was part of a malicious stunt to hurt the company.

See a skillfully animated recreation of the incident in the video below.

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FAA Shutdown: Confusion Over IRS Refunds Continues

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-05T11:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

AP File

UPDATE, 8/5: While the Senate will vote on a bill to end the shutdown, travelers who have been confused about that 7.5% tax will probably continue to struggle to figure out just what they owe or what the government owes them.

CNN, however, has come up with some ideas for befuddled passengers. If you bought your ticket through a travel agent, ask him or her for help getting a refund (but wait until you've completed your trip). If you booked through the airline, talk to them (even though they seem to have little grasp about what's exactly happening). In other words, CNN says, you are owed money in some capacity, so until this whole shutdown is completed and through, keep your travel documents and stay on top of the news.

Original text, 7/28: As the FAA shutdown heads into its sixth day, the IRS is asking airlines to refund taxes to fliers who bought plane tickets before last weekend and are now taking to the skies.

The shutdown, which is costing the FAA $30 million in lost revenue per day, has stalled airport projects across the country, leaving some 4,000 workers temporarily unemployed.

The IRS said on its website that airlines, though not required, can refund the taxes to passengers. American, United/Continental and Southwest are all directing customers to seek refunds with the IRS. JetBlue is asking customers to email the airline for a refund, the Associated Press reports.

The IRS states: "Passengers who paid for tickets on or before July 22, 2011, for travel beginning on or after July 23, 2011, may be entitled to a refund of the tax. Airlines are permitted to refund the tax to the passenger, just as they do in the ordinary course of business when issuing refunds for unused refundable tickets (including the associated taxes)."

It was reported on July 24th that several airlines had raised ticket prices to compensate for the tax loss, including American, United, Continental, Delta, US Airways, Southwest, AirTran and JetBlue. Delta told reporters on Wednesday that they are collecting between $4-$5 million extra per day, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

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Myrtle Rose, Chicago Grandmother Pilot, Gets Surprise Visit from F-16s

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-05T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

UNCCFCUSFK/Flickr

Myrtle Rose, a 75-year-old grandmother of nine and pilot, was intercepted by two F-16 fighter jets over suburban Illinois on Thursday when her small airplane crossed into airspace that had been restricted because of President Obama's arrival in the Windy City.

Not knowing that the sprightly young head of state was in town to celebrate his 50th birthday, Ms. Rose headed out on a leisurely afternoon flight without a radio before the jets suddenly - and loudly - materialized next to her and steered her back toward Mill Rose Farm Airport.

A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command told the AP that Ms. Rose was slightly shaken by the incident, saying: "Surprised was probably the right term."

Also shaken were the residents of the quiet town of South Barrington, who are somewhat unaccustomed to looking up and seeing fighter jets.

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RyanAir Gives Cardiac Arrest Passenger Sandwich, Charges Him For It

AOL Travel Staff — 2011-08-05T08:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Air Travel, News

Getty File

When Per-Erik Jonsson went into a cardiac arrest on a RyanAir flight from the U.K. to Sweden on Sunday, all the airline staff did was offer him a sandwich.

Jonsson, 63, broke into a cold sweat and asked his wife for some water roughly one hour into the flight, Sweden's The Local reports.

His wife soon realized that Jonsson had lost consciousness and alerted plane staff as Jonsson's stepdaughter, Billie Appleton, tried to rouse him.

"He didn't respond when I tried to shake him. But after I slapped him in the chest, he began breathing again," Appleton, who happens to be a nurse, told The Local. Appleton said she shouted for a doctor and told flight crew that Jonsson needed oxygen.

But the flight crew, Appleton claims, was ill-equipped to handle the situation. Instead, she says, the airline "said he had low blood pressure and gave him a sandwich and a soda."

Appleton slapped Jonsson on the chest to get him to breath again, news.com.au reports.

Once Jonsson had recovered slightly, the flight crew came to the family asking for payment for the sandwich and soda.

EU regulations mandate that cabin crew be trained in first-aid and pilots should alert air traffic control about a seriously ill passenger.

In a statement to The Local, Ryanair defended the cabin crew, saying they had acted appropriately.

"In line with procedures for such cases a Ryanair cabin crew suggested a diversion to the nearest airport or to have an ambulance on stand-by on arrival at Skavsta, so that the passenger could receive medical treatment," the spokesman said. Yet the Jonsson family says the airline did not, in fact, have an ambulance waiting and instead drove Jonsson to the hospital themselves.

"We want Ryainair to apologize," Billie Appleton told Fox News. As such, the family is considering legal action.

This is just the latest round of bad publicity for the budget airline and CEO Michael O'Leary (above). Lily Allen caused a bit of an uproar in June over boarding pass fees and there was, after all, a mutiny on a flight in the Canary Islands back in February.

More:

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