Pro-X-Travel

American Airlines Expands Cashless Cabins to All Flights

American Airlines, a founding member of the global oneworld Alliance, will be cashless onboard all flights. American will accept Citi/AAdvantage MasterCard, as well as other major credit and debit cards, for purchases made inflight. Cash will not be accepted.

In an effort to streamline the inflight sales process, American first implemented cashless cabins on flights within the continental United States, as well as flights to and from Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada in June 2009.

"The implementation of cashless cabins on select flights last summer has simplified the inflight transaction process for both customers and flight attendants," said Lauri Curtis, American's Vice President – Onboard Service. "For this reason, we look forward to going cashless onboard all American Airlines flights on Feb. 1."

Flight attendants utilize a hand-held Onboard Sales Recorder, devices American has used since May 2006, to charge credit and debit cards, eliminating the need to search for small bills or change. Receipts are provided to passengers upon request.

American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights will continue to accept only cash for onboard purchases.

SOURCE American Airlines

Delta Air Lines' Sky Magazine Looks at 'Our World Now' in Its January Issue

Annual themed issue features newsman Anderson Cooper, Bill Ford and Harrison Ford on the future of 'Electrification' and what will capture our attention in 2010

Sky magazine, the monthly business, travel and lifestyle publication of Delta Air Lines, has developed an annual themed issue, "Our World Now," beginning in January 2010. Each January, Sky's editors will look at global trends, issues, events, people and places they think will play a role in shaping the future.

A redesigned Sky magazine debuted in April 2009 under new publisher MSP Communications with the "Our World Now" concept. The theme translates well as an annual issue kicking off each year and speaks to the global scale of Delta. The "Our World Now" concept is a first for Sky and the in-flight category.

"Each month we aim to create a magazine that engages, informs and entertains our readers whether they're on a flight, reading it online or have picked it up on a newsstand," said Jayne Haugen Olson, editor in chief of Sky. "We're excited to create an annual signature issue that looks at the topics, places and people sure to create buzz in the year ahead."

The cover subject of the January issue is Anderson Cooper, the Emmy-Award winning CNN anchor who is interviewed by The New York Times media columnist David Carr. Also included is Sky's quarterly "Fame Exchange," featuring Harrison Ford and Bill Ford interviewing each other on the topics of energy, future technology and transportation; and an array of content dedicated to space, art, music, philanthropy and places of interest to global travelers. The issue also "Rediscovers Vancouver" in time for the Winter Olympics and offers a cheat sheet on what and who to watch in this year's Games.

Sky's redesigned content -- with its dynamic visuals and take-away essentials -- has struck a chord with readers, marketers and advertisers alike and was recently awarded Folio's Gold Eddie for Best Custom Magazine: Single Issue.

Sky is available onboard all Delta and Northwest Airlines' flights, on newsstands and online at www.deltaskymag.com. Following the April merger of the airlines, MRI (Mediamark Research & Intelligence) 2009 Doublebase numbers indicate the unduplicated net audience as 5.3 million readers per month -- 21% more than the next in-flight.

SOURCE Delta Sky magazine

United Airlines Introduces Try-Before-You-Buy Wi-Fi Promotion

Gogo Inflight Internet now available on all p.s. flights

 Just in time for the busy Thanksgiving holidays, United Airlines customers on transcontinental p.s. flights can enjoy a complimentary onboard Internet session with the new Try-Before-You-Buy promotion, offered in conjunction with airborne communications provider Aircell.

Through Dec. 31, first-time users of Aircell's Gogo Inflight Internet service will be offered one free session upon creating a new account.

Gogo enables customers with Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs to surf the Web, check e-mail, send and receive instant messages, and access a corporate VPN.

The service is available on all of United's p.s. flights between New York Kennedy and the airline's Los Angeles and San Francisco hubs.

"Gogo Inflight Internet service on our p.s. flights provides our customers with an even more productive and enjoyable travel experience," says Allen Will, managing director of strategic aircraft programs. "With Gogo Inflight Internet and an AC power port at every seat, p.s. customers will get more accomplished in the air this holiday season, leaving time for more holiday cheer on the ground."

For more information on United's inflight Internet service, visit united.com/Wi-Fi.

SOURCE United Airlines

Virgin America Teams Up With Google to Offer Free In-Flight WiFi for the Holidays

Airline and Web Technology Company Give Holiday Travelers the Gift of Connection with Free Gogo Inflight Internet

Virgin America, the airline that is reinventing domestic travel, today announced an exclusive partnership with Google to offer free in-flight WiFi to all of its guests during the holidays. The two California-based companies known for innovation, entrepreneurialism and for connecting people in new ways, have again joined forces to give Virgin America fliers the gift of in-flight connection during the holiday travel season. From Nov. 10, 2009-Jan. 15, 2010, guests on all Virgin America flights will be able to check email, gift shop online, stay in touch with family and friends via social media, or just go wherever the web takes them - all for free. In May, Virgin America became the first airline to offer Gogo® Inflight Internet service on every flight.

"Since the launch of WiFi on all of our planes, we've seen an overwhelmingly positive response from travelers," said Porter Gale, Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America. "We've found that both business and leisure travelers are using the service at a growing rate, and many consider the availability of in-flight WiFi one of the key factors in their booking decision. We're thrilled to team up with Google to deliver this special holiday gift to our loyal guests. We also hope it persuades more new users to try out the service -as once people try Gogo, they rarely go back."

Virgin America is the first airline to offer both standard power outlets near every seat and fleet-wide Gogo Inflight Internet service. The airline estimates that currently 12-15 percent of its guests are using the Gogo service. On some of the airline's long-haul routes (like BOS-SFO), the carrier is reporting that up to 20-25 percent of guests on a given flight are logging in.

"As millions of people pass through airports this holiday season in order to celebrate with their families, we wanted to give our users a gift - one that makes their travel easier and more convenient," said Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience at Google. "The fundamental power of the Internet is in connecting people, and we hope that having a free WiFi connection while enroute will make home and family seem that much closer."

A recent survey of Virgin America frequent fliers showed that guests are using WiFi in a variety of ways and consider the ability to stay connected a key in-flight amenity. Top-line results from the survey* include:

• More than half of respondents said that the availability of WiFi would influence their choice of airline.
• The availability of in-flight power outlets is also a factor for many in choosing to fly with Virgin America.
• 72% agreed that VOIP should continue to be blocked to keep the cabin environment quiet.
• 53% of respondents carry a laptop on board. Of those that connected to Gogo, 88% used a laptop.
• Email is the most popular activity while using in-flight WiFi, followed by working remotely and social media.

Although guests traveling on any of Virgin America's over 100 daily flights from Nov. 10, 2009-Jan. 15, 2010, will enjoy free web access via their laptops or PDAs, the Gogo service is normally available for $12.95 for flights of over three hours; $9.95 for flights between 1.5 and three hours; $5.95 for short haul flights of less than 1.5 hours and handheld/PDA pricing of $7.95 for flights over 1.5 hours.

Since launching in August 2007, Virgin America has captured a list of travel industry best-in-class awards, including "Best Domestic Airline" in Conde Nast Traveler's 2008 and 2009 Readers' Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure's 2008 and 2009 World's Best Awards. Virgin America offers travelers unrivalled amenities, low fares and high-tech features. Virgin America's mood-lit, custom-designed new cabins feature more comfortable, ergonomically correct leather seats and Red (TM) - the most advanced entertainment system in the U.S. skies. Red is a touch-screen seatback entertainment platform that offers 25 films, live TV, interactive Google Maps, music videos, video games, a 3000 MP3 library and more.

In November 2008, Virgin America launched Gogo Inflight Internet on its first flight with a first ever "air-to-ground" video stream to YouTube Live - YouTube's first official real-world user event. In May of 2009, the airline completed the roll-out of its WiFi service across its fleet and celebrated the milestone with a live streamed chat between Oprah Winfrey in her studio audience and a Virgin America plane at 35,000 feet over the California coast. In June 2009, the airline also teamed up with Google for the first-ever online and "in the clouds" web-based scavenger hunt, using in-flight WiFi.

SOURCE Virgin America

Southwest Airlines Takes Next Step Toward Wi-Fi

Southwest Airlines and Row 44 are continuing plans to roll out wi-fi beginning in the first quarter of 2010. Beginning this fall, Southwest will be moving to the next step of certifying Southwest's full fleet with plans to begin fleetwide rollout of the Row 44 satellite service in the first quarter of 2010. The airline has been testing the service on four aircraft since Feb. 2009 and has received fantastic Customer feedback on the product.

"We have concluded our testing for inflight wi-fi and are very happy with both the technical performance of the system and the response of Customers who have used it," said Dave Ridley, Southwest Airlines Senior Vice President of Marketing and Revenue Management. "We are pleased to be continuing with our plans to offer satellite-enabled broadband access through California-based Row 44."

"Row 44 is thrilled to be the in-flight wi-fi service of choice for one of the most Customer-focused airlines in the world," said John Guidon, Row 44 Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited about moving forward and delivering Southwest's Customers a rich menu of in-flight connectivity and entertainment options."

During the testing phase, Customers have been utilizing the service for anything from e-mail to streaming video. Those interested in using the service during the test period have had the opportunity to log on to the service via their own personal wi-fi enabled device (laptops, iPhones, wi-fi enabled smart phones, etc). Additionally, the airline has been testing a variety of price points for the service and will continue testing price points through the end of 2009.