Archive for the 'Good Morning' Category
Morning Links: American Eagle jets bump at LAX; United offers 20% off to Twitter followers; World Beard & Moustache Championships
May 22, 2009 8:47am
> Where’s the birthplace of Memorial Day?
> The World Beard and Moustache Championships will be held Saturday, May 23, in Anchorage. Defending world champion Jack Passion gets ready to help Beard Team USA beat its rivals, the German team.
> LAX: An American Eagle jet bound for San Diego bumped into a parked American Eagle regional plane while backing up Thursday. No one was injured.
> British Airways (pictured) announced a £401-million loss, or $638 million, the largest since it was privatised in 1987.
> United offers “Twares” — Twitter + fares = 20% off coach seats between the U.S. and Switzerland for following United on Twitter.
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images]
Space shuttle launch -– watch & listen to STS-125 from your desk via Twitter, Ustream, blogs & websites
May 11, 2009 10:15am
The Shuttle Atlantis is ready for liftoff at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I’d love to watch a space shuttle launch in person, but for now I’m doing all I can to watch it from my desktop. Here are some resources for you to get regular updates on the progress of the launch, even if you’re across the country stuck in a cubicle, then info on how to get tickets to Kennedy Space Center for the next launch.
Blogs & websites | Here are some blogs and websites to follow as you get ready for launch: NASA, NASA’s launch blog, Central Florida News 13
Twitter | One of the astronauts, Mike Massimino (a.k.a. @Astro_Mike), is twittering his experience as he gets ready for the launch. He told the local news — Central Florida News 13 — that he’s going to try to Twitter once he’s in orbit but that he expects to be busy and for us not to expect frequent updates. Other twitter accounts to watch on launch day include @NASA, @HubblePAO, @KSC_Updates, @KSC_MOCOP and @spacevidcast. Central Florida News 13 is live at Kennedy Space Center and twittering as well on @cfnews13. Another way to find new shuttle-related Twitters is to scan the Twitter Search results page for “shuttle launch” and “STS-125“. Bonus: Check out this Space Shuttle Launch tweet grid for tweets and local Twit Pic photos.
Ustream.tv | Dare I say, more exciting than watching a Twitter search stream is tuning into Ustream to watch the Astronauts prepare for the launch. Here is the STS-125 launch on Ustream.tv.
Listen | You can also listen to the Kennedy Space Center communications right on your desktop as they get ready to launch.
Share | I’d love to hear about Twitterers that we could follow that are watching from the ground at Kennedy Space Center, the visitor’s center, or camping along the Indian River or Beachline Expressway. Please share the folks you found to follow in the comments below.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Image: Ustream.tv]
The cost of flying to Mexico right now; Continental reduces flights
May 1, 2009 10:24am
Airline news | Continental Airlines announced that it will reduce its “capacity” to Mexico by half, effective May 4. This means it will lower available seat miles to Mexico by 50% and departures to Mexico by 40%. Continental will continue to serve 29 destinations in Mexico but will use smaller aircraft and/or reduce the number of flights to one destination. So far this change applies only to May. Continental customers can change their Mexico intineraries without fees through May 31, 2009.
Roundup: 13-year-old boy dupes security, parents; Virgin America SNA launch party; Google uses Flu Tracker to spot Mexico flu trends
April 30, 2009 9:28am
Family travel | You might not want to tell your kids about this. A 13-year-old boy stole his parents’ credit card, booked a flight, took the car and drove himself to the airport. Then he used his report card to get through security. Ken Weaver, who has Asperger syndrome, wants to be a pilot. And he flew from Boca Raton, Fla., to Chicago, then booked another flight to San Jose, Calif. Watch the video on Good Morning America to hear Ken’s parents talk about this adventure.
Orange County | Orange County’s John Wayne Airport gets two airlines starting service to San Francisco (SFO). Virgin America was first to kick off service yesterday with an appearance by its founder, Richard Branson, who got off the airplane wearing shorts, a big smile and carrying a body board. The launch at SNA resembled a club party with lounge seating, DJ music, tented bar area with signature drinks and cute girls bringing around hors d’oeuvres. Mocking SoCal a little bit, the event even had spray-tan and makeup stations. The women surrounding Branson in the photo above are actresses from “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Read Peter Pae’s article, “Virgin America Begins Flying Between O.C. and San Francisco.”
Travel tech | Google is using its Flu Tracker to help with flu information in Mexico. It is clear that these efforts are experimental. Reuters reports that Google saw a spike in flu-related searches last week before the news about the swine flu became widely known. View: Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo credit: Jen Leo]
Roundup: U.S. issues travel alert for Mexico; boutique hotel deals on Last Minute Tablet; last days of Newport Beach Film Fest
April 28, 2009 9:55am
Mexico | The U.S. Department of State issued a travel alert on Monday, recommending against all nonessential travel to Mexico at this time. Here is the CDC swine flu page that reiterates the same travel alert message. And in case you missed yesterday’s post, Swine Flu: 7 things travelers should know.
Hotel news | Have you seen the new Last Minute Tablet? Who would’ve thought that trendy boutique hotels would offer deals for last-minute travelers? They do for Tablet Hotels, the travel website that unlocks your animal splurge instincts. Seriously, I took a peek at its Los Angeles section and found rooms at the Hollywood Roosevelt marked down from $429 to $249, weekend nights at the Crescent in Beverly Hills (pictured) slashed from $290 to $150, and in New York I found a room at Gild Hall available for $159 (instead of $499) for the first Friday in May.
Roundup: Dalai Lama visits Santa Barbara; Offbeat Traveler photos of the Yellow Treehouse; L.A.’s Century Plaza Hotel to be leveled?
April 24, 2009 9:24am
California | The Dalai Lama is in Santa Barbara today and will speak at UC Santa Barbara on ethics and the nature of mind. His California stop is the beginning of a week long U.S. tour that will also include New York and Boston. In anticipation of his visit, monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery made mandalas at UCSB’s University Art Museum. See the photo gallery: Monks in Santa Barbara create a colorful welcome for the Dalai Lama.
Roundup: Myrtle Beach on Twitter + Sun News fire photo gallery; Lightning strikes in Philly and BMI
April 23, 2009 9:08am
Fire news | A fire is burning in North Myrtle Beach. The fire has already consumed 23 square miles and 70 homes. About 2,500 people in Barefoot Landing were evacuated. Shelters have been set up at North Myrtle Beach City Hall and the House of Blues at Barefoot Landing, as well as the Tilly Swamp Baptist Church. Here is a photo gallery of the fire from the Sun News and the Myrtle Beach Twitter Search feed. Myrtle Beach has a $16-billion tourist industry.
11 Earth Day travel links
April 22, 2009 9:09am
Happy Earth Day, travelers. Here’s a roundup of links of Earth Day topics, including travel blogs around the Net to help you lighten your pack, travel green and be kinder to the planet.
* Use Google Earth on Earth Day [Google Earth Blog]
* Empire State Building to go dark at 9 p.m. for Earth Day [Newyorkology]
* Earth Day Then and Now [National Geographic Traveler Intelligent Travel blog]
* Making Earth Day Like New Years: My 5 Earth Day Resolutions [Go Green Travel Green]
* National parks to get $750 million today [USA Today Travel]
Roundup: Southwest Airlines’ four days of deals; W Hotel Hollywood gets pre-launch buzz during Depeche Mode concert; London under $450 in August
April 21, 2009 9:12am
Hotel news | The new W Hotel Hollywood opening Oct. 29 is getting some pre-buzz surrounding this week’s Depeche Mode concert. Read: Hollywood Boulevard to close for Depeche Mode show
Travel deals | Keep your eye on Southwest Airlines. They’ve got a new four-day deal up their sleeve that will launch on April 24. Sign up for their Click ‘n’ Save e-mail updates to be the first to find out which destination will be in the spotlight first. Otherwise, check out their home page each day to see what the big special is. They also are giving away two round-trip tickets to any of their 67 destinations. If you can guess two of the four secret destinations in this four-day deal, they’ll enter you into the drawing for the tickets.
London gets even cheaper? | Monday we passed the word on about an Airfare Watchdog deal that showed round-trip London summer airfare for only $609 on Air Canada. This morning, they have London fares at $438 round trip (including tax) on British Airways. What’s the difference? This deal is for August. I tested the deal and found $68 tickets (plus $369 in taxes and fees) for a total of $437 Aug. 17-25. I tried British Airways for the July 20-29 dates I used Monday and got round-trip fares over $800.
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Image: StarwoodHotels.com]
Roundup: iPhone apps for road trips; L.A.’s best beer bars; $609 summer airfares to London
April 20, 2009 10:15am
Local | Are you feeling the record-breaking heat, Angelenos? Here’s a list of L.A.’s Best Beer Bars to help quench your thirst.
Travel deals | Roundtrip summer airfare to London is usually more than $800 and can easily exceed $1,000 after taxes. But things are different this year. Airfare Watchdog just found roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles (LAX) to London (LHR) for $602, including tax on Air Canada via Orbitz. I tested the deal in July and found a fare for $609 July 20-29.
