Taking off Travel blog

Happy Monday! Here’s a roundup of recent travel news stories.

Air Traffic Control Goes Virtual

Playing video games may provide valuable experience for when the next generation of air traffic control systems is fully rolled out. Currently in testing at the Florida NextGen Test Bed, the technology includes a virtual display, a joystick and 3D live data of the planes in the air and on the ground. This gives a more realistic and precise view of what’s actually happening and compares well with the radar systems currently in use, which are beginning to show their age. However, radar and satellite will continue to be used for backup.

The virtual imagery is one of the technologies being tested for the refurb of the National Aerospace System which will make more use of the technologies that most people are using in daily lives, such as GPS and SMS messaging for communication. In the end the overhaul should result in fewer delays, more direct routes and less holding time in the sky, with obvious environmental benefits.  More on that story on The Daytona Beach News Journal.

New Travel Discount Scheme

Small business travelers stand to save money with MHNsaves for business, launched last week. According to MHN, this is a different type of discount travel website, offering discounts of at least 5% off the lowest advertised prices for hotels. In addition you can combine your discount with discounts from AARP or AAA membership, earn your regular loyalty rewards and earn additional rewards with the site’s own cashback rewards scheme. You can redeem your MHNsaves points at any time. The site also allows rental car booking.

In the Clouds

And finally, how would you like to float on a cloud? This has nothing to do with William Wordsworth’s Daffodils poem, but with a design concept from Tiago Barros. With his Passing Cloud design, Barros sees us traveling in a set of lightweight balloons held together in the shape of a cloud, moving at the speed of the prevailing winds. Whether that could be the future of business travel, I don’t know but the concept is intriguing. Check out the photos here.

I’m always fascinated by the view from a plane. These days, when I travel with my family I don’t get the window seat any more, and even when I travel alone, I often opt to take the slight leg room advantage afforded by an aisle seat. But it was a nice change to have a window view when flying through the Caribbean recently. I’d like to share these photos with you.

In the next photo, I love the way the clouds look above the island.

Next up, more cumulus clouds – the Caribbean is a great place to see them – and you can’t beat the view from the air!

Rainbows fascinate me – and it’s not often you get to see this much of one from this high up.

Finally, here’s a view of the Barbados coastline.

When I was offered a guest post on the new Google Flight Search, I was happy to accept. Here’s what Josey Wales thinks.

Google’s acquisition of ITA for $700 million just recently gained approval from the Department of Justice after nearly a year of deliberations over whether or not there were grounds for an anti-trust lawsuit. Google will be using the purchase to develop its Google Flight Search, which promises to take the ease of a Google search and apply it to the flight-finding world with a powerful, but simple, user-oriented design. Competitors are shaking in their boots and they have the every right to be.

Several companies like Orbitz, Kayak, and Microsoft (through Bing) had access to ITA’s airfare search and pricing system prior to the takeover and tried to prevent the takeover by attempting to purchase ITA jointly. Those companies were not successful but they will retain their rights to the software and coding they currently have.

Google’s $700 million buyout of ITA will need to lead to serious innovation if Google wants to rise above its well-entrenched competitors. Interestingly, much of the business for companies like Orbitz had, in the past, and will continue to come through Google searches. It will be interesting to see if Google tweaks its algorithm to favor its own services.

Google used the acquisition to launch “Google Flight Search.” Some might say it does little to distinguish itself from other, similar services in the market but further analysis and an eye towards the future says otherwise. Google is promising innovation, as well as expansion, and by integrating the new start-up with their search portal and new social-networking venture, they intend to redefine the way people go about booking flights. Here’s what they have so far.

A Breakdown of Google Flight Search

• Enables users to view flights using text searches entered into the traditional Google Search Bar.

• Allows users to exclusively search for flights using “Google Flight Search,” simply by clicking the airplane labeled “Flights” in the left margin of the search page.

• Instantly finds “Return Flights” based on your choice of “Outbound Flights” and provides direct links to booking companies where you can make your purchase.

• Provides easy access to relevant filters like “Non-stop Flights Only” or “2 Stops or Less.”

• Makes it so you can easily view outbound and return flights comparatively (in terms of price, time, and stops) from several different airports at once.

• Gives you access to a clean-looking calendar, letting you view price variations in ticket prices on a day to day basis.

• Contains a bar chart for finding out which days have the best deals from each airport that you are viewing.

• Shows ticket prices for popular destinations based on your current location using an interactive map

• Provides search filters to help you narrow down your options while searching for relevant flights on the interactive map.

Expected Features to be Added in the Future

• Compatibility with more airports in the United States

• Compatibility with international locations

While most people are familiar with the rise of Google, from humble search engine beginnings to Google Earth, and now Google+, here’s a little info on ITA, which you might not know quite so much about.

Background on ITA

• ITA is a company that was founded in the 1990s by a few computer science graduates from MIT.

• The company creates innovative software solutions that make the travel industry, specifically airlines, more efficient.

• They attempt to improve the industry by partnering with travel companies like American Airlines and “helping them slash costs, simplify their business, and improve customer service.”

Responses to the take-over have been mixed. While some are excited to see Google’s take on travel optimization and the competition it brings, others worry about the quickly expanding company that seems intent on having its hands on every aspect of our online experiences. Only time will tell, though the price tag on the purchase seems to suggest that this will be a large commitment on the part of Google moving forward.

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Josey Wales enjoys writing and exploring the Colorado mountains. When he’s not on the mountain, he’s scouting out Vail lodging options for friends and family who request rentals in Vail for their next ski trip.

Traveling by air is the quickest way to get to any destination. However, even the most able of us find air travel a bit disorienting. It’s tougher for seniors, whose physical condition may not be up to long journeys by air. If you are a senior, provided that you are in relatively good health and follow the proper security measures, air travel will be a breeze for you. Here are 25 travel tips for seniors. (And even if you’re not a senior, there are still tips that could make your journey more comfortable.)

What to Carry on Board

1. Your carryon luggage should contain sufficient prescription medication to last for your whole air journey, plus a little extra in case of delays.

2. Carry original prescriptions for all the medications you bring.

3. Take any other specific medical instructions from your physician with regard to air travel.

4. Bring an identification card that indicates any ailment you suffer, such as epilepsy, diabetes or hypertension. The American Diabetes Association issues Diabetes Alert Cards to diabetic patients; these cards indicate patient’s medication schedules, dosages, emergency procedures and contact information.

5. Even if you have an alert card, list all your medications in clear English, along with dosages and schedules, just in case someone else needs to administer them to you.

What to Eat or Drink on Board

6. On a plane, the air is usually dry. Drink plenty of fresh water and juice to stay hydrated, even if it means repeated visits to the restroom.

7. Avoid alcoholic drinks at any cost, as they will further dehydrate you. Also avoid drinking coffee and tea.

8. Eat airline food sparingly and adjust your medications according to your diet.

9. Avoid eating oily fries, salted peanuts and anything that might interfere with existing conditions.

How to Deal With Jet Lag

10. Get a few hours of extra sleep before you travel and be well rested when you board the plane. This will help de-stress you and prepare you for the flight.

11. Do not drink alcohol for at least a day before your flight.

12. Eat small, well-balanced meals for a few days before your flight. Jet lag can cause fatigue, hinder regularity and make you irritable. Small, fiber-rich meals will keep your system working smoothly and help you deal better with jet lag.

13. Walk up and down the aisle in the airline. While standing, hold on to the seat in front of you, and bend each leg towards your stomach. Flex your toes and rotate your ankles every now and then. This will keep your blood circulation going.

14. When you get to your destination, follow the local meal and bedtime schedules. This will help you adjust more easily to timezone changes.

15. If you want to take any medications or alternative herbal preparations to help deal with jet lag, consult with your doctor first. Carry documentation for such medication with you.

How to Avoid Blood Clots and Ear Pain

16. Some people are prone to getting blood clots in their legs after long flights. If this happens to you, inform your doctor in advance and obtain the necessary medications. As a precautionary measure, get up from your seat and walk up and down every now and then.

17. Wear clot-preventing support stockings, drink tons of water and stretch and relax the muscles in your calves repeatedly.

18. If you are prone to ear pain during flights, take a decongestant medicine before boarding. Also chew gum so that you swallow often during the flight. The passage of air down your throat works to clear your ears.

Things to Tell The Airline

19. Inform the airline if you’ve had any emergency bypass surgery or if you’ve suffered a heart attack recently. In most cases, you won’t be allowed to fly if your surgery took place less than 3 weeks before the date of your flight.

20. You need to inform the airline you’re given to high or low blood sugar levels, hypertension, epileptic attacks and severe blood pressure variations.

21. Let the airline know in advance if your doctor recommends that you take oxygen during air travel. You may be charged a fee for the oxygen. Note that due to Federal air regulations, people are not allowed to carry their own oxygen units on airplanes. Make arrangements several days in advance to have oxygen ready on your flight, at the airport, and during layovers between flights.

22. Inform the airline in advance if you need a wheelchair for boarding and getting off the plane.

23. If you have special dietary restrictions such as a salt-free, gluten-free or a protein-free diet, inform your airline much in advance. You may be charged a fee for this facility.

When Not To Fly

24. If you are a hobby scuba diver, know that you should not fly immediately after scuba diving. Allow for a gap of 12 to 24 hours after diving to travel. If you find that your body does not adjust well to air cabin pressures even after 15 hours gap after diving, check with your doctor for more specific guidelines.

25. Accordingly to the American Medical Association, several conditions are contraindicative to flight. Commercial airlines won’t allow you to fly if you’ve suffered any of the following disorders, or undergone specific surgeries within specified timelines. Irrespective of whether or not you suffer from any of the disorders listed by AMA, consult your airline for their own list of flight contraindications.

a. Incidence of deep vein thrombosis 4 weeks prior to flight.

b. A mild or severe heart attack of 6 weeks before flight.

c. Incidence of stroke 2 weeks before flight

d. Severe high blood pressure

e. Thoracic surgery 3 weeks prior to flight

f. Unstable or erratic heart disease

g. Recent surgery of the eye or middle ear

h. Various lung problems including pneumonia, air between the lung and the chest wall, pulmonary cysts and so on.

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Teena Celis works for Adrenalin, which offers a wide range of driving and flying experiences including rally driving, helicopter rides, V8 race car driving and hot air ballooning all across Australia.

Image: Arvind Balaraman

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11, yesterday was a somber day for many of us. We can remember where we were when we heard the news (in my case, a house in England) and how those we knew were affected. But there’s also been a lot of reflection on how air travel has changed since that date.

One of the thought provoking pieces I read on this topic was on the FoxNomad blog, called The Negative Travel Effects Of 9/11 On Your Personal Security – Nearly 10 Years Later. As well as changes in the security of your luggage, the cost of travel and the loss of digital rights, Anil highlights a fear mentality that more often pervades travel today. The full post is well worth a read.

Others have discussed the fact that the skies just aren’t as friendly as before. This article in the Detroit News highlights changes including the inability to see loved ones off at the gate, the need to spend hours navigating the security measures, less leg room, more cost and – one that might have stayed beneath the radar – fewer bathrooms before security checkpoints in any new airport construction.

And some, like Chuck Smith in the Shreveport Times, discuss the fact that despite the restrictions, they feel no safer. In fact, many people feel like suspects, even though they have done nothing wrong.

If you missed any of the coverage, you can check out #GodBlessAmerica on Twitter to catch up.

And for the next decade of travel, there’s some qualified good news.  US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says that in the future you won’t have to take your shoes off (there’ll be shoe scanners). When that will be, we don’t know.