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A round up of some of the interesting, unusual and/or informative bits and pieces I’ve noticed around the web over the past week.
Emirates Takes A Dig At US Airlines With Aniston Ad
In truth it could be a dig at most airlines but with the recent history between Emirates and the big 3 US airlines the ad is probably aimed squarely at them 🙂
The iPhone Setting That Could Really Cost You
If you have an iPhone and if you take it abroad (or even if you use a lot of data at home) you may want to pay attention to this story.
A new setting set within the newly released iOS9, called “WiFi Assist”, instructs your phone to use 3G or 4G data if it believes your WiFi connection to be too weak/slow for whatever it is you’re doing.
The biggest issue is that, while WiFi assist is telling your phone to use all your data allowance, you’ll still continue to see the WiFi indicator at the top of your screen – so you’d never know what was happening.
Luckily it’s quite an easy process to switch WiFi Assist off:
- Open up your Settings on your iPhone
- Select Mobile/Carrier
- Scroll right to the bottom of the page where you’ll see the offending setting
4. Turn it off!
Menu From The Last Lunch Served On The Titanic Has Been Sold
As the article I’ve linked to says, you’ve got to wonder what sort of person has the presence of mind to grab a lunch menu from a ship that’s just hit an iceberg and is rapidly heading to a watery grave. Still, someone did and, as a result, the menu has now been sold for over $80,000.
Image courtesy of Lion Heart Autographs
British Airways A318 All Business Class Plane Now On Google Maps
While I’m not a fan of British Airways’ Club World product this is a plane I’d quite like to try – their all business class flight between London City Airport and New York. The seats are different from the Club World offering and I suspect the crew may be a bit more on top of their game for an all business class flight so the service should be pretty good.
Business class seats on the British Airways all-business-class A318
Nevertheless, if you don’t feel like paying for a seat on the aircraft you can now have a look around it on Googlemaps.
You can start from the outsider of the aircraft HERE….
…before moving up the stairs and into the cabin….
It’s just a bit of fun but it’s also a pretty good advert for British Airways. I suspect that this is the closest most of us will ever come to flying in something approaching a private jet (yes, I know it’s still a distance from a private jet) and the seat looks quite good – perhaps this should be the next flight I should be looking out for the next time a sale comes along.
Netflix Coming to Virgin America
This bit of news has been around for a few days now but I’ve only just had a chance to look into it…and it looks good.
From 29 September Netflix and Virgin America are offering new and existing Netflix subscribers the opportunity to access the entire Netflix catalogue onboard select Airbus A320 aircraft.
From the details provided in the press release it looks as if new users can sign up for a 30-day free trial while the service will be free for existing users up until 2 March 2016. But they appear to be leaving themselves open to charge from then on (bolding mine):
Guests on aircraft equipped with the new ViaSat WiFi service will be notified by the Virgin America in-flight team that they can access high-speed WiFi. Guests can then open their browser and login for free by selecting the “VirginAmerica” ViaSat network and will then be prompted to either login to their existing Netflix account or to create a new, 30-day free trial account, after which they will then be connected to the Netflix service at 35,000 feet, just like they would on the ground. Existing account holders will be able to access Netflix through their mobile device, tablet or laptop onboard ViaSat equipped Virgin America aircraft at no additional cost through March 2, 2016, while new members can sign up to enjoy a free 30-day free Netflix trial – good for use both in the air, on Virgin America’s ViaSat-equipped aircraft, or on the ground.
The bolded portion suggests that existing users may have to pay extra for this service in the air from 2 March 2016 but there isn’t, as yet, any indication of what that cost will be.
The aircraft that will offer this service will be the new Airbus A320 aircraft that are just beginning to be delivered to Virgin America equipped with the latest ViaSat Wi-Fi equipment. In total Virgin America is receiving 10 of these aircraft between fall 2015 and mid-2016 .
As well as the ability to stream Netflix programs, the new Wi-Fi technology onboard the A320s will give passengers connectivity that is between 8 and 10 times faster than other existing onboard Wi-Fi systems. Just like with Netflix, onboard Wi-Fi will also be complimentary until 2 March 2016.
The press release mentions that they expect to take deliver of one new A320 per month until all ten are delivered but there’s no mention of what routes the first aircraft will fly.
180-Metre (600f) Glass-Bottomed Suspension Bridge Opens In China
I’ll let the pictures do the talking…..but I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be walking across this thing!
All photographs ChinaPhotoPress/Getty Images
Baggage Fees Too Much? This Company Will Pay To Advertise On Your Luggage
Orion Tech Travel are introducing an innovative way to help travelers combat the cost of baggage fees – advertising.
It’s not actually your luggage that the advertising will appear on, rather it’s the luggage that the company will send you one you sign up.
How It Works:
Passengers sign up to the program with Orion and, the first million people that sign up get this:
A lifetime membership into the Orion Global Enterprise.
One set of two piece, high gloss, all plastic, four wheel trolley luggage in sizes of 21 inch carry on and a 25 inch expandable to 28 inch when you want to pack more souvenirs from your trips.
A round trip baggage fee of $50.00 will be loaded onto an Orion Gift Card and can only be used at the airlines ticket counter when you check you luggage. It will correspond via a UPC code to the 25 inch luggage of the 2 piece set. When your ready to travel again, email us and we will reload it for you. You can travel as much during the year as you want. If a family of five are going on a trip, you save $250.00. Yes, the entire family can sign up. Even Grandma and Grandpa!
Please note: Luggage for the first two ad programs begin February 15, 2016.
In November you will be sent an email that will give you a choice of programs. You will choose your personalized side of the luggage from 10 different graphics. This will allow us to ship directly from the luggage factory. These high quality graphics are not a wrap they are molded into the plastic and will be there forever.
It takes 32 days to manufacture this many luggage sets.
It takes 21 days to ship to two different ports in the USA.
It takes another 7 days to ship directly to your home.
Screenshot from the Orion Travel Tech website
Note: Membership of the program costs $19.99/year with the first 6-months free.
The full info about the program can be found on Orion’s website HERE.
[…] from the Titanic sells for $23,000 – Early last month a menu from the Titanic sold for over $80,000 and now a cracker from the doomed liner has gone under the hammer […]
[…] the beginning of October, buried in one of my travel roundups, was a piece on how you could explore a British Airways A318 all business class aircraft on Google Street View. The technology is pretty cool and you can “wander” through the cabin, looking around, […]
[…] from the Titanic sells for $23,000 – Early last month a menu from the Titanic sold for over $80,000 and now a cracker from the doomed liner has gone under the hammer […]