I have seen the future and the future is....

Delta .... mobile check-in. Last week Delta started their new mobile check-in service, i.e. the ability to use your phone or PDA to check in. Of course anyone with mobile browser could check in on their PDA/smartphone, but you still need a boarding pass to get through security. Delta has made it easy by sending a bar-coded document to your device, which can then be scanned at a self-service check-in terminal for a boarding pass "re-print". According to the Delta email, they are working with TSA to allow the bar-code to be used instead of a paper boarding pass.

This mobile check-in is available in Europe, but I believe that delta is the first US carrier to implement here in the US. Another way to remove another hassle from our travel, thanks Delta!

Observations around seatbelt signs

I have noticed on flights in the last few months that people seem to be taking less and less notice of the "Fasten Seatbelts" signs. In fact, on today's flight, no sooner had the pilot warned of rough air ahead and switched on the sign, than people stood up and headed for the restrooms. Even during the chop (pilot-speak for rough air), people were getting up and moving around. Luckily the 'chop' was light or we might have had serious accidents.

In the past, if someone stood up while the seatbelts sign was on, a curt call on the intercom usually reverberated down the cabin, and you did not do that again! Nowadays the flight attendants do not seem to worry, or at least not worry until the plane is bouncing around so much that no one in their right senses wants to stand up.

I guess that it will take an accident, where a wanderer is thrown through the cabin, possibly even injuring other passengers. At that point, the airlines will panic and button everything down so that at the slightest tremor, the light will go on and the fight attendants will rush down the cabin checking to see that everyone is locked down.

Save a tree when flying commuter airlines

If you fly on commuter, or feeder, airlines (e.g. Delta Connection, NW Airlink, United Express), you will notice that your carry on luggage will begin to carry a forest of planeside check tags. I decided to stop this waste of paper and laminated tags for those airlines which I frequently fly commuter. In addition to the tags, I also laminated the tear-off stub, so that I have proof that the bag is mine.

Most comments that I have received from airline personnel have been quite positive. Only on NWA was I warned that, without a destination on the tag, it was in danger of ending up at the checked luggage area, rather than planeside. So I carry a whiteboard marker and write the destination airport code on the label. As soon as I pick up my bag, a quick wipe with a finger clears the tag, ready for the next trip.

Glory Effect

A couple of weeks ago, on a flight up to Detroit, I spotted this beautiful glory effect on the clouds below. Quickly snapped a shot using my Palm 750 to share with y'all.

Strange Coincidence

Three of us flew out of Winnipeg this afternoon, on our way home from the project. In Minneapolis, we split up to our respective destinations. By coincidence the three of us left from adjacent gates,
15, 16 & 17, in the space of about 20 minutes.

Minnesota's Newest Tourist Attraction

Apparantly there is a new tourist attraction at the Minneapolis Airport. Airport staff are receiving 3-4 enquiries per day, as to where the "Larry Craig stall" might be. For those of you who travel through MSP, it is in the main (shopping) concourse, close to the lottery booth. For those of you who do not visit the airport, or who cannot enter the room, above is a video of this new tourist draw.

Landmark Views

One of the benefits of my itinerant employment is that, occasionally, the view from my hotel window is of one or other well know landmark. (for those who do not recognise them, they are the St. Louis Arch and the CN Tower in Toronto).

Unfortunately, these kinds of views are fairly rare.