GeekSugar

A Pass That Offers Unlimited Lifetime Access to First-Class Travel

Emily Co — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:29:12 PDT

Imagine having access to a pass that lets you fly as much as you want. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that's the reality for the lucky few who own AAirpass, a pass that gets them an unlimited lifetime access to first-class trips on American Airlines.

The lifestyle of these privileged AAirpass holders was recently featured in an LA Times feature over the weekend. Apparently, American Airlines is losing millions of dollars from some of the heavy users of the AAirpass program. The firm decided to find ways to cancel some of their memberships and allegedly used dirty tactics such as bribery and extortion.

The program was started in 1981 as a way for the airline to raise money for expansion. Each pass started out costing $250,000 and came with the option of purchasing an additional companion pass for an extra $150,000. Of course, the price rose throughout the years, and the airline finally retired the program in 1994. However, it did make one last appearance in 2004 in a Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog for $3 million.

Here's what it's like to hold one of these passes:

"He was airborne almost every other day. If a friend mentioned a new exhibit at the Louvre, Rothstein thought nothing of jetting from his Chicago home to San Francisco to pick her up and then fly to Paris together.

In July 2004, for example, Rothstein flew 18 times, visiting Nova Scotia, New York, Miami, London, Los Angeles, Maine, Denver and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., some of them several times over. The complexity of such itineraries would stump most travelers; happily for AAirpass holders, American provided elite agents able to solve the toughest booking puzzles."

It sounds like a dream to be able to fly to any country you want on a whim - where would you travel if you had one of these passes?

How the American Airlines Bankruptcy Will Affect You

Emily Co — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:56:27 PST

There's always a feeling of confusion when a major retailer goes bust, but what we really want to know is what it means for us and how we'll be affected. American Airlines announced it was filing for bankruptcy this morning, which leaves loyal customers wondering what's going to happen to their miles and if it's going to be harder to book a flight with them. Here's a quick roundup of burning questions you might have:

Will American Airlines go out of business and stop flying?

When a company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it doesn't mean it's going to close shop and disappear. It just means the airline gets time off from creditors to do some financial reorganization. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, on the other hand, would mean that business would close. American Airlines has not filed for that, and there seems to be no plans to do so. Airlines such as Delta, Continental, and United have all filed for bankruptcy and are now stronger for it after taking the time needed during the bankruptcy period to put their books in order.

Can I still use my miles?

Yes, the airline says that the frequent flier program will not be affected, and you'll be able to redeem and use your miles. In the past, airlines that have gone bust, such as Pan Am and Eastern, transferred miles to the airlines that purchased some of their assets.

What's going to happen to my flight?

You don't have to worry about the tickets you currently hold, according to Rick Seaney, the CEO of FareCompare, a company that helps customers find air travel deals online. “Tickets won’t be an issue because of the kind of bankruptcy they’re filing,” Rick tells Time. The airline has also said it will continue to honor tickets and reservations.

Read on to learn how you should manage your miles.

Daily Tech: The Pogoplug Shares Content Via Four USB Drives

GeekSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:40:33 PST

The Pogoplug is a neat gizmo that allows you to share movies, music, or photos using four USB drives - Gizmodo
The BlackBerry Curve 8530 is now available from Verizon - RIMarkable
American Airlines has just launched a widget that will let you know if your plane has WiFi - Engadget
Check out the ultimate holiday smartphone buying guide - CrunchGear
Vive la France! Twitter is now available in French - TechCrunch
Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom for the Wii is a great game for kids ages 3 to 6 - USA Today

Ruth Reichl to Star in New Gourmet Travel Show

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:30:53 PDT

Looking forward to Bravo's Top Chef 6, Food Network's The Next Iron Chef, and the rest of Fall's food-focused lineup? Then there's one more show to TiVo. On Oct. 17, Gourmet magazine will debut a series on public television entitled Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth. On the half-hour show, editor Ruth Reichl travels the world visiting cooking schools with the likes of Frances McDormand and Lorraine Bracco. Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth will also air on Gourmet's TiVo channel, as well as the American Airlines in-flight television channel. At least 10 episodes will be backed by the airlines, whose sponsorship includes branding spots, ad pages in the magazine, and a presence on the website.

As Ruth Reichl's number-one fan, I can't wait to see this show - although I'm curious to know how different the point of view will be from its predecessor, Diary of a Foodie. Will you watch Ruth Reichl eat her way around the globe?

American Airlines Hopes Boston Market Meals Will Take Off

YumSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:00:16 PDT

Perhaps Virgin America's move to take flight with absinthe has inspired other airlines to focus on its in-flight services. American Airlines has announced that it will begin serving items from Boston Market on select flights.

Beginning tomorrow on flights to and from Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Hawaii, American will offer a bevy of menu items from the chain popular for its rotisserie chicken. The $10 selection includes the Carver sandwich, the Beef Brisket Grinder, and the Italian Grinder, as well as the Chicken Caesar, Market Chopped, and Italian Chopped Salads. The airline plans to serve the selection to additional routes starting July 1.

The familiar Boston Market brand could be welcome on airlines, which are not usually known for their selection of food. Still, even though I haven't been to a Boston Market in a while, I don't recall shelling out anywhere near $10 for a sandwich. Would you order Boston Market on your next flight?

Source

Daily Tech: Get Sirius XM Radio on Your iPhone

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:15:31 PDT

If you already have a Sirius XM subscription and can't wait for the official app to come out, a new app called Pocket Tunes Radio can tune into both Sirius and XM stations for $9.99. - CrunchGear
American Airlines planes to bring WiFi Internet connections to 300 planes that are primarily used in the US. - USA Today
Dell recently announced some new rainbow-colored desktops, which start at $300. - Wired
QuickPlay Media's PrimeTime2Go now makes full-length television shows available on the BlackBerry Bold and Curve 8900. - Engadget
A new bridge, which would connect two Microsoft campuses across a six-lane highway, is causing a lot of controversy since 50 percent of its cost is going to be paid by taxpayer dollars. - Switched

Front Page: Tornadoes, American Airlines, Petraeus Day Two, Nepal

CitizenSugar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:57:46 PDT

Several tornadoes ripped through West Texas and Oklahoma last night. Winds of up to 70 mph and heavy rains left one dead, at least five houses destroyed, and 3,500 without power. Flooding caused the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to close five highways in the state, while Arkansas also saw flash flooding.
American Airlines has canceled 900 additional flights today as it continues to perform safety inspections on certain jets. It's the third consecutive day of cancellations for American Airlines, who also canceled 1,094 flights on Wednesday and 460 flights the day before.

General Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, remained consistent in his second day of testimony before Congress with his recommendation to suspend troop reductions in Iraq. The recommendation shows that Iraqi forces remain unprepared to take over the mission of securing their own nation. Some questioning Petraeus became frustrated as he steadfastly declined to specify what conditions would need to be present on the ground before he would endorse withdrawals to take the number of American troops far below the 140,000 set to remain there after July. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed his frustration saying, “based on everything we have heard, we can reach only one conclusion: With 160,000 courageous American troops serving in Iraq, President Bush has an exit strategy for just one man - himself - on Jan. 20, 2009.”
Voters in Nepal have cast ballots in historic elections, the first since 1999. At question is an assembly that is expected to rewrite Nepal's constitution and abolish its monarchy. Polling was mostly peaceful, although one person was killed in election-related violence. Results are expected over the next 10 days.

Flying the Scary Skies? The Airline Industry Hits Turbulence

CitizenSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:22 PDT

Suddenly those gross, germy, blankets are the least of air travelers worries. The FAA is answering to Congress today over whistle-blower information surfaced casting doubt over Southwest Airlines safety practices.

The tip came from an FAA inspector who called out his bosses saying, "I'm here today because I'm concerned of the safety of the flying public which has been jeopardized by the abusive authority in violations of the federally regulations." He says Southwest pressured the FAA to hide safety problems. Insert the small tab into the buckle of your seatbelt, there's a ton more airline news, just

Also today, United became the latest major carrier to ground planes unannounced after failing to make required checks of the planes' fire-suppression system. (Southwest and American have both also grounded planes recently.) Aloha Airlines lei-d off 1,900 employees when it was grounded this week, and ATA skidded into bankruptcy, quitting today.

What's behind all the sky-bound turmoil? Is the FAA too easy on the airlines? Are consumers, constantly after bargain-basement fares, partially to blame?

Source

American Airlines Wants You To Log On In-Flight

GeekSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:00:58 PDT

While American car rental service Avis has been offering WiFi for their customers for some time, logging on in-flight isn't an amenity most American travelers have been able to savor - until now. Just days after Virgin America showed off its new, tech-infused planes, AirCell, a provider of aviation communications systems, announced it will join forces with American to test its new system for providing on-board Internet access.

According to Reuters, American will test the service on its 767-200 aircraft, which mainly flies transcontinental routes. Apparently Boeing has halted the use of its Connexion unit, which allowed airlines to provide high-speed Internet service to passengers, because it was too expensive and customers didn't want to pay for the usage. According to AirCell, its system will be less expensive - likely $100,000 per plane or $10 per flight.

Source

Virgin Atlantic Introduces In-Flight Calls - Uh-Oh?

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:11:02 PDT

The sweet sound of silence may be departing the friendly skies now that Virgin Atlantic has announced that in-flight mobile calls will come to at least 10 of the airline's routes by the end of this year. Even though Virgin has multiple US destinations, American law dictates cell service must be turned off within 250 miles of US airspace.

A company called AeroMobile will provide the in-flight cell access, which is only available for a limited bandwidth, meaning only a few lines can be accessed per flight. Virgin isn't the first airline to offer the power of mobile calls while en route to a destination: Qantas, Emirates, and Lufthansa also have AeroMobile on board.

With four airlines now offering passengers the opportunity to make calls in the air, is this the sign of an industry trend? How would you like an airplane full of telephone conversations on your next cross-country flight?

Photo Courtesy: Virgin Atlantic