Technology: Soon We'll Have Forgotten What Travel Was Like, Pre-Smartphone

Robert Buckman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:52:47 -0500

I haven’t found anyone who doesn't love their Apple iPhone. If you're a chronic traveler like me, what's so appealing, apart from the incomparable ease of use and Web surfing integration is the content. With 100,000 Apple App Store apps — many of which are downloadable for free — there are just so many ingenious new travel applications that I'm sure many travelers are getting hooked. I already am.

Technology: Mobile Apps Are Where It's At

Robert Buckman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:23:38 -0500

Travel is changing even as travel has slowed.

But actually that is typical for economic downturns — recessions are times when the pressure to innovate becomes most critical. Some of our greatest technological strides were made during the Great Depression, so the current flurry of new applications for smartphones and other mobile devices is not at all that surprising. Still, the speed of the change is breathtaking.

Technology: Mobile Boarding Passes: Convenience, or Technology for Technology's Sake?

Robert Buckman — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:09:29 -0400

When new software is introduced, such as whiz-bang applications for mobile devices, technology reviewers tend to focus whether it is the latest, greatest, or coolest thing to hit the market. Less often do you see reviewers take a step back and ask the forest-for-the-trees question, i.e., Do we even need this technology? What's driving it? Is it fixing something that is not broken? The big one for me is, Is it going to be more trouble than it is worth?

Technology: Transparency in Pricing Means Technology in Practice

Robert Buckman — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:51:52 -0400

Fliers increasingly are warming up to the concept of choice, aka à la carte, meaning paying only for those services you want in the airport or on the plane. But going à la carte comprehensively, that is, across hundreds of airlines around the world, is not as easy as it seems. New real-time booking technology is required to make that a reality.

Technology: The Wild Green Yonder

Robert Buckman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:54:05 -0400

In January, Continental Airlines became the first U.S. airline to test biofuel in a jet engine. The Boeing 737 used a B50 blend of jet-A, jatropha, and algae - so it was 50 percent conventional jet fuel and 50 percent bio-oil.

Technology: Alliances Make Economic Sense for Airlines and Fliers

Robert Buckman — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:10:23 -0400

Taking his cue from Don Quixote, James Oberstar (D-Minn.) is tilting at basic economic reality in seeking to roll back airline alliances. Evidently without analyzing whether alliances are good or bad for the airlines and their passengers, Oberstar is proceeding from the assumption that alliances strangle competition and thus must be bad for customers.

Technology: When Is a Cola Not a Cola?

Robert Buckman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:08:13 -0400

This month, Northwest Airlines' identity is merging with that of Delta Air Lines, starting with abandonment of the old Northwest uniforms. FoxBusiness.com reports that baggage counters, gates, and luggage claim areas are all being redone in Delta's flagship hues of red, white, and blue. But it will take until the end of next year to repaint all of Northwest's planes.

Technology: A380 Encounters Turbulence

Robert Buckman — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:38:36 -0400

Is the Airbus A380 a plane in search of a mission?

According to a report in The Straits Times, if not for the recession, traffic controllers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) might have to turn away the A380 because it presents so many problems for the airport.

Qantas currently is the only airline flying A380s into LAX.

Technology: Destination Moon

Robert Buckman — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:23:33 -0500

Travel technology is taking one small leap for mankind in this moon walk anniversary year. It is, after all, forty years this July 20 that the Armstrong and Aldrin set down on the moon. It is also the year that the private suborbital space tourism industry, highlighted by start-ups like Virgin Galactic, really ramps up.

Technology: Mobile Tech Advances Will Soon Let Travelers Leave the Laptop Behind

Robert Buckman — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:15:04 -0500

Travel may be in the doldrums but travel technology is still advancing by leaps and bounds, ensuring greater connectivity and productivity all 'round.

One of the most noticeable benefits for travelers in the improvement of mobile technology — such as the iPhone, iTouch, BlackBerry, and other “smart device” options — is that the traditional laptop will become obsolete. Mobile technology is moving so fast that soon you'll be able to do on a PDA much of what you do on a laptop, including full Internet browser access.