The Big Country

Not so Super 80

I'll cop to it: I hate the Super 80. DC-9's too. MD-11's are tolerable, but these rear engine babies are not. Why? Becuase of those horrible seats by the engine. Why is American still flying these? the A319 is fab, so are the 737s. I just don't like aircraft laid out with the twin rear-engine design. It looks so dated, ever since McDonnell Douglas got bought by Boeing. If the choice is between these planes and the new Embaers that JetBlue is flying, that's one thing, but let's bring a modern look to the fleet, please. I understand that they are still totally functional, and many of them supplemented/replaced 727's, which were nothing if not iconic looking, but isn't there a reason this rear engine design has been all but abandonned?

DFW A-OK

Had the oppurtunity to check out the new Terminal (Terminal D) at Dallas/Fort Worth last weekend, as I was there for a brief layover. It's a massive improvement: in addition to being gigantic, and a festival of moving walkways, as in the new terminal in Detroit, there's plenty of glass and none of that scrubby tile to be found. I long for the day when this makeover comes to the crappy Terminals here in NYC. Even the monorail, called the SkyTrain, was a pleasant experience. Apparently, the previous one did not run so well in inclement weather. Or at all.

Also, across from Gate 24, hit the Chili's rip-off. I believe it's called Chammp's--that's with two m's--and it has some of the coldest airport beer I've ever sampled. Still doesn't rival the beer at Ruzyne, but it's close. And remember, draft beer at the airport is going to be super-fresh, becuase of the rapid turnover of kegs. Skip the chicken fingers, though. I wish I had.

And you thought Northwest's employees were cranky

From the Times of London, the British Post Office (just called "The Post Office in the article, which I love. Even Americans abbreviate to the USPS) is considering the sale of package travel, along with stamps and the like. I am not familiar with the British Post, but it is instructive to consider how gargantuan a failure that would be, if it were introduced in the US: ending up at the wrong destination, getting all roughed up as you go through security, &c.

Shudder. To be fair, flying out of LGA is already pretty similar to visiting the US Post Office, to say nothing of Terminal 3 at Kennedy. That's closer to the Greyhound shipping office at the Port Authority.

Palmy and Balmy

Palm Springs--Boca Raton of the West Coast? Yup.

Golf Courses, all inclusive hotel situation, a downtown where it's too hot to walk in the walking-around area... It's an easy comparison to make. And isn't Palm Springs meant to be the "historical' resort town in California? It's all relative here, with the history thing. No need to rehash that. I just wish it weren't so tedious here.

Looking at all those sprinkler systems, it's hard not to think of the movie Chinatown. Water thievery!

The Other Bahn

Not sure on which of Berlin's bahns this stunt took place, but it's cool nonetheless. Some artist-types attached a suitcase with suction cups to the side of the metro in Berlin. Inside was a battery powered computer with a projector, which, aided by a mirror, projected moving images onto the walls of the subway as the train moved along. (via TUAW)

Another reason to love Berlin, I suppose. Aside from having TWO functional, clean subway systems. We barely have a single one here in NYC...

Girls Gone Wild

Hilarious round-up in today's Post Travel section on package getaways that are trying to cater to women. In addition to being obnoxious--offering as little as a comped pint of Haagen-Daas--they have excellent names. The winner, hands down, is the "MenoPAUSE" escape. The caps are to emphasize the changes that are occuring in a woman's body. Changes that might make them buy one of these package deals, apparently.

Men would never buy into this. They would bring a sixer of Natty Ice from home.

Card Sharks

Interesting article in the Times on hotel key cards and identity theft. Apparently, guest's personal information is on those annoying key cards. It seems odd-why would that information need to be there in the first place? What kind of information is it? Ideas for replacements seem to be a similar technology to those SpeedPass gimmicks that you can use to buy slim jims at the gas station.

It also speaks to how the hotel experience has evolved. Didn't keys used to be at the front desk only? People would leave them there when they would go out for the day, to prevent copies being made. Also, hotels tend to take down a lot of personal information, as anyone who has stayed in a place that copies down passport information can attest. I still don't like being parted from my passport, even for a half-hour.

So, to sum up: No anonymity, even when you are meeting your mistress for a few hours at the Aiport Mariott.

Pork Futures

Czech food is not, um, known for a breadth of flavors. It's heavy on the pork products and/or by-products, which is fine for those of us who love that wonderful, magical animal that gives us bacon, ham, and sausage, but rough on those who want to try something different. Thus, I was excited to see Perpetuum, in Prague, get added to the roster of nicer Czech restaurants with this solid review in the Prague Post. In Dejvice, no less, which is becoming something of a foodie neighborhood. Or it will, one day, since that's where all the big, nice houses are getting built/bought/redeveloped.

Nonetheless, the Perpetuum is interesting because they avoid the pork problem altogether by only serving goose and duck based foods, with the occasional quail egg thrown in for good measure. I'm excited to try this place the next time I am in town, and I hope I'll finally be able to recommend somewhere other than Kolkovna for people who want to try Czech food in a less intimidating atmosphere.

Maxed Out

The two business-class only airlines (EOS and MaxJets) have launched, and there will doubtless be plenty of upcoming coverage, since who doesn't like "testing" a new airline with lay-flat seats. There's just one problem: They routes are NYC-London, yes, but the arrival airport is Stansted, which is not convenient for anything except the budget airlines. Frankly, I think even Gatwick is annoying. For someone who just dropped serious cash on a flight that's business class only, it seems unlikely they'll want to continue their trip on a plane that has a giant phone number painted on the side.

It's a good idea for a low-cost international airline, when a JetBlue arrives that flies from JFK to secondary European cities (JFK-Dubrovnik would clean up, as would flying to Prague and making it a hub, but I digress). It's another example of how international flights have yet to be revolutionized in the same way as low-fare domestic travel. Perhaps Delta will take what it learned at Song and apply it to these new nonstops it's running. Though, to be fair, they were similar to a lot of the nonstops that they used to run about ten years ago, and they are playing catch-up to what Continental was doing with their nonstops to Berlin, Stockholm, and elsewhere.

Also, where was everyone hiding all these 757s?

Dutch Courage

Rotterdam is set to be the next big thing in the Netherlands. It's a large town, and because much of it was summarily flattened during the war, there's plenty of cool Dutch architecture and, according to the Guardian, a burgeoning club scene (via Gridskipper). I keep hearing good things about it, as it falls everyone's favorite kind of European city to cover. Restored port towns--Antwerp is another--returning to their former splendor is going to be the travel news peg du jour for years. It makes for great pictures, since the restaurants and clubs are almost always in former industrial spots (see also the Wapping Project, in London, among others). Plus, there's always another port of restore, though Antwerp and Rotterdam are two of Europe's largest, it's just easy to work your way around the rim of the entire European continent.

Watch out for that Dutch architecture, though--locals don't believe in curtains in lots of places, although you should be ok at Rotterdam's Hotel New York, in the former Holland-America shipping terminal.