Mobissimo

Well, one could say it was a matter of time, but they gutted it out for a while.  SilverJet was a great partner of Mobissimo, we wish them the best of luck.  It is virtually impossible to operate an airline these days, American Airlines loses 23m a day flying their routes, imagine what this can do to a business class only service with razor thin margins.  Customer base is one thing, but the model was flawed to begin with, more here via The Herald Tribune.

LONDON: Silverjet, the last survivor of three business-class-only airlines to fly between London and the United States, on Friday also succumbed to the pressure of higher fuel costs combined with a lack of funding.

The British airline, which was set up 18 months ago, suspended service after the morning flight from Dubai to London after it failed to receive a $5 million payment from an investment fund, Viceroy Holdings, as part of a loan agreement. In a letter to Silverjet customers, the chief executive, Lawrence Hunt, apologized and said he was "working actively with new investors" to restart the service.

There is a saying in my homeland of Brasil, 'one who does not cry, does not suckle.'  So there you go, make some noise and get what you want.  Or just get ignored.  Bargaining is always a great tool in some countries, so hone your skills and take off for Hong Kong. 

There are differnet culture of bargaining in different countires. In Hong Kong, you have to bargain when you shop in the street market, like Temple Street, Ladies market. Many poeple don’t know how to bargain, here’s the little tips of bargaining.

Good to see that airlines are taking fuel scarcity seriously, KLM joins Virgin Atlantic in trying out alternative fuels, this via Radio Netherlands.

 Dutch airline KLM has announced plans to fuel its planes with kerosene made from algae. The company has signed an exclusive contract with the Dutch company AlgaeLink to provide fuel for a pilot project which will begin this fall, when the first test flight will take place. AlgaeLink is opening two plants this year, one in the Netherlands and another in Spain.

KLM Fokker-50The algal-based kerosene will in first instance be mixed with conventional fuel; KLM's goal is to fuel its entire fleet with kerosene from algae and other plant-based oils.

The Dutch carrier says if all goes according to plan 12 Fokker-50 planes - representing seven percent of KLM's fleet - will fly on fuel derived from algae by 2010.

You don't think of South Beach FLA as a destination for backpackers.  Usually the 100k+ sports cars' trunks don't fit a large backpack, but apparently things have changed.  More here via CNN/Travel.

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP)  -- Charity Simon is sharing a bedroom and a bathroom with two other young women she has never met during her stay at the Tropics Hotel & Hostel in Miami Beach. But that's fine with her since she is saving a ton of money every night.

Charity Simon, from Germany, stands outside the Tropics Hotel and Hostel in Miami.

Simon, who is from Germany, used to stay in four-star hotels until she found out about hostels, which offer low-price lodging and the chance to make new friends.

"It started with I wanted to travel around the world as much as possible," said Simon, who declined to give her age. "I asked what is it all about? They said a hostel is where you save first of all a lot of money, where you meet a lot of people international from all over."

VIRGIN AMERICA – This is How to Fly

We believe that an airline you love can only be created by people who are part of an airline they love. Members of our flight team helped build our airline from the ground up and are passionate about flying. They understand that it’s all about you and even helped us create some of the innovative and fun cabin features, which we hope make your flight more enjoyable. So if you dig the mood-lit cabins or the tunes in the restrooms, you might just have a crew member to thank.

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Book your tickets by Friday, May 23rd and fly by June 25th.

VIRGIN AMERICA – This is How to Fly

You shouldn’t have to pay for stuff you don’t want – like a meal you never asked for. That’s why we offer an a la carte menu so you can choose what you want to eat, when you want to eat it. But non-alcoholic drinks are always free. And because sometimes your plans change, we’ve got super low $40 change fees in our main cabin and zero change fees in first class (where everything is free).

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VIRGIN AMERICA – This is How to Fly

Virgin America combines low fares and luxury. You won’t find any $1,000 fares here. Flying for business? We offer a first class cabin with fares that are up to 50% off what other airlines charge, even for last minute economy fares.

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Book your tickets by Friday, May 23rd and fly by June 25th.

Traveling is stressful enough, try making any changes to travel plans can only compound the problems.  A few tips here on how best to avoid common mistakes to make your trip easy and carefree.  More here via CNN/Travel.

 (Tribune Media Services) -- As far as mistakes go, the one Janet Gordon recently made didn't seem like a big deal. She booked an airline ticket from Toronto to London under the name "Jan."

But what happened next could only be summed up in one word -- "chaos" -- says her husband, David.

"It was a major hassle," remembers Gordon, a human resources director for a college in Swansea, England. At almost every turn, the couple had to explain why the name on Jan's ticket didn't match her passport. "The computers wouldn't allow us to check in and issue a boarding card," he says.

In a business where slip-ups are almost as common as surcharges, the wrong-name-on-my-ticket error is a standout. You don't have to look far for ticketing mistakes in an age of do-it-yourself booking. Take it from me: not only do I write the Travel Troubleshooter column, a question-and-answer feature that helps people solve real-world problems, but I'm also an expert on errors.

VIRGIN AMERICA – This is How to Fly

Virgin America has shiny new planes, plugs for all your gear (phones, laptops, iPods) at your seat, a state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system, custom-designed leather seats, and mood lighting that makes our cabins less like the inside of a DMV and more like somewhere you’d actually like to be. Explore the Virgin America Difference here to learn more about some of the features on our planes.

GET READY FOR SUMMER FARE SALE
Book your tickets by Friday, May 23rd and fly by June 25th.

Ireland remains one of the icons of bucolic tourism.  A land unspoiled by massive tourism and huge corporate development.  Or is it?  Dublin is becoming a major business destination and with that comes all the other parts of corporatization - suburbs, retails chains, higher prices.  Read more here about the Emerald Isle via NY Times (reg might be required).

AN August night in the sea-scented village of Kinvara finds us at Connolly’s, a pub so permanent that if some codger were to tell you it was here before Galway Bay, lapping now just outside the door, you’d nod and buy him a pint. My wife and I are hunched at a small table with friends when a smiling woman in a peasant skirt sits beside us, carrying a perfectly appropriate accessory in this corner of Ireland — a button accordion.

VIRGIN AMERICA – This is How to Fly

Experiencing something different can be exhilarating, fun, and maybe even change your perspective. Kind of like the first time you were on a plane. Remember that feeling? We do. And we want to bring a little bit of that feeling back to flying. We’ve created a different kind of airline: one with low fares, great service, and some cool, new features that we think you’ll actually like – and maybe even love.

GET READY FOR SUMMER FARE SALE
Book your tickets by Friday, May 23rd and fly by June 25th.

Seems like a lot of service issues lately in the airline sector.  Forcing a person to sit in a toilet, not hanging up your phone when asked to, not allowing customers to fly because of inappropriate clothing.  Here's a story about one airline flight attendant who said, 'burn it all, burn it all' and tried to set fire to his airplane.  More here via Yahoo!

FARGO, N.D. - A flight attendant angry about his work route set a fire in an airplane bathroom, forcing an emergency landing, authorities said.

The Compass Airlines flight carrying 72 passengers and four crew members landed safely in Fargo on May 7 after smoke filled the back. No injuries were reported. The plane was flying from Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan, authorities said.

Honestly don't know how this even happened.  One passenger, one seat has always been the 'law' as far as I could tell.  How this passenger was even allowed on the plane is a major, major violation of some FAA rule.  Expect more to be said about this and this guy get a huge settlement and JetBlue to face a huge penalty.  More here via the AP.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California.

Gokhan Mutlu, of Manhattan's Inwood section, says in court papers the pilot told him to "go 'hang out' in the bathroom" about 90 minutes into the San Diego to New York flight because the flight attendant complained that the "jump seat" she was assigned was uncomfortable, the lawsuit said.

Mutlu was traveling on a a "buddy pass," a standby travel voucher that JetBlue employees give to friends, from New York to San Diego on Feb. 16, and returned to New York on Feb. 23, the lawsuit said.

Sometimes things are very important and you can't be bothered by hanging up the phone just because a plane needs to take off.  The ubiquitous mobile phone is indeed a boon ... and a curse.  Here's more about one guy who didn't take no for an answer.

 An Austin businessman was charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly refused to stop using his mobile phone on a flight Monday from Austin to Dallas Love Field.

Dallas police met the plane after the pilot radioed ahead to the Love Field tower. They cited Joe David Jones, 50, president of an Austin-based environmental start-up company called Skyonic Corp., with the Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Yep, another one from AirTran, click here for their latest super sale.