This Week’s Guest is Joe d’Eon of Fly with Me

This Week’s News

• J.D. Power survey shows rising customer satisfaction with airline service
• Airlines get long ground delays under control; Hawaiian, Alaska, US Airways top on-time ratings
• Five things you don’t know about your airline ticket
• Easyjet to pioneer ash cloud detector

Pick’s of the Week

• Joe – Gate Guru iPhone app
• Jen – Cockpit landing videos on YouTube & Tourism Marketing Consulting
• Chris – Canon EOS Rebel T1i (and T2i) and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens

This week’s guest is Ben Abramson, Online Travel Editor of USAToday.com

This Week’s News

• Pushy fliers may show up on TSA’s radar
• Airline Gives Osama Bin Laden a Boarding Pass
• Gulf fights for tourists in wake of spill
• VisitFlorida.com
• Most dangerous places in Mexico — and where it’s still safe to travel
• Bumped fliers could see higher compensation
• Jetstar airline to trial iPad hire with passengers
• USA Today Travel Tips by Demand Media

Pick’s of the Week

• Gary – Kayak iPad app
• Chris – World Touristiness Map
• Jen – ooh.com
• Ben – Contact your mobile provider for a retroactive data plan if you used too much data.

This week’s guest is Kim Mance of GoGalavanting and Travel Blog Exchange.

This Week’s News

• And the world’s top airline is …
• Ryanair Fined 3 Million Euros for Abandoning Passengers
• Gun Taken From Suicidal JetBlue Pilot in Crew Lounge
• Holiday Inn to test smartphone as hotel-room key; some guests prefer to skip front desk
• TBEX Talk

Picks of the Week

• Jen – California parks have campsites available
• Gary – MotionX-GPS HD
• Chris – Foursquare
• Kim – TBEX Lounge

This week’s guests are Greg Jourgenson of Bangkok Podcast and Kevin May of Tnooz.com

This Week’s News

• Violence in Bangkok @vaitor @legalnomads
• High Court blocks strike by British Airways cabin crews
• More Volcano News
• Apple travel app in the future?
• Google might buy ITA
• Tnooz.com

Picks of the Week

• Chris – Tuscony augmented reality
• Gary – legalnomads.com, iPad
• Kevin – Social media in travel

This week’s guests are Jessica Spiegel of BootsNAll.com and Spud Hilton, travel editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.

This Week’s News

• More Ash Clouds
• British Airlines Strike
• $10 Jet Blue Flights
• Portland hosts the SATW Editors Council
• Continental CEO apologizes for ‘ugly girl’ comment
• Accountant becomes first person guilty of posting ‘menacing’ Twitter message after threat to blow up airport
• T-Mobile and Orange team up to name company with same name as travel blog

Picks of the Week

• Spud – zipcar.com
• Jessica – new BootsnAll writers on WhyGo France, WhyGo Las Vegas, WhyGo Spain, WhyGo Australia, & Travel Gear Blog – and Eye On Italy podcast
• Chris – Getty Museum
• Jen – StayHip iPhone App
• Gary – Basque Country

This week’s guest is Betty from Betty in The Sky With Suitcase.

This Week’s News

• Arizona Travel Boycott
• Hudson crash raises safety concerns
• Airline investigated after Times Square bomb suspect taken off Emirates plane
• Man sues airline for not looking at his scrotum
• Climbers may be banned from Uluru
• Airline merger between United/Continental

Picks of the Week

• Chris – PixPal, QuickPod
• Betty – Airplanes flying on synthetic bio fuel
• Gary – El Prado, Renia Sophia
• Jen – hotel chatter wifi review

Now here’s an in-flight amenity worth paying for. Jetstar Airways is planning to offer passengers the option to rent an iPad for in-flight use on domestic routes. The iPad launched on Friday in Australia, and Sydney Morning Herald reports that it’s already a must-have gadget. Jetstar Airways will load up the iPad with movies, TV shows, games, e-books and music.

Having just flown LAX–LHR round trip with my iPad, I can definitely say that it’s well worth the $10. I’d even pay $20. You’re asking for $30? OK, I’ll do it—especially if I’m traveling with my child and need to keep them occupied.

My only concern is how will they secure it? Hopefully there won’t be some stretchy security cord connecting the iPad to the seat back in front of you.

Now, who is going to develop the iPad- sharing timer app? It would ideally have an alarm that goes off after 30 minutes so your traveling partner can take a turn (and the alarm gets increasingly louder if you hit a snooze-type button).

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This week we talk to the new blogger for NileGuide—Amy Widdowson (@amywiddowson). Get a preview of what we talked about on ThisWeekinTravel.com.

Amy Widdowson got her first taste of travel while chasing geese in Vancouver’s Stanley Park at the age of two, and hasn’t stopped running around the world since. As Marketing Manager at NileGuide, Amy interacts with and expands the company’s user network through the blog, newsletter, and social media.

Previously, Amy was the Publicist at Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary, where she coordinated local and national media coverage for the regular season and the renowned Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays. Prior to that, she worked as Marketing and Development Associate at DonorsChoose.org in New York, while serving as a Media Intern at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre in the evenings. Born and raised in Calgary, Canada, Amy graduated with honors from Princeton University with a degree in European History and a minor in Theatre and Dance.

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This week we talk to the queen of budget travel—Pauline Frommer (@PaulineFrommer). You can find her . Get a preview of what we talked about on ThisWeekinTravel.com.

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…unless you want him to buy you jewelery.

It’s true. I was on a long distance call with my husband and actually spoke to him as if I were tweeting. This is what I said:

“You’re in Monte Carlo looking at the Mediterranean. I’m at a drive through Starbucks in Vista. #Ineedagoodmothersdaypresent”

And yes, I actually said “hashtag”, and had 17 character spaces to spare.

John was in Monaco for work. It felt like a long week for me already, but somehow those weeks feel even longer when you’re on the short end of the geography stick. The tweet just slipped out – I didn’t do it on purpose, my brain was thinking that way. He didn’t give me too much grief—and if anyone asks—that hashtag totally works.

We went shopping today for my 2nd Mother’s Day present. Last year I got to go pick out a piece of jewelry I wanted. This year he suggested we do the same. Both years I got Amethyst necklaces and this year’s is even prettier than the first. Plus, I got a fun pair of sparkly earrings too.

WARNING: Use that hashtag sparingly. And if you do give it a try, you might get lucky like I did. Just don’t forget to use the reciprocating hashtag #BHE (Best Husband Ever).