Next month Will and I will head back to Spain to check out the beautiful art and architecture in Barcelona and hopefully we’ll avoid the pickpockets!

Date: December 2008

Price from New York to Las Vegas: $418.50/person including taxes. This seemed like a good holiday airfare when I booked it but when the economy tanked so did ticket prices. Since we had already paid just $42.50 less then the cost of a round trip Main Cabin Select ticket, I paid the difference and upgraded us. On the way back, we were able to upgrade to First Class for an additional $150/person. If First Class is available, you can always upgrade from a regular economy ticket at the airport for $250/person.

Check-in: VA has online check-in so we printed our boarding passes and were ready to go.

Plane: The planes looked new and clean. The leather seats are the most comfortable economy seats I’ve ever sat in and the seat back TV screens were great. Premium movies, games and Wi-Fi (when available) cost extra in coach. First Class seats have a massage function though it isn’t as nice as a typical massage chair. Main Cabin Select seats are simply the exit and bulkhead rows but, in addition to more legroom, you get priority boarding, reserved overheard space and free snacks. The snacks and legroom were nice but, on one leg of the flight, boarding was a free for all and I saw non Select passengers putting their luggage in the “reserved” bins. Also, I noticed some late passengers got assigned to Main Cain Select without paying the premium fare. It’s not really worth it unless the price drops after you’ve already bought a ticket and the difference is small.

Service: Virgin America aims to build a loyal customer base by providing the best service in the industry. One of their tactics is to deliver food and drinks that you order by touch screen directly to your seat. This would be cool if it worked. Will had to order food three times before the flight attendants could see it on their screen and I noticed others having the same problem. On top of that, the staff blamed the passengers for not ordering correctly. The flight attendants also seemed to resent having to run around serving people and complained about their lack of space at the back of the plane. Now I may agree with them that serving people and having no space is annoying, but since service is VA’s selling point, they shouldn’t be complaining out loud. Once it arrived, the food was pretty good.

Verdict: Virgin America has all the tools and amenities in place to become the top U.S. airline. Their biggest problem is they don’t provide the great service they promise. Right now, I think Jetblue tops them in the service category. They are a fairly new airline and may still be working out their procedures so I would give them another try if the price was right.

Grade: B-

The recent airplane crash in New York’s Hudson River was caused by a double bird strike which disabled both of the aircraft’s engines. A bird strike is just that, a bird hitting a plane, and apparently it happens all the time. Considering how often I fly, I can’t believe I had never heard of this phenomenon before last week. According to the FAA there are an average of over 7,000 bird strikes annually and that number is growing. While manufacturers try to create engines that will withstand the impacts, it’s almost impossible when the birds are over 5 pounds as bigger engines would make flying difficult.

The Bird Strike Committee USA is a volunteer organization that meets each year to discuss and explore options to combat the problem. They hope to eventually figure out how to prevent strikes altogether, but for now it remains an issue. Although there is no way to guarantee that an incident like this won’t happen again, most bird strikes do not take a plane down and this is the first report in history of both engines being disabled by wildlife.

Luckily, all of the passengers survived and the U.S. airlines are still working on their third year of flying without a fatality. Perhaps this will serve as a reminder to those of us who fly frequently to pay attention when the safety procedures are read before a flight. Even though we may have heard them many times before, it’s a good idea to have them fresh in our minds in the rare but possible case of an accident. It’s also important to be aware of the nearest exits and the number of rows in front of you and behind you that are in between. Accidents will always happen, but they are much easier to digest and deal with when they have a happy ending.

Bird Strike Committee USA

Travelers love products that do double duty because they save space and keep us organized. This eyeglass glass has two pockets: one for your eyeglasses and another for your sunglasses. It’s made of leather with a soft lining and even has a loop you can put a belt or bag strap through.

$29.85 Magellans

Unfortunately, individual cup holders are not very common on airplanes and I hate having my tray table down because I have so little space to begin with when I fly. The Cup-Pilot provides a stable and safe place to stash your drink without intruding on your space. You can also use it to attach drinks to your suitcase so you can keep your hands free as you navigate the airport. I find this particularly useful because I’m always dropping my water bottle as I try to balance it on my suitcase while boarding a plane.

$18.95 Cup-Pilot

It’s back! The New York Times Travel show is returning to the Jacob Javits Center in NYC on February 6-8th and tickets are on sale now. It’s the biggest travel event in the United States and will have over 500 exhibitors promoting trip destinations and new travel products as well as registering people for giveaways and handing out samples and freebies. There will be food, entertainment and plenty of fun guests giving seminars including Rick Steves, Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel and Arthur and Pauline Frommer.

Of course, Will and I will be making the rounds and I’ll be reporting back to you on all the action. You can read my write up of last year’s show here.

The New York Times Travel Show 2009

These Vasu flower vases are made to travel. When flat, they are thin as paper and super light, but folded they turn into pretty vases you can fill with water and flowers. They are great to spruce up hotel rooms or make an easy gift for a friend/family member you are visiting.

$4.99-$9.99 Vazu USA

For the first time in history, U.S. airliners have flown for two straight years with no fatalities. Considering that even one year without deaths is rare and has only happened four times since 1958, this a remarkable accomplishment. Experts believe the record is a result of improved technology and higher industry standards.

It’s nice to know that while many aspects of air travel have gone downhill in terms of quality, our safety, which is perhaps the most important, has improved.

Source: CNN

Whether I’m heading out for a long trip or just the day, I hate feeling like I’ve forgotten something. The Doorganizer is great because you can fill it with whatever you are going to need the following day before you go to bed and hang it on your doorknob. It has three pockets perfect for tickets, maps and identification but it’s made out of heavy duty canvas so it can also hold electronics like cell phones and cameras. It even has a clip on the front for keys!

$14.99 Target

Visit My Adventures to see my post on our trip to Iceland and check out my pictures on my Photos page or by clicking into the album through one of the images posted.