virgin atlantic

April Fools' gadgets: You'll wish some of these were real

April Fools' is a big day for conceptual technology products. Big tech companies get to let their hair down and come up with gadgets that would earn them ridicule and criticism if they were introduced on any day other than April 1.

We have some real doozies for 2013 when it comes to prank tech gear. ThinkGeek, as usual, has an entire lineup of weird and wonderful items. There's a Play-Doh 3D printer that forms figures out of the famous squishy clay-like material. If you enjoyed listening to Bane's garbled and growly speech during "The Dark Knight Rises," you'll want your very own pair of Bane Mask Walkie Talkies. Other fictional products from the geek retailer include an "Aliens" Chestburster-in-a-Can, a Creeper Body Pillow, and an Eye of Sauron desk lamp.… Read more

Virgin Atlantic launches in-flight cell use

Virgin Atlantic will soon allow passengers to use their cell phones during flights, but don't expect your phone-free fuselage to be replaced with coffeehouse clatter.

The airline announced today it will allow passengers to make in-flight phone calls, send and receive texts, check e-mail, and surf the Web via general packet radio service (GPRS) from inside A330 Airbus planes on flights between New York and London. The airline expects to offer the service in 20 planes by year's end, it said in a press release. Boeing 747s are also being retrofitted for the service.

"We have listened … Read more

How Virgin Atlantic's birthday e-mail stabbed me in the heart

Recently, I experienced a birthday. Thank you, you shouldn't have. Oh, wait, you didn't.

Birthdays mean bracing yourself for cards and e-mails from your family, ex-lovers, and people who want something from you. Companies who want you to buy things, for example.

Starbucks always anticipates my birthday early. The company sends me a postcard two weeks before, so that I can be sure to claim my exciting free birthday drink.

Virgin Atlantic, on the other hand, believes it should send me an e-mail. It is all part of Virgin's "we're nicer and cooler than the … Read more

Alaska Airlines flies planes fueled by cooking oil

The Alaska Air Group is joining the commercial aviation biofuel movement.

The airline launched two flights yesterday running on a blend consisting of 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent petroleum-based fuel. The sustainable biofuel used for the blend was made from cooking oil.

One flight was via a Boeing 737-800 plane from Seattle to Washington, D.C., and the other a Bombardier Q400 plane headed from Seattle to Portland, Ore. Both planes were flown as part of a program to fly more than 75 flights on a cooking oil-based biofuel blend within the coming weeks on Alaska Air's Alaskan … Read more

Who can afford the carbon-friendly skies?

Directflights.com is now offering a search engine for finding the cheapest carbon-friendly flights between two destinations, the company announced today.

The tool was developed in conjunction with The Carbon Consultancy, a British company that offers reports on emissions data and offset procurement information for travel industry companies.

It offers to show international flights, as well as those contained within the U.K. and Europe, or contained within the U.S., among other places. Flights can be viewed by cheapest only, or by most carbon-friendly with a choice to see flights in different currency options.

The tool ranks flights on … Read more

iFear when iFly...finally, there's an app for that

Virgin Atlantic has already worked to put passengers at ease with its Flying Without Fear course, which the airline claims has a whopping 98 percent success rate. So it only makes sense that Virgin would release the course in the far more mobile format of an iPhone app.

The $4.99 app features a video that guides the user, who may or may not be able to concentrate on said video, through an explanation of the flight process, frequently asked questions, and relaxation exercises.

There's even a fear attack button, replete with breathing exercises, for the lucky few whose … Read more