Airport Authority Hong Kong has installed several PS3 Game Poles at various locations in the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for free public access.

Implemented in partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong, the developer of Playstation 3, the PS3 Game Poles comprise a total of 14 units of PlayStation 3.

Hong Kong Airport installs PS3 Game Poles (copyrights: The Moodie Report)

Stationed at various spots, including areas near the boarding gates at Terminal 1 and the Coach Station at Terminal 2, these PS3 Game Poles, allowing travellers to enjoy themselves while waiting for flights, feature the latest PS3 games including the highlights of the Asia Game Show x Online Game Show 2009 (AGS x OGS 2009), such as ‘Final Fantasy XIII, ‘James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game’, ‘Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’, and ‘Assassin’s Creed 2’.

[Original Post: Hong Kong Airport ups entertainment value with PS3 Game Poles]

Was your baggage mishandled? Were you denied a refund that you should have received? Flight delays? We are not sure if anyone is listening to your worries or complaints, but the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched a new website to help consumers compare and complain about airline service.

DOT's airline consumer protection site

The website, allows travelers to file complaints to the DOT, compare historical on-time and baggage mishandling records of airlines and get helpful tips about air travel. The site also contains a compendium of information on government rules and guidance on subjects such as baggage, fare advertising, refunds, overbooking, disability and flight delays.

The website, which is aimed at US citizens but contains some information about international carriers operating in the US, is also available in Spanish.

Website: Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement

American Airlines announced Monday that it is raising checked baggage fees by $5, effective February 1st.
First bag to cost $25, and second one will cost $35 on flights in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The fees apply to passengers on the company’s American Airlines, American Eagle and American Connection flights.

ABC News says those passengers who are exempt from checked baggage fees–business and first-class, as well as military–will remain exempt.

American Airlines last hiked its checked bag fees in July, when the price of the first bag rose $5 to $20 and the price of the second bag rose the same amount to $25.

Southwest Airlines is offering airfares starting as low as $49 one-way. Fares are available in select markets for travel Mondays through Thursdays and Saturdays when purchased by Jan. 21, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. PST. These fares are only available on southwest.com or swabiz.com for travel between April 7, 2010, and May 25, 2010.

Examples of fares include (see Additional Fare Rules below):
$49 one-way between Chicago Midway and Kansas City
$67 one-way between Reno/Tahoe and Los Angeles
$99 one-way between Providence and Ft. Lauderdale

Terms & Conditions
Southwest Airlines sale fares are available for purchase Jan. 19, 2010, through 11:59 p.m. PST Jan. 21, 2010, and travel must take place beginning April 7, 2010, through May 25, 2010. Fares are available only on southwest.com or swabiz.com. Fares are not available for travel on Fridays and Sundays. Fares do not include a federal excise tax of $3.70 for each flight segment. A flight segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing. Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $9.00 and a U.S. government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of up to $5.00 one-way. Travel not available to/from Long Island, NY; Washington (Dulles), D.C.; Milwaukee, WI. Seats are limited. Fares may vary by destinations, flight, and day of week and won’t be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Fares are available for one-way travel. When combining fares, all rules and restrictions apply. Fares are nonrefundable but if unused, may be applied toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest Airlines. Sale fares are not combinable with Senior Fares. Fares are not available through the Group Desk. Any change in the itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Standby travel requires an upgrade to the unrestricted “Anytime” fare. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Offer applies to published, scheduled service only.

North Korea has eased travel restrictions on U.S. tourists, hoping to boost its coffers and also improve the cash-strapped country’s image.

U.S. citizens had previously only been allowed access during the spectacular mass games, held last year in August through October. Now, travelers from the United States will be allowed to visit North Korea on official guided tours any time of the year.

Pyongyang’s overture to the United States coincided with a request to discuss resuming tours with South Korea. Last year, Koryo Tours took 282 U.S. tourists to North Korea compared to about 700 to 800 non-U.S. Westerners. Less than 2,500 U.S. citizens have visited North Korea since 1953.

According to Bonner, the real game-changer is that “Americans will be allowed to join with other Western tourists in exploring the rest of the country and not just areas just across the border.”

Read more: Visit anytime! North Korea lifts restrictions on U.S. tourists

New Airport Security Causing Flight Delays

Good.is says “The attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253 on Christmas Day has resulted in increased security procedures at airports around the country. Looking at the period from December 25 to January 6 this year and the previous year shows that, whether or not the new security is making us safer, it seems to be making us slower.”

Transparency: Is New Airport Security Causing Flight Delays? – Good.IS

Travel Channel has relaunched the website Travelchannel.com with a new video player and a deep library of travel video, itineraries and destination guides, created for the site.

Travel Channel adds Videos

The site has improved navigation, new content from Travel Channel’s series such as Anthony Bourdain No Reservations and Man v. Food and thousands of video clips overall. Mapped itineraries accompany features about Travel Channel episodes, such as Bourdain’s trip to Panama during Monday night’s episode: the relaunch was timed to coincide with the start of Bourdain’s new season.

The player opens up to display full-screen, high-quality video, something the site couldn’t do before.

Travelocity announced a Deals Toolkit (www.travelocity.com/toolkit) that makes it easier for consumers to find the best travel deals based on their preferences and flexibility. The toolkit offers three new ways to look for deals, including:

• An on-site tool that walks through a customer’s preferences and returns the best deals, customized for them
• A tool that shows the best deals on a map, and
• A tool that can be downloaded onto a customer’s desktop and feeds deal updates

Built on a proprietary algorithm developed by Travelocity, the tools quickly pinpoint the best flight and vacation packages listed on the site. As consumers continue to expect both overall value and deep discounts from their travel provider, in a format that still provides some flexibility, Travelocity has taken deals searching to a new level with a customized system for shoppers to quickly and easily locate the most relevant deals.

Customize Your Deals

With an emphasis on value and customers’ preferences, the customized deals engine, which can be accessed directly on the Travel Deals and “My Deals” tabs on Travelocity’s homepage, is a one-stop-shop for the site’s best flight and package deals. A completely interactive tool, it features several filters allowing customers to personalize and sort deals by price, date range, theme, destination and travel product. Shoppers can view and compare up to five deals at a time and also explore more specific trip details, including available travel dates, customer reviews and more, narrowing down deals by what’s most important to them.

Map-Based Shopping

The new map-based feature gives travelers the best way to visually search top flight and vacation package deals from their departure city with at-a-glance shopping. The map-based option is available at www.travelocity.com/dealsonamap and directly from the Flights tab on the homepage. Once there, consumers can click on the “Find Deals on a Map” link to access the new tool.

Deals are displayed on a map by region and then city, with up to 15 displays shown at a time. Customers can zoom in on deals most intriguing to them, view hotel information and stats on how much the trip is discounted, and access links to check availability and book flights or packages.

Travelocity Desktop Application

The desktop application, which can be downloaded directly from www.travelocity.com/desktop, gives consumers direct access to the best vacation package deals without using a browser while tracking the customer’s preferred information for a completely personalized shopping experience. Available for both Mac and Windows users, the application can be set to monitor trips from their departure city to a favorite destination, notifying them when new deals to their destination are found, and serves up to 100 deals at a time all with a minimum savings of 20 percent. Users also have the ability to share relevant deals with their social networks via Facebook and Twitter.

[Source: Earthtimes]

The higher fees take effect Tuesday for Delta passengers who booked their flights Jan. 5 or later and are checking bags on domestic flights. For those who pay the baggage fees when they check in online, the fees will be $23 for the first checked bag and $32 for the second checked bag. Those who pay the baggage fees at the airport ticket counter, kiosk or curbside will pay $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second.

US Airways had raised its maximum fees to those amounts last year. Continental is doing so later this week.

Until now at Delta, the fees have been $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for a second checked bag, with a $5 surcharge on each for travelers who didn’t pay online.

AirTran Airways, which is based in Orlando and has its largest hub in Atlanta, still charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second. A spokesman did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

American Airlines and US Airways charge $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second. US Airways also has an extra $5 surcharge for paying the fees at the airport. United still charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second, with a $5 surcharge on each for paying at the airport.

Delta and other carriers started charging a fee for a second checked bag on domestic flights in 2008, then added a fee for the first checked bag later that year. Last year, Delta and other carriers added surcharges for paying the baggage fees at the airport and also started charging a second checked bag fee on many international flights.

[Source: m-travel.com]

Facebook to address the US online travel industry
Facebook will join the exciting line of top travel brands at EyeforTravel’s Social Media Strategies for Travel 2010 conference which will be held in San Francisco, 24-25 March.  With over 300 million users, the leading social networking site consistently tops Western world rankings as the number 1 most visited social networking site and plays a dominant role in the ever-changing social media landscape.

Facebook’s far reaching audiences have long provided an attractive platform for companies to experiment with engaging new customers, increasing brand awareness and brand interaction.   There have been many interesting case studies published in the media detailing the innovative ways companies have used Facebook’s diverse features and the degrees of success that they have experienced.

Many US travel companies have recognised the need to have a Facebook presence and are devoting an increasing amount of resources towards it.  Making their presence meaningful and understanding how customers prefer to use Facebook however is still (according to EyeforTravel Research) a key challenge.  Other industries such as retail have frequently taken the lead in this area and there is much for travel companies still to learn.

A leading representative from Facebook will be presenting on a session examining how to get the most out of valuable time and resources invested in social media.  Following their presentation the audience of senior travel professionals will have their chance to ask questions.

[Source: m-travel]

Offering customised lodgings to each customer
Torrenegra Labs has completed the beta version of its new online venture, LetMeGo.com. The travel site is a new online marketplace where travelers submit itineraries, and lodgings bid for their business.

Lodgings can see other bids for any itinerary they’ve been invited to bid for, and can adjust their off ers accordingly, in real time. Travelers choose the bids they like best based on features, location, and price.

According to the company, LetMeGo distinguishes itself in several important ways from the biggest names in the online travel and lodging industry. Differentiators include:

Semi-transparent bidding process: LetMeGo brings the reverse-auction model to the lodging industry. By allowing travelers to choose lodgings from which they wish to receive bids, and by allowing both travellers and lodging managers to compare those bids in real time, LetMeGo brings unprecedented clarity and efficiency to the process of choosing a lodging.

Access to all lodging types: LetMeGo users can receive bids from any type of lodging they choose, from hotels to vacation rentals to apartment buildings to B&Bs.

[Source: m-travel.com]