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SideStep launches airport guides

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sidestep.pngSideStep.com announced the beta launch of Airport Guides, designed to offer travelers a useful, comprehensive resource with detailed, real-time information for 160+ of the largest commercial airports worldwide, including Atlanta (ATL), Houston (IAH), London Heathrow (LHR), Los Angeles (LAX) and Tokyo Narita (NRT).

Starting with general airport overviews, each Airport Guide digs deep to unveil everything travelers need to know about a specific airport, including: Information on parking and transportation, including driving directions; Breakdown of offerings by terminal with links to terminal maps; Airport restaurants, shopping and services; Real-time flight arrival, departure, delay and status information; Current weather conditions and weather forecasts; Average security wait times; and Historical on-time ratings for individual flights.

Originally posted on November 1, 2007 @ 10:28 am

Southwest Airlines offers video weather forecasts

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southwest1.gifSouthwest Airlines enhances the customer online experience by partnering with NBC Weather Plus, the country’s first all-digital broadcast network and premiere online weather property, offering Customers accurate video weather forecasts and maps for each region Southwest Airlines serves.

The weather information will provide a needed, yet underserved service to business and leisure customers. Southwest Airlines customers can find the user-friendly weather forecasts by clicking on the special Weather Plus icon on southwest.com. Once there, they have the opportunity to choose a forecast that relates to their individual travel plans.

“We are thrilled to offer such a valuable amenity on southwest.com. We are constantly exploring initiatives that allow us to provide our customers with the ultimate online experience. The NBC Weather Plus system will be a wonderful southwest.com addition,” said Kevin Krone, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Marketing, Sales, and Distribution.

Originally posted on October 23, 2007 @ 3:27 am

American Express Travel launches Local Color

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901am.comAmerican Express Travel, one of the world’s largest travel agency networks, has launched Local Color, a new travel information and planning sitelet that aggregates best-in-class destination content from three strategic partners – Lonely Planet, IgoUgo, and Travel + Leisure – into one easily navigated, searchable, and engaging experience.

This will enable visitors to easily and efficiently explore destination content and plan for enriching travel experiences. American Express is leveraging each partner’s expertise to provide valuable travel information on destinations all over the world.

“Travelers are increasingly looking for ways to deepen their knowledge through travel experiences that are unique and memorable. By bringing to our customers tools like Local Color, we can help them create truly personalized and unforgettable vacations,” said Audrey Hendley, vice president of marketing, American Express Travel.

Originally posted on October 3, 2007 @ 11:13 am

Holiday airfare searches expected to increase starting this September

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cheapflights.jpgAccording to historical search trend data of travel search engine Cheapflights.com, the number of fliers searching for holiday airfares typically increases 20 percent between the second and third weeks of September, and another 15 percent during the fourth week.

This spike sets the stage for increases in the number of holiday travel searches all through October – an upward trend that continues right up to the holidays, according to Cheapflights’ data.

“You’ll be flying with an estimated 25 million other air travelers over Thanksgiving and another nine million over Christmas. Smart travelers will start planning holiday travel now, so they don’t miss out on the best airfare and hotel deals,” said Nicola Corrigan, Cheapflights.com Deal Finder.

You may also want to check the site’s Holiday Air Travel Survival Guide, a guide for traveling stress-free this holiday season from travel blogger Jerry Chandler.

Originally posted on September 11, 2007 @ 6:45 am

Chokti puts the nomad in your travel plans

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chokti.jpgA new travel Web site has popped up which is taking an interesting approach to providing travelers with information they need regarding destinations around the world. Extremely puff-piece style press release aside, Chokti looks to have a different spin on researching your next travel location.

Chokti pulls together information for a specific location from not just the official source itself but also a variety of other sources such as user opinions and guides. The information, often collected through RSS feeds from various Web sites, is geotagged and organized into a search engine. It makes use of a searchable map and accepts user generated content.

Chokti said it will pull “together as much content as possible that relates to a certain topic in an easy-to-use format. The site can be used to: access guides to cities, museums, historical sites, parks, zoos, restaurants, hotels and amusement parks; distribute supplemental information through pdf files containing maps, coupons and vouchers; and promote current and upcoming events such as gallery exhibits.” It fully launches this fall.

Originally posted on July 26, 2007 @ 5:40 pm