inflight wi-fi Archives

Faster, cheaper inflight wi-fi is going to take a while

November 9, 2016

Inflight wi-fi on American Airlines is changing (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

>American Airlines switches up wi-fi providers, Gogo pushes new satellite service and raises prices

In the latest airline effort to bring faster in-flight Wi-Fi to customers, American Airlines plans to move away from Gogo as the supplier for much of its domestic fleet, shifting that business to ViaSat instead.

According to the travel industry news site Skift.com, AA plans to make the switch to ViaSat on more than 500 domestic aircraft – although the changeover is expected to take several years.

Early this year, Gogo agreed to release American from an exclusivity clause in its Wi-Fi contract after the carrier had sued the provider for that relief so that it could look for a higher-speed alternative.

As a result, in June of this year American signed a deal with ViaSat to bring that firm’s satellite-based Wi-Fi technology to the 100 new Boeing 737 Max aircraft that it has ordered. And now AA is extending that embrace of ViaSat to hundreds more of its planes.

Airlines are shifting to Wi-Fi systems that communicate via satellites like this one.. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Although American had been one of Gogo’s first airline customers – a relationship going back to 2008 – it became troubled by the provider’s reliance on ground-based cell towers for aircraft communication as other suppliers developed faster satellite-based links. Gogo has since caught up with the trend by rolling out its own next-generation 2Ku satellite-based technology, and American will still go ahead with plans to install that on 140 of its aircraft.

Meanwhile, AA is using yet another supplier – Panasonic – to provide Wi-Fi on its long-haul international fleet. ViaSat has been moving quickly into the U.S. airline market; it also has deals with JetBlue, United and Virgin America.

Gogo continues to accumulate new business from its 2Ku satellite system. It recently signed on Air France-KLM, which plans to install it on 120 planes. In its recent earnings report, Gogo said it now has contracts for 2Ku Wi-Fi service on 1,500 aircraft of 13 airlines.

And Gogo continues to seek revenue boosts by raising its prices for passengers. Last month, the company raised the price from $16 to $19 for a full-day Wi-Fi pass purchased in advance in the Gogo website– although that is still a much better deal than the $50 or more you’ll pay in flight.

What’s been your recent experience using inflight wi-fi? Is it getting better or worse? On my Virgin America flight to/from DC last week, I was pleasantly surprised at the speed and reliability of the connection, but that’s not always the case!

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Trip Report: The long flight home SIN-SFO

October 27, 2016

Photo of the inflight map of the northerly course of our SIN-SFO flight on Singapore Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

(INFLIGHT SIN>SFO) Well, that was a quick trip! If you’ve been following TravelSkills this week, you know that I jumped on Singapore Airlines’ new nonstop A350 flight from San Francisco to Singapore on Sunday. (Read part 1: Southbound SFO>SIN post)

Here it is on Thursday morning, and I’m northbound,somewhere out over the big dark Pacific Ocean, on the return flight (SQ 32). Our flight started out over the South China Sea, then passed between the Philippines and Taiwan, continuing up along the east coast of Japan. Then it was out over the Northern Pacific, where we skirted past the Aleutian Trench on course to arriving at SFO.

I love a good exotic flight board and the one a Singapore Changi does not disappoint! (Chris McGinnis)

We departed Singapore at 9:25 am on Thursday, and we’ll arrive in San Francisco at 8:40 am on the same day– after flying for about 14 hours. Crazy to think that we’ll arrive before we left. Tailwinds have been kind to our flight, cutting about two hours off our flight time. The southbound journey on Sunday-Monday took 16 hours and 11 minutes, departing noon Sunday, and arriving at around 7 pm on Monday evening.

On this return flight, I was able to watch one movie– Captain Fantastic– highly recommended, a tear jerker but I’m always easily brought to tears on planes for some reason. You? I was also able to get some work done on the laptop, sleep for about four hours, enjoy two gorgeously presented meals (see below) and write this post.

Inflight wi-fi from Panasonic has been extremely fast and reliable on this flight (less so on the way down)– I’m amazed that I can upload photos and post this from the plane. Crazy! I purchased a 24-hour in-flight wi-fi pass for $22— very much worth it to me.

Hainanese pork chop with fried rice (Photo Chris McGinnis)

As usual, for meals, I tried to go native and order Asian/Singaporean dishes. For dinner, I chose the Hainanese pork chop with fried rice. It was good, but a little tough. Breakfast was far better- I opted for the oriental dim sum and loved every bite.

Four choices for breakfast in Singapore Airlines business class- I went native! (Chris McGinnis)

Breakfast onboard Singapore Airlines SQ32 somewhere over the northern Pacific (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This has been a quick trip– just two quick days in Singapore and three very bumpy nights of not-enough-sleep. I’m surprised I have the will and wherewithal to write this! Hope you’ve enjoyed my reports.

I’ll close with one more unusual photo from this trip: A word of warning about some monkey business going on outside my window at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort on Singapore’s southern coastline.

A warning about monkeys at the lovely beachside Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa resort (Chris McGinnis)

(Read part 1: Southbound SFO>SIN post)

–Chris McGinnis

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8 fun facts about inflight wi-fi

January 28, 2016

IcelandAir says it has inflight wi-fi on 95% of its transatlantic flights

A recent infographic about inflight wi-fi prepared by Icelandair caught our eye this month. It contains a mountain of info about one of our favorite subjects, and for your reading pleasure, we’ve excised some of the keenest facts, and then provided the entire graphic below. Enjoy!

1> Fifteen years ago, in 2000, only 4% of US households had broadband. Today it’s 87%. Remember this sound?

2> Every month, two million airline passengers connect to inflight wi-fi, which has only been around since 2004.

3> The average American spends between eight and nine hours per week online—about 35 hours per month.

4> Only 18% of travelers travel with phone, tablet and laptop. (Wait, I thought everyone did that!)

5> In 2013 a whopping 84% of inflight wi-fi users used the Apple OS vs Android. Device type is nearly evenly split three ways between phones, tablets and laptops.

6> While it may not always feel like it, inflight wi-fi speeds are increasing rapidly. For example, Icelandair says that when inflight wi-fi was first introduced in 2004, speed was about 3 Mbps. The newest versions of air-to-ground systems (like Gogo’s) run at about 70 Mbps while satellite based systems (like United’s) run at about 50Mbps.

7> Each seatback entertainment system weighs 13 pounds. Removing those systems and having passengers access systems via their own devices would conserve 80 metric tons of fuel year on a single 260-seat Boeing 767. (In the US, United has tried this approach with mixed results.)

8> Outfitting a typical plane with seatback entertainment systems costs about $3 million per plane.

For all the fun facts, take a spin through the infographic below:

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United to install fleetwide inflight wi-fi (finally!)

November 4, 2011

To me, the introduction of in-flight wi-fi is the best thing to happen to air travel since the introduction of the jet engine. I love it. It makes me more productive. It makes the flight go by much faster. I now choose my flight based on whether or not it has wi-fi. And relatively speaking, it does not cost that much at $6 to $15 per flight.

While SF-based Virgin America has had inflight wi-fi since it first took off in 2007 and Delta Air Lines and AirTran completed fleetwide installations last year, United, the largest carrier at SFO, has only offered it on flights to or from New York.

That’s about to change.

Today United has officially announced that it has selected Panasonic Avionics Corporation to provide Wi-Fi connectivity on more than 300 United Airlines and Continental Airlines mainline aircraft beginning in mid-2012.

And the wait might have been worth it…. That’s because the Panasonic Ku-band system that UAL has chosen will work on flights WORLDWIDE! Across oceans! That’s because the Panasonic system utilizes a satellite based network to provide connectivity. The biggest drawback to the Gogo system used by Virgin, Delta and AirTran is that it’s dependent on a ground based system of antenna, so it only works when flying over the US—once you fly overseas, the service quits. (Gogo does have plans to eventually adopt a satellite-based system; Row 44, which supplies wi-fi to Southwest Airlines, also uses a satellite-based system).

Jim Compton, United’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer said, “As a global carrier, we selected satellite-based Ku-band technology to enable customers to stay connected on long-haul overseas flights, something no other U.S.-based international carrier currently offers.”

United expects to install the Panasonic system on Airbus 319 and 320 and Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 aircraft. Customers will be able to use their wireless devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablets onboard those aircraft to connect with internet service using the in-flight hotspot.

United’s entire mainline fleet will be equipped with Wi-Fi by 2015. Details regarding the installation schedule and pricing are not yet available.

This is super exciting news for United devotees who have felt left behind when nearly every other carrier was offering inflight wi-fi.

How do you feel about this announcement? Will it impact your decision to fly United instead of another carrier? What’s the most you’d pay to be connected to the internet for a flight from SFO to Tokyo…or Frankfurt? Please leave your comments!

Airline News Update

October 4, 2011

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NEW CHARGES FOR PREMIUM BOOZE AT SKY CLUB. Delta is quietly unveiling new charges for premium brand liquor, wine and specialty cocktails at its Sky Club lounges, while well brands and non-premium beer and wine remain complimentary. Other airlines charge for premium brands in their airport lounges, but Delta’s offering appears significantly more expensive with drinks such as mojitos and premium, top-shelf or call-brand cocktails fetching between $10 and $35. Prepare for the up-sell from your ~~bartender~~ mixologist! Not all clubs have instituted this program yet, but watch for it coming to a lounge near you soon– expect a formal announcement from Delta within days about this. (UPDATE: A TICKET reader just sent us what he says is a new Sky Club premium liquor menu, which includes $35 for Jose Cuervo 1942 tequila, $24 for Talisker 18 scotch, $18 for Johnny Walker Green, $12 for Bulleit bourbon or Ketel 1 Vodka, $199 for a bottle of Dom Perignon among others.) Have you paid for a cocktail yet at a Sky Club? What do you think about this new policy? Do you mind paying more for a premium brand that may not have been available before?

NEW TRUSTED TRAVELER LANES AT ATL. The AJC reports that the TSA’s beta test of a trusted traveler program called “TSA PreCheck” has begun at ATL. About 2,000 Delta frequent flyers and those with “Global Entry” status on their passports chosen for the program can use a special lane for expedited screening at the South security checkpoint. The lane has a metal detector instead of a full body scanner, and does not require travelers to remove shoes, belts or jackets. TICKET reader Rupert Barkoff of Atlanta was startled to find the new expedited line open at ATL on Tuesday, and wrote, “If I hadn’t prepared for going through security (i.e., shoes, coat, pockets, etc.) I would have made it through South Security at Hartsfield from entry into the security area through the machine in less than a minute.” What do you think? Is a “trusted traveler” lane the answer to our woes, or is the current special lane for elite members enough for you? Please leave your comments below!

NICE ‘N EASY AIRTRAN A+ DOUBLE POINTS PROMO. Fly to any AirTran destination from September 15 through November 7 and earn double A+ Rewards credit for every flight. With this offer, you’ll earn two A+ credits for each one-way flight, which means you can earn a round reward flight after just 4 legs. Plus, if you book in business class, you will receive three A+ Rewards credits for each leg. You must register to get the bonus. And don’t forget, those A+ Rewards will eventually convert to Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

GOGO EXPERIMENTING WITH PRICING. Gogo has launched a new $1.95 15-minute in-flight wi-fi pass perfect for those who need to make a quick scan of email or check a website on a short flight. Right now, these bite-size passes are available on select flights only and appear on the Gogo home page when logging on during the flight. It’s also offering a $4.95 flight pass available on flights up to 650 miles, which is quite reasonable. On the higher end, Gogo is experimenting with raising rates. On a recent transcontinental flight, your TICKET editor paid $14.95 for wi-fi– $2 more than the standard $12.95 rate he was used to. A Gogo spokesperson told The TICKET: “We are currently testing some new pricing structures on various routes to better gauge the value of the service on a per route basis.” Question: What’s the most you’d pay for wi-fi on a transcontinental flight? How much is too much? (I’ve always thought that charges for inflight wi-fi were quite reasonable given how much more productive I am on long haul flights. However, price seems to be an object for the general public—only about 7% of all passengers opt for wi-fi.)

SPEAKING OF GOGO. In a recent issue of The TICKET, you read that Delta Connection’s fleet of regional jets would soon begin getting Gogo wi-fi access. The first CRJ-700 of Atlantic Southeast Airlines is now ready to surf the web with 250 more to follow rapidly, and all regional jets with first class (CRJ-700s, CRJ-900s, EMB-170s, EMB-175s) will have wi-fi by early 2012. Have you flown one of these Barbie jets yet with wi-fi? Did it work just as well as mainline or was it faster due to fewer passengers on board? Good luck fitting your laptop on those tiny RJ tray tables, though!

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IS DELTA GETTING INTO BED WITH VIRGIN? Delta and Virgin Australia will launch a transpacific codeshare beginning in November as part of their existing joint venture. V Australia’s flights will move to Delta’s terminal at LAX to boost the number of passenger connection opportunities. This codeshare easily opens up nonstop flights to Brisbane and Melbourne from LAX in addition to Delta’s existing B777 service to Sydney. Earning and redeeming miles on each other’s flights and reciprocal lounge access are other benefits for consumers. And with Richard Branson’s near constant mentions of Virgin Atlantic’s interest in joining a global alliance, will this help SkyTeam bag one of the industry’s hottest names? Only time will tell! (Remember back in the day when you could redeem SkyMiles for Virgin flights to London from JFK?)

MCGINNIS ON BBC.COM. Have you read TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s recent business travel columns on BBC.com? Here’s a sampling of his most popular recent posts:

>How to book a better hotel room

>Using the train to catch your plane

>Five easy ways to brush up quickly on a new country

>Getting your money’s worth in business class

EASIER ROUND-THE-WORLD SKYMILES TIX. If you’ve racked up enough SkyMiles to take a trip around the Earth (and that would be 180,000 miles in economy and 280,000 miles in business class), it just got a lot easier to plan. In the past, travelers were forced to endure long phone calls with agents crafting together these complex itineraries with rules (like no geographical backtracking). Now, SkyTeam has launched a user-friendly tool on its website that allows travelers to piece together their own round-the-world itineraries themselves before calling Delta to book them. The awards cannot be booked online and must be booked through a special service desk, but this new online tool eases the experience considerably. Here’s the link. Bon voyage!

LATIN/CARIBBEAN SKYMILES BONUS. If you have flight plans between Atlanta, JFK, or Boston and several destinations in Latin America or the Caribbean this fall, there are some bonus miles in your future. Register for this Sept. 15-Nov. 15 promotion at and fly one of the promotional routes to qualify for double SkyMiles. Destinations include Santo Domingo, Bermuda, San Juan, Buenos Aires and Rio.

DELTA HUBS TOPS IN ON TIME PERFORMANCE. FlightStats ranked airports based on on-time departures during September, and Delta’s hubs performed quite well. Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, OR, and Minneapolis/St. Paul airports all exceeded 90% on-time departures. The average on-time departure performance for the group in September was 78% up over 6 percentage points from August’s 72%. On the downside, New York La Guardia and JFK ranked near the bottom.

SLC Salt Lake City – 92.01%
SEA Seattle – 90.84%
PDX Portland – 90.79%
MSP Minneapolis – 90.17%
MEM Memphis – 86.66%
OAK Oakland – 86.01%
TPA Tampa – 85.58%
YVR Vancouver – 85.28%
ATL Atlanta – 85.21%
PHX Phoenix – 85.14%

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Slow go with Diet Coke Gogo wi-fi promo

August 5, 2011

UPDATE: ROUND TWO: A second promotional freebie is scheduled to run for just six days: Tuesday, August 16-Sunday August 21. What’s different about this one is that it’s only good for a 30-minute trial (not unlimited use). Once the 30 minutes are up, users will be logged off and asked to pay for the connection at standard rates. The 30-minute trial promo is also sponsored by Diet Coke, but no promo code is needed this time.

Gogo tower in remote Nevada location

There’s been some confusing, conflicting and erroneous information circulating about the free Gogo wi-fi promotion on Delta sponsored by Diet Coke this week, but the TICKET has the scoop:

First, a report from our intrepid airline correspondent Ramsey Qubein who took advantage of the promo on Delta flights this week. His report confirms what we’ve heard from several other TICKET readers:

“Wi-fi is available for free, but log on early as the speed can really slow to a crawl when the whole plane is using it. Typically, it seems to handle about 50 people well, but beyond that, the service slows down. Many flight attendants know about the code [DIETCOKEGOGO], but admit to not announcing it on the PA because it could lead to slower service for everyone.”

We contacted Gogo spokesman Steven Nolan to find out what was going on. First, he told us that the current promotion using the DIETCOKEGOGO code was only intended to run for the first few days of August— NOT the entire month as has been widely reported. He said that the promo was designed to be available only until they reached certain goals in terms of users and impressions (which he would not reveal). When we spoke on Friday morning, he said that those goals had been reached and the promo code would no longer work.

ROUND TWO: Nolan said that a second promotional freebie is scheduled to run for just six days: [UPDATE:] Tuesday, August 16-Sunday August 21. What’s different about this one is that it’s only good for a 30-minute trial (not unlimited use). Once the 30 minutes are up, users will be logged off and asked to pay for the connection at standard rates. The 30-minute trial promo is also sponsored by Diet Coke.

Nolan said that Gogo is confident that its system can handle the increased traffic around such promotions, but if pre-paid monthly users report that their experience is sub-par, Gogo will handle the complaint on a case-by-case basis. He also said that Gogo has not experienced a spike in complaints about slow service this week.

Interested in reading more about in-flight internet availability around the world? Then be sure to check out TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s BBC.com column from this week: In-flight wi-fi slow to expand outside the US. A great read!

Have you used in-flight wi-fi this week? How did it go for you? Please leave your comments below!

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Some flyers "get what they pay for" with free Wi-Fi

December 16, 2010

How’s that free holiday in-flight Wi-Fi working out for ya?

As many frequent travelers know by now, Google is sponsoring free in-flight Wi-Fi on AirTran, Delta and Virgin America through January 2. That’s a great thing!

However, as often happens when something is free, you end up getting what you pay for.

Over the last several days I’ve heard from several readers experiencing frequent outages or poor connections when using in-flight Wi-Fi. This sounded unusual to me because, as a frequent user of the Gogo system, I’ve been very impressed with its ease of use, great connections and lack of any technical difficulties at all.

But it sounds like that’s not the case this month. Here’s a sampling of emails I’ve received:

>“Just flew Denver-Atlanta. Bumped off three times.” -R.S.

>“I had lots of outages on a flight to Las Vegas two weeks ago. I would have rather paid and had it work.” -J.B.

>“Last week I flew up to Charlotte from Atlanta and to Miami this week. Gogo fails constantly and is unreliable now. I would rather be given an option to pay for the connection, versus what I experience now.” –D.O.

The TICKET contacted a spokesperson for Aircell/Gogo to inquire about the outages. Here’s her response:

Anytime we give away Gogo access for free, we see the usage soar through the roof. This holiday promotion has been no different and almost every day is a new usage record for us. Pushing the boundaries certainly makes the system run a bit slower, and there are some situations in which we’re limiting the number of users who can get on the web on a given flight. Though a passenger might perceive that we’re having a technical issue, the reality is that we’re managing the network such that we permit the maximum number of passengers to use Gogo without degrading the experience too much. As you can imagine, that’s a tricky balance to strike – and while it has the potential to leave a few travelers unhappy, we think most are pretty pleased.

I’ve also heard from other airline insiders that the problem is especially acute when flying around the Atlanta area. This of course is due to the fact that both AirTran and Delta are the two carriers operating the most flights in the world with in-flight Wi-Fi—and the pipe is just not fat enough. Apparently, recent usage levels are close to 50 percent of passengers, up from the normal 5-10 percent.

So enjoy it while it’s free—if you can get on. Connections should improve when the freebie is over on January 3.

Have YOU experienced any recent connectivity issues lately when using Wi-Fi on AirTran, Delta or Virgin America? LET US KNOW what happened! Leave your comments below.

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Delta News

November 30, 2010

DELTA BRINGS WI-FI TO REGIONAL JETS. Delta is bringing wireless Internet access to its fleet of 70-90 passenger EMB-170, CRJ-700 and CRJ-900 Delta Connection aircraft. This industry first for a U.S. carrier will help ease the pain of flying on those smaller, cute-but-cramped “Barbie jets” (as we like to call them around here). Anyway, don’t expect to enjoy the free Wi-Fi that Google is offering during the holiday season on Delta mainline flights. Retrofits will begin next month and should take all year to complete as each aircraft takes its turn getting the antennas. As of now, each of Delta’s mainline aircraft is fitted with wireless Internet. Both Air Tran and Delta offer 100 percent Wi-Fi equipped planes keeping Atlanta travelers connected in the air. I’m glad to know that Wi-Fi’s an option on Delta’s RJs, but I rarely use it for flights less than two hours. And have you tried to open up and work on a laptop on a Barbie jet? Maybe Delta’s doing this for those using tablets and PDAs… What do YOU think? Leave your comments below.

DELTA PREMIUM ECONOMY. As reported earlier in The TICKET, Delta is reportedly introducing a new premium economy product on its international aircraft. More rumors have emerged hinting that it will be closer to United’s Economy Plus product rather than a separate cabin with individual service– with more leg room, but no different than the rest of the economy cabin. While details are still being fleshed out, it’s certain that there will be a slight premium to purchase these seats, but Delta’s Medallion and SkyTeam Elite/Elite Plus members will likely be able to select seats in these rows without a fee.

MAJOR MEMBERSHIP REWARDS BONUS OPPORTUNITY. Participants in American Express’ Membership Rewards program can take advantage of one of its best mileage transfer deals ever this month. Move points from the AMEX program to SkyMiles and receive a 50% bonus on miles plus 25,000 MQMs if transferring 50,000 points or more. A small fee is incurred when transferring miles. Hurry, the promotion ends Dec. 15. https://www.delta.com/pet/gofarther/pet/main

CONTRIBUTE TO TO A CAUSE, EARN MQM MILES. Check this out! SkyMiles members hoping to top off accounts with Medallion Qualifying Miles this year can donate to a variety of causes, including AID Atlanta, and earn 2500-5000 MQMs. Not bad! Details.

DOUBLE SKYMILES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. Bonus SkyMiles abound this winter especially for international travelers. To celebrate Delta’s joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia, it’s offering double miles no matter what class of service is flown. Registration is required: https://www.delta.com/pet/transatlanticdouble/pet/main. Routes include JFK-Brussels, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Manchester; Dallas/Ft. Worth-Amsterdam; Houston-Amsterdam and Paris; and Seattle-Paris among others. You might have to take a circuitous route, but you’ll rack up miles twice as fast on transatlantic trips thanks to this excellent deal.

GOLD MEDALLION = SKYTEAM ELITE PLUS. Delta insiders have told The TICKET that it will be making a major change to the Gold Medallion frequent flyer elite level in March 2011 when it elevates the tier to SkyTeam Elite Plus status. This puts SkyTeam in line with other alliances like Star Alliance, which consider flyers with 50,000 annual miles to be in their alliance’s highest tier. Privileges of SkyTeam Elite Plus include increased baggage allowance with some carriers and access to any SkyTeam carrier’s lounge when traveling on an international SkyTeam ticket (no matter the class of service). NOTE: Remember to always carry your Medallion card as it is required to gain entry in conjunction with a same-day departing SkyTeam boarding pass.

NEW “LITE” VERSION OF SKY CLUB? Rumors are in the air about a new concept dubbed “Sky Club Lite,” which would be a scaled-down version of the existing Sky Club product in cities that may not be able to justify the expense of a full-service Sky Club. While still under consideration, the club will most likely be “unmanned,” and offer a self-service drink and snack station. No decisions have been made regarding what the product would be and how it would be accessed if implemented. Fifteen airports across the system are reportedly under consideration for the offering, but no official date has been set for a decision. This concept was in use in the 1980s when airlines offered private club rooms to premium customers who accessed them by entering a pin code at the door.

SKY CLUB COMING TO ATL CONCOURSE D. Sky Club members have something else to look forward to in the coming year: Delta is apparently building a Sky Club in ATL’s D Concourse. The concourse is served by Delta Connection regional jets, and is the only terminal at the airport that lacks a SkyClub. Previously, passengers had no lounge option when flying from D gates, but the new club will provide a self-service bar and snack stations. The club will be located on the ground level near departure gates, but no completion date has been set.

Note the iPads at each table in this mock up of Delta’s Bar Brace at La Guardia

HIGH TECH GATE GRUB AT JFK. Delta has installed special iPad kiosks near boarding gates 15, 21 and 22 at JFK that allow passengers to place orders at various gourmet eateries in the terminal for guaranteed delivery within ten minutes at the gate. Special seating areas near the gate feature charging stations and allow you to enjoy an expedited meal near the gate rather than take too much time in the actual restaurant. Expect similar service at New York LaGuardia (gates 1 and 2) sometime next spring.

CAR SERVICE IN NYC. Nothing is worse than flying up to NYC during the winter and facing an hour-long wait in a taxicab queue. At this time of year, we ALWAYS use a car service. The cheapest one with the most reliable service that we’ve used over the years: Dial 7. Memorize its number: 212-777-7777. Rates from airport to city typically run only $5 or so more than taxi fares. Cars are not always brand new and shiny, but they get the job done. Many times you can call as soon as you land and get a car at the last minute, but we recommend a reservation. DO YOU USE A CAR SERVICE? If you’d like to recommend others, please do so in the comments box below.

DELTA EXPANDING OUT WEST. Delta is boosting its point-to-point network further with the addition of B737 nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Orange County beginning in January.

NEW SKYTEAM PARTNERS. In 2012 both Garuda Indonesia and Aerolineas Argentinas will join the SkyTeam alliance. Despite a spotty safety record, Garuda has made a big turnaround recently and was named the “World’s Most Improved Airline” in 2010 by SkyTrax. It’s been a somewhat bumpy ride for Aerolineas Argentinas in recent years, too, which lead to a nationalization (and stabilization) of the carrier two years ago.

VIETNAM? ROMANIA? GET A BONUS. Speaking of SkyTeam, travelers flying on two of the alliance’s newest members, Vietnam Airlines and TAROM Romanian Airlines, can take advantage of a unique promotion that offers 3,000 bonus SkyMiles for your first roundtrip international flight on either of the airlines. Registration is required at https://www.delta.com/pet/tarombonus/pet/main for TAROM and https://www.delta.com/pet/vietnambonus/pet/main for Vietnam Airlines. Both members joined the alliance this past summer and offer excellent award availability for those looking to redeem frequent flyer miles. Unfortunately, the only way to find out which flights are available for award redemption is by calling Delta directly as delta.com does include these partners yet.

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