George Clooney will star in a new movie about a chronic frequent flyer who spends his life travelling around the country to fire people from their jobs. The plot is actually a romantic comedy as Clooney is joined by a young (female) efficiency expert whom he must show the ropes to.
The movie itself looks great with early pre-release reviews commending Clooney on a stellar performance. The two trailers, that are currently available (viewable below) portray a light hearted and funny plotline. However, one review states that is it somewhat of a tear-jerker as well. So ladies, bring your tissues for this one!
I would go so far as to say that anyone who reads this site should definitely watch Up In The Air. The trailer has a funny sketch about choosing the best line at security – something I’m currently considering writing an article on. It was funny to see the thought process that Bingham (Clooney) went through here. I can’t wait for the film to be released so I can give a more detailed review.
The Up in the air release date in the US is 25th December with limited previews from 4th December. Australia release date is 7th January 2010, UK is 15th January 2010 with the rest of Europe around this time as well. Sadly, readers in Finland won’t be able to catch this move until 19th March 2010 for some strange reason.
Anyway, there are two Up In The Air trailers below.
#1 is the teaser trailer that was release first to give you a small glimpse of the movie:
#2 is the theatrical trailer that shows more of the plot line and will be show in cinemas:
This article will give you five facts that everyone should know before choosing the best Air Asia X seat for your next flight. As well as informing you of the best Air Asia X seats and explaining the truth about the Air Asia X seat pitch, this article will also explain how to actually go about securing these seats for your next flight.
Tip #1: The real Air Asia X seat pitch
Many major newspapers around the world incorrectly slate Air Asia for having very small seats with only a 31” seat pitch. Well 31” isn’t that small and it is actually the same as British Airways, Lufthansa and United Airlines have. Even tall people can still fit in these seats no problem.
Tip#2: Seat widths
Air Asia X use Airbus A330 aircraft equipped with 9 seats (3-3-3) across. Most airlines that use the aircraft have 8 seats across (2-4-2). Air Asia was smart about it and reduced the width of the aisles and the armrests making the seats only slightly narrower. If you are fine with a regular Economy seat, then you will find Air Asia X seats to be comfortable enough as well.
Tip#3: Seat recline
The genius behind the 9 seat across plan was clearly having a bad day when the seat recline options were chosen. Air Asia X seats do not recline, instead the base slides forward to create an angled back. If you are in a regular seat this will kill most of your legroom and make it very uncomfortable. This is not an issue with exit row/bulkhead seats or if you are a small person. Air Asia X has listened to customer feedback and is replacing these seats with regular ones in 2010. Until then, remember to bring a neck pillow.
Tip #4: Exit row seats
It is worth mentioning that all seats on Air Asia X have individual TV screens with video on demand. The TV for exit row seats is in the armrest, which normally makes these seats slightly narrower. Air Asia X decided this would make these seats too small. Instead, the airline made the middle seat in the Exit row very narrow and always leaves these seats empty. This is a great as it means the remaining exit row seats have unlimited legroom and they have an empty seat next to them. These seats can be booked in advance, for a fee, anytime including at time of booking and are labelled as hot seats. These normally cost 100 Ringgit, £20GBP or $40AUD.
Tip#5: Bulkhead seats
Bulkhead seats are a similar story to Exit row seats. The middle seat is always free as it is too narrow for anyone to sit in. The downside of bulkhead seats is that their legroom is slightly limited when compared to exit row seats. Furthermore, they are more likely to have babies in them as these seats are next to the bassinet. Still, if exit row seats are not available, these are excellent seats to have. Again, you can book these on the Air Asia X website when you book you ticket or at any time until you have checked in. Also note that if these seats are empty, you will not be permitted to sit in them unless you have paid the extra hot seat charge.
When you arrive at an airport, there is usually an organised taxi counter where you can wait in line to take a taxi to your final destination. There are two issues with these.
1) There is often a long line – The last thing you want to do after a long flight is to be waiting in line after a long haul flight.
2) There is usually an additional airport charge which gets added to the Taxi meter – Sometimes it is a flat fare which works out a lot more expensive then the meter fare.
A great trick is to make your way to the departures drop-off point and get into a taxi that is just dropping off a passenger. While some airports frown on this, it is impossible for them to monitor and control. It means you don’t have to wait for a taxi and you avoid paying extra airport charges.
Airports are usually a considerable distance outside of town. When a taxi driver takes a passenger to the airport, it does not make sense to drive all the way back without picking up a new passenger. However, due to the high number of passengers wanting a taxi at airports, there are usually a lot of taxis waiting for arriving passengers.
A taxi driver will therefore have to wait some time before getting to the front of the line to pick up passengers. By picking up a passenger at the departures hall, they can save themselves a considerable amount of time.
The end result is a cheaper fare for you, very little queuing and no waiting for the taxi driver. This lets you get to your destination faster and at less cost.
For most of us, finding out a flight is delayed usually happens after you arrive at the airport. From this point on, there is little to do but sit around and wait. Well what if you could predict delays before they even happen.
I’m not talking about any paranormal methods here. Springwise.com recently published a review of an interesting new application. Using similar technology to advanced weather computers, San Francisco-based FlightCaster has developed a tool to predict flight delays before they even happen.
The application is available for iPhone and Blackberry at a cost of US$9.99. Simply enter any flight number into the application. The technology then performs a complex calculation involving historic data, the US National Weather Service, FAA Air Traffic data and FlightStats.com.
For example, if the inbound aircraft is delayed in a snowstorm across the other side of the country, then FlightCaster could work out the chance of the delay affecting the return flight using weather information and FAA Air Traffic data.
The end result is a percentage chance of the plane being on time, delayed by under an hour or delayed by over an hour. This way, FlightCaster claim, the passenger can make an informed decision whether or not to travel to the airport. At the moment, the application only works in the USA but it shouldn’t be long before international expansion materialises.
My personal view is that this application is much more useful for planning your time rather than deciding to go to the airport or not. If you have calls to make, then you can plan extra time at the airport if you are expecting a delay. Not going to the airport seems a bit drastic and most of the time I would still need to get to my destination, even if there is a delay. It seems FlightCaster has a lot of potential, but they need to work on their marketing.
