Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

Remember the CLEAR registered traveler program? Those who shelled out $179 per year got a special bio-metric membership card, which provided access to exclusive, shorter security lines at 21 airports across the country.

While CLEAR won the hearts and wallets of its customers, it struggled with debt and demand and abruptly shut down last June.

In recent months, a new company called Alclear announced an agreement to purchase the assets of the old company (Verified Identity Pass) and crank the operation back up.

Alclear’s first move was to update the www.flyclear.com web site, which had been dormant. The revived site encourages previous, new, or just curious travelers to fill out a form and vote on which airports where they’d like to see the service. (The site updated again on June 25 with more new info.)

CLEAR says that it will be in both Denver and Orlando later this fall. Prior to shut down, CLEAR was at all three Bay Area airports, OAK, SFO and SJC. But don’t get your hopes up for a quick return. The new company has to sign all new airport agreements, a process which could take quite a while. The site says, “We are in discussions with multiple airports to re-introduce CLEAR,” but does not mention any airports by name. Company president Ken Cornick told The BAT that all three Bay Area airports are targeted to get the service back, but he could not offer any more specifics.

(This post appeared first in The BAT blog for Bay Area frequent travelers. Sign up for The BAT today!)

The site’s FAQs also state that the new company will honor previous members’ remaining membership terms as of June 2009. (For example, those who had three months left in their term will get three months free membership.)It also says that old card will still work…so don’t throw them away!

In what appears to a bungled first step, this week Alclear sent out a confusing and unwieldy email (two full pages, 1200 words) to former members. The gist of the tome was to ask those former members who DO NOT want back in to send the new company a letter (via snail mail) asking to “opt-out” of the new program and have their data destroyed. (Here’s the full email.) Cornick told The BAT he was regretful, but said that this communication procedure was mandated by courts and privacy lawyers and they had to maintain a hands off approach.

Anyway… I was a former member of CLEAR and must admit that the service paid for itself, but not because it actually saved me all that much time. As an elite level member of several frequent flyer programs, I already had access to shorter, faster security lines.

What CLEAR did was remove the uncertainty from the airport screening process– here at Bay Area airports as well as in other airports that don’t have special elite lines, or those that have unpredictable wait times. To me, as a frequent business traveler, that kind of peace of mind was worth $179.

So, frequent travelers, what do you think? Would you sign up again or for the first time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRKw567GVo

Remember last Christmas when the “underwear bomber” almost brought down a Delta jumbo-jet over Detroit?

That prompted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to grab a big pile of federal stimulus money for about 500 more full body scanners– you know, the ones that produce images like the one you see below.

There are currently 97 of the so-called “advanced imaging units” in use at airports across the country, but TSA says that number will soar to around 500 by the end of this year– with nearly 1000 in place by the end of 2011. That means frequent travelers should expect to encounter more of them, and soon.

Here’s what you need to know:

>WHERE ARE THEY? Just last week The BAT was invited down to San Jose Mineta International to check out the four new “backscatter” scanners that are currently being deployed at that airport’s Terminal A. (Four more units should be operational in SJC’s brand new Terminal B when it opens on June 30.) At San Francisco International, you’ll find full body scanners in the international terminal only. Oakland International expects installation of scanners to begin in July (Terminal 1) and August (Terminal 2).

>WHAT ARE THEY? There are two types of full body scanners: “Backscatter” scanners, which are in use at San Jose Airport, and older “millimeter wave” scanners which are in use at the international concourse at SFO. (See video for a look at the new generation units.)

>WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE? The newer backscatter machines look like two big blue boxes with a small open alley down the middle. (Millimeter wave units are rounder looking with the passenger surrounded by Plexiglas for the scan.)

>HOW DO I GET SCANNED? You walk into the scanners, turn sideways, place feet in square boxes marked on the rubber floor, hold hands up and wait for the TSA agent to tell you to exit. The whole process takes about five seconds. (See video for a real-life walk through.)

>WHAT IS DIFFERENT? As usual, you must remove shoes and belts and place them with carry-on luggage in bins. But when getting a full body scan, you must also remove your wallet or any other non-metallic objects from pockets.  (Wallet removal is not necessary with the standard magnetometers.)

>WHAT ABOUT RADIATION? The TSA says that the radiation emitted by these machines is equivalent to what you are exposed to during about two minutes aboard at aircraft at altitude, and far less than what the government permits for cell phones.

>WHAT DO SCANNERS SCAN? Body scanners only expose what’s between your skin and the clothes you are wearing. They are NOT like x-rays, which penetrate your skin and show internal organs and bone. (This is a plus for travelers with artificial joints or other metallic implants who’ve been slowed down and forced to submit to pat downs at traditional magnetometers.)

>WHO SEES MY PRIVATES? The TSA agent directing you into the full body scanner never sees your image.  This officer is wearing an earpiece and is in radio contact with another TSA officer viewing your image in a remote area. Once your image has been checked, this officer then tells the attending officer to allow you to pass, or to subject you to secondary screening if he/she sees any anomalies.  (See video for a behind the scenes look at the remote viewing room.)

>WHAT HAPPENS TO THE IMAGES? The TSA emphasizes that these images cannot be stored, saved or transmitted. In addition, they do no allow officers to bring cameras, cell phones or PDA’s in rooms where images are viewed. (Except for ours, of course, but that was just for the media…)

>WHAT ABOUT ADULT DIAPERS OR SANITARY PADS? Citing confidentiality, the TSA officer at San Jose Airport would not tell me how or if the machines can tell the difference between a sanitary pad and contraband placed in the crotch area.

>WHO IS PAYING FOR ALL THIS? You are. The units cost about $150,000 a pop, which means that the TSA spent nearly $75 million on this latest round of full body scanners. (Check out how the stock of OSI Systems, parent of scanner manufacturer Rapiscan, has soared since Christmas when this order was placed)

So, what do you think, folks? Is this an invasion of your privacy, or a necessary evil for safety’s sake?

Okay. Yes. I think I want one. Like everyone else the country, I was mesmerized when Steve Jobs introduced us to the iPad earlier this year. But I’m not ready to pre-order one. And I’m not willing to go wait in line for one. But I’m still very interested in getting one. Maybe. Why? As a frequent air traveler, I really do think this gadget could change my traveling life. Here are five reasons why:

1) It’s small enough for me to use in a coach seat. I love in-flight Wi-Fi and am a heavy user but only when I’m upgraded to a roomy seat up front or on the exit row. Have you tried to work on your laptop in coach lately? Nearly impossible. Since the iPad is about as big as a magazine (and I could cradle it in my arm like a magazine), I see it as a salvation and escape from the horrors of a tight coach seat.

2) It’s got 10 hours of battery life according to Apple. Not all airlines that offer in-flight Wi-Fi offer in-flight power plugs. That’s a big problem for me because my MacBook only gets 2-3 hours of battery life when I’m using Wi-Fi. So I pay the $13 for a 5-6 hour cross country flight, but only get to use it for about half that time. The iPad could solve that dilemma for me.

3) It’s light. It’s a “reader.” It’s got iBooks and magazines. I’m always tossing a stack of magazines and the book I’m reading into my carry on bag. You know what? Those magazines are HEAVY. Sometimes the book I’m reading is so fat that I rip it in half so it will fit in my bag. With an iPad I may not have to do that anymore. With it, I’d have access to zillions of books and magazines in a slim 1.5 lb package. It would also work well on day trips when I fly out in the morning and fly back at night and all I really need to do is scan email. If I had to do any heavy typing, I’d probably haul along the laptop, too.

4) It’s not a phone, but it does have Wi-Fi, an earphone/microphone jack and a microphone, so I can use it to communicate via Skype and even participate in VOIP conferences on planes. (I know I know, you are not supposed to be able to do this, but let’s be honest here…. people are easily getting around VOIP blocks on planes with Wi-Fi and chatting away in flight. Sometimes flight attendants will shut them down. Sometimes they just ignore it.)

5) It’s not tied to AT&T, so when I go overseas, I could buy a prepaid SIM card and get online with another network without paying outrageous roaming fees. But that might be a while off. The iPad has what’s known as a “micro SIM card” about half the size of a normal SIM, which is so new that it might be hard to buy overseas. For now at least. Nonetheless, I really don’t need 3G access anyway, because I’ll still have Wi-Fi which does not require a SIM.

So, that’s a list of “pros.” Can you all help me with any “cons?” Should I take the leap and say YES, drop $500+ and check this thing out? Or should I wait? Please help push me off the fence.

Let me know what you all are thinking about the iPad in the comments box below.

I’m a huge fan of in-flight Wi-Fi, especially for flights longer than 90 minutes, so I’m excited to learn that two more airlines that serve the Bay Area in a big way are adding it. But not for a while.

First off, Alaska Air announced that it’s reached a deal with AirCell’s Gogo—the same provider used by Virgin America, United, Delta and others. But don’t hold your breath. The carrier still has to go through testing and certification with the FAA. It plans to outfit its fleet of new Boeing 737-800’s first, but has not officially set a target date for installation.

One downside: Much of Alaska Airlines’ flying is over water or desolate areas in Alaska, Canada and Mexico where the ground-based Gogo system is currently out of range of the network of radio towers it depends on. That means I’ll get a good Wi-Fi signal in-flight if I choose an Alaska Airlines flight from here to Seattle or Austin. (It adds a second daily “Nerd Bird” nonstop between San Jose and Austin next week.) But my Wi-Fi is not going to work on those new Alaska Air flights from here to Hawaii. And it will be spotty at best on the long coastal flights between Seattle and Anchorage.

Here’s where this story gets ironic. Southwest Airlines, which flies almost exclusively over land, has chosen another in-flight Wi-Fi provider called Row 44, which uses a satellite-based system that works over water and just about anywhere else.

At one time, Alaska Airlines seemed close to landing a deal with Row 44, which would make sense given its flying patterns. Instead, it’s gone with land-based Gogo. Why? “Ultimately Alaska Airlines decided to go with Aircell’s Gogo service because of its proven track record of deploying affordable inflight Wi-Fi services to travelers. Its lower-cost equipment, coupled with the ease and speed of installation and finally its system reliability, allow us  to rapidly deploy a desirable service to customers,” Alaska Airlines spokesperson Bobbie Egan told The BAT.

Anyway, Southwest plans to start outfitting its fleet of 540 Boeing 737’s this spring, and says Wi-Fi will be available fleet wide by late 2012.

Frequent travelers from the Bay Area are lucky… they have more in-flight Wi-Fi choices than nearly any other major city. (Except maybe Atlanta, where AirTran offers it on all flights from its hub there, and Delta’s got it on well over half its fleet.) From the Bay, all Virgin America flights offer it. Delta, United and American offer it on all flights between SFO and JFK, and on select flights to other cities. AirTran offers it on all flights between here and Atlanta and beyond.

Have you tried in-flight Wi-Fi? Are you as big a fan as I am? I can’t think of a better way to take advantage of a long flight. To me, it’s the greatest thing since the introduction of the in-flight movie. I don’t mind paying for it either. It definitely drives my airline choice, especially when planning flights longer than 90 minutes. Please leave your comments and experiences with in-flight Wi-Fi below.

Here’s an interesting video that explains how Gogo’s ground-based in-flight internet works:

(scroll down two view my two-minute video tour of the new terminals)

The sleek new look of Mineta-San Jose’s new airport terminal reminds me of my iPod. Or a space ship. Or a museum. In any case, it’s cutting edge design is now a much more befitting symbol of the Silicon Valley than the version 1.0, which sort of reminded me of my 60’s-era elementary school. (Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

[The BAT is now on SFgate! Check it out here.]

Last month, the Silicon Valley Business Travel Association invited me to their monthly meeting, which was hosted by airport officials. The SVBTA is a 240+ person organization that represents the interests of corporate travel buyers in the South Bay region—to the tune of just over $1 billion per year. (see svbta.org)

San Jose airport authorities brought in SVBTA members for a look-see because they are eager to get support from the business community necessary to attract more flights and more airlines to its fancy new digs. Why? Because the new digs cost a whopping $1.3 billion, and that mortgage will be repaid in large part by the fees airlines pay to fly in and out of SJC. (The airport is self-sustaining and does not rely on local tax funds.)

Despite its location in largest city in the Bay Area and adjacency to some of the world’s largest tech companies that spend billions of dollars each year on travel, San Jose airport handles less than 20% of all commercial flights in the region.

(Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

The tech bubble burst and recession have had a severe impact on the airport. For example, the number of daily flights at SJC has fallen from 232 in 2001 to just 125 in 2010—that’s a 42 percent decline. The number of destinations served nonstop has declined from 39 to 28 in the same period. International flights to Tokyo and Paris were scrubbed long ago. Passenger numbers have declined nearly 40 percent.

Airport authorities blame a lot of this decline on what they call the “Virgin Effect.” They say that when Virgin America cranked up operations at San Francisco International in 2007, airlines quickly “herded” around the new entrant, concentrating their Bay Area flying at SFO and slashing prices to protect their market share. That means SFO added 83 new flights since 2007 while OAK and SJC have experienced losses in flights and passenger numbers.

However, there are some notable new flights at SJC: Alaska starts flights to Maui and Kona in March; Horizon just added new flights to Mammoth Mountain and will add flights to Spokane next month. In May, JetBlue adds nonstops to Boston.

(Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

Airport Primer:

If you find your way to San Jose for a flight in the near future, here’s what you need to know:

>All that’s left of the old structure is the current Terminal C, which will be demolished by this summer. Currently, if you fly into Terminal C (Alaska/Horizon, Delta, Frontier, US Airways), your bags will actually arrive at Terminal B due to construction. (This will change in June 2010 when all airlines move to A or B.)

>Terminal A (16 gates), originally opened in 1990 but has gotten a complete makeover, with a brand new ticketing area, concessions, and a big, bright new security screening area which opened last November. Terminal A handles American, Continental, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Mexicana and United flights.

>The bright new Terminal B Concourse (see video) partially opened last summer with six gates for Southwest Airlines flights. However, until Concourse B is complete this summer, Southwest passengers must enter security at Terminal A and take a rather long walk to their gates. (Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

>Eventually, an entirely new south Concourse will rise from the site of the current Concourse C, but that depends on when  airport traffic levels recover enough to justify the expansion.

>A new consolidated car rental center and parking deck (the building with the exterior skin featuring giant hands, which can be seen for miles) should open in June.

For more information on airport changes, maps, and services, go to www.flysanjose.com.

(Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

[The BAT is now on SFgate! Check it out here.]

Travelers who pay anything for Wi-Fi over the holidays are paying too much…In addition to teaming up with Virgin America to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi, Google will pick up the Wi-Fi tab for travelers logging on at 47 airports across the country now through January 15.

Regrettably, the only Bay Area airport getting the Google freebie is San Jose. You’ll still pay at SFO (via T-Mobile), and you’ll still get it for free at OAK, but Google is not footing the bill there.  The list of participating airports is a mish-mash of some big majors (Baltimore, Boston, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Seattle) and some tiny ones…such as Central Wisconsin, Kalamazoo or Spokane.

We asked our contacts at Google why SFO was not on the list and here’s what they said: “We worked with a variety of providers to make this happen and reached out to all top 50 airports (and the relevant providers) in the U.S. – unfortunately not every airport or provider chose to participate (for a variety of reasons) but we are always open to consider adding other airports or providers should they be interested.”

If you find yourself at one of the 47 airports listed below, just fire up the laptop and select the option for free Wi-Fi. NICE! No credit card or lengthy sign-in process required. This is a good thing because I think the long login process using services like T-Mobile dissuades use more than the nominal fee…just my two cents!

The catch: when you sign on you will be asked if you want to set Google as your home page or try it’s Chrome browser. Also, Google will have access to some aggregate, non-personally identifiable information from each airport.

Austin (AUS) Baltimore (BWI) Billings (BIL) Boston (BOS) Bozeman (BZN) Buffalo (BUF) Burbank (BUR) Cent. Wisconsin (CWA) Charlotte (CLT) Des Moines (DSM) El Paso (ELP) Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Fort Myers/SW (RSW) Greensboro (GSO) Houston (HOU) Houston Bush (IAH)

Indianapolis (IND) Jacksonville (JIA) Kalamazoo (AZO) Las Vegas (LAS) Louisville (SDF) Madison (MSN) Memphis (MEM) Miami (MIA) Milwaukee (MKE) Monterey (MRY) Nashville (BNA) Newport News (PHF) Norfolk (ORF) Oklahoma City (OKC) Omaha (OMA) Orlando (MCO)

Panama City (PFN) Pittsburgh (PIT) Portland (PWM) Sacramento (SMF) San Antonio (SAT) San Diego (SAN) San Jose (SJC) Seattle (SEA) South Bend (SBN) Spokane (GEG) St. Louis (STL) State College (SCE) Toledo (TOL) Traverse City (TVC) West Palm Beach (PBI)

The optimal price for inflight Wi-Fi seems to be … FREE. At least on Virgin America, Delta, AirTran and American…

Some really great news today from Virgin America and Google– especially for those like us who have become addicted to in-flight Wi-Fi and expect it on EVERY flight. Especially those transcons! Although this offer has a time limit, we are thinking that this could be the beginning of a trend….free SPONSORED in-flight Wi-Fi. What do you think of that?

Here’s the announcement from Virgin:

San Francisco – Oct. 19, 2009 – Virgin America, the airline that is reinventing domestic travel, today announced an exclusive partnership with Google to offer free in-flight WiFi to all of its guests during the holidays. The two California-based companies known for innovation, entrepreneurialism and for connecting people in new ways, have again joined forces to give Virgin America fliers the gift of in-flight connection during the holiday travel season. From Nov. 10, 2009-Jan. 15, 2010, guests on all Virgin America flights will be able to check email, gift shop online, stay in touch with family and friends via social media, or just go wherever the web takes them – all for free. In May, Virgin America became the first airline to offer Gogo® Inflight Internet service on every flight. Here’s the whole story: http://www.freeholidaywifi.com

This comes on the heels of an announcement by a company called Row 44, which is working with Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines to install a new, free, commercially sponsored in-flight Wi-Fi system that works via satellite, versus the current Gogo systems which use a network of ground based antennae.

• Here’s how to get FREE Wi-Fi on Delta Air Lines (thru Dec 31)– just use the code DELTATRYGOGO when you log on.
• Here’s how to get FREE Wi-Fi on AirTran (thru Dec 31)– just use the code AIRTRANTRYGOGO when you log on.
• Here’s how to get FREE Wi-Fi on American Airlines (thru Dec 31)– just use the code AATRYGOGO when you log on from the plane.

Frequent travelers living the Bay Area have lovingly embraced the iPhone perhaps more than anyone else in the country. (Ooooh! Ahhhhh! Kewl! Hey, check out this new app! Lemme take your pic!)

But that love is getting put to the test as iPhone users, who pay significantly more for their phones and their service plans than most other cellular users, experience dropped calls and slow data retrieval with no end in sight.

Paying a premium should mean that you get premium quality in return. But based on anecdotal evidence, and a recent rash of negativity in the blogosphere, it’s clear that iPhone users, especially those in the Bay Area, have had it.

Interestingly, most of the vitriol is directed at AT&T, and not Apple, the maker of the iPhone. (AT&T holds an exclusive contract as the sole provider of the iPhone…for now.)

For most of the last two years, AT&T has acted in true Ma Bell fashion remaining mostly silent on the issue, or offering up vague statements about billion dollar network upgrades. None of that made folks who have to walk outside their home or office to get a signal feel any better.

But now that the complaining has reached fever pitch, AT&T is launching a social media campaign to fight back.

So, iPhone users, meet “Seth the Blogger Guy” in this AT&T-produced video and let us know what you think. Do you believe what he’s saying? Do you think your service is going to get better? Or do you still want to throw your iPhone out the window? PLEASE leave your comments below!

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