Airport shows adult film on terminal TVs
Imagine the surprise on passengers' faces at India's Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi when
an adult film was broadcast on all of the airport's television sets. The incident prompted numerous
complaints, and the film was stopped after 20 minutes, according to the Indo-Asian News Service. Airport
officials claimed the film was shown as part of an AIDS awareness program, though it's unclear exactly
how an adult movie fit into the program. Some sources say the blunder may have come from airport
workers viewing the film, thinking they were watching it secretly — but accidentally broadcasting it to the
airport TVs from the facility's control room. "We don't allow any such things (adult films) to come even
near our office," said airport official Mandeep Lal. British news service Ananova says the incident came
at midnight, when the airport was packed with passengers catching international flights.
Southwest fliers get option for movie downloads
Southwest is adding an option for in-flight movies, but it's doing so in it's own low-cost way. Instead of
adding expensive seat-back viewing screens or offering personal viewing machines, the carrier is
partnering with Movielink to allow customers to download movies to their laptop computers. Southwest
customers get their first download for free, and up to 20% off subsequent downloads. Southwest fliers
can watch the downloaded movies on their flights -- or save the film for viewing for up to 30 days. Once
the movie is viewed, customers have unlimited viewing rights for 24 hours, according to the Los Angeles
Daily News. "The customer won't just use the download for the in-flight experience," Anne Murray,
Southwest's senior director of interactive marketing, told The Sacramento Bee. "Some customers will
work on the plane, and then watch the movies when they get to the hotel." The carrier says the move is
aimed directly at rival JetBlue -- which offers in-flight TV at every seat -- but travel expert Joe Brancatelli
told the paper the Movielink partnership gives Southwest a no-cost way to counter entertainment options
offered by other carriers. Southwest says it also hopes visitors who come to its site for movie downloads
will stay long enough to buy a ticket.
Airports get a shopping mall makeover
Airport retailers are taking advantage of new traveling trends. "It's more than just an impulse buy these days,"
Tina Richardson, a spokeswoman for airport operator BAA USA, tells The Baltimore Sun. "People are getting
used to seeing some of their favorite brands in airports. Sometimes they may take a little time to pick up a
gift or take something back home." One of the bigger retail additions is coming to a major U.S. airport is at Baltimore/Washington International, where Jos. A. Bank Clothiers will open a 966-square-foot store in the
airport's new Southwest Airlines concourse. Experts say airport shopping has grown as a niche market over
the past decade. That's partially because there are more airport shopping options, but also because post-9/11
security changes have affected fliers' habits. Many travelers now arrive early for security screening, but that
sometimes leaves them with time to spare -- and shop -- if security lines are short. BAA USA is largely
credited as pioneering the concept in Pittsburgh, where its "Airmall" shopping area has earned the airport
accolades in a number of frequent-flier polls and surveys. BAA USA also has a 140,000-square-foot mall-like
shopping area in the works for BWI.
EU okays Airbus, SITA plan for mobiles in the sky
BRUSSELS Airbus and SITA, an inflight communications specialist, won permission from the European
Commission on Thursday for a joint venture that will enable travelers to make calls, send text messages,
email and use the internet during flights. The venture, OnAir, will be jointly controlled by Dutch-registered
SITA and Airbus, the European Union executive said in a statement. "The Commission concluded that the
joint venture will not significantly impede effective competition," it said. The creation of OnAir was
announced in July, 2004, and the aim was to allow passengers to use their own mobile phones, laptops
and personal digital assistants in flight and to be billed through their normal operator. In September Airbus
said tests had shown that mobile phones can be used without interfering with navigation systems and it
planned to offer the service from 2006. Airlines are busy rolling out plans to offer onboard Internet services,
and Airbus rival Boeing Co, for example, has developed Connexion, an onboard broadband Internet service.
Germany's Lufthansa has launched an Internet service under the name Lufthansa FlyNet aboard some
planes and aims to have it available on all of its long-haul fleet by the first quarter of 2006.
HAMFEST MOVES BACK TO HOWARD COUNTY!
The 2005 edition of the Famous BRATS Maryland Hamfest and Computer Fest
will take place on
SUNDAY, JULY 24th 2005 at the Howard County Fairgrounds.
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