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Virgin Atlantic revises complete Dell, Apple laptop ban
Virgin Atlantic has altered its sweeping policy of banning all Inspiron, Latitude, iBook, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro batteries from its flights, saying "If the battery is identified as being from the affected batch as identified by Apple and Dell, the battery must be removed. In cabins where the seats are fitted with In Seat Power Supplies, leads/adapters will be offered. Where no ISPS is provided or no laptop leads/adapters are available, the use of these affected laptops is prohibited." No word yet on whether Qantas or Korean Air has gotten the memo that it doesn't need to forbid every Dell laptop under the sun on their flights as well. But we've yet to hear of airlines banning Panasonic, Toshiba, and IBM laptops -- something that may be coming sooner than you think, if someone doesn't figure out pretty fast what the devil is going on.
Ryanair, Qantas (finally) adding in-flight calling!
We've got good news for frequent fliers in Europe and Australia: Qantas and Ryanair (this author's personal fav airline for obvious reason) have announced their respective additions of picocells for in-flight calling, texting, and presumably (eventually) also data. Qantas Boeing 767s and Ryanair 737s will begin rolling out AirBus subsidiary OnAir's cellular satellite uplinked connections to their customers as early as June or July 2007 in Ryanair's case, with full rollout on that fleet expected in 2008. We don't know how much further behind launch Qantas is, but obviously they've stated their intentions to enter the in-flight cell arena, so it's only a matter of time. Too bad that Connexion was scrapped just when things are looking up for future-thinking fliers, but maybe, just maybe we finally can all throw out the ages-old argument of cellphones being dangerous for use in flight.P.S. -Uh, please don't whip out your phones in flight. You do realize that it's still illegal in the US right? Use your phone on a plane that's not parked or taxiing and the FAA and TSA might disembowel you on the spot for the infraction. Kthxbye.Read - QantasRead - Ryanair
Qantas to Dell owners: Reveal thyselves!
We know that people are unfairly discriminated against everyday for any number of reasons -- their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and even weight -- but a new policy recently enacted by Australia's Qantas airline seems to be the first time in history that folks are being singled out because of the brand of laptop they choose to sport. Due to the recent spate of flaming Dell notebooks and the subsequent, unprecedented battery recall, new Qantas regulations make it clear that no Dell laptops -- not even those unaffected by the recall -- are allowed to contain batteries while on the plane; at one point Qantas even reportedly took the unusual step of requiring Dell-toting passengers to remove their batteries at the gate and tape up the contact points, ensuring that only those clever enough to remove the tape would be able to operate their laptops in-flight. Either way, if you want to get some work done, you'll have to buy a first- or business-class ticket (and probably an inverter as well) to power your lappy from the embedded outlets only available in the pricier cabins. A Qantas spokesperson claims that the policy has been relaxed a bit since the initial Dell owners were pulled aside before boarding; now you won't have to "admit" owning a Dell until an on-board announcement requires you to do so. "Once you've figured out how to operate your seatbelt, located the emergency exits, and safely stowed your carry-on luggage in the overhead bins, please calmly remove the battery from any Dell laptop you may be carrying so that it does not spontaneously combust and kill us all. Thank you for choosing Qantas, and have a super flight."[Via TUAW]
Dells on a plane
Dell is having a little issue with 4.1 million batteries in their laptops (if you have a Dell laptop check out this site to make sure yours isn't on the list). This isn't good news for Dell, however, it would seem that it isn't good news for Dell toting travelers either. Qantas, the Australian airline, has just put in a place a policy stating that people can bring Dell laptops with them on the plane but can't use them on battery power. The batteries must be popped out and the laptops plugged into an outlet (if there is one available).I'm sure Dell is hoping that other airlines do not follow suit, especially since I would wager that a large number of business travelers 'got a Dell.'Thanks, Gordon.
