To many people this could be the next best thing. In truth Augmented Reality has been around for some time. Originally deployed in a commercial environment by Sky Sports we have been exposed to it probably without know it. The use of displays on playing fields via TV (for example showing the play in American Football) is a common indication.... Read More

The TSA's Christmas Day security directive, following the Northwest flight 253 terrorism incident, with its prohibitions against passengers roaming aircraft aisles or placing blankets in their laps during a flight's approach, was a short-term response to an emergency situation and some of its elements were widely criticized. But, starting Jan. 4, the TSA has dug in with "long-term, sustainable security measures," which alter the flavor of the air-traveler experience for flights inbound to the U.S. for the forseeable future. Some of the Christmas Day mandates about in-flight prohibitions, which drew such scorn, are dropped, but remain optional prohibitions at the discretion of the airlines and pilots.... Read More

The TSA issued new security directives, effective Jan. 4, for all U.S. and international carriers with inbound flights to the U.S. Here are the publicly available highlights from a statement the TSA sent to me: * Every individual -- i.e. 100% -- flying into the U.S. and traveling from or through countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism "or other countries of interest" must go through "enhanced screening," the TSA says in a statement. However, despite today's TSA statement about the new security directives, there was nothing as of 4:40 p.m. EST Jan. 3 about the new rules on the TSA website.... Read More

UPDATE: Less than an hour after posting this story below, a source familiar with aspects of the TSA investigation confirms Tnooz speculation that TSA agents were in Frischling's home on the evening of Dec. 29 when he tweeted a request to the source of the leaked security directive to contact him. Steven Frischling, one of the two travel bloggers subpoenaed by the Dept. of Homeland Security and visited by TSA agents after publishing a security directive, tweeted Jan. 2 that he can't comment on the "author" of a controversial tweet, issued from his account, at 10:05 p.m. on Dec. 29. While two TSA agents likely were in his home at the time and allegedly were threatening to terminate Frischling's ability to work with the airline industry unless he divulged the source of the security-directive leak, the Dec. 29 tweet from the FlyingWithFish Twitter account said the following: "To the gentleman who sent Flying With Fish the TSA Security Directive ... Thank You! Can you drop me an email?I have a question. Thanks-Fish."... Read More

To coincide with the mammoth Tnooz Predictions 2010 article, Tnooz asked people around the industry to gaze into their own crystal balls to forecast some of the key developments for the next 12 months. The final article in this five-part series features Andy Owen-Jones (chief executive of Traveltainment), Ben Jackson (chief executive of TourAbout) and airline consultant Al Lenza.... Read More

Journalist Chris Elliott says this evening that -- a few hours after the Dept. of Homeland Security extended a deadline for him to comply with a subpoena -- he received word from his attorney that DHS withdrew the subpoena. The stunning reversal occurred as media outlets throughout the country picked up the story that the DHS and TSA were playing hardball and going after Elliott and blogger Steven Frischling with subpoenas and tough tactics after they published the post-Northwest flight 253 security directive on new passenger screening rules. Perhaps dropping the subpoena on New Year's Eve made more sense than letting the issue and the bad publicity for the TSA linger through upcoming news cycles.... Read More

UPDATE: The DHS this afternoon gave journalist Chris Elliott an extension until Jan. 20 to comply with a subpoena, his attorney told Tnooz. The initial deadline was Dec. 31. Facing a Dept. of Homeland Security subpoena and its Dec. 31 deadline, travel journalist Chris Elliott has not turned over any documents related to the source who provided him with the TSA's secret Christmas Day security directive, his attorney says. Attorney Anthony Elia, who's representing Elliott, says he e-mailed a request Dec. 31 to TSA special agent Robert Flaherty, who served the civil subpoena at Elliott's home on the evening of Dec. 29, asking for "additional time to allow the process to unfold in a reasonable way." Giving Elliott roughly two days to respond to the subpoena was an "inordinately short" period of time and "unreasonable," Elia says, given the serious nature of the issues.... Read More

The introduction of new security technology at airports across Europe, including so-called naked body scanners, could be sped up in the aftermath of the failed bomb plot on-board a US-bound passenger jet on Christmas Day. UK government officials say an urgent review is underway following the arrest of a suspect who allegedly tried to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 on its final approach to Detroit airport from Amsterdam Schipol. The review in the UK is being carried out ahead of an hastily convened meeting next week of European Union member states to discuss wider airport security measures.... Read More

To coincide with the mammoth Tnooz Predictions 2010 article, Tnooz asked people around the industry to gaze into their own crystal balls to forecast some of the key developments for the next 12 months. The fourth in this five-part series features Ignacio Martos (chief executive of Opodo), Tim Russell (managing director of Amadeus UK & Ireland) and Bob Atkinson (travel expert at TravelSupermarket).... Read More

UPDATE: A few minutes after posting the story below about how the TSA was using pressure tactics to get KLM blogger Steven Frischling to comply with a subpoena, two TSA agents visited his home again and took his hard drive, with his consent, Frischling says. Travel blogger Steven Frischling, a self-employed photographer who also writes the Flying With Fish and KLM blogs, says two TSA agents delivered a Dept. of Homeland Security subpoena to him Dec. 29, two days after he published the Christmas Day TSA security directive and warned him they would contact KLM over the issue if he didn't comply with the subpoena and that this would end his ability to work with the airline industry. Frischling, speaking a day after the visit by two TSA agents to his Connecticut home, says their implied threat was that he would be considered a security risk if he didn't turn over his e-mails and computer hard drive and failing to do so "would sever my ability to work with the airline industry."... Read More

To coincide with the mammoth Tnooz Predictions 2010 article, Tnooz asked people around the industry to gaze into their own crystal balls to forecast some of the key developments for the next 12 months. The third of this five-part series features Rock Blanco (president of Prime Numbers), Mat Orrego (chief executive of Cornerstone Information Systems) and Alan Minton (vice president of marketing and customer solutions of Cornerstone Information Systems).... Read More

A major Distributed Denial of Service in North America last week is being played down by Expedia, one of the sites reported to be affected in the aftermath of the attack. The problem occurred on Wednesday 23 December when a DDoS hit DNS provider UltraDNS, part of the Neustar brand, causing problems for Amazon, Wal-Mart, Linden Labs and Expedia. Users across a number of states in the USA were said to be without web services for a number of hours during what was one of the busiest final web shopping days before the Christmas holidays.... Read More

Most popular travel websites in the UK for the week ending December 26 2009. Data includes Top Ten travel search terms and the Top Ten Agency, Airline and Destination/Accommodation sites.... Read More

Most popular travel websites in the US for the week ending December 26 2009. Data includes Top Ten travel search terms and the Top Ten Agency, Airline and Destination/Accommodation sites.... Read More

Perhaps the Obama administration needs to come up with a travel-security stimulus plan. In the aftermath of the Christmas Day terrorism incident onboard Northwest flight 253, the U.S. Travel Association called on Congress to take leftover monies from the country's economic stimulus plan and to use it for the immediate implementation "of screening techniques that strengthen security, balance privacy and improve traveler facilitation." The development came as several other travel industry organizations, including the Business Travel Coalition, the National Business Travel Association and the American Society of Travel Agents, chimed in about the security issue. Specifically, U.S. Travel says whole-body imaging (WBI) and increased use of bomb-sniffing dogs seem promising, but the association adds that while privacy issues related to WBI have been aired, detailed analysis is needed regarding its "security benefits, effect on wait times and any potential of reducing travelers' hassles at security checkpoints."... Read More