From scary new fast food possibilities for airport food to exciting new security device contracts, read the stories that caught Tnooz's eye for 16 August.
Amtrak wins big in the Northwest corridor
Between New York and Washington, three out of four travelers go by Amtrak, says the NYT. Airlines used to have that level of traffic on the route in the 1990s. That said, bus travel has been the fastest-growing mode of travel on the route in the last four years.
AvFinity lands contract with VivaAerobus, Mexico’s fast-growing low-cost airline
Flight data firm AvFinity specializes in aviation messaging systems that are powered by an integrated router instead of a traditional server. It targets small and regional North American airlines, such as United Express, AeroMexico, Caribbean Airlines. Its sales pitch is that a "one-time transition is cheaper than the cost of continually patching up legacy technologies," says FastCompany.
Cinnabon tests Pizzabon
Yesterday the fast-food chain Cinnabon, whose products are widespread in US airports, began testing the Pizzabon. It looks like a Cinnabon, but it has marinara sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni instead of cinnamon and frosting.
John Kessler, the restaurant critic at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tweets that the commercial for the new product should be: "Vintage Yves Montand: 'C'est si bon. C'est Pizzabon.'"
"What's next?" asks a Canadian blogger. "Burgerbons? Burritobons?"
The Quantum Sniffer may go big in the US
Massachusetts company Implant Sciences touts its Quantum Sniffer H150 explosive trace detectors to screen food and beverage carts. By the end of this month, the US Department on Transportation is expected to rule on whether the device meets its criteria for cargo inspection for aviation, says SeekingAlpha.
Sales are already happening abroad. ASL Airlines Services, which provides catering and hospitality services to airlines, has an Africa division that has bought a handful of Quantum Sniffers to screen carts for 700 flights a month at Lagos's main airport for international airlines, such British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa, and Air France.
Surprisingly, Australia to see passenger and revenue growth, says survey
Low unemployment will keep airplane passenger traffic steady in 2012-13, forecasts IBISWorld. Domestic airline revenue is expected to grow by approximately 5.2% in that period.
NB: Photo courtesy of Cinnabon, sourced from this blogger who tasted the Pizzabon.