Direct Flights From Singapore to Auckland on Jetstar

I have just received an email from Jetstar about 15 minutes ago saying that they will be flying from Singapore to Auckland by March next year. Another great option to get from the Equator to The Land of The Long White Clouds.

World’s Most Wired (Make That Wireless) Airports

Nearly every large airport offers wi-fi, but travelers in Chicago, Atlanta, Frankfurt and Paris use it the most.

When Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in mid-April, stranding travelers in airports around the world, many turned to wi-fi to keep connected. For these “volcano refugees,” wi-fi was a convenient way to send e-mail, check weather and flight information or just pass the time. Some airports, such as Stockholm’s Arlanda, even waived their normal wi-fi fees so frustrated travelers could get online for free.

Outfitting airports with public Internet access isn’t a new idea, but the Eyjafjallajökull disruption points up the ubiquity of airport wi-fi, as well as its ability to soothe disgruntled passengers. Of the world’s 100 busiest airports, only one–Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International–currently lacks wi-fi, according to JiWire, a wi-fi ad network that maintains a popular online wi-fi directory. “Wi-fi is a necessity for every airport, like baggage carts,” says Damien Kobel, director of the aviation market research firm DKMA.

Of course, wi-fi availability isn’t the same as wi-fi usage. To determine which airports see the most wi-fi activity, Forbes asked two leading wi-fi service providers–Boingo and iPass ( IPAS – news – people )–for their top traffic generators. Crunching that data left us with a list of the world’s most “wired” airports, led by Chicago and Atlanta in the U.S. and Frankfurt and Paris in Europe.

One caveat: Boingo and iPass cover most large airports, but the diversity of wi-fi providers around the world prevents them from capturing all airport wi-fi connections globally. Some airports, particularly those located in Asia and the Middle East, may be under-represented in their data.

With airport wi-fi so widely available, the question these days is not where to find it, but how it can be improved, says In-Stat analyst Frank Dickson. That could mean converting paid wi-fi to free. A recent study commissioned by Airports Council International (ACI) found that passengers were more satisfied with airports that offered free wi-fi than those that charged for the service. “[People] are used to free wi-fi in other public spaces and do not appreciate the need to pay while at the airport,” the report said.

Maintenance costs may prevent some airports from ever going free, however. A slim majority (55%) of the respondents in the ACI study said they charge for wi-fi, at an average price of $8 an hour. “We have no intention of changing our prices,” says John Rico, chief executive of Rico Enterprises, which maintains the wi-fi networks at O’Hare and Midway in Chicago. “People love the idea of free wi-fi, but there’s no guarantee it won’t fail on you,” adds Rico. Wi-fi at O’Hare and Midway costs $7 for one day or $10 for one month.

Pricing policies tend to vary by region and passenger type. Bustling East Asian “hub” airports such as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur often provide free wi-fi as well as complimentary kiosks with built-in computers. The reason? These airports attract a lot of budget travelers. “Asian airports in particular see wi-fi as part of the complete passenger experience,” says consultant Kobel.

In contrast, countries with speedy cellular networks promote wi-fi less vigorously. Consider Australia. Though three of its airports rank among the world’s 100 busiest, none of them stands out in terms of wi-fi usage. “Since very fast 3G covers most of the country, Australia never built out an extensive wi-fi structure,” says iPass chief executive Evan Kaplan.

Within the U.S., airport wi-fi coverage can vary dramatically. Analyst Dickson gives his hometown airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor, high marks in terms of wi-fi pricing (free), coverage (broad) and signal strength (“fairly robust”). Newark Airport, which charges for wi-fi, rated much lower. Dickson says spotty coverage led him to an airport coffee shop that limited the number of users to 10 at a time. “It was like wi-fi lotto,” he jokes.

via World’s Most Wired Airports

I survived Flight QF19 to Manila | NEWS.com.au

We made our way to the runway for what appeared an ordinary takeoff.

Shortly after I felt the plane wheels leave the runway there was an unusual grinding noise, which seemed to come from beneath the plane.

I looked about the cabin and saw that several other passengers had also noticed it.

One man asked in an unusually high-pitched voice: “What the hell was that?”

I survived Flight QF19 to Manila | NEWS.com.au

Ban on Carrying your Notebook onboard…

Has SIA seen a BAN from the US coming…