Free Voice-Driven Local Search From Google

The labs over at Google are at it again. They have recently released a new service which functions much like 411, but is 100% automated and lets you search by business category or business name.

The 1-800 number is free, but if you call from a mobile phone, air-time minutes/charges will be apply.

From Google:

Google Voice Local Search is Google’s experimental service to make local-business search accessible over the phone.

Check it out and add this to your list of numbers:
1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)
http://labs.google.com/goog411/

-Curtis

8 Ways Travelers Waste Money On the Road

Fodors has a nice article on ways we, as travelers, waste money on trips. Whether for business or pleasure, these mistakes can help us all avoid spending more money than we should on our next trip.

Always...

• Read the fine print on that credit card
• Visit hotel Web sites prior to your trip
• Look for alternate travel during the off-peak or "low" season
• Research alternate transportation methods such as trains and buses
• Consider alternatives to hotels
• Balance eating in pricey restaurants with eating in less expensive establishments
• Have a budget and stick to it
• Know your destination

Read the full article and in-depth info on each of these 8 mistakes that we all make, and how to avoid them. [via Fodors]

Thanksgiving Travel Tips

Here are some great travel tips for the season's busiest travel day. Air travel today has become the ultimate hassle, but with these tips, hopefully your experience will be much improved.

These originated from CondéNast Traveler’s Wendy Perrin, but have been expanded by Upgrade: Travel Better.

7. Not all security lines are equally busy. Some airports have less-popular security lines, either in an adjacent (but connected) terminal, or at the far end of a terminal building. A few of these “shortcuts” are listed here. They can shave a few minutes off your airport hassle.

Leave your own comments on tips for smoother travel below.

Read all 9 tips here [via Upgrade: Travel Better]

iPod Integration on Airlines

Apple announced today that it would be partnering with 6 airlines to deliver the first ever integration between an iPod and in-flight entertainment systems. The initial airlines to have this integration will be Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United.

These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays.

Apple, airlines offer iPod integration [via Mac News Network]

The Best Time To Buy Airline Tickets

The Consumerist website posted an article on Buy[ing] Flight Tickets at Midnight.

This article created quite a stir, and Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com replied to the article with a very informative response on when is the best time to buy tickets?

The purchase of air travel consists of 3 major components (1) fares, (2) flight schedules and (3) inventory. ALL three things must be in alignment to get the very best deal. For this particular discussion I will limit my comments to U.S. and Canadian travel (International travel has a completely different set of issues). Let's start with a brief background of these 3 components...

Best Time To Buy Tickets [via The Consumerist]

Airline Complaints: The Winners and Losers

by BNET's Warren Greshes

With airport security getting tighter, lines lengthening and business travel getting to be more of a hassle than ever, here’s an update on how the airlines are doing and which ones are making our travel experiences worse than they already are.

Thanks to an assistant I didn't have to go through all 45 pages of the Air Travel Consumer Report for September 2006. Instead, I got to read the complaint data! It lists complaints against U.S. airlines by category for July 2006.

If we start out by just looking at the 7 major airlines (American, United, Delta, Southwest, Northwest, Continental and US Airways Group), we find there are no surprises. United led the way with 111 customer complaints in July (I guessed this correctly before I even saw the survey), followed closely by American and American Eagle with 108; US Air with 102; Delta with 85; Northwest 53; Continental 49; and surprise, the major airline with the least amount of complaints in July: Southwest with only 21!

Here’s something even more remarkable. The complaints were broken down by category, i.e. flight problems, oversales, baggage, reservations/ticketing and others. Under flight problems (the one that can really screw up your trip) United had 39 flight problems in July alone! American 29; Delta 28; US Air and Continental 19; Northwest 12 and Southwest ZERO! The only other airline with zero flight problems was Jet Blue (the best of the small airlines). Remind me again about the claims that Southwest and Jet Blue are only doing business because of cheap fares.

Oh and in case you were wondering only American flies more passengers than Southwest. Delta is 3rd in passenger volume, United 4th (but 1st in complaints), US Air 5th, Northwest 6th and Continental 7th.

Hope this info is helpful to you when planning your next business trip, although you might want to think about driving.

Travel Tip: How To Avoid Jet Lag

British Airways has a nice jet lag advisor designed to help you prevent or minimize jet lag when traveling across multiple time zones.

Working in conjunction with the UK's leading sleep expert, Dr. Chris Idzikowski, we have developed the ultimate jet lag advisor. By answering a few simple questions regarding your recent or planned flights, we can advise you on the best things to do to minimise your jet lag.

The jet lag advisor tells you when you should seek and avoid light on your trip in order to keep your body's clock feeling as normal as possible - a useful tool for the frequent flier. Any other tips for combatting jet lag? Please let us know in the comments.

Jet lag Advisor [British Airways]
Your body clock [British Airways]

LifeHacker.com

The best way to sleep on an airplane

The Independent Traveler provides some great tips on the best ways to get some sleep on your next flight. One suggestion:

Avoid seats near exit rows and bulkhead seats. This also applies to many seats just in front of exit rows and bulkheads - seats in front of the exit row often do not recline so not to be an obstruction in case of emergency.

How to sleep on an airplane