This lovely, short video produced at Utah Valley University hits many of the highlights of the history of aviation, from Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches of flying machines to modern day space travel.

Thanks to ThisDayin History.com for the reminder that on this day, February 7, back in 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with its special cargo of Beatles.

According to History.com:

It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” At Kennedy, the “Fab Four”–dressed in mod suits and sporting their trademark pudding bowl haircuts–were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil.

Here’s a great video using clips from that day:

Two days after their arrival at JFK, the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Aviator goggles 1920s–1930s metal, glass, fur, fabric, elastic. Courtesy of San Diego Air & Space Museum

Early airplanes had open cockpits and aviators needed special equipment and protective gear in order to do their jobs.

Examples of some of those items are now on exhibit at the San Francisco International Airport. Flight Gear: Pilot Equipment from the Open-Cockpit Era features more than forty examples of flight suits, jackets, helmets, goggles and other accessories dating from the 1910s to the 1940s. Also on exhibit are period photographs, advertising, and catalog illustrations featuring the artifacts displayed.

A. G. Spalding & Bros. "Aviators' Equipment" catalogue one-piece flying suits illustration 1930 ink on paper SFO Museum

Flight Gear: Pilot Equipment from the Open-Cockpit Era is on view through August 1, 2012 in the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum in the International Terminal Departures Level adjacent to the Boarding Area ‘A’ entrance.  Admission is free. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday.

“This new service connects passengers and aims to give them a more inspirational journey,” said KLM managing director Erik Varwijk in a statement announcing the new “Meet & Seat” program.

The program will eventually be available on KLM intercontinental flights, but for now is being tested in a pilot program on flights from Amsterdam to San Francisco, New York and São Paulo.

Here’s how it works: Using KLM’s ‘Manage My Booking’ section, passengers flying on intercontinental flights choose personal information from their Facebook or LinkedIn account to share with other passengers and then link their flight reservations to their profiles. The reservation program allows passengers to choose a seat between 90 days and 48 hours before departure.

“They can find out whether someone they know will be traveling on the same flight, or discover who else will be attending the same conference in the USA,” the airline said in a statement explaining the program. “They might arrange to have a coffee before their flight, select adjoining seats or decide to share a taxi afterwards.”

Raymond Kollau, founder of airlinetrends.com, an industry and consumer research agency, liked the program. “The concept makes perfect sense as people like to surround themselves with like-minded persons,” he said. “It will certainly apply to specific demographics, such as a generation Y, who are more interested in meeting new people, as well as business travelers en route to a conference. Singles will of course also be interested.”

Although KLM claims that it is the first airline to integrate social networking into its regular flight process, this is not the first social seating effort in the skies.

Malaysia Airlines’ MHbuddy program not only allows passengers the option of booking and checking in for a flight on Facebook, it also offers travelers the option of seeing pictures and seat numbers of Facebook friends on the same flight. Alaska Airlines’ Flying Social program also integrates Facebook.

The social seating trend isn’t just for the skies. Last August, Ticketmaster rolled out interactive, Facebook-integrated seat maps that allow ticket buyers to tag their seat locations and see where their friends — or potential friends — will be sitting in a venue.

“We’ve heard stories of seat tagging reuniting fraternity brothers at college football games and making the planning of live event outings much easier,” said Ticketmaster spokesperson Jacqueline Peterson.
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Airline branding consultant Shashank Nigam notes that independent companies Satisfly and Planely enable passengers to find and book seats next to others with specific interests across airlines. Nigam said some travelers may feel such programs are “creepy.” He also questioned how quickly or frequently travelers will adopt the service.

Still, he noted that “Meet & Seat” is the first social seating effort led by a major airline. That’s why, he said, “there is excitement around it and chances are good that it might work.”

(My story: “KLM wants air travelers to get social in the sky” first appeared on msnbc.com)

How’s this for a sweet airfare deal: $499 for all four seats on a private jet from Santa Monica, Calif., to Las Vegas. Drinks and refreshments included. You choose the departure time.

That was the offer made by JetSuite, a West Coast charter-jet company, last week on Facebook and Twitter for a flight the following day.

There were a few catches: Only one flight was available, it was one way and it was subject to 7.5 percent federal excise tax.

But for a flexible traveler going that way, perhaps with a few friends or business colleagues to help split the bill, the last-minute deal offered a chance to experience private jet travel without having to pay per-hour flight costs that, industry-wide, can range from $2,500 to $8,000 per hour.

Like other private, on-demand charter jet companies, JetSuite (created by JetBlue founder Alex Wilcox) offers membership programs for customers willing to put down cash in exchange for guaranteed rates. But although JetSuite’s best membership plan claims to offer the industry’s lowest rate (“only $2,975 per hour”) and private jet travel offers clear benefits over commercial airplanes (faster travel, no security checks, plush seating and luxury amenities, to name just a few), this sort of travel is likely remain the bailiwick of corporate executives, celebrities and the super rich.

Still, to expand the number of people who might someday consider booking a private jet, JetSuite has turned to social media to fill empty seats and broaden the market.

Each day between 4 and 6 p.m., JetSuite sends out a message on Twitter telling followers that the company has posted the next day’s $499 SuiteDeals on Facebook. Most last-minute, one-way offers will be short hops between the West Coast or Northeast cities regularly served by JetSuite, but company president Keith Rabin notes that because JetSuite is a charter company, “the flights could be anywhere. Missoula, Las Vegas, San Francisco; wherever someone may have booked one of our four-passenger jets.”

“It’s an interesting concept,” said Joe Brancatelli of the business travel website, Joe Sent Me. “There are some other private-jet rental firms doing this kind of ‘remainder’ stuff in various channels,” but they all face the same problem. “You’re left to the commercial system for your return flight. In most cases, prices for walk-up, one-way fares — unless, of course, you can score a Southwest or JetBlue flight — are insanely high.”

(This story first appeared on msnbc.com’s Travel Kit: Private jet travel – at affordable prices.)

“Air travel has lost its spark,” said Tom Rossbach, director of aviation architecture for HNTB, the architecture, engineering and construction company that commissioned the survey. “Going to the airport just isn’t as glamorous as it used to be. Now it’s just a chore.”

Of the survey’s 1,000 U.S. respondents, 44 percent called air travel stressful, 41 percent said it was frustrating and 32 percent declared it downright exhausting. Very few people (16 percent) found air travel easy, luxurious (5 percent) or relaxing (7 percent).

Math whizzes will note that these totals add up to more than 100 percent but survey respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer to the question: “Air travel is…”

Not surprisingly, the survey found that air travelers are displeased with the modern-day airport security-screening process. “The biggest frustration is with waiting in those long lines,” said Rossbach.

Only 22 percent said airport security-screening procedures were effective and only 11 percent said it was efficient. A mere 4 percent found it pleasant while 42 percent found the security checkpoint “a hassle.”

But some travelers are optimistic that new technology and better airport amenities can help patch things up.

According to the survey, almost half of Americans think that over that last 10 years there’s been improvement in terminal amenities such as shops, food options and entertainment. And more than half count the now ubiquitous self-check-in kiosks among the improvements.

Going forward, more than a quarter of the survey respondents would like to see paper baggage tags replaced by electronic GPS tags. And 53 percent said they’d feel safer in an airplane that had “NextGen” GPS technology installed, instead of the current radar-based system.

More than 10 percent of respondents would also like to see improvements at airport drop-off and pick-up curbs and at the departure gate lounges as well as a few more designated areas for quiet or conversation.

“We’re going to take this information and use to it design better airports with facilities that are easier to manage and much more enjoyable to be in,” said Rossbach.

100 percent of travelers would most likely say yes to that.

(I first wrote this story for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

Demo of bed in First Class suite on Singapore AIrlines A380

But there’s also a serious side to these giant airplanes: safety.

That’s why I was so interested – and so attentive – on a tour of the Singapore Airlines Training Center.

A mock-up of the A380 is set up here and, on a tour of the facilities, we learned that not only is the drop from the door to the floor exactly the same height as it would be out in the ‘real ‘ world, but that every member of the Singapore Airline’s crew must return here each year for a training ‘check-up’ that includes deploying and going down these slides.

That way, if there’s an emergency, crew members “don’t think; they respond,” the trainer on duty told us.

I wondered what the famously polite Singapore Airlines crew members are taught to do in an emergency with a passenger who might balk at going down a slide.

“Those passengers would feel a gentle, but firm, push,” the trainer told us.

I would have liked to try out that evacuation slide, but thought twice about even asking to jump into the cold, choppy waves outside the water evacuation pod used for practice in the next room:

Noticing the heels and the outfits some members of our tour group were wearing, the trainer also offered some “dress for success” tips in case of a flying emergency: Thumbs up on loose slacks and low heels. Thumbs down on pantyhose, high heels and clothing apt to be flammable.

I’d heard those tips before – and mostly ignored them – but after getting a close look at these evacuation paths – and heights – I’m going shopping for new, safer, travel outfits.

Next up: Transforming flight attendant trainees into crew-worthy gems.

Note: I’m in Singapore as a guest of Singapore Airlines.

So I gave it a try.

See what you think. (And please, be kind…)

BUSINESS INSIDER-AIRPORT AMENITIES from linda saether on Vimeo.

This week the airline announced that, beginning February 1, main cabin passengers on many international flights will once again be served complimentary beer and wine, a practice discontinued some time ago.

Here’s the deal:

“Customers traveling on American-operated flights between the U.S. and Europe, the U.S. and Asia and / or onboard long-haul flights between the U.S. and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay can choose from a variety of complimentary beer and wine options, in addition to the full selection of nonalcoholic beverages.”

What’s next? Complimentary pillows and blankets?

On New Year’s Day I looked out the window and saw this shark flying by:

I ran outside, snapped this photo and learned that my young neighbor had received this Air Swimmer shark as a present.

“You fill it with helium and it flies by remote control,” he told me, “I’m bringing it over to show my friend.”

Cool, right?

Well, it seems like my neighbor wasn’t the only one to get a flying shark for Christmas.

Consider this report, found in the New Zealand Herald, about a flying shark spotted way off course:

“….[F]rom a pilot on the Wings Over New Zealand Aviation Forum: ‘There I was, just cruising around at about 1500 feet above Hamilton …when I see an object that looks like a helicopter off in the distance. However, without getting much bigger (i.e. closer) it suddenly whizzes past my left wing … and although it has the same general shape as a chopper, this thing has fins and a tail instead of rotors. Despite the warning on the box of the Air Swimmer Shark (for indoor use only) someone’s $80 Christmas present (with $50 worth of helium) is drifting gently southwest over Hamilton city, climbing at about 200 feet a minute. I did my civic duty and reported it …as a hazard.”

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