Avis and Budget adding satellite TV to rental cars

By Sean O'Neill
October 3, 2012
blog_cruisecast_original.jpg
Courtesy <a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/01/11/att.cruisecast.at.ces/" target="_blank">Electronista</a>

Within the next six months, rental car companies Avis and Budget will deploy AT&T;'s new in-car live TV Cruisecast service, with 22 channels of satellite TV and 20 satellite radio channels. The cost will be $9 a day, or $63 a week.

The blogger Electronista gave the service a test-drive. The quality of the standard-definition signal depends on having line-of-sight with the satellite. In other words, if you go into a tunnel or underneath a skyscraper, your TV or radio signal may be interrupted. But the tester found that the signal was strong at other times.

Channels included are Disney, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, Comedy Central, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live, and CNBC.

Plan Your Next Getaway
Keep reading
News

Airports: Here comes à la carte pricing

&Agrave; la carte pricing is not just on the planes these days&mdash;it's at the airports, too. LAX's international terminal has just opened a new "pay-to-use" public lounge prior to the security gates called reLAX, where anyone can pay $25 to spend three hours reLAXing in &uuml;ber-modern, white leather chairs surrounded by orchids and flat-screen TVs. The cost also covers all the snacks and beverages you want, plus wireless Internet, faxing, photocopying, and printing&mdash;making it especially appealing to business travelers not flying business class anymore (and therefore, not enjoying their airline's private lounge). The lounge looks great (there's a whole photo album on the website), but I wonder whether it's worth the cost. The snacks are apparently pretty measly, according to the L.A. Times , and if you want a decent meal, you're going to have to pay for it. No alcohol is served, either. And Wi-Fi is available in the rest of the airport for only $9.95 per day. The other thing that bugs me is that this is another example of how travel is becoming more segregated by class. For the people who can afford a little luxury&mdash;at the airport, on the plane&mdash;travel is becoming more comfortable, but for people who can't afford to pay (or don't want to), the travel experience is getting worse. But maybe this is just the future of travel, and we all better get used to it.

News

D.C. American History Museum reopens

The National Museum of American History reopened today after a two-year, $85 million renovation. In a noteworthy move, Barack Obama has already been added to the Presidential Gallery prior to his inauguration. As part of the opening festivities, former Secretary of State Colin Powell read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address this morning, and President Bush led a re-dedication ceremony on Wednesday. Responding in part to a critical review of its organization in a 2002 blue-ribbon commission report, the museum has tidied up with new display walls and brightened up with a sunlit five-story atrium. The Star-Spangled Banner&mdash;the now fragile flag that inspired the national anthem at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814&mdash;received special attention, with its own climate-controlled display case, Francis Scott Key's lyrics are projected behind it. A touchscreen device tells the history. Located in the National Mall, the museum houses a wide range of artifacts that you won't always find in a textbook. Exhibitions display Dorothy's red slippers, an 1865 telescope made by the nation's first female astronomer, the Greensboro lunch counter made famous by civil rights activists, a century's worth of metal lunch boxes, and a car from Disneyland's Dumbo ride. The museum has basically everything interesting in American culture including the kitchen sink (which Julia Child donated, along with the rest of her Cambridge, Mass. TV shows set). The Washington Post has a full review of the revamped space. 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., free, americanhistory.si.edu RELATED Smithsonian had a good article in its latest issue about the Star-Spangled Banner and its restoration. EARLIER Airports Debut New Runways in Chicago, D.C., and Seattle

News

Megabus gives away 100,000 free tickets

Christmas just came early for anyone who wants the gift of free city-to-city travel. Starting today, Megabus is giving away 100,000 free seats on its express buses for trips between Jan. 14 and March 18 on all Megabus routes&mdash;29 cities in the Midwest and Northeast. Book your free seat at megabus.com using the promotion code "greenbus." Availability is based on a few factors (like how many other passengers got free tickets on the same bus or on the same day), so if there isn't a free seat available on your first choice, try switching the departure time or the day, if your dates are flexible. It should be noted that Megabus allows travelers to book only a few months in advance, so you won't be able to snag a free seat today for a trip in April. Each day Megabus opens up itineraries for one day further out: Today, you can book through Jan. 24. Tomorrow, you can reserve a seat through Jan. 25, and so on. You can book by phone, too (877/462-6342), for the same dates available on the site that day. A BT hint: If you're on the hunt for tickets on a specific departure date this spring, mark your calendar to check back when Megabus'll be opening those schedules. Megabus was one of the winners of Budget Travel's 2008 Extra Mile Awards. (Additional reporting by Kate Appleton)

News

New flights to the Windy City

The Canadian short-haul regional airline Porter has begun flying roundtrip from Toronto to Chicago three times a day during the week and twice a day on weekends. As of January 8th, service increases to six daily workweek flights. Porter differentiates itself by flying directly to the downtown Toronto City Centre Airport, rather than the less convenient Pearson airport. (Porter's new Toronto-Chicago service happens to also reintroduce international service to Midway airport.) Bucking recent economic trends, the airline promises to expand service to Boston, D.C., and Philadelphia over the next three 18 months. Porter uses new turboprops that offer custom leather seats with two to three inches more legroom than the 30 inches of legroom you typically find in the economy-class sections of other airlines.