Most airlines these days provide some decent on-board entertainment, such as a selection of movies, depending on the duration of the flight. (Except maybe those cheap, no-frills ones like Ryanair or easyJet.)  Well, while they might make for strange bedfellows, airlines are starting to partner with the entertainment industry.

Namely, Virgin America is inviting their Visa cardholders to a screening of the upcoming film, Valentine’s Day. The screening is free for one cardholder and a complimentary guest (doesn’t have to be a date, especially since it is on February 11).

The catches?

1. You have to be a Virgin America Visa cardholder and receive an email invitation.
2. You have to be somewhere near San Francisco (unless there are more screenings that I’m not aware of, but that makes sense given they’re based out of SFO.)

Oh, and you have to sit through another ensemble romantic comedy right before Valentine’s Day, which could be good or bad, depending on your mood and situation. But it is an intriguing partnership. I wouldn’t sign up for a credit card to get such a deal, but little perks like this do keep me happy.

But which partner will benefit more? The airline for treating its cardholders, or the studio by getting some extra viewers into cinema seats to spread reviews of the film by word-of-mouth? (Given that the film is any good…)

Image by 1000heads via Flickr

Have you ever wanted a job where all you had to do was go around the world, take some photos, meet new people and research some of the planet’s greatest sites (natural and manmade) in-person? Oh, and get paid for it?

Well, apparently such a job actually exists. Sponsored by STA Travel, the World Traveler Internship lasts for three months and will send two very lucky applicants to destinations all over the world, including but not limited to Australia, Egypt and Brazil – all expenses paid for by STA. Not many internships have that many perks – believe me.

Some tasks will include taking photographs, shooting videos for YouTube, blogging and tweeting. Sounds difficult.

The catch? You have to be between 18 and 26 years old to apply. Other qualifications and requirements include being able to bike, kayak and edit video on the fly. Probably knowing some other languages would help too.

Air New Zealand has done what other airlines have all failed to do (or not bothered to try): they’ve made a long-haul flight bearable for economy class.

A few airlines have tried to find a middle ground between coach and business or first class by adding “economy class plus” sections. Sometimes there’s some more legroom and no middle seat, but the real difference is only that it costs more.

But adding beds to economy class is pure genius and shows real innovation for the in- flight experience. It’s not available to the whole economy section yet, and it only makes sense to buy so far if there are at least two of you (see in the picture above) since its a three-person row. All of these seats will also include a pillow headrest, power outlets, and USB and iPod connections.

Of course, such a system only makes sense (and is worth the price) on a long-haul flight, say to New Zealand. I might be uncomfortable for six hours flying from New York to California, but I probably wasn’t going to sleep much anyway. But other airlines with long, international flights should take note. Flying shouldn’t have to be just about getting from point A to point B anymore.

[Image via Gadling]

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

As if flying through London Heathrow wasn’t painful enough: now the airport’s authorities are saying that airline passengers “will have no right” when it comes to refusing a full-body scan at security.

The option of having a full-body pat-down search instead, offered to passengers at US airports, will not be available despite warnings from the government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission that the scanners, which reveal naked bodies, breach privacy rules under the Human Rights Act.

The transport minister Paul Clark told MPs a random selection of passengers would go through the new scanners at UK airports. The machines’ introduction would be followed later this year by extra “trace” scanners, which can detect liquid explosives. A draft code of practice covering privacy and health issues is being discussed in Whitehall.

via Airline passengers have ‘no right’ to refuse naked body scanners | UK news | guardian.co.uk.

Personally, if it means they’ll catch future bombers, I’m fine with going through a full body scanner. It can’t save or print the images, and as the article continues on to say, the person leading you through the scanner isn’t the same person seeing your unclothed self.

So far, it looks like only a handful of scanners are going to be installed througot the airport, and not everyone is going to have to go through them. Security agents will be spotting and checking people based on “behavioural profiling.” This, again, isn’t fool-proof obviously. Security guards can’t pay attention to everyone, and would-be terrorists are sure to know which clues will give them away these days.

They might as well just give everyone a full-body scan so we can all get on the plane feeling as safe as possible.

The first official photo of Hogwarts Castle at the much-awaited Harry Potter theme park in Universal Studios, Florida has been released – and the castle looks pretty darn good.

Orlando still seems like a strange place to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to me (its the complete opposite of Northern England/Scotland where these stories take place). Not to mention it’s a Warner Bros. film – not Universal. But supposedly the partnership is going along well, with the park to open this spring. But it remains to be seen how many people will turn up to a theme park dedicated to just one film, and whether or not this one can really make the books come alive.

Being a dedicated fan of both the movies and the books, I cannot wait to find out what this park looks like in person!