Travel

It's not out of place for brands to try to ride on some hype to advertise their products and, of course, get some extra sales. Sometimes, those marketing attempts are genius and sometimes you can't help but go "WTF!". Coca-Cola's and Disney's latest Star Wars collaboration stands somewhere near the latter. The two have made a very convincing replica of a Star Wars prop available from the newly opened "Galaxy's Edge" theme parks. The soda bottles are, in fact, so convincing that the TSA is banning them on all flights, be it checked-in or carry-on luggage.

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For the remainder of the year, British Airways has announced that it will test the availability of virtual reality headsets for passengers on flights from London's Heathrow airport to New York's JFK airport. These headsets will offer users access to select travel shows, movies, and documentaries in 2D, 3D, and 360-degree formats.

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Ever since the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, regulators and airlines have become wary of lithium batteries on planes, be it as checked in baggage or especially in cabins. The US Federal Aviation Administration even created special instructions in 2016 to address that particular issue. And to be fair, Samsung isn't being singled out by authorities. The FAA has just reminded airlines of those guidelines which basically prohibits 2015 15-inch MacBooks from going on flights.

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Airplanes are notoriously uncomfortable, but no one suffers quite as much as the person stuck in the middle seat. Without room to lean toward the wall or the aisle, the middle seat traveler is forced to pull their arms in and hope no one encroaches on their very limited space. A newly approved airplane seat design fixes that problem, offering more space without reducing the number of seats that can be installed within an aircraft.

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United Airlines has announced that it cancelled thousands of additional flights involving the Boeing 737 Max, covering around 2,100 flights that were scheduled for September and another 2,900 for October. The airliner has a fleet that includes 14 of these Boeing jets, which were grounded following two deadly crashes involving the 737 Max model.

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As if renting rooms, apartments, and more unusual vacation accommodation isn't enough, now Airbnb is getting into the adventures business. Airbnb Adventures is the company's latest expansion, shifting beyond being an alternative to regular hotels and taking on the sort of hosted journeys that you'd typically go to a travel agent or specialist for.

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Google Maps has changed the way we navigate the world but, for some, Waze was the one that changed the way we drive around. Of course, Google owns Waze so it's no surprise that some driving-related features have eventually come to the main Maps app. The latest is the inclusion of a speedometer right at the corner of Google Maps screen which could help drivers, or their passengers, notice how fast they might be going.

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Google is ready to add yet another body to its graveyard. Fortunately, this time it's just a mobile app. Last month, Google proudly announced an update to its Google Trips feature that takes the pain out of planning your next getaway. It seems almost ironic, then, but totally not unexpected that it will be shutting down the Android version of that feature soon. Soon, in this case, is August 5 this year.

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In the following article we're speaking about the measles outbreaks (yes, plural) inside the United States in the year 2019. The title is written as such in order to draw readers who assume there are two "sides" to the "argument" that surrounds the latest outbreaks, with regard to travel and vaccines. There are, of course, many different factors at play with the latest measles outbreaks in the United States, but travel and unvaccinated individuals are the most major. All factual information provided in the following text comes from the USA's CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Fitbit has always been a contrarian. When people said smartwatches are on the way out, it launched its own smartwatches. When the market seemed to coalesce around Apple watchOS and Wear OS by Google, it struck off on its own with its own wearable OS. And despite the handful of mobile payment systems competing in the market, it jumped into the fray with its own Fitbit Pay, an investment that may be paying off now that you can pay for your rides in seven systems around the world.

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In-flight Internet company Gogo is developing a 5G network for aviation, it announced on Wednesday, with the stated goal of commercial availability in the US and Canada in 2021. Gogo is working on a new air-to-ground (ATG) network intended to serve commercial regional jets, as well as smaller mainline jets operating in North America and business aircraft.

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"Don't fix what ain't broke" is not an excuse not to try to innovate but neither is innovation an excuse to break things. That's true for foldable phones and even truer for airplane control systems. Unfortunately, Boeing learned its lessons at the expense of lives but it is persistently clawing at those problems. Now it seems to suggest that it is close to earning its wings back once the 737 MAX clears the last hurdles that the FAA has set up for its re-certification.

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