For the holiday shopping, sometimes its hard to know what to get someone. But if they love airplanes, ships, and submarines…here is your source! Whether you know someone who’s acquiring a corporate jet, a person who has a pilot’s license, or a kid would love to own a special model, Factory Direct Models go way beyond anything you might have had as a child.

Its as easy as sending them a photo, and they’ll build a finely detailed, handmade, completely customized model of any type plane with individualized logo and tail flashes. The models come with a beautiful mahogany stand and, if you choose, a personally inscribed plaque.

Factory Direct also makes custom models of vintage or modern ships, boats, and submarines as well as cars and trucks, so if you need a gift for the guy who has everything, this may be your answer. Or you can choose from their wide range of ready-made models. In the world of transportation models this company is definitely a premiere resource.

These days being away from home doesn’t have to mean being out of touch with friends and family. New social networking technologies let people know where you are, wherever you are in the world.

MySkyStatus will automatically send location updates to your social networks while you’re in the air.

Facebook Places is a new feature that lets people know where you are every moment of every day, if that’s what you want.

And Foursquare takes it all a bit further by not only letting you tell people where you are and where you’ve been but also awards you points and badges for “checking in.” All of these services are available on a variety of mobile devices.

It can be fun—and a safety measure—for others to know where you are and what you’re doing. But, as with all information you send out into cyberspace, you also need to remember that once the info is out there it’s accessible to anyone and everyone. You can’t control it and you can’t take it back. So, if you’ve called in sick at work, for example, you probably don’t want to broadcast the fact that you’re actually enjoying a day at the beach.

Once there were a variety of services that the airlines included on the purchase price of the ticket – but those days are long gone and the industry is now raking in billions on a laundry list of extra and sometimes hidden fees. This led a congressional committee to call multiple airline executives to discuss the validity of these fees.

The government asserts that airline customers are having what amounts to an impossible time trying to determine how much it will actually cost them to fly and are looking at increased regulation to make sure the airlines are playing fair.

The airlines generated revenue of nearly $8 billion during 2008-2009 from a combination of baggage fees, cancellation penalties and reservation change charges.

The house committee noted that the airlines are guilty of using complexity and confusion to hit each customer with an onslaught of hidden fees that should be advertised up front.

Some of the government “full disclosure proposals include:

1. Listing of mandatory costs, taxes and fees
2. Spelled out optional fees for checked bags, seat selection and food
3. Baggage Fee refunds for luggage not delivered in a timely manner

It’s hard to buy a new car now-a-days that isn’t equipped with some sort of GPS guidance system – but believe it or not – that not how air traffic control centers track flights across the country. But, the Federal Aviation Administration, took the first step in bringing the domestic air traffic control systems into the 21st century.

The FAA is using Alaska as the testing ground for the first official release of a national GPS-based Air Traffic Control System known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast or (ADS-B).

After the kinks are worked out in Alaska, RADAR systems will go the way of the dinosaur. ADS-B will trump radar systems from the get go for pilots and air traffic controllers.

When pilots use the system, they can not only determine where they are located, but can also see the position of other aircraft as well. It also provides a critical advantage for what pilots call situational awareness, because ADS-B pings the exact location of bad weather.

ADS-B also allows flight controllers to keep specific track of aircraft both in the air and on the runways. “Air travel is the primary means of transportation in Alaska so it’s critical to make sure flying is as safe as possible,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “While the landscape in Alaska is absolutely beautiful, its terrain can be challenging and ADS-B is making a real difference.”

About ten percent of the aircraft in Alaska have been fitted with the GPS technology, but that is obviously just the beginning. Pilots and government officials believe using the GPS system will greatly enhance air safety.

One of the obvious limitations is the high price tag that comes with the new equipment – but fans of the GPS system say that the new technology is much lighter – and will actually start saving airlines money at the fuel pump right away.

Now that the airlines are on the road to financial recovery – they are rewarding the traveling public by hiking fees and tacking on charges to variety of services that were free.

The nation’s largest carriers, Delta and American, have forecasted 2nd quarter gains of 17% as increased demand is translating into fare hikes.

Delta announced that passenger revenue for each seat flown a mile will also climb about 20% in the 2nd quarter.

The economy took a toll on the domestic carriers who were forced to cut fares and reduce the number of flights. Now major carriers like American are filling up their planes while jacking up the ticket prices.

To soften the impact, American Airlines just announced a “Boarding and Flexibility: program that lets domestic coach passengers board planes ahead of others, fly standby and pay half the normal fee for changing a flight itinerary.

Let’s face it – airline travel leaves a great deal to be desired. We all have visions of how wonderful it used to be. On most domestic flights, hot meals are a thing of the past and you are very lucky if you even get a bag of peanuts or pretzels.

Whether it’s the cramped quarters, camping out on the runway or the nasty baggage fees – there’s plenty of factors that contribute to travel headaches.

But SOMEHOW – a new JD Power and Associates Report claims that traveler satisfaction among business travelers is at a 3-year high? I know they didn’t ask me!

About ten airlines were surveyed – but are conditions really improving? Not necessarily according Stuart Greif, with JD Powers – he suggests that travelers may have simply reduced their airlines expectations.

“The study findings suggest that while passengers may dislike add-on fees, they are gradually starting to accept them,” Greif stated in a news release. “In turn, those fees may be having a less pronounced impact on satisfaction as passengers recalibrate their expectations.”

Greif also pointed out that airlines are running more smoothly because fewer people are flying. He says fewer passengers means reduced fares and contributes to better on-time arrival performances.

As the iPad fad sweeps the nation, an in-flight tech company is apparently working out a deal to provide iPads for airline passengers. Bluebox Avionics is keeping the details under wraps for now, but could start delivering airborne iPads by July.

Rumors have it that these “Bluebox Ai Devices” will be checked out to passengers like a library book, thus allowing them to enjoy all the same benefits as the person who owns the iPad. The only difference is, when you land, you have to give it back.

Bluebox Avionics is obviously hoping that these iPads with wings will replace the basic in-flight entertainment options that air travelers have now. Bluebox says part of the package will include a secure web connection, so travlers can conduct business as usual or surf the web.

No word from Bluebox yet as to which carriers are interested in these air-PADS, but I would guess that almost every airline would want a piece of this gadget.

On-Time performance, baggage handling and customer complaints have apparently taken a turn for the better according to the 20th annual National Airline Quality Rating.

It was the 3rd best rating the industry has ever received.

The only smudge on this year’s report was that the number of denied boardings rose significantly from the previous year. The rankings for each individual airline stayed relatively the same.

Top Ten Airlines (2009 is in parentheses)
1   Hawaiian (1)
2   AirTran (2)
3   JetBlue (3)
4   Northwest (4)
5   Southwest (6)

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E-readers are not only changing the publishing paradigm, they’re changing the way people read. No longer do we have to carry a pile of paperbacks or wean ourselves from reading the New York Times when we’re traveling. Now we can get what we want to read when we want it, and all on a single, lightweight, eminently portable device.

Personally, I believe the iPad is going to become the market leader, but it may not be for everyone. More a combination netbook and e-reader than a simple reading device, it performs a multitude of functions, but it’s also bigger and you may not need everything it does.

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