I have been all over the place the last two weeks - first in LA with the rest of the GT team and then in the British Virgin Islands on a media tour with the Zimmerman Agency. While I was away I had the pleasure of seeing how the other half fly and I must admit, it makes commercial planes and other modes of transportation look a bit unappealing.

While in Los Angeles, I had the pleasure of visiting the first Aloft Hotel. Located in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Starwood chartered us to the hotel via helicopter. The view of Los Angeles from the helicopter was fantastic and the trip was quick, convenient and fun! Why fly any other way?

The newest Starwood brand, Aloft, has a lot to offer travelers. The funky decor is minimal, yet comfortable and each hotel will offer a fitness area, a community area with fireplace, a bar, meeting space and a Grab and Go food area. I think the Grab and Go area will be especially popular among hotel guests as it allows them to grab delicious salads, sandwiches and drinks and enjoy them at their leisure, wherever they want and when they want. While providing great accommodations for the guests, Aloft will also serve the community, welcoming residents to hang out and play pool, board games and enjoy great cocktails. The chain, springing up all over the world in 2009, will truly offer a hip and affordable alternative to travelers on the go.

My second experience at high class travel was aboard a private plane in the BVI. We flew from Anegada, a remote, peaceful island, to Virgin Gorda and got a great aerial tour of the British Virgin Islands. Once again I found myself thinking “Why travel any other way?” The helicopter and private plane were fast, comfortable and personal. I should travel everywhere that way - oh wait, the expense! That was a quick snap back to reality!

I also thought about how lucky I am to have the job I have, which allows me to experience trips and other things (like helicopter and private plane trips) that I wouldn’t otherwise experience. Trust me, my eyes were wide with awe the whole time I was up in the air.

The private plane tour of the islands was a true delight. As we flew over Necker Island, Richard Branson’s personal island, it felt oddly appropriate to be in a personal charter. While in the BVI, I was treated to a lot of great experiences and really shown what the islands have to offer. Stay tuned for more on my trip in the magazine and future blogs!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and PR executive

After returning from an exciting first experience at NBTA in LA, I was eager to see the Emirates A380 make its first successful landing from Dubai to JFK. It was a part of history seeing this jumbo jet, filled with 489 passengers, land safely on US soil.

From the Emirates First Class lounge at JFK, press, VIP guests and Emirates supporters enjoyed champagne and appetizers as we waited patiently for the A380 to appear out of the sky. At that moment, the dramatic music was cued and we all glued our faces to the window. With a wing span of 261 feet, the A380 resembled a friendly dinosaur. As it taxied its way to the gate, one of the pilots slid open his window and, like a teeny worm sticking out of an apple, stuck his head out and gave a thumbs up to the wide-eyed crowd of workers below.

As it takes a full 2 hours to clean the jet after the passengers exit, a press conference took place before we were able to tour the upper deck of the A380, which is solely for business- and first-class passengers. While the president of Emirates, Tim Clark, answered many questions about the plane, the pilot who made the historical flight stole the show; many of the questions were directed towards him as attendees wanted to know what it was like to actually fly the thing.

After the press conference, we viewed the 76 business seats, 14 first-class seats, lounges, showers and the bar on the upper deck. The technology and showers were most impressive, and the first-class suites, to me, resembled what I would imagine to be the ultimate luxury vanity table, complete with a 180-degree lie-flat bed. Everything needed and wanted for comfort is an arm’s length away in the suites. Business class is huge with 76 seats, but also is impressive and intimate with mood lighting.

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

I landed at LAX last week and was shocked! I flew from Taipei to LAX on an EVA Air full B-777. Not sure exactly, but I think that should be about 250 passengers. The flight was smooth and comfortable and I was excited that we landed on time. My journey wasn’t complete as I had to go through customs and check into a domestic flight to New York. I was shocked to see that when we disembarked we had to be bussed to the terminal. I understand when small aircraft are sometimes given the boot and not offered a gate, but a long-haul 777? Give me a break!

I also think people often put the blame for these inconveniences on the airline. The airline has absolutely no control over these circumstances and it is up to the airport. Now, I don’t know all too much about LAX, I will admit, but this instance actually made landing at JFK or Newark look good! I would be interested to learn more about the history of these airports and why, when landing in major hubs of the US, it often feels like a developing country and not a country that (still) has the strongest economy in the world. English is barely spoken and travelers are not given a warm welcome, but instead are greeted by bad signage. In fact, when I land in developing countries, I usually have great experiences, at least a warm welcome, and more times than not nowadays, there’s even a high speed train into the city. When I finally did land last week, it took me two hours to get from EWR to Manhattan (approximately 20 miles) on the train.

To me, security is always number 1, but the consumer experience follows right behind it and with the traffic these airports support year in and year out, why can’t we figure out how to do an efficient overhaul to make the travelers’ experience a pleasurable one?

-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher

Voted the best airline in the world by you, the readers of Global Traveler, I travel today to Asia on Singapore Airlines. I will be flying on their all-business class flight from Newark to Singapore with 100 of the new business class seats that have very interesting designs. The plane is an Airbus 340-500 and I believe the flight is about 18 hours non-stop.

This design will be highlighted in the September issue in our Business and First Class Survey. Its pitch, by normal standards, would indicate this to be a slanted flat seat rather than 180 degrees fully flat. But SQ (2 digit code of Singapore Airlines for those who don’t know) had an ingenious design that has a very wide seat, tapering to a more narrow head and foot so that the head and foot area are shared. Of course, these areas are capsulated so head and foot are not near each other, but this allows SQ to fit in 100 business class seats on this plane. With fuel prices, getting the most passengers on this flight is essential to its success.

On this flight, I plan about six hours of work and about 10 hours of sleep. Flat is the key to sleeping, and on my Asiana Airlines return flight from Seoul last March, I slept 10 of the 12.5 hours to New York. “Like a baby,” said one of the flight attendants.

(Posing with the Asiana flight attendants, voted best in the world by readers)

My trip includes a brief stop and meetings in Singapore and then several days of meetings in Hong Kong. Stay tuned!

-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

I traveled to Zurich Tuesday night to attend a press conference for Swiss International Air Line’s new business class seat. I was able to fly over on the Swiss BBJ (Boeing Business Jet), my first experience on an all business class jet, but more on that in an upcoming review of the flight. With just a small amount of time in the city, I was not able to experience much of what Zurich has to offer, but we were lucky enough to stay at the newly reopened Dolder Grand, a truly magnificent hotel that reopened in April 2008 after a four year remodel! I also got a tour of the Zurich Airport with an extra special glimpse at the workings inside the airport tower!

But, as I said before, the real reason for the trip was the press conference. SWISS unveiled their new seat - which will begin popping up in the A330s and A340s in spring 2009 - and the revolutionary new seat technology they created in conjunction with Lantal, another Swiss company. The seats have replaced the old foam design with air technology, meaning lighter seats (which means lower fuel costs!) and adjustable comfort levels for the customers. As the presentation was going on, I was wowed by the product, but I couldn’t help wonder why airlines had not thought this up before. 

In addition, SWISS recently opened a brand new first, business and Senator lounge in Zurich Airport, which served as the setting of the conference. The press conference really offered a comprehensive look at the new seats and made available representatives from all departments of SWISS and from Lantal. SWISS passengers have a lot to look forward to next spring!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and public relations executive