Travel Technology News - Europe.

New York, Geneva (AirGuide - Travel Technology News Europe) Jan 16, 2011

Agents' ads should reflect target markets. Travel agents should consider their target markets when they design visual advertising, writes Richard Earls. He notes that generic ads tend to have less impact than ads designed to attract specific groups. "If you try to reach everyone in a single ad, you stand some chance of actually reaching nobody since it will be difficult to establish a relationship without a 'pitch' to a particular market segment," he writes. Jan 14, 2011

Debate over cell phones on flights continues. Mobile use now allowed on many international flights, but not in the U.S.. What do media magnate Arianna Huffington and Hollywood heartthrob Josh Duhamel have in common? They've both been busted for using their cell phones on planes. Over the weekend, on a New York-bound flight from Washington, D.C., Huffington reportedly failed to turn off her mobile device, inciting the ire of an unimpressed cabin mate. Last month, Josh Duhamel was escorted off a plane in New York because he wouldn't turn off his BlackBerry. These high-profile skirmishes are two of the latest examples in the debate to allow in-flight cell phone conversations. In Europe, the Middle East and Asia, airlines that wire planes for connectivity can install special equipment to allow passengers to use their own cell phones to make and receive calls. Domestic airlines own about 90 percent of the world's connected planes, but federal regulations still ban the use of in-flight mobile calls. And while Uncle Sam doesnOt outlaw mid-air communications made using Skype or other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, every U.S. carrier offering broadband has directed service providers such as Aircell/Gogo and Row 44 to block all voice calls and disable the VoIP function. Jan 14, 2011

Mobile shopping becomes increasingly important for retailers. A survey by ForeSee Results found that a third of shoppers use mobile phones to visit the websites of retailers. A quarter of respondents said they planned to make purchases with their smartphones, according to the survey. "Any retailer not making huge strides in developing user-centric mobile shopping apps is missing a huge opportunity," said Kevin Ertell, ForeSee vice president of retail strategy. Jan 12, 2011

AirBaltic AirBaltic launched an iPhone application, enabling users to check real-time flight status, find the shortest connection times and follow information on departure, arrival and flight disruptions on their iPhone or iPad. The app is available in nine languages: English, Latvian, Russian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and German. Jan 14, 2011

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