Forget stripped-down service from the airlines; how about a stripped-down staff instead?

Air New Zealand recruited actual employees to bare all for a new ad campaign promoting the airline as the carrier “whose fares have nothing to hide.” Wearing only body paint, the staff filmed both a TV commercial and an in-flight safety video (and you thought Delta’s safety video was hot!). Take a look.

If you follow the news, then you know that last week a pilot died mid-flight. Luckily, the plane landed without incident. The pilot was 60 years old, and apparently died of natural causes, which brings up a topic that we’ve touched on here before on The Window Seat: how old is too old to fly?

Back in December of 2007, then-president Bush approved fast-tracked legislation to raise the pilot age from 60 to 65. The thinking was that if a pilot could pass the same rigorous, standardized medical tests as the younger set, then there’s no reason to bar them from the yoke of the plane. Many people, myself included, applauded this decision, seeing it as an end to age discrimination.

We're starting to hear that phrase again: capacity cuts. We began hearing it last year as airlines got hit hard with high fuel costs, weakening demand and a tough economy. Delta and American announced today that they will further reduce the number of seats sold on flights this fall, and other major airlines are considering it, a reminder that this recession is still alive and airlines are still feeling the crunch. These cuts are in addition to previous announcements made in March by both Delta and United.

I've always been one to save a ton of money (haha) by shopping sales. Most recently, an online buying frenzy, the itch to travel and an unbeatable deal all played a part in booking a trip to South Korea. I got the ticket for $691 roundtrip; a deal just too good to pass up.

It seems that falling fares and hotel rates have inspired many other travelers to hit the buy button, too. In Travelocity's recent Traveler Confidence Report, we gauged travelers' plans and attitudes now as compared to six months ago, and we found a dramatic increase in travel intentions, indicating that traveler confidence is going up. In fact, 96 percent of our poll respondents said that the lower cost of travel has positively influenced their summer travel plans.

Here in New York, Memorial Day brings outdoor cafés, white wardrobes, and the March of the Visitors—the season when friends from out of town begin arriving to enjoy the city just as it's warming up. So I spent the last two weekends as a tourist in my city, hosting friends and hitting the streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Broadway (that’s right, even Times Square). As you might imagine, it's not difficult to convince anyone to visit you when you live in Manhattan, a luxury I've never had before. It was a lot harder to fill the sofa bed when I lived in other cities. Come to think of it, I didn't even need a sofa bed.

Ahh . . . New Jersey. State of gardens, 'da Shore,' and now, 28 flights per week on Jet America. The new low-cost airline  promises nine seats on each flight will cost just $9. Now, despite the claim on their web site that this is "not a gimmick," it feels a bit gimmick-y. But for $9, who cares?

According to the Associated Press (via Yahoo), service begins July 13 with  flights at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis and Lansing, Mich.

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match…at 40,000 feet?! If your mom has set you up with every available soul within a 50-mile radius, you’ve tried Match.com more times than you care to admit, and you’re still looking for Mr. or Ms. Right, you might try heading down under.

Air New Zealand is introducing the world’s first Matchmaking Flight. Adventurers looking for amour can book this flight from Los Angeles to Auckland on October 13, 2009 and see if sparks fly in the air. And you’re going to love the price. Round-trip flights are starting at just $780*. The airline will also treat you to a pre-flight gate party, themed food, drink, and games to encourage mingling on the flight, and a singles-only bash at the SKYCITY Convention Centre in Auckland.

It's no doubt that the recommendation against all non-essential travel has many people thinking twice about their upcoming trips. Travelocity alone has emailed nearly 14,000 customers about this issue and has had over 30,000 page views to their related FAQ. While most people are opting to change their plans for alternate destinations like Orlando, Las Vegas, Atlanta, the Bahamas, or the Caribbean some people are still chosing to go. If you have a trip in the coming weeks, what will you do?

Given Joe Biden's comments this morning which fueled the media fire over the H1N1 flu virus, I thought it quite brilliant that Jiffy Lube would go out with their poll on how American's would travel this summer.  Of course it promotes road trips!

As the media covers the spread of swine flu and the story of the low-flying plane that flew past the office yesterday, today’s news stories aren’t exactly travel-inspiring. So I went hunting for happy headlines until I found some reasons why it’s a great week to be a traveler. Here are my favorites; please add yours!

11 Historic Places in the U.S. Get Some Help
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has revealed its 2009 list of endangered historic places. While that’s gloomy on the surface, it means these places have a chance of getting the attention they need to survive.