2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD – Review

by Jonathan Spira
2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD – Review

Volvo and safety have been synonymous since the company’s launch in 1927.  The company’s founding directors, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson are said to have proclaimed that safety will be “the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo” that year.
Volvo firsts include the first production three-point safety belt (invented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin, which became standard on all Volvo cars in 1959) and the first rear-facing child seat, …

Delta BusinessElite Flight 202 New York JFK – Stockholm – Review

by Jonathan Spira
Delta BusinessElite Flight 202 New York JFK – Stockholm – Review

Delta is in the midst of a $1.2 billion expansion at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport that will increase its presence in Terminal 4 and result in considerable enhancements to Terminal 2 as well.  (Terminal 3, the former Pan Am Worldport, will be demolished as part of the plan.)
Although my flight to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport (ARN) was departing from Terminal 4, Delta offers SkyPriority check-in for first- …

Record High Temperatures Recorded for May

by Paul Riegler
Record High Temperatures Recorded for May

If you noticed over the past few months that it has been warmer outside, you weren’t alone.  Since the beginning of the year, the continental United States has experienced record-setting high temperatures.
In the period from January through May, the average high temperature in the lower 48 states was 49.2° F (9.5° C).  This was five degrees above normal, according to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) …

Bobino Driinn Phone Holder – Review

by Jonathan Spira
Bobino Driinn Phone Holder – Review

Appropriately enough, I found the Bobino Driinn mobile phone holder in the gift shop at the Post & Tele Museum in Copenhagen just a week ago.  The concept behind it is simple:  just plug your phone’s wall charger in with the plug going through the cutout of the Driinn phone holder and the Driinn will hang on the wall, giving you a safe place to store your phone while it …

Copa Airlines Clase Ejecutiva (Business Class) Flight 430 Panama City, Panama – Miami – Review

by Eva Leonard
Copa Airlines Clase Ejecutiva (Business Class) Flight 430 Panama City, Panama – Miami – Review

Scheduled to join the Star Alliance this month, rapidly growing Copa Airlines will add four new destinations to its current total of 59 when it launches new flights to Recife, Brazil; Liberia (Guanacaste) in Costa Rica; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Curacao later this year.
Check-in for my flight to Miami, Florida at Copa Airlines’ hub, Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport, was fairly quick for my 11:58 a.m. flight. With no luggage …

Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf – Review

by Eva Leonard
Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf – Review

Built on what was once the nexus for Britain’s spice trade, the West India Quay, the Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf shares a garden area with several residential buildings that overlook the Thames, offering guests a quiet refuge from the chaos of London.  Designed by Philippe Starck, the ten-story contemporary property is within walking distance of a number of East London’s major financial, tech, and media companies.
Staff members …

Great Moments in Travel History – June 2012

by Paul Riegler
Great Moments in Travel History – June 2012

Motoring and aviation pioneer Charles Stewart Rolls made the first successful non-stop return flight over the English Channel on June 2, 1910.   Rolls co-founded Rolls-Royce with Sir Henry Royce in 1904.  He was also the first Briton to be killed in an aviation accident, an event which took place a month after the Channel flight.
On June 15, 1916, William Boeing took the Bluebill, the first B & W aircraft, on …