Airline passengers will soon be able to read downloaded material on their smartphones and other portable electronic devices below 10,000 feet, under <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/31/travel/faa-portable-electronic-devices/index.html">a new Federal Aviation Administration rule </a>announced Thursday, October 31. Just don't try to connect to the Internet below 10,000 feet or make a phone call at any time in the air. Here are some other fixes that might make travel more pleasant.
Ways to make travel better —
Airline passengers will soon be able to read downloaded material on their smartphones and other portable electronic devices below 10,000 feet, under a new Federal Aviation Administration rule announced Thursday, October 31. Just don't try to connect to the Internet below 10,000 feet or make a phone call at any time in the air. Here are some other fixes that might make travel more pleasant.
istockphoto
The 4 p.m. check-in has become the norm. Could someone please inform hotels about flights that land before noon?
Round-the-clock hotel check-in —
The 4 p.m. check-in has become the norm. Could someone please inform hotels about flights that land before noon?
George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images
Some hotels now have sockets to suit many of these plugs. But it would be easier, and better, to have one universal socket to rule them all.
Invent a universal power socket —
Some hotels now have sockets to suit many of these plugs. But it would be easier, and better, to have one universal socket to rule them all.
istockphoto
We'd like to leave the restaurant when we want to, not when the waiter decides we can.
Bring us the check with the entree —
We'd like to leave the restaurant when we want to, not when the waiter decides we can.
Frank Perry/Getty Images
Don't be fooled - that's 13 rupees, not 130. It's time taxi fares from the airport to the city were reduced and enforced.
Abolish crazy taxi fares —
Don't be fooled - that's 13 rupees, not 130. It's time taxi fares from the airport to the city were reduced and enforced.
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Image
Upgrades - should they really be so hard to score? They're good for word of mouth PR and entice customer loyalty. Let's see them more often please.
Offer upgrades whenever possible —
Upgrades - should they really be so hard to score? They're good for word of mouth PR and entice customer loyalty. Let's see them more often please.
courtesy Cathay Pacific
Responsible for more mashed knees than the UFC, these 300-pound chariots of doom present passengers in aisle seats with a constant danger and cost airlines millions.
Retire the beverage cart from short flights —
Responsible for more mashed knees than the UFC, these 300-pound chariots of doom present passengers in aisle seats with a constant danger and cost airlines millions.
Getty Images
How many times do we need to be told "this is a completely full flight"? How many "last and final calls for boarding" are necessary?
Just stop talking, please —
How many times do we need to be told "this is a completely full flight"? How many "last and final calls for boarding" are necessary?
Why do we need a napkin every time someone on an airplane hands us four ounces of water? A small redwood forest could be recycled from the napkins airlines plow through each year.
Eliminate the paper trail —
Why do we need a napkin every time someone on an airplane hands us four ounces of water? A small redwood forest could be recycled from the napkins airlines plow through each year.
Getty Images
You spot the ad, but it needs to be easier to find and book the ticket.
Make booking more transparent —
You spot the ad, but it needs to be easier to find and book the ticket.
Peter Macdiarmid/getty images