Flying is seriously the worst. Short flights are tolerable, but being stuck on a cross-country (or, Flying Spaghetti Monster forbid, an overseas) flight in the economy section is almost enough to drive you batty. The lack of space and feeling of confinement are only made worse by that stupid seat-back tray table.

The Airhook is a simple invention that aims to give you a teensy bit more space on your next flight by letting you keep your tray table stowed for most of the flight. It hooks over the stowed tray and holds your phone or tablet and a drink while preserving your precious leg room. 

The holder attaches with a simple hook over the tray table when it’s in its upright position. You can insert your electronic device into a slot near the back; if your phone or tablet is on the large side (up to 7.5″ tall), you just attach the built-in bungee to hold it snugly in place. 

A small knob on the side lets you adjust the angle of the screen so you can keep it at a comfortable viewing angle even when the person in front of you reclines. Aside from eating meals or using your laptop, the Airhook can make the tray table totally unnecessary. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Airhook is being offered at a special price of $22.00, discounted from the regular retail price of $24.95. Not a bad deal for a thing that squashes most of the frustration associated with flying.

The post This Tiny Travel Accessory Makes Flying Much Less Horrible first appeared on Gajitz.

Even if you’re excited to be getting away, flying is frustrating and stressful. We’ve seen too many news stories about overly stressed passengers freaking out and punching each other over something as simple as an armrest or a reclined chair.

The Soarigami won’t put an end to all in-plane disputes, but it will help cut down on scuffles over shared armrests. The folding armrest divider is the spitting image of a paper airplane and fits onto the armrest to give you and your next-door seat buddy separate spots to rest your elbows.

The designers were inspired to create the Soarigami when a bout of designer’s block struck. Folding up a discarded design into a paper airplane and letting it sail away provided the spark needed to create the clever armrest add-on.

The small origami-inspired design takes up hardly any weight or space at all; it’s flat until you need it. Then you just fold it into shape and snap it onto the armrest to separate you from the hairy forearm sitting next to you. Soarigami will be available for pre-order in early 2015.

The post Simple Folding Divider Ends Airplane Armrest Disputes first appeared on Gajitz.

Flying may be the fastest way to get you from Point A to Point B, but it comes with its share of annoying disturbances. One of the worst is the pain and hearing interruptions that happen when the pressure in the passenger cabin changes. It isn’t a problem for everyone, but for some people it’s a seriously annoying issue that can last far longer than the flight itself. Quirky plans to produce a set of earbuds that will equalize the pressure in your ears when you fly.

The idea comes from inventor Clark Bish, who is a longtime sufferer of air travel-related ear pain. According to Bish, 2.5 billion people suffer from this particular type of discomfort, and Bish’s own condition is severe enough that it persists for days after he flies. His earbuds, dubbed Equalizers, work by creating an airtight seal between the earbud and the ear canal. This seal cuts off the inner ear from pressure fluctuations in the plane cabin.

Thin air tubes let the user manually adjust the pressure in each ear. They also work as actual earbuds, allowing you to listen to music or white noise during your flight. A button lets you turn off the music and let in outside noises so that you don’t have to take the earbuds out. Putting the earbuds in when you board and leaving them in until after the plane lands will eliminate the problem of ear pressure pain altogether. The product isn’t yet in production, but Quirky is developing it; hopefully by the next time we have to fly we’ll be able to ditch the chewing gum and, pop these little guys in, and avoid the annoying ear pressure and popping altogether.

The post Ear Pressure-Relieving Earbuds Make Flying Less Painful first appeared on Gajitz.

Space tourism will someday soon be as commonplace as taking a bus tour around the streets of a city. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are undoubtedly the most recognizable names driving this industry forward, but there’s another company that is planning to get wealthy thrill-seekers very high in the near future.

World View is a kind of stratosphere-floating capsule that brings to mind a (hopefully) safer version of the old-timey zeppelin. Arizona company Paragon Space Development Corporation wants to take humans 100,000 feet above the surface of the Earth, letting us view our planet from an unforgettable perspective. The zeppelin comparison is unavoidable given that the company plans to lift the World View up via a giant balloon.

The travel capsule, designed by British designers Priestmangoode, looks a bit like a submarine. But in every other way, it is the exact opposite. Every ounce of weight matters when you’re taking a vehicle nearly 19 miles up, so the interior will be made of ultra-light materials. The designers don’t want to gloss over the experience of going where very few humans have ever gone, however, so they’ve been careful to design to the cabin to look like it belongs in space.

Each luxury capsule will be capable of carrying six passengers and two crew members. The four huge windows allow everyone aboard to view the spectacular sight of a swiftly-receding Earth as the vehicle is taken up by a huge balloon. The ascent to 100,000 feet takes about an hour and a half, so the company would start the tour just before sunset. The craft is able to drift around slowly for about two hours, during which time passengers could enjoy a bar area and snacks – or simply press themselves against the window marveling at the incredible sight below and before them.

Although 100,000 feet up is far from space travel, the FAA has decided that the World View’s operations fall under the authority of the Commercial Space Flight folks. Time will tell if the fanciful idea is ever able to be brought to life, but the company is working with experts in high-altitude ballooning and safety systems unique to the high altitude. The entire operation is still in the design phase at this point. One thing that the company can say now is that a trip aboard the luxury cloud glider will cost $75,000, so start saving up now for the future ride of your life.

The post Up Where the Air is Clear: Earth Tourism at 100K Feet first appeared on Gajitz.

Frequent flyers know what a pain it is to peel off those sticky luggage tags after a trip. British Airways feel your pain and they’ve decided to try out something completely different: personal electronic luggage tags that you never have to remove. The tags have a battery life of about five years, so they can accompany your luggage on many travels without ever having to be replaced. When you check in at the airport, you can hold down a smartphone provided by the airline to sync your ticket to your luggage data. The small screen on the electronic luggage tag changes to include all of your information encoded in a personalized barcode. A paper printout also shows you the details so you know the tag was encoded correctly.

The information stays on the electronic screens all throughout your trip, so at check-in, departure and collection your tag will still have your flight information, just as it would if you were using sticky plastic tags. When you check in for a different flight the barcode and screen information changes. It stays on the screen but the battery shuts off, meaning that it isn’t using battery power the entire time. As such, the tags can be used over and over. The suits at BA feel that this and other innovations will help streamline the air travel process, making it less of a headache for everyone involved.

The post Sticky Luggage Tags Get a 21st Century Digital Upgrade first appeared on Gajitz.