Delta adding 1st class to shuttles

Delta Air Lines will add first-class seating to its Delta Shuttle flights that operate between New York's LaGuardia, Washington, DC's Reagan National and Boston's Logan airports.

The company said in an announcement that it will make the change effective December 1 although "customers may experience a mix of one- and two-class Shuttle aircraft as Delta completes the reconfiguration of its nine Shuttle aircraft by the end of the month."

Delta will offer 14 seats in first class and 128 seats in economy with its open-seating policy remaining in place for each class of service. First-class shuttle seats will cost between $100 and $250 more than coach-class seats, depending in the route.

Delta also said it plans to outfit its entire Shuttle fleet with Wi-Fi access by spring 2009 through Aircell's Gogo service. Customers will pay a $9.95 flat fee on Shuttle flights for the Wi-Fi access, which will allow fliers to use Wi-Fi-enabled devices to access the Internet and to use texting and instant-message services.

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Belvedere's Intense airport bound

International travelers now have one more premium vodka to look for. Belvedere Intense, a 50% abv (100 proof) distillation exclusive to travel retail and World Duty Free, has just been released by Moët Hennessy.

The 1-litre bottle will be sold at international airports such as New York's John F. Kennedy, Paris's Charles deGaulle, London's Heathrow Terminal 5 and in Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore and Warsaw.

Unlike the usual Belvedere frosty white bottle, Intense is in black glass with silver foil tree designs. Intense is double filtered through charcoal, resulting in an increased alcohol content that its makers say "accentuates the notes and texture of the vodka."

Suggested retail price: €45 ($63 U.S.).

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