Luckily we had our positioning crew on board and wonderful Tom took the task of being the extra-lap,” Niemelä added in her post. Today we had a mother on board travelling with four little boys. Luckily we had our positioning crew on board and wonderful Tom took the task of being the extra-lap. “Two of the boys were just babies. Don& https://www.steady-ind.com/product/blind-rivet-nuts/ 39;t you find them quite adorable! <3 #airlinecrew #positioning #extrachores #babyonboard #feelfinnair #finnairpilots #avgeek #service #adorable #serviceexcellence #cute #pilot #bestattitude #mycaptain #whentheresawilltheresaway A post shared by ami niemelä (@amipix) on Apr 6, 2017 at 9:22am PDT “Naturally one cannot travel with two babies on one’s lap, so we had to solve the dilemma of missing lap, otherwise it would have been a no go for mom and the kids. “Today we had a mother on board travelling with four little boys,” Finnair cabin crew member Ami Niemelä wrote on Instagram. Due to aviation laws, infants must be seated in a parent’s lap or in an approved child’s seat during takeoff and landing. Naturally one cannot travel with two babies on one's lap, so we had to solve the dilemma of missing lap, otherwise it would have been a no go for mom and the kids.April 13, 2017 As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child — and apparently that village includes an airline pilot. “Don’t you find them quite adorable!” Related: What You Need to Know Before Flying with a Baby # And in case you were wondering, positioning crew members are on board as passengers, not as crew, making Tom the pilot’s kindness even more heroic.” Niemelä and the entire crew quickly realized the mother traveling from Helsinki to Oulu might need an extra hand or two to help her brood get to their final destination. So instead of simply watching her juggle two infants and two small children, the crew stepped in to provide a helping hand, and an extra lap, for the babies. Two of the boys were just babies

3 of 13 Singapore Airlines Reclining Sofa Seats and Leg Rests The La-Z-Boy of the skies has been perfected and refined since its introduction in the 1980s. British Airways, in turn, has upped the ante by debuting a suite element in its latest-generation first-class cabins on the A380. Advertisement https://www.steady-ind.com/product/ 9 of 13 Courtesy of Virgin Atlantic Onboard Lounges Inspired by the lounges launched by iconic airlines Braniff and Pan Am on their 747s, a number of airlines are including a social space on larger aircrafts, giving passengers a chance to stretch their legs and enjoy a few beverages with old friends and new. Airlines have raised the bar for in-flight retail by adding shopping menus to their entertainment screens and offering passengers the opportunity to ship the goods straight to their homes.July 23, 2015 Every once in a while, designers and airplane manufacturers come onto the scene with a paradigm-shifting scheme to make airplanes comfier. Be warned: you’ll be spoiled for almost every other form of air travel, short of your own private jet—or our next featured cabin innovation.

Others, like Korean Air, introduced onboard boutiques (or shopping lounges) that let us stretch our legs while we do a little in-flight window shopping. The shower rooms themselves are larger than the average New York City bathroom, offer heated floors with manual temperature control, and are overseen by dedicated shower attendants. How? We’re glad you asked. Fine dining, five-star service, and a high-tech office, and a host of other comfort features make longer flights far more bearable. Advertisement 2 of 13 AFP/Getty Images The Overhead Bin Though the often-maligned overhead bin might not be an obvious choice for an innovation worth praising, it plays a vital role in passenger convenience and safety. Sometimes the ideas are brilliant (hello, staggered seating for a not-terrible middle seat), and sometimes they’re, well, not. It’s via this influx of new renderings, models, and seat designs, that airplane cabins have transformed over the decades. For longer flights, it’s an excellent way to refresh and relax before landing, and a perfect complement to the extreme luxury of today’s best first-class service. The extra storage comes at a price, of course; namely a loss of space that makes cabins feel more crowded than they already are. Airlines are also experimenting with ways to use aromas to soothe us (lavender-scented neck pillow, anyone?), and calling on top chefs and scientists to make in-flight meals more appetizing. Airlines like American Airlines, Delta, Jet Blue, and many others enjoy a wide variety of blockbusters, shows, live television, music, and sports—all on demand. But that may soon change: Airbus and Boeing have both introduced high-capacity bins for their next-generation aircraft. Some windows can be dimmed at the touch of a button if it’s too sunny, but B/E Aerospace wants to squeeze the juice from that sunshine with a solar-powered window screen that doubles as a charger for smartphones and tablets.

These new pivoting bins are designed to be easier to load and weight-balanced so that closing them is effortless, plus they leave plenty of ceiling room, making the new cabins feel cavernous. Virgin Atlantic revived the lounge trend in the 1990s and continues to mix things up at 30,000 feet with a couples’ dining service on its new Dreamliner aircraft. A clever design bonus that allows the airline to earn revenue from an underused space in the A380, the Residence includes a private bedroom, living room, bathroom complete with shower, butler service, private chef, and luxury amenities. Advertisement 8 of 13 Courtesy Etihad The Residence We’re unlikely to see another airline try to better—or even try to match—the Residence by Etihad. The only bad thing about the Residence is that you can’t live in it year-round. Advertisement 6 of 13 AFP/Getty Images The First-Class Shower and Spa Emirates airline’s first-class shower and spa took a lot of clever engineering to accommodate, but the result is pretty astounding. Trolley carts loaded with goodies are becoming passé. If you can afford it, little compares to the joy of a long-haul journey with five-star pampering in a cabin all your own. With automatic seat controls that covert to angled-flat or full-lie-flat beds, cubby holes to store our most needed items, state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment, massage functions, in-seat outlets, and a host of other personal comforts, luxury seat pods allow long-haul passengers to reach their destination satisfied and well rested. A true premium economy cabin is a clearly differentiated product, with unique seats and loads of comfort and service features. Overhead bins allow passengers to bring personal items and luggage onboard, and they also make the skies safer, keeping those bags secure during emergencies and turbulence.. There are many other airlines offering proper premium economy seats today including Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS and, more recently, Singapore Airlines, but Virgin Atlantic has done its legacy proud by offering passengers a premium economy experience that is hard to beat. Advertisement 5 of 13 British Airways The Full-Lie-Flat Bed British Airways revolutionized first class and business class with the introduction of lie-flat beds in the 1990s, making dreams literally come true for weary executives. On some airlines, flashy seats are only available for first-class passengers while on others they might come in a premium economy version (like the picture seats from Singapore Airlines), but all offer improved comfort on longer flights. Seats that can recline to 180 degrees are now the benchmark of quality premium cabin interiors, with airlines competing to offer the best beds in the skies by adding quality bedding and comforters and increased privacy. Advertisement 11 of 13 © Weerawath / iStockPhoto In-Flight Entertainment Trans World Airways branded in-flight entertainment as a key feature of long-haul air travel, but even the company’s founder—Hollywood insider Howard Hughes—could not have foreseen just how entertaining the skies would become. Advertisement 10 of 13 Bloomberg via Getty Images The Onboard Boutique Duty-free shopping is one of many entertainments on offer in the skies, but peddling goods on trolley carts loaded with goodies are becoming passé. Advertisement 13 of 13 Virgin America Improved Aircraft Windows The larger windows on next-generation aircrafts like the Boeing Dreamliner and Airbus A350XWB provide better views of the world below and let in ample natural light, which makes the cabin feel less confining. Lighting also helps passengers regulate their biorhythms during long- flights across time zones. Advertisement 12 of 13 Courtesy of Icelandair Cabin Lighting and Environmental Controls Who would imagine that flying could become a feast for the senses? Programmable LED lighting that sets a pleasant mood and allows airlines like Icelandair to simulate the aurora borealis on their special northern lights–themed planes. 1 of 13 © Lufthansa Premium Economy Introduced by Virgin Atlantic in the 1990s, this fourth cabin class has made comfortable long-haul travel affordable for many. But don’t be fooled by today’s re-packaged Plus (and minus) Economy classes which offer more leg room. High-resolution screens, state-of-the-art technology, and the introduction of in-flight Wi-Fi provide continued improvements in this cabin comfort. Improvements in climate, humidity, and noise reduction are making next-generation aircrafts healthier, more restful places. Advertisement 7 of 13 Courtesy Asiana The Private Cabin Some airlines, like Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Asiana Airways (shown) aim to keep first class worth the extra fare by offering private cabins that harken to the golden age of rail travel on some flights. Advertisement 4 of 13 BMW DesignWorks USA The Seat Pod A British Airways innovation in the mid-1990s, the seat pod has evolved to include a wide range of versions, including this super-lush and extra-roomy high-tech business-class seat now being introduced on Singapore Airlines

Immortalized by a bronze statue in the City of Brotherly Love and five epic sequels, the tale of Rocky now continues on Broadway with Rocky the Musical. Opening today, the theatrical experience is a close retelling of the story—and a visual invitation for fans to visit the character’s hometown. Don’t miss the birthplace of the nation, Love Park, and America’s oldest zoo. https://www.steady-ind.com/product/blind-rivet-nuts/ Philadelphia is a must-do destination for anyone, even if you didn’t idolize the Italian Stallion as a kid.. Trace the boxer’s famous route down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and snag a signature cheesesteak from the first shop to make it: Pat’s King of Steaks, in South Philly’s Italian Market. Of course, no one will think twice if they catch you racing up the Art Museum steps and fist-pumping at the top.Melanie Lieberman is an editorial intern at Travel + Leisiure.March 14, 2014 Since aspiring boxer Rocky Balboa first made his heroic run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, the cult-classic film Rocky has been synonymous with the Philadelphia

"You can rent it out for the evening and have a seated dinner for 200," says Schrager, noting that there will be no "scene" at the Roof Club. "We must have looked at fifty side tables, fifty chairs, fifty lamps, fifty drinks cabinets," recalls Schrager, who is famous for complicating the process and threatening the schedule by bringing in, at various stages, what he calls his brain trust, a group of loyal friends—from fashion designer Norma Kamali to celebrity floral designer-cum-party planner Robert Isabell—to whom he perennially looks for opinions, ideas, and reactions, which he uses to help inform his final "edit. "There were some dark periods," he says. "Ian asked me to come over and look at the hotel." As for the particular school of "bohemian" and "edgy" Schrager opted for at the Gramercy Park Hotel, do not think "starving young artist in an East Village tenement. Virtually everywhere your eye travels, in fact, the artist’s touch is in clear view. Up on the 18th floor, there is also the now-under-construction Roof Club, scheduled to open in December." Schnabel also laid down a black-and-white chessboard floor in the lobby, made from nine-by-nine-inch rough-concrete tiles from Morocco. "Then, suddenly, it’s big business, and I’m getting credit because we changed the industry.. "Michael makes the design happen from the practical and construction point of view," Schrager explains.com; doubles from $525. This chair, specially designed by Dutch artist and product designer Maarten Baas, is akin to many of the pieces in Baas’s popular "Smoke" collection.. I’m out of school. (No Trump-style slippery-when-wet polished marble here. To do the design honors for the 150-seat Chinese restaurant, Yau, with Schrager’s enthusiastic support, looked to the young Paris-based husband-and-wife duo of Patrick Gilles and Dorothée Boissier, who, before setting up shop themselves, worked, respectively, in the Paris offices of Philippe Starck ("which gives you the levity," according to Schrager) and Christian Liagre ("which gives you the chic"). There is no more underground.gramercyparkhotel. Very bohemian." But then, that was never a question.. Built in two stages—the first completed in 1925 by architect Robert T. He also had Michael Overington, his head of development, who has been at the hotelier’s side since 1977. "He’s a really creative guy; I would have liked him to do more," says Schrager, who also commissioned from Baas a trio of custom-designed coffee tables for the lobby and a billiard table for one of the bars downstairs. The Gramercy is the first entry in a portfolio they are putting together for the new Ian Schrager Company, which will feature apartment buildings in addition to hotels. These assistants will "work hard to be more personal than the guests’ own personal assistants," Schrager promises, and will supplement an "unparalleled concierge, bellman, and runner staff.not a gallery, not a museum, but a kind of singular, eclectic vision. Ultimately, we have different styles. I thought it should be like going to some crazy rich person’s house and staying in the attic. Schrager is also hard at it on another residential project, this time in Las Vegas, where he is working with esteemed developers the Fisher Brothers on the planning and design of some 10,000 apartments to be deployed over 40 buildings on a 100-acre site. It’s more like the Miss Havisham School of Disrepair. In short, the hotel was overdue for a massive renovation.. Asked how Schnabel took to being "edited" and "reinterpreted," Schrager says, "He was accepting. "Gramercy Park is a wonderful address. Also by Schnabel is the slightly menacing sawtooth chandelier in the adjacent Rose Bar, an area he conceived of as a living room, at least until Schrager brought him up to speed on the kind of Day-of-the-Locust throngs he knew were on their hurried way. "If I don’t work, I’m miserable," says Schrager, who is personally, as well as professionally, on the move.Y.because, in the end, I don’t make the projects, the projects make me." With success came imitators: "Everybody’s doing it now, not only a bunch of little boutique hotels, but the big hotels as well," he says." Not under Schnabel’s purview is the hotel’s main restaurant, Park Chinois, slated to open this month: That is being overseen by Michelin-starred chef Alan Yau, well known for his London restaurants Hakkasan, Wagamama, and Yauatcha. But the place had been run-down for years. "I’m not building some corporate monolith like MGM." Noting that the average room rate is in the $500-per-night vicinity, he adds, "This will compete with the top hotels in New York. "I wanted to set the record straight," he says. This time around, words that better describe Schrager’s $210 million renovation of the formerly 506-room hotel are different, the very antithesis of all that heart-racing hyperbole." In Miami and Miami Beach, Schrager recently purchased two hotels, which he plans to renovate and reopen.. But Schrager persisted in his idea of having Schnabel be hands-on, a true collaborator. Gramercy Park Hotel..; 212/920-3300; www. I was an administrator for the past four or five years, and I was miserable. But the hotelier is determined to change that, and each guest will be offered the services of a personal assistant. So, basically, I said I’d take out the ceiling in the lobby. "I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel or make any kind of statement," Schnabel says. Ultimately, Ian is the author. And I’ll be pretty consistent with that way of seeing space. For perhaps the first time, Schrager had acquired a hotel that had the kind of history and provenance that he (rightfully) felt obliged to consider. So what, to Schnabel’s mind, did Schrager want?"What he tried to do was make a place that kind of looked like my house, and I just told him what I would do, and then he sort of did what he wanted.meaning hello flamboyant gestures and grand allusions and chic sensuality; hello regal, overscale furniture and bronze fittings and lush carpets and massive fireplaces and enough red silk velvet to outfit a turn-of-the-20th-century bordello in Paris. Schrager’s previous hotels could be counted on to remain up to the red-hot aesthetic minute, but at the Gramercy he conscientiously steps away from all things trendy.’ So, I got up and walked away with 30 percent" (which he recently sold). I like building—I’m a builder," says Schrager, who incorporated 23 cooperative apartments into the 1930 wing of the hotel, directly overlooking Gramercy Park. Maybe I am a frustrated interior decorator. Standing in the lobby is an exhilarating experience, as you look around and try to get your bearings in the extravagant—in concept, execution, and detail—space that manages to evoke simultaneously Venice, Havana, Barcelona, London, and Paris, as well as Addison Mizner’s Palm Beach, William Randolph Hearst’s San Simeon, and several of the sets from Orson Welles’s 1941 Citizen Kane, minus the lonely gloom.) The irregular, imperfect floors help create a highly textured envelope, one that clearly values the look and feel of patina, as opposed to the look and feel of brand-spanking-new. He has been working with them since 1984, when he commissioned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe to provide the art for Morgans’s guest rooms, large-scale black-and-white portraits of flowers signed by the late controversial artist." He would like, in other words, to be known as the man who reinvented the hotel not once, but twice." Color proved to be an especially important part of the design. But over the past decade, the notion of "high-design" hotels has become a given, if not a cliché. And good-bye to everything that ultraprolific Paris-based enfant terrible of design stands for—slick, tongue-in-cheek wit, irony, surrealism, whimsy, and jet-set modernism. I wanted to do something that was an alternative, something personal. At the Palladium—a second nightclub he opened in 1985—he commissioned Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf, among others, to create large-scale installations that capitalized on 80’s pop-culture’s fascination with this small stable of high-flying young artists. Chanel kingpin Karl Lagerfeld bought one early. "I’m going to do my thing out there," he says." For his part, Schnabel says, "I really care about Ian and I wanted him to get what he wanted. It was time to turn the page, and in any event, the Gramercy Park Hotel presented a different mandate than Schrager’s first 10 properties: Morgans, the Royalton, the Paramount, and the Hudson in New York; the Delano and Shore Club in Miami Beach; the Mondrian in Los Angeles; St." Schnabel adds: "It’s a long friendship and it’s a collaboration.

Authentic, transformational, and completely riveting.. With every year that passes in Maui there is a greater resurgence of the culture, and experiencing this island culture firsthand is what separates Hawaii from being just another beach town found anywhere else in the world. Old Lahaina Luau Sure, there are oceanfront luaus all over the island, but what separates Old Lahaina Luau from the rest is an insistence on historical accuracy. ‘Ulalena In a fusion of history with modern performance, this captivating show at the Maui Theater explores Hawaii’s past.

You won’t find fire dancing—since that’s actually Samoan—but you will find a scintillating and educational performance on the history of ancient Hawaii. This walking tour helps visitors dig deep into Lahaina’s storied past, and explores historic and sacred sights you might otherwise walk right by. The history of Hawaii as part of the United States is still relatively young (it became the 50th state in 1959), and there is a strong contingent of local Hawaiians that are adamant it’s an occupied nation (technically they’re correct). For a fascinating look at Hawaii’s past—and a better understanding of its present—make the time to visit some of the following sites or shows. Kahanu Garden Like a sliver of land that the United States forgot, this National Tropical Botanical Garden is like walking around ancient Hawaii. Maui Nei Walking Tour Lahaina might look like a tourist town today, but every chapter of Maui’s history—from it’s status as the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom to whalers, missionaries, sugar barons, and tourists—is represented in one square mile of Lahaina’s teeming downtown. Malama Honokowai Valley Deep in the valley above Ka‘anapali is a village site frozen in time. Enter through a breadfruit grove https://www.steady-ind.com/ and a wild forest of hala, and the most informative visits are the guided tours that take place on Saturday mornings.

The 464-acre garden is home to Pi‘ilanihale—a towering, 3-acre religious structure that is the largest in all of Polynesia. Though the Hawaiian culture was once suppressed (the language was even banned in schools), the “Hawaiian Renaissance” that began in 1978 is still in the midst of a revival. To volunteer, meet at the Pu‘ukoli‘i train station at 9am on Saturdays. Once abandoned by ancient Hawaiians when the stream water was diverted for sugar, volunteer groups are slowly revitalizing this traditional link to the past. Help remove invasive species and plant indigenous trees, and learn the powerful history that lives in lush Honokowai Valley.January 14, 2015 Visitors often say that traveling to Hawaii is like being in another country—only you don’t need a passport, the currency is the same, and there’s no need to learn a new language. Visitors are largely correct: Hawaii was actually its own country for over 83 years, and it’s the only place in the United States that once had a palace and monarchs. Hear the legends, myths, and chants at the core of Hawaiian culture, and go on a weaving, musical journey from the past through Hawaii today