Attention all you airline geeks: this one’s for you. Savvy Navigator has found the perfect Christmas gift for that gay travel aficionado in your life. And it’s the perfect stocking stuffer for that on-the-same-wavelength nephew who happens to be in love with the airline industry.

Savvy Navigator recently met author Jennifer Coutts Clay, an icon in the airline industry, who recently updated her classic book, Jetliner Cabins. This book is an amazingly interesting resource covering the past (Concorde, Eastern, Braniff, Pan Am, etc.), the present (a comprehensive survey of U.S. and international airlines), and the future (Airbus A380, Boeing B787 Dreamliner, Bombardier C-Series, and the new category of Embraer Very Light Jets). You’ll read about everything from safety, seat design, and fabric selection to meal service, accessibility and maintenance in first-, business- and economy-class cabins. It also has really cool cabin layout diagrams.

Savvy Navigator chatted with Jennifer and she shared this, “In the past 25 years airlines have spent fortunes on interior upgrade programs – to comply with escalating regulatory requirements, to address individual customer needs and to differentiate themselves from their competitors. What do passengers get for their money? How are new products, such as sleeper seats and lounge bars, integrated into existing floor plans? Why do some cabin environments feel more welcoming than others? This book is where readers will find answers to some of these difficult questions.”

Savvy Navigator has ordered several copies to bestow upon his geeky, anorak-wearing friends. Shouldn’t you do the same?

OK, these places are typically not on the itinerary for the typical gay tour, but Savvy Navigator found this National Geographic adventure blogger’s posting on the top ten worst travel destinations ruined by tourism to be insightful and interesting.

Go ahead and click through to read the full post, but in a nutshell, we all should consider avoiding these places especially: Cancun, Orlando and the increasingly-vulgar Dubai.

Savvy Navigator is not so sure he agrees about Antarctica, but that’s probably because it’s still the one continent he’s not yet visited.

Savvy Navigator has been able to determine that there are no orthodontists in the bush. While on safari recently, he got very close to a breeding herd of female elephants and their offspring. He was most amused at this young mother with her crooked and deformed tusks. He wonders how this happened?

And in a future entry, Savvy Navigator will detail his adventures being charged by an adolescent male elephant, who had recently been cast out of the breeding herd.

Using the super-cool Flip Mino video camcorder, Savvy Navigator was able to shoot this view of the Cape Town waterfront from the 19th Club Floor of the Westin Grand Hotel. It only lasts a minute and shows an interesting perspective on the 2010 World Cup stadium, Robben Island (home of Nelson Mandela during Apartheid), and the V&A Waterfront.

Savvy Navigator is home! After 36+ hours of travel (including > than 24 hours in the air), Savvy Navigator and husband arrived home safely and soundly Saturday night. It was a long trip, but a lot was learned about planning and executing the optimal gay tour experience. 

Trip highlights will be posted throughout the week, but some of the best things the team experienced on the long ride home included:

1. The new BA Galleries Lounge in Johannesburg - great staff, delicious food, and Savvy Navigator’s favorite wine, Warwick Estate’s Three Cape Ladies!

2. The new Madrid airport terminal is home to Iberia and its oneworld partners, including American Airlines. The AA staff here could not have been nicer. As the Savvy Navigator duo settled into their business-class seats, the ground staff came on board to advise that only 1 of the bags had made it up from JNB. While aggravating, it was the homeward leg, and this pro-active customer service meant not having to deal the claim until back on terra firma in DC.

3. The fabulous lesbian flight-attendant couple, Mary and Veronica, who made AA69 MAD-MIA a really fun crossing. Who knew that cabin crew had to deal with so much plastic cling wrap?