My first airplane ride was in 1973 on a Northwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Rochester, Minn. It was winter, and the plane hit a fair amount of turbulence. My mother looked like she was going to pass out. I thought it was fun.

That trip though wasn’t for fun. We were headed to Mayo Clinic for my mother’s surgery. Even though I was the only child on the flight and it was Christmas week, the airline didn’t give us any mementos. I haven’t flown Northwest since, though not for that reason. On my second flight, however, a few years later for a real vacation in Los Angeles, I not only got to go into the United Airlines cockpit to meet the pilots, but they also gave me this large plastic blow-up airplane of a United jet. I was thrilled! (Yes, I was a geeky kid.) That airplane hung in my bedroom for a couple years, until I finally outgrew it.

Nowadays, few airlines give away anything to anyone, let alone gifts to children. Yesterday, however, American Airlines announced that it is giving first-time flyers—of any age, but most first timers likely will be youngsters—a commemorative “First Flight Certificate,” signed by the aircraft’s pilots and flight attendants. To receive one, all you have to do is tell a flight attendant that it’s your first flight.

American’s hope, of course, is that the young flyers will grow up to be loyal American Airlines customers. It even stated as much in its press release about the new perk: “Passengers of any age can join American’s AAdvantage Travel Awards Program to begin enjoying the many benefits that AAdvantage membership provides.”

Now, the certificate is a very nice gesture, and I’m sure there will be some kids (and adults) who will be thrilled to receive the keepsake. But will it generate loyalty? Maybe so, but only if the company also adds in the Ben & Jerry sundaes that will soon be available in business class. I’m sure first-time flyers of any age will really appreciate those. (For the record, as an adult I did become a member of United’s reward program—among others, including American—but I have to admit that even though I have very fond memories of my first United experience, the toy plane didn’t play a part in that decision.)

Also, is it ever too early to sign kids up for an airline loyalty program? Plus, I’m curious to see if anyone else remembers getting gifts from airlines when flying as a child. Let us know!

In an effort to more quickly reward loyal customers, or, perhaps, capture some of American Express’s card members who cannot justify renewing their $450 platinum card this year, United Airlines, in conjunction with Chase Card Services, announced today three new credit card options for its “elite travelers,”—The United Mileage Plus Club Visa Card, The United Mileage Plus Access Visa Card and The United Mileage Plus Select Visa Card—with annual fees that are in the relatively more reasonable range of $375 to $130.

Cardholders can expect the usual perks affiliated with airline reward cards, along with some new ones, usually reserved for elite status fliers, such as double or triple miles earned per flight, Economy Plus seating, non-flight miles that can count toward elite status, and Red Carpet Club membership (United’s private airport lounge) or passes for entry, depending on the card level purchased.

“For some of our credit card customers, it is all about quickly and easily earning miles to reach their next reward, and for others, they want exclusive perks that make travel more comfortable,” says Robert Sahadevan, vice president – Mileage Plus, United. “Our new cards go beyond the conventional spend-a-dollar, earn-a-mile structure by offering cardholders features that provide travel comforts and accelerate their path to achieving coveted elite status or reaching their next award destination.”

The new cards come just a week after United eliminated its fees for short-term reward bookings. In today’s economy of near double-digit unemployment and price being the No. 1 factor in travel decisions, how many travelers remain loyal to a single airline, even with added perks, as opposed to a card program that offers points redeemable on multiple carriers? Just curious.

For more information about these three new credit cards from United and Chase, visit www.united.com/newcards.

Photo by GlennFleishman

The list of places in the world where you can safely avoid updating your Facebook profile got smaller last week with Virgin America’s launch of in-flight WiFi on all its 100 daily routes. Unless you were one of the working stiffs on the test flight out of San Francisco (pictured above) access will cost $9.95 on short flights (under three hours), $12.95 for longer hauls, with discounted rates for handheld users and Web junkies taking the red-eye.

So, let the airborne Internet races begin, or rather, speed up: The announcement sucked the wind out of news earlier in the week from AirTran that it will begin offering the service on all its flights in July, and you already may have stumbled onto Wi-Fi-enabled flights from American Airlines, Delta and United, which have partnered with Virgin America’s service provider Gogo; trial runs of JetBlue's free-but-buggy BetaBlue; or Row 44 satellite-enabled flights on Southwest and Alaska Airlines. Internationally, onboard Wi-Fi is also in the works at Air Canada (through Gogo) and Norwegian Air Shuttle (Row 44).

I’m eager to see this capability become universal, as it seems it will, but for now I can’t decide if the possibility of having Wi-Fi would make me choose one carrier over another when booking a flight. Especially since, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out earlier this month, it’s going to be a while before companies with many more planes than Virgin America’s 28 will be able to guarantee in advance which ones will have Wi-Fi capability. Plus, with the baggage fees and the snack charges and so on, will I really want to throw down another chunk of change just so I can blog mid-flight? Is this blog post worth $12.95? Don’t answer that.

Hello, my lovelies! Welcome to the latest installment of Friday Favorites, TravelMusing’s round-up of the best of the old Interwebs.

Can I just tell you that Friday Favorites is the best time of my week? I get to log on to some super-awesome Web sites and wish myself far, far away from the maddening crowd … of my children.

Children love to travel, too, and one wandering mama lists the top five ways you can tell your kid is a pro. Meg’s excellent blog was on hiatus for awhile while she and her brood relocated to the wilds of Hartford, Conn., but she’s back online and back in the saddle. Good to see you, Meg! – Backpack to Buggy

Sometimes, in fact, kids hold their — uh, stuff — together better than the grown-ups do. Just ask this poor guy, whose tummy upset got him arrested after a dust-up over the business-class loo on trip home from the Honduras. Talk about a — wait for it — crappy flight! – Tripso

One of my favorite family-travel blogs got a make-over recently, and to celebrate, the author is heading out of town without the kids. Take a gander at Mara’s new digs, and remind yourself why sometimes it’s good just to be a grown-up, and not a parent. – The Mother of All Trips

Looking for a great destination to go solo for awhile? Read this review of the Moon Guidebook for Thailand and interview of its author, Suzanne Nam, and do some dreaming—or go ahead and plan a trip. Recession? What recession? – Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site

Speaking of the recession, did you know that you might be getting a refund on that pricey plane ticket you bought before airlines started dropping their prices? Yup, that means cash in your pocket before you hit the continent. – The Brooklyn Nomad

I do love spending time trolling for the best of the best travel blogs, but it’s always good to have another perspective of what’s hot and what’s not. So do this blogger a solid and send me some of your good stuff, travel-style.

C’mon, you know you want to. Don’t be a hater. Send me your Friday faves to editor AT travelmusings DOT com.

Whether you’re coming home from a holiday vacation, flying in bad weather or just taking a quick business trip, it’s always more helpful to know if your flight is on time. Google makes it easier to do that: Just type your airline and flight number in the search box (example: alaska flight 220). You’ll get the route, departure and arrival times, and estimated departure and arrival times for connecting flights.

This tracking feature makes it much quicker to get your flight info (especially if you have a Google search box in your browser), and if you have friends coming into town on different airlines—it’s far better than going to each airline’s Web site to check flight status. I’m sold.

Yesterday, Delta Air Lines completed the deal to acquire Northwest Airlines, making the newer, larger Delta the world’s largest carrier. The U.S. Department of Justice approved the deal after deciding that there were no antitrust objections. Federal regulators released a statement that said the “the proposed merger between Delta and Northwest is likely to produce substantial and credible efficiencies that will benefit U.S. consumers and is not likely to substantially lessen competition.”

The Department of Justice also added that consumers should benefit from savings on expenses for airport operations, technology and suppliers, and the companies have added that they plan to save $2 billion each year in expenses after the merger is complete.

How will this affect Delta and Northwest travelers? For now, SkyMiles by Delta and WorldPerks by Northwest, the airlines’ rewards programs, will remain separate, but you can combine miles for travel on either airline. Delta said that no flights will be immediately affected by the merger and it will be a while before flight schedules change.

Will this change the way you fly or what airline you use?