Wow. Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris has some reputation – a stinking reputation, if you go by the comments on the website “Sleeping in Airports”.

I discovered “Sleeping in Airports” after reading an item in USA Today about the site’s poll on best/worst airports to sleep in.

Top 5 best airports (based on amenities, friendly staff and comfy seating) included Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon, Amsterdam Schiphol, Olso Gardermoen and Hong Kong.

The worst was de Gaulle – which surprised the heck out of me – I’ve been there and don’t remember it being so bad, but whoa! Keep reading for some of the blowtorch comments:

“Want to live dangerously? Travel via CDG! Want to live even more dangerously? Order a meal at the filthy food-court underground at the old terminal.”

“All the terminals were full of homeless people who smelled bad [and] touched themselves in inappropriate places.”

“The guy at the counter said that he would not speak to us because we had the wrong attitude and he would only speak with the passengers with the right attitude.”

“I was propositioned not once but twice by the same man asking me for casual sex.”

“I could not believe the filth from hell.”

And that’s just what the French had to say! Okay, okay, I’m kidding. But one self-styled Frenchman did say he felt “shame and anger” that foreign tourists had to see this.

Enough with the negative – now let’s hear from people who had GOOD experiences de Gaulle. I know you’re out there!

Have fun, and safe travels.

And hey – summer is here – well, almost.

Get going on those airline tickets. Make it a SUPER summer vacation!

From your pals at Standard Upright Position and FareCompare

Vegas’ convention business is, ah, in the commode these days. And now, there’s new trouble in Sin City.

It seems Nevada’s gambling chieftains are warning casinos that there’s a card-counting app that works on the iPhone – which face it, could be a boon to blackjack players.

Understand, card counting is not illegal in Las Vegas – but as the Associated Press reports, it is considered a felony to use any sort of device to help you count – with the exception of your fingers (and toes) I suppose.

Personally, I couldn’t count my way out of a paper bag. But if this does work, what – will casinos start confiscating phones? Good question…

Check out US Airways Cuts Flights: More Problems for Las Vegas Tourism for more on Sin City’s woes.

Why wait ’til you get to the parking lot to start tailgating? Kick off the celebration in the sky on your own chartered flight. That’s how thousands of bowl-game bound fans have decided to get things rolling over the last couple of years. In fact, the 2008 Sugar Bowl brought in a record number of charter flights to New Orleans:

“There were 11 charter flights with 1,894 seats into New Orleans for the event, held on New Year’s, and 13 flights out with 2,128 seats. There were no charter flights in 2006, said LANOIA spokeswoman Michelle Croll Wilcut.” (from BNet)

The charter trend continues this year, and there’s still time for all of you Sooners and Gators out there. You can check out North American Airlines for a full schedule of chartered flights to the biggest game of the college football season.

Christmas is here, and eyes are turning toward the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of Santa and his sleigh. Of course, it’s not the easiest thing to spot with the naked eye. Happily, DFW International Airport is here to help us out.

The DFW Santa Tracker 2008 allows you to follow each move Santa and his reindeer make. It also lets you play holiday games, link to other holiday sites, and get the best view of all with the handy “Santa Cam.”

Keep an eye on the sky (or the computer) this Christmas Eve, and have a safe and happy holiday!

Amazing article from Bloomberg — it seems Japan is building a $268 million airport that nobody wants to fly to.

Ibaraki Airport is scheduled to open in the spring of 2010, but Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways — together they operate about 90% of the flights in Japan — don’t plan to use it. Says JAL’s prez, “It’s out of the question.”

This new airport is just an hour north of Tokyo’s Narita — which is undergoing expansion — as is Tokyo’s Haneda airport. Hmm. So who will fly in and out of Ibaraki?

Hey, Southwest! Looking for a new challenge?

The cognoscenti at Consumerist never disappoint.

Their latest: the “Recombobulation Area” at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport. Now, don’t get all excited — it’s just a “patch of carpet with a few chairs”. Apparently so you can put yourself together after the discombobulating process of “going through security.” Okay, I get it: it’s just a matter of getting you to smile.

Or is it? Let’s see what Consumerist readers had to say:

“Recombobulation” is what happens after you’ve been beamed down and all your particles must reconstitute themselves.”

Aha. This reader, for one, will eschew further recombobulation:

“Feh, who needs to recombobulate? I love traveling with my shoes on the wrong feet, my pants down around my ankles, my cell-phone stuffed down the front of my trousers and my underwear on the outside of my pants.”

Amen, brother.

For many of us, childhood visions of the future included hoverboards, teleporters, jet packs, and a variety of other gadgets that would carry us through the sky (or alternate dimensions) without having to rely on anybody else.

It was a beautiful dream, but alas, as the future gave way to iPods, the Internet, and tiny, tiny phones with built-in GPS systems, the jet pack and creations of its ilk seemed to be forgotten. Well, at least one man is keeping those personal jet pack hopes alive for the rest of us.

Daredevil Eric Scott set a new record for jetpack travel last week:

“It was the longest jet pack flight ever…Scott took 21 seconds to cross the Royal Gorge at 75 mph on Monday. It says he didn’t use a parachute while flying across the 1,100-foot-deep canyon.” (from CBS News)

OK, DO NOT TRY THAT AT HOME!

A jet pack on everyone’s back still seems like a long shot, but Mr. Scott is still out there, perhaps sparking the imagination of a new generation of children yearning to fly.

Wherever you are, we wish you the very best!

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at FareCompare.com

And you thought, to your great relief sorrow, that you’d have to skip those beloved family holidays? Well, not so fast!

For some reason, all the airlines – or many of them anyway – are having incredible sales. Not just “okay” prices – but great prices, and right in time for the holidays.

Won’t it be great, to gather ’round the turkey again, as good old Uncle Bubba impresses one-and-all with his hollow leg turkey carving skills?

Some environmental/techie types in the UK say nuclear-powered aircraft may be transporting million of passengers later on in this century.

Which has it good points – no refueling necessary on those long flights from London to Australia. And no nasty carbon emissions to worry about.

But there is the matter of those little nuclear reactors you’d have to have on board the planes to power them. Or am I being a silly goose? According to an aerospace engineering professor, “The risk of reactors cracking open in a crash could be reduced by jettisoning them before impact and bringing them down with parachutes.” Parachutes – of course!

Or, if worst comes to worst, the professor suggests that, should the armor-plating around a reactor break or becomes pierced in some manner (think: crash), radioactive contamination would only cover “a few square miles.” Hope those miles don’t include London – or New York – or heck, Pocatello, Idaho for that matter.

A comment from a British reader: “Absolutely daft. I can’t think of a way to make a simpler dirty bomb.”