This time we’ve got good news about in-flight food options and bad news about how it’s prepared (actually the snack boxes mentioned below are made up of almost entirely pre-packaged food…so we think they’re pretty safe). Plus a faster, cheaper way to get from the airport to downtown Bangkok in Thailand.

[goodhop]: modhop economy favorite JetBlue joins their newer rival Virgin America and a host of legacy carriers to offer a more substantial food selection on-board their longer flights. 5 snack boxes featuring different varieties of pre-packaged foods will be offered on flights over 3 hours, 45 minutes aboard their Airbus 320 (A320) aircraft. Time-of-day and diet appropriate boxes are offered and include their “Wake Up” box, a variety of morning goodies and the “Shape Up” box, loaded with nuts, raisins, crackers and hummus. JetBlue will continue to offer complimentary snacks aboard these and other flights. You can see the new snack boxes here.

[badhop]:  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found a number violations in facilities that prepare food for airlines. A two year study of food staging and preparation buildings  run by companies that supply most food to airlines highlighted  unsanitary preparation of meals by employees without gloves and areas of the facilities with unacceptable levels of bacteria and insect populations. Each of the 3 companies sited (Gate Gourmet, LSG SkyChef and Flying Food group all contend that they’re independently audited for quality assurance and take the report very seriously.

[goodhop]: Good news if you’re going to (or traveling from) Thailand. The new Airport Rail Link is now operating between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Downtown Bangkok. After a number of delays the local and express trains are now operational and running free trials. After the trials, the fare for the airport express will be Bt100 (about $3.00 US) and takes just 15 minutes from end to end.