Traditionally, the only things you've been able to buy in-flight are food and cocktails. However, with airlines expanding into the sales of items like blankets, cigarettes, and now WiFi, the door has been cracked for other retailing opportunities on board. American Airlines has reportedly broken the seal and is selling Heathrow Express train tickets on a limited basis for some LON-bound flights. This is a smart idea -- a win-win for the passengers and the airline.

It seems like just yesterday Washington State was getting all caught up in the Twilight/New Moon mania and spinning off tours and downloadable PDFs for all Twihards who felt like coming to visit Port Angeles, Forks, and the spooky area of La Push. Now they're offering actual trip giveaways to the Twilight promised land. New Moon officially comes out today, and Washington is going to ride the vampire wave as long as they can, or at least until April, when they'll stop giving away free trips.

Tourism boards are finally getting that Facebook is a great way to promote themselves. Sydney offered up a trip down under as a Facebook contest, and even Auschwitz has its own page for promotional purposes. Amsterdam has thrown its clogs 'n' tulips 'n' hash in the ring, offering up a cool contest to win a trip to the stoner city; the catch is you really have to give something up. You enter your information and snap a photo of something you're willing to trade for the free trip to Amsterdam (which includes airfare, a three-night stay at the Lloyd Hotel (breakfast included), topped off with one free dinner). Whatever you're trading in for the trip will be gifted to the Lloyd Hotel and showcased in their lobby.

Check out this flight simulation of US Airways Flight 1549, the plane that landed safely in New York's Hudson River by by super-cool-under-pressure Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. The audio is from the actual flight and subsequent crash landing into the Hudson, and the whole thing feels very realistic with the alternating audio from Sully and the air traffic controllers. It's OK to enjoy it! No one got hurt too bad!

Delta is fanning cash like a banker at a strip club in an attempt to woo Japan Airlines away from its alliance with American Airlines. As of now, JAL is holding hands with American Airlines -- and has been since the mid 90s, giving AA an edge in the Asian market. The partnership with JAL has allowed AA to sell JAL routes to their own customers, taking a cut of the profit as part of the deal. Delta, however, is chomping at the bit to take over this alliance because it would give them a greater entree into Asia, particularly in the hot markets of China and Japan, expanding their plan for world domination led by flight attendants in red Richard Tyler uniforms.

Here's a sweet trade for your air miles: breast implants. In a savvy, unprecedented move, Nordstrom Hospital in Helsinki, Finland has come up with an innovative way to redeem miles for plastic surgery. In fact, this hospital offers no other kind of surgery besides the plastic. Nordstrom calls itself "one of the pioneers in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery," and promises the very best in care while you're there. The breast augmentation procedure would normally run €7,950 with an extra fee of €600 (brief) or €890 (extensive) for a warranty. (Yes, it's called a "warranty.") However, as an alternative, you need only trade in 3,180,000 points on your Finnair frequent flyer plan, and the boobs are yours for free! Of course, you must first go in to the hospital for a consultation visit before you can schedule the surgery so they can make sure it's all right to slice you open and pump you full of silicone.

JetBlue is at it again, with another one-day sale. This sale is hot on the heels of yesterday's version courtesy of Virgin America, and it is full of great deals, so if you've got the inclination and a few extra bucks, get a seat while they're hot.

If you happened upon La Guardia airport today and you happen to be wandering close to the eateries around noon -- perhaps waiting for glitch-related delays to resolve -- you may walk into a guzzling, chomping, and hopefully not puking contest to determine who can eat the most pizza. Famous Famiglia is providing the pies, and La Guardia airport is providing the contestants, namely eight of their employees. The poor suckers that have been roped into this cheese-and-sauce feast will have exactly six minutes to hork down as much pizza as they can cram into their gullets.

Adamant Ron Paul supporter Steve Bierfeldt, who was detained in April for carrying $4700 in cash and then mercilessly bullied by the TSA -- all caught on secret audiotape -- has won a quiet victory for all Ron Paul supporters (and large-sums-of-cash-carriers) for his troubles in the security line. After his unfortunate time dealing with team TSA, the ACLU took on Bierfeldt's case and sued the agency. In response, the TSA has changed its rules and told its agents that “screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security” and that “large amounts of cash don’t qualify as suspicious for purposes of safety.”

Airlines are getting desperate for cash these days, slinging around baggage fees and dubious "Peak Travel Day" surcharges to make ends meet. AirTran is getting on that moneymaking train with new advertising space ready to stare you in the face for your next cross-country trip. It's smack dab at eye-level, on the back of every seat-back tray table in the plane. Since you've got to lock that puppy up for taking off and landing, and for any time you don't want to bang your knees on the tray in flight, those ads are going to get plenty of "air" time. The positioning on the tray is new, and it'll cost advertisers big bucks to slap their name in prime viewing location.