Travel Trends - Yahoo! MapMixer, PayPal

Yahoo! MapMixer - An interesting addition to the Yahoo! Local / Map offering, MapMixer allows users to combine existing maps with the Yahoo! Maps program. In the example above, a user has taken a detailed map of Grand Canyon National Park and created a new map containing both maps. The site lets users zoom, pan and explore the map in the same fashion as the normal Yahoo! Maps site. Microsoft Research has a similar product called MSR MapCruncher.
http://maps.yahoo.com/mapmixer

PayPal Your Airline Tickets - Following the lead from Northwest Airlines, several carriers including Southwest, Midwest and US Airways now accept payment via the online e-commerce firm PayPal. JetBlue began allowing customers to pay via Bill Me Later, a similar product earlier this year.

Northwest Airlines Offers PayPal Option To Customers

Northwest Airlines said Thursday it will offer customers the option of paying for tickets purchased on its Web site using the online payment service PayPal.

Customers will be able to use credit and debit cards as well as bank accounts to purchase tickets via PayPal. The move makes Northwest the first airline to accept PayPal for bookings, PayPal said.

Shares of Northwest Airlines Corp. -- which exited bankruptcy protection in May -- rose 29 cents to $22.47 in afternoon trading. Shares of eBay, which owns PayPal, shed 5 cents to $32.03 in afternoon trading.

Thoughts// By offering the PayPal option to its customers, Northwest becomes the first airline in the industry to offer an alternate, e-commerce method of payment. Initially only available to WorldPerks frequent flyer members, the PayPal option will allow customers to pay for original tickets with the digital e-commerce provider. This is PayPal's first venture into the lucrative online travel marketplace.