Need a recap of some of the week’s most interesting travel stories? Read up on your days off.

• Cloud Travel: Exploring the Experience of Flying First Class Overseas – An in-depth look at the differences between the service and the experience in First Class on international flights as opposed to coach. Guess which one comes off sounding like more fun?
• Brave New Traveler: The Mysterious Origins of the Travel Bug – Ever get that uncontrollable urge to travel? You’re not the only one. Read this worldwide view of that unmistakeable feeling known as The Travel Bug.
• The Cranky Flier: Allegiant Plans Its Big Expansion – Allegiant expands. Phoenix rejoices!
• Southern Byways: Reviewing… Space Mountain – It’s perhaps the most famous roller coaster in the world, and it might be the perfect ride for kids, adults, and anyone who dislikes light. Get a step-by-step breakdown of what makes Space Mountain so popular.

Have a great weekend!

More woes for Northwest and some insight into traveling with the iPhone are just two of the great reads for today:

• Gadling: Who Buys This Stuff? – If you fly hungry, you might just find the urge to purchase these food related items from SkyMall. Come on, can you ever pay too much for a double chocolate fountain? (Visit Team Sugar to find more SkyMall food treats.)
• Jaunted: Malaysia Airlines Staff Heart All Passengers – Customer service is alive and well on Malaysia Airlines!
• Global Nerdy: iPhone + Travel = Expensive – Thinking of leaving that old heavy laptop behind in favor of the iPhone next time you travel? Read this first. You might change your mind.
• MSNBC: Northwest hit with more cancellations – In a continued attempt to get on track, Northwest Airlines grounded over 100 flights yesterday, and they were well on their way to do the same today. The union continues to say there aren’t enough pilots on hand, and the airline continues to try to lure back pilots who are on furlough.
• BBC: Brazil air crash runway re-opened – The runway that was the site of Brazil’s worst aviation disaster has reopened. Until changes are made to the surface of the runway, landings will be restricted when there are inclement condiditons.

Here are a few good travel stories to check out over the weekend:

• Wired: New X Plane Flies at Calif. Air Base: Light-weight, fuel efficient “X plane” passes first test. Is it the future of flying or just another UFO spotting waiting to happen?
• Freakonomics Blog: What an Honor, and it Only Costs $3,995 – Want to get interviewed on in-flight radio? Shell out a few grand and you might just get your chance.
• Consumerist: American Airlines Fined – American Airlines could be fined appx. $231,000 for dangerous working conditions at O’Hare.
• MSNBC: Mom pleads not guilty to hitting kids on plane – The saga continues for the woman accused of verbally and physically assaulting her children on a plane. She plead not guilty, but still remains in jail awaiting her court date.

Traveling with children, a new airline, and the power of ebay all made travel news today:

• The Perrin Post: Seeking Kid-Friendly Resort – What do you do when your romantic getaway plans suddenly become family vacation plans? Get some good advice on kid-friendly resorts.
• New York Times: Kids on the Plane? Maybe I’ll Have That Drink – Speaking of kids; A flight attendant recounts her woes of mashed up Cheerios and crayon-scarred tray tables. Don’t worry, she blames the parents.
• sydneysided: Hooray for choice! – While Virgin America is dominating the headlines, Virgin Blue has announced a new airline (V Australia) that will offer flights to the U.S.
• Metro: Superjumbo seats auctioned on ebay – Seats on the maiden voyage of Singapore Air’s Airbus 380 superjumbo are being auctioned on ebay to benefit three charities. It sounds like a really good idea, but you still have to watch out for that guy who always swoops in at the last second to outbid you.
• My Fox Dallas: American Airlines Pilot Penalized for Sticker on Plane – An American Airlines pilot is suspended without pay for 30 days after placing a sticker that was “critical of executive bonuses” on the exterior of a plane. Yep. There’s no better way to please a union than by docking one of its members about $12,000 for taking a shot at upper management.

Missed out on the travel/airline news today? Take a few minutes to catch up.

• NY Times : Somewhere in the Skies, Fish Ceviche Is Being Served – If you’re flying First Class or Business Class on certain airlines you could be enjoying fine dining at 30,000 ft. If you’re flying coach, you’re just longing for the days when they gave you the “chicken or beef” option.
• Style Treaty: Travel 2007 – Tired of over stuffing your checked baggage or having your toothpaste and shampoo thrown away at security because of the “liquid regulations?” Well, it’s not just over here. One fearless traveler from across the Pond teaches you how to get the most out of sample sizes.
• The Happy Hotelier: Qbic Amsterdam – The Qbic hotel opened in Amsterdam. It’s like the capsule hotel’s quasi-futuristic, slightly roomier European cousin. They say it’s “hip and efficient,” which often means it has oddly shaped furniture and is small.
• The Consumerist: Northwest Airlines Loves Canceling Flights – Beleaguered Northwest Airlines cancels more flights. If any other type of business “shut its doors” this often wouldn’t that pretty much be it for them?
• MSNBC: Brazilian airline diverts, cancels 90 flights – Do to continuing safety concerns following last week’s crash, TAM airlines diverted or canceled 90 flights at Sao Paulo’s main airport.

Here are some of the top travel stories from today and this past weekend:

• Gadling: Tickets to Outerspace Increase Astronomically – Tickets to the Space Station skyrocket (sorry) from $20M to $25M. Meanwhile, Richard Branson’s basically giving away suborbital space travel for a mere $200,000.
• Travel Rants: Mobile Calls on Flights Cause Air Rage – Cell phones might be allowed on certain planes. I don’t want to be a spoil sport or anything, but there actually was an age when you couldn’t be reached anywhere at any time, and the world managed to keep turning.
• The Cranky Flier: United Goes Fully Flat in Business Class – United unveils plans for ultra-comfortable, stretch-out-till-your-heart’s-content seats in business class. Can the Virgin America waterbed be far behind?
• BBC: Tourists stranded as jet grounded – Travelers end up stranded for three days in the Canary Islands when a holiday firm’s only plane is grounded. What are the chances the boss will believe you when you give her the old “I can’t come into work because I’m stranded on a distant island” routine?
• MSNBC: Mom accused of hitting kids on flight – A mother of two is subdued after reportedly physically and verbally assaulting her children repeatedly on a plane. The outburst could cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and some serious jail time.

Weekend downtime? Catch up on some interesting travel and airline industry stories.

• That’s Fit: Stress-free travel – Tips on what to pack to enjoy stress-free travel. And no, decent customer service from the airlines won’t fit in your carry-on bag.
• boing boing: TSA head calls lighter ban “security theater” – The TSA will once again allow some types of lighters on planes. Lighters are back, matches never went away. Flames make me a little nervous, but I’ll be fine as long as I have my trusty 4 oz. bottle of water. Oh…right.
• The Chicago Traveler: Pooch Chicago – Man’s best friend enjoys fine dining, massages, milk baths, and plasma TVs in a Chicago luxury dog hotel. I know there’s a joke in there somewhere, but I’m too consumed with jealousy to find it.
• Online Travel Review: Stowaway in Airplane Wheel Dies – A man dies while hiding in the wheel well of a flight from Taiwan to San Francisco. Oddly, this type of thing happens more than you might think.
• BBC: Brazil jet thrust reverser off – The investigation into the crash of the TAM airliner that crashed in Brazil on Tuesday continues. Officials now believe a thrust reverser on the plane had been mistakenly deactivated during maintenance check.