Direct Flight

I can understand why Newark Liberty International Airport has hired an avatar to help with customer service: Travelers tend to be quite rude. I would bet there are many service reps out there who wish they were akin to holograms, able to provide automated responses and nothing more.

Not-so-cleverly named Libby debuted in all her two-dimensional glory Friday at Newark, and she's expected to...

Because it's my hometown, Pittsburgh is a required destination on the annual itinerary. Still, every time I visit, as I did last weekend, I am reminded how much there is to do in the under-the-radar town.

Though far west in the Keystone State, a trip to Pittsburgh via the Pennsylvania Turnpike clocks under seven hours from Brooklyn. This is a good enough distance to wash off the workweek,...

JetBlue is expanding its member rewards program, TrueBlue, to offer added benefits to its most frequent fliers.

Called Mosaic and debuting this fall, perks include early boarding and access to a swifter security line, plus the ability to apply points to seats with additional leg room and checking a second bag for free.

If you're not a member, the first step is to sign up for TruBlue,...

This isn't the sexiest new app, but sometimes practicality trumps all. Especially when you're traveling and you need a doctor. Vitals.com has a new app that may help.

With a database of more than 870,000 physician profiles, Vitals claims to list every doctor and dentist in the country. The app, where users can save favorite providers and other personal information (including photos of those...

Pictured: Exotics Racing's Lamborghini Aventador LP700 and Ferrari 458 Italia.

I'm not historically one who is hard-wired for speed. To this day, my favorite car is my departed Saab 900, a vehicle that mimicked a turtle in more ways than just its shape. Most of this is economical, I suppose -- it's not as if the "S" on cars equates with savings on the sticker price -- but I've truly...

Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art had a record number of visitors during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

It says 6.28 million people came to see its exhibitions and new galleries. That's 600,000 more visitors than in fiscal 2011 and the highest attendance in more than 40 years.

The fiscal 2012 figure includes attendance at The Cloisters museum and garden, the Met's branch for...

NAME Local Picks Facebook App, apps.facebook.com/localpicks

WHAT IT DOES Aggregates advice about more than 850,000 restaurants in 200 countries. Find out which restaurants and food trucks your Facebook friends approve of.

WHAT'S HOT Of course, we want to know which restaurants our friends think are cool. But because many of them are not yet participating, we think the tool to make your...

Delta Air Lines is expanding its onboard Wi-Fi service to its long-haul international planes. Beginning next year, Delta plans to install wireless Internet on more than 150 aircraft used for international flights. Delta, the world's largest airline, already installed Wi-Fi on its fleet of about 500 domestic mainline planes.

When the long-haul planes are fitted with the technology by 2015,...

Friday-Saturday

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT

No, not street theater. This is parking lot theater. You've seen Shakespeare in the Park? Well, what about the parking lot? A troupe with love for a good pun, the Drilling Company presents "The Merry Wives of Windsor" for free in the Municipal Parking Lot at the corner of Ludlow and Broome streets in Manhattan at 8 p.m. through...

Q: I'm 6-feet 1-inch tall and will be flying from New York to San Francisco soon. Which airline should I fly on?

A: JetBlue will give you the most space for your legs. Its standard seats on all flights offer 34 inches of space between seats ("pitch” in airline parlance) and its “even more room” seats offer 38 inches. United's PS Service, which flies exclusively between JFK and both San...