At a time H1N1 influenza has heightened awareness and concern about the spread of infectious diseases, two British companies — BAE Systems and Quest International UK — have announced new technology to inhibit the spread of pathogens on board aircraft.

The AirManager cabin air management system “eliminates all airborne viruses and bacteria,” according to a news release posted on BAE’s website. The company also writes:

The patented AirManager uses a revolutionary Close Coupled Field Technology (CCFT) – a contained and safe electrical field that eliminates smells, and breaks down and destroys airborne pathogens, contaminants and toxins.

BAE says it has successfully tested the filtration system on eight BAe 146 and Avro RJ aircraft. Both of these models are regional passenger jets. The company is currently conducting trials in much larger Boeing 757 jetliners and expects to design similar filters for use in two workhorses of commercial aviation — the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

Even before H1N1, airline cabin air quality had come under scrutiny. Because jet engines have to work harder to pull in fresh air from outside, many aircraft recycle cabin air to reduce fuel costs. The practice has caused considerable debate within the aviation industry and the medical community as to whether it increases the transmission of disease.

BAE officials claim their AirManager will allow air conditioning systems to operate even more efficiently — essentially paying for the system in fuel conservation within the first year of use.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority has begun weekly cleaning of common areas to reduce the spread of flu among its estimated 1 million daily passengers. For more on that, and other H1N1-related information, see my Liveshots Blog.

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The last time we were in Mexico for Fox News, correspondent Kris Gutierrez and I were covering the impending landfall of Hurricane Dean. Now we’re back, this time in Cabo San Lucas, where a perfect storm of a different sort has hit Mexico’s tourism industry. There were already poor economic conditions worldwide, which kept many travelers at home. But then in the past few months add to that worries about swine flu and increased drug cartel violence. The people in Cabo like to point out neither the swine flu nor the drug violence is anywhere near here. They add that there are also some pretty good deals on hotels and airfare for anyone willing to make the trip. For example, the hotel where we are staying has rooms as low as $129  a night.

How we get our story on T.V. is tricky. Usually, we have a satellite truck to handle our transmissions, but here we’ve brought our own live capability with us. You may have seen the logo for it on the screen when we do liveshots–we use what’s called a “Streambox.” Basically, we’re going live via a fast internet connection.

The liveshot must look pretty good because we seem to be receiving a lot of emails from our coworkers. I suspect a certain jealousy on their part and I can’t blame them. I can’t imagine a better place for an assignment.

If you’ve ever been to Rome, you know it’s not hard to find a good meal here, and certainly not if you know where to look. We normally know where to look.”

Art history professor Liz Lev, someone we frequently interview on more intellecutal matters, has also been gaining a reputation as an excellent cook. So Rome producer Mario Biasetti and I, intrepid reporters that we are, went to check out the rumor for ourselves.

Liz was kind enough to invite us into her kitchen to show us how to make pasta all’amatriciana. I’m not a foodie, so I can’t give you an entire history of the dish, but it comes from a town not far from Rome called Amatrice.

It’s simple — pasta, a bit of pork, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, pecorino cheese — and quite filling, the kind of thing shepherds in the area have been eating for centuries. It’s also a classic Roman dish.

Take a look at the video below to see how it’s made!

Travelers rejoice! In a week where many of us will be stuck in the annual American holiday ritual known as “stand-in-airport-security-lines-trying-to-get-to-Grandma’s-house,” remind yourself of this: Someday, and someday soon, you’ll be able to zip through security… using your cell phone! For some, that day is now.

It’s called paperless boarding. Here’s how it works: Instead of printing out a boarding pass, you download one to your cell phone or PDA. On the boarding pass, there’s a two dimensional bar code that’s encrypted with your name and flight information. You walk up to security. Transportation Security Administration agents use a handheld device to scan the bar code on your phone. And you’re done. (You still have to show ID). Right now, it’s only for domestic passengers who are traveling solo.

The program began about a year ago, when the TSA partnered with Continental Airlines at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport. Since then, upwards of 300,000 Continental passengers have used paperless boarding. The pilot program was so successful Continental expanded it to a total of eight airports.

Now other airlines and airports are getting into the act. So far, five airlines are using paperless boarding at fourteen different airports:

Alaska Airlines

- Seattle

American Airlines

- Chicago O’Hare, LAX, Orange County.

Continental Airlines

- Houston George Bush Intercontinental, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Newark Liberty International, Boston, Austin, San Antonio, Cleveland, LaGuardia Airport.

Delta Airlines

- LaGuardia Airport, and coming soon, Atlanta.

Northwest Airlines
-  Indianapolis Int’l Airport and Detroit Metro Airport

The TSA expects the program to be everywhere by the end of next year. Eventually, paperless boarding will even be used to track wait times, which, fingers crossed, will shorter… getting you to Grandma’s house that much faster.

To find out more on this new way to board, click here!