Celebrities are taking to the friendly (or in many cases, not so friendly) skies… And just when you thought that you were the only ones that have to deal with the inconveniences of traveling, Layover Guide brings you this week’s round-up in celebrity flying rantings:

Cheryl Burke – Landed safe and sound in Tampa! Feel like I should have been in Europe by now. Hate layovers!

Nicky Hilton – I sooo look forward to layovers in Heathrow airport. What other airport has Harrods, Chanel and a facialist??

Sarah Silverman – Nothing like a nice 4 hour layover where I can sit in a sticky chair and just relax.

Chuck Wicks – Layover in Seattle…making my way to San Francisco eventually by tonight.

Joel McHale – At the airport kid’s play room w/my boys. There’s vomit in 1 corner. It’s all the kids want 2 play with. It’s kind of like college I guess

Pete Wentz – Just asked my son if he’s gonna be a sweet boy on the plane he responded with the sound “beep!” Not sure how to take that.

Mark Ballas – Plane ride with screaming baby…….. Shoot me…

Kelly Pickler – It should be illegal to pass gas on airplanes.

Josh Groban – Telemundo really knows how to pep up my otherwise boring airport lounge experience. http://yfrog.com/6bh8gj

Brooke Burke – Stuck at the airport, flights delayed, kids r hanging in there. Only 4 tantrums in 4 days, lol!

Apolo Ohno – Don’t you love delayed flights? Awesome.

Louie Vito – Gotta love delayed flights when its bluebird and you coulda drove to the next airport faster than flying.

Stuck on a layover at Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Japan? The airport was ranked #6 in the top ten airports in the world with many amenities to keep a waiting passenger entertained. The airport is located 24 miles from Osaka Station, which makes it an accessible destination only for those stuck on rather long layovers. If you’re trying to determine whether you can leave the airport during your layover, click here for useful tips.

Built on a man-made island, the Kansai International airport offers a lot for those stuck on a layover. In addition to restaurants and shops (duty free and regular), the airport offers free wireless Internet and stations for Internet access throughout the airport. Mobile phone rental is also available.

Additional perks include an on-site dentist office and doctor office, a DVD and movie rental service, nurseries, post office, and even a pet hotel!

As far as relaxation, the airport has plenty of options for a weary traveler. There are airport lounges (click here for more information), showers and refresh cabins, and the Relaxation Forest where you can get a variety of ten minute treatments including facials and massages.

A Sky View Observation Hall that offers a panoramic view of the airport is available close to the Ferry Terminal. From the Observation Hall you can watch planes take off and get one of the best views in the country. The Hall can be reached by taking the shuttle bus from bus stop 1 outside the Passenger Terminal Building.

A Business Center is available at the back of the 4th floor and offers many business services including faxing, copying, and more.

If you arrive at night or are looking for a place to rest, the airport offers a hotel – the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport, located in the Aeroplaza. It is the only on-site hotel. For a comparison list of Osaka hotels of varying price points near the airport, click here.

If you’re looking to drop your bags off while you explore, the Kansai Airport offer temporary luggage storage for carry-on baggage (click here for more info) and coin lockers that can be used for a maximum of 10 days at a time in the Passenger Terminal Building and the Aeroplaza.

LayoverGuide.com’s Suggestions For Things To Do On An Osaka Layover:

Shitennoji Temple
Considered to be the oldest temple in Japan, the Shitennoji Temple dates back 1,400 years and is famous for its symmetrical Buddhist architecture. There are also festivals at the temple, one in January called “Doya-Doya” and another in Autumn.

Spa World
For those exhausted after a long flight and in need of some pampering, Spa World offers a ton of services from workout and fitness to spa and relaxation. Click here for some of the Asia spa experiences offered and here for business hours and pricing.

Umeda Sky Building – Floating Garden Observatory
One of the coolest high rise buildings, the Umeda is two main towers that are connected by the Floating Garden Observatory on the 39th floor, and offers a great view of Osaka.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
One of the largest aquariums in the world, the Osaka Kaiyukan aquarium offers underwater life from primarily the Pacific, and offers an experience that can make you feel as if you are underwater.

Looking for something else such as Universal Studios Japan, Dotonbori, or other suggestions for your Osaka layover? Click here for tons more options.

Have a suggestion for an Osaka layover? Leave a comment below!

Stuck on a layover at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) in Sri Lanka? This airport is Sri Lanka’s only international airport and is the hub of SriLankan Airlines. The Bandaranaike airport is located roughly 22 miles from Colombo which makes the city an accessible destination for those stuck on a long layover. If you’re trying to determine whether you can leave the airport during your layover, click here for useful tips.

If you’re stuck in the airport during your layover, you can find plenty to do. The airport offers a variety of shopping and dining options as well as WiFi (click here for more information and steps on how to connect).

There are a number of lounges at the Sri Lanka airport for your layover wait. The Silk Route Lounge caters to first class passengers. There’s also the Lotus Lounge for first class passengers, the Araliya for business class passengers, and the Executive Lounge that you can access for a $10 per person charge for 3 hours.

In addition, the airport offers pet assistance, and the following services: banks and currency exchange in the departure and arrival areas, post office located in the arrival porch and open 24 hours, telephone booths, child care in the transit area, and a medical center in the arrival baggage area. Information desks can be found on the first floor of the transit area and in the arrival and departure areas.

If you arrive at night or are looking for a place to rest, there are many hotels of varying price points nearby in Colombo. For a search engine that compares hotel prices in the area, click here.

If you’re planning on leaving the airport and traveling into Colombo, Sri Lanka during your layover, there are many transportation options. Taxis are available and you can pre-order an airport taxi from the counter in the arrival lobby. Click here for taxi rates. In addition, buses are available at the airport, as well as a shuttle bus that operates every 15 minutes from the terminal to the main bus station.

LayoverGuide.com’s Suggestions For Things To Do On A Sri Lankan Layover:

Pettah Bazaar
Looking to grab a bite or do some shopping? Pettah is Colombo’s main bazaar filled with all sorts of goods and crafts. Beware of pickpockets! And be sure to bargain!

Gangaramaya Temple
Located in the Beira Lake, the Gangaramaya Temple is one of Colombo’s most famous landmarks, and is a picturesque Buddhist complex. There are often events at the temple – visit their website for upcoming happenings. http://www.gangaramaya.com/

Mount Lavinia
South of Colombo is the Mt. Lavinia Beach Resort, located up against the Indian Ocean. The resort is one of the most famous in Sri Lanka, as is the resorts in Negombo. Stop by for an overnight stay or a stroll on the beach.

Dehiwala Zoo
For a good look at Sri Lankan wildlife and birds, stop by the Dehiwala Zoo where you can see big cats, primates and over 500 varieties of marine life.

Have a suggestion for a Colombo, Sri Lankan layover? Leave a comment below!

Stuck on a layover at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) in Lebanon? The airport is roughly 6 miles from the city center of Beirut, which makes the city an accessible destination for those stuck on long layovers. If you’re trying to determine whether you can leave the airport during your layover, click here for useful tips.

If you’re stuck inside the airport during your Beirut layover, there’s plenty to do to. The airport has restaurants and cafes including a full service restaurant called Akle in the arrival zone. There is also a great deal of duty free shopping where you can purchase anything from electronics and food to beauty and luxury items. For more information, click here.

The airport also has two lounges, MEA’s Cedar Lounge and LAT Lounge. Both lounges are located in the second level of the departure area.

Additional services in the airport include baggage wrapping, pay phones, prayer rooms, banking, and disabled facilities. The airport also offers postal facilities and public Internet WiFi and kiosks. Internet cards are available at the airport duty-free zone, at 5$ for 30 minutes of access and 10$ for 75 minutes of access. Click here for more information on airport WiFi. A Tourist Information Center is available in the Arrivals Hall.

If you arrive at night, or are looking for a place to rest during your Beirut Layover, there are many hotel options at varying price points. The airport suggests these hotels, and you can also find a good comparison of Beirut hotels and pricing here.

If you’re planning on leaving the airport to explore Beirut, certified taxis are available in front of the terminals (they are marked with an airport logo on the side) and regular taxis are also available (rates are negotiable). Car rental from a number of companies is also available – click here for more information.

LayoverGuide.com’s Suggestions For Things To Do On A Beirut Layover:

Jeita Grotto
One of the top tourist attractions in Beirut, you can explore these spectacular underground caves by boat. There’s also a cable car that will take you to an upper grotto.

Churches of Harissa
Looking for a gorgeous view, take the cable car up the side of the mountain to the Churches of Harissa. From here you’ll have an amazing view of Lebanon and on clear days you can see all the way to Cyprus.

Temples of Baalbek
Only for those on long layovers, you can travel roughly 55 miles from Beirut to Baalbek where you’ll find the Temples of Baalbek, a complex of ruins on the top of a hill in the Bekkaa valley.

Al-Omari Mosque
Considered the city’s Grand Mosque, Al-Omari Mosque is one of the oldest and biggest mosques in the city. It was transformed from a church in 1291.

None of these interest you? For more suggestions of things to do on your Beirut Layover, click here.

Have suggestions for a Beirut Layover? Leave a comment below!

Forbes compiled their annual list of the most on-time airlines. Certain airlines, they found, have slightly better statistics for guaranteeing on-time arrivals.

America’s Most On-Time Airlines:

1.Southwest
2.SkyWest
3.United
4.US Airways
5.Northwest

To view their full list, click here and to view the list of the world’s most on-time airlines, click here.

The Associate Press wrote a great article on various things to take into account when booking a plane ticket, to ensure you get the best seating possible. There’s a lot of things you can do (especially while on a layover) to do to get the best seating, especially as many seats won’t open up until 24 hours before the flight (especially for emergency exit rows).

To learn more about the tips for booking emergency rows, seat upgrades, legroom, and oddball seat issues, click here.

Forbes released their third annual list of the most delayed airports in the world. The top two were the same as last year, however, they switched positions. Here are the top five:

1. Indira Gandhi International Airport (Dehli, India)
2. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai, India)
3. Istanbul Ataturk International Airport (Turkey)
4. Chennai International Airport (India)
5. LA-Ontario International Airport (U.S.)

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport takes the prize for the airport with the least timely arrivals with just 45% of its scheduled passenger flights arriving on time. Beijing Capital International Airport has the worst departure record with just 38% of commercial passenger flights leaving as scheduled.

To read the entire article, click here.

Forbes lists the top ten most delayed airports in the world. The worst departures are in Europe and the worst arrivals are in India.

Top 5 delayed airports – Arrivals :

1. Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai: With 49.95% of on-time arrivals Bombay airport is the worst airport on the basis of late arrivals. It is also one of the busiest in India. To make things worse 58% of the late arrivals were delayed by more 30 minutes.
2. Indira Gandhi International airport, New Delhi: 50.89% of on-time arrivals. Delhi airport served 23.3 million passengers in 2007. One of the largest runways in Asia was opened in October. New terminal complex will come up by 2010. These things should make a difference for next year.
3. Mohammad V International airport, Casablanca, Morocco – 53.83% on-time arrival. 60% of the delayed flights were late by more than 30 minutes
4. Bengaluru International Airport, Bengaluru : 60.16% of on-time arrivals. Bangalore got its brand new international airport only last year. It still has some teething issues but has done remarkably well so far. I haven’t visited it yet, but what I heard is the new airport is pretty good. 80% of the flights departed from Bangalore departed on-time.
5. Orio al Serio International Airport, Bergamo, Italy: 60.55% of on-time arrival. 55% of delayed arrivals were late by more than 30 minutes. 60% of flights departed on-time

Top 5 delayed airports – Departures:

1. Beijing Capital International, Beijing: 47.86% on-time departure. 45% of the delayed flights late by 30 minutes or more. The late in departure’s could be because of the Olympics.
2. Manchester Airport, Northern England: 49.11% on-time departure. Manchester
3. Venice Marco Polo Airport, Italy: 53.59% on-time departures. Airport saw 7 million passengers in 2007. 50% of delayed flights were late by more than 30 minutes.
4. Nice cote d Azur airport, French Riviera: 56.31% on-time departures. Served 10.5 million passengers in 2007 and is the 3rd busiest airport in France.
5. Leonardo da Vinci Fiumiciano, Rome: 57.83 % on-time departures.served 22 million passengers in 2007. 48% of the delayed departures are late by more than 30 minutes.

For the full article, click here.

If you go online to Orbitz, you can check the Traveler
Update site for live updates on the security line wait and other useful information from travelers at your departing airport. In addition, if you schedule and book your travel online with Orbitz, you have the option to sign up for text messages that will let you know the status of your flight. OrbitzTLC Alerts will send you a text or voice mail to let you know if your flight is delayed.

Fortunately, due to new technology, having to kill some hours at the airport isn’t nearly as painful as it used to be.  IPhone applications are a great way to bide your time until boarding time.