The Transportation Security Administration introduced full-body scanners at airports across the nation in 2009, and many travelers hate that a "naked" image of themselves is reviewed by officers in a nearby room.

The only way to avoid the image process is to instead undergo a physical screening by a TSA officer, which some travelers say can be just as invasive.

Now a new generation of scanners is emerging that will display "Gumby"-like images of passengers rather than today's more detailed passenger-specific snapshots, as pictured at left.

Boston Logan International Airport will be the first U.S. airport to use the new advanced imaging technology (AIT) body scanning machines during the next two months.

By the fall, all 25 of the Boston airport's current scanners will be swapped out with the new machines. And more airports will see the new units in the coming years.

Traveling to Egypt and looking for a hotel room with a view of the Pyramids?

Hilton Worldwide announced it will build two new properties in Egypt, which will represent the 19th and 20th Hilton hotels to open in the country — the largest of any hospitality provider.

The new Hilton Giza Pyramids, set to open in 2016, will command panoramic views of the Pyramids and the Sphinx. The hotel's 390 rooms include 18 suites, and other amenities include a large function room, two boardrooms, four meeting rooms, a business center, large health club, spa and an outdoor swimming pool. It will be located in an exclusive residential and commercial district South of Cairo.

Many surveys are released throughout the year ranking airlines based on operational performance and customer service. But one company takes another look at the airline industry — the online experience and how the airline performs as a brand.

For the second consecutive year, Delta Air Lines took the top spot in the Heardable benchmark report titled, "Top 10 Airlines in North America ." Delta's brand health score of 739 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, United Airlines , by 17 points and surpassed third place American Airlines by 66 points. The gap between Delta and lowest-ranked Aeromexico was 195 points.

"Delta has accomplished what few brands have been able to do in the digital era," says Jon Samsel, co-founder and CEO of Heardable, in a release . "Not only have they finished number one in two consecutive Heardable research reports profiling the effectiveness of the airline industry, but they've managed to make their brand synonymous with a quality online experience."

Select premium customers flying American Airlines haveaccess to another perk — an expedited check-in serviceat Miami International Airport. The service launched onMonday.

The amenity, dubbedFlagshipCheck-In , is a priority service that'savailable to some premium passengers, and those willing tocough up some extra money. Features include a dedicated andprivate check-in area, and designated customer servicerepresentatives, who personally assist with baggage, seatassignments and itinerary changes. There's also a separatesecurity line specifically for Flagship fliers that lets yougo to the front of the queue. After security, FlagshipCheck-In guests are invited to use American's Admirals Clublounge.

"Expanding Flagship Check-In to Miami willprovide our most high-value customers with our very bestservice, something especially appreciated during peaktravel periods, such as this holiday week," said VirasbVahidi, American's Chief Commercial Officer,in a pressrelease .

This is the second Flagship Check-InAmerican introduced at a U.S. airport. The airline's firstlocation at Los Angeles International Airport opened inNovember 2011.

JetBlue and Emirates announced that as of July 1, they will each allow their loyalty program members to accrue miles for flights taken on the other airline.

Emirates Skywards members will be able to earn miles on JetBlue flights in the Americas, and JetBlue's TrueBlue members can earn points on Emirates flights to more than 120 global destinations.

The move represents an expansion of the partnership between the two carriers, which already have a codeshare agreement allowing for seamless ticketing, connections and baggage transfers. The partnership will expand even further in February 2013, when loyalty program members will be able to redeem frequent flier miles on either airline.

"We're opening up our network for our customers to earn TrueBlue points on any of the six continents that Emirates flies to and look forward to serving those connecting from Emirates to the dozens of cities that we serve," says Marty St. George, JetBlue'ssenior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy, in a press release .

Road warriors might have a break from business travel this holiday week, but the skies will be packed with leisure travelers.

More than 3.2 million leisure travelers will fly this week, according to AAA , a nine percent increase over the 2.9 million air travelers in 2011. This year's gain is the third consecutive year of rising Independence Day holiday air travel volume, following the decade low 1.4 million air travelers in 2009.

The AAA figures show overall airfares are flat year over year with an average lowest round-trip rate of $200 for the top 40 U.S. air routes in both 2011 and 2012. Flat airfares, combined with a longer holiday travel period due to the mid-week holiday, are cited for the increase in travelers, according to AAA.

AAA defines the holiday travel period between Tuesday, July 3 through Sunday, July 8.

If you're flying out of Boston's Logan International Airport, you may meet Carla.

She's got tips for getting through security, a warm personality, and she speaks two languages. But don't ask her any questions.

Carla is a video-projected virtual assistant who helps passengers at the main security checkpoint in Logan's international terminal know what to take off and toss out before being screened.

"She doesn't replace any staff," says Ed Freni, director of aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority , or Massport. "We just want to have a more effective way to communicate with our customers. She's an attention-grabber and is much more effective than some of the signs and some of the videos we have."

Southwest Airlines becomes the latest airline to bringlive television to passengers.

Beginning with five aircraft and eventuallyexpanding to 20 by mid-July, Southwest will offer the optionto purchase live TV programming consisting of seven sportsand news channels. The satellite-based service, provided byRow44 , will be available to passengers on theirWi-Fi enabled mobile devices, including tablets, laptops andsmartphones.

There is no way to know in advance if you'll be on anaircraft with the service. Flight attendants will notifypassengers at the beginning of a flight if live programmingis available,according tothe press release .

Southwest will test different price points from $3 to $8per flight during the trial period.

While airline websites remain a key point of contact for many consumers, the industry is aggressively developing better tools to serve one of the fastest growing revenue platforms for the sector — mobile technology . Look for carriers to boost investment in airline features and services available on mobile devices in the coming years.

This month, the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques \(SITA\) released its 2012 Airline IT Trends Survey revealing the IT investment priorities for airlines around the world, as well as forward looking passenger trends. Topping the list is the development of passenger services via mobile devices with almost 60 percent of airlines making major investments in the next three years.

"This is the second year that mobile services for passengers tops the list of investment programs and it is the adoption of mobile apps across sales, customer services and passenger processing that truly shows that airlines are committed to transformation," says Francesco Violante, CEO of SITA, in a press release .

Being able to fit in a few hours of sleep on a long-haul flight can mean the difference between arriving at your destination feeling like a deranged zombie, or a coherent member of the human race. Factors such as temperature, seat pitch and light levels can all affect your ability to get adequate shut-eye.

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner caught some criticism recently from All Nippon Airways for having dimmable windows that apparently do not get dark enough for some fliers' tastes — especially when trying to sleep during daylight hours. The windows, which do not have pull down shades, darken. But they don't get completely opaque. \(There's always that old standby, the eye mask, no?\)

But other variables, besides being able to sleep, can make or break a long-haul journey. Road warriors who frequently have to make long treks from the U.S. to Europe, Asia, Australia or the Middle East know that advance planning is essential. Proper seat selection, clothing and carry-on goodies are necessary for making a long-haul flight a pleasure (well, almost), rather than an ordeal. Here are some suggestions.