Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for July 2015.

Woman Denied Boarding Because She Was Too Pale to Fly

Jul 11 2015

I took a Cathay Pacific flight once where a woman in business class used moisturizer from the amenity kit prior to departure, and complained to a flight attendant that it was causing her skin to break out. It sounded like she wanted special treatment or compensation, maybe an upgrade to first class. Cathay made the woman deplane — since the last thing the airline wanted was for a medical emergency to occur midflight and cause a diversion.

Etihad recently took an ever stricter position with regard to fear of passenger illness: A teenage girl was leaning against her mother at check-in at the Manchester airport in the U.K. She was pale, because she’s Scottish. So Etihad felt she might not be fit to fly.

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American Almost Started Renovating Their D15 Club in Miami. And Then They Stopped.

Jul 11 2015

Last month I wrote about American’s renovation plans for their Miami Admirals Club by gate D15. This is the club across from the airport’s new American Express Centurion lounge.

Renovations are being done in stages in order to continue to use the lounge in the interim. They can’t give up all of that capacity, the lounge is overcrowded as it is (and so is their lounge at gate D30, which offers barely-usable internet but better food choices, though the showers at both are great).

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Small Child Pokes a Big Hole in Airlines’ Argument Against Throwaway Ticketing

Jul 11 2015

Airlines see themselves as selling transportation between A and C at a certain price. That a connecting itinerary stops at B is immaterial.

A passenger believes they are buying a seat on a flight from A to B and then on to C. So it’s ok to use only the seat from A to B, and not use the seat they’ve paid in full for from B to C.

But the airline thinks travel between A to B is a totally different product with a different price.

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The FAA Brings Down the Hammer on Donald Trump’s Name

Jul 11 2015

It’s not just Celebrity Apprentice and Miss Universe, or even the eponymous Donald Trump clothing line at Macy’s (manufactured in Mexico and China, cough) … or celebrity chefs like Jose Andres unwilling to open in the new DC Trump hotel property…

… now even the FAA is eliminating any vestige of Trump branding. (Who knew it even existed in the first place?)

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