Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for February 2024.

Hawaii Service Used to Be So Glamorous United Airlines Offered Its Own Onboard Residence

by Gary Leff

man pointing to room in model united plane
Feb 14 2024

Hawaii service used to be something special. That isn’t really true anymore. It was an exciting development when Southwest Airlines added the state to its route map, especially for holders of the Companion Pass (designated companion flies for just the taxes whether you’re paying for your ticket with points or cash). But the product is standard Southwest — no meals or seat power — and the journey relatively long.

But did you know that Untied Airlines used to offer its own version of the modern Etihad Residence — a private stateroom on their Hawaii flights 70 years ago?

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Woman Gets Off American Airlines Flight When The Vibrator In Her Carry-On Won’t Turn Off

by Gary Leff

Feb 12 2024

An American Airlines passenger in the bulkhead of first class boarded her aircraft, and her carry on bag began making a loud vibrating noise. My razor has done this. I open the bag (it’s generally in my laptop bag) and turn it off. Here she didn’t want the whole cabin to see what she was turning off, so she walked off the aircraft and back onto the jet bridge. There, you can see what it was that was vibrating.

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United Airlines Just Grounded A Fleet Of Planes Because Its No Smoking Signs Don’t Turn Off

by Gary Leff

Feb 12 2024

United Airlines was the first airline to create a nonsmoking section back in 1971. Delta was the first to fully ban smoking worldwide in 1994. U.S. airlines were no longer permitted to allow smoking on any flight starting in 2000. Yet planes still have ashtrays! You’ll usually find them in or near the lavatory, because customers may smoke even though it’s illegal to do so. Passengers need to be told when not to smoke. And crewmembers need to be able to turn on that sign. If they can’t turn it on, because it is always on, then an exemption from the rule must be requested. Oops!

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TripAdvisor Wants To Move To Nevada, And That May Stop Tesla From Moving To Texas

by Gary Leff

aston martin
Feb 12 2024

TripAdvisor was acquired and became part of the same company as Expedia. It was later spun off as a public company. It earns most of its revenue from Expedia and Booking.com, selling eyeballs of customers searching hotels to those platforms. Even reviews got de-prioritized. It stopped being primarily a tool to help customers figure out where to stay.

Now there’s corporate intrigue over where TripAdvisor itself should find lodging. Can it move from Delaware incorporation to Nevada? And what a judge says there may decide whether Tesla can leave Delaware, too, after a judge struck down Elon Musk’s $55 billion compensation package.

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