News and notes from around the interweb:
- Remember when Hertz rented cars to President Biden’s secret service detail, and they burst into flames? Well there’s now a federal probe into Hertz for renting cars that are under recall where the recall items haven’t been addressed. (HT: @crucker)
The fire was just 40 feet away from the airport’s 25,000-gallon jet fuel tanks pic.twitter.com/epUYERWN6Y
— Nantucket Current (@ACKCurrent) November 28, 2022
- Americans stranded at freezing airport for days after severe weather in Iceland (HT: @crucker)
- Russian hackers and two locals charged taxi drivers $10 to skip the queue to pick up passengers at New York JFK generating $10,000 per day. If drivers are willing to wait hours for a fare, and pay for access to a fare, that means that the fares are too high.
- Alaska Airlines is offering elites who don’t requalify for status an ‘earn back’ promotion at the start of 2023
- Slate dunks on CLEAR airport security never quite realizing that CLEAR isn’t the reason security is poorly executed, it’s a symptom of the broken TSA. If TSA operated more efficiently CLEAR wouldn’t have a business, though fortunately for CLEAR that isn’t likely to happen.
Not for nothing, but it seems strange to be aghast at paying for priority in government service at airports while touting TSA Pre, and not being concerned with premium processing fees for passports or Express Mail from the Postal Service.
- An argument that the JFK Airtrain should be free. My view is it’s better to invest in making the service better, rather than free. Address affordability issues separately (and better yet, through unrestricted cash transfers rather than train subsidies per se, people can choose to spend on Airtrain or rent). Free train doesn’t usually correlate with good train.
- Elizabeth Hurley blasts British Airways after it suffers another IT meltdown. Those cost cuts under Willie Walsh still haunt the carrier. Though it’s a bit funny for Hurley to complain about the airline not offering to cover her hotel.
Still stranded- no food, water or hotel. Pretty dodgy service @British_Airways
— Elizabeth Hurley (@ElizabethHurley) December 20, 2022
Definitely about time. Would be good to see the higher ups being inconvenienced with a false arrest
Accidents happen!
I’m renting a Tesla from Hertz (mostly as I want to test drive one for longer than a few hours). I was just terrified it will be reported stolen and I will get arrested. Now I need to worry about the car bursting into flames (just a little hyperbole there).
@ Gary — Oh, so NOW Hertz gets investigated? They should be liquidated.
I’m with @Gene. Sending people to jail for false arrest — the Feds are absent. But this gets their attention.
British Airways still remains their Indian IT providers??
Even after so many meltdowns??
Those India IT providers must be dirt cheap!!!
When it comes to actresses being stranded for hours due to IRROPS, my heart bleeds. Poor girl, she just has to endure this tragedy because she has no resources to get herself a nice meal and hotel room. When exactly did it become expected that the airline will feed and sleep you every time there’s a flight problem? Are people just greedy now? Entitled? What is all this attention to “I’m helpless, I need the airline to pay for my keep”. If you travel, prepare a plan B and at least have a decent credit card so you can get to a nice hotel for the night and nobody has to listen to you whine. Airlines shouldn’t have to take care of you; take care of yourself.
@huey judy
People aren’t any more greedy or entitled than they used to be, but these types of questions are often asked by elderly curmudgeons who haven’t been able to adapt to the times. Have you tried going outside and making more friends instead of posting comments on the internet?
I read that Hertz reached a &168M settlement with the people falsely arrested. I hope that will mean an end to that problem and Hertz’s long indifference to it.
@DaveS, unfortunately to a corporation of Hertz’s wealth, a $168M settlement is like you or me paying a $1.68 fine for something extremely trivial that is not going to change our behavior in any way.
Oh, great – now if you rent from Hertz you can get arrested for car theft and arson!
I just returned my rental this evening at SMF. A five week rental, presidents circle. This time around the return process went smoother. No Hertz employee saying to me we’ll check you out and you can head towards the terminal without a receipt. I took a picture of the odometer reading and gas level and waited for my receipt which did show up in email. Printer wasn’t working was what I was told. No longer will I listen and trust the convenience return process: a pain in the rear but worth taking charge of the situation so that i don’t get falsely accused of not returning my rental vehicle or possibly arrested.
the last return with Hertz at SMF for me would have resulted in a false accusation of not returning that rental had I not insisted on a receipt before leaving the premises. When the agent at the checkin desk looked up my rental to print a receipt, the system showed the vehicle not being returned even though they have already moved the car from the drop off section to get it serviced and ready for the next rental.
I still do not trust Hertz but they offer the best deal with the CDP for my employer.