Things that make you go hmm.
- How come flight attendants have to pick up the cups they serve drinks in prior to takeoff, but they let me keep the Starbucks coffee I brought on board myself?
- If Delta, United, and American award points as a multiple of the price paid for your ticket, why do they call those points ‘miles’?
- If liquids are so dangerous, why are they tossed together in a bin next to the security checkpoint instead of dealt with by a hazmat team?
- Why don’t airlines who base elite status on revenue give credit for tickets purchased but not flown?
- Why do rental car companies have to cable ALL of a vehicles keys together? If you lose one key this way you lose them all. Whose pocket exactly are these supposed to fit in?
I might as well add, echoing Gallagher, “why do we drive on parkways, and park in driveways?”
I’ve always wondered why it’s called “pre-boarding,” because those people are obviously boarding. Should call it “early boarding,” perhaps.
I like the “Pearls Before Swine” comic strip, which asked a couple of weeks ago why a “Near Miss” isn’t called a “Hit” and a “Near Hit” isn’t called a “Miss”.
The PDB cup thing is a liability issue. If the airline provides the cup and said cup becomes a projectile in an emergency the airline is culpable. The timing of pick up depends on the galley configuration. If there is a waste bin accessible without opening a cart you can keep it longer.. If a cart has to be opened we have to collect before the aircraft can move..
If you bring it yourself it’s your responsibility but the FA should make you stow & secure it.
Re: the “Near Miss”. I also thought that was backwards for a few years ago. I heard someone say (not about aircraft at all) “that was a near thing”. From the Cambridge English Dictionary (per Google), “a near thing” means “a situation in which you almost failed to achieve something and only just succeeded: We beat them but it was a near thing.”
The logic side of my brain caught the parallel – it was a miss, no collision, but it was a “near thing” and barely succeeded in being a miss. Hence, “a near miss”.
Ever since, I’ve been at peace with the term.
Good questions except that for question 1, they are supposed to take your Starbucks cup unless it’s a recyclable one which you should empty and stow for takeoff.
Liquids are not so dangerous but there is a theoretical chance that liquid explosives are brought on the plane by terrorists. That’s why they are banned. Liquids surrendered are almost certainly harmless.
As for miles, it used to be that one mile flown was awarded one mile. Some countries where kilometers are used call it “points” instead of miles. The sweetest year was when there was triple miles. One SFO-JFK round trip in economy got about 15,000 miles. 20,000 miles was needed for a free trip. 50,000 miles was needed for two free trips to Europe in economy, which could be used by one person within a year or two people.
First off, it is my recollection (less perfect every year!) that both the “parkway” and “near miss” jokes were Carlin originals. I suspect you don’t get “miles” (because the reward programs were originally based on miles flown) for unused tickets because: they can. They don’t want to give your miles, really. You’re unlikely to say “I’ll fly X over Y, because if the ticket expires unused, X will give me credit.” If you thought you might need to cancel, you’d likely buy a fully refundable fare. So, too few people lose miles because of the policy to form an angry enough group. If they didn’t cable they Keys together, too many customers would loose a set.
An ever bigger question is why airlines based outside the US award miles. Shouldn’t they award kilometers? And why do European Marriott accounts get points per dollar spend — shouldn’t it be based on Euro spend?
Limited liquids on an airplane as it is, is security theater. There is no scientific basis that one 500 ml container of a liquid fitting in a quart sized bag that meets requirements is more dangerous than 5 100ml containers of the same liquid fitting in a quart sized bag that meets requirements. Purely a way to assert control. Liquids in checked luggage can be of a greater quantity than in carry-on luggage. Must be because more is less dangerous (sarcasm).
Are we just channeling our inner George Carlin on here?