News and notes from around the interweb:
- No tips at airport self-checkout! Unfortunately I ran into a terminal at the Austin airport that required tipping and wouldn’t accept $0.00.
I’m at Newark Airport being asked to tip on a self checkout transaction- how much should I tip? pic.twitter.com/hoIXIIOVRv
— Anna Tong (@annatonger) May 23, 2023
- Oh, come on. The “Before…” trilogy is fantastic. But Before Sunrise takes place in Vienna. Before Sunset takes place in Paris. And Before Midnight takes place on the Peloponnese coast of Southern Greece.
This could be us but you haven’t booked that flight to Paris…yet.
NYC to Paris on sale now. #JetBleuParis
🎥: Before Sunrise (1995), now playing on seatback screens. pic.twitter.com/HClO4DGp3D— JetBlue (@JetBlue) May 24, 2023
- IHG One Rewards: Choose whether you want to earn 2,000 bonus points every 2 nights or 10,000 bonus every 4 nights between June 6, 2023 and August 31, 2023. The latter is better for those who will stay at least 4 nights during the promotion period, but you have to pre-commit! Register by June 5.
- The French ban on short domestic flights where there’s ample train service only affects 5 routes (less than 5% of routes) and exempts travel to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle. Not the story that’s generally reported!
- Booking private rooms in the Qantas first class lounge in Sydney and Melbourne.
- New Qatar Airways – Louis Vuitton lounge inside the Doha airport Al Mourjan Lounge North
Defining a new level of luxury with @qatardutyfree at the opening of the world's first Louis Vuitton Lounge at @HIAQatar 🌍✨ #QatarAirways #HamadInternationalAirport #Doha pic.twitter.com/uv55fJP19i
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) May 23, 2023
Just stop tipping.
Guess Gary’s got all the click’s he can out of AA’s lavs or common soap dispensers in hotel showers, and has moved on to tips…
A poorly coded machine giving a tip screen is not the same as “Demanding” a tip.
(A coding error that Gary encountered “that one time at Austin airport” is stupid, yes, but not anything more nefarious)
People, you have the power to choose. Use it.
Over the past year I am encountering more of these “Tip Screens” at take out & small conveience retail stores. I will sometimes leave a dollar depending on the amount I have spent & the type store or service I am receiving. – Most often when I am provided a list of tip options I will choose to leave zero tip as I do not feel it’s appropriate or ethical to solicit for tips.
I this specific case I would have chosen to not to purchase & opted for an alternative snack at another store.
Re: France short haul air travel ban – considering the stated position of the French government (and EU) with regard to reducing carbon emissions/GHG, I’d consider those 5 routes to be the INITIAL 5 routes.
The plan stemmed from legislation, thus can be altered via vote by the French Parliament. The French high-speed rail network is undergoing expansion. But color me a cynic – optics will also have a part once it’s realized how de minimus the contribution to GHG reduction these 5 initial routes will have.
TIP means TO INSURE PROMPTNESS, If I’m doing all the work…..Why would I give a thank you to someone else, when I did all the work??
If you think taking the bullet trains is the same as flying, it is not.
The main reason is trains are full of criminals. Luggage stealing is a lucrative business and police don’t care. Just an FYI before your vacation is ruined!
I know so many people that got their luggage stolen on a train, it’s a pandemic.
And strangely, it is not on the agenda of the media, so they don’t talk about that either, but it is real!
Also, governments all over Europe are under pressure to justify the trillions of € spent over 4 decades on those bullet train infrastructures.