A couple months back I wrote that the TSA was using bureaucratic maneuvering to circumvent a congressional mandate that pilots be allowed to carry guns in the cockpit. Guess what? It’s working. Fewer than 100 pilots have been certified, and the program is proceeding at a snails pace..
About Gary Leff
$7 Garment Bag
Overstock.com has an American tourister garment bag for $10.99 + $1 shipping. If you’re a first-time Overstock.com customer, fill out this form first for a $5 off certificate that will bring the cost down to $6.99 shipped.
Since most of us wear pants when we fly
Amazon.com has $40 and $50 Gap pants on sale for $9.99 with free shipping on orders of $75 or more.There are some pretty good coupon codes for shopping directly at Gap.com: $10 off $14 with code JEANCD10, $15 off $15 with code JEANCD15 if using a Gap credit card, and free shipping on $75 with code GAPDENIM. (Coupon codes via Ben’s Bargain Center.)
Taking airline safety into your own hands
IMAO has some tips for fighting terrorism. A sampling: * If the guy seated next to you is named Al, watch him with suspicion; that’s halfway to Al Qaeda. * If someone tries to light a fuse on his shoes, that’s a sure sign of terrorism. Take away his lighter then hit him on the nose while firmly saying, “No!” * If someone takes out a boombox, quickly grab it and smash it over the person’s head. Even if he wasn’t a terrorist, what the hell is he doing with a boombox on a plane flight? * If you are worried that the people around you are terrorists, immediately alert the stewardess. She can give you booze which will make you much less worried. * The best defense is a good offense, so bring a…
Stunning Revelation About Air Travel
From Anne Applebaum in the Washington Post: There was something about the combination of rudeness and incompetence, something about the haughtiness of the half-dozen people I encountered at the other end of telephone lines, something about the failure to apologize for bureaucratic error, something that reminded me — if ever so faintly — of the Soviet Union. … The point is not that the airline industry is the evil empire but that all these problems — from the bureaucratic inflexibility of airline employees to the overwrought complexity of the system — are typical of heavily subsidized, uncompetitive companies operating in a centrally planned economy. Which is no surprise, as most airlines nowadays are heavily subsidized, uncompetitive companies, operating in what is, in effect, a centrally planned economy. Read the whole thing.
Good news makes me smile
i>USA Today reports on good news at the high end and at the low end of airline travel.Full service airlines are re-engaging the arms race over premium passengers by outfitting their business class cabins with more and better amenities. Fully flat beds are more widespread, as are souped-up entertainment systems. Meanwhile, America West is turning a profit — having converted itself into a low fare carrier with a better handle on its costs.
Fact checking
Chris Elliott’s Travel Troubleshooter column helps frustrated travelers get their due from travel industry bureaucracies. But the current column gets a little bit wrong: Here’s the scoop: Your original ticket was issued with several “fare basis,” or category of fares. Your outbound travel was booked in what United refers to as “W-class” of service and the return in “H-class” of service. Translation: On some flights you were in economy class; in others you were sitting in business class. An airline fare basis is a set of letters and numbers that identify the particular fare, rules and all, that the traveler has booked. That fare is usually referred to by its first letter — in this case W and H. Most fares beginning with the same letter have alot in common, so it makes sense to…
Flyertalk Advisory Board
Elections are running this month for the Flyertalk.com advisory board. If you’re registered at Flyertalk, go vote. If you’re not registered, or if you haven’t been to Flyertalk lately, you should. Oh, I’m currently a candidate for TalkBoard. My name there is ‘gleff‘.
Don’t say you don’t have a bomb
The Boston Globe reports that a teenager was arrested for putting a note in his luggage that said he didn’t have a bomb. He was charged with making a bomb threat. Ann E. Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the note was discovered by a baggage screener at about 6:20 a.m. when the bag was chosen for a random search. No bomb was found. Socha was arrested by State Police and his mother, father, and sister, were ordered off United Airlines Flight 171 to Honolulu via San Francisco, which was set to depart at 7:07 a.m. According to the police report, the note, which was placed on top of clothes in a black gym bag read: ”[Expletive] you. Stay the [expletive] out of my bag you [expletive] sucker. Have you found a…
And you don’t trust AIRLINE food?
The DC Department of Health shut down the main cafeteria of the USDA — the agency charged with protecting our nation’s food supply — for health code violations. There were several citations, according to the inspection report, including: “water leaking excessively” in the ceiling, employees not wearing hair restraints, and inadequate cleaning of the inside of ice machines, cabinets, surfaces and equipment. The biggest problem, however, seemed to be mouse droppings found everywhere — in the dry storage room, by the salad bar, behind the ovens, near the serving line, behind the soda machines. There were dead mice in one trap. The rodents can cause some serious diseases. (Link via the Volokh Conspiracy.)
