Commentary

Category Archives for Commentary.

Duty Free at Baghdad International Airport

by Gary Leff on August 1, 2005

Aug 01 2005

Via Brad DeLong, Iraq’s transportation minister has ordered a ban on alcohol sales at Baghdad International Airport. The airport’s duty-free shop is not complying, in spite of threats to have their $800,000 inventory destroyed. Alcohol makes up 85% of duty free sales at the airport. Oddly enough, the decision to ban alcohol is influenced by how it would look to the outside world. Jabiri expressed concern about Iraq’s image if alcohol continues to be sold. “And this could corrupt the employees also,” he said. “Foreign travelers might not even realize this is an Islamic country when they see alcohol in the airport.” Oh, yeah, if we didn’t go to war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist, it must have been to create a secular, democratic state in the Middle East…

Man Charged with Exposing Himself on a Flight

by Gary Leff on July 29, 2005

Jul 29 2005

The alleged incident occurred on a flight from DC to Syracuse, and the guy denies it. Story contains one of the best lines ever in a news article: When he got off the plane in Syracuse, police took him into custody and checked to see if he was wearing underpants, which he was, Gibeau said. But I don’t think this is actually illegal: Police searched Gibeau and found five Polaroid photos of his penis, according to Bragg’s affidavit. Gibeau said he was bringing the photos to his girlfriend to show her the contrast between the sunburned areas of his body and the areas that weren’t exposed on the beach.

I’m shocked! Shocked to find that GAMBLING is going on in here!

by Gary Leff on July 29, 2005

Jul 29 2005

A piece in the Seattle Times explains that State Department travel warnings, which harm tourism in the country on the receiving end, are influenced by political considerations. (I’m shocked!) Noting that the State Department’s treatment of London bombings were delayed, contained scant detail and provided warning for just a few hours, when less serious country warnings don’t expire for monthsJim Grace, CEO of InsureMyTrip.com, an online seller of travel insurance, puts it, “if the State Department issues a travel warning, Tony Blair would be on the phone to President Bush pretty quickly, saying ‘Hey, what are you doing to our economy? We’re supposed to be best allies.’ ” Of course the State Department denies this, and simply claims to be incompetent instead “We are a bureaucracy and unfortunately these things don’t always happen as quickly…

Frequent Flyer Miles as Debt in Need of Devaluation

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

Jul 26 2005

Tim Harford asks what would be the best way for frequent flyer program to devalue their currency? Last year I explained why a devaluation is inevitable, and why that doesn’t mean you should stop collecting miles. The simplistic version of the problem is too many miles chasing too few seats. Problems have been exascerbated the last couple of years as airlines pulled down capacity. Now, with flights running especially full, getting a nominally free seat can be tough. Award redemption (at least at the usual mileage pricing) is predicated on giving away only those seats that are likely to go unsold. That pot of inventory isn’t growing, but mileages balances are. Given the need for devaluation, how should airlines do it? The first option Harford gives is rejected, but not strongly enough: Airlines could simply…

Junk fees

by Gary Leff on July 25, 2005

Jul 25 2005

We all have certain fees that travel providers charge which drive us up the wall, usually because they offer an explanation that’s especially absurd. I’m usually bothered by award ‘expedite fees’, a charge that some airlines impose for issuing an electornic award ticket within a certain number of days of travel. I’m similarly bothered by hotel resort fees (just include it in your room rate!) and charges for ticketing at the airport when that’s the only option available, such as issuing an open-jaw award on United for someone with a different last name (since it can’t be done online and if it isn’t, it must be signed for in person). Perhaps the most offensive, albeit small, fee I’ve heard of was recently reported at Flyertalk.com. Apparently American Airlines is now charging $3 to e-mail a…

Dishonesty at GlobalPass

by Gary Leff on July 24, 2005

Jul 24 2005

InsideFlyer interviews the President of GlobalPass who tries to explain the gutting of their program. The most offensive piece has been taking existing mileage holders and requiring them to earn additional points in order to use miles already in their accounts. The new program offers points for booking travel through their portal, which may even be more expensive than competitors, and then for each new point earned one can use an existing point.The explanation is that the program needs frequency from their members, people got too good a deal in the past, and the old model of awards they promised wasn’t good for the company so they shouldn’t have to live up to those promises.Not at all surprising, but also a good reminder that this has never been a trustworthy program. GlobalPass is not a…

Be careful whom you trust

by Gary Leff on July 22, 2005

Jul 22 2005

USA Today reports on bloggers on the payroll of government tourist bureaus. Blogs tend to criticize other blogs, and many blogs permit comments (my current technical difficulties notwithstanding) so the blog’s culture of critique should limit the harm from this. Blog content should stand on its own, regardless of funding. But be aware of potential shading, influenced by financing of blogs. This isn’t new, surprising, or all that different from traditional travel writers whose perspectives may be colored by the advertisers at their publications or the free trips and upgrades handed out by travel providers. It’s always worthwhile using a skeptical eye towards travel writers. I want to know, though, how to get my hands on some of this money — then you could hermaneut my own writing all you want!

Travel and weirdos

by Gary Leff on July 22, 2005

Jul 22 2005

Tyler Cowen wonders whether airplanes make weird people seem less weird. More broadly, travel brings different types of people together and that kind of mixing tears down frames of reference that allow people to judge others weird. If his hypothesis is correct, he then wonders Does this mean that weird men are more likely to have foreign wives?

Wedding Crashers

by Gary Leff on July 20, 2005

Jul 20 2005

Last night I saw Wedding Crashers. I don’t usually comment on movies here, but the opening scene features Dwight Yoakam and Rebecca DeMornay fighting over Yoakam’s frequent flyer miles in their divorce settlement conference. This was a raunchy, funny movie. Senator John McCain with a very brief appearance in the film has been all over the media, getting asked why he’s in this kind of movie when he spends his time railing against Hollywood for producing just this kind of product? The answer, which he won’t give, is that he’s a cynical politician who exploits anti-Hollywood sentiment but frankly enjoys these movies. Maybe McCain is a Straussian after all. While funny and creative, the opening of the film was absolutely brilliant taking the main characters through a series of different ethnic weddings each one funnier…

Oops… bad timing

by Gary Leff on July 15, 2005

Jul 15 2005

A new Destiny’s Child pre-paid Visa debit card was introduced last week. It’s probably been in the works for awhile, so I’m sure there were plenty of groans when the executives involved learned that Destiny’s Child is breaking up.