I’m not interested in the best at any price, or the cheapest. What I’m interested in is your thoughts on the best value overall – combination of quality and price – for someone who travels quite a lot. On many issues I have firm opinions. Here I will share my tentative thoughts.
Commentary
Category Archives for Commentary.
Why Is Service So Bad When We Supposedly Tip To Get Good Service?
U.S. tipping culture is insane, it’s gotten out of control and what’s worse is that it’s getting exported to the rest of the world. Workers should be paid by their employer, not by an uncomfortable system where customers are supposed to pay extra – on top of posted charges – paying some amorphous amount meant to supplement an employee’s wages.
Some people believe that the scheme is meant to encourage better service, to align incentives, because apparently companies are bad at managing their workers, creating a customer-focused culture, or providing the incentives needed to deliver a quality experience.
Confession: The Miles I Missed and Mistakes I’ve Made
I failed to earn miles when I was younger, even failed to have an account when I first flew enough to earn elite status. I’ve let miles expire. And I broke some program rules without even realizing it was a big deal.
My Philosophy For Earning Miles and Saving Money Comes From An Obscure 1984 Film
The way that I think about negotiation, arbitrage, and frequent flyer miles all tie back to one scene in an obscure 1984 file, Over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Elliott Gould plays a man with a dream to open a restaurant in Manhattan who finds the perfect opportunity. He asks his uncle, played by Sid Caesar, for funding and Caesar agrees — on the condition he leave his Catholic girlfriend (Margaux Hemingway) and marry a “nice Jewish girl.” Seven year old Sarah Michelle Gellar has an uncredited role.
Major Indicator of Economic Downturn: FedEx Pilots Being Told To Leave For American Airlines
FedEx pilot crews have been told that – despite the national pilot shortage – they are overstaffed, because air cargo demand is down. Pilots are receiving minimum hours only, for the most part, and they expect that to remain “for the foreseeable future.” This is an industry-wide issue.
As a result, the shipping company is telling its pilots to go work for American Airlines through one of their regional airlines.
Chinese Human Rights Activist Escaped, In Limbo At Taipei’s International Airport
Chen Siming, regularly jailed in China for commemorating his country’s 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square, managed to leave his country in July and turned up this weekend in the transit area of Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport seeking refuge from persecution.
Million Mile Secrets Blogger Arrested And Jailed In Houston
Daraius Dubash is currently suing the city of Houston for violating his rights.
Mexican Government Discloses Shocking Footage Of Recovered Alien Body
It’s possible that there aren’t beings from outer space, that if there are we’ll never find them, that they’ve probed us and are avoiding contact (prime directive?) or even that it’s actually future human societies traveling back in time (or else, why be so interested in earth over everything else that’s out there?).
The Mexican government seems to be suggesting that not only are there aliens, but we have bodies, and we’ve extensively experimented on them. They’ve even shared the footage.
9/11: A Whole Generation Of Adults Now Has No Memory Of Terrorists Taking Down Planes
Twenty two years ago today I was sitting in my office in Northern Virginia. I was fortunate not to be on the road, although several work colleagues were and it was a challenge to help them get home when planes were grounded on 9/11. A whole generation of adults was born after that day that remains ingrained in my experience.
Why The Points Guy’s New Effort To Value Miles Is Nonsense
The Points Guy has published new “data-driven” valuations for U.S. airline miles and for credit card points, but they don’t… show you much about the data, and the methodology they offer makes very little sense. It’s nonsense built on stilts. They’ve picked out some flights to compare prices in cash and in miles, and then declared the value you’re getting for your miles on those flights is the value of miles. And that’s just wrong. This treats points as being worth the same as cash used towards an airline ticket. But points are not worth as much as cash, because cash can do more than buy airline tickets. You can spend cash on anything you want, not just on what an airline says you can, and you can invest cash to earn a return. You…