Commentary

Category Archives for Commentary.

After 20 Years of Trying Pakistan No Longer Plans to Privatize the World’s Worst Airline

pakitstan international airlines
Feb 09 2019

Pakistan International Airlines is the worst airline in the world. Best known for sacrificing a goat for safety and flying with more passengers than seats (and making customers stand for 1700 miles), the airline’s former CEO was actually detained as a result of his efforts to provide good seats and service by wet leasing aircraft from SriLankan.

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Miss Manners: Kids in Business Class are A-OK

Feb 09 2019

Readers have lots of opinions of whether young kids belong on planes in the first place. If there’s anything close to an official word, though, you’d expect it from the columnist who calls herself Miss Manners. And she declares that “It is public transport: There is nothing prohibitive about who sits in which class except for the cost itself.”

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Milwaukee Renames Its Airport, Stripping Father of the Air Force of His Rank (Again)

Feb 08 2019

Putting Milwaukee in the airport name emphasizes where it is but I don’t think anyone was confused about the Milwaukee airport’s location. The idea that this rebranding is going to “help[..] more people recognize MKE as an option” when they want to fly to Milwaukee seems to me patently absurd.

Meanwhile the irony of an airport named for General Mitchell – who had his title of General stripped by the military — having his title stripped from the airport that honors him is a bit too much.

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British Tourist Arrested and Beaten for Wearing a Qatar Shirt to a Soccer Match in Abu Dhabi

picture with stairs around it in a hotel
Feb 05 2019

It’s incredible that Qatar was able to play, beat their geopolitical rivals Saudi Arabia and UAE, and that they had an actual fan in the stadium who dared to support them along the way. That man was punished.

I have to think that this will be enough of an international embarrassment that the UAE will have to back down (though they can’t un-beat the man). Nonetheless it’s a good reminder that when you travel the world you’re subject to the laws of wherever you’ve gone – even if you aren’t aware of what they are.

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A Passenger Wanted Coffee as a Predeparture Beverage and That Nearly Got Him Kicked Off the Flight

american eagle plane
Feb 05 2019

A passenger on American Airlines flight AA5896 on February 2 from Long Beach to Phoenix shared his experience with the first class flight attendant.

The flight was on a CRJ-900 regional jet operated by Mesa Airlines. I’ve had plenty of flights on Mesa and usually find their flight attendants to be excellent. However this story illustrates several problems facing commercial aviation in the U.S.

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