Commentary

Category Archives for Commentary.

The Battle For What The Southwest Airlines Meltdown Means For Society Has Begun

by Gary Leff on January 9, 2023

Jan 09 2023

A confluence of events, from weather to staffing to technology, combined to drive the meltdown which will cost Southwest more than more investment would have, in other words it’s a story of management error more than greed. Management lost free cashflow rather than increasing it.

It’s a tragedy for people whose holidays were ruined, but it’s not an easy story about industry consolidation (this didn’t happen because Southwest bought AirTran) or ‘financial capitalism’ (until the meltdown Southwest was the story of a company that’s highly unionized with a great culture). Trying to make it an allegory for a hobby horse doesn’t work when the facts aren’t there.

Two Amazing Elite Statuses People Used To Push The Limits Taking Advantage Of

by Gary Leff on November 19, 2022

Nov 19 2022

The Ambassador program was a paid program, and you had to be a member to qualify for its invitation-only level Royal Ambassador. But when you made Royal Ambassador you used to get a referral certificate to gift the status to someone else. And they got a referral certificate to give to someone else, and so on.

Weekend Pilot Joke

by Gary Leff on November 19, 2022

Nov 19 2022

A pilot and priest joke that hopefully will add a smile to your day.

TOMORROW: A Bunch Of Bloggers Are Pulling A Crazy Stunt For Charity

by Gary Leff on November 3, 2022

Nov 03 2022

Several travel bloggers and frequent flyers are going to pull a crazy stunt tomorrow to raise money for charity. They’re helping to bring awareness and support for Give Kids The World, a charity that fulfills the wishes of dying children to experience Disney World.

Here’s their plan: ride every Disney ride in a single, 18 hour day. That’s 53 rides and over 20 miles of walking and running.

California’s High Speed Rail Is A 20 Year, $100 Billion Joke. Ethereum’s Founder Knows What To Do

by Gary Leff on October 10, 2022

Oct 10 2022

Eight years ago James Fallows wrote in The Atlantic that California high speed rail “will cost too much, take too long, use up too much land, go to the wrong places, and in the end won’t be fast or convenient enough to do that much good anyway.” Now the New York Times has caught on.

When So-Called Experts Can’t Even Agree With Themselves On How Much A Mile Is Worth

by Gary Leff on October 8, 2022

Oct 08 2022

There are a lot of sites that purport to tell you how much a mile or point is worth.

The range quality and rigor offered by various sites to value points is significant, I think. But what I stumbled across is that one company that puts these out cannot even agree with itself.

Travel Really Is “Fatal To Prejudice, Bigotry, And Narrow-Mindedness”

by Gary Leff on September 25, 2022

Sep 25 2022

Research suggests that traveling abroad while young and still forming worldviews and spending time speaking with ordinary people at your destination appears to foster Twain’s notion of becoming more open-minded and empathetic towards others without respect to geographic boundaries.

Not all travel meets these conditions, of course.

Expedia Chairman Calls Companies With ESG Goals “Virtue Signaling”

by Gary Leff on September 24, 2022

Sep 24 2022

United Airlines has gone woke. Airlines are fighting over who can be the most environmentally-friendly. Delta even claimed to be carbon neutral before the pandemic, even though they literally own an oil refinery and most of it was dubious carbon offsets.

Expedia’s Chairman Barry Diller is bucking the trend dismissing ESG as virtue signaling.

Expedia Boss Trashes His Employees, Says Work From Home Is A Crock

by Gary Leff on September 22, 2022

Sep 22 2022

Expedia Chairman Barry Diller called work from home “kind of stupid” as well as being “a crock.” He claims that ”sitting at a laptop computer at a dining room table” doesn’t lead to innovation.

Diller has been bashing his own employees, and blaming them for lack of innovation, efficiency and profitability even before work from home. Work from home is just the latest excuse for the Expedia boss.

Is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis About To Fly Migrants To Joe Biden’s Home In Delaware?

by Gary Leff on September 20, 2022

Sep 20 2022

There’s speculation that migrants could be headed to President Biden’s home next, based on filed flight plans for one of the planes that was chartered for the Martha’s Vineyard trip.