General

Category Archives for General.

Robert Mueller and Donald Trump, Jr Spotted Together – at Washington National Gate 35X

by Gary Leff on July 27, 2018

Jul 27 2018

They were both on American Airlines regional flights. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the son of the President, or if you have an unlimited scope and the full resources of the federal government at your disposal to investigate that President. Everyone is brought down to size at Gate 35X. Truly, it is the most humbling aviation experience in the country.

I’ve written before that the previous administration could have closed the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and just moved terrorism suspects to this gate.

Partially Caving to China’s Demands, Here’s How US Airlines Refer to Taiwan Now

by Gary Leff on July 25, 2018

Jul 25 2018

While at first it appeared that American’s Chairman Parker and United’s Chair Garvey had surrendered to Chairman Mao, the reality seems a little more nuanced than that.

We’ll see if these State Department-worthy maneuvers suffice to stay out of China’s crosshairs, whether China declares US airlines to be failing to comply, or whether there are problems with airport slots in China, with convenient gate access, or myriad other permit problems on the ground.

Thanks to Reader Help I’ve Got My New Travel Laptop, the HP Spectre X360

by Gary Leff on July 24, 2018

Jul 24 2018

I’ve been using an HP Spectre X360 and I think it’s great. A couple of months ago I asked for reader advice on getting a new laptop. I use one machine so it has to be able to function at home and on the road, for work and for watching movies on planes.

Battery life matters a lot, I carry it everywhere, and I want to be able to open it and even use it in coach.

Should Family Members Fly In Separate Cabins?

by Gary Leff on July 21, 2018

Jul 21 2018

A father sat up in business class and left his 8 year old kid back in coach. Many think that’s inappropriate, though kids fly as unaccompanied minors all the time.

What if the kid was a teenager? What about a husband traveling in business class with the wife back in coach?

Opinion is Shifting, Nearly Half of Passengers Want to Allow Inflight Cell Phone Calls

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2018

older gentleman taking a selfie with smartphone

Jul 17 2018

Americans generally are against allowing inflight use of cell phones. They don’t want to be trapped listening to their seat opponent yap. However opinion on this may be shifting. A new survey shows that nearly half of Americans want to allow it.

Lowest Price I’ve Ever Seen on the Noise Cancelling Headphones I Use

by Gary Leff on July 16, 2018

Jul 16 2018

I use Bose QuietComfort 25 Headphones. I paid $300 for mine when I bought them. Amazon has them on sale for an amazing $125.

Regular price is now $279. They went on sale for Black Friday at $179. $125 is the lowest I’ve seen. But what if I told you they could be further discounted to $77?

Airbus Fire Sale: Discounting New A220s Up to 72%, Hurry Buy Now

by Gary Leff on July 14, 2018

Jul 14 2018

When aircraft manufacturers like Boeing or Airbus sell planes, media report the value of the orders based on ‘list prices’ but those are made up numbers. No one pays list prices. Roughly speaking you can usually assume that airlines pay about half of list pricing.

Airbus has taken over marketing the C series and now they’re ‘Airbus A220s’. The first sale they’ve made is to JetBlue for 60 planes and to get that done they were reportedly willing to knock 72% off of list prices.

United Make Inflight Credit Card Pitches Mandatory Starting September 1

by Gary Leff on July 11, 2018

Jul 11 2018

American’s President Scott Kirby became the President of United Airlines. He found that United’s credit card program was lagging and also shared that in his experience onboard is the single most effective acquisition channel. So United started making these announcements too.

China Warns Its Citizens That the US is Too Dangerous to Visit

by Gary Leff on July 9, 2018

Jul 09 2018

We all have perceptions of risk, and they often vary widely from what the data actually says. My willingness to visit certain parts of the world is colored in the opposite direction from most people. Living for many years in Alexandria, Virginia and working in Arlington my daily commute took me past the Pentagon. This wasn’t just a potential primary military target, it had actually been attacked directly on 9/11 when a hijacked aircraft crashed into the building. Most places have less risk than this. Years ago when I traveled to Cyprus as a result of Alitalia’s $33+tax fat finger business class fare from Toronto which allowed stopovers in Italy, a friend of my wife’s was afraid for us. Turkey invaded, after all, in 1974 following a military coup there. Beach in Cyprus I’ll be…

Aisle Seat Lavatory Rules

by Gary Leff on July 4, 2018

Jul 04 2018

If you’re in the aisle seat, is it fair game to go to sleep?

And if you’re not in the aisle seat — and you have to use the lavatory — do you wake the person sitting next to you in order to get up and go, or do you hold it?

Does it depend on how long the flight is?