New and notes from around the interweb:
- The only flight attendant on a United Express flight from Chicago O’Hare to South Bend operated by Air Wisconsin was taken into custody.
Scherb said he noticed the flight attendant was leaning against the galley rather than greeting passengers when he boarded the plane. Then, during the safety announcements, he said, her speech was slurred and inaudible. And as she walked up and down the aisle, Scherb said, the flight attendant stumbled and bumped into seats.
…When the plane took off, Scherb said, the flight attendant sat in the jump seat and fell asleep. Midway through the flight, passengers near the front fastened her seat belt for her.
Flight attendants are there ‘primarily for your safety’.
- Department of Transportation has issued final guidance on their enforcement priorities for so-called ’emotional support animals’ (my new Forbes.com column). Mostly the airlines get what they want, however:
- They can’t ban whole breeds of dogs, just refuse to transport specific dogs that are deemed unsafe. So Delta has to alter its pit bull ban.
- They can’t limit the total number of emotional support animals on an aircraft, though they can limit each passenger to one.
This largely leaves intact the status quo which has prevailed since last year when major airlines started adding requirements to bring animals on board.
- They can’t ban whole breeds of dogs, just refuse to transport specific dogs that are deemed unsafe. So Delta has to alter its pit bull ban.
- Austin airport’s new driverless shuttle
- Chase is forgiving all debt from its Canadian customers. They already stopped issuing new cards last year. (HT: MilesTalk)
Copyright: jetcityimage / 123RF Stock Photo - IMPOSSIBLE TO PARODY: Hotel taxes in Austin are so high they can only go up 2% before hitting a legal maximum. So the city and county are in a race with each other over who can impose an additional 2% tax first, blocking the other one from doing so.
- Consequences of the US ban on flights to Venezuela
- Airbus orders and deliveries. It’s clear that everyone wants Airbus narrowbodies, and Boeing widebodies.
- Boeing shared a mockup of what a new 777X interior could look like:
We design our airplane cabins so that you fly in style and comfort. See what you can enjoy onboard the new #777X and 787 #Dreamliner. pic.twitter.com/USt08C9lsq
— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) August 5, 2019
- United’s new CRJ550 premium-heavy regional jet, in real life.
CRJ550 #UnitedExpress
NewLivery
N504GJ
Créditos al Autor@united pic.twitter.com/6cwwNf0vZB— FS Videos & Photos✈️ (@FSA_2013) August 8, 2019
A great way to avoid crazy local hotel taxes is to use hotel loyalty points to pay for the room. There’s no tax on “free” stays. The same principle applies to that other massively over-taxed travel expense: rental cars. But with rental cars, you typically still have to pay fixed taxes — like daily facility charges — on free rentals. Don’t tell the local Austin taxing authorities how they could “better” structure this!