News and notes from around the interweb:
- Once again, don’t wait around in long lines for your airline to provide a hotel room when they cancel your flight and you’re stuck overnight – if you can possibly afford your own room, or to front the cash pending a claim through your credit card provider (if you used a card with trip delay coverage). Because the rooms that airlines give you ‘free’ are frequently disgusting.
So the reviews were accurate and this place smells like armpits and pee. Getting ready to head back to the airport and try to close my eyes because this ain’t it. @AmericanAir if this is nasty.
— Nellz (@Nursenellz) December 18, 2023
For your review. This is how much you value your customer experience when providing hotel accommodations. pic.twitter.com/itFZKoNKKO
— Nellz (@Nursenellz) December 19, 2023
The elevators were non functional so we had to use the stairs. The hallway stunk and as you can see there was a big open hole in the ceiling tile. @WyndhamHotels pic.twitter.com/7nr761N2Aw
— Nellz (@Nursenellz) December 19, 2023
- Delta had a Danny Meyer partnership where they served Shake Shack, and also Blue Smoke barbecue in business class on some flights actually.
.@Delta what's stopping you from doing this? pic.twitter.com/MiSDmKNyAE
— Troy Osinoff (@yo) December 19, 2023
- You may lose satellite internet when flying over places where satellites aren’t allowed to look.
- Topgolf now on airline & hotel dining programs – earn miles/points while playing
- The second interim CEO of OpenAI after its board tried to bounce Sam Altman says that most people don’t care if you recline your seat on a plane, but those who do… care a lot.
Basically 80% of people only mildly care if at all, but for 20% of people it’s a huge deal. Explains why I didn’t think it mattered and was surprised people thought reclining was rude, but there are a ton of people (20%!) who find it to be a big deal. pic.twitter.com/laToJ63Uc0
— Emmett Shear (@eshear) December 4, 2023
- Southwest Airlines passenger uses safety card as a blanket
@josephmfares PLEASE DID SHE THINK THAT WOULD WORK AS A BLANKET
The item about losing satellite Internet was discussing airspace. It can happen at sea too. In our recent cruise (changed to non-stop for this leg due to the current mess) from Crete to Dubai the ship’s wi-fi stopped for a long stretch along the Omani coast. The Internet person said it was due to military operations nearby. Incidentally we had no problems–though did an optional passenger drill in case of boarding–but were the next-to-last passenger ship through the Red Sea. That strait, Bab-el-Mandeb, at the end is so narrow I could see both Yemen and Djibouti at the same time. If it was unguarded blocking or firing across it would be quite easy. Anyway, I don’t expect tourists to come back there for years.
Good advice. The worst thing about my free room from AA when they stranded me overnight in Miami wasn’t so much the room – which was barely acceptable but not below that level – were the lines . . . to get the voucher, for the shuttle bus, for the check in. It’s worked out much better when I just handled it myself and submitted a credit card insurance claim.
Airlines are not in the business of lodging. The question is why have these filthy and uninhabitable accommodations been granted an operating permit by the relevant authorities? We trust the government to shut down restaurants that are unhygienic, and to ban landlords from offering tenancy in bedrooms without windows. Should we spin up a new function of government to shut down properties that are unfit for even a single night?
It’d be interesting to see why people who hate the person in front of them reclining feel that way. For me it’s because I’m 6’4 but most people are not as tall so they must have some less painful reason to feel so unhappy.
@Christian: I’m also 6’4″ and a seat recliner in front of me basically ruins my flight by usurping what little space I have in front of me. It can literally be painful. Ironically, it’s usually some 5’1″ tall girl who thoughtlessly rockets the seat all the way back into my kneecaps when we’re not even halfway down runway 27R. And, yeah, it makes me VERY unhappy.
Good news for folks who don’t want recliners in front of them – there’s lots of options. Fly Frontier (no reclining), JetBlue (extra space), bulkhead or econ plus or exit row for a bit more money, business or first, etc. Don’t blame others for your poor planning or stinginess or other personal/voluntary decisions.
At 6’3″, someone reclining the seat in front of me can be painful and an extreme annoyance. The mitigating factors are having enough pitch (knee room) and whether someone is seated beside me. Depending on how much useless airline junk is in the seatback pocket, I may put it on the floor. I very much compare seat width and pitch before buying an airline ticket. If the pitch is 31 inches or better, 32 inches, the seat in front of me reclining is annoying but mostly not painful. Even a tight pitch is ok as long as the seat next to me is not occupied and I can put a leg over there. If there is only one of the three seats in front of me reclining, it is almost always the one directly in front of me.
Jake-1 – You should write these ideas down and share them widely because nobody has mentioned them before. Unfortunately, my city has a single Frontier flight, zero JetBlue flights, and while I’m willing to pay extra for PE, bulkhead, or exit row seats they have to actually be available. In reality that means that I’m often stuck on a flight where someone reclines into where my knee is located. The person in front gets my knee in their back and I get sore knees for hours to days after, depending on the length of the flight. Lose/lose.
I’m only 5’4″ but on a United flight I paid extra for Economy Plus for my flight home because I wanted to be a little more comfortable. As soon as we took off the guy in front of me slammed his seat all the way back and his head was practically in my lap. Then he proceeds to reach up and try to turn off MY air vent because it was blowing on his head. I told him Nah dude, you don’t get it both ways.
Christian – not as tall as you but it’s very uncomfortable when seat in front of me is reclined as well. I don’t blame the person in front for wanting to be comfortable. I take flights that do have availability. I find them on last minute flights even on Thanksgiving eve. Often costs a bit more of course and often not the times I prefer. First class with points or cash on the rare occasions when no options. Like anything else, it’s a sacrifice to get what you want.
What is going on with logging into Delta on my app and on delta.com. I cant get it on. Sometimes it says they cant find my account or says other things. I googled this issue and i see other people have the same difficulty I used google and chrome. I tired to get on my iphone, ipad, and laptop. My husband is having the same issues. Called delta cant help. Could it be from downloading I have Private internet acess and took it off but still doesnt work.
First of all I agree that coach seats should NEVER be reclined and to do so is about as rude a thing as possible. However, inconsiderate people will continue to do so. Therefore, for those that are taller simply pay extra for an exit row, extra legroom seat or first class. Yes that costs more but isn’t your comfort worth it?
@Linda Cohen, I tried logging in on my computer with Chrome and had no problem. I’m in the Los Angeles area using AT&T.
@Linda Cohen, try rebooting the devices (shut down completely). I have found that an update waiting will cause mysterious results when browsing. Different operating systems can still have different updates waiting.
In August a UA CS rep told me the FAA no longer permits them to give rooms gratis, but instead they issue refunds to comp rooms. I am not sure if that’s true, haven’t seen my refund yet.