All Emirates Airbus A380s – With Bars And First Class Showers – Expected To Be Flying Again By April 2022

by Gary Leff

private airplane bar
Jul 06 2020

Emirates has 115 Airbus A380s. Those offer a lot of capacity when flying is at such low levels. And Emirates is an international airline, they aren’t flying domestic routes which have fewer restrictions around the world. Their on board bars are designed precisely not to social distance. And showers, while in normal times cleaned between each use, are both an expensive amenity (carrying all that water means burning fuel) and represents use of the same space by multiple passengers.

To bring the A380 and its amenities back means air travel recovers, and social distancing is no longer required to fly.

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Why Do HEPA Air Filters Protect Us From COVID-19 On Planes?

by Gary Leff

Jul 05 2020

We know that people carry the SARS-CoV-2 virus with them from one country to another, one city to another, one planes. However we haven’t traced outbreaks to contact on planes anywhere in the world. One of the reasons that’s usually cited for this is the use of high efficiency particulate (HEPA) air filters.

What are HEPA air filters, do all planes have them, and why do they work?

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What On Earth Happened To Make This Airport Restroom Sign Necessary?

by Gary Leff

Jul 05 2020

When you see a novel warning sign, it’s almost always in response to something a person actually did. No one thought to warn anyone before some idiot came along. Occasionally these sorts of signs make you really wonder about people, like “this motorcycle contains no edible parts” and cartons of eggs that warn “this product may contain eggs” (or jars of peanut butter that flag, “may contain nuts or nut products”). Who are the people who need to be told “this electric drill is not intended for dental use” anyway? Austin’s South Terminal is a separate structure from the main terminal, less than three quarters of a mile away but a 7 mile drive. It currently serves Frontier and Allegiant. This sign was just spotted in the men’s room there: What in gods name was…

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The New Ethics Of Complaining About Service In The COVID Era

by Gary Leff

Jul 05 2020

My gut feeling is that there’s something wrong with complaining when others are suffering so much, though people are suffering all around the world during ‘normal times’ and I don’t have an issue talking about ‘first world problems’. Does this shift during COVID times make me, on some level, a hypocrite?

How are you handling customer service complaints now, and is that different than it was at the start of the year? And if there’s a change, will it last past the coronavirus pandemic?

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After Winning Credit Card Disputes, Passengers Are Getting Bills From One Airline’s Trustee

by Gary Leff

Jul 04 2020

The advice when an airline goes bankrupt is to get your money back for future tickets from your credit card company. If a business doesn’t provide the services you paid for, your credit card company will get you your money back (usually).

German law has an interesting quirk though. Apparently people who pay for services they haven’t received are considered unsecured creditors in bankruptcy, and getting your money back via a credit card chargeback is considered ‘queue jumping’.

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New Australian COVID Outbreak Linked To Sex Scandal In Quarantine Hotels

by Gary Leff

Jul 04 2020

Australia has fewer than 8500 total confirmed cases of COVID-19. The country’s success appears to be a combination of effective policy response and luck.

International arrivals of their own citizens required quarantine. But it’s those quarantine facilities that are the site of a new virus outbreak in Melbourne – and also of a sex scandal. Because the guards were having sex with the passengers being quarantined, and exposing themselves to the virus.

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