How To Make Airline Ads Great

by Gary Leff

May 17 2020

To be among my favorites an ad needs to be more than clever or visually appealing, it needs to be effective and make sense for the brand that’s doing the advertising.

As we come out of the pandemic, and associated recession or depression, there will be empty seats to fill. While on the way down the first and easiest place to cut spending is marketing, we’ll know there’s business to earn and our economy is beginning to recover when we see airline advertising. That means people are ready to fly, and airlines are ready to compete for this business.

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7 Reasons New TSA Temperature Checks Will Make Air Travel Worse

by Gary Leff

May 16 2020

The Administration wanted the CDC to do temperature checks at airports. They refused. U.S. airlines have been lobbying for the government to do these checks – they don’t want the responsibility of doing it themselves, even though that would be better for travelers. Now the TSA is preparing to do it at security checkpoints.

This isn’t going to make air travel safer, and it’s going to make the travel experience worse for a long time to come.

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Great Video Explaining How Airports Are Designed. I’m Not Convinced They Got The New LaGuardia Right

by Gary Leff

airplanes tarmac
May 16 2020

The point of an airport is to get somewhere. The best airports are the ones get are easiest to get to and get through. They make your travel more efficient, rather than adding to an already cumbersome and stressful experience. That has little to do with how much high-end retail there is (airports offer expensive shopping for their benefit, not for yours).

That means the best airports are close-in to the city center, and once you get there security is near the entrance and gates are near security. There’s enough taxiway space and runway capacity to handle flights, too, minimizing delays.

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Yes, Ben Schlappig Should Travel To Iceland In June. Why Do You Ask?

by Gary Leff

May 15 2020

Ben Schlappig, known as Lucky from the One Mile at a Time blog is contemplating a trip to Iceland next month and the way he frames the discussion, and the ensuing comments, are a fascinating sociological study in how people are reacting to the coronavirus pandemic and travel.

He’s talking about visiting Iceland – which plans to welcome visitors starting June 15, with COVID-19 testing on arrival. He shouldn’t be sheepish or apologetic about this.

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Man Flies To Germany, Tries To Sneak In To See His Girlfriend

by Gary Leff

May 15 2020

Coronavirus has been a strain on relationships, from the hotel that markets itself as a great break from your spouse and monetizes its guest list with a divorce lawyer who offers free consultations to the 85 and 89 year olds who live on opposite sides of the Germany-Denmark border and meet each day for a picnic, staying on their own side of the border and social distancing.

To one 20 year old, no coronavirus border restriction was going to keep him from his love. Then he ran into the German Federal Police.

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