Nationwide Class Action Filed Against TSA & DEA For Seizing Travelers’ Cash At Airports

by Gary Leff

Jan 15 2020

Terry Rolin is 79 years old. He grew up skeptical of banks, and kept his life savings of $82,373 squirreled away in his house. His daughter came to visit from Boston and help him downsize into an apartment. They agreed she would set up a joint bank account for him.

Banks were closed for the day. Her flight departing Pittsburgh was early the next morning. So she had to take the cash with her. The cash was spotted at security and seized. No crime was ever charged, but the government decided to keep the money anyway. This is surprisingly common at airports across the country.

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How Much Business Does An Airline Website Do?

by Gary Leff

man in suit looking at computer screen
Jan 15 2020

Southwest Airlines sells most of its tickets directly. It doesn’t pay third parties to distribute its flights to consumers. It was the first major airline with a website (1996) and one of the first e-commerce sites to hit a billion dollars in revenue in a year.

Major U.S. airlines are a lot larger now and most transactions have migrated online. American shared with employees last week that they hit a new milestone for revenue generated at their AA.com website.

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No One Buys Carbon Offsets: How Green Do We Really Want Air Travel To Be?

by Gary Leff

airplanes on tarmac
Jan 14 2020

Several airlines sell Catholic indulgences that go by the name carbon offsets. The idea is that they’ll funnel donations to non-profits that do good for the environment in some amount the counteract the effects of carbon attributable (on average) to a given passenger’s travel.

I’m skeptical of these measures for several reasons. Not least of which because adoption rates are infinitesimally low.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez May Stop New York LaGuardia From Getting Train Service

by Gary Leff

Jan 14 2020

To be sure, the plan is a hair-brained one. There won’t be a direct link to the city. It’ll take passengers away from the city before sending them back to it. And it’ll add congestion to the already crowded 7 line, trading airport road congestion for public transit congestion. Complaints about the plan though merely prevent anything from being done.

We’re looking an AirTrain to Willets Point as the best available option because we’re bad at doing major infrastructure projects in this country. And Ocasio-Cortez’s opposition, four and a half years in, illustrates why that is.

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