A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Hyatt’s New End of Year Promotion is Out: Register Now for Double or Triple Points
Hyatt is out with double points – triple for Hyatt Place properties – starting with your second stay. There are at least 5 different limited-time offers that this new promotion stacks with.
New Oral History of 9/11, From the Voices Inside the White House Bunker to What Was Said On United 93
A former Politico editor, Garrett M. Graff, has a new oral history of 9/11 coming out on Tuesday, “The Only Plane in the Sky” and here are a couple of excerpts.
The President was on board Air Force One. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice learned about the incident in real time during her daily briefing. The Vice President was in charge in the White House’s underground bunker built for use during a nuclear attack.
I Can’t Believe I Have to Write This Post
The single nuttiest idea in aviation history was published in the Dallas Morning News, an argument by Matt Andersson, the founder of an airline startup (Indigo Airlines), to merge the nation’s airlines into one and have the government run it. Oh he wants to eliminate frequent flyer points, too.
As United Negotiates a New Pilot Contract, Heads We Lose Tails We Lose
Passengers need a pilot contract because unhappy pilots mean massive delays and cancellations. But a pilot contract is going to mean the airline can squeeze more seats into regional jets. Either way, passengers lose.
8 Simple Tips to Avoid Travel Scams
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Man Stands in Aisle for 6 Hour Flight So His Wife Could Sleep: Sweet or Toxic Marriage?
A man reportedly stood in the aisle for a full six hour flight so his wife could sleep in their seats.
Was he being selfless, or was she being selfish? Should they have just contorted themselves so that they could both sleep, her head in his lap and his head.. somewhere? And is it ok to stand in the aisle as long as the seat belt sign is on, common space for everyone, or is it rude to block the aisle?
United Airlines Says It’s Immoral to Move to a Better Seat While Inflight
Since norms vary across airlines and have only recently changed it’s not a moral failing of passengers who don’t know or understand the position that any given airline takes here. On the contrary, it’s incumbent on the airline to explain in clear terms what their policy is and why rather than suggesting a passenger wanting to move is doing something untoward.
There’s Still an American Airlines MD80 in Dallas, After All
The retirement of the American Airlines MD80 has been written about extensively and covered across all sorts of media. I am didn’t find the event nearly as momentous and many did, but there were plenty of celebrations as the plane made its last commercial flight – AA80 – from Chicago O’Hare to Dallas Fort-Worth and then media took a trip on an MD80 to park the aircraft in the desert.
While I’ve read reports that American sent the last of its MD80s to Roswell, New Mexico in fact there’s still an MD80 sitting in Dallas and it’s going to stay there.
It Gets Worse: Hotels Now Stacking “Venue Fees” on Top of Resort Fees
“Resort fees” are extra charges, on top of a room rate, that aren’t optional. In other words they’re part of the price of a room, but the hotel advertises a lower price instead. That’s deceptive.
Now some hotels that already charge resort fees have introduced venue fees.