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.
United Will Put Seat Back Video Screens on Some New 737s, Could Force American to Do the Same
Delta continues to double down on passenger entertainment not just for international flights but across its domestic fleet. They’re now over 700 aircraft offering seat back entertainment screens.
United and American have been moving in the opposite direction. They have eschewed screens to save money – about a million dollars per aircraft – offering streaming content that customers can view on their own devices. In most cases this means passengers watching movies on phones.
Standing With the Protesters in Hong Kong
Tell me you can watch Hong Kong airport protesters since “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables without crying. The song, by the way, is banned in China.
It’s not clear what the U.S. can do, or any of us can beyond paying attention, outside intervention could just as easily play into Chinese hands dismissing and minimizing the moment as some sort of external plot, delegitimizing the grassroots nature of the protests.
We may not be able to do very much, but we have our sympathy to offer and we can be inspired by what people will risk for freedom and not be so cavalier about giving away our own.
Southwest Airlines Could Abandon the Boeing 737 MAX 7, Order Embraer E2 Jets
It was one fateful phone call with Boeing — while Southwest founding President Lamar Muse and co-founder Rollin King were meeting with the Douglas Aircraft Company — that led the airline to go with the 737.
Now they have over 750 of the aircraft. However they could look beyond the Boeing 737 for their future.
Airline Drops Wheelchair Passenger at the Wrong Gate, Makes Her Buy New Ticket After Missing Flight
Norwegian is cheap flying, but when things go wrong it isn’t known for great customer service. Mistakes happen, but the test of an airline is how they respond when they do.
When they delivered an 82 year old woman in a wheelchair to the wrong gate she missed her flight. And they told her she’d have to buy a new ticket as a no show passenger.
American Sues Its Mechanics Again, This Time Seeking Damages
Airline CEO Doug Parker says he wears a wrist band “that says CECFTM, which is a terrible acronym because it doesn’t say anything, but it stands for Create an Environment that Cares for our Frontline Team Members. That’s what our mission is. Every day one of our officers sends a note to other officers about what they did that day to create an environment that cares for frontline team members.”
On Tuesday what they did is sue their employees again.
United Airlines Demand Pilots Go ’12 Hours Bottle to Throttle’ in New Drinking Crackdown
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.
60% of Japanese Flight Attendants Say They’ve Been Secretly Taped Inflight
It turns out that filming flight attendants is especially prevalent in Japan, where a Japanese union representing cabin crew at Japan Airlines, ANA and other carriers says that 60% of their members have been filmed while on duty.
Some of the videographers are really creepy, too.
Man Videotapes the Best Day of His Life as the Only Passenger on a Delta Flight
Last week a man documented the experience of flying Delta from Aspen to Salt Lake City by himself aboard Delta Express flight DL3652 operated by SkyWest. Boarding was announced at the gate as being for him. He captures the surreal experience of a predeparture announcement being made over the PA system by a flight attendant when he’s the only one in the cabin. He gets to meet the pilots. He’s sitting up front, with a predeparture beverage.
The Terms of This New Hilton Promo Say It’s Targeted – But It’s Not
Hilton has a new promotion, 2500 bonus points with your first stay through January 31, and 5000 bonus points with your second stay by that time, for a total of 7500 bonus points.
Even if you don’t expect to stay at Hiltons, sometimes bookings come along that you don’t plan for, and you’ll never remember to go back and register later. So taking care of this now just makes sense on the if-come.