Someone’s Been Installing Fake Power Outlets in Airports as a Practical Joke

by Gary Leff

wall plug sticker
May 05 2019

Someone been putting up fake power outlets at airports using stickers you can buy off of Amazon. Best I can figure it’s just meant as a cruel, cruel practical joke.

We all need to quickly charge devices between flights, especially when we’re flying planes and aircraft without seat power (and without seat back entertainment, where we’re forced to use those devices for entertainment). And airports are notorious for their lack of available outlets for passengers. Spotting an outlet may seem like the holy grail, but turn out to be a mirage.

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How Airlines Can Make Passengers Love Them Even During Flight Delays

by Gary Leff

alaska airlines plane
May 04 2019

If an airline doesn’t arrive on time, customers will be unhappy. That’s simple enough, right? As American Airlines ties the attempt to improve their operation to the happiness of customers, it’s arriving on time that they find matters (“A14” or arriving within 14 minutes of schedule) rather the merely departing on time. Customers won’t be ‘likely to recommend’ if they landing early and find they have no gate for half an hour!

But is that all that matters? Obviously people want to get where they’re going, but they may still be unhappy. And several airlines can deliver well on performance, that’s not enough to distinguish one airline from another.

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American Airlines Business Class Saver Award Space to Europe for Up to 6 Passengers

by Gary Leff

flight chart
May 04 2019

American Airlines isn’t known for making business class award seats available on their own flights, so this is notable. And since awards on their primary transatlantic British Airways incur huge fuel surcharges, the ability to fly at the saver level in business class and no fuel surcharges with American AAdvantage miles is notable. You can also use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for these flights, of course.

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What Do Airline Two Letter Codes Stand For?

by Gary Leff

ANA plane
May 04 2019

I recently shared the strange story of how Baltimore’s Friendship Airport (“BAL”) became BWI even though that code was already taken by Bewani, Papua New Guinea.

A lot of aviation codes have unique histories. Southwest Airlines couldn’t have SW — that belonged to Seaborn World at the time (it’s now Air Namibia). So they took WN which approximates Western and ultimately works nicely because it can be said to stand for We’re Nuts! Although sadly Southwest no longer serves peanuts.

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It’s Possible to Have a Fantastic Meal on a Domestic Flight! (Just Fly Alaska Airlines)

by Gary Leff

airplane food
May 03 2019

I’d have been happy to have this meal for dinner at home, constraints of an aircraft galley aside. I cannot remember the last time I said that about a meal on a domestic flight.

It’s a shame that Alaska is scaling back on the quality of its first class hard product as it standardizes its fleet after the the Virgin America merger. However on board catering they’re doing right — more so than my experiences in the past year with American, United, and Delta.

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