25 Rowdy Scottish Men Removed from Flight, Other Scots Think This Was Unfair

by Gary Leff

Apr 25 2016

I tend to avoid the ultra low cost carriers in the U.S. If an airline doesn’t participate in PreCheck I’m going to have to spend more time in transit, getting to the airport earlier. If they don’t have inflight internet I won’t be as productive. And without a redundant route network, it can be difficult ensuring I get where I’m going in the event something goes wrong.

One other unique feature of low cost carrier life, though, is that it enables people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to fly to travel more efficiently. That’s great from a societal standpoint, but it can also create culture clash. The profile of an ultra low cost carrier traveler isn’t the same as that of a business traveler.

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Watch This Passenger Attack a Flight Attendant When His Plane Gets Cancelled Due to Weather

by Gary Leff

Apr 25 2016

Goodness knows Americans behave badly at the airport especially when flights are delayed or they find themselves pitted against other passengers over scarce room onboard. But Americans have no monopoly on bad behavior.

And passengers behaving badly has become almost a cliche in China, like opening the aircraft door and popping the slide while looking for the bathroom or using one airline ticket to eat in an airport lounge for a year.

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Get Worldwide Mobile Data With this Unlocked Hotspot

by Gary Leff

Apr 25 2016

I have an unlocked Mifi hotspot. I can stick any sim card in it I want. So if I’m going to be in a country for awhile and need mobile data, I can stick a local sim card in it for the best rates.

But if I’m going to be there just a short time, I’ve been using Gigsky. Their sim card lets me buy a local plan for a fixed amount of data through their app. I get better data rates than roaming and faster speeds than T-mobile (3G/4G versus 2G). I have to buy a new prepaid plan for each country I visit, though.

Via ScottC there may be an even better solution.

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No, the CIA Didn’t Blow Up Malaysia AIrlines Flight MH17. Why Do You Ask?

by Gary Leff

Apr 25 2016

There’s a new BBC documentary exploring alternate theories of what happened to the Malaysia Airlines MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that crashed on July 17, 2014 after being shot down. The Boeing 777-200ER was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew. All were killed.

It’s fairly settled that the plane was shot down by a surface to air missile filed from within Ukraine, in an area controlled by pro-Russian forces (the “Donbass People’s Militia”). However, this new BBC documentary explores alternate — pro-Russian — theories of the event.

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This Woman Lived at the Waldorf Astoria for Over 50 Years, Owed a Million Dollars in Back Rent

by Gary Leff

Apr 24 2016

Rosalind “Roz” Cole was an agent who represented several celebrities including Andy Warhol, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland. She owed $1 million to the Waldorf Astoria in New York when she died.

She stopped paying years ago and refused to leave. Her family doesn’t want her estate – worth more than $2 million – to pay because the property should have “resolved [this] while Cole was alive.”

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Air India: Worst Negotiator in the World, Fails to Get Purchase Protection From Boeing

by Gary Leff

Apr 24 2016

The airline that can’t rid itself of rats on its planes can’t negotiate when purchasing planes, either.

They’ve had to ground their Boeing 787s multiple times, and incurred losses as a result, but “There is no provision for (financial) compensation with respect to technical problems in Dreamliner under the agreement signed with Boeing.” They have to accept Boeing 777 aircraft that they do not want, too.

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Minnesotans Want to Rename Delta’s Minneapolis Terminal for Prince

by Gary Leff

Apr 24 2016

Terminal 1 of Minneapolis-St. Paul airport is named for Charles Lindbergh, who grew up in Minnesota. The 2.8 million square foot, 114 gate terminal houses Delta’s hub as well as operations for United, American, Frontier, Air Canada, Alaska, and Air France.

Now there’s a change.org petition to strip Lindbergh’s name off the terminal and redesignate it for Prince.

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