Goodness knows I give Christopher Elliott a hard time about his columns when I think they’re wrong. I gave him a piece of my mind just this past weekend. But he’s got a pretty sensible column in today’s Washington Post, where he explains why it’s a bad idea to write tarmac delay rules into law. A bunch of ostensibly pro-consumer lobbying groups want legislation to address tarmac delays, when regulation has already done so — long tarmac delays were exceedingly rare to begin with, almost nonexistent now, and the costs of rules extracting massive fines for such delays have simply led to more flight cancellations instead (which don’t obviously make consumers better off, to say the least). Oddly, these groups want legislation in absence of a problem and when consumers themselves are hardly up in…
Hawaii Airfare on Sale — $450 and $500 from the East Coast
There’s been a ton of battling back and forth over Hawaii fares the past few weeks, mostly it’s been Delta coming into other airline hubs and dropping price down to the $450 level, for example DC or Chicago through Atlanta to Honolulu. US Airways has gone into Delta hubs and done the same thing. Yesterday Delta dropped Philadelphia – Atlanta – Honolulu down to $450 or so, it’s gone now unfortunately. This morning I woke up to United offering these fares out of its own hubs with fares as low as $518 from the East Coast. Two-day minimum stay, fares are in the G and T buckets, and June/July/August seem to come in about $100 more. But I found Labor Day Weekend from DC for $538. Naturally, I don’t expect the fares to last long,…
Get $25 and a Good Chance of Winning an iPad2 for Joining the Milepoint.com Kiva Lending Team
I previously reported that Milepoint was offering $25 towards your microlending at Kiva.org. Specifically, that the first 200 members to join Milepoint.com’s ‘lending team’ on Kiva would receive $25 for their Kiva account after making $25 in loans. Well, Randy Petersen has upped the ante. If 200 people join during the month of May (and we’re over halfway there), then one person will be drawn at random to win an iPad2. That’s in addition to the $25 that each person will get for their Kiva account. So it’s a roughly one-in-200 chance to win an iPad. From Randy’s email, Called MilepointMonday, it highlights a membership drive among frequent flyers on the milepoint.com website. Their month-of-May membership drive is to recruit 200 new members to their Kiva Lending Team. Kiva.org if you don’t know is a…
Continental Mastercard Double Miles for Online Shopping Ends July 19
Via Milepoint, Continental is eliminating their offer of double miles for shopping through the Onepass portal for customers with the Continental Mastercard. On July 19, 2011, the ShopOnePass Twice the Miles program will be ending. Although you’ll no longer receive double miles on purchases made with your Continental Airlines Chase credit or debit card after the program ends, you will continue to earn valuable miles when you shop at ShopOnePass. I loved double miles for online shopping via the Onepass mall for having the Continental Mastercard, it’s why I kept the card. This benefit was one of the few differences between Chase’s offerings between United and Continental, none of the United cards had this feature. Although in nearly every other case where United and Continental have been different, the two carriers have gone with Continental’s…
Combating Rampant Hotel Towel Theft Through Use of Technology
Via Bruce Schneier, hotel towel theft is a much bigger issue than I had ever imagined, though my impression was based solely on the fact that I don’t ever take hotel towels. (I suppose it was especially irrational to hold this impression after Priority Club held a towel day in 2003.) I would have expected the incidence of towel theft to have dropped now that most travelers pay for checked bags, extra towels in the luggage presumably spill over into a need for more checked bags and thus hardly remain free. Apparently in Nigeria last year someone was sentenced to 3 months in jail for stealing two towels. The hotel that was victimized was a Hilton, not a Priority Club property, the culprit should have waited for the next amnesty and selected hotels more carefully.…
Christopher Elliott’s Interview with the TSA’s Blogger Bob
Christopher Elliott interview’s the TSA’s Blogger Bob though unfortunately he tosses mostly softballs like, [What are the] qualifications for working at TSA. Also, how much training do agents get? [H]ow do you like working for the TSA. What are the most unusual items TSA officials have discovered in a pat-down? How do you feel about alliteration? If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? (Ok, just kidding about that one) When he does let a ‘tough question’ get through, he doesn’t ask any follow-ups. So he passes along a reader question, “Does the TSA believe it is making America safer? Can you name any specific, recent threats that TSA has stopped?” and lets Blogger Bob get away with “[Federal Air Marshals] have interceded on many flights to stop aggressive actions by…
United Plans to Keep Channel 9 (Air Traffic Control as Part of Inflight Audio)
When I wrote about changes already announced and those still pending with the United-Continental merger last week, I meant to mention ‘Channel 9’ and simply forgot. United has long offered one of my favorite onboard features, at the pilot’s discretion, the ability for passengers to listen to air traffic control (on channel 9 of inflight audio). Pilots don’t always turn it on, some explicitly don’t like it and will not, but I’ll often ask a flight attendant whether channel 9 will be on for the flight and if they’ve learned during preflight briefing that it will not be I will politely request that they ask the pilot to reconsider, frequently they will when a passenger is requesting it. Look, I don’t care about the tulip. I suppose I do care about the Blue Carpet replacing…
Air India Finally Prepared to Join Star Alliance
Air India was invited to join Star Alliance in late 2007, and all sorts of problems with the carrier have continually pushed off the joining date. Apparently, however, now that Air India and Indian Airlines are operating jointly under the Air India code, they’ve finally met the minimum joining requirements. Last May Air India’s entry was put off – yet again – “until March 2011.” That deadline unsurprisingly passed. It sounds as though their joining may finally be imminent, which is all well and good though I’m not especially excited about the prospect of reciprocal earn and burn with them (though more options are certainly better than fewer). I am somewhat non-plussed because it suggests that Jet Airways may be less likely to become a Star Alliance member as a result. Though with Kingfisher tying…
Two Of My Favorite Benefits from Different Loyalty Programs Discontinued
When Radisson hotels announced the end of Goldpoints plus and its replacement with Club Carlson, I said that I really hoped they retained their “Our World, Your Lounge” benefit. One of the most interesting, innovative offers by hotel programs, their hotels in Europe, Middle East, and Africa offered elite members complimentary coffee, tea or hot chocolate for two people and use of free wireless internet any time, whether they were registered guests or not. It was a really a nice benefit that didn’t cost the hotels much at all but really created a feeling of belonging and a special relationship with the chain for its elite members. It’s one benefit that I really hoped other chains might pick up on, instead it’s been discontinued. British Airways is ending its Open Doors Policy for Gold member…
Free Points for Social Media Checkins
Since last summer TopGuest has been offering points for check-ins on Foursquare at various hotel chains. They started with Priority Club, added Hilton and some others. And though I was initially skeptical, I quickly made it a part of my daily routine. I check in at the Holiday Inn a couple of blocks from my office each day, and also at a Doubletree a few miles away as well. And I get 50 Priority Club and 50 Hilton HHonors points daily. Unfortunately though I do this frequently I cannot become ‘mayor’ of either property, because I travel too much, there appears to be someone checking in at each hotel who literally does it every single day without fail. Yesterday it was reported that Best Western Rewards has been added to Topguest. That prompted me to…
