New York Magazine has a fascinating piece on D.B. Cooper and a look into the only skyjacking case that has ever gone unsolved. That night changed aviation history. It started in Portland, Oregon, when a man walked up to the flight counter of Northwest Orient Airlines. He was wearing a dark raincoat, dark suit with skinny black tie, and carrying an attaché case. He had perky ears, thin lips, a wide forehead, receding hair. He gave his name, Dan Cooper, and asked for a one-way ticket to Seattle, Flight 305. The ride was a 30-minute puddle jump. He sat in the last row of the plane, 18-C, lit a cigarette, and ordered a bourbon and soda. The plane took off and he passed the stewardess a note. Thirty-five years later there may be a hint…
How Government Spends Taxpayer Money Wisely
I’ve blogged about the inanity of the Essential Air Service Program (eg here and here). Now Alex Tabarrok is on the case. Per-passenger subsidies on flights (many of which average 3 passengers or less) are greater than the subsidies to Amtrak. In most cases, passengers just drive to larger airports for non-stop flights, but airline and airport lobbying keeps the waste alive. Alex cites a USA Today piece noting a just-approved subsidy for Atlantic Southeast Airlines (a Delta regional affiliate and the single worst airline operating in the continental United States) to pay 60% of ASA’s cost to fly two round-trips a day between Macon, Ga., and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, 81 miles away. The airline projects that passengers will pay an average of $78 for a one-way ticket – and that flights, typically on…
Why Do Rental Car Companies Charge for an Extra Driver?
Sometimes travel just doesn’t make any sense, and looking for logical explanations is a fruitless task. Here we have David Friedman in search of an economic explanation for rental car companies charging extra for an additional driver. Some car rental companies–including Thrifty at the Boston Airport, where we picked up a car yesterday–charge a significant amount if you want to have two different people allowed to drive the car. It’s hard to see why their cost is any higher if my wife and I take turns driving, instead of her doing all of it. And one might think the risk of accidents that damage their car would be less if we were free to have me drive when she is tired. So why the charge? A vexxing question to a law professor and economist (son…
New Year’s at the Westin Diplomat, or Learning About the Beauty of Shoulder Season the Hard Way
Regular readers of this blog will know that I absolutely adore the Westin Diplomat outside Fort Lauderdale. It’s without a doubt the best Starwood property for Platinum recognition. They have about 86 suites in the upgrade pool for platinums, many being corner suites with wraparound balconies looking out at both the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway. Additionally, they have an absolutely lovely club lounge on the 33rd floor with both indoor and outdoor seating, also looking out both at the ocean and waterway. The club offers three food presentations daily, nice flatscreen televisions, and a bountiful selection of newspapers (I can even grab my Sunday New York Times there without much difficulty).It’s a big property to be sure, but they’ve always managed their size well. In the past the valet has been quick to grab…
I Hate Trip Insurance
Only buy insurance for expensive items you couldn’t afford to replace. Most people shouldn’t buy extended warranties and shouldn’t buy travel insurance. If you can afford to replace the item, save the money from the insurance and self-insure. Insurance for inexpensive items is generally a bad buy, that’s why it’s profitable for companies to offer, on the whole the premiums will be greater than the payouts. That’s true even after adjusting for adverse selection, a recognition that many buyers will be precisely the people who believe they’ll wind up with a valid claim. You’re still betting that the company standing behind the warranty or insurance will be around to pay out. And you’re betting that you can make them pay out, without the effort in doing so being more costly than the value of the…
Is that a spare battery in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
The TSA’s new rules on batteries are going to get plenty of press, and my thoughts will be hardly original. Suffice to say that it took me awhile to figure them out, I can’t imagine how this will translate to the median traveler … and to TSA screeners who will be forced to understand the difference between lithium metal, lithium ion, and NiMH batteries and calculate watt hours of unlabeled batteries. Short version, you can no longer pack spare batteries in your checked bags. And you can only carry on two spare batteries (how will screeners know if you limit any single item going through an x-ray machine to two batteries?). And those spare batteries are limited by a formula that requires more chemistry than I remember from college, but the TSA assures that cell…
The Joys of Domestic Holiday Travel
I’m sitting in the American Airlines Aadmiral’s Club, flight delayed, waiting on inbound aircraft.This lounge doesn’t even sell food, which I’m lamenting at the moment (normally I abhor the practice). The only available snacks are three leftover donuts from breakfast (it’s 11:30am). There’s coffee and water. I’ve been sitting here for about 90 minutes and there hasn’t been a bartender yet (it’s 5 o’clock somewhere…besides, even a sods or virgin bloody mary would be nice). No newspapers on the rack, either. I can access the lounge through either my American Express Platinum card or my British Airways status. But free wireless – a new introduction for American lounges – is only available to club members and those entering on day passes. One-time passholders get free internet, I do not. Thus I’m posting through my laptop…
Tumi Winter Sale!
Naturally after Christmas means after Christmas sales. So the twice-yearly Tumi sale is back. Tumi is, on the whole, my favorite luggage but the standard pricing is rather prohibitive. Some report success trolling overstock types of stores like TJ Maxx, but I tend to just wait around for the Summer and Winter sales. This go-round, though, the sale items seem a bit limited… especially for rolling luggage. EVReward shows the best referral offers for Tumi purchases, personally I’ll take 5 American Airlines miles per dollar spent as a nice way to cap off the deals Tumi is offering on dscontinued styles and colors. (Definitely start any of your purchases with that American link.)
20% Off and Free Shipping at W Hotel Store
Through December 31, promo code G2X8P is valid for 20% off and free shipping at the W Hotel Store. Now, that’s not the time to buy W Hotel Beds. I bought mine under a 40% off deal, and I believe beds come with free delivery to begin with. But it’s perfect for purchasing Bliss products. The W/Bliss partnership served its purpose with me, they’ve hooked me on their soaps, shampoos, etc. And it turns out that the W Hotel Store offers quite reasonable prices on them. Shipping can be a killer, though. But 20% off and no shipping cost makes this the go-to place for Bliss products.
Luggage Deals
Luggage Factory has some pretty good deals on TravelPro bags, like the 22″ carryon for $49.90 and the 28″ rolling bag for $69.90. As far as I can tell there are no additional rewards for shopping with them, check out their coupon page and other free offer banners (there’s a free toiletery kit for spending $150 or more, but it’s not worth hitting the spend threshold just for the bonus). TravelPro isn’t Tumi, but assuming the items are genuine ithey’re unheard of prices for good bags.
