View from the Wing

The sad state of airport security

by Gary Leff on February 8, 2005

Feb 08 2005

When India’s Minister for Civil Aviation can say with a straight face that India’s airports are more secure than US airports, I view that as a strong indictment of US security policy. Anyone who has traveled through a major Indian airport must shake their head, though more at the chaos than the security. And it’s true that there haven’t been major recent security incidents there that I’m aware of. But the US should be looking pretty hard at itself when claims like these are made openly. (Comments are open, feel free to flame away.)

Why Couldn’t I Have Been on THAT Flight?

by Gary Leff on February 8, 2005

Feb 08 2005

Lara Flynn Boyle flashed her breasts and tried to climb into bed with a male stranger on board a British Airways flight in first class from Los Angeles to London.Passengers say they saw the star naked and “wild-eyed” as she leaned over a male passenger, tried to get into his bed, pushed up the window blind next to the man and shouted: “We’re landing, get your clothes on” – even though the flight was still more than four hours away from Heathrow. The cabin crew gave the actress a blanket to cover herself. But the show continued as she ripped out a reading light from her seat, thrust it at a steward and demanded: “Get rid of this and get it out of my sight for ever and ever.’ She then walked to the lavatory,…

Editing Your Own Boarding Passes at Home

by Gary Leff on February 7, 2005

Feb 07 2005

Andy Bowers writes that online checkin is a security threat. I always thought it was a great way to meet friends and family at their gate and use airline clubs as a free pub on days I’m not traveling.

Free reading materials. Heh heh. Reading materials.

by Gary Leff on February 6, 2005

Feb 06 2005

Get free subscriptions to Maxim, Stuff, and the Sporting News.

USAirways Club Signup Bonus

by Gary Leff on February 3, 2005

Feb 03 2005

Through February 11, USAirways is offering 10,000 Dividend Miles for signing up for a lounge membership with promo code CLB10. That’s a pretty good bonus offer, but while USAirways has some breathing room to operate I’m not sure I’d be investing in anything that last’s a full year with them. They may well be around, but I’d rather fly to Vegas and put the money on black. Better return that way. Besides, it still offends me that USAirways charges extra for accessing partner lounges. If I just wanted access to the club on the carrier that I was flying on the day that I was flying with them, I’d probably buy an Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge membership.

eBay Member-Get-Member Offer

by Gary Leff on January 30, 2005

Jan 30 2005

eBay has a new member-get-member promotion. Existing members can refer new members. If a new member buys something for $10 or more or lists something for sale within 30 days, both the referring member and the new member receive 500 eBay Anything Points. Those points, of course, can be used for eBay purchases (500 points = $5 credit) or converted to airline or hotel points at Points.com. I can of course refer anyone who wishes to join eBay, just drop me an email. But most people have joined at one point or another I imagine?

What to do with a Mac Mini?

by Gary Leff on January 29, 2005

Jan 29 2005

I still don’t know what I’m going to do with a free Mac Mini but this Wired piece suggests it can turned into a livingroom video recorder, a media center for cars, or a toaster. Though that last one may be a little too MacGyver for me.

Pork for Alaska’s Airports

by Gary Leff on January 29, 2005

Jan 29 2005

John Stossel’s ABC News piece last night contained some interesting nuggets, including this about proposed changes to the Ketchikan International Airport in Alaska: Years ago Congress gave money to the little tourist town of Ketchikan, with only 14,000 residents, for an airport on a nearby island. Ketchikan International has six to eight flights a day, and people get there by taking a short ferry ride — which they love. The scenic ride takes 500 air travelers a day to or from the airport in just seven minutes Alaska resident Mike Sallee likes the ferry ride. He said, “I think our existing ferry system is just dandy and it doesn’t cost $200 million.” The $200 million refers to the fact that Young recently persuaded legislators that Ketchikan needs a bridge to the airport. And Young doesn’t…

Bush Administration to Raise Taxes on Travelers

by Gary Leff on January 28, 2005

Jan 28 2005

The Bush Administration is proposing to more than double the airline security tax under its budget for the Homeland Security Department. Bush’s plan calls for boosting the security fee from $2.50 to $5.50 for a one-way airline ticket and from a maximum of $5 to $8 for multiple legs. The hikes are expected to generate $1.5 billion. I know this makes sense to me, since the Department of Homeland Security gets so much value out of the budget they have now. Any money will surely be well spent. Heh.(Hat tip to Tripso Daily.)

Southwest introduces downloadable inflight entertainment, sort of

by Gary Leff on January 27, 2005

Jan 27 2005

Southwest Airlines has an offer for a free movie download from Movielink.com as part of their effort to introduce in-flight entertainment. They won’t install movie screens or inflight audio. Instead, they encourage you to download a movie and watch it.