Report: Sam Bankman-Fried Tracked Fleeing To Argentina Following Looting Of Crypto Exchange

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2022

This week we saw the wealth of crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried drop by 95% from a previous high of nearly $25 billion to less than $1 billion, while it appeared that his trading firm, FTX, turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and customer funds had been raided to fill a huge hole at his trading firm Alameda Research.

It appears that he may have fled the Bahamas for Argentina during the night, after remaining customer funds at the bankrupt exchange had their wallets drained to zero.

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When Asking To Switch Seats, You Need To Offer Something Better To The Other Passenger

by Gary Leff

airline seats
Nov 11 2022

Finally someone understands and has accepted a lesson I have been preaching for years. Stop complaining that passengers won’t trade seats with you when you’re offering a middle seat in the back, and asking for an extra legroom aisle seat. If you are looking to trade, you need to come up with the best trade bait possible. Don’t expect someone to downgrade their flight experience for your convenience. At a minimum, offer like-for-like.

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American Airlines Tells Flight Attendants: Crack Down On Passengers Moving To Extra Legroom Seats

by Gary Leff

airplane seats
Nov 11 2022

It used to be that when the doors of the aircraft closed, passengers could re-arrange themselves freely. If there were empty seats, you’d see passengers spread out for more room. That made sense.

However airlines now charge for seats, and they don’t even just charge for extra legroom seats. An aisle seat and even a window can cost more than a middle. A seat towards the front of the cabin might cost more, too.

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Review: Alila Fort Bishangarh, Rajasthan, India

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2022

Though I’ve been to India many times, it’s been several years since I’ve made the trip. And while I’m familiar with Hyatt’s Alila brand, I haven’t yet visited one in the Mideast or India. So I was happy to hear from reader Doug Hess after his recent trip to India, and to have him share his experience at Alila Fort Bishangarh in Rajasthan. It looks fantastic. It wasn’t on my radar, but I’m inclined to check it out myself now.

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Now That President Xi Has Secured Power, China Eases Covid Controls

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2022

Among other things, airlines will no longer be penalized for bringing a Covid case into the country. Yet nothing has changed in China – they still aren’t using Western vaccines, the vast majority of the population remains immunologically naive – except for Xi having broken with precedent to extend his time in office, while vanquishing rival power centers.

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Bullet Pierces Cabin Of Middle East Airline Plane As It Lands In Beirut

by Gary Leff

Nov 10 2022

SkyTeam member Middle East Airlines had a bullet pierce an Airbus A320 that was landing in Beirut after a short 40 minute flight from Amman, Jordan.

The bullet pierced the fuselage of the aircraft before it landed on Beirut’s runway 16. It’s not believed to have been intentional or involved terrorism – careless gunfire near the airport hits several parked planes there each year, though it’s the first moving aircraft I’m aware of that was hit.

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New Driverless ‘Remote Control’ Cars Being Tested At Pittsburgh Airport

by Gary Leff

Nov 10 2022

Not only don’t we have flying cars, we don’t really have full self-driving ones either. Eventually my daughter’s children will ask me, “Grandpa, is it true you used to drive cars yourself? How did you manage to avoid getting in accidents all the time?” The truth is we didn’t!

It feels like the babiest step imaginable in this process, but driverless ‘remote control’ cars are now being tested at the Pittsburgh airport.

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