How Hair Is The New Trend In Awful Air Travel Behavior

by Gary Leff

Mar 13 2023

A passenger on a Delta flight from Nashville to Minneapolis found a way to annoy a passenger she wasn’t even sitting next to her, and she did it without saying a word.

The woman on the Airbus A319 draped her hair over the seat back behind her. What makes it worse it that Delta Air Lines has seat back entertainment screens, so she was blocking the screen of the passenger sitting behind her. That passenger kept trying to move her hair out of the way. She kept moving it back over the screen.

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Saudi Arabia Launches New Airline

by Gary Leff

airport terminal
Mar 12 2023

Saudi Arabia has a national airline, Saudia. It’s government-owned. But the government doesn’t like it, or something? Because they’re starting a new government airline, Riyadh Air, and they’re sharing details publicly.

Riyadh Air plans to fly to 100 destinations b 2030, and are about to place a major order, possibly for 100 Boeing widebody aircraft. The former CEO of Etihad, Tony Douglas, will run the airline. His experience is in dismantling state carrier excess, not lighting money on fire for its own sake.

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Airline Passengers Forced To Endure Violin Concert On Transatlantic Flight

by Gary Leff

Mar 12 2023

On an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to New York JFK Saturday, passengers pulled out their violins and played for the cabin as St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaches.

The music is excellent, but this isn’t what everyone had signed up for. There’s no “no music” section of the aircraft. It’s been described as ‘Aches On A Plane’ and we’re all just waiting for Samuel L. Jackson.

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Review: Virgin Hotels Dallas

by Gary Leff

Mar 12 2023

The Virgin brand hasn’t taken hold in the U.S. the way it has in other parts of the English-speaking world. It stands for being a bit cheeky, a bit cheeky, but often more style over substance. And in the case of the 268 room Virgin Hotels Dallas that means a straightforward full service property with… splashes of red, and one of Richard Branson’s books in the room.

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Does It Matter If An Airport’s Management Is Corrupt Or Incompetent?

by Gary Leff

Mar 12 2023

Some of the most successful airports in the country are also frequently considered to be among the least well run or most corrupt. I’d put the New York area airports (Port Authority of New York New Jersey), Washington Dulles and National Airports (Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority), Atlanta and Detroit in this camp.

So does it matter if an airport is well run?

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How Delta Could Have Reduced Crowding, Instead Of Kicking Employees And Customers Out Of Sky Clubs

by Gary Leff

airport lounge
Mar 11 2023

Delta has a close collaboration with Starbucks already. American Express has given out Starbucks gift cards occasionally in the past when denying cardmembers access due to lounge crowding. Surely they could team to buy these cards at a big discount, driving business to Starbucks and freeing up lounge space.

A Delta Sky Club Executive membership went up by $650 this year. The airline could allow members paying $1495 back into the lounge when traveling on a basic economy fare. That extra membership cost covers a lot of $8 gift cards purchased for some percentage off of that.

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Tipping Hotel Housekeeping Is A Bad Practice That You Should Do Anyway

by Gary Leff

toilet
Mar 11 2023

Hotels want guests to give tips to workers, so they can pay lower wages. The CEO of one hotel ownership group actually said the quiet part out loud.

In 2019 Hilton’s CEO said that even he didn’t tip housekeeping. But now hotels are pushing it, and we face a collective action problem. The practice pushes down housekeeper wages, but if an individual guest doesn’t do it that’s less money in a given housekeeper’s pocket on that given day.

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