Delta’s ‘Queer Eye’ Safety Video That Will Never Be Seen On Board

by Gary Leff

I’m not sure how much value ‘fun’ safety videos actually ad. Do they get us to pay attention? Perhaps, but I’m not sure they get us to understand, internalize, and remember the safety information. Perhaps we focus on and remember the non-safety elements to the exclusion of the information that’s more important.

I love creativity in these videos anyway. They’re fun, they make me smile. Queer Eye (née Queer Eye For The Straight Guy) doesn’t do it for me per se, I’m beyond reclamation, but I applaud the attempt nonetheless.

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The Rental Car Apocalypse, In One Photo

by Gary Leff

Jul 07 2021

Rental car prices have in many cases become the biggest expense of a trip. Rental companies offloaded vehicle inventories during the pandemic, and didn’t place orders. The market for cars is tight. And travel has picked back up. So there’s more people looking for cars than there are cars. Prices are sky high.

On my most recent trip Hertz was oversold by more than 60 and they had just one car. I got it. In situations like this I recommend tipping. You can debate in the comments whether the current circumstance justifies making more than one rental reservation, from different car companies. That fails Kantian ethics (how would this look if everyone did it?) but it’s a guerrilla tactic in a Mad Max-style world where everyone is out for themselves.

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After Gutting Elite Breakfast, Hilton Introduces A Brand With No Diamond Lounge Access

by Gary Leff

Jul 07 2021

Hilton Honors was a weak loyalty program to begin with. It was less rewarding for your spend than you realized in terms of free nights earned – it offers lower rebates for both general members and for top elites than the other major chains (I show my work) – and more modest elite benefits than Hyatt and even the consistently inconsistent Marriott.

However what Hilton had going for it is breakfast. That was offered at all brands, without exceptions, and offered even to Golds. Gold is more or less a giveaway level, available via many credit cards and historically bundled via a number of promotions.

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American Airlines Union Wants Bad Behaving Passengers Reported To The FBI

by Gary Leff

tsa logo with text on top
Jul 06 2021

Occasionally things have gotten out of hand, and passengers have become violent. There’s a much greater proportion of leisure passengers now, and first-time passengers, than ever before (“every airline’s passengers are Spirit Airlines passengers now”) and we’ve seen video of shocking confrontations that became violent against cabin crew. Those are so shocking, in part, because they are also still so unusual.

However the American Airlines flight attendants union is telling its members that if things escalate to create an unsafe situation, getting law enforcement involved may not be enough. They should get the FBI involved.

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Teenagers Who Staged A Mask Protest Forced To Spend Night In Charlotte Airport

by Gary Leff

Jul 06 2021

American Airlines flight AA893 from Charlotte to Nassau went mechanical on Monday, and the airline switched aircraft to get passengers on their way. Already delayed several hours, tensions were running high. And a group of high school students on board chose the moment they were on their second aircraft, ready to depart, to stage a mask protest that “lasted for hours.”

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