You Stopped Buying Tickets This Year. Airlines Are Taking Your Money Anyway.

by Gary Leff

Dec 21 2020

You haven’t been buying airline tickets, but the airlines are taking your money anyway. $15 billion in the latest Congressional spending package goes to the airlines, a second bailout. In exchange they have to bring back workers that have been involuntarily furloughed, and can’t furlough again until April 1.

$15 billion, retroactive to December 1, will be provided to cover four months of airline payroll. That’s $375,000 per furloughed worker at an annual run rate of $1.5 million per job, perhaps the most expensive jobs program in history.

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You Didn’t Travel Much In 2020, But With This Luggage You’ll Look Like You Did

by Gary Leff

Dec 20 2020

Some travelers think when you buy new luggage, you have to worry about it getting dinged and scraped, but I don’t think that’s true. The whole point of luggage is to protect what’s inside of it. Getting nicked is literally what it’s for. And the well-worn look just means the luggage has been with you through many journeys.

But what if you want your bags to look damaged from the start, like a new pair or torn jeans?

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The Case Against Post-Covid Business Travel. Will You Ever Fly Again The Way You Used To?

by Gary Leff

airplane seats
Dec 20 2020

With more and more Americans testing positive for Covid-19, and with the first (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine already rolling out, we’re likely approaching the final stages of the pandemic. But are we all going to go right back to normal, how things were before?

Now that everyone uses Zoom remote work is better than it used to be. People coming into a meeting by video that’s happening in person used to be second class attendees For a large subset of white collar workers work from home simply works better.

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It’s Easy To Enter The U.S. Illegally, And Not Even Mean To Do It

by Gary Leff

passport getting stamped
Dec 20 2020

Usually a airline employee – not a government official – is all that stands in the way of a plane load of arriving passengers becoming illegal immigrants.

Terminal D at Dallas Fort-Worth is the international terminal, but it’s used for domestic flights too. Whether or not you’re directed to immigration and customs depends on which doors are open or closed when you get off the aircraft.

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7 Ways Hotel Stays Will Change After The Pandemic

by Gary Leff

loews
Dec 20 2020

Hotels have gone through a deeper recession than any current executive or property owner has ever experienced. Many properties have closed, some will change hands. And costs have been cut wherever possible.

Guest expectations have changed too – around service and cleanliness – while there’s never been more of a need to compete for a limited amount of business, something that will remain true even as the pandemic comes to a close. Here are 7 things to expect for hotel stays going forward.

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American Airlines Meeting Passengers At The Airport To Warn Them Against ‘Throwaway Ticketing’

by Gary Leff

american plane
Dec 20 2020

Airlines have tried to crack down on the money-saving practice of ‘throwaway ticketing’ for years. You buy a flight to somewhere that connects beyond your final destination because it’s cheaper, and just don’t take the flight.

A reader was recently approached by American Airlines customer service staff at the airport and warned against throwaway ticketing. He did it anyway. Here’s what happened.

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What Do We Know About The Mutated Covid-19 Strain That’s Shutting Down The U.K.?

by Gary Leff

Dec 20 2020

The Netherlands has banned passenger flights from the U.K. in response to reports of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 that spreads more easily. Planes can bring passengers to the U.K. but must return without passengers. The virus mutation has been detected in Denmark and Australia, but has not been discovered in the U.S. (yet).

What we know so far is that U.K. scientists believe it is far more transmissible, but doesn’t seem to be more dangerous, and shouldn’t mitigate the effectiveness of vaccines.

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Google Offering Direct Booking Of Airfare, Could Change How Travel Is Sold

by Gary Leff

Dec 19 2020

Google is a great source for finding flights and hotels as well as activities at your destination. Eight years ago Google was on the cusp of becoming your new travel agent and the online travel agencies (like Expedia) were trying to get the federal government to stop them.

Until now Google has largely sent travelers to other sites to make bookings.

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