Hotel Guest Jailed For Writing Bad Review On TripAdvisor

by Gary Leff

Sep 26 2020

An American working in Thailand, Wesley Barnes, was arrested at his job and jailed over a defamation lawsuit filed by the owner of the Sea View Resort & Spa, Kah Change in response to a negative TripAdvisor review.

The man posted a one star review in July and two months later he was picked up by Thai police. It was a Friday and he “ended up spending a couple of nights in jail” before bring able to post 100,000 Baht (~ US$3165) bail. He faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

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The Government Can Now Order American Airlines To Continue Flying To Small Cities

by Gary Leff

Sep 25 2020

American Airlines has been threatening to leave small cities if Congress doesn’t extend another $25 billion in payroll support. However one of the provisions of the CARES Act says an airline taking subsidized loans – which American just did – can be ordered by the Secretary of Transportation to continue service to small towns, as well as anywhere that it’s necessary for pharmaceutical supply chains.

No further legislation or subsidy is required to insist on continued air service. Any city losing American Airlines air service now only does so because the federal government has decided to permit it.

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American Airlines Won’t Put Their Full T&C Online, Says DOT Can’t Make Them

by Gary Leff

Sep 25 2020

American’s argument boils down to DOT rules were never updated for the information age so they’re permitted to keep their rules off the website where customers would normally expect to find them. As American puts it, “[t]he tariff public inspection requirements were first adopted by the Civil
Aeronautics Board (“CAB”) in 1965, well before the development of the World Wide Web.”

In other words, American says they haven’t broken any rules because the rules themselves are broken.

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15 Things I Love About the Southwest Performance Card

by Gary Leff

Sep 25 2020

Last year Chase launched a new premium Southwest Airlines business card. This was the card I wanted most in the fall and fortunately I was able to get approved for it. It puts earning a companion pass in reach and I’m loking forward to traveling with my wife and daughter again (my wife as my companion, daughter on points) — and the points from the card go a long way to a bunch of those tickets, especially when I then top off with Chase Ultimate Rewards points which’ll essentially become doubled in value.

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Thai Airways Is Earning Cash Offering Training Courses To Anyone With $89

by Gary Leff

Sep 25 2020

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the coronavirus pandemic has created plenty of necessity. Thai Airways is in the midst of restructuring and they’re looking for revenue anywhere they can find it.

Among the course options, for 2800 Baht ($89) you can learn to be a flight attendant. Their safety course lets you head down the emergency slide and put a real fire out on a plane. You can even take cooking classes to make inflight Thai meals.

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