News and notes from around the interweb:
- Citibank will replace tens of thousands of call center employees with machines and since this is Citi implementing an IT project you know it will go well.
Copyright: missisya / 123RF Stock Photo - Could smart fabric make your airline seat more comfortable? Airlines could start by not removing padding from seats to gain half an inch. (HT: Jeff W.)
- Cathay Pacific inflight wifi progress and completion timeline.
In response to the on-demand inflight connectivity, we are excited to announce that we have upgraded about a quarter of our passenger fleet to offer inflight Wi-Fi. This is set to be completed for all wide-body aircraft by the end of 2021. https://t.co/Xx6VzrlCLo
— Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) February 13, 2019
- A man checked a gun on a United flight. United sent it on a different flight. And it was stolen from the baggage carousel. I guess that puts to rest the old idea that an airline will never lose your luggage if you check a starter pistol.
- Alaska Airlines is building a new 8500 square foot lounge in San Francisco’s terminal 2 with rooftop views. They expect it to open next year.
- Stay one night get a free night:
875 Free Coast Rewards Points for joining + 875 Coast Rewards Points on your first stay – enough points for one free night pic.twitter.com/b6wGYvU52B
— FrequentFlyerBonuses (@FFBonuses) February 20, 2019
- 10,000 American AAdvantage miles with home security system
Here we go again. Clickbait all over.
A few comments on the “starter pistol” trick: 1) You don’t need a firearm of any kind, you only need a pelican case with locks on it and it’s treated as if it’s a firearm. Federal regulations prevent it from being labeled as such, so it’s handled the same way. This is important if you get diverted to a place where you can’t normally possess a firearm, such as New York City. You don’t want to go to jail because they can’t tell that you have a starter pistol.
2) Most airlines will have special handling for things that they think are firearms in that they require you to claim them separate from the rest of the luggage. Given United’s track record at following their own policies, I’d chalk this up to a mistake.