News and notes from around the interweb:
- Flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines working flights to Canada keep disappearing as soon as they land. I assumed they became illegal immigrants. I wouldn’t want to go back to Pakistan, either. Turns out they’re claiming asylum. The airline now schedules older crew with families who are less likely to defect from return flight duties.
[T]hese incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.
“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,”
- Delta Air Lines Scolded Passenger For Stealing Fruit – But Sky Club Members Are Fighting Back It’s been over six months and frequent flyers still won’t let it go:
- “The Secret to Good Airport Design: Aesthetic vs Efficiency” (HT: Kevin R)
- This is why we can’t have nice infrastructure
- United really kills these milestone moments
Ok @United, I complain a lot, but this was cool. (Just hit 2 million miles with them. So got a upfront invite.). pic.twitter.com/ERJQEVZf0p
— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) October 12, 2024
- Signing Credit-Card Receipts Is Pointless. Why Do We Still Do It?
- The first thing I would do years ago, when I first started traveling constantly for work (and there were still phone books!) is place the phone book underneath the alarm clock with the spine facing the bed. That way when I woke up in the middle of the night I’d know where I was, because the city was always written on the spine.
Here’s someone who points their shoes towards the elevator when they first arrive, so they don’t forget which way down the hall the elevator is. (HT: Paul H)
@allycase1 High key makes sense for someone who is in a million different hotel rooms per week ♀️ #traveltip #travelhack #hoteltip #hotelhack ♬ original sound – Ally Case
If Pakistani flight attendants are actually doing this,then there is obviously something very questionable going on in Pakistan, especially if these attendants are trying to escape from and maybe that should be investigated
“I wouldn’t want to go back to Canada, either.”
Employes of Pakistan International Airlines are more likely to be Pakistaniis, nicht Wahr?
If you cannot hire a copy editor, would you PLEASE read your writings before you tap ? Please, just because you speak a little bit of English doesn’t give you permission to butcher our language with poor, lazy, breezy writing.
Why don’t you just leave it to Canada to write your copy?
So the whole story about PIA cabin crew about abandoning ship is over 8 people in an 18 month period? They made it sound like this was happening all the time. I wonder how that compares to the frequency of cabin crew of other airlines and nationalities that fly to Canadian airports – Moroccan, Algerian, etc. – jumping ship? I bet PIA’s losses aren’t materially more than others, and I actually am surprised that these cases aren’t more common given that so many Pakistanis have family in Canada, the ease with which asylum is available, and the general difficulty of being a woman in Pakistan. The fact that these are such good jobs for Pakistani woman are probably the reason why it’s so low . . . not the other way around.
Air Senegal lost more than 8 people in one month when they started tagging on to BWI and overnighting crews for a couple of days at a time.
There’s no signature line on my Capital One Venture X card. I point this out every time I get asked to sign a credit card slip. Some payment processors are way behind updating their system.
@Gary Leff:
“I wouldn’t want to go back to Pakistan, either. ” – Have you ever been to Pakistan or are you simply talking out of your ass?
@Mak:
“general difficulty of being a woman in Pakistan.” – That would be incorrect. Woman in Pakistan, particularly in big cities can do practically whatever they want, – doctor, dentist, lawyer, engineer, banker, professor, go to university, own a store, restaurant, etc.
Thanks for the article about the metro station in Chicago. A.blatant failure of the public-private model, where the private sector feeds off the public by ensuring that there are enormous amounts of regulations requiring the hiring of outside contractors who make gazillions.
“The vast majority of the world, including high-income countries with strong labor standards like France and Scandinavian nations, build new transit infrastructure at much lower costs than the US does.”
@Jake
France is NOT a high-income country, the median household income in the US is about $80k. In France, it is about $34k, less than half the US, and also France is the highest-taxed country in the world!!
Also, if you take the US definition of poverty, you’ll find the vast majority to be poor. Most people in France can’t survive without all sorts of government subsidies.
I know, I lived in France for 26 years!
The reasons it is much cheaper in France to build infrastructure are:
– much lower labor cost
– strong eminent domain system that almost can’t be delayed or challenged in court once voted and approved by the authorities.
It is sad to see that the US is powered by corrupted elected officials (both parties) and a Hollywood freak show justice system all powered by pure greed that prevents any type of big infrastructure from being built.
When asked I always sign the receipt, “D. Trump.” I figure that eventually he will pay the bill. Nobody ever notices.
I doubt that many PIA flight attendants on international routes come from impoverished rural areas, where women are indeed often badly oppressed in no-hope existence. But Pakistan’s educated urbanites live the equivalent of a first world life; and women have a role in it, with challenges and opportunities, not relentless oppression.