News and notes from around the interweb:
- The British Airways Customer Service Chatbot is So Bad it doesn’t recognize the airport code LHR.
@paddylennox1 How can a major airline chatbot be so crap as to not recognise its own example. #comedy #britishairways #LHR #chatbot #holiday #irish #comedian ♬ original sound – PaddyLennoxComic - No. Non. Nein. Nyet. Just いいえ!!!
Finally figured out why Delta’s First class is expensive!
byu/username_noclue9191 indelta - What’s better in Europe versus the U.S., though put another way ‘Europe has some great legacy attributes but is stagnating’
Having now spent about half my life in each (and loving both), herewith the pros and cons of Europe and the US in everyday life:
Better in Europe
• Bike lanes and bike infrastructure. London, Paris, and Amsterdam are all excellent these days. (As are many other European…— Patrick Collison (@patrickc) April 6, 2025
- Well, this is a hot take on Thailand… John LeFevre is a troll, which can be fun engagement bait. There’s some element of truth in this, but it’s missing a lot (and a bunch of places!)
Phuket is overrated, sure. There’s lots of traffic in Bangkok, take the BTS or avoid rush hour. Pattaya is not a place you want to leave the resort if you go. But there’s plenty amazing and wonderful about it, too. Great food! Cheap suits! Offering his opinion that there’s bad scuba in Koh Samui is silly since there are other places in Thailand with good scuba he never mentions.
I've been to Thailand a dozen times or so when I was living in HK and Singapore.
I always felt bad for people who made it a bucket list or honeymoon destination from the other side of the world.
Don’t be fooled by the White Lotus hype; it’s disgusting:
Phuket – crowded and…
— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) April 7, 2025
- Triple GHA Discovery Dollars on Viceroy stays April 8 – November 15, 2025 (register and then book by July 1).
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 60% off redemption sale rumored to be coming:
Spontaneous Escapes is KrisFlyer’s monthly award redemption discount, offering 30% off the usual Saver miles rate for a two-week period, for those who can make firm travel plans the following month.
This upsized Spontaneous Escapes deal will go live for 60 hours only, between 12pm on 15th August 2025 and 11.59pm on 17th August 2025.
It will cover eligible flights operated by Singapore Airlines between 1st September and 30th September 2025, with Spontaneous Escapes usually including deals in Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class cabins.
Maybe cost cutting technology is not the best answer and a human (hopefully in this case) would do a better job.
That Singapore deal would be nice (if it happens and includes Business Class).
On the Stripe CEO’s commentary about Europe vs. the USA, Patrick is an Irish billionaire, so maybe we take his ‘feedback’ on lifestyle preferences with a grain of salt (and a pint of Guinness.) For those who don’t know who this guy is, he and his brother founded Stripe, a payment processing platform; some of their early backers were Elon and Peter Thiel (arguably before they went far-right, and ironically, since PayPay was/is a competitor); and, like many other tech-bro-ligarchs, they apparently ‘switched sides’ to support #45/47 in 2024. But, seriously, @Gary Leff no need to ‘pile-on’ to this false idea of Europe as ‘stagnating’ while they still actually defend the free peoples of the world. Besides, the US will soon be ‘stagflating’ with these unnecessary tariffs.
On Thailand, sure, LeFevre may be ‘trolling,’ but it’s still a nice country and region to visit. One spot that wasn’t mentioned, Krabi, is tastefully removed from Phuket; I really enjoyed staying there years ago. The dollar goes a long way there, too (or, at least it used to). Plus, you can take a quick flight to other interesting places, like Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. And if it’s rainy season in Thailand, then take a +3 hour flight down to Bali in Indonesia. Anyway, no place is perfect, but I wouldn’t disparage Thailand much at all. Safe travels.
Good. LeFevre has many reasons to stay away from Thailand. I hope he uses them. Phuket has some resorts and areas that are quiet, you just have to go to them instead of the crowded places. I have been to many places in Thailand. I found Krabi to be a nice, laid back place. I took a number of boats snorkeling from nearby and had a great time with clear water wherever the guides took us. I have also stayed in Bangkok enough to get used to it. Pattaya is not a resort but it also isn’t horrible and it has a lot of different things for tourists and expats.
Stayed in Koh Samui and loved it. Never seen the show but Thailand is worth a visit.
Go to the Philippines instead of Thailand.
Obvious choice!
Thailand is a military royal dictatorship that if you peel off the cover it is scary.
Philippines is a democracy that is stable. Plus everyone speaks English, is friendly and has wonderful nature wonders to explore. Is the Costa Rica of Asia.
And United just announced a second daily flight from San Francisco to Manila.
@Jane Jacobs – having spent time in both, and recognizing this is way too broad a brush and lacks nuance of different places and experiences in each, Thailand > Philippines
I think his call on EU vs US is pretty accurate, except as to beer when in Belgium. The fact is that the US has greatly outstripped the EU in productivity and average salaries, and it shows, particularly outside of the major cities. Rural France, for example, makes Mississippi and Alabama look quite prosperous. Some people may take offense, but it is true. It doesn’t mean one can’t prefer the EU. They are just different.
Joke’s on him. He doesn’t recognize how *smart* the chatbot is by trying to keep him out of Heathrow.
@ Gary,
Right, way too broad. No place is perfect & everyplace is different. This isn’t the gong show.
These jokers that thing “AI” is magic. Verizon replaced their (not too useful really) conventional chat bot, that could at least tell you the balance on your bill and your data/minutes use, with an AI chat bot that won’t actually give you any information, just the web addresses where you can look it up. I mean at least that’s a little less crap than this BA one, but I do rather despair at how many places seem to be just dropping it in without even testing it (I assume, given how crap they are.)
Wasn’t there an ad for Salesforce AI with Matthew McConaughey saying how AI would help you catch your flight with the magic innovation of maps? Sounds about as valuable as the chatbot.