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AOL Mystery Flyer: United Airlines, International {AOL Travel News}
Aug 18th 2010 10:55AM I've flown back and forth to Europe from the west coast many times on United, mostly in business class. Invariably, the FAs have been friendly and professional, certainly much friendlier than from foreign lines. The best flight was no flight at all: the pilots had to scrub the take off when a warning light went on in the cockpit; this action caused the tires to blow out and we had to get off the plane. The purser apologized as we were leaving--she apologized that we didn't get a chance to experience *her* level of service!
Airline fees: Please don't lie, don't be moronic {Gadling}
Jul 9th 2010 8:42PM I agree--full disclosure BEFORE buying the ticket is absolutely, positively necessary, so you can compare apples and apples.
What galls me is that most of the fees are way out of whack with the service provided--e.g. does it really cost $150 to change the time/date of your flight? Does it really cost the baggage handler $25 to put your bag on and take it off the plane? To me, these things seem like out and out money grabs.
Makes me wonder--do the airlines have vice presidents of fees, who figure out what the next great fee will be? Devious little buggers they are if they exist. I can see them putting coin boxes on the overhead bins, or instructing the flight attendants to turn down the temperatures in the planes to spur more blanket sales. I better not give them any more ideas....
Galley Gossip: A letter from a flight attendant to Jerry Seinfeld concerning Lady Gaga, bad behavior & free upgrades {Gadling}
Jun 25th 2010 12:52PM While I fundamentally agree with Aurora that part of the unruliness comes from frustration, I think over the years a sense of entitlement has been growing. There are plenty of people who feel they *must* be upgraded on every flight, treated like royalty and given in to on every whim.
The example given by Heather, though, is pretty pathetic--the gate agent should have politely told the screamer to wait--wait lists are done in order, so the pax would still have his 'deserved' FC seat. Unfortunately, by giving in to these folks, the airlines encourage the behavior.
My personal favorite in dealing with these types: an 'entitled' passenger wants his first class seat, and when he's told that FC is full, he pulls out the "Do you know who I am?" line. The gate agent, without missing a beat, gets on the PA and asks: "We have a passenger here who doesn't know who he is. Can anyone help him?" Brilliant, and it completely humiliated this bozo.
Summer lovin: Top seafood shacks in the U.S. {Gadling}
Jun 24th 2010 12:51PM When in northern California, try Phil's Fish Market in the tiny town of Moss Landing, between Santa Cruz and Monterey. House smoked fish, cioppino, and the usual (but very fresh) grilled, blackened or fried local fish (salmon, halibut, rockfish and the like). Also great grilled sardines when they have 'em.
Enter to win two free nights at Hyatt Place plus a personal assistant! {Gadling}
Apr 19th 2010 12:22PM Gadling has become a daily read for me!
New York City on a budget - is it worth staying in New Jersey? {Gadling}
Apr 14th 2010 3:08PM A couple of years ago, I took my then 11 year old son to NYC--couldn't afford the hotels in Manhattan, so we stayed at the Best Western near Newark Airport. Not the nicest digs, but they were friendly, had a good, free breakfast, and we had a large room, for $90/night. We took the NJ transit train into Penn Station, about a 25 minute trip, each day. Somewhat inconvenient, but definitely much, much cheaper. Plenty of trains running at least every hour, if not more frequently. All in all, pretty easy, and saved at least $150/day.
My son isn't a night owl, so having access to the NY night life wasn't an issue.
Gadling giveaway - win one of three JVC Everio HD camcorders! {Gadling}
Apr 14th 2010 2:55PM I'm unemployed, so no trip this year. Hoping to get a job soon, which would preclude a summer vacation anyway.
Plane Answers: Can passengers survive an explosive depressurization? {Gadling}
Apr 13th 2010 12:52PM Oh, I thought the picture posted with the beginning of the article was a coin slot on Ryanair for paying for oxygen should the cabin lose pressure! :-)
I've always been mildly amused when the flight attendants say "place the mask over your nose and mouth and breathe normally". I can tell you I won't be breathing "normally" if all of the air is rushing out of the plane!
Top ten ways to become an obnoxious business traveler {Gadling}
Mar 4th 2010 11:40AM The "do you know who I am" line reminds me of a story: a self-important person pulled this line out on a flight attendant, and she immediately went to the PA system and said: "We have a passenger here who doesn't know who he is. Can anyone help him remember?"
Knocked him right down into place.
Win a trip to Bangkok from Gadling and lebua! {Gadling}
Feb 25th 2010 10:07AM Sounds really cool.
