Apr 30th, 2013 at 9:00AM: I'd never heard of a shaman until my first class on my first day of college. I'd signed up for "Magic, Witchcraft, & Religion" as an elective on a whim. It turned out to be one of my favorite undergrad classes and has been highly inspirational to my work as a travel writer.
The instructor was a short, plump woman of a certain age. She'd lived on a Hopi reservation while working on her ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
coach posts
A Visit To A Bolivian Medicine Woman
Apr 30th, 2013 at 9:00AM: I'd never heard of a shaman until my first class on my first day of college. I'd signed up for "Magic, Witchcraft, & Religion" as an elective on a whim. It turned out to be one of my favorite undergrad classes and has been highly inspirational to my work as a travel writer.
The instructor was a short, plump woman of a certain age. She'd lived on a Hopi reservation while working on her ...The Knee Defender Stops Airline Seats From Reclining, But Is it Ethical?
Oct 29th, 2012 at 1:00PM: Last week, I heard about a product called the Knee Defender, which, when attached to the tray table of an airline seat, restricts how far the person in front of you can recline, on an episode of NPR's "This American Life." Apparently, this product has been available for more than nine years, but this was the first I'd heard of it. In the intro to the episode, host Ira Glass talks to Ken Hegan, a ...Galley Gossip: Giving Thanks To Military Men And Women This Memorial Day
May 28th, 2012 at 5:00PM: Near the end of a flight from New York to Dallas, a little girl, 9 years old, handed me a piece of paper that read: "Everyone on this plane that works on this plane is very kind and welcoming, comforting and makes me feel safe, happy and comfy, so thank you to everyone. Love, Fallyn." She made what would have been an ordinary day extra special. For that, I thank her.
Receiving thanks in the air ...Babies and first class: why is this an issue?
Mar 12th, 2012 at 3:00PM: Earlier this week, I saw a story about babies and first class air travel posted on Facebook. The Facebook poster asked our own Heather Poole (flight attendant, mother, and new book author!) for her thoughts on the story, and she replied, "I'm fine with babies in first class. Usually they just sleep." Columnist Brett Snyder is a frequent flier and new dad wondering if he should use miles to upgrade ...5 airlines with great in-flight services in economy class
Jan 9th, 2012 at 8:30AM:
Last week, I spent 13 hours desperately trying to fall asleep on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to London; my economy class seat didn't have a personal entertainment system and the cabin monitor was pitch black from my angle. The week before, my sister took a red-eye United Airlines flight from Honolulu to San Francisco without the benefit of a pillow, blanket, or snack.
For many ...VIDEO: Curb Your Enthusiasm coachy vs. first class
Aug 17th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
On this week's episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David returned to New York, home of Seinfeld. On the plane, he got into an argument with a coach passenger on using the bathroom in different classes. Larry claims to still be "coachy" even when flying first class. This isn't the first time Larry David has tackled the class issue, here's a classic scene of Elaine suffering in coach on ...
Photo of the day - Approaching Rio
Jun 3rd, 2011 at 5:00PM:
Many of us love the window seat when traveling. Even in cramped coach class, you can feel like you have your own little nook with a place to prop up your tiny airline pillow (in case you don't fly with a SkyRest like Mike Barish) and a great view of the sky and landscape below. But few of us ever get the best window seat, up in the cockpit, where the view is framed by hundreds of tiny lights and ...Zombies with passports: The Walking Dead goes worldwide
Oct 28th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
In order to promote the new show The Walking Dead on AMC, swarms of zombies invaded 26 cities worldwide (including my city of Istanbul, pictured above and filmed here) earlier this week, lurching around major tourist landmarks and generally freaking out passerby. The undead began their sightseeing in Taipei and Hong Kong, then hit European capitols including London, Rome, and Athens. More arose ...Ask Gadling: What to do when you have to fly coach
Oct 21st, 2010 at 10:00AM: It could be worse. Whether it's lack of funds or lack of availability in your usual class, almost everyone flies in Economy Class (charmingly called "Fiesta Class" by Philippine Airlines) now and then. Heck, some of us fly coach all the time.
Flying is an enormous privilege many of us have come to take for granted. Consider the miraculous nature of it: you get on a big metal tube with wings, ...SkyRider airplane seats lack legroom, resemble saddles
Sep 13th, 2010 at 9:30AM: Think your economy class airplane seat is cramped? Well, imagine sitting on something that looks like the bastard child of a roller coaster seat and a horse saddle. That's what Italian airline seat designer Aviointeriors has devised and hopes to unleash into the wild with their SkyRider model. With only 23" of legroom and air carriers allegedly interested in someday creating a class below ...The cheapest way from London to Paris: Bus service for £15
Aug 11th, 2010 at 3:00PM: Backpackers rejoice. Eurolines, a part of UK bus carrier National Express has reduced the fare of their bus service from London to Paris, a hotly competitive route currently served by dozens of air and rail carriers. To date, Eurostar and budget air carriers have fought hard over the route, with fares on either sinking as low as $100 round trip.
Currently, one of the most common inexpensive ...Designing Air New Zealand's new long haul configurations
Apr 7th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Air New Zealand's marketing team is well underway promoting their new cabin configurations that we reported on earlier this year. The designs, which our very own Kent Wien covered in a series of on-the-ground dispatches, are set to vastly improve the business class and coach experiences, with redesigned business class cabins and lie-flat sections implemented in economy.
The highly dramatic ...
Coach cabin revolution -- Air New Zealand adds beds in economy
Jan 25th, 2010 at 9:15PM: Innovation may have played a part in Air New Zealand's eight-year quest for renewed profitability.
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As Kathryn Gregory, director of marketing for the Americas region recently said, "We like to look at what the other airlines are doing in their ...Airlines: why it always has to come down to price
Nov 24th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Imagine what would be pretty much a perfect world, at least for airline CEOs. You're running a reasonable profit – let's say 10 percent, enough to keep the shareholders off their backs. And, they're growing annually at a low double-digit rate, as well. Again, the shareholders are seeing an upside, so there's no pressure on the airline's management. Since the numbers being posted are healthy, ...Air New Zealand turns unsold coach seats into your new bed
Oct 23rd, 2009 at 11:30AM:
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Air New Zealand may be coming one step closer to solving the hell that is long haul coach. Starting next April, the airline plans to sell unsold coach class seats to passengers.
Now, an empty seat certainly is worth something, but the airline will ...10 passengers we love to hate: Day 10 - Aggressive seat recliners
Jun 12th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Dear passenger in front of me - I appreciate that you've taken the captain's suggestion to "sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight." I'm trying to do the same thing myself. Heck, we're stuck in this metal tube together with nothing to do but sleep and watch movies for the next several hours. But I gotta be honest - you're getting just a bit too aggressive with your seat recline. Sure, I can ...British Airways scrapping first class on new planes
May 24th, 2009 at 5:00PM: It's official, we're in trouble. British Airways has decided to remove first-class seating on four of its new flights, The Guardian newspaper has reported. The carrier is also considering removing the service from other flights. The move comes after a fall in demand for first-class seating, brought on by the economic downturn, which apparently is even affecting people who will pay three to ten ...Suffer through coach with dignity
Feb 7th, 2009 at 4:30PM: In three hours, I'll be boarding a plane for an eight-hour flight – assuming we don't get held up on the runway. So, when I saw "How to make the most of flying coach" on MSNBC.com, I hoped for some great advice. It would have been timely ... if it was provided at all. Instead, Travel + Leisure's Reid Bramblett only explained how much it sucks to pay for a non-alcoholic beverage and watch a ...Separation of the airline classes made clear in a photo
Feb 4th, 2009 at 12:00PM: This is the kind of photo I could probably post without wasting too many words on. If you ever wondered what kind of perks a first class ticket will get you, then think about the coach class passengers up to their knees in freezing cold water, watching the first class passengers take a comfortable seat in the raft. I wonder whether any of the first class passengers demanded some hot nuts and a ...Galley Gossip: Where did the service go?
Dec 30th, 2008 at 10:30AM:
Recently I read an interesting article in the New York Times, Up, Up, and Go Away, about an ex flight attendant who worked for TWA in the 1970's when flight attendants were known as stewardesses and stewardesses were as glamorous as movie stars and passengers were treated like royalty and flying was..well...just better - in every way possible! The stewardess featured in the article above wrote ...
