Choosing a frequent flyer program can have many variables to choose from. In the scheme of things, with all programs being not being equal, what is the essential frequent flyer benefit for business travelers? Mohammed Akbar, from Kuwait, writes, “I am searching for the key benefits of joining a frequent flyer program as a…
Sometimes an inside joke isn’t exactly an inside joke … but in the case of Otto it is an inside joke that started on movie screens around the world. Today’s Reader Mail comes from Rhonda Wilson, in Texas. Rhonda writes: I have been reading your Tweets for close to a year now and have…
Wordplay is a hallmark of marketing and sometimes says exactly what a project is without actually saying what a product is. This reader mail from Riley O’Connor is all about word play. Riley emailed me the following “I’m flying Australia in December and noticed some airlines describe their business class seats as a lay…
One week ago a new petition appeared on the White House’s website, the petition is to “Abolish the TSA, and use its monstrous budget to fund more sophisticated, less intrusive counter-terrorism intelligence.” To date, this petition has received more than 24,000 supporters … which leads to the question of “Why?” The Transportation Security Administration…
Social Media … the ultimate tool for those who feel wronged, especially celebrities and semi-celebrities. Earlier this week was no different when actress Leisha Hailey Tweeted that a Southwest Airlines flight attendant had her removed from her flight for being a lesbian. In a matter of moments, The L-Word star’s tweets were ripping through…
It seems that once a week, if not more often, a photographer emails me, Tweets more or calls me asking about Southwest Airline’s preboarding for photographers and credentialed media. While the link to Southwest Airlines’ preboarding may no longer be on their website, the policy still very much exists, and is great for ensuring…
I have to acknowledge Pauline Frommer, of Frommer’s Travel Guides, for finding a recent survey from Thomas Cook and The Association of British Travel Agents on the 20 stupidest traveler complaints lodged by British travelers regarding their vacations. My favorites of the list below include people who were not informed that the sea was…
Yesterday Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that children, 12 and younger, would no longer be required to remove their shoes at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints and be able to have their hands swabbed for explosives rather than be subject to a pat down. The TSA’s move to allow children to…
Say what you will about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but the agency is made up of people and those people are just like you and I. The within the TSA are parents, neighbors, someone’s brother, sister, child … and they share a common experience of where they were on September 11th 2001 and what…
Getting from the ‘land side’ to the ‘air side’ of an airport security checkpoint can be frustrating, especially for infrequent flyers. Airport security checkpoints in the US and around the world may have different designs, but the process of getting through a checkpoint with your belonging is always the same. This reader mail comes…
