Southwest to implement no-show fee

Southwest Airlines has always been known for its customer-friendly policies. It remains the only major U.S. airline that does not charge customers to change flight plans. Although this policy will remain, Southwest is beginning to tighten some of its other rules.

Southwest has announced that sometime next year they will begin to implement a “no-show” fee to customers who miss a flight but fail to cancel their seat before takeoff. Southwest’s current policy allows for no-show fliers to apply the full value of the ticket towards purchasing a new ticket. As you can imagine, too many no-show fliers are leaving too many empty seats on Southwest flights.

Southwest has responded to the increasing number of no-show fliers by adding this no-show fee to its cheapest “Wanna Get Away” fares. The exact price of the fee or the date it will go into effect have yet to be determined.

Southwest hopes this new fee will add revenue and also promote customer behavior that will allow for Southwest to sell open seats. There will still be no fees for changing flights or for your first two checked bags. Customers just need to make sure to cancel their flight in time in order to avoid this new fee. You can be assured that when you book with POTHOS, we will always make the proper arrangements in order to avoid such fees!

Three biggest U.S. airlines to offer internet service on international flights

The three biggest American airlines have announced that Internet service will soon be available on international flights. United, Delta, and American Airlines have all announced that they are a few weeks away from having their first international flights with internet connection.

Passengers can already enjoy internet service while flying over the U.S., but the air-to-ground signal used by those planes does not work overseas. To make this service overseas possible, the airlines are installing satellite-based systems.

Those of you who are now looking forward to streaming Netflix or watching YouTube videos on an international flight will most likely be disappointed. While speeds on airplane Internet connections are getting faster, they are most likely only good enough for basic Web browsing and emails. However, most of the international Wi-Fi systems will have computer servers on the plane with movies and TV shows that passengers can view for a fee.

This news should bring a smile to the faces of many business travelers who will soon be able to access important business emails while traveling internationally. All three airlines will have this service within the next 2 months, with fees for this service yet to be determined.

Domestic beer sales up more than 1% this year

Domestic breweries can revel in the fact that beer sales are up by more than 1% in the U.S. this year. However, the driving force for this resurgence in sales is not coming from the traditional, full-calorie beers that have historically been the focal point for most domestic breweries.

It seems that the 2012 American palate now craves more of the specialty, craft, and small-market beers than ever before. Even more so, Americans prefer light beer over any other type of beer. It is of no surprise, then, that the leading selling beer in America last year (by a long shot) was Bud Light. Bud Light sold 39.15 million barrels last year. To put that into context, that is more than double the amount sold of Coors Light (#2 in domestic beer sales) and Budweiser (#3 in domestic beer sales).

As the beer industry continues to change, breweries constantly have to adapt in order to stay competitive. Larger breweries are banking on the popularity of craft brews by marketing their own specialty beer. Innovation in the market place is vital for some of these breweries to stay competitive.

Some breweries and beers are finding it difficult to stay relevant in the beer market. In a study by 24/7 Wall Street, nine domestic beers were identified as beers that Americans no longer drink. Each beer on the list has declined in sales by 30% or more since 2006, with #1 on the list having declined by 72% since 2006. Who tops the list of beer with the biggest sales decline since 2006? To find out, check out the article and full list: Nine Beers Americans No Longer Drink.

American Airlines introduces self-bag tagging

On November 14^th, American Airlines introduced self-bag tagging for travelers flying out of Orlando. This comes after a successful trial run at Austin Bergstrom international Airport earlier this year. According to American Airline, check-in times were reduced by as much as 55% in Austin.

The way it works is that travelers are allowed to use a kiosk to print and attach baggage tags. The traveler enters all their flight info, pays any necessary charges, and then prints their tag and attaches it to their bag. They then take their bag to a drop off area and show ID to an airline representative.

American plans to expand self-bag tagging to Chicago O’Hare and Washington Reagan Airports in the coming months. The airline also expects to debut this service in up to 8 more U.S. cities within the next 2 years.

There are still many travelers who remain wary of the self-serve options and its uncertainties. One issue in particular is that of lost and mis-routed bags due to passenger self-service error. What happens then? Is the passenger at fault? Does the airline take responsibility? Nobody knows.

The truth is that there is a first time learning curve for airlines when it comes to dealing with this new service. Bags get lost or mis-routed fairly regularly when trained agents from the airlines are tagging the bags. It is only natural to assume that this would be compounded by your every day traveler tagging their own bags.

This self-bag tagging system sounds good in theory but it feels too impractical. I am a firm believer that the customer/client should be able to choose when they want to serve themselves and not be forced into it if they desire to interact with a real person. It is, after all, the "Service" industry.

Virgin America to launch status matching program

Good news for travelers who have status with American Airlines or United Airlines: Virgin America has announced a status match program. Flyers from United Airlines and American Airlines’ frequent flyer programs can receive matched status through Virgin America’s Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver Status now through April 30, 2013.
 
United’s Mileage Plus and American’s AAdvantage flyers will get to enjoy nearly all of the benefits currently offered to Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver members. Some of these benefits include: priority check-in, free checked bag allowances, priority security clearance and boarding, and private discounts. Furthermore, if you apply for the Elevate program, you will have the opportunity to retain your status through the end of 2013 by earning points on flying Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia. 

If you have never flown Virgin America, now is a great time to familiarize yourself with this popular airline. Virgin America has won many awards, including 2012’s “Best Domestic Airline” by Conde Nast Traveler. Virgin America  is usually among the top rated domestic airlines year in, year out.

To book a flight on Virgin America contact your POTHOS travel team.

Epic Russian traffic jam strands drivers for 3 days

I think it is safe to say that none of us like being stuck in traffic. We have all been in a traffic jam at some point in our lives that really drove us crazy. It is very doubtful, however, that any of us have ever seen anything like the traffic jam that occurred this past weekend in Russia.

After a few days of heavy snowing, part of the main highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg was backed up 125 miles. Traffic was at a complete stand-still with the only movement being foot traffic, not vehicular. The Emergencies Ministry reported that traffic would return back to normal by 6 PM on Sunday. However, the traffic jam still spanned 34 miles long on Sunday night.

The traffic woes began on Friday after one of the heaviest November snowstorms in the last 50 years pummeled the Moscow area. When everything was said and done, three feet of snow had fallen in western Russia.

Drivers complained that authorities weren’t offering enough assistance to the stranded travelers. Restaurants reportedly tried to take advantage of the situation by increasing their prices and gas stations ran out of fuel. The Emergencies Ministry soon stepped in to assist with food distribution and setting up warming stations. Traffic started clearing up on Monday, with cars being able to travel at speeds of 3-6 mph for large sections of the highway.

Although this traffic jam sounds horrific, it pales in comparison to some of the worst jams we have seen recently. In 2010, drivers in China were stuck for 10 days waiting for a 60 mile back up to clear near Beijing. In 2009 there was a reported 183 mile traffic stoppage during an evening rush in Sao Paulo, Brazil. So the next time you’re cursing the world while stuck in light traffic, just think of how much worse it could be.

JAL to serve KFC on international flights

Japan Airlines (JAL) and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) have partnered up to bring Air Kentucky Fried Chicken onboard select international flights.

Customers flying in Premium Economy and Economy Class from Narita to New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, London, Paris and Frankfurt will be served KFC’s Original Recipe 2-piece chicken meal. The meal will include one drumstick, one boneless chicken breast, flat bread, and a cup of coleslaw and lettuce. JAL and KFC have also created an exquisite packaging that is exclusively available on JAL flights.

KFC is widely popular in Japan, especially during Christmas time. Now these KFC enthusiasts can enjoy KFC’s tasty chicken on a trans-Atlantic flight. This service will go into effect starting December 1, 2012 and will last through February 28, 2013.               

Air Kentucky Fried Chicken meal

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in tested hotel rooms

In the most comprehensive testing of hotel cleanliness in Canadian history, CBC Marketplace uncovered some disturbing findings. In a test of 54 hotels across six major hotel chains, every hotel contained some form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Specifically, the findings of C. difficile and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were extremely alarming. C. difficile and MRSA are not rare bugs, with an estimated 5% of the population carrying MRSA without showing symptoms. However, these super bugs can pose a great threat to those with weakened immune systems.

Marketplace’s test found the worst bacterial hot spots in hotel rooms to be: bed comforters, bathroom faucets, and TV remotes. It also recorded hidden camera footage of maids using cleaning techniques that would actually help spread bacteria.

If you think about lack of sanitation and the sheer volume of people coming and going in hotels, these bacterial contaminations aren’t all that surprising. When you start finding these antibiotic-resistant bacteria, then you start realizing that this is a real issue that needs to be addressed.

As scary as these findings might be for consumers, this study brings light to the matter of hotel cleanliness. It is clear that cleaning practices in hotels need to be drastically ratified. This study has already driven some of the studied hotel chains to re-train and update cleaning procedures and protocols. Let’s hope that studies like this one continue to address the issue and force hotels to examine their cleaning standards and ratify them if need be.

Book your trip to Albuquerque, N.M. before 12/31 and receive a $25 per night credit

Albuquerque, New Mexico is the largest city in beautiful New Mexico. It has great history, culture, and cuisine, among other things. It has also been proclaimed the Ballooning Capital of the World and offers breath taking hot air balloon rides above the beautiful city.

In an effort to showcase its fine city, the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced this offer: simply book your group by December 31, 2013 and receive up to $25 per room night to be credited back to your group’s bottom line. Contact the POTHOS travel team for additional details.

To get a taste of New Mexico’s fine cuisine, give this delicious Pork & Red Chile Tamales recipe a try:

 Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork butt, trimmed of excess fat
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Water
• 4 cups red chile sauce
• About 2 pounds of masa
• At least 36 softened corn husks, plus 36 strips for tying

Directions:
Arrange the pork butt in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot. Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt. Add enough cold water to cover by several inches. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 2 hours.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board and allow it to rest 20 minutes. Using two forks, shred the meat. In a bowl, combine 2 cups of the shredded pork with enough New Mexico red chile sauce to thoroughly moisten the meat. To assemble the tamales, spread about 1/2 cup masa onto the center of each corn husk. Spoon some of the shredded pork filling down the center of the dough. Fold and tie the tamale; repeat with the remaining ingredients and husks.

Steam the tamales for 1 hour and serve slathered with the remaining New Mexico red chile sauce.

Makes about 24 tamales.

 

Delta, American, and United Airlines adding more lie-flat seats

Three domestic airlines have decided to add to their availability of lie-flat seats on transcontinental flights. Delta, American, and United airlines have all announced plans to add additional full flat-bed seats to its Business Class.

Delta has announced that beginning in March 2013, it will be offering 26 full flat-beds in its Business Class on its Boeing 767 aircraft and 16 full flat-beds on its Boeing 757 aircraft operating between New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

American Airlines has also announced plans to upgrade seating. Starting in November 2013 they expect to receive orders of new Airbus A321 aircrafts that will feature a first class cabin with 10 to 20 fully lie-flat seats. The A 321’s are set to replace American’s Boeing 767-200s currently flying between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

United Airlines is also in the midst of modifying its premium class seating for flights between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco. United plans on replacing 12 United First P.S. seats with 28 new 180-degree lie-flat seats. These newly upgraded seats will be enjoyed by customers starting in January and United expects a complete rollout of the seats by October 2013.

A huge collective sigh of relief can be heard across the country by frequent cross-country fliers. The domestic skies are about to get much more comfortable for those who can afford it.

US Airway flight attendants hold protests

US Airway flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight-Attendants-CWA (AFA), held protests at four airports yesterday (November 14^th). The flight attendants are protesting after management failed to negotiate a single contract for the more than 6,700 flight attendants. America West and US Airways merged in 2005 but the merger is still incomplete and flight attendants are working under separate contracts in separate operations.

The major gripe for these workers is that while US Airways profits continue to soar, pre-merger America West flight attendants have not seen a contract improvement since 1999. These workers are continuing to work on outdated contracts they reached during the airline’s bankruptcy.

US Airways flight attendants protest at Charlotte Douglas

This unified protest shows that the flight attendants are willing to take action to see change. In the event of a strike, US Airways flight attendants would utilize CHAOS tactics- which stands for Create Havoc Around Our System. This would include intermittent strikes called without warning to the traveling public or management.

This becomes a big issue as Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, eyes a merger with American Airlines. He must first work with his current US Airways employees and settle the unfinished business from the first merger before concentrating on a second merger with American Airlines. A strike does not seem to be imminent, but with its flight attendants compensation roughly equivalent to what it was in 1996, US Airways should focus on keeping its hard working employees content.

Seeking surgery abroad?

With many Americans struggling to find affordable health care, recent years have seen a boost in the medical tourism industry. Regions such as Argentina, Dubai, Singapore, and especially Thailand, are all prospering from this profitable source of new business.

Although medical tourism is not a new concept, its growing popularity is fairly new. According to the Medical Tourism Association and Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, as many as 1.6 million Americans will travel this year for medical needs- spending billions of dollars in the process. Compare that to 2007, where only an estimated 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care. This trend is gaining a lot of momentum and the number of Americans traveling abroad for medical care should continue to rise.

One of the most important and popular destinations for medical tourism is Thailand. First class hospitals, high class medical technology, topnotch physicians, significantly lower treatment costs, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world have driven Thailand to the forefront of international medical tourism. You can find a wide range of treatments, including: dental work, cosmetic surgery, Lasik, and bypass operations to name a few, all at a fraction of the cost as the same procedure here in the U.S. Over 1 million international medical tourists are expected to travel to the Land of Smiles next year for their medical needs.

Here at POTHOS, we have made it our business to provide medical tourists with a stress-free and cost saving medical trip to Thailand.

To learn more about medical tourism in Thailand, please visit us at our websites:

                http://www.medicaltourismthailand.biz/home/?page_id=6

                http://pothos.us/

Holiday travel for 2012 is booming

Procrastinator’s beware: holiday travel is booking up early this year. The number of airline tickets sold for Christmas and New Year’s is up more than 50% from a year ago. Airfare and hotel prices are rising sharply for the holidays. Although demand is increasing, airlines plan on avoiding adding capacity. To compound things further, it is estimated that 73% of those intending to travel over the holidays have yet to book their travel plans. All of this equates to bad news for travelers who leave their booking to the last minute.

The average airplane ticket price sold so far for Christmas travel is $797. That is an increase of about 4% from last year, and we are still 7 weeks away from Christmas. These prices will continue rising. Hotels are also seeing a boom in holiday booking. Some hotels in New York are already sold out for Thanksgiving weekend and inching closer to being sold out for Christmas week. For example, the Hampton Inn New York has a limited amount of rooms left and these are going for a rate of $418 per night during Christmas week.

The Holiday season is a perfect time for us to unwind a bit and enjoy time with the ones we love. Do not be priced out of a trip because of procrastination. If you wait too long, airfare may be all booked up or the few seats remaining will be at a hefty premium. Avoiding this hassle by booking early this holiday season is highly advised.

To get a jump start on your holiday booking, contact your POTHOS travel team by phone: (619) 546-0621 or email: travel@pothos.us.

The Airbus A350 set to enter service in 2014

With the success of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, Airbus has responded by developing the Airbus A350. The A350 will have three different variants: the A350-800, A350-900, and the A350-1000. It will carry 250 to 350 passengers, depending on the variant.

The A350 incorporates major changes from its predecessor, the A330. Passengers will have more headroom, larger overhead storage space and wider panoramic windows than current Airbus models. Another one of the major improvements will be fuel efficiency. The A350 is said to lower operating costs by 8% compared to operating the Boeing 787.

The launch customer for the A350 will be Qatar Airways. Qatar Air has ordered 80 aircrafts, while 561 orders have been placed all together for the new aircraft. Domestic airlines United Airlines, US Airways, and Hawaiian Airlines have all placed orders for the A350. The A350 is scheduled to enter airline service sometime in mid to late 2014.

Virgin America: a hit that is losing money

One of America’s favorite Airlines is struggling financially. Virgin Airlines regularly shows up at or near the top of most surveys and awards for best airline in the U.S. Unfortunately for Virgin America, it is far from the best at making money.

Take a quick glance at its website and you will find a long list of travel awards it has won since starting its operations in 2007. In a time where airlines are pushing for more fees and fewer perks, Virgin America stands out for its high marks in style, comfort, and service. Virgin America has stylish aircraft interior designs, great in-flight technology, and a young and energetic staff that provides world class service.

With all of the pros mentioned above, it is hard to imagine that a company that is so well liked would not be one of the most profitable airlines. Sadly, this is not the case. In the first quarter of this year alone, Virgin America posted a $49 million loss. In its five years of operation, Virgin America has recorded a net loss of $671.3 million.

There are a number of reasons for these losses. First of all, Virgin America is still in its infancy and does not have a large network of routes. This makes it difficult to attract business travelers to fly Virgin America. While it is not able to attract many business travelers, it also struggles to attract the leisure traveler. Low price tends to be one of the most important factors to leisure travelers. Since Virgin America offers a premium product (leather seats, live TV, in-flight Wi-Fi, etc.), its flights aren’t as cheap as low cost carriers such as Southwest and Alaska Airlines.

Virgin America continues to be a loved Airline by many. If it can bring its financials in line with its exemplary style, innovation, and service, it can become a very successful Airline. Virgin America just received $150 million in funding from investors and it expects 2012 to be the company’s first profitable year. Virgin America will be an interesting airline to keep an eye on to see if it can become a profitable company.

Singapore Airlines cancels world's longest flight

The world’s longest commercial flight is to be no more. Singapore Airlines’ nonstop flight between Singapore and Newark is being cancelled. A slightly shorter route between Singapore and Los Angeles is also being cancelled.

The Singapore-Newark route covers a distance of about 9,500 miles, the longest route in the world. Meanwhile, the Singapore-Los Angeles route covers 8,000 miles and takes 18 hours and 30 minutes and holds the record for duration. These two routes have been flown on Airbus A340-500s, which are known to be gas guzzlers. Singapore Air discovered the only way to make these flights profitable was to reconfigure the planes to seat 98 business class seats for $8,000 roundtrip. With that being said, it was clear that the best option for the airline was to discontinue these 2 flights.

The new title for longest route will now be held by Qantas for their route between Sydney and Dallas, which is an 8,500 mile flight. The flight with the longest duration will now be held by Delta’s flight between Johannesburg and Atlanta, which is about a 17 hour flight.

Singapore Air will continue to serve flights to New York on its existing Airbus A380 routes, although these connect in Frankfurt. The same goes for flights between LA and Singapore, with a connection in Tokyo.

 

TSA begins removing X-ray scanners from some major airports

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has started removing X-ray body scanners from major airports. The decision is said to have been based purely on speeding up the check-in process and not because of safety concerns.

X-ray scanners have been a concern for travelers for quite some time. The scanners emit a small dose of ionizing radiation, which at higher levels has been linked to cancer. Passengers have also known to be uncomfortable with the fact that the scanners produced blurred pictures of passengers’ naked bodies. Each picture must be reviewed by a TSA officer, which slows down security lines.

The alternative to the X-ray scanner is the millimeter-wave scanner. These machines rely on low-energy radio waves. Instead of creating a picture, a computer algorithm looks for anomalies and depicts them as a yellow box on a cartoon figure. The millimeter-wave scanner is also highly effective at finding explosives.

One drawback to the millimeter-wave scanner is the high false-alarm rate. Studies in Europe and Australia have found the false-alarm rate to range between 23% and 54%, compared to the reported 5% false-alarm rate for the X-ray scanner. At any rate, the millimeter-wave scanners appear to be very effective and are more time efficient than the X-ray scanner. There are also no known DNA damaging or cancer causing mechanisms in these types of waves.

Although TSA has begun moving the X-ray scanners from major airports to smaller, less crowded airports, that does not mean they are being phased out completely. The X-ray scanners are still in place at a few major US airports. Furthermore, TSA has recently awarded three companies potential contracts for the next generation of body scanners. Of those three companies, one uses the X-ray technology in their scanner. Have we seen the beginning of the end of the dreaded X-ray scanners? Only time will tell.

Flying Egypt Airlines?

If you are thinking about flying Egypt Air any time soon, you may want to weigh all your options before you book that ticket.

Being a Star Alliance carrier, I was very surprised with the provided service on Egypt Air. Let’s start with food and drinks. The food provided tasted as if it had been left out in the sun for days and was not very appetizing. Egypt Air is also a dry airline, so if you are hoping to indulge in a midflight drink you will be out of luck.

With their food and drinks services leaving much to be desired, you would think they would make up for this with comfort and other amenities. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The seats were very outdated and not very comfortable (keep in mind I was sitting in Business Class, not economy!). The Club Lounge had cockroaches crawling around and the bathrooms were also quite dirty. Furthermore, they even have a very poor on-time arrival rate compared to most other airlines.

Are you sitting there wondering how Egypt Air can continue to fill flights with this kind of service, or lack thereof? There is one category which helps them compete with other airlines: price. They can offer a flight up to 65% cheaper than any other Star Alliance carrier for the same route.

So next time you are considering an Egypt Air flight, you might want to take these things into consideration. What is truly important to you? If it is finding the cheapest price then Egypt Airlines may be right for you. If comfort, service, amenities, and arriving on time are high on your importance list then you may want to think carefully about your decision.

Woes continue for American Airlines

These are troubled times for American Airlines. After a difficult September, American Airlines’ parent company, AMR Corp, posted a $238 million loss for the quarter.

American Airlines suffered massive delays and cancellations in September due to an issue they blamed on pilots. With that delay starting to clear up, American now has another issue to deal with. They are now inspecting 47 Boeing 757 airplanes to check for loose seats. On two separate American Airline flights, passenger seats came loose midflight. This has lead to over 21,000 delayed flights and more than 1,300 flights cancelled all together.

This recent string of woes for the airline will continue, as they have already announced a reduced flight schedule by 1% through November. They also boasted an anemic 59% on-time arrival rate for September. Customers are definitely taking notice, as the number of passengers flying American Airlines fell 4% in September. Business travelers are especially weary of flying American. With the uncertainty over cancellations and delays, business travelers simply cannot take the risk of flying American and having it possibly affect their business.

With all of the current problems American is having, they are working hard on solutions to try to win back customers. It won’t be easy but they are finally starting to move in the right direction. They have at least improved on-time arrival rates through October, although they still trail most of the major airlines in that category.  American needs to do much more if it wants to turn its misfortunes around.

Only time will tell if American Airlines can turn this around and win back customers, but they still have a long way to go.

Are you falling victim to exorbitant airline name change fees?

Next time you book a flight you might want to double or even triple check that all your personal info is correct. Carriers policies’ on name changes for tickets can be very strict and can lead to very costly fees to change them.

In the past, minor errors could be corrected (although not always very easily) but the industry standard has been that major alterations require a fee or even an entirely new ticket (big bucks for the airlines!).

 Earlier this year, a new rule was passed by the U.S. Transportation Department that allows customers to cancel their airline reservation within 24 hours of making it. This rule has allowed for most ticketing errors to be fixed and has taken away a big revenue source from the airlines.

However, outside of that 24 hour span, airline rules on changes are still vague and/or restrictive. Some airlines say no name changes are permitted while others advise travelers to go to the ticket counter at the airport to try to have their ticket changed. Allegiant is the only domestic airline that clearly allows for name changes, albeit for a $50 fee.

A simple way to make sure you do not encounter this problem is to use a U.S. travel agency like POTHOS. We do not outsource our call centers to foreign countries. This provides our customers with a much better communication platform. We also email drafts to catch any misspellings or other errors. Lastly, we can provide far better service than online ticketing agencies, where it might be very difficult to contact an agent to help with any issues.

Regardless of how your airline tickets are booked, you should always verify that all of your info is correct on your ticket. If you don’t, there is a good chance the airlines will be profiting on this mistake.

Wheeling and Dealing

Looking for ways to cut to the front of airport security lines? Apparently you’re not the only one.

Airport workers say they are seeing an increased amount of travelers abusing the complimentary wheelchairs provided at airports. It has even gotten to the point that airport workers expect increased wheelchair requests whenever they see security lines that are especially long.

Wheelchair passengers go through an expedited security screening and get to board the plane first, so maybe it should be of no surprise that there are a few unsavory characters who try to take advantage of this.

Airports are required by law to accommodate disabled travelers free of charge. However, there is no requirement for passengers to prove their disability when requesting a wheelchair. Which begs the question, should airports start to charge or require proof of disability for wheelchairs?

I think it is safe to say that requiring proof of disability (much like a handicap parking placard) would weed out most of the abusers of this service and leave the wheelchairs for those who are truly in need of them!

Defrocked Priest Employed by TSA

It has recently come to light that the TSA in Philadelphia had hired a priest that had been shunned from the church for allegations of child abuse.   Back in 2002 Thomas Harkins was hired with the TSA post 9/11 in a mass hiring along with 50,000 others.  Some of the employees including Harkins were hired without a proper background screening. 

In 2003 the church had actually sent a letter to his new employer warning them that he had been accused of abusing two girls and had been treated for pedophilia.  Despite this, Harkins is still employed by the TSA to this day.      

I don’t really care for the invasive groping, but I will put up with it any day over the suspect cancer causing back scatter and millimeter wave devices any day. 

Gunfire in Philadelphia Airport?!?!

Gunfire rang through the security checkpoint at the Philadelphia International Airport on last weekend.  This isn’t the only scare the airport had suffered this month.  Earlier this month a fraudulent bomb threat was called in on a flight from Dallas to Philly by the jilted lover of a passenger.

On Sunday a TSA Officer was called over to the security scanner as a gun was found in a piece of carry-on luggage.   The TSA Officer ACCIDENTALLY fired the weapon when attempting to remove the bullets from the gun.   Thankfully, no one was in the line of fire.

To make matters worse the gun was in the carry-on luggage of a flight attendant for Republic Airlines.  When questioned, she replied that she merely forgot it was in there. 

I don’t know about you, but I would have been on the floor covered in my morning mocha….

American Airlines Cancels More Flights…..

Still in financial woes, American Airlines is finding creative ways to cut costs.  Most of the cut backs are aimed at the pensions and benefits of the pilots.  As of right now American is not contributing to pension plans.  The airline is considering freezing or terminating it.  American also is planning on implementing longer flight days. 

Because of these actions more pilots have been calling out sick more than usual.  Flight crews have issued more maintenance reports than usual as well.  Both of these instances cause flights to be delayed or cancelled.

DFW Airport (Dallas, Texas) saw 43% of American Airlines flights severely delayed or cancelled last week.  This location is the primary hub for American Airlines and counts for more than 75% of the flights from that airport.  It really leaves travelers in a bind as they really don’t have many other airline options departing that airport. 

Airline CEO Calls Passengers Stupid

You can truly appreciate when a CEO gives some candid (or-not-so-candid) truth.  That is, unless they say how they feel by questioning their customer base level of intelligence as the CEO of Ryanair was so inclined to. 

For those that don’t know, Ryanair is an Irish airline primarily based out of Dublin and London Stansted Airports.  It is known for some of the lowest ticket fares in Europe, but plenty of secondary charges much in the vein of Spirit Airlines domestically.   The argument made is that their airline is the best value for customers that don’t require “extras” like baggage.  Unfortunately for most travelers, they are surprised with the weighty fees that accumulate when checking in and are left feeling like they have had a “fast one” pulled on them. 

This was the case for a British mother who ended up paying about $380 so that her family could get their boarding passes to fly home from Spain.  After Ms. McLeod’s complaint received some worldwide attention on Facebook the CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, had this to say:

“We think Mrs. McLeod should pay 60 Euros for being so stupid.  She wasn’t able to print her boarding card because, as you know, there are no Internet cafes in Alicante, no hotels where they could print them out for you, and you couldn’t get to a fax machine so some friend at home can print them and fax them to you.”

A couple days later, the brazen CEO stated, “I was not calling her stupid, but all those passengers are stupid who think we will change our policies or our fees.”

Lufthansa On Strike!

It seems to be that this week the cabin staff of Germany’s largest airline, Luftansa, went on strike.  This is a strike that looks like it will go on for weeks.  Currently it is projected that the airline is losing three to five million Euro per day on the strike.

It doesn’t look as though Lufthansa is interested in bending.  Unfortunately, the main party losing out are the customers.  They are being stranded and having to look for other airlines as most small – medium haul flights are being cancelled.  A third of the long haul flights were cancelled as well, including major U.S. flights arriving and departing from Los Angeles International, Houston’s George Bush International and Chicago O’Hare.

With the given state if the EU economy, maybe they should just be happy for a stable well paying job?! After all, I do not think they are being paid below the poverty line.

Good thing Alaska Air took note, literally

This story happened about a month ago, but is too comical to not post.  Over the summer Alaska Airlines had repaired a damaged wing flap on one of their Boeing 737 planes.  The repair had been approved as flight worthy by the FAA.  However, Alaska Airlines had not finished the cosmetic repairs before sending the plane airborne leaving the wing flap looking unfinished.  

Before each flight pilots will do a walk around their aircraft to report any exterior issues.  Pilots would see the repair as unfinished and submit it to their pre-flight report.  Maintenance workers, to stop receiving reports concerning the wing flap, physically wrote “WE KNOW ABOUT THIS” on the damaged looking wing flap with an arrow pointing to the questionable looking repair.

Unfortunately, this note scribed in permanent marker was visible from a window seat of the cabin.  This was noticed by an Alaskan Airline patron midflight flying from Burbank, California to Seattle Washington.  A photo was taken with a camera phone and sent to reddit.com where it was displayed.

An Alaskan Airlines representative responded stating, “We apologize for any alarm it may have caused.  It is not the best way to report an issue.  We have since removed the writing and the flap will go in for a full repair in October.”    

Despite a failed demonstration flight, Russian airline still receives order for 30 planes

Russian aircraft manufacturer, Sukhoi, failed to deliver earlier this year in spring with a demonstration flight for Indonesian carrier PT Kartika Airlines.  The plane was carrying 45 people when it disappeared in Bogor, West Java. 

Sukhoi was originally established in 1939 and since have been known for their attack and fighter aircraft.   The aircraft manufacturer only started designing commercial style planes in the last five years.  This is the first time commercial airplanes have been produced out of Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Despite this set back, the Indonesian carrier has no plans on cancelling their order of 30 Superjet.  Kartika Airlines remain interested as the Superjet 100 model is known for its capability of landing on shorter runways.  Nothing is known at this time about the cause of the crash.  It will be interesting to see the results of the investigation of the Transportation Safety Committee.  

 

Only 1 in 5 American Small Businesses Plan To Hire in 2013

A recent survey by the US Chamber of Commerce shows that 82% of small business owners feel that the economy is not going in the right direction, and that only 20% of small businesses plan to hire any employees over the next year.

Dr. Martin Regalia, the Chief Economist of the Chamber, feels that Washington’s decision making and policies are keeping small business owners unsure of the economic future. 72% of participants felt that the health care law effects ability to grow and potentially hire new employees. 78% of participants simply feel that Washington should stop making policies that effect small businesses and “get out of the way”.

The general sentiment seems to be that there needs to be either less involvement by the government or a change in Washington in order to instill policies that will benefit small businesses. Until those changes come, the job market will remain dry for those seeking employment in small businesses.

Michael Patton, CEO of POTHOS and small business owner, sees things a bit differently. “I tend to believe that government policies need to continue to support small business, which, as stated by President Obama, is the engine of the economy,” Mr. Patton says. “I support increased legislation to spend a larger amount of public monies with SDVOSB & SB as well as revision of tax code”.

The US Chamber of Commerce represents 3 million small businesses in the United States, making it the largest federation of small businesses in the world. The poll was conducted through an online survey involving both US Chamber members and non-US Chamber members, making a sample size of 1,225 participants. The US Chamber of Commerce defined small businesses as companies with less than 25 million dollars in revenue and fewer than 500 employees. The participants were tailored to represent the small business market of the United States. 

In Developing Countries, Tourists Using Up to 16 Times More Water than Locals

It has been widely and somewhat naively accepted by the general public that tourism is nothing but beneficial for developing countries. As many of us have come to see firsthand, some of the most beautiful places in the world are also the setting of some of the world’s worst poverty. The notion that “tourism brings money” to poor countries seems to scratch that little itch of guilt that tourists have about enjoying a lavish getaway mere meters away from a thatch-roof hut.

While it all sounds neat and tidy on paper, it has become apparent that the devil is in the details. Hotels and resorts have only very little figurative trickle-down effect for money flow, and even less literal trickle-down when it comes to ample fresh water.

While tourists are enjoying swimming pools, multiple showers per day, fresh drinking water and green golf courses maintained by complex sprinkler systems, locals are surviving off the bare dregs of the water supply.

In resort towns in Bali, Indonesia and Nungwi , Zanzibar, research has shown that tourists are running up to 16 times more water than locals, and the water that actually does get to the mouths of destitute locals is often contaminated.

3 locals died in a Zanzibar resort town after an outbreak of cholera. Many attributed the spread of the disease to the poor quality of local water.

Resorts have shown little sympathy to the local thirst, as many hotels have employed security guards to protect and monitor fresh water tanks to prevent theft or sabotage.

This is an issue for the governments of countries that are extremely dependant on their tourism industry. Many elected officials lobby for resorts as a way to bring revenue to developing countries, but the local sentiment seems to be that distribution of revenue and facilities is extremely unfair and puts the community in the backseat to the money-making juggernaut that is the tourism industry. 

While it’s natural to feel that you deserve to live in excess when you travel to an all-inclusive resort, it’s also important to be aware of how these resort towns are affecting the local lifestyle, for better or for worse, before choosing a getaway location. 

United Purchases 150 New Aircraft from Boeing

United Continental Holdings, Inc. seem to be setting the precedent for an environmentally friendly and technologically savvy revamp of their entire United Airlines fleet.

We posted earlier in this blog about the highly anticipated 787 Boeing Dreamliner, which will provide a new standard in the travel experience while reducing fuel costs by nearly 20%. Boeing plans to add 50 new Dreamliners to their fleet, being the first American carrier to fly the aircraft. The first Dreamliner will arrive in September of this year.

In addition to the 50 Dreamliners, United Airlines ordered 150 smaller, one-aisle 737s from Boeing, continuing the overhaul of the company’s flying equipment and boasting greater travel efficiency with lower fuel costs per seat.  Compared to the current 737s in use, United claims that the new models will reduce emissions by 13%. Coupled with modern travel technologies and flight efficiency, United Airlines’ reduction of the carbon footprint makes them one of the world’s most enticing air travel options.

Unfortunately, the planes take quite a while to build.

In 2013, deliveries will begin for the 737-900ER. These models will replace old and outdated domestic United aircraft and plan to burn 15% less fuel per seat. 50 of these planes are expected to be delivered between 2013 and 2022.

We’ll have to wait until 2018 for the next model 737, the MAX 9.

The future is bright for United frequent fliers, as we have a large amount of fancy new aircraft to look forward to. CEO of POTHOS, Michael Patton, is a United 1k Million Mile Frequent Flier and encourages travelers to book with United and experience their efficient service and, soon, their cutting edge aircraft.

On a recent trip to Seattle, we had the pleasure of grabbing a sneak peak of the 787 Dreamliner at the Boeing Factory. We can’t wait to see the new 737s! 

Battle Reenactment Brings About Historical Disagreement between Canada and USA

“Wait a minute, didn’t WE win the War of 1812?”

This is the question posed by Marie DeVita, an American, to her friends upon witnessing a Canadian reenactment of the battles fought in Fort George, Ontario.

You certainly wouldn’t think it so if you were at this particular historical reenactment or if you were studying history in any of the Canadian provinces. In history classes, Canadian students grow up learning of British triumph over America attempting to invade what is now Canadian land. Americans view the War of 1812 as a form of the “Second War for Independence” where Great Britain was ousted once and for all from the newborn American continent.

So who won?

Now before you say “it doesn’t matter, it happened 200 years ago”, remember the sense of national pride between the two countries, and how bitter it would taste admitting any sort of defeat to the opponent, especially between two countries that have been waging a healthy rivalry for the past two centuries on nearly everything. 

Victor Suthren, the director of Ottawa’s Canadian War Museum, remembers American tourists getting rather heated, attempting to correct Suthren and explain that the Americans had emerged victorious from the skirmishes across the Canadian-American border.

Suthren returned fire saying “Had we really wanted to put all efforts into an attempt on North America, with the full power of the Royal Navy, it would have resulted in a severe punishment for the Americans”.

Translation: “We could’ve beaten you guys like a drum, but we didn’t feel like it”, which sounds like something you would hear on the elementary school playground. 

Robert Trumbell, and American who participated as an American troop in the reenactments in the 1990s, believes that it was mostly British troops who fought in the battles on Canadian soil during the war. Like many Americans, he insinuates that Canadians should view the conflict between Britain and America, and not Canada and America.

Regardless, both sides think they came out on top. Americans believe that the war was a fledgling American country standing up to its abusive foster parent and breaking free for the final time. Canadians view the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in tandem with British forces as a collection of battles that warded off American advancement into northern territories, allowing for modern day Canada to have land to develop on.

Even if most of that land is plagued with permafrost and completely barren and unusable.

All jest aside, we American's love our Canadian & British cousins since this conflict and this selective positioning couldn't change that. 

Airline Passengers Willing to Pay to Exit Planes Faster

Travelling can get pretty stressful if you let the little things get to you: losing luggage, an intoxicated passenger in the adjacent seat, and said adjacent passenger getting “motion sickness” halfway through the flight.

We here at POTHOS encourage travelers to relax and take all of annoying little nuances of air travel in stride.

For example, be thankful for when your plane lands safely. When the seatbelt light goes off, enjoy the fact that you can turn on your smart phone and check your emails. As the plane finishes taxiing, gleefully watch as the uptight passengers frantically jockey for position in line for exiting the plane.

Alas, we are not here to judge, and the 2 minutes or so that a frequent flier gains by exiting the plane before everyone else could be potentially valuable to that person. How valuable, you ask?

Roughly $20 dollars. 

In polls by Airfarewatchdog.com, some fliers were willing to pay extra to not only board the plane before everyone else, but also exit the plane with priority. The polls declared about 10 percent of passengers were willing to pay $10 while 3 percent would pay up to $20.

This might seem fairly bizarre to some. Interestingly enough, the same travelers that are willing to pay extra to get into those cramped seating quarters before everyone else are the same ones that are willing to pay even more to get out of them before everyone else. 

“To each their own,” we suppose. We do not doubt that there are frequent fliers with deep pockets who have strict deadlines to meet that exiting the plane as soon as possible can give them a competitive business advantage. Besides, the poll only showed that %3 percent were willing to pay that extra $20 dollars.

Surely this would not benefit airlines enough to institute a new fare. Surely. 

Opus Hotel Upgrades Their Phone system with iPhones

During our most recent stay in the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle, we were impressed that an iPhone and iPod compatible “iHome” mini stereo system and alarm clock was provided standard our hotel rooms. Unfortunately, the hotel did not provide a smart phone or even an mp3 player.

At the Opus hotel in Yaletown, Vancouver, they appear to be taking it up a notch.

The hotel is offering one iPhone smart phone per room, with data coverage connected to the hotel’s internet and will have the ability to send and receive phone calls internationally, as to avoid roaming charges.

These iPhones will replace the obsolete touch tone wireless phones found in every hotel of the past and marks the start of a new era of technology – one where the normal traveler is expected to be knowledgeable on smart phone usage and touch-screen technology.

Obviously, if you don’t know how to use an iPhone, don’t want to, or already have a smart phone of your own, you can leave the iPhone docked in its iHome. The iPhone is customized with applications that will keep the guest connected to the hotel, offering concierge services and contact information to all of the hotel departments, so the phone can prove as a valuable tool to any guest entering the city for sightseeing or business related events.

Nicholas Gandossi, Opus Vancouver’s general manager, explains that these technologies are a part of life today, and are not so much perks as they are necessities.

Opus was also the first hotel in Canada to offer and iPad 2 in every room.

Opus Vancouver has stepped up their game, topping iHomes with iPads and iPhones. The only question that remains is a simple one: will we be able to keep up?

Zesty Condiment Creations for your Summertime BBQs

We here at POTHOS are sure that many of you spent your 4^th of July outside in the sun, grilling up something delicious.

However, in addition to your Independence Day delicacies, we’ve decided that this blog will be dedicated to continuing your culinary adventures with a couple recipes from our residential foodie, CEO of POTHOS, Michael Patton.

Always keep cooking and always try something new. Remember, we’ve got a whole summer of sunshine and great food ahead of us!

Try these homemade variations on common condiments to spice up any barbeque or dinner party.

Homemade Ketchup

Ingredients

4 pints ripe grape tomatoes, cut in half

2 cups red wine vinegar

2/3 cup brown sugar

4 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

¾ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

(remember, quality of ingredients make a big difference in final product so use the best quality)

Preparation

In skillet, simmer tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper until thick (20 – 25 minutes)

Puree until smooth, strain, stir in Worcestershire sauce, chill completely overnight

Yields about 2 cups of your own brand of ketchup!

Homemade grainy mustard

Ingredients

¼ cup brown mustard seeds

¼ cup yellow mustard seeds

½ cup white wine

1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation

Please seeds in medium bowl, stir in wine and ½ cold water. Cover and let stand overnight

Puree mixture until you reach desired consistency and refrigerate again for 24 hours.

Yields 1 ½ cups

So the next time your wise guy uncle asks if anyone remembered to bring the condiments for his 4^th of July frankfurter, break out these lip smacking flavor enhancers and impress the family!