According to USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=67634293.blog), European uber-no-frills carrier Ryanair is seriously considering putting pay toilets on their flights.
Good thing they don't fly trans-Atlantic. Bran muffins and mueslix for breakfast, anyone?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Corporate Lunacy
Today the tall foreheads who run WestJet, a low-frills, low-brow airline in Canada (they like to think they're similar to JetBlue or Southwest in the U.S.) have cancelled flights between Winnipeg and Regina and Saskatoon in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan.
Instead, Winnipeggers will be forced to fly over Saskatchewan to Calgary, 850 miles west of Winnipeg. There they will transfer to a flight back east 500 miles to Regina.
Regina is 350 miles west of Winnipeg. It will be quicker (nine months out of the year, anyway) to just throw your bags in a car and drive the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway than it will be to go to the airport (60 minutes ahead), fly to Calgary, change planes, fly to Regina and wait for your bags to come off the plane.
Many Canadians seem to like WestJet. I'm not sure if it's the flight attendants who went to the Mary Tyler Moore School of Being Perky. Me, I prefer high school graduates as flight attendants, as opposed to those who are still going for their Grade 12 or their esthetician papers.
WestJet fans like to talk about how it's fun to fly WestJet. The flight attendants and pilots are all smiling and joking. Me, I place more importance on getting where I'm going. I do not want to hear lame jokes I last heard back in junior high or take part in a singalong with people I will never see again. Just get me from A to B and keep me comfortable.
I haven't flown WestJet for a few years, but somehow I doubt if things have changed much. The last time I flew with them was just after tearing my cartilage in my knee. I was walking with crutches and in pain but I had to fly to northern BC (450 miles past Edmonton) to attend my niece's wedding.
At that point WestJet was not allowing passengers to pre-book seats (now the airline, realizing it's a way to make extra cash, allows it), so my wife and I made sure we got to the airport very early in order to get me a seat in a roomy row.
No such luck. No offer to help. "Next time you'll just have to make sure you're here even earlier to get the seat you want," said the (smiling) ticket agent. I had to change planes in Calgary and I said surely I'm early enough to get a seat with extra legroom now? Can't book your seats for the flight from Calgary north she said, smiling still.
Then I get to the plane and no one offers any help with my carryon. My wife had to walk up and down the aisle to find a place where my crutches could be stored above.
We get to my sister's, have a great time, and then my sis and brother-in-law have an idea. They were planning on going to Edmonton anyway, so they'll drive us there and we can catch the same flight home we were taking from there. All we'd be doing was skipping the Grande Prairie - Edmonton leg of the trip.
We agreed, so I thought I would have the decency to phone the airline a few days early and let them know. We did not want a partial refund. I was calling to let them know that we would not be using our seats for the first leg of our return trip, so if they wanted to re-sell them to someone else, go nuts.
The (smiling, no doubt) WestJet agent on the other end of the line said they considered this re-writing the ticket and said we would each have to pay a fee of what I believe was $50 at the time. I went back and forth with this disinterested man for about 15 minutes before I asked for his supervisor. Another 10 minutes or so later, after I threatened to never use their services again, the supervisor agreed that no fee should be charged.
Air Canada has certainly had its share of public relations debacles over the years, but they are not the only ones in the Canadian airline industry to do so. Air Prozac has made it's share as well. They just seem to cover them up better.
Instead, Winnipeggers will be forced to fly over Saskatchewan to Calgary, 850 miles west of Winnipeg. There they will transfer to a flight back east 500 miles to Regina.
Regina is 350 miles west of Winnipeg. It will be quicker (nine months out of the year, anyway) to just throw your bags in a car and drive the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway than it will be to go to the airport (60 minutes ahead), fly to Calgary, change planes, fly to Regina and wait for your bags to come off the plane.
Many Canadians seem to like WestJet. I'm not sure if it's the flight attendants who went to the Mary Tyler Moore School of Being Perky. Me, I prefer high school graduates as flight attendants, as opposed to those who are still going for their Grade 12 or their esthetician papers.
WestJet fans like to talk about how it's fun to fly WestJet. The flight attendants and pilots are all smiling and joking. Me, I place more importance on getting where I'm going. I do not want to hear lame jokes I last heard back in junior high or take part in a singalong with people I will never see again. Just get me from A to B and keep me comfortable.
I haven't flown WestJet for a few years, but somehow I doubt if things have changed much. The last time I flew with them was just after tearing my cartilage in my knee. I was walking with crutches and in pain but I had to fly to northern BC (450 miles past Edmonton) to attend my niece's wedding.
At that point WestJet was not allowing passengers to pre-book seats (now the airline, realizing it's a way to make extra cash, allows it), so my wife and I made sure we got to the airport very early in order to get me a seat in a roomy row.
No such luck. No offer to help. "Next time you'll just have to make sure you're here even earlier to get the seat you want," said the (smiling) ticket agent. I had to change planes in Calgary and I said surely I'm early enough to get a seat with extra legroom now? Can't book your seats for the flight from Calgary north she said, smiling still.
Then I get to the plane and no one offers any help with my carryon. My wife had to walk up and down the aisle to find a place where my crutches could be stored above.
We get to my sister's, have a great time, and then my sis and brother-in-law have an idea. They were planning on going to Edmonton anyway, so they'll drive us there and we can catch the same flight home we were taking from there. All we'd be doing was skipping the Grande Prairie - Edmonton leg of the trip.
We agreed, so I thought I would have the decency to phone the airline a few days early and let them know. We did not want a partial refund. I was calling to let them know that we would not be using our seats for the first leg of our return trip, so if they wanted to re-sell them to someone else, go nuts.
The (smiling, no doubt) WestJet agent on the other end of the line said they considered this re-writing the ticket and said we would each have to pay a fee of what I believe was $50 at the time. I went back and forth with this disinterested man for about 15 minutes before I asked for his supervisor. Another 10 minutes or so later, after I threatened to never use their services again, the supervisor agreed that no fee should be charged.
Air Canada has certainly had its share of public relations debacles over the years, but they are not the only ones in the Canadian airline industry to do so. Air Prozac has made it's share as well. They just seem to cover them up better.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Life in the Real Big Chill
What a winter it's been! We've had January temperatures (January's usually about the coldest month here in The Peg) since November and the snow just keeps coming as well. At one point I could see the lake forming in the back yard and then my wife went on another business trip and - of course - we received another couple of massive snowfalls. I'm worried everything between here and Fargo is going to melt in one day and I'll see Happy Harry's Liquor's floating past me on the front street.
-- -- -- -- --
I do worry about the folks in the Red River Valley - most of them, anyway. But as a guy who has worked on countless forest fires, floods, train derailments and other public emergencies, I have one piece of advice for you: If someone tells you it's time to evacuate, then GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE! Don't expect anyone to risk their life trying to save someone too stupid to know when to go. Like Kenny Rogers said, you gotta know when to fold them. And when it's time to leave, do so.
-- -- -- -- --
We broke up the savage blasts of winter with one holiday and a minor getaway. Cruised the Eastern Caribbean for a wonderful warm seven days sandwiched between sunny days in Fort Lauderdale. We'll likely do that again. Especially Sint Maarten, with its Dutch/French culture and laid-back lifestyle. Also liked Grand Turk, the small, tornado-ravaged island with the largest pool I have ever seen and the best Margaritas anywhere (at Margaritaville, of course). St. Thomas was pretty but way too aggressive, with taxi drivers harassing you for a ride and hawkers bellowing you to come into their stores to buy jewelry.
The minor getaway got me a chance to join my wife in Toronto for a couple of days, where she had gone on a business trip. It gave me a chance to stay at a lovely classic hotel (no complaints there) and visit with some friends in Burlington, along the shore of Lake Ontario. While they enjoy their southern Ontario lifestyle the one thing they could do without is that yellow summer sky and the view of the steel mill smokestacks a few miles down the shore in Hamilton.
Toronto? It's fast moving, but nowhere near that of New York or San Francisco. In terms of costs it's right on par with those cities. I spent $17 on two pints of beer the other night. Toronto is sort of like its airport - sterile. Maybe if I go back I'll see what all the fuss is about, but I'll bring my own booze.
-- -- -- -- --
I do worry about the folks in the Red River Valley - most of them, anyway. But as a guy who has worked on countless forest fires, floods, train derailments and other public emergencies, I have one piece of advice for you: If someone tells you it's time to evacuate, then GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE! Don't expect anyone to risk their life trying to save someone too stupid to know when to go. Like Kenny Rogers said, you gotta know when to fold them. And when it's time to leave, do so.
-- -- -- -- --
We broke up the savage blasts of winter with one holiday and a minor getaway. Cruised the Eastern Caribbean for a wonderful warm seven days sandwiched between sunny days in Fort Lauderdale. We'll likely do that again. Especially Sint Maarten, with its Dutch/French culture and laid-back lifestyle. Also liked Grand Turk, the small, tornado-ravaged island with the largest pool I have ever seen and the best Margaritas anywhere (at Margaritaville, of course). St. Thomas was pretty but way too aggressive, with taxi drivers harassing you for a ride and hawkers bellowing you to come into their stores to buy jewelry.
The minor getaway got me a chance to join my wife in Toronto for a couple of days, where she had gone on a business trip. It gave me a chance to stay at a lovely classic hotel (no complaints there) and visit with some friends in Burlington, along the shore of Lake Ontario. While they enjoy their southern Ontario lifestyle the one thing they could do without is that yellow summer sky and the view of the steel mill smokestacks a few miles down the shore in Hamilton.
Toronto? It's fast moving, but nowhere near that of New York or San Francisco. In terms of costs it's right on par with those cities. I spent $17 on two pints of beer the other night. Toronto is sort of like its airport - sterile. Maybe if I go back I'll see what all the fuss is about, but I'll bring my own booze.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Am I done yet?
So we're leaving shortly on our first-ever winter vacation. I have never been far south before but I know just from summers here in Manitoba that if I'm not very careful, I'll turn lobster-red before you know it.
So as part of the routine my wife and I are doing a bit of pre-tanning. Stepping out of the cold car and walking across the frozen parking lot before crawling into a warm tanning bed lets me know what a TV dinner feels like.
We're going on another cruise and we chose the Crown Princess again because we fell in love with it last time. We head down to Fort Lauderdale a day early and will stay in FLL for a couple of days afterward to unwind some more before heading back home to the tundra.
We like to cook so one of the places we're stoked about visiting is Sint Maarten/St. Martin a Caribbean island that's half Dutch/half French and seems to have the best of both worlds. They have a market there every Wednesday (the day we're there) where they sell cinnamon sticks the diameter of fat cigars, locally grown coffee, cumin, nutmeg and more. And for my wife - fabric and clothing.
They're also known for bringing in some of the best taste treats that their motherlands are famous for, like Edam cheese, fabulous wines, chocolate, pastry and more.
I guess you know you're old when food interests you more than the nude beaches on the French side or the casinos on the Dutch half.
So as part of the routine my wife and I are doing a bit of pre-tanning. Stepping out of the cold car and walking across the frozen parking lot before crawling into a warm tanning bed lets me know what a TV dinner feels like.
_________________
We're going on another cruise and we chose the Crown Princess again because we fell in love with it last time. We head down to Fort Lauderdale a day early and will stay in FLL for a couple of days afterward to unwind some more before heading back home to the tundra.
We like to cook so one of the places we're stoked about visiting is Sint Maarten/St. Martin a Caribbean island that's half Dutch/half French and seems to have the best of both worlds. They have a market there every Wednesday (the day we're there) where they sell cinnamon sticks the diameter of fat cigars, locally grown coffee, cumin, nutmeg and more. And for my wife - fabric and clothing.
They're also known for bringing in some of the best taste treats that their motherlands are famous for, like Edam cheese, fabulous wines, chocolate, pastry and more.
I guess you know you're old when food interests you more than the nude beaches on the French side or the casinos on the Dutch half.
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