Will the Air Marshal in 1B please ring your call button

Out yesterday were notices of a report from the House Judiciary Committee that is highly critical of the Federal Air Marshal Service.

The draft report by theHouse Judiciary Committee, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press on Friday night, identified several policies by the service that the report concluded undercut the goal of preserving the marshals' anonymity.

The report, entitled "Plane Clothes: Lack of Anonymity at the Federal Air Marshal Service Compromises Aviation and National Security," cites the service's dress code, which is supposed to prevent marshals from drawing attention to themselves.

"In practice, however, many federal air marshals indicate that the dress code actually draws more attention to the identity of the federal air marshals because of its rigid requirements that prevent federal air marshals from actually blending in with their surroundings," the report says

For anyone who flies a lot, you can tell when there's a FAM onboard. But this report really nails the issue.

Go read the story at Captain's Quarters.

Will Delta Be Ready When You Are???

Years ago, Delta had an ad campaign with the tagline "Delta is ready when you are". With the spectre of a pilot's strike looming, will Delta be around? Good question.

I confess to being a recovering Delta-holic. I was loyal to the good ol' boys from ATL, believing they had the best airline in the world. And for years, it was true. Delta customer service was renowned - if you needed help, a Delta red-coat was there with one objective - to help out their customer.

Then came the era of Ron Allen's Initiative 7.5 (to reduce seat costs to 7.5 cents per mile) where finance took center stage. Allen already had the issue of merging Western and PanAm into the DL fold (including their vastly different systems and cultures) and added to it the impetus of cost reductions. The downward trend had started.

After Allen, the DL board hired Leo Mullin as CEO. Mullin had never been with an airline, but was a finance guy. In fact, Mullin had one of the deepest non-customer friendly histories you could find. He worked for Commonwealth Edison (the electric utility in Chicago), First Chicago Bank (a huge international firm with a disdain for retail banking), Conrail (need we say more) and McKinsey (a consulting firm known for it's system-oriented approach to management). Leo instituted "Simply Good Business" which made it policy to do no favors for the customer (even if it also helped DL) without payment of a fee. Employees were fired for violating "no waivers, no favors". Customer service went down the tubes even faster.

Now, DL is in bankruptcy and is trying to get its labor structure in order. Its pilots, among the highest paid in the industry, say they'll strike if DL is granted, by the bankruptcy court, the right to cancel the pilot's contract. Most analysts (and myself) believe that DL will have to close its doors if the pilots strike.

So, to the original question.....the DL pilots are sabre-rattling, just as management is. The union says they mean it. But there are too many mortgages on second homes in Park City (a major DL pilot lair), too many alimony payments to make, and too many cars yet to buy for the pilots to cut their own throat. If they can remember how the unions at Eastern killed that airline they might save their own skin. Sure, Frank Lorenzo helped out, but the hari-kiri sword was brandished by the unions who demanded "Full pay to the last day". Then they found the last day was here.

April 17th the first day for which a strike is authorized. The bankruptcy court will rule on April 15th (interesting choice of days). Stay tuned.

The longest undefended frontier

I drove up to Canada for a couple of days this past week. The regulations at the border require that you show identification (though that really didn't seem to bother the 9/11 Gang of Nineteen). I've now taken to carrying my passport and using that for the border crossing and have found it to be a a real time-saver. Take my advice - get and use your passport for trips to Canada.

Heading northbound, the primary concern seemed to be transfering American largess to the people of Canada. "Are you bringing with you any gifts for Canadians?" seemed to be the big concern of the border agent. Can't have something come across without Revenue Canada getting its cut. So much for the image of completely free NAFTA trade. It might apply to GM and other companies, but for individuals, there's still a mindset of tariffs and restrictions, at least on the Canadian side.

At least I'm not getting the questions about bringing weapons north - especially pepper spray. I remember when I got the third degree because the officer couldn't believe that I wasn't trying to smuggle in a pepper spray "weapon".

Then again, the agents might be just responding to the Canadian government's decision not to arm their border agents, even though the agents have made that request. I don't know if the Conservative party has anything about that in their platform - perhaps it will change when the Liberals get kicked out of power in another week.

Coming back, it was even simpler. The agent scanned the passport, asked where I lived, asked what I had been doing in Canada and waved me through the border. No inquiry at all about any purchases or the like. I guess he had been checking out the prices in Vancouver and knew that no American would be buying stuff there if they could help it. Not to mention that there's the federal GST of 7% and a provincial tax of 7% as well.

The business I want is to own a gas station in Blaine, Washington. The difference in gas prices makes it so attractive to tank up there, rather than a couple of miles north. Approximately $2.95 per gallon in Canada vs $2.35 in Blaine. One has to wonder how much "smuggling" of gasoline, in car and truck gas tanks, occurs every day. I know that I'd be visiting "friends" in Blaine often if I lived on the south side of Vancouver. Especially in my SUV.

On getting stuck at airports

The author of one of my favorite legal blogs, Patterico's Pontifications, is stuck in Atlanta. He originally purchased tickets to fly with his family from DFW to LAX on a non-stop AirTran flight. Well, the non-stop was changed to a connection in Atlanta, and then the fun began. The flight out of DFW was delayed due to a mechanical, causing a misconnect in ATL. AirTran says that they can't get him out to LAX for THREE DAYS. And they won't pay for any meals or lodging.

Now, in the good ol' days (20+ years ago), there would have been FAA regulations covering this situation. Not anymore. Some airlines have incorporated certain "rights" of the passenger into their Contract of Carriage, including the right to have the ticket endorsed over to another airline. However, Patterico is flying AirTran, which has no such provisions in its CoC.

My suggestion, and it's a weighty one - go online to the airline's website and download/read the CoC for the airline you plan to fly on. If their terms don't fit your needs, DON'T FLY THEM. It is very much a "caveat emptor" world nowdays. Yes, a LCC (low cost carrier) may have the cheapest price for a ticket, but there are a lot of potential "gotchas" in the deal. When you buy a ticket, you are agreeing to the airline's CoC, not what you think they might owe you. In general, the Big 6 airlines (AA, UA, DL, NW, CO, US) have decent passenger service rights in their CoC. I can't speak to Alaska, but I would assume they do as well. The LCC's may be another world entirely - it sure seems that AirTran is, now that I have read their CoC.

You have only yourself to protect you. Be informed. Or drop me a line and I'll try to point you to some answers.

Thank you RedTails

I'm off to see my elderly mother on Wednesday night. This morning, I checked the Northwest Airlines website and there I was - moved to seat 2B for the return next Sunday. Thank you.

I have to confess that I'm an addict. I've got the Elite Frequent Flyer monkey on my back. I'm glad that I never got hooked by booze, cigarettes or drugs - this FF thing is enough. And unlike other addictions, this one can be contagious. I've already hooked my wife and a couple of friends.

Because I flew over 75,000 miles with NW in 2005, I get to have "platinum" status until March of 2007. I'm first in line for unlimited domestic upgrades to first class and I get a 125% bonus on my FF miles. Now, first class on NW isn't anywhere near the good ol' days when you had linen, crystal, and multi-course meals. But I get a bigger seat, more legroom, priority boarding, and I'm near the front of the plane to get off quickly at my destination. There's always have room for my carry-on and the drinks are on the house. All in all, I'm pretty spoiled. I've been elite status on either NW or Delta since the early 90's, and it's unlikely that I'll give it up without a fight.

The addiction starts early. You fly 25K miles and you're a "silver". This gives you some benefits, and as you start to enjoy them, you want more. Silvers are below golds in the upgrade priority, who are behind platinums. So after a few successes as a silver, you want the better life as a gold. And then you want platinum. And then you want to keep platinum. And you'll go through hoops to do so. But that's a subject for another post.

Don't be envious....put your butts in a seat for the 75K miles and you too can get hooked.

From the halls of Montezuma

I mentioned that I visited Libya in 2005. That was on a cruise, with stops in Dernah and Tripoli. For a different view of that North African garden spot, be sure to read this article by Michael Totten.

I saw lots of banners and photos of the "Brother Leader", and his description of the seashore in Tripoli was dead on. Still, the ruins were amazing, and I got to appreciate them without the crowds you find in Italy or Greece. Part of me wished that we had time to explore Tripoli on our own, but I'm not so sure now that I've read his account.

In any case, it's a great read. Time for me to put Totten's blog on my RSS reader.

Happy 2006

Another year gone by and I never touched this blog. My loss. I had many wonderful experiences around this world in 2005. My first trip to South America and I fell in love with Buenos Aires. I got to sail through Antarctica in fantastic weather - something few will ever do. I got to explore Roman ruins in Libya, see the treasures of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, drink whiskey in small pubs in coastal Scotland, and visit the Channel Islands. Lots more too, and I should have been logging it all here.

Anyhow, for 2006, it will be less travelling around the world, but a better appreciation for where I do go. And I hope you enjoy the ride.

South America

The next cruise for me is a 34 day jaunt to South America. Starting in Ft. Lauderdale, then to St. Maarten (where I can pick up some cheap "beverages" for the voyage), Aruba, through the Panama Canal and then to Guyaquil, Ecuador and Callao, Peru. We are still awaiting air tickets from the cruise line, which has me slightly anxious. But somehow, it will come through. A number of small details have to wait for the air tix - rental car to get to our airport, rental car in FLL, and car rental for the return home.

Why all the car rentals? Well, it's often cheaper than a shuttle to the airport, plus you aren't on someone else's schedule. And when you have a ton of luggage (which you do for long voyages), there's no problem on room. I get an SUV or mini-van, and get everything stowed with room to spare.

While in FLL, it's time to buy the heavy things. Rather than carry them on the flight, it's easier to purchase in Florida - and it doesn't count towards your airline weight limit. Things like mouthwash, deodorant, contact solution and saline - it's amazing how much liquids weigh. Especially when you're packing a month's worth.

The other anxiety is if we'll get our prefered airlines. We get complimentary upgrades on Northwest and Continental due to our heavy travelling - and we requested flights on those airlines. With luck, we're not on Delta in coach, which has limited legroom, but lots of flights into FLL. We shall see.

Setting sail

Well, it's about time that I jumped in on this blogging bandwagon. So here come random thoughts, right and left.

Just returned from a trip to Orlando. Boy, have they got the whole tourist business down to a science. Luckily, the flight back was in first class - the back of the bus was filled with lots of kids flushed with the power of having convinced their parents into spending big money on Mickey, or Universal, or SeaWorld. Or maybe all of the above. To say nothing about all the other tourist traps listed in the free guidebooks.

It's off to Baltimore and Virginia next weekend. Time to see family in the shoulder time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Great travel time....airline seats are available, car rental is reasonable as are hotel rooms.

No more cruises for the rest of the year, but January finds me headed back to Florida to start a trip to South America.