Upgrades and Downgrades: Side-by-side seating, nationalized hotels, libelous reviews, and more

October 15th, 2009 admin

Upgraded: Bad ideas made real Remember the proposal for sideways seating on commercial airlines? DesignQ, the company that proposed the scheme, is moving toward testing — including crash simulations — by the end of 2009. I am honestly surprised the design is being pursued this aggressively. We’ll see how those tests go. Here’s a reminder of what the designers have in mind: Downgraded: Hilton hotels in Venezuela Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has nationalized another Hilton-managed property , this one on Margarita Island. It looks like the 154 timeshare owners …


Originally posted on Upgrade Travel Better

 
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Venezuela Nationalizes Margarita Island Hilton
The private owners “imposed conditions” on holding a conference there last month with Moammar Gadhafi and Robert Mugabe. Even though seemingly on-face reasonable, the conditions couldn’t have been particularly onerous, and the hotel was already majority govenrment-owned. Nonetheless, it angered Hugo Chavez . “To hold the conference... 
Upgrades and Downgrades: TSA booted out, swingin’ conventions, Mecca hotels, mileage runs, more
Upgrades and Downgrades: TSA booted out, swingin’ conventions, Mecca hotels, mileage runs, more
Downgraded: TSA Upgraded: Airports with independence Near Glacier National Park, in Kalispell, Montana, Glacier Park International Airport is hoping to boot the TSA off its property and replace the government security agency with private contractors . What?? I had no idea this was possible, but sure enough: Under the Screening Partnership Program... 
Upgrades and Downgrades: Toyota rental cars, TSA standards, airline seats, pillows, & JAL
Downgraded: Toyotas in rental car fleets Bad enough that Toyota’s massive recall is affecting so many vehicle owners. But it’s affecting rental cars, too. Enterprise, for example, has removed 83% of their Toyotas, but that leaves 17% in the fleet. If you’re given a Toyota at the rental counter — any rental counter, not just... 
Upgrades and Downgrades — Baggage carousel ads, upgrades to Hawaii, dolphin submarines, and more
Downgraded: Baggage carousels I realize that airports are looking for ways to make money, and I admit I’m surprised this hasn’t been tried earlier, but the checked baggage conveyor belts will now display advertising at select airports . Yet another reason to carry on instead of checking bags… Upgraded: Global travel Downgraded:... 
Upgrades and Downgrades – Fees up, fees down, Open Skies, security architecture, green hotels, and saving green at hotels
Upgrades and Downgrades – Fees up, fees down, Open Skies, security architecture, green hotels, and saving green at hotels
Upgraded: United’s Mileage Plus Man bites dog! Airline reverses fee! United is eliminating the fees for booking Mileage Plus tickets within 21 days of travel. If you book today, you’ll still pay a fee — $100 for travel within six days was $100 and $75 for travel within seven to 20 days.  Read More →
Upgrades and Downgrades: credit cards abroad, passport control, cockpit brawls, and more
Upgrades and Downgrades: credit cards abroad, passport control, cockpit brawls, and more
Downgraded: American credit cards For several years now, a pet-peeve of mine as an American traveling abroad has been the challenge of using a swipe-and-sign credit card in a country where chip-and-PIN is the norm. (Consider previous posts on chip-and-PIN challenges . I even wrote a piece for National Geographic Traveler on the issue.) Now the... 
Upgrades and Downgrades: Tray table ads, A380 high and low, forfeiting Amex points, and more
Upgrades and Downgrades: Tray table ads, A380 high and low, forfeiting Amex points, and more
Downgraded: The view on AirTran While US Airways has long had ads on the tops of their tray tables , which you only see if you pull the tray down, AirTran is going a step further and pasting ads on the undersides — the side you see during takeoff and landing, when those traytables are in their “upright and locked position.” The... 
Upgrades and Downgrades: Virgin Atlantic, mistake fares, TSA SOPs, Continental upgrades
Upgrades and Downgrades: Virgin Atlantic, mistake fares, TSA SOPs, Continental upgrades
Downgraded: Upper Class, upstairs, on Virgin Atlantic Upgraded: Economy Class, upstairs, on Virgin Atlantic Like many airlines, Virgin Atlantic has been cutting seats in business class, in response to the economy’s woes. But the upstairs section of the 747 has always been sacred space for the premium-cabin travelers. Until now. The airline... 
Upgrades and Downgrades: carry-on wine, exit rows, tolls on rental cars, and more
Upgrades and Downgrades: carry-on wine, exit rows, tolls on rental cars, and more
Upgraded: Wine you can bring onboard a flight It’s not the original intent of winemakers, and I’m sure the airline industry doesn’t advocate this, but 50ml wine sample bottles may soon be put into regular production. 50ml? 50ml is certainly below the TSA’s 100ml cutoff… Downgraded: Continental exit row seats Starting... 
Upgrades and Downgrades: Passenger rights, Globespan, Eurostar, five-stars, and biofuels
Upgraded: The notion of a contract in air travel Downgraded: Airline logistics The Department of Transportation has revealed sweeping new rules that govern airlines’ conduct, but implementation and enforcement will not be as easy as passing a new rule. Most headlines read that this is a big victory for passenger rights, with the bulk of the... 
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zyakaira (Amit 'zyaada' Mittal)  : We recommend, SeatGuru.com: The ultimate .. airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline information! http://bit.ly/vxmXw & @theonion..
Updated : 2010-03-13T10:32:50Z   |  Reply  |  View Tweet
alexanderjack (alexanderjack)  : Airline Seating Charts - Best Airplane Seats - via @SeatGuru http://icio.us/rfrk22..
Updated : 2010-03-12T23:30:18Z   |  Reply  |  View Tweet
4theprophet (Jeremy Gaylor)  : Dont smash on my airline! --> I don't like how southwest has "open seating". Some people NEED a window seat. /via @stephaniecaron..
Updated : 2010-03-12T22:17:30Z   |  Reply  |  View Tweet
ajjmcd (Andrew J. McDermott)  : @66usual I'm not suprised they're being angels with their first class movie food & drink on tap airline seating... #kidstoday..
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dancerdena (Danny Cerdena)  : Philippine #Airlines now charges for preferred Economy seating. Now steps to being a budget airline? http://www.bluevoyagetours.com..
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