Monthly Archives: December 2010

25 Tips for Smarter Holiday Travel

Holiday travel is a bit like dental surgery. You likely don’t do it unless you have to, you have to sit for a long time, and eventually you may be subject to some invasive probing. And when it’s all over you get presents, be it a toothbrush from your dentist or, assuming you’ve been good […]

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Cellphones used on more flights

Several international airlines allow in-flight cellphone use for voice calls, including Emirates and Malaysia airlines and, within the next year, Cathay Pacific Airways and, on a trial basis, Virgin Atlantic will do so. Could such allowances be made in the United States? Certainly, said Michael Planey, a consultant on in-flight passenger technologies. But bans would […]

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What’s it like being an airline gate agent? A passenger’s day behind the podium

Spending a day dealing with hundreds of airline passengers and piles of oversized carryon bags is not most people’s idea of fun. And while I’m no glutton for punishment, I jumped at the chance to learn what takes place on the other side of the counter as a Delta Air Lines gate agent at the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta Hartsfield. With 300,000 annual miles and over four million lifetime miles on Delta, I know the airline well. This experience, however, was an eye opener.

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