Segacs's World I Know

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Air Canada, not satisfied with being one of the worst customer-service companies in existence, has found a new way to price-gouge customers: Charge a fee to deal with flight hassles:

Trumpeting the service as unique in North America, Air Canada – which had a net profit of $429 million in 2007 – yesterday unveiled a new travel-assistance program, On My Way. For a one-way fee of $25 (flights below 1,000 miles) or $35 (above 1,000), payable when the flight is booked on aircanada.com, the airline will look after alternate flight arrangements and general logistics problems occasioned by flight, traffic or weather-related delays beyond its control.

[ . . . ]

Michael Janigan of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa wasn’t impressed. He suggested Out Of My Way as a more fitting name.

“It’s part and parcel of a continuing effort to try and make the service extended to you when you buy a ticket less and less. The expectation would be that if you paid for a flight, you’d be rebooked on the next available flight. I’m hesitant to figure what’s next with the airlines. Maybe washroom privileges (for a fee)? We’ll have to wait and see.”

No kidding. First they take away the food. Then they take away the baggage “privileges”. Then they outsource the lost luggage service to India. Now they won’t even rebook you on the next flight if your flight is delayed or canceled.

Air Canada continues to demonstrate that, just when you think it has come up with every possible way to screw its customers, there are always a few more to be found. The next time it claims bankruptcy and begs for a bailout from its financial woes, I hope the Canadian government has the good sense to finally let Air Canada sink, once and for all.

The Age has a fantastic backpackers travel blog, full of the kind of stories that make those of us who are backpacking junkies laugh out loud. Add a dash of sarcastic Australian wit, and you’ve got reading material that will make you want to jump on the next plane to wherever. Recommended.

Heading westward to the Big Apple Big Smoke tomorrow, for a few days. Try not to miss me too much.

To all the people complaining about the new carry-on restrictions on airplanes: shut up!

What do you think the friends and family members of the victims of 9/11 would say if we asked them whether they would have put up with the inconvenience of extra security regulations on 9/10?

Amazing how, now that one of the worst terror plots in history seems to have been foiled, all anyone can focus on is how they’re being inconvenienced. Instead of blaming the airlines, the security personnel, and the government officials, maybe people could try directing their anger and frustration at the terrorists for a change?

A plane flying from Montreal to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Baltimore. Details are sketchy. There’s no word yet on whether there was any connection between this and the foiled British terror plot.

Update: Seems it was a false alarm. But nobody was taking any chances yesterday.

It’s one of the most popular beach, sand and sun destinations for Australians, New Zealanders, and backpackers in general. But Fiji, where I spent a few hours on layover just a few months ago, is sending out a message: Israelis not welcome (via Meryl):

Three Israeli backpackers were evicted from Fiji after a Muslim immigration officer ruled that they had humiliated Palestinians during their military service in the territories.

The three – Amit Ronen, Eldar Avracohen, and Nimrod Lahav – left Israel in February for a tour in Australia.

In July they decided to spend a week in Fiji. On July 13 they arrived at Fiji airport where a surprise awaited them.

“We gave our passports to the officer, and when she saw we are Israelis she asked for ID cards. We told her we don’t understand why we need ID cards and she responded shouting: ‘You know very well how to ask Palestinians for IDs and humiliate them for three years.”

That’s what Avracohen wrote in a complaint letter he sent to Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Nati Tamir.

The three were held at Fiji airport for six hours and officials rebuked their pleas to be allowed to make a phone call.

Armed policemen took them to a cell at the airport where they spent the night before being sent back to Australia.

Catch that? A night in jail with no phone call, for having done absolutely nothing besides present a passport that happened to be from Israel.

There are a zillion Israeli backpackers in Australia right now. I ran into them in just about every hostel, on every bus, and in every tourist site imaginable. A fair number probably travel to Fiji on a regular basis. Fiji’s economy is largely tourism-based, and they depend on this business. I hope this story reaches the backpacker community far and wide, and that travellers of all stripes band together to refuse to go to Fiji until a suitable apology is issued. (Judging by the antisemitism too prevailant in the backpacker community, though, I wouldn’t hold my breath).

Cheap budget airlines in Europe such as Ryanair, EasyJet, SkyEurope, Wizzair and others have revolutionized European travel, making it often cheaper to fly halfway across the continent than it is to get a bed for the night. But that’s all about to change:

AIR passengers will be charged up to £40 extra for a return ticket within Europe to pay for the environmental impact of their journeys, under plans approved by the European Parliament yesterday.

MEPs voted in favour of the “immediate introduction” of a tax on jet fuel for flights within the 25 member states of the EU. The charge would double the cost of millions of budget airline flights.

Well, it was great while it lasted, anyway.

I don’t know what this will do for the environment, but being quite familiar with the budget of the average backpacker, I have a fair idea of what it will do to European tourism.

Some random observations:

• New Yorkers complain about the cold even more than Montrealers do, or at least it seems that way.
• Fifth Avenue is pretty with all the lights.
• Stuck for a gift idea? No problem. There’s a street vendor at 73rd and Broadway selling Christmas sweaters for $2.
• Lots of tall buildings arranged perpendicularly in a grid create massive wind tunnels. Ugh.
• Most of the subway station platforms aren’t heated. The subway trains are, though.
• Winter, spring, summer or fall… it’s just as impossible to get a cab from downtown Manhattan to the airport at rush hour.

For your viewing pleasure, here’s a random snapshot of Rockefeller Center all decorated for the holidays:

I’m back after another brief business trip, this one to lovely Windsor, Ontario. Well, okay, maybe “lovely” is a bit of a stretch… but in fairness, I didn’t see that much of the city. Like most business trips, this was an airport-hotel-meeting-hotel-airport kind of circuit. The big Windsor sightseeing will have to wait till next time, I suppose.

The Windsor airport is really tiny. They never seem to have more than one flight there at a time; security and the gates are open only for about 20 minutes before each flight boards. However, it’s got a certain amount of charm. The staff are all suspiciously friendly, even the security personnel. There’s a food counter that makes real, edible food (which is more than I can say for Pearson airport in Toronto, Canada’s largest). There’s even high-speed wireless internet, albeit for a price. Since I was flying standby and had to spend several hours there, I was especially grateful for that last one.

Anyway, it’s good to be back. Regular blogging to resume, well, now. Those of you who missed me (all two of you) ought to be relieved.

Yes I’m still alive. Yes, I’m exhausted. Yes, the flight home from New York was late (again). No, I have not yet unpacked. No, I have no idea how I’m going to catch up on work before the Holidays next week. No, I probably won’t have any time to blog about the zillion things that have happened in the world last week or the zillion more that will happen this week. Sorry.

In the meantime, here’s your new thread. Enjoy.