The Faculty Lounge

Document “retention” policy, anyone?

As those of you who travel with American Airlines are no doubt aware, the airline has been experiencing abnormal delays and cancelations of late.  According to AA, the cause is a surge in pilots taking sick time and requesting minor repairs, often at the scheduled departure time. Not surprisingly, the pilots’ union denies the charges. 

One Mile at a Time blogs about a number of posts at the Airline Pilot Forums.  This thread caught my eye:

 

How is the operation running?   Just wondering how the metal is moving over there.

-- A bit sluggish...4 canx today at DFW for lack of crews. Many delays and canx this week.

 

-- 16 flights canx in MIA today for lack of crews.

 

-- The term sheet is being implemented as we speak.

 And as always, the way to go is follow the FAR's to the letter, as well as company rules... like giving T-storms 20 nm space, thorough pre-flights, conscientious write-ups, economical taxi and flight speeds, meticulous check list procedures, no-fault go-arounds, etc etc etc.

Of course, fatigue is a hot-button topic w/NASA and the FAA. Got to wathc those mental health issues too. And it's a good time to finally get that carpal tunnel surgery.

(emphasis mine)

 

Document retention policy, anyone?

TSA Disciplines Screeners Over Lax Security. But Since Security Has No Effect On Safety, No Harm, No Foul.

ABC News reports that 43 Transportation Security Administration workers at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers have been fired or suspended after an internal investigation found they failed to perform random screenings last year. The number of workers involved makes it one of the largest disciplinary actions TSA has taken in its 10-year history.  But, says TSA spokesman David Castelveter:

"It's the random secondary (check) that did not happen.  At no time was a traveler's safety at risk and there was no impact on flight operations."

That’s good to hear.

HT: View From The Wing

 

More on Airlines ...

I know I'm always picking on airlines, but I just had to share my favorite of the recent British Airways ads for their "height cuisine" program that focuses on making food more palatable in the air.  There's a whole cuisine-development program and series of ads, but my absolute fave focuses on the importance of a good mile high cheese ...

 

And while I'm on airlines, is anyone else bothered by the current United Airlines pre-recorded safety video which advises that if you're seated in an exit row and don't want to assist in case of emergency, please "ask your flight attendant to be reseated".  I'm not sure how re-seating a flight attendant would help in that scenario!

Skycouch? Finally, A Futon In The Sky

For those of you who don't read the WSJ religiously, I'm pleased to flag the newest innovation in Economy Class Comfort for international flights: Sky Couch, from Air New Zealand.  You can stow the arrmrests, curl up with your kid, your honey, or whomever is randomly assigned as your snuggle-buddy, and enjoy that long flight from Aukland to LA.  From the WSJ (subscription required):

"Cuddle class" is an innovative seat design that has given coach passengers the first real opportunity to lie flat for sleep on long flights. To create the extra space, three seats in a row have fold-away armrests and a padded foot-rest panel that flips up and locks into place. Two passengers take up three seats and pay an average of half the cost of the third seat, typically an extra $500 to $800 for an overnight flight. The sky couch has limitations. To make it fit, Air New Zealand narrowed the aisles in the coach cabin. And since the couch is only about 4½-feet long, most people have to scrunch up to keep their feet from hanging into the aisle. In the middle of the night on a recent flight, it was impossible to walk through the coach cabin without bumping feet and legs hanging out of sky couches. And since it's still the cheap-ticket cabin, two people have to cuddle closely in only 32 to 33 inches of width for each row, including the seat.

Looks vaguelycomfy, huh?  Especially with the bearskin rug (not included.)  All they need is a pharmacy on board to dole out the Ambien and  the coach  flight might actually be bear-a-ble!

Photo from Eric the Epicure.

Travel Traumas

As most of you know, my family welcomed a new baby girl six months ago which, by my calendar means that it's time for me to end my self-imposed ban on conference attendance and to rejoin the law prof population.

In the last couple of weeks, I have ventured out and taken my first two short trips away from the family for various conferences.  The conferences were great (H/T to the organizers of SEALS and IPSC), but I'm obviously out of practice dealing with flight schedules, airlines, security, ticketing requirements etc.  So here's what I've learned/relearned in the last couple of weeks - and maybe I should blame "mommy brain" for a lot of my travails...

1/ Don't leave expensive electronic items in airplane seat pockets.  Even if you know exactly where and when you left them, and you report the loss promptly, you may not get your items back.

2/ If you take your wallet out of your handbag to put your parking ticket into said handbag, make sure you put the wallet back in your handbag and don't accidentally lock it in the car as you blithely jaunt off to the gate lounge.  (The male equivalent is probably, put the wallet back in your pocket, but then again the male equivalent won't have a case of "mommy brain".)

3/ Leave a big tip for the airport cafe server who takes your word for it that you are a bona fide traveler and have accidentally left the cash (that you needed to pay for your dinner) in the car and will be back in a minute...

4/ Wear good running shoes in case you leave all of your valuables in your car and have to sprint back to the parking lot, narrowly missing your flight.

5/ If carrying a breast-pump, be prepared for thorough searching of your person and your bags every time you go through the security line even if you just went through the same line with the same screeners 30 minutes earlier with all the same stuff in your bags.

6/ If you change your outbound flight, don't count on the airline having not accidentally cancelled your return flight without letting you know because they had no record of you getting on the outbound flight that you originally booked.  [Or, a simpler rule, NEVER change your outbound flight.]

Did travelling get more difficult since I last travelled or is mommy-brain to blame for all my angst?

Civic Duty and the Exit Row

I flew in and out of JFK airport this weekend.  Three times -- when I checked in, when I boarded the plane and before take-off -- an airline representative noted my seat assignment in an exit row and asked, "Are you prepared to carry out the duties that may be required of you in the exit row?" I found myself instinctively straightening my posture and answering with purpose: "Yes, yes, I am."  It all felt very serious, as well it should, given that sitting in the exit row is a moral commitment to opening the emergency exit in the event of ... well, an emergency. 

I have sat in exit rows on many planes, but don't recall ever having such a formal ask-and-answer before this weekend.  If I had to guess, I'd say I got seated in the exit row on that particular flight because I booked my ticket late, I was flying alone, I have have full range of physical motion, and I am neither old nor young (42; not that it matters much).  Nevertheless, as a result of this colloquy, I felt special to be assigned an exit row seat, just as if I had been chosen as team captain during grade school gym class.  I was certain I could perform the duties required of me! I've taken CPR! I have a clear and projectable speaking voice (honed through teaching 100-person Federal Income Tax classes)!  Don't they want to see my CV?  Oh, they picked me!  

Curiously, the question three-peat did inspire a sense of obligation, the same way I feel when I am called for jury duty. Unless I had a really good reason, I felt, I was required to accept the responsibility.  My number had been drawn.  It was my turn.  That's a feeling I don't have too often in day-to-day life.

Admittedly, I joyfully accepted the extra legroom that came along with my duties.  Courthouses -- where one can usually find chairs just as uncomfortable as airline seats -- might do well to create some cushier waiting area for jurors. I might re-up for jury duty next time with more enthusiasm.

 

Travel Deals For The Flexible Traveler

Chris Lund, over at Prawfs, points out this sale at Spirit Airlines: you get $50 off on a round-trip ticket.  But this is some fine print!

* * Coupon usage/booking must be made on spirit.com by 11:59 PM ET on April 25, 2011. This offer is valid only on new, non-refundable roundtrip bookings made for travel from July 3, 2011 - July 4, 2011.

All this from the airline that charges for soft drinks, exit rows, seat assignments, carry-ons and surf boards.

Ten Things Baggage Handlers Won't Tell You

Flying anywhere this summer?

In its "Ten Things" column this month, SmartMoney Magazine explores "Ten Things Baggage Handlers Won't Tell You."  Included on the list compiled by author Jami Makan are:  "Some of us have sticky fingers." (#3); "Sure, we can handle your pet -- but can your pet handle us?" (#4); and "Many of us don't actually work for the airlines." (#8)  For the full list with accompanying commentary, click here.

Any luggage-related horror stories out there to share?

Flying anywhere this summer?

In its "Ten Things" column this month, SmartMoney Magazine explores "Ten Things Baggage Handlers Won't Tell You."  Included on the list compiled by author Jami Makan are:  "Some of us have sticky fingers." (#3); "Sure, we can handle your pet -- but can your pet handle us?" (#4); and "Many of us don't actually work for the airlines." (#8)  For the full list with accompanying commentary, click here.

Any luggage-related horror stories out there to share?

The Airline Seat Shuffle

The NY Times reported on May 9 about the different fees airlines are now charging for "premium" seats, including seats with extra legroom and seats in different areas of the plane ie some airlines apparently charge more to sit in the front of the plane presumably on the theory that you can disembark more quickly.

As someone who was traveling relatively frequently when these fees were just starting to be introduced, I noticed one issue I hadn't previously thought of when the airlines started charging these kinds of fees.  I tend to check-in early online and usually if I check-in the day before the flight I can get a seat that's not too far in the back of the plane.  I noticed that as the airlines reserved more and more seats to charge premium prices, the only available seats for those who didn't want to pay premium prices were in the back of the plane and in the middle seat.  So I wonder if you're better off taking the middle seat in the back and potentially being squished between people much bigger than you or whether you wait to check in until the last minute and hope the premium seats open up?  I assume the airlines have to open up the premium seats at the last minute so everyone with a ticket can get on the plane.  Otherwise, do the planes just fly around with empty "premium" seats and disgruntled passengers stuck on the ground?

Also, what happens if you pay for a premium seat on a flight and you later want to change the flight?  I asked a gate attendant at one airline who explained a very complex procedure of reimbursing a credit card and then recharging a credit card for the change.  Also, when she tried to demonstrate, she found that the computer didn't always automatically do the recrediting so the gate-check agent had to be aware of the problem and know how to manually override the system.

I understand that airlines have to make money somehow, but this seems to be getting unnecessarily complex.

Heathrow Flight Status Visual

So far, unchanged from yesterday.  And the day before.  And the day before.

I literally got the last flight out at the end of last week. By the time my plane landed, the television was full of images of the eruption and closed European airports.  Much as I love London, especially this time of year, I’m lucky to have escaped.   Otherwise I’d have missed a full day conference at UNC on Friday, and a Saturday morning Duke reunion panel on Sex & Sport: Drawing The Line? (with me, Paul Haagen, Doriane Coleman; alumnus David Feher '84 of Dewey & LeBoeuf; and Ann Brown, MD, MHS, Associate Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Director, Duke Academic Program in Women's Health), plus the last week of classes.   

Commuting ... and Kindling

So I'm doing a lot of flying this semester and have finally entered the age of netbooks and Kindles.  And here's what I've discovered.  While I absolutely adore both my netbook and my Kindle, I've run into a few glitches here and there.  I'm sure I'll work out solutions at some point.

1. When you have to fly airlines in which you don't hold membership to the airline lounge, you take your chances that the rest of the airport has: (a) wireless Internet access at all; or, (b) wireless Internet access for a reasonable fee.

2. When you stop off in Canada, you can't access any of your U.S. licensed Internet media (at least things like movies on Netflix) because of regional restrictions on the license.

3. Sometimes even in airline lounges, the Internet capacity isn't good enough to stream audio or vidio files effectively.

4. Gotta love Charlotte Airport with exceptionally strong free Wi-Fi throughout!

5. While Kindles are terrific and I can read all the trashy novels I want whenever and wherever I travel, they are an electronic device and must be switched off during takeoff and landing.  Not a limitation with a real book - for all those people who say reading from a Kindle is as close as you can get to reading from a book.

Anyone else want to share electronic travel glitches?

Today's "Security Theater": Farce

I just got off a US Air flight from Charlotte to Raleigh after a business trip to Wyoming.  My seatmate was a very nice woman who regaled me with the story of how, on her earlier flight on Cape Air from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, into Saint Louis (the country's 31st-busiest airport), the pilot allowed her to sit in the co-pilot's seat, from takeoff clear on through to landing.   (Here's Cape Air's route map.)

It was a small plane, she explained -- a nine-seater--and she was one of just 3 passengers.   Cape Air says its fleet includes "two ATR-42s and fifty-six Cessna 402s," so I'm guessing it was a Cessna 402.

As the 3 boarded the plane (the other two were "kids," she said), the pilot asked them whether one of them wanted to fly in the cockpit with him.  The other two declined; she said yes.

She sat just next to the pilot, with full access to him and all of the controls throughout the flight.  He schmoozed with her when he wasn't talking on his headset to control, she said.  He said he'd flown commercial jets for Continental Airlines until he was laid off fairly recently and took the job with Cape Air.

I am not making this up, and I have no reason to suspect that she was either.

Oy.

Lockerbie Bomber Released From Scottish Jail

The Scots have caused what is starting to amount to an international storm by releasing Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. According to the initial BBC Web report:

The Lockerbie bomber has left Scotland on board a plane bound for Libya after being freed from prison on compassionate grounds.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988.

The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government.

There is more coverage, including a report that Megrahi still maintains his innocence, and another more recent BBC story raising questions about the release. Reactions have generally not been supportive (including those of the  white house and the US Attorney General) of the Scottish Executive's decision. That said, the decision reflects a fundamental distinction between European and American attitudes on punishment and incarceration, including the death penalty. As a death penalty opponent, I often find myself more in line with European sentiment on criminal punishment.

That said, I don't personally support the decision to release Megrahi. While I can understand that questions of compassion might dictate the release of a killer or other criminal prior to a full term of incarceration being served, and I prefer the European approach to the U.S. "punish, punish, punish and punish some more" mentality, I don't think that dying of a natural disease (or old age) in prison is in and of itself an end that society needs to go to great lengths to avoid. I have not studied nor thought deeply of these issues before now, but on first reflection, I think the questions that need to be asked in such a situation are:

1. whether there are reasonable arguments that compassion serves to mitigate against the convicted person serving the entirety of their sentence; if so, then
2. whether the person convicted has served such an amount of time, considering the seriousness of their crime and its effects on victims and society (including the victim's families and others who knew them), and given the totality of the circumstances, that a reasonable argument can be made that the crime has been "paid for" in some sense; if so, then
3. whether there is any reasonable possibility that the convicted person may engage in further crimes once released.

Here, I don't think that the case can come anywhere close to meeting the second part of the test. I  cannot personally think of anyone I know who would think that an eight year sentence is sufficient to even begin paying for the damage caused by the 270 lives intentionally killed by Megrahi (and others). So, it would not satisfy step two, even if it satisfies step one. The facts aren't all out yet, but the extent to which the Scottish Executive considered the issues raised in number two isn't at all clear from what I have read.

I did have a friend, Lynne Hartunian, who died on Pan Am 103 (a classmate at the State University of New York College at Oswego), so perhaps I am not sufficiently object to make any kind of objective case here. But trying to look past my own emotions, and those of my friends, I'm still not sure I fully understand what the Scots were thinking.

Flight Fright

So how was your weekend?

Mine?  Pretty good.  Thanks for asking.

But don't ask Link Christin, an adjunct law professor at William Mitchell.   He and 46 other passengers  were trapped in an airplane for several hours in Rochester, Minnesota.

Stories here and here.

Update:  tarmac policy violated, according to this story.

A New Meaning to Security Screening

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is trialling "whole body" security scanners for the first time, according to last week's Cleveland Plain Dealer.  The new scanners see right through travellers' clothes and pick up security threats that metal detectors can miss, such as liquid explosives.  The machines use radio waves or weak x-rays to take full body scans of passengers, raising significant privacy concerns.  The airport is adopting a protocol where the person reading the scan never sees the actual passenger in an attempt to protect privacy to some degree.

What struck me as particularly interesting was the following paragraph from Jim Nichols' report in the Plain Dealer:

"The machines will replace metal detectors in two of the airport's dozen security-screening lanes as "primary" screening devices. Each passenger in a security line will be assigned to the next open lane, meaning they'll effectively be sent at random to either a full-body imager or an X-ray machine. (At 15 other airports, they're "secondary" screeners: Only passengers who set off metal detectors go through the full-body scanners, unless they opt for a pat-down.)"

Is there something wrong with Cleveland's approach?  It seems that in Cleveland, you have to take the more intrusive option (full scale pat-down) if you object to the initial full body scan, while in other airports you only face either of the intrusive options (pat-down or full scan)  if you set off the metal detector in the first place.  Does Cleveland Airport's approach raise more of a civil liberties issue than other airports?

Continental Airlines Loses Kid; Parent Gains Silver Elite Status

Continental Airlines, which one study ranked as #5 for handling luggage, appears to have particular trouble with misplaced child passengers.  This weekend was particularly problematic for the airline, according to press accounts:

In one case, an 8-year-old Texas girl wound up in Fayetteville, Ark., instead of Charlotte, North Carolina. The other was a 10-year-old Massachusetts girl who was supposed to fly from Boston to Cleveland, but wound up in Newark.

Talk about a PR nightmare!  Never fear, however. Responsive airline officials, who initially offered a $75 refund of airfare, are now working wildly to control the damage from this story.  They've upped the offer - at least to the one parent who is a blogger.

Continental is going to refund my daughter’s entire fare and fly her back to Boston in first class for free. They are also going to refund the round-trip tickets that my in-laws bought to fly to Boston with Miriam and then back to Cleveland, and replace them with first-class tickets as well (note: they had already planned this trip before what happened on Sunday). Finally, they are giving my wife, my daughter and I “Silver Elite” status in their frequent-flyer program, OnePass, until the end of the current program year, which apparently is next February.

Couldn't they have at least bumped them to One Pass Gold?

US Airways Baggage Fee Soars 33%. Think Of All The Money You'll Save!

Today, over at usairways.com, I learned that now I could save money on checked baggaged fees by paying online.   Checked bag fee change - lower fee online, the website announces in its News column.  But when I clicked through, I discovered that this was actually a way of telling us that checked bag fees are going up!  The page announcing the change in policy explains: 

Save time and money when you check in online. Beginning July 9, 2009, you'll be able to pay for checked bags when you check in online – $15 for your first checked bag and $25 for your second. For customers who choose to pay for checked bags at the airport, there will be an additional $5 service fee, so save a few when you check in online!

The only problem is that $15 is the old fee. Now, apparently, it costs $20 to check your first bag.  I understand that the airlines are nickel and diming their way to profitability.  But for the average person who doesn't track baggage fees, this is pretty deceptive.  But maybe we all deserve it.  We chose to search out the lowest price, irrespective of service level.  Any time now, expect to drop $10 for the fake smile and "bye bye now" that we've come to expect as we de-plane.

Just Thought This Was Pretty: Sunset Over The Dodgers

Dodger Stadium at twilight, from the story here.

Airline Food Bargains: US Airways Sprite Is Priced Just Right

In an effort to bolster morale, or perhaps simply provide useful information to share with passengers irate at the new $2 soda on US Airways, a recent airline employee newsletter sets out the cost of soda - by the ounce - from various purveyors of pop.  Turns out, US Airways Sprite is priced just right!  Here's the chart, courtesy of Going Away:

Company ... ounces in drink ... cost per ounce
Aer Lingus ... 11 ... 68 cents
The Ritz Carlton ... 10 ... 50 cents
Scandinavian Airlines ... 11 ... 41 cents
Spirit Airlines ... 12 ... 25 cents
AMC Theaters ... 16 19 cents
US Airways ... 12 ... 17 cents
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport ... 20 ... 13 cents
Hilton Hotels ... 20 ... 10 cents
Circle K ... 20 ... 8 cents
Subway ... 21 ... 8 cents
Walmart ... 12 ... 2 cents

I don't think any of us is surprised that Walmart charges less per ounce than an airline, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that AMC Theaters are so cheap.  I've always been under the impression that I was getting horrendous value when I spring $8 for a medium popcorn and a small Coke.  Turns out it was only a vague ripoff!  And what's with Aer Lingus charging $7 for a soda?  Is there a carbon dioxide shortage in Dublin?

The airlines explain that they have to charge for food and drinks to keep airfares down.  (More precisely, they argue that they have to charge for snacks to avoid going bankrupt since the market does not permit them to raise fares.)  And it appears that the AMC comparison is apropos here.  A recent study by folks at Stanford and UC Santa Cruz shows that inflated movie concession prices help keep flick tix affordable.  University students take note: if the campus bookstore didn't charge so much for your textbooks, we'd really have to raise tuition!

Image from Pacific Southwest Airlines, a US Airways precursor, circa 1981.  Those were the days - deregulation and cheap drinks!

A Price Guide To Airline Food Services And A Question About Inflation

For those of you planning a trip soon, you can find an airline-by-airline guide to food service - what you'll get free, and what you won't - here.  US Airways is currently the food scrooge, charging a buck for a lousy cup of coffee.  Or should I say a cup of lousy coffee?  What I've found most irritating of late is the fact that the airlines often run out of food halfway through the plane.  Any sane flier brings their victuals on board with them.  (You'd better not check your victuals; they charge you for the bag.)

Meanwhile, the frequent flier cards are increasingly a rip-off as the Times suugests here.  Frequent flier tickets are no longer free - burdened now by the same nickel-and-dime spirit of inflight food - and you need a ton of miles to buy that one remaining frequent flier seat. 

Hidden charges and a reduction in frequent flier bennies is simply another way to raise fares.  I'm curious whether government agencies collecting inflation data have managed to account for this hidden rise in the cost of travel.