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Summer 1999 Webzine

In this issue: Baglady Boarding Pass | Staying in Touch | Gadget Review | Web Site Review

The Baglady Boarding Pass

by Lani Teshima

Welcome to my first issue of the Baglady Boarding Pass, a column that will become a regular feature at the Travelite FAQ web site, and where I be passing along happening news and other dishy travel sundries.

It may be the start of the summer travel season, but the Washington politicians and the airlines still can't sit down and actually come up with a piece of paper that says they will behave and be nice to people. The airlines, I mean; not the politicians. The Associated Press reported on June 11 that progress towards a "passenger's bill of rights" ended abruptly when the senators wouldn't sign off on the bill.

Next time when some folks get stuck on the ground for hours in airplanes, we ought to try contacting Amenity International. This bill is supposed to provide basic amenities and extra peanuts if they were stuck in an airplane. It was also supposed to increase the amount an airline would pay to reimburse for lost luggage. Of course that wouldn't affect us right, traveliters? You can read the CNN article here. . .

And would you believe that there was a move earlier this month to take away your right to bring in your own double tall mocha? No, it wasn't a conspiracy to force you to drink airline coffee. But that's actually not tremendously far from the truth, folks.

We all know that we are supposed to stow everything away before the plane takes off, right? Well, it turns out an Alaska Airlines flight attendant complained. You see, while an FAA inspector overseeing their airline would require that people not sip their own coffee before take-off, other inspectors overseeing airlines that flew out of Seattle and other Starbucks-owned airports (oh pardon me, we haven't gotten quite that far yet, have we? Sorry; I just saw the new Austin Powers sequel) did not tell the passengers that they couldn't sip their own double talls.

Not fair!! Not fair!! We are all born with our right to drink our double talls!! And finally, the head of flight standards at the FAA agreed.

Now the FAA inspectors will just have to find something else to pick on. A spot o' tea, anyone? . . .

A hot tip from the trench-coated Tactical Traveler over at Biztravel.com: There's a hot calling-card sale going on, and you shouldn't have to be paying more than 10 cents per minute.

If you're going to be terribly unruly and unmannered on your next flight, make sure the plane doesn't detour to Bangor, Maine. Besides being the home town for writer Stephen King, Bangor has been making a name for itself for arresting obnoxious and violent travelers who are charged with "air rage" on trans-Atlantic flights. On average, eight to 12 planes divert to Bangor to drop off beligerent passengers, according to an Associated Press story.

Finally, if you have no travel plans at all this summer, my recommendation is for you to head to your nearest theater and watch Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. I just saw this last night in a packed-to-the-gills theater, and the movie had the whole theater in stitches. Yes, the denoument is less than explosive. Yes, there are plot holes. And there are more than a few jokes about bodily functions. But heck, this movie is being heavily promoted with Virgin Atlantic Airlines, plus travel does serve as a heavy plot tool, albeit in the form of time travel.

Summer 1999 Webzine

In this issue: Baglady Boarding Pass | Staying in Touch | Gadget Review | Web Site Review

The Baglady Boarding Pass

by Lani Teshima

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