The Consumerist has an interesting story about a United Airlines passenger that overhead a flight attendant refer to the passengers in coach as “idiots,” in the context of “starting on drinks for the idiots in coach.” A passenger overheard this on Channel 9, through which passengers can listen to air traffic control communications. In this case one of the knobs on the audio panel was set to include communications among the crew on Channel 9, since these communications aren’t typically transmitted over Channel 9.

Anyway, a passenger mentioned overhearing the “idiot” comment to the flight attendant and didn’t receive an apology, and the next thing we know The Consumerist is all over this.

First let me say that it’s rude and unacceptable to refer to your customers as idiots. That being said, this is really being blown out of proportion. I think we can all say that we’ve referred to customers as idiots at our workplaces at one point or another behind their backs. I’ve heard much worse at places I’ve worked at. Maybe some passengers were rude and were causing problems, or maybe the flight attendant was just in a pissy mood. The fact is, we all generalize and let bad words slip once in a while. I’ve also heard flight attendants use much worse words for pilots, although that’s a different story.

The unfortunate part of this story is the end result. The passenger heard this through Channel 9, which is at the discretion of the captain. Many United captains (I’d say north of 50% nowadays) choose to leave Channel 9 off for a variety of reasons. In this case I think it’s no mystery what this particular captain will do on future flights. This situation could have been avoided had Channel 9 not been on, and that’s the sad part.

The only thing I’ll ever say to a captain regarding Channel 9 is “thanks for turning it on,” and there’s good reason for that. Thanks to this passenger and “Nicholas” for ruining it for all of us.

I actually signed up for a Twitter account a few months ago, but it looked far too time consuming and potentially addicting so I didn’t actually participate. Well, I caved. The main reason I signed up is because it seems like a good place to post travel updates (in addition to links to posts here). I avoid posting too much aviation related stuff on Facebook, since my non-aviation friends would think I’m even weirder. Twitter seems like a good place to vent about delays, gloat about bumps, etc.

I’m registered as “OneMileataTime,” so feel free to add me, or whatever the term is for Twitter. I look forward to following others through Twitter as well.

About a month ago I signed my dad up for the Vinesse Wine Club, which offered 4,800 Northwest miles for $42, plus the six bottles of wine they throw in (with free shipping). He thought the wine was ok, I thought the miles were great, so it was a win-win. The miles finally posted, so I called today to cancel, and what a pain in the rear it was. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “Hi, I’d like to cancel my membership please. My membership number is XXXXXX.”
Lady: “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Why did you want to cancel?”
Me (not wanting to explain that I did it for the miles, since that would have only make it more confusing): “Well, to be honest the wine wasn’t that great, and by the time I factor in shipping for future orders it’s just not worth it.”
Lady: “Well, you know we have a money back guarantee, so you can send back the wine if you didn’t like it.”
Me: “Well, the wine was consumed, it just wasn’t that great.”
Lady: “It sounds like you might want to join our XYZ wine club then. It is meant for more educated palates.”
Me: “I’ll take a look online.”
Lady: “OK, so why did you want to cancel again?”
Me: “Because the wine wasn’t that good.”
Lady: “OK, so you want to cancel because you weren’t pleased with the quality of the wine.”
Me: “Eh, yea.”
Lady: “So you’re sure you want to cancel?”
Me: “Mhm.”

At that point I think she sensed I was getting a bit annoyed. Oh well, it was definitely worth it in the end.

Thanks to a United fare sale to Vegas a few weeks back, I spent about 36 hours in Vegas this past weekend with some FlyerTalk friends. This was my first time to Vegas, and I found Vegas to be interesting, to say the least.

I would describe Vegas as tacky as hell, basically an adult version of the Magic Kingdom, only you stay overnight. If there were just one “grand” hotel in the desert that would be one thing, but when you have the Eiffel Tower next to the Empire State Building next to the Bellagio, it just looks massively tacky. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I loved my stay in Vegas and would love to return.

None of the hotel exteriors are done justice because there are so many impressive hotels in such close proximity (it’s like seeing a 747 at JFK vs. at a remote stand at a smaller airport; it’s just more impressive at the latter), but the interiors are grand as well. My favorite thing had to be the world’s largest chocolate fountain at the Bellagio! I’m still not convinced that was real chocolate. The Gondolas at the Venetian were pretty cool too.

What I loved about Vegas was watching the people. What an interesting bunch of people, from wealthy people on a weekend getaway to people that are addicted to gambling but can’t afford to be to plain drunks.

Next time I go to Vegas I’d love to see more of Nevada as well, from Area 51 to the Hoover Dam.

Venetian gondolas….. how awesomely tacky!

Mmmm….. chocolate fountain

Encore

Fountain show from Olives at the Bellagio

Bellagio

The Mirage

The Wynn and Encore….. hmm, I wonder if the same architect designed both?

Treasure Island

It’s time for a reader photo. Thanks to Dan for sending in this one.

Correct Answer: Barcelona, Spain
Winner: gsch

If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.

Well, it seems Priority Club has chosen to start the “Great Asia 3-Day Sale” two days early. On one hand I’m happy because, as I mentioned on Friday, I’m not very patient. On the other hand, why name this promotion a “3-day sale” when you open it up for five days?!? That’s almost like Hilton extending the “January Sale” into February. They should have just called it the “Winter Sale” or something to begin with.

Now that my rant is out of the way, I have to say the prices themselves are somewhat disappointing. I guess I didn’t fully know what kind of a sale to expect, but the rates aren’t that great. The savings seem to be around 10-25%, which I guess isn’t bad. The reason I won’t be taking advantage of this is because the rates are non-refundable. I always hate locking in rates since price drops are so common, as I experienced just yesterday with a Marriott I’m staying at during my trip to Asia.

A Ted redeye can’t be that bad, right? Wrong!

I had the pleasure of sitting in seat 11C, which is usually a great seat. I say usually because I have a soul. Well, at least part of a soul, which can be a problem at times, like last night’s flight. The guy sitting behind me (in 12C) was at least 6’8″. I’m not selfish or evil enough to recline in a situation like that.

I thought I got lucky with my seatmate, since she was a relatively small girl that looked like she maybe worked as an, erm, “waitress” in Vegas. What I didn’t realize is that she’d be on me for the whole flight. When I say “on me” I mean constantly placing her head on my shoulder as she drifted to sleep, until I gave her a bit of a nudge to get back into her “territory.”

What was the net result? Not a minute of sleep and a lot of standing in the galley. I’m cranky.

Unfortunately it looks like they won’t need any volunteers on the redeye to Dulles, but that doesn’t seem to stop ‘em from giving us a nice crew delay. My flight was scheduled to leave at 11:15PM, which means boarding should start at 10:45PM. Just a few minutes ago (around 10:40PM), the agent said we’re delayed due to a late inbound crew. She explained that three of the flight attendants are coming in from San Francisco, and that we’d board in about 30 minutes, which would be 11:10PM.

I’m looking at the flight status for the flight from San Francisco, and it’s due in at 11:22PM. By the time the passengers get off their plane it’ll probably be 11:40PM. In other words, boarding isn’t starting at 11:15PM. It’s quite literally impossible.

I’m also curious if the flight attendants take extra time getting to the gate, just in case they’re in a situation in which they could go “illegal.”

In other news, there’s a man yelling into his phone because his son is a liar. Apparently his son lied to his mother about something he ate, since he claimed he got teriyaki fried chicken from KFC, yet dad says KFC doesn’t have teriyaki fried chicken.

Hello from the USAirways Club in Las Vegas. On the plus side the agent at the US club was friendly and let me in without problems (via BMI Gold), but unfortunately this has to be one of the worst clubs *ever*. It has no sunlight, is tiny, and has low ceilings.

As if that’s not bad enough the TV has been blasting whatever award show was just on, followed by a Barbara Walters interview with the Jonas Brothers. What a fantastic choice in programming.

The US lounge in LAS

The quality programming

One other thing that cracked me up was UA check-in machine, which had the following on the first screen:

As someone that knows quite a bit United, I had no clue which one to choose! Ted is technically dead and chances are my plane will be painted in United colors, but the interior is still Ted. Hmmm….

I know I’ve covered this several times in the past, but I feel the need to do so again. On the way back from Hong Kong in a couple of weeks, we have a quick overnight in Hong Kong. We’re staying at the SkyCity Marriott, which we originally booked for around $200USD. About two weeks ago the rate dropped to $150USD, so I “repriced” by changing the reservation to the lower rate. Now I checked the rate again, and it’s down to $110USD! Nothing beats saving money just for a few clicks, so always check those reservations to see if the price drops.

This is also another reason to always book refundable rates, at least if you’re booking way in advance. The rate often goes down, but once you’re locked in with an advanced purchase rate you can’t reprice.

I’m hoping to save even more money with the “Great Asia 3-Day Sale,” so I’ll report back.