Mike FriedmanIt’s that time of the week again, when we review the odd and interesting in the world of travel. This week, we’ll take a look kindness on United Airlines, a traffic jam (in a good way) and another traffic jam (in a bad way).
World of Travel – This Week
The Friendly Skies of United Airlines
I try not to pick on United Airlines too much, but they usually give me such good material that it’s hard to resist.
Every once in a while, though, they turn into Southwest Airlines and do something truly admirable. Okay, scratch that. The airline itself never does anything admirable, but their employees have been known to step up.
In this case, everybody looks good, as both employees and passengers alike made the day of a passenger who was traveling with her autistic son. There’s nothing worse than having your child melt down on a plane, so I know exactly how that mother felt.
Costco Invades Shanghai
If you had told me that I’d be writing about United Airlines and Costco, and that one of them had called the police on its customers, I would have put everything that I owned on United. Lost that one.
Costco opened its first store in Shanghai this past week, making it the hottest import since The Cheesecake Factory. Needless to say, it was an incredible success, drawing so many people that they had to shut the store down for the afternoon, while bringing in the police to keep customers calm. The three-hour wait to get into the parking lot had cars backed up so far that they jammed up the local highways.
Who knew that there were so many people in Shanghai who wanted complimentary samples of microwaved Chinese food? Although in Shanghai, they probably just call it “food.”
Hilton Honors Promotion – Power Up
Triple Points In Las Vegas (and Every Other City)!
In Case You Didn’t Already Hate La Guardia…
The thought of three hour waits to get into Costco is just amusing. But doing so to get into La Guardia? Forget it. Worst three hour trip since the S.S. Minnow.
Sadly, though, that’s what it is coming to, as passengers have reported what the New York Times has labeled “Tales of La Guardia Hell.” Construction in the area has turned the surrounding roads into a parking lot. According to Executive Director Rick Cotton, they “do not expect people to accept it. What we’re asking for is their patience.” Passengers could, of course, just take the train, except for the fact that there is no freaking train from the city to La Guardia.
The worst thing about the whole experience? Normally, after a three hour wait, you’re going someplace fun, like an amusement park ride, sporting event or Costco in Shanghai. When you’re done with this trip, you still have to deal with La Guardia airport.
