Just what goes ON in airport lounges?

by Grant Martin on

It strikes me that although we see “VIP” lounges and clubs all over airports, few of us know exactly what happens behind their closed doors. Back in the day when I was an infrequent flyer, I held hedonistic notions of wild orgies, alcohol binge fests and parties of ancient Roman nature.

Now that I’ve been spending some more time in airports, I recently decided to indulge in a Northwest Airlines Worldclub membership and I’d like to file this report from behind enemy lines:

It’s all true.

I just saw a tiger burst out of the women’s washroom, leap over a fresh seafood buffet and tear a CEO’s head (bluetooth dongle and all) right off, only to be stabbed in the face by a midget flight attendant. Right now we’re building a fire out of Toyota Management books for a fabulous shish-a-la-tiger dinner.

Or not. The truth is that it’s pretty quiet up here (the Detroit Worldclub is on the second floor, thank you). Business people wander in and out as if they’re sleepless ghosts, lost in a maze of luggage and partitions, CNN plays on a half dozen flat panel televisions and nobody really smiles at each other.

But hey, the snacks, booze and chocolate espresso are free, and I can log into my gmail and work accounts easily over the club wireless. So in the end, it pays off for me. If you’re ever in the same airport at the same time as me, let me know and I’ll bring you in for free.

Yet another terribly depressing airline tale

by Jerry Guo on

I just came across an almost-unbelievable story of how downright mean US airlines have gotten. Customer service stateside simply can’t compare to the elegance of Singapore Air or even the straightforwardness of EasyJet and Ryanair. The front-page Washington Post story tells the sad tale of a 78-year-old woman who was forced to take a 3-leg flight on three separate airlines to catch a cruise she spent 10 years saving for.

Of course, one of the connecting flights was delayed. Her subsequent flight was full, as was the next one, and the next one. At this point, a passenger who had gotten a seat offered it up for her, but Northwest Airlines refused. The kicker: they also refused to let her use a corporate phone to call home.

More fiascos ensued. The cruiseline, Princess Cruises, was also to blame for keeping her $2,500 and when one of the airlines, United, finally refunded her money, it went to Princess! Even the government thinks this is all too much. “Princess is adding insult to injury,” a FTC spokesman was quoted saying.

What has the travel industry come to when everyone’s squeezing a 78-year-old woman for all she’s worth?

JetBlue turns to travel websites for booking

by Catherine Bodry on

In the past, JetBlue sold most of its tickets through its website. But last year, the budget airline listed its fares on “global” distribution systems, which mainly serve travel agents.

Now, JetBlue has gone all the way online; it started selling tickets on travel websites like Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline. The company explains that with rising fuel costs and a slower economy, it needs to “expand its reach and step up competition.”

And perhaps gain back some of the customers it lost during all those crazy delays and cancellations last February?

Looking for love? Try the airport

by Catherine Bodry on

Pepper Schwartz, a sociology professor at the University of Washington, believes that a busy airport is a prime meeting place for singles looking for love or just a little conversation. And to meet that special someone, you won’t need to make eyes above your newspaper, or ask the ticket agent to seat you next to a single male ala the movie “Singles.” Instead, Schwartz advocates either the direct approach (“Hi! You’re the most handsome man in the airport and I thought I’d come over and say hello.”) or the subtle approach (sit next to the person and make small talk). And now there’s another way to meet folks at the airport: online.

With online social networking becoming more and more popular, it’s no surprise that there’s a site dedicated to airport interactions. Peter Shankman founded AirTroductions.com, a site that was originally intended for business travelers to register itineraries and information about themselves so that they might take advantage of layover time for professional networking. But the site naturally evolved into a meeting place for “folks seeking personal connections.” AirTroductions will be relaunched as Triplife.com this December, but you can always try other travel-related social networking sites such as Dopplr to meet like-minded travelers looking for a little love.

As with any situation where you might approach a stranger, remember your manners and be aware of their personal space. Just because you can barely keep your mitts off the handsome hottie next to you in the waiting area doesn’t mean that said hottie necessarily wants to be fondled.

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GADLING TAKE FIVE Week of November 11-23

by Catherine Bodry on

Hope everyone had a happy Turkey Day! If you watched the Macy’s parade yesterday, be sure to check out Jamie’s post where she got the inside scoop from a balloon handler’s perspective. And of the many things I was thankful for his Thanksgiving, one of them was that I didn’t have to fly this holiday. I’m wondering if the extra airspace Prez Bush opened over the Eastern corridor eased air traffic at all; we’ll find out soon, I’m sure.

Also this week:

Happy Friday! And if you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, happy digesting!