American Airlines to remove free blankets – wants $8 to keep you warm

by Scott Carmichael on

Well, I hate to say that it is now “official”, but American Airlines really has entered into the territory of the low cost carrier – by charging for their blankets.

The new charge goes into effect on May 1st, and is just another fee facing passengers.

According to the airline, they are introducing the fee based on “customer surveys”. Unless that survey asked passengers for ways they’d like to receive less service for the same amount of money, I’m not sure where they got the kind of input that would force them to remove free blankets.

Of course, removing free blankets wouldn’t be so bad, if the airlines managed to keep the temperature on their planes at a comfortable level – alas – even though you are sitting inside a computer operated fly-by-wire jet plane, technology still has not evolved enough to keep the cabin comfy.

The new charge will apply to flights two hours and longer from the US to Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America. Shorter flights don’t get blankets, and long haul flights are apparently safe (for the time being). I guess the time has come for us all to bring our own Snuggie?

As always, we love to hear from our readers, so what do you think?

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Ramada hotel reservations for 50% off – as low as $28/night

by Scott Carmichael on

A Ramada hotel might not be your first thought for a romantic hotel, but what if I told you that you can reserve a room with a sweet 50% discount? I’m guessing that suddenly makes it more interesting!

The Ramada Hotels reservation site has a promotion offering 50% off their lowest rates – and this isn’t the kind of promo that makes you hunt for hours to find the “hot deal”.

I spent a couple of minutes on their site, and found plenty of properties participating, with some offering nights as low as $28 for a night. There are even hotels with availability during Valentine’s day (hint hint).

The fine print of the promotion isn’t too bad either – book between February 8th and February 12th for stays to be completed by March 31st. There is no limit to the number of stays you can book, and the rooms are available in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Click here for the promotion, and please remember that we have zero control over promotions like this, so if a particular hotel is already sold out of the promotion nights, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. Did you find yourself a great deal? Share it in the comment section!

Daily Pampering – Trump-style proposal in Chicago

by Annie Scott on

If you want to propose to your honey, you want it to be flashy and fabulous and you don’t want any of the hassle (and your assistant looked at you like you had three heads when you asked if he or she’d arrange it for you), Trump Hotel Collection has you covered.

Donald Trump knows what it’s like to be too busy to arrange the ultimate proposal. In the words of the Trumpster himself, “You have to think anyway, so why not think big?“

A coordinated proposal in idyllic conditions on the stunning 89th floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago includes a night in a Grand Deluxe Lake View Suite, limousine transport to and from the hotel, a welcome bottle of Champagne, an in-suite private chef dinner for two, two dozen red roses, a full day of spa treatments for two, a romantic turndown at night, an in-room American breakfast for two and complimentary 2 p.m. late check-out (if availability allows). A Trump Attaché will take care of timing, flowers and everything else you need. Best of all, the package includes the diamond ring — your Attaché will help you make your selection from the Ivanka Trump Collection.

Prices for the romantic Once in a Lifetime package at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago start at $20,100. The cost climbs with upgrades and, of course, bigger rings.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Hotels top target for hackers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

According to online security trade publication DarkReading.com, hackers went after the hotel sector more than any other in 2009. And, they didn’t get caught: it took hotels an average of 156 days to discover a security breach. A study by Trustwave’s SpiderLabs of 218 security breach investigations in 24 countries found that 38 percent hit the hospitality industry, 19 percent for financial services, 14 percent for retailers and 13 percent for food and beverage.

So, why are hackers poking around in hotel systems? Credit cards!

Hackers are looking for payment information that they can steal and use elsewhere. This information that can be converted to cash quickly, says Trustwave SpiderLabs executive Nicholas Percoco. Other sensitive information wasn’t nearly as popular, with the likes of financial, authentication and healthcare information good for only 1 percent of what was stolen.

Disruptive passenger didn’t count on black belt “fight attendant”

by Scott Carmichael on

Rarely do you hear the words “At that point, I just put him into a choke hold” coming from a flight attendant.

But this is exactly what happened on US Airways flight 1447 last week when passenger Kinman Chan allegedly started freaking out after he doubled up on his dose of medicinal marijuana.

According to reports, halfway into the flight, Mr. Chan started losing his mind – screaming, banging on the bathroom doors and opening compartments in the rear of the plane.

He then went into a bathroom and came out with his pants down. It was at this point that flight attendant Lorin Gorman told him to sit down. When he refused, he also made a threatening motion to her – so she put him in an arm lock, jumped on him, and put him in a choke hold.

The plane was diverted to Pittsburgh where Chan was arrested and charged with disrupting a flight attendant. He now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Poor Mr. Chan obviously had not expected to run into a fourth-degree Tae Kwon Do expert on his flight. She credits her post-9/11 special training for her skills and ability to deal with small spaces.%Gallery-76818%