Planning on shopping ’til you drop on your vacation? Consider shipping your purchases home via UPS, FedEx, or USPS.
With most airlines charging fees for checked bags and overweight luggage, in many cases shipping your goods home is cheaper than paying the airline’s fees.
Pay special attention to USPS, which offers several sizes of Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes — anything that fits in the box can be shipped anywhere in the United States for one flat rate.
As you’re probably aware, some people think reclining a seat on a flight is a pretty much a crime, while others think it’s a blessing. Therefore, yesterday, we asked our Twitter followers a burning question:
Immediately, our wonderful (and vocal) followers burst forth with their thoughts, which ranged from absolute insistence to meek denial. Overnight, we let Gadling’s servers and mega-computers crunch the data, and now, we’re here to report our findings.In fact, it appears most people do, indeed, recline their seats on a flight. That’s probably not surprising, given how cramped many flights are … and the fact that the airplane seats come equipped with that functionality.
Forty-two percent of respondents said they recline their seats during a flight. The remaining responses were evenly split (twenty-nine percent each) between solidly refusing to recline and by admitting they may recline, but whether they would recline depended on a variety of factors.
Let’s take a look at some of the responses.
Some people admitted (almost gleefully!) that they shoved their seats way back (though almost all admitted that meal time was not the time to recline).
Remind me not to sit behind these folks any time soon.
Others copped to reclining, but did so somewhat sheepishly.
Some folks claimed never to recline at all (and offered up tips on how to make it through long haul flights).
Thanks for the freebie, JohnFromJersey.
While others said they never reclined … except for in certain extenuating circumstances.
SarahMenkedick, that happens to me a lot, too.
Others felt The Seat Recline is a necessary thing to do — almost obligatory.
Not exactly sure how LauraBly considers that “self defense,” but she’s one of our favorite people, so we’ll let that pass.
Our favorite response, however, was from a Recliner Decliner, who almost certainly refuses to wear Members Only jackets any more, too.
And what do Gadling bloggers do?
If you’ve ever met Mike, you know he’s not making this up. Thanks to everyone who responded.
So which group do you fall into? Do you recline your seat on a flight?
%Poll-39358%
PS — you can follow all Gadling’s bloggers by clicking the button below. Do it. It’ll be fun!
This week saw the vitriol of travelers (and travel writers) directed at the TSA. The new TSA regulations that were imposed in light of the terrorist attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight led many to unleash the proverbial hounds and attack both the TSA and Department of Homeland Security with great fervor. It became quite fashionable (and deservedly so) to use blogs and Twitter to mock the TSA’s plans for keeping us safe.
However, this hysteria is not new in the travel community. Travelers have a long history of finding a target for their angst and attacking it like cat on a Roomba. The TSA is just the latest object of travelers’ derision. There were others before it and there will be others after it.
Let’s take a look back at travel complaints through history.God – The Garden of Eden was the original all-inclusive resort. Despite the absence of a “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” policy, the Almighty actually had pretty stringent rules. While there was a veritable buffet for Adam and Eve, apples were off limits. The first guests to violate this policy were removed from the property and led management to blacklist all human visitors. Is that species profiling? Sure seems like it.
Christianity vs. Islam – Europeans have always enjoyed traveling. However, their motives for getting out and about during the Crusades were pretty shady.
India – Christopher Columbus never forgave India for not being in the Americas. Annual parades have yet to appease him.
Lack of produce – Scurvy was no joke back in the day. Now it’s a pretty good joke anytime someone offers you an orange.
Babies – They cry. They kick the back of your seat. They have little comprehension of the expletives that you’re shouting at their mothers.
People who recline their seats – I am one of these people. I make no apologies to anyone.
Airline food – Did you hear that airline food is gross? Yeah, so did every comedian in the 1990s.
Travelers vs. Tourists – The travelers vs. tourists debate is an epic one pitting blowhards against windbags. It has, however, kept the soapbox industry in business.
Cruises – When you’re the cause of a Twitter hashtag getting hijacked, you’ve officially made it as a preeminent target for travel complaints.
TSA – They’ve been accused of racial profiling, enforcing their policies arbitrarily and reacting to incidents with asinine updates to their rules. This latest episode is practically old hat for them. A hat that must be removed during the screening process, of course.
So, what’s my point here? At the end of the day, travelers will always find something about which to complain. Sometimes it will be justified while other times it will simply be a matter of opinion. People will always enjoy pointing fingers, making judgments and mounting their high horses.
But I think we can all agree that people who wear socks with sandals are just plain wrong.
Photo by Flickr user Aardvark of Fnord.
1. PHONES HOME – As soon as the first class virgin settles into the big, comfy, leather chair, they immediately begin to phone everyone they know during boarding to share exactly where they are, and they do so in a very loud voice as they recline the seat all the way back, giving a detailed description of just how far the seat actually goes. Amazing, isn’t it? Calls are followed by a self portrait which gets sent via text. Hi mom!
2. WON’T GIVE UP THE COAT – Flight attendants working in first class hang coats during boarding. Because the virgin is unfamiliar with airline procedures, they’ll usually wad up the jacket and shove it inside an overhead bin. If a flight attendant offers to hang it in the closet, the virgin always looks a tad bit worried about parting with the item. Don’t be afraid, coats will be returned fifteen minutes prior to landing.
3. STRANGE USE OF HOT TOWELS – Hot towels are distributed in first class before the meal is served. Most passengers use the steamy cloth to wash their hands, while some will use it to clean their eyeglasses or wipe down the tray table, all of which are acceptable uses of a hot towel. The virgin has been known to do things a tad bit differently. I’ve witnessed quite a few passengers giving the old armpits a good rub down. A couple of coworkers have even spotted passengers trying to eat the thing as if it were a spring roll.
4. ORDERS THE BREAD BASKET – Menus are passed out in first class. Inside passengers will find a selection of appetizers, entrees, desserts and wine. Off to the side it mentions that sourdough and multigrain rolls are served alongside the main course. The virgin has been known to order the bread basket as an entree choice.
5. GETS UPSET OVER MEALS – It’s common knowledge amongst frequent fliers the order in which meal preferences are taken in flight and the elite flier chooses their seat accordingly. Because the airplane is catered with the exact number of meals as there are passengers on board, not every passenger in first class will be offered more than one meal choice. Flipping out and using the word “ridiculous” only screams newbie on board!
6. LOOKS DAZED AND CONFUSED – Nothing says first timer more than a passenger who just stares blankly when the flight attendant appears with an armful of table linens. After the flight attendant discretely asks the passenger to pull out the tray table, the confusion kicks in when the first timer starts frantically searching around for it. Check the armrest next time
7. DRINKS NONSTOP: Except for a cup of coffee or a glass of water, the frequent flier can be counted on to stick with their drink of choice throughout the flight. The virgin samples all four wine choices after finishing off the entire bottle of Champagne. For dessert Baileys is poured over ice cream and Kahlua is stirred into coffee. Mmm…smells good. They’ll even ask for a couple of minis to go.
8. BINGES – The first class service is elaborate. There are appetizers and drinks, salads made to order, entrees presented with an assortment of bread, followed by fruit, cheese, gelato, and more. The frequent flier has had enough of the never ending (never changing) service and would rather work than eat. The virgin samples it all. Go ahead, enjoy!
9. CAN’T FIND THE TOILET – The virgin has no idea where the lavatory is, which is why they’re trying to open the closet, or even worse, the cockpit door! Don’t panic, the air marshalls know what they’re doing. Just like flight attendants they’ve seen it all. Otherwise there’d be one less newbie in flight.
10. COLLECTS SOUVENIRS – Those little salt and pepper shakers are kind of cute, aren’t they?
How fitting is it that today’s SkyMall Monday featured the Siamese Slanket while the whole travel world is talking about the new TSA regulations? It seems that the TSA wants to make sure that our luggage and devices are safely stowed for the final 60 minutes of the flight so that our hands are completely visible to the flight crew. Even blankets have been outlawed during approach so that no one can discreetly ignite a device or fingerblast his lady friend. But what about the people who are always cold on planes (Read: 90% of humanity)? How will they stay warm in those cold metal tubes as they descend? These are reasonable questions that deserve humorous valid answers.Thankfully, SkyMall Monday is on the case. I am hereby demanding that the TSA answer this vital question: Can we wear the Travel Slanket during landing?
Sure, blankets are no longer permitted during this time, but that’s because the TSA is spooked that you’ll be whittling something explosive out of the view of the flight attendants. But the Travel Slanket keeps your hands exposed. There are no secrets with a Travel Slanket wearer. He wears his heart – and his willingness to follow the rules – on his fleece sleeves.
So, TSA, stop being so ambiguous and aloof and tell us what we all want to know: Is the Travel Slanket the ultimate safety and security compromise? We want answers. We want the truth. We want to fall asleep on our homophobic seatmate.