Visa Wins Big at Olympics

by Josh Lew on

Visa wanted to use the Olympics to get its foot firmly in the door in Beijing. The results are good so far. The credit card giant has been almost as dominant as the US men’s basketball squad.

Visa started preparations well before The Games. They helped over 200,000 merchants become Visa-ready and installed nearly 90,000 ATMs country-wide.

So who is plopping down the plastic in China’s largely cash-based society? Americans, who else? Visa claims that nearly 20% of the revenue on the first day of the Olympics came from consumers from the US. Japanese were the second largest group of users, accounting for 13% of the day one total.

Visa is using the Olympics to get itself in good position for the future in China. But is China benefiting from the wider use of plastic? Small and medium-sized retail businesses are probably seeing immediate results with the souvenir-happy tourists who have descended on Beijing. Visa claimed that there were $10 million worth of sales on day one alone. That’s $10 million dollars into the local economy.

Talk about laughing all the way to the bank. China won’t be laughing in the future when it finds that domestic credit card debt is on the rise, but for now, unlike the Olympic events themselves, in the credit card game, everyone is a winner.

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Ryanair in Hot Water (Again)

by Josh Lew on

Low cost carrier Ryanair can’t get any love these days. Europe’s original budget airline has gotten tons of press lately. Unfortunately, most of it has been bad. Of course, maybe there are people out there who want to fly an airline with surly flight attendants, lots of noise, and trashy ad campaigns. It could be kind of an adventure.

But when things go to court, the fun and games must cease. BAA (British Airports Authority) is suing Ryanair for unpaid airport fees accrued when the company refused to pay higher landing fees at Stansted Airport.

To Ryanair’s credit, at least they followed up their talk with action. They have been complaining about the higher fees and they haven’t paid them. When the airline’s outspoken chief, Michael O’ Leary, used expletives to describe BAA’s execs, the press ate it up. However, his (winning) personality might not fly in court.

Is this the beginning of the downward spiral for Ryanair? Abrasive behavior will only get you so far. It might be time for O’ Leary and his posse to start making some friends lest they end up with nowhere to land their planes.

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Latino heartthrob kicked off Delta flight

by Abha Malpani on

You’d think famous people can get away with a bit of attitude, not on a Delta flight though.

18-year old Latino music heart throb Carlos Olivero recently got kicked off a Delta flight in Atlanta for not stowing his iPod. He was asked to switch it off and stow it for take-off; he obediently turned the device off, but refused to stow it. Next thing you know, a security team was called on board and he was escorted off the plane with his mother.

A bit far fetched I know: what’s the big deal, he switched it off as told; not stowing it shouldn’t have been made an issue. But, that’s what you get for messing with flight attendants on Delta!

Part of Latin pop band Menudo, a group that both Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony used to be in, this little disobedience act with a Delta flight attendant may break or make his career. Will the girls love him for being a bad boy? Or will they demand a replacement?

See, your travel behavior can have life-changing consequences.

Heathrow’s new terminal losing almost 1,000 bags a day

by Grant Martin on

Do you remember London Heathrow’s new terminal 5 that opened this year? It was supposed to be the crown jewel of Heathrow airport, with broad sprawling concourses, a host of restaurants and shops and top notch baggage handling.

While the terminal has had some serious teething problems, including hundreds of delays, cancellations and even some celebrity breakdowns on the first few weeks of operation, we though that things were starting to break in as the summer rush surged.

But a new report from The Daily Telegraph is saying that the airport is still having baggage issues and is losing nearly a thousand bags every day. I guess that there is still more work to be done on the new fancy pants luggage handling system.

Meantime, this is more reason to pack your luggage into your carry on if you’re flying through T5. Combined with the fact that more carriers are charging for checked bags, packing light is looking more and more appealing.

[Via UPI.com]

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Spirit Airlines to cut nearly half of pilot and flight attendant workforce

by Grant Martin on

Spirit Airlines just announced that it would be furloughing nearly half of its crew today, in a letter it sent to it’s union leaders. The layoffs, an effort to cut costs and pare down operations, comes as the airline closes hubs in New York and San Juan while significantly shrinking Detroit and Ft. Lauderdale.

While unfortunate news for the employees and the airline, it is perhaps best that the carrier makes these moves before the financial situation becomes too tight. It’s best to continue limited operations while the market is sour then keep going strong and run out of money.

Perhaps after the market rebounds and airlines are easily able to operate in the red again can Spirit regain it’s balance.

How will this effect the everyday traveler? You’ll probably notice some cutbacks in routes and capacity. But the main routes will stay mostly in tact. Try asking your pilot or flight attendant how things are going on your next flight for a real perspective on company morale.