Whole Body Imaging

Ok, I'm going to vent against the morons who decided to put in the whole body imagers into airports.  As everyone knows, the whole body imager is a reaction to the failed Christmas day bombing attempt against a Northwest (Delta) flight coming in from Amsterdam.  Most people are complaining about this because of the privacy concerns.  Honestly though, I can understand that the TSA is trying to protect the public.  What really concerns me is the fact that as a frequent traveler I might be forced to go through these ridiculous imaging systems and have an additional health risk involved just by traveling.

There are two types of imagers, one is a millimeter wave type scanner, and the other is based on backscatter X-rays.  In both cases, these use ionization radiation to basically do a strip search of you to make sure you aren't carrying on any dangerous items.  I know that the governments who employ these are saying they're safe, but I'm sure the guys who are making the decisions aren't getting X-rayed every time they go flying.  And I for one don't like the thought of having more radiation on me than I'm already subjected to when I fly normally or go through a doctor's office. 

The only practical solution for me is to make sure I get into the metal detector line if possible.  I will definitely opt out of the scanner if I am stuck in one of those lines.  Invasive procedure of not, I'd take my chances with a TSA personnel rather than having to go through these scanners.  I figure both are about the same in terms of really ensuring my immediate safety while flying.

Finally, as a father, I will not ever have my child be subjected to these types of imaging systems.    If she goes flying, I will make sure that she is never stuck having to go through one of these machines.  There is a definite difference between a loss of dignity versus a the potential risk for cancer later on in life.   For a traveler like me at least, the choice is clear.

America's Ryan Air

Ok, I'm being rather unfair to start with for two reasons.  One, I've never flown Ryan air, so in spite of all the horror stories I've heard, they could really be decent.  Two, Southwest (which Ryan Air is supposedly modeled on) is a pretty good airline in my opinion, in terms of service and value, they are certainly better in terms of service compared to some of the legacy airlines.  

This time it was a trip to San Diego to attend Neuroscience, so a quick flight from San Jose to San Diego.  A quick aside, it's been a little while since I've flown through San Jose, the new airport is actually quite nice.  The renovations make it seem like a real international airport, even though the only international flights come from Mexico.  But the new concourse is spacious, and it generally has a good feel compared to the old terminal.  Alas, the nice new terminal is offset by the horrible introduction of whole body imager by the TSA.  But that's a rant for another blog.  

Onto Southwest, the standard find your own seat feature actually works quite well, it probably sucks if you're stuck boarding last and then get a middle seat in the back for your troubles.  But the way I look at it, you could just as easily get assigned the middle seat in the last row if you're with a legacy airline, at least this way, it's relatively fair, as long as you check in early enough online.  For blessedly short flights like the one to San Diego, I'm happy to fly the 737.  I think this one was a -500 version, although to be honest, I'm not sure.  

We have the standard seating and there was nothing extraordinary either good or bad about the trip.  The flight was truly uneventful, a little bumpy.   I did notice that the flight attendant was very service oriented, even went through the trouble of finishing serving the drinks she had on hand, incredibly dangerous I thought given that a bad bump could seriously injure someone.  But I liked the devotion to duty. 

Now, I did have one hiccup in my trip.  Originally I planned to leave at 7:00 pm from San Diego back to San Jose, but unfortunately, business ran a little long so I had to change my flight the night before to 8:30 pm.  Called up Southwest, and no big deal, they changed the flight for me on the phone.  Then the next day I showed up, and got back home with no problems. Ok, I did have a business select ticket on the return flight, but you get what you pay for, and the trip to San Diego was a mere $60, so the direct flight was definitely cheaper than the only other option which was United.

I know what a lot of people say about Southwest as an airline for cattle, but with the service they provided. I'd be happy to fly them again any day in short regional hops.  Definitely a thumbs up on Southwest for good service and a very uneventful flight.

Always Compare Before You Buy

As a business traveler, I tend to not worry too much about pricing, I typically go to Orbitz figuring that it's the lowest fare.  But it's not always the case.  I recently purchased a flight to Philly and back on Orbitz.  I just did a quick comparison tonight on prices, and what a difference it was:

 

Off Orbitz site: $313

Off the Continental site: $314

Off the United site:  the site of the newly merged United and Continental... drum rolll...  A Whooping $702.

My reaction was what the hell?  United is nearly $400 more expensive on the same night, and this is the same airline, hell the same flight.  Talk about a rip off.  

I'm sure United will have some justifications about  why the pricing is set up this way, but this is just another example of how ridiculous United can get. I hope the rest of the merger  and the integration of operation is a little smoother than this, but then this is probably just United's way of maximizing revenue.

Anyway, it just goes to show it's always a good idea  to compare sites before you buy that ticket.  Especially true for non-business travelers.

United Continental

I'm a United frequent flyer, and I have to say, I'm usually not too critical of the United product even though they give me plenty of reason to complain, for example: getting rid of free alcohol on international flights. How lame is that, it's international, and the booze aren't even that good, but hey, I guess it's business and I can understand it. 

So, when the Continental deal got announced this year, I was both apprehensive and hopeful.  I flew Continental a few times, especially after they joined Star Alliance, and their service was definitely superior  It was friendly, and heck, their 737-900s even had power in economy class.  My greatest hope is that through this merger, the Continental standards will remain, and make the new United a better airline.  But  I'm apprehensive that with the drive for profitability, we'll end up with the same crappy United service on the old Continental routes.   Thanks again for nothing, Ryanair.  (yes, all the problems of the airline industry in my opinion can be traced to Ryan, thanks for nothing, you frigging lepurchauns)

Anyway, a recent example of the service I received.  I'm a United Premiere Executive, and I just recently hit my 50K mile again, usually they're pretty fast about getting the new gold card out to you once you reach the milestone.  But this time it took a while.  Since I had just booked a Continental flight, I decided to call up the United reservations and had them set me up with seats on the Continental flight, and also check on where my new card was.  

Not only could the new United suggested I call Continental, but when I asked about my card, the person in customer service told me the company no longer issued frequent flyer mileage cards.  My initial reaction was what the hell?  How cheap can United get.   But obviously it was a mistake, I called back today and was assured my new card was on the way.  The whole scary part is that as an Premiere Exec I still have to put up with this poor service, and people who don't know their own system.  How frustrating. 

Contrast this to Continental's customer service line, they were really efficient and got me all the seats I wanted on my upcoming flight.  Truly, United could take a few lessons. Until the airline complete their merger and integration, I know one thing for sure, I will always fly the Continental side of the new United whenever I can and use their customer service.  At least that way, if their service goes into the toilet, it'll take some time.