Sent to you by David via Google Reader:
Upgraded: Dirty hotels
I've stayed in filthy hotels. One "hotelier," and I use the term loosely, asked me and the (then-future) missus upon check-in, "You gonna need it the whole night?" You knew it would a good night's rest. It built character. So, yes, I prefer my hotels clean, but if I'm going to stay at a roach motel, it might as well be for my long term health, right? Right?
Upgraded: Great reviews of awful hotels
Speaking of lousy hotels… how about this gem in Huntsville, Arkansas? Your room may have security cameras trained on your bed. Fantastic! (Thanks, Kim!)
Downgraded: Honesty, and eventually, safety
American and Delta are pulling out of a voluntary pilot-error reporting program with the FAA. The program was designed to allow pilots to admit to mistakes without fear of punishment, in order to improve how the air traffic control system functions. Guess what: The pilots say they're being penalized by the airlines anyway, so they're refusing to report errors. Which harms the system in the long run. Less data means the FAA will have a less accurate sense of the problems — however minor — which plague air travel. Management-labor relations, doing damage once again.
Downgraded: Advantage Rent-a-Car
Upgraded: My mood
Advantage Rent-a-Car, my least favorite car rental company in the United States of America, filed Chapter 11, with plans to close nearly 70% of their locations. Good riddance. My experiences with them were uniformly unpleasant, and downright insulting. I'm sure there were good people who work(ed) for the firm, and for those people, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that I never actually met any of those people at an Advantage Rent-a-Car counter.
Upgraded: EU and Canada strike open-skies deals
The EU and Canada have liberalized the possibilities for air traffic between one another. "Under the deal, which is expected to come into force in the first half of 2009, airlines based in the 27-nation bloc will be able to operate direct flights to Canada from anywhere in Europe." More competition for routes across the Atlantic should ensue.
Upgraded: Hartford
Northwest canceled the Hartford-Amsterdam flight, but post-merger Delta resumes it. Service is on a 757. Let's see if they can make it work.
Upgraded: Algae fuel!
Yes, it's just in the experimental phase, but Boeing is testing jet fuel derived from algae.
Upgraded: Your Merrill Lynch stock
Elite Island Resorts, with several properties in the Caribbean, are accepting stock as payment for your holiday stays. Better yet, they're valuing the stock at July 1, 2008 levels. Merrill Lynch stock is down nearly 60% from that level. So, a 60% discount off the room rate! And at these levels, it might even be a good long-term investment for the resort. (via NYT)
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