Ireland’s premier discount airline Ryanair envisions a time in the next ten years when all of its customers fly for free. That may seem ludicrous, but Ryanair is already a quarter of the way there: 25% of its current customers fly for free.
travel
SuperShuttle Not So Super, Maybe Duper
By 4.5.06
Sara writes in about a horrible experience she had last week with the Manhattan franchise of the airport van service, SuperShuttle. The driver arrived early and yelled at her for not being downstairs. He was surly with her and the other passengers. He frequently parked illegally and was given a ticket by the police.
Airplanes Start Charging You For Peanuts
By 4.4.06
In Ireland, we have a discount flyer called RyanAir. Although flying in a RyanAir jet is hygenically similar to flying through the friendly skies in a Time Square porn theater circa Taxi Driver, you can fly to most of Europe’s hot spots for as little as a couple euros, if you order your tickets a couple months in advance. Of course, where they gouge you is in buying standard airplane amentities. A vacuum-sealed bag of peanuts will cost you more than you paid for your ticket. 250ml cans of soda cost more per milliliter than liquid smack. And so on.
Seattle Times Says “SayWA?!?!”
By 3.28.06
We wrote last week about “SayWA,” the new Washington state travel slogan that was the product of an ecstasy-fueled 18 month brainstorming session by 32 marketing geniuses. What sort of powerful emotions does the SayWA message evoke? Nothing besides puzzlement and the nagging suspicion that someone just came up with a me which actually infects the listener with a highly contagious form of mental retardation.
SayWA The Fuck?
By 3.17.06
Washington State — unhappy with the stalwart, imperative “Experience Washington” — have changed their advertising slogan to “SayWA: The Sound of Jaws Dropping.” You said it.
Travel Alert: Bahamas Kill!
By 3.16.06
TRAVELERS, BEWARE! There is a travel advisory in effect for all the Bahaman islands. Unconfirmed reports detail sectarian violence against tourists. The State Department advises rescheduling plans to visit. Any and all Americans on the islands should report to their nearest ivory helicopter, immediately. Don’t be fooled by the guys on the beach offering to get you “high,” the effect is merely psychological and will not assist your departure, although it may blunt how your perception of your impending doom. Here is the document upon which the State Department based its advisory:
Airplanes Still Not Gameboy – Proof
By 3.2.06
In the immortal words of Erik Wolpaw, “isn’t it about time somebody at NASA finally got around to Gameboy-proofing these fucking jets?”
Consumers Speak: The Excellent Side of Southwest’s Seating Policy
By 1.27.06
Totally awesome tip from our boy Nick Weaver. The gyst? Travel Southwest whenever you can:
Cranky Brits Force Queen Mary 2 Refund
By 1.27.06
If there’s one take home from this story about refunds given to passengers of the Queen Mary 2 after she failed to stop at three ports of call on her latest cruise, it’s that no matter how bad a situation is, it’s always made worse by British people.
However, there were reports of discord among the passengers, many of whom blamed “whingeing” Britons for spoiling the cruise with their protest.
Adult Diapers All The Rage Among Chinese Travellers
By 1.25.06
On the other hand, maybe the Chinese should be censored.
Alongside food and fire crackers, Chinese are adding a new item to their lunar New Year shopping: Adult diapers. Sales have soared ahead of the holiday as travelers prepare for long trips home aboard trains so crowded that even the toilets are jammed with people, newspapers said Tuesday.
Maybe Google’s actually got the right idea here. Do we really want to encourage the free exchange of ideas with a people who would find soiling themselves, then sitting around in their own filth for a twenty hour train ride, preferable to just going in front of someone else? Or, hell, just sticking their ass out the window? Can you imagine being one of the few passengers with pride on that cattle car, packed in the middle of a thousand peasants happily stewing in their own feces? Remind us to link this story next time we complain about Amtrak. God bless America, baby.
International ATM Mystery Fees
By 12.13.05
Since it looks like we’re having a Bank of America day, have another mystery. Gawker jocker Scott Kidder took a five-dollar hit to his BoA account each time he got out money in Europe. Painful, but in an ‘all banks ream you for international ATM fees’ way. But there were always additional percentage-based charge with each transaction, and the BoA customer care couldn’t tell Scott where it came from.
