Comments on: Upgrades and Downgrades — Celebrity pseudonyms, defining “hotel,” global cheapskate-ism, and more

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:38:00 +0000

…and Maryam, update coming soon. Many snags, alas. But they’ll be back!

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:38:29 +0000

Smail, good catch. The money line:

“Instead of using Smith or Jones, I derive a lot of pleasure from booking airline tickets or checking into hotels under absurd, often indecent pseudonyms,” [Depp] says.

Maybe Mr. Depp has a stash of fake IDs?

By: stillonmt

stillonmt — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:22:52 +0000

“’Every 25 pounds we remove, we save $440,000 a year,’ Mr. McGraw said.”

I flat out don’t believe that. If a fully loaded DC-9-30 (probably the least efficient plane flown by Northwest) has a gross weight of 108,000 lbs and an empty weight of 62,000 then it is reasonable to assume that the average weight of a flying DC9-30 is at least 85,000 lbs. If shaving 25 lbs of water (about 3 gallons) saves $440,000 then the cost of flying the 85,000 lbs would cost about $1.5 Billion per year. Since NWA total revenue last year was $12.5 Billion, Mr. McGraw’s spreadsheets are really out of whack.

Is almost all of what the airlines are saying about fuel costs this out of whack?

By: Chris L

Chris L — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:11:15 +0000

@Smail – The only ID check for airline tickets is at the TSA gate, and up until recently a fake ID could get one through easily. Now the fakery may be a little more difficult when undergoing the handheld black lights, but perhaps not with a Clear Pass.

By: Smail

Smail — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:15:42 +0000

Maybe it was just a throwaway line in the pseudonym article, but how does Johnny Depp get away with using a fake name when he buys airline tickets?

By: Maryam in Marrakesh

Maryam in Marrakesh — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:16:17 +0000

A gas mask?! Now that’s a new use for one of those.

PS What happened to the Travvies? Could you please post and update us on the process?