Upgraded: Security on flights without air marshals
An unruly passenger who tried to open an emergency door mid-flight was tackled by members of Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. Other passengers breathed two sighs of relief: One, that the exiting passenger wasn’t able to screw around with the door. Two, that they were flying with soccer players from Massachusetts, and not with the Uruguayan rugby team.
Downgraded: One-Two-Go takes a vacation
The Thai discount carrier says it’s canceling flight for two months, blaming fuel prices. It’s usually all or nothing, fly or shut down. That two month time-out seems like it would kill any customers’ confidence in the viability of those tickets. Are they simply putting off the inevitable, or making a brilliant move for survival?
Upgraded: Airline revenue streams
Starting this week, Delta has started slapping advertising on some self-printed boarding passes, under an agreement with the marketing company Sojern. See a sample image below. Is it annoying? Maybe. But frankly, I can’t get worked up over this. Cranky is upset about the “demographically” targeted ads that appear on the page, but I see demographically-targeted ads on dozens of websites every day, and I’ve made my peace with those, so I’m just shrugging this one off. I’d rather see ads on boarding passes than “web convenience fees” or tray-table advertisements.
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July 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
These are marketers we’re talking about. I have little doubt we’ll get ads on boarding passes, web convenience fees, and tray-table advertisements. They’re fully monetizing their customer base!
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
When I did a piece on Sojern on our site, one of their investors posted an interesting comment. FYI the printing of the ads is optional. Unfortunate for them is the tongue-in-cheek comments on their site.
Aloha, Jeff
http://beatofhawaii.com
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I laughed so loud at your reference to the Uruguayan Rugby Team that the cats heard it in the other room.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:17 am
What bad taste the stupid reference to the Urugayan Rugby team is! Sometimes, when people try to be funning they end up being a little disgusting. This is one of those cases.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
David needs to lighten up. I thought it was funning. (sic)
August 4th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Actually, I agree with David. I clicked the link and read about what those poor men had to go through in the Andes and found myself appalled at the humor used here…and, trust me, I usually have a pretty sick sense of humor.