Japan Airlines has a less than stellar reputation and I can add an example of perhaps why. Two examples really.
On my flight from San Francisco to Tokyo. Seated in Business Class. Off to my left in the 3 center seats are husband, wife, and 4 year old.
Naturally, all the flight attendants think this little girl is so cute and so cuddly and blah blah blah. Always people seem to act as if yet another example of spawning is somehow life's most precious miracle. There are over 6 billion miracles on this planet but ok, this one is the most precious.
We take off and immediately these 3 get refreshments, snacks etc. And refills, from both sides of the center section they are sitting in. As for the rest of us, we get NOTHING until a full 45 minutes into the flight. Not that I can blame the crew really because, if they were going to devote 2 cabin attendants to full time standby with these 3 people, naturally there was no time to take care of the rest of us. Later they even gave little precious a very nice metal JAL airplane replica, which lasted about 15 minutes before it was assorted broken pieces on the floor.
Oh. And I forgot to mention that these same 3 were allowed to "pre-board" before everyone else and that allowed them to stow their 8 carry-ons and use up all the space that otherwise might have been available for the rest of us, who are limited to 1 carry-on plus a small personal item.
On the next leg, JAL from Tokyo to Seoul, the boarding was smooth and everyone was on board it seemed by about 5 minutes to departure. Yet we didnt push back. 20 minutes past departure time they announce they we are all set to go but we are waiting for "1 passenger". 10 minutes later this one passenger, a young woman dragging several bags of Japan Duty Free boards and makes her way back to coach. The doors close and we should push back but we do not. Why? Because now we have lost our departure slot. And I can guarantee you that the reason we had to wait for this woman was because she was in the duty free store since there is no other reason she would have Japan Duty Free except that she just bought it. If she had been delayed "connecting" she might have been dragging Hong Kong Duty Free or something. Net net, the airline allowed this one passenger to delay over 200 people for a full hour. As if, everyone else's time is worth absolutely nothing.
This is why JAL sucks. They do not understand the value of their best customers and they lavish attention where it is not due, or grant extraordinary consideration where it is not due, at great inconvenience to the majority of their passengers.
Dont get me wrong. I dont need to be pampered or treated like a king. I would just like to be treated equitably, even though I have not spawned, and even though I managed to drag my butt onto the plane on-time.
One more complaint about JAL. On a 120 minute flight from Tokyo to Seoul, announcements consumed a full 20 minutes. Now some of that was important, like the safety briefing because we all know many people really dont know how to fasten a seat belt. But do they really need to announce in 4 languages that we have "landed in Seoul"? I mean, duh. I swear this makes as much sense as announcing in flight that we have not yet landed, or that we have now taken off, or when we land in Seoul, to announce we have not landed in Beijing. As a result, and we have not met, if you are on a plane and during an announcement some frustrated fellow is sitting near you repeating "shut up shut up shut up shut up". That's me. Come introduce yourself.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Who has the time?
Hi
Been hoping to post more often but just have not found the time. Since 19-December have been home about 9 days and the year is flying by.
2008 trips so far have been to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Hanoi Vietnam, Bangkok Thailand, Seoul Korea, Hong Kong China, and Tokyo Japan. Multiple times to some of those locations with 3 trips to Hanoi and 2 trips to Bangkok and Singapore. Many multiple nights in Korea, about 50 nights YTD.
Would be nice to have a lot to say but just a lot of travel and work.
Have had some interesting experiences so will post them when I get a chance.
For now, need to sign-off and pack for yet again another trip.
Been hoping to post more often but just have not found the time. Since 19-December have been home about 9 days and the year is flying by.
2008 trips so far have been to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Hanoi Vietnam, Bangkok Thailand, Seoul Korea, Hong Kong China, and Tokyo Japan. Multiple times to some of those locations with 3 trips to Hanoi and 2 trips to Bangkok and Singapore. Many multiple nights in Korea, about 50 nights YTD.
Would be nice to have a lot to say but just a lot of travel and work.
Have had some interesting experiences so will post them when I get a chance.
For now, need to sign-off and pack for yet again another trip.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Day One and what to write?
Just back on the ground from Kuala Lumpur.
In Singapore and staying at the Hilton on Orchard because I couldnt get into the Conrad.
Going to Hanoi on Thursday and Bangkok on Friday before returning to Singapore on Sunday.
Boring eh?
Well that's my days. Taxi to airport, check-in, get in the plane, get out of the plane, taxi to hotel, check-in, check-out, taxi to airport. Now you know how my typical days are.
So I will add some content for today.
My constant annoyance with the airlines and seems to be their need to alter the meaning of the language to make themselves feel more important or the amuse the passengers:
1. "In the unlikely event of a water landing". There is no such thing as a water landing and I would appreciate if they stopped lying about that. In the days of the old flying boats there were water landings. Now if the plane hits the water it is a CRASH, and you could call it a water crash to differentiate it from a land crash but if you understand how hard water is when you hit it at high speeds, well it doesnt really matter does it.
2. "We will be on the ground shortly". Well duh......but will we be "landing"? Gravity being what it is, we will be on the ground eventually. Unless we experience the unlikely event of a water landing. Oh and I am pretty sure the tower would prefer we do place our plane on the ground shortly which usually implies attempting to land "short" of the runway.
3. "Personal Belongings"? That be, "your stuff" or just "take your belongings with you". Because it would be wrong to take someone else's and/or, does anyone know what a non-personal belonging is?
4. The Cockpit! Well isn't that special! And for our women pilots, they are seated in the cockpit?
5. "Put the mask over your mouth and Breathe Normally". Ya sure....or maybe I will try to breathe more appropriately for the situation thank you very much because when those masks drop things are no longer "normal".
6. Do not congregate near the rest rooms. Well hells bells where are we supposed to congregate? It seems some people with bad gas think they are supposed to congregate near my seat and break wind.
7. Use the restrooms in your ticketed cabin. Sure but isnt the first class loo totally better than the one in coach?
8. One of my favorites; Your FINAL Destination. Well lets hope not. I hope to be around to take the return flight. If I am traveling from San Francisco to Singapore via Tokyo isn't Tokyo my connecting point and Singapore is my destination? Is it any more so if it is my FINAL destination? Where are you going? My destination is Singapore. Do I need to say Final Destination and if I does it mean I will be in a different, Final Singapore.
9. Assist others in exiting the aircraft? Ok.....here's the deal, please place yourself as close to my butt as possible so that my airflow as I rush from the plane carries you along; and that should be all that is required.
10. Lastly, Please Remain in Your Seat until the Captain has brought the aircraft to a "Full Stop" at the terminal. This would be instead of a "partial stop"? Try using that logic with the traffic cop at the stop sign. I did a partial stop and the sign wasn't specific that I was required to do a "Full Stop". Sometimes also referred to as a "Complete Stop" versus the Incomplete Stop I suppose.
11. Sorry, one more. If you need to be shown how to buckle your seat belt then you are too stupid to be sucking precious oxygen on this planet and at the very least, you should not be using "transportation" of any form until you get some brains.
The Election
Of course is nice to be out of the country a lot so I can avoid some of the US election nuttiness.
I spend more than half of the year outside the country and I am often asked by people outside the USA, how could we have elected such a mean spirited and dangerous moron; TWICE?
Ok here is the deal. You have to study and take a written test and a road test to get a drivers license in the USA. If you are applying for citizenship, you have to learn how our government works and take a test. However, if you were born in the USA you can VOTE without any qualifications or knowledge or wisdom or common sense. The sad flaw of most democracies is that people get to vote (smile). Seriously.
You dont think this is a problem? I offer Exhibit A - Bush Junior.
You can not get behind the wheel of a car without some brains but you can vote by simply showing up and being an air breathing mammal.
But still, how did he get elected in the first place, much less twice?
Perhaps a little honest history will shed some light on our seemingly dim choice of leaders.
The popular myth is that the USA was settled by the best and the brightest who came to the New World in search of liberty, freedom, and boundless opportunities for success. NOT!
We are a nation of failed business leaders. Europe emptied it'd debtor prisons etc. Failed farmers, failed brewers (have you tasted our popular beers?), criminals, crazy people, and assorted other dregs of society. Not all but enough to taint the gene pool with a bias toward oddballs. Yet that wasn't bad enough. We also managed to attract every religious flake, fake, charlatan, and wacko that ever walked the planet. Given the gene pool this gives us as a base, and in some parts of the country a good measure of in-breeding, and you have the American Electorate.
In the 21st century, the shallowest end of the gene pool flocks to the evangelical churches where they are first fleeced of their money, and then instructed to vote for the only candidate who is moronic enough to work their hateful and intrusive (completely devoid of real freedom or liberty) agenda. All usually under the disguise of well thought out labels such as "Family Values" or "Morals", so that anyone who disagrees with their glaze-eyed prejudices is ant-family or immoral. Shocked? Someone probably told you we were a secular democracy.
The good news is that we have a chance to do better this year and given that the bar is currently set about as low as it could get, we are nearly guaranteed to choose someone who is better.
In Singapore and staying at the Hilton on Orchard because I couldnt get into the Conrad.
Going to Hanoi on Thursday and Bangkok on Friday before returning to Singapore on Sunday.
Boring eh?
Well that's my days. Taxi to airport, check-in, get in the plane, get out of the plane, taxi to hotel, check-in, check-out, taxi to airport. Now you know how my typical days are.
So I will add some content for today.
My constant annoyance with the airlines and seems to be their need to alter the meaning of the language to make themselves feel more important or the amuse the passengers:
1. "In the unlikely event of a water landing". There is no such thing as a water landing and I would appreciate if they stopped lying about that. In the days of the old flying boats there were water landings. Now if the plane hits the water it is a CRASH, and you could call it a water crash to differentiate it from a land crash but if you understand how hard water is when you hit it at high speeds, well it doesnt really matter does it.
2. "We will be on the ground shortly". Well duh......but will we be "landing"? Gravity being what it is, we will be on the ground eventually. Unless we experience the unlikely event of a water landing. Oh and I am pretty sure the tower would prefer we do place our plane on the ground shortly which usually implies attempting to land "short" of the runway.
3. "Personal Belongings"? That be, "your stuff" or just "take your belongings with you". Because it would be wrong to take someone else's and/or, does anyone know what a non-personal belonging is?
4. The Cockpit! Well isn't that special! And for our women pilots, they are seated in the cockpit?
5. "Put the mask over your mouth and Breathe Normally". Ya sure....or maybe I will try to breathe more appropriately for the situation thank you very much because when those masks drop things are no longer "normal".
6. Do not congregate near the rest rooms. Well hells bells where are we supposed to congregate? It seems some people with bad gas think they are supposed to congregate near my seat and break wind.
7. Use the restrooms in your ticketed cabin. Sure but isnt the first class loo totally better than the one in coach?
8. One of my favorites; Your FINAL Destination. Well lets hope not. I hope to be around to take the return flight. If I am traveling from San Francisco to Singapore via Tokyo isn't Tokyo my connecting point and Singapore is my destination? Is it any more so if it is my FINAL destination? Where are you going? My destination is Singapore. Do I need to say Final Destination and if I does it mean I will be in a different, Final Singapore.
9. Assist others in exiting the aircraft? Ok.....here's the deal, please place yourself as close to my butt as possible so that my airflow as I rush from the plane carries you along; and that should be all that is required.
10. Lastly, Please Remain in Your Seat until the Captain has brought the aircraft to a "Full Stop" at the terminal. This would be instead of a "partial stop"? Try using that logic with the traffic cop at the stop sign. I did a partial stop and the sign wasn't specific that I was required to do a "Full Stop". Sometimes also referred to as a "Complete Stop" versus the Incomplete Stop I suppose.
11. Sorry, one more. If you need to be shown how to buckle your seat belt then you are too stupid to be sucking precious oxygen on this planet and at the very least, you should not be using "transportation" of any form until you get some brains.
The Election
Of course is nice to be out of the country a lot so I can avoid some of the US election nuttiness.
I spend more than half of the year outside the country and I am often asked by people outside the USA, how could we have elected such a mean spirited and dangerous moron; TWICE?
Ok here is the deal. You have to study and take a written test and a road test to get a drivers license in the USA. If you are applying for citizenship, you have to learn how our government works and take a test. However, if you were born in the USA you can VOTE without any qualifications or knowledge or wisdom or common sense. The sad flaw of most democracies is that people get to vote (smile). Seriously.
You dont think this is a problem? I offer Exhibit A - Bush Junior.
You can not get behind the wheel of a car without some brains but you can vote by simply showing up and being an air breathing mammal.
But still, how did he get elected in the first place, much less twice?
Perhaps a little honest history will shed some light on our seemingly dim choice of leaders.
The popular myth is that the USA was settled by the best and the brightest who came to the New World in search of liberty, freedom, and boundless opportunities for success. NOT!
We are a nation of failed business leaders. Europe emptied it'd debtor prisons etc. Failed farmers, failed brewers (have you tasted our popular beers?), criminals, crazy people, and assorted other dregs of society. Not all but enough to taint the gene pool with a bias toward oddballs. Yet that wasn't bad enough. We also managed to attract every religious flake, fake, charlatan, and wacko that ever walked the planet. Given the gene pool this gives us as a base, and in some parts of the country a good measure of in-breeding, and you have the American Electorate.
In the 21st century, the shallowest end of the gene pool flocks to the evangelical churches where they are first fleeced of their money, and then instructed to vote for the only candidate who is moronic enough to work their hateful and intrusive (completely devoid of real freedom or liberty) agenda. All usually under the disguise of well thought out labels such as "Family Values" or "Morals", so that anyone who disagrees with their glaze-eyed prejudices is ant-family or immoral. Shocked? Someone probably told you we were a secular democracy.
The good news is that we have a chance to do better this year and given that the bar is currently set about as low as it could get, we are nearly guaranteed to choose someone who is better.
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