Recorded in the beautiful home office of Chateau’ Relaxo.
A quick COVID update as I spent a few nights on the road since the last episode. One night was in Warner Robins, GA. At the Hilton Garden Inn, there was still a plexiglass riot shield across the check-in desk and the lone desk attendant was wearing a mask but there was a sign stating that if you were vaccinated wearing a mask was optional.
The next stop was Valdosta, GA where there were no plexiglass riot shields, none of the employees were wearing masks and strangers actually rode in the elevators together.
One interesting conversation that I had with the desk clerk Hank, was about the $10.00 property that Hilton now offers in lieu of free breakfast. It is for each person in your party and the $10.00 also applies to the day of check-in which means one free check-in beer.
We went on to talk about the future of this property credit that most road warriors despise. Hank says it’s here to stay as there are no plans to back to the Hilton Garden Inn complimentary made-to-order breakfast.
Onto the February crazy travel roundup.
This first story is a guarantee that there will continue to be entries for the monthly crazy travel roundup. Frontier, Spirit announce a merger creating one huge ultra-low-cost airline.
From a podcast content standpoint, this gives existing Spirit customers new routes to display their charm, craziness as well political and COVID beliefs.
From a business development standpoint, this might not be a bad thing. Frontier has about 3% of the air travel market while Spirit holds right around 2%. Individually they’ll never be able to take on the big four, but combined they might just might gain a bit of ground on the remaining 95% of the market.
Smaller airline mergers are nothing new. Southwest Airlines did the same thing in 2011 when they merged with Airtran airlines after Airtran and ValuJet merged in 1997.
Worse case, think of this as a giant discount mall in the sky.
I haven’t rented a car in almost so I’d like to think that I'm partly responsible for some of the rental car company's struggles over the past two years, more specifically Hertz’s struggles.
In May of 2020 Hertz, filed for bankruptcy. That same month Hertz, like most businesses in bankruptcy needed cash so they did as most of us would do if we needed cash Hertz sold stuff, more specifically Hertz sold off their fleet of 650-hp 2019 Z06 sunshine yellow Corvettes.
After that supply chain struggles set in with a lack of inventory as travelers arrived at their destination only to find that their reservation, their reserved car wasn’t there. In the words of Jerry Seinfeld - Jerry: You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.
Then their struggles expanded as Hertz began filing police reports charging customers with car theft after they rented its cars. Part of this was due to customers' credit cards being close to their credit limit and Hertz imposing a hold for the rental that then exceeded the customer's credit limit which somehow translates to car theft.
And then there’s Drew Seaser of Colorado. Hertz had Drew arrested for stealing a car that was rented in Georgia. Arrested despite the fact that Drew has never rented from Herts….. Or been to Georgia.
Apparently, there is a class action suit against Hertz over sending customers to jail for no good reason.
Earlier in February View From the Wing posted - Emergency Landing After American Airlines Crewmember Hit Erratic Passenger With Coffee Pot
Here’s the 30,000’ view - An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington National diverted to Kansas City after an “erratic” passenger tried to open the first-class aircraft door during the flight. In a perfect world this passenger gets immediately put on the federal nationwide no-fly list we talked about last month.
View From The Wing added, “Passengers assisted cabin crew in subduing the man. One flight attendant hit him with a coffee pot, causing him to bleed, while passengers held him.”
I’m willing to bet that the coffee pot was filled with anger. The flight attendant's anger of every unruly passenger that wouldn't fasten their seat belt, wouldn’t wear their mask, and destroyed the lavatory located next to the airplanes galleys.
Hats off to everyone involved.
Here’s another diverted flight, but not due to an unruly passenger. An AirAsia heading across Malaysia was diverted due to a snake. That’s right Samuel L Jackson a real MF’ing snake on an MF’ing real plane. The flight was diverted and no one was bitten. When asked for a comment the pilot replied, "This is a very rare incident which can occur on any aircraft from time to time,"
Something about the word rare and the phrase “from time to time” just doesn’t sit right with me. Here’s my take on snakes - there are two kinds of snakes, chicken snakes, and cobras. Either it has a chicken in its mouth or it's a cobra.
This comes to us from The Drive and it involves the “Thank you Florida” Orlando airport and a Florida Woman. Woman on Motorized Suitcase Sparks Police Chase Inside Florida Airport.
Chelsea is the Florida Woman, and the reason I know her name is that the Orlando officer, Andrew Mamone, said it at least 20 times during the 3-minute video. Chelsea had been over-served and the gate attendant claimed she did not want somebody so intoxicated on the flight. After Officer Mamone arrived and attempted to calm things down, Chelsea flipped Officer Mamone the finger, called him a number of expletives, and then hopped on her suitcase and fled the scene.
Officer Mamone gave Chelsea every break in the book before they cuffed her and placed her in the back of the patrol car. Where she began ripping apart the car's headliner and allegedly going “big potty” in the back seat. Chelsea was eventually released from jail on a $13,500 bond and rode home on her suitcase.
While this next story isn’t completely travel-related it does involve a travel destination and two other biggies. Drunken, naked brawl breaks out at Disney World in wild scene, Thank you Florida, or maybe Jersey Shore after the highlights.
The evening started with two sisters, from New Jersey, grabbing dinner at Disney Springs steakhouse (Probably STK Steakhouse) and then hitting an Irish pub for drinks (Probably Raglan Road).
When the sisters were ready to go back to their hotel they found that their phone died so a Disney security guard helped them call an Uber. The Uber driver refused to take them, saying they were too drunk, so the security guard called a taxi.
While they were waiting, the pair began arguing. The older sister called the younger sister a “bad mom” and slapped her, in return, the younger sister allegedly threatened to punch her.
The security manager said one female slapped the other in the face. “At that point, both females began punching, slapping, and pulling each other’s hair.”
The security manager pulled the two drunk women apart. But in true, trashy, reality-show fashion, they rushed at each other.
At which time the older sister slipped in the younger sister’s vomit, and then fell into the bushes. According to the security guard, the younger sister “ran a few feet away and took off her dress, exposing her breasts. Shortly after that, they began to punch each other again.”
The Sheriff’s arrived around 12:40 a.m. to find the younger sister screaming and crying near Cirque du Soleil. She was stripped down to only her underwear and sandals, according to court papers said.
The pair were arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence, battery, and disorderly intoxication. The state’s attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges. Each of the sisters, who didn’t sustain any injuries, also requested the other not be prosecuted.
When police questioned the younger sister, all she wanted to talk about was how she “didn’t like her sister’s boyfriend.”
Just remember no matter where you go in Florida to party there will always be some drunk girl alone, in the corner, crying.
It’s been said that you can tell a lot about a person based on how they dress. Well Wendi Aarons from McSweeney’s posted this - AIRPLANE PASSENGERS AS EXPLAINED BY THEIR PANTS
Honestly, there’s some truth in her post.
Wool Suit Pants: Will board before you.
Pleated Dockers: Will loudly talk on cell phone about ROIs and vertical markets.
Pajama Bottoms: Will be flying either to or from a city with a Señor Frog’s.
Sweatpants with Dallas Mavericks Logo: Will clog one or more bathrooms.
Stained Yoga Pants: Will be carrying a screaming child.
Stained Gymboree Pants: Will be a screaming child.
Jeans with Rhinestones: Will get wasted on tequila and Sprite and graze flight attendant’s boob.
Tight Black Stretch Pants: Will be a pharmaceutical sales rep named Morgan.
Camouflage Cargos: Carry-on is a styrofoam cooler sealed with duct tape.
Pink Sweatpants: Will laugh her ass off at the Adam Sandler in-flight movie.
Beige Slacks: Will nervously clutch book about how liberals are destroying America.
Swim Trunks: Will be escorted off plane by federal air marshal for doing something gross to the beverage cart.
Creased Jeans: Will be the federal air marshal.
Orange Jumpsuit: Did not pay for own flight.
Here’s this month's first entry from Live And Let’s Fly - MAN FACES PRISON AFTER URINATING IN GALLEY ON SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT
33-year-old Samson Hardridge needed to use the lavatory shortly after takeoff on a Southwest Airlines flight from Dallas to Burbank, CA. Both lavatories were occupied so he stood in the galley to wait for one to open. Standing in the galley area is typically frowned upon by the flight crew, especially since they were preparing for the beverage service.
So they asked Hardridge to wait in the aisle. This didn’t sit well with Hardridge, so he answered their question by asking the two female flight attendants a question of his own, “Would they would like to see his penis?” As one could well guess they declined so Hardridge pulled it out anyway and urinated in a corner of the galley. After which he called the flight attendants “dumb b*****s.”
Next, the flight attendants asked that the plane immediately be diverted. The captain agreed and they headed to Albuquerque (ABQ) where Hardridge was arrested.
While it isn’t clear Hardridge was intoxicated he now faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and a jail sentence of 20 years. Stay tuned for more details.
One last entry from “Thank you Florida” dateline Orlando, Drunk man tased and tackled after attacking woman, children at Orlando International Airport
Ryan Martin, 34, from Yonkers, New York was at gate 46 where this incident unfolded.
Officers were called to United Airlines gate 46 for a report of a man who had just hit a woman and a United gate agent.
There’s a video. There’s always a video and more often than not it was shot in portrait mode. People this isn’t TikTok hold your phone horizontal.
Jessica Smith filmed the close to an 8-minute video where Martin can be heard screaming, “Are you (expletive) serious,” while inside the gangway prior to police arriving. Yes, he managed to open the gangway door.
When Martin eventually walks into camera view, he shouts, “Nobody touches me,” before adding, “I’m gonna put on a mother(expletive) show.” Well, Martin not only put on a show he was the star of it after officers deployed a stun gun and zapped him multiple times.
Apparently, this all started when Martin decided to day drink at the airport which then manifested into him pushing a woman and child and finished up with charges of child abuse, disorderly intoxication, domestic violence, battery, and resisting an officer with violence.
In case you were curious passengers in the gate area applauded when the officers arrived.
Remember, Florida, come on vacation, leave on probation.
In a recent The Points Guy post they asked Do business credit cards impact my credit score?
The article summed it up with this - If your business card activity — not just the hard inquiry for opening the account, but your actual account activity on an ongoing basis — appears on your personal credit report, it will have the same impact as the rest of your credit cards.
Here’s my take on business credit cards. I have one, and it’s safely stored away, I can’t remember the last time I used and for all, I know it may be past its expiration. The reason I don’t use it is that I don’t get any points. I’m not sure who gets them, but it isn’t me.
At my previous company, I didn’t travel much, but when I did they booked all my reservations. In 1990 there was no internet and booking travel required you to make several phone calls, airlines, hotel, and rental car company or you could make a single call to a travel agency. In my case, I called Betty at HQ and told her the destination and the dates and she took care of the reservations at the end of the month the company paid the bill, all I had to do was submit an expense report for my per diem..
Several years after I had moved an employee brought to light what was actually going on. It turns out that Betty was actually one of the VPs’ secretaries….. This was long before the title of administrative assistant. Well, Betty was booking all the travel through one specific travel agency and that specific travel agency was owned by the wife of the VP. Which in itself isn’t that bad, but it turned out that the VP was paying for all the travel with his own credit card and then submitting the expense reports for reimbursement…… and as you probably guessed by now, the VP was getting all the points
That’s it for the February Crazy Travel Roundup. Not sure what the next episode will be, but check back in two weeks.
If you want detailed show notes, links and pictures head over to podpage.com/travel-stories/
Leave a message onAnchor, or shoot me an email atTravelFrick@gmail.com.
As I always say, travel safe, stay safe, and thanks for listening.
Thanks for listening.
