A great recent example is the effort to “find Paco”, a dog that was “lost” by Delta Airlines during a trip back to (the UK?) from Mexico.     As with most stories like this, the perception  at first glance is heart wrenching.    But then the facts clear up why this story is ridiculously overblown.

Paco was a stray, picked up by a tourist couple, who then had him shipped home.   It appears he escaped from his cage while on the tarmac in Mexico City and  (I’m speculating here) headed back to the places where he’s more comfortable living.    Sad for the couple, but hardly all that newsworthy, especially given the apparent outrage against Delta.

Delta’s offer to credit the couple only $200 for a lost pet was obviously a stupid move on their part, but I resent that people don’t get all the facts out there when trying to push these stories to a gullible public.    If you are a compassionate person you MUST IGNORE PACO and spend your time thinking about the daily deaths of thousands from Malaria, rotovirus, and lack of clean water.    Yes that task is more than  overwhelming, but the whimpy “Find Paco”  sentiment that people think makes them a “compassionate person” does nothing of the kind – it hardens them to the plight of millions who live in conditions we could largely fix if people would pay as much attention to that as they pay to missing stray dogs in Mexico.      (How?   If the developed world cut defense and entitlement spending by about 10% we could rebuild most of the developing world’s infrastructure  IN ONLY A FEW YEARS.     The strategic benefits alone would be staggering, but military enthusiasts are too blinded by irrational post-cold-war thinking while entitlement enthusiasts are too busy sending subsidies to the American lower and middle class, who contrary to our constant whining cost far more in bureaucracies and benefits than we pay for  (can you say “National Debt”?)

The millions spent sending poor Free Willie back into the wild also comes to mind (he died soon after, lacking the skills needed to survive).       Did people seriously think Willie would be happier in the wild?    It was as if their *need* to fight against captivity programs trumped the animal’s own well being.

So instead of fretting over things that don’t matter much, why not pick your favorite extreme poverty charity and help out – then you can feel good…. AND actually do some good too!    Here’s a start:   http://twitter.com/charitywater

QuickAid.com was initially the web’s largest collection of airport records – about 28,000 database records in an early online version of a failed dedicated system developed to help navigate several airports around the country.

I bought it years ago and despite early successes I managed to offend Google with the link structure and low quality.  The irony of the experience was that I actually did NOT deploy a lot of the clever ideas I had for fear Google would lower my good ranking for many Airport related terms.      Eventually Google downranked the site but now seems to be happy with QuickAid as a prominent Airport Directory, so it’s time to make it … much better.

This process will take some time, but, like I keep explaining to mom about my real estate projects ….  it’s going to be … great when I’m done!

Airline Phones and Websites

The power of services like Kayak lies in the ability to consolidate most of a buyers options on a single screen.  Even quality competitors like OneTime.com suffer from having too many screens in the mix, diminishing your ability to find the best fares.   As Airlines drop these services users will find it harder to offer the best pricing, and we will be forced back into the “old web” nightmare of screening dozens of sites to find the best pricing and availability.

Hotels leaving these services could doom them to failure.   Hotels.com is not all that popular among hotels but many feel the volume provided by Hotels.com makes it an essential part of their marketing plan.   However many online shoppers do not realize that their booking often includes fees as high as 20% and sometimes more to the online service.   Currently this generally comes out of the hotel’s profits, but as systems improve and streamline hotels are looking to book directly and avoid those middle man fees.  Consolidators like Kayak and Hotels.com should be very aware that their prosperity hinges on a strong and positive balance of participation by consumers and providers.     AA is throwing a small wrench into the cogs but there are many more to come.

I flew out via BWI this morning and although I really enjoyed the city of Baltimore, I would have had a great impression if they provided ad supported WIFI at the Airport.

When travelling to or from Beijing’s Airports, keep these items in mind:

BCIA stands for “Beijing Capital International Airport” and is commonly used when referencing the Beijing Airport even though PEK is the same Airport.

Know your Terminal! PEK is a *huge* Airport, and the taxi will need to know which Terminal you are departing from. My United Airlines PEK to SFO flight was from Terminal three and I think most international departures are now from that terminal. Your hotel concierge may ask you “which airport” and I think they really mean “which terminal”. Clear this up before getting in the Taxi as the Chinese Taxi drivers rarely (read that as “never”) speak English. If you plan to use Taxis in China be sure to get the excellent printed cards from your concierge (or make some yourself before you leave) that list locations in Chinese so the driver will understand where you want to go.

PEK is the Airport Code for Beijing’s main Airport which, without much traffic, is approximately a 40-50 minute taxi ride from most areas of the city. The cost for the taxi should be about 100 Yuan, perhaps a little more. In Beijing and Shanghai always ride in taxis with meters to avoid scams.

Note: This is a repost from AirportCityCodes.com, where this got no traction. I’m trying to see how the ranking will differ at JoeDuck which has higher authority with Google, seemingly pretty much for anything I write about!

Let’s see if what response comes in from this:

Dear AA -

I am in a state of confusion about AAdvantage Dividend Miles for the family accounts. We don’t often fly AA because we live in a rural area not well served by AA, so our flights are every few years from big cities.

I called and they credited back miles I lost on my account, but accounts for my son, daughter, and wife appear to have lost the miles completely. We’d read on the last statement we have they “might expire in 36 months”, which would not have expired them yet. But when I called a few days ago I was told they expired a few months back after a change in the rules. I don’t think we were even notified of the change by mail or email as those accounts had no email addresses with them.

What am I asking for here? Simply that the miles be restored on the following accounts for another month or so so we can figure out what to do under the new rules, since we were under the impression they’d be fine until July 2008 based on the letters we have from AA:

(Account details omitted)
PS – l’ll be blogging this adventure at a travel blog I run, and would like permission to repost your replies, or if you prefer you can have a PR person

UPDATE: AA restored the miles and sent me this nice note. Thanks AA!:

Dear Mr. Hunkins:

Please accept my apology for the difficulty you encountered with the expiration of
your miles. We’re glad you took the time to write since it gives us the opportunity
to respond to your concern.

I have reviewed your account, as well as the accounts for your wife ***** ,
your son **** your daughter ***. As of today,
February 18, 2008, their accounts do show that their mileage has been restored (as
well as your account also has the mileage restored). Their mileage, as well as yours,
are in their accounts now, and you can view their accounts via AA.com at
http://www.aa.com/AAdvantage®.

Mr. Hunkins, we look forward to welcoming your family aboard soon. We very much
appreciate your family’s participation in our AAdvantage program.
Sincerely,

(name omitted)
Customer Relations
American Airlines