1) wifi should be free in all airports.\u00a0 Juneau finally added it.\u00a0 Anchorage provides it.\u00a0 Albuquerque has it.\u00a0 Seattle seems to still want to force folks to pay up.\u00a0 More and more airports are doing it right though.\u00a0 And hotels!\u00a0 I’m shocked when hotels want to charge for networking, and totally floored when they don’t even have it as an option–I’m so used to them having it, that I don’t think to ask anymore–and about once a year I got surprised.<\/p>\n
2) I think the airlines\/rental car\/frequent flier plans are getting more stingy.\u00a0 Not so much in the rewards (which is true), but they seem to “forget”\/”lose”\/”delete” the number from their records.\u00a0 I find this when flying airline partners, rental car companies, etc.\u00a0 The number goes in when I make the reservation, it isn’t there when I get the rental\/boarding pass, I have them add it back, the miles never show up, I fax in receipts, boarding passes, and blood samples (as required to get the mile credit), then never hear anything…\u00a0 If it wasn’t in an attempt to get Carrie & Torsten along on trips, I would give up on keeping up with it. (I suppose that is the hope, eh? airlines?)<\/p>\n
3) I noticed–and I want more impressions of this:\u00a0 European airport bookstores have great science (like Einstein, Darwin, etc).\u00a0 US airports generally don’t have a science section.\u00a0 If they do it is “The Physics of Reality TV shows” (I’m not kidding–I really saw this one in SEATAC today!).\u00a0 I hear recently that the Anchorage airport bookstore does have a science section (but I looked for it when I was there two weeks ago!\u00a0 I was distracted by hangin’ w\/ Torsten, so I’ll stand by my premise\/observation\/anecdote).\u00a0 US airport bookstores have no reasonable science book section for the importance of science and technology to our lives.\u00a0 (heck–the fact that we are getting on airplanes should emphasize this!!) And my impression is that European airport bookstores (given, my main impression is from Amsterdam–a nice big airport.\u00a0 But Oslo as well!).\u00a0 I’ve recently done my survey in DFW, Seatac, ABQ, JNU (ha!).\u00a0 I’m gathering anecdotes and impressions–let me know what you think!<\/p>\n
And what else do you notice about travel?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1) wifi should be free in all airports.\u00a0 Juneau finally added it.\u00a0 Anchorage provides it.\u00a0 Albuquerque has it.\u00a0 Seattle seems to still want to force folks to pay up.\u00a0 More and more airports are doing it right though.\u00a0 And hotels!\u00a0 I’m shocked when hotels want to charge for networking, and totally floored when they don’t … <\/p>\n