One too many trips to the airport has left me a keen observer of human behavior, a bystander to the bizarre, an onlooker to the odd. At times I liken my time in the terminal to a rerun of the bar scene in the first Star Wars movie; though in most cases, I feel like I'm the alien.

Sure air travel has become convoluted and difficult, but no matter how many times I fly, I'm puzzled by the number of travelers unfamiliar with the protocols and realities of post-911 travel. I've come to expect that if 20 people are in line before me, that 15 will be unaware that shoes need be removed through security, meals are no longer served on domestic flights, space for carryons is limited and that flight attendants don't like being called stewards or stewardesses.

As a patient and chronically-early traveler, I try not to sweat the small stuff and to pick my travel battles accordingly. It's easy for expectations to be low, but in recent months I've noticed that some complaints are more irritating than the offenses cited. There are valid complaints, and then there are those begging for scrutiny, or at least my scrutiny.

For example, on my last trip, a family seated across from me complained (from boarding to cruising altitude) that the TSA agent deliberately took extra time with their driver licenses, poring over every detail unnecessarily. (Okay.) On the window seat, a fellow whined about the beer selection. (What, no Stella Artois?) Behind me, a troupe clad in flip-flops, t-shirts and short-shorts took issue with the cabin temperature (every 12-14 minutes). Their grousing died down when the ambient cabin temperature reached the heat setting reserved for baked potatoes on my countertop toaster oven.

Perhaps my favorite complaint of the flight was directed toward a wonderfully animated and friendly flight attendant (one who brought the portly, sweating man lots of bottled water). A rowmate remarked to me that she seemed fake and phony and a bit too happy. (This was a tough crowd.) I remarked that I take every smile for its face value and applaud her valiant effort to make us all feel welcome (and keep me hydrated).

I'm sure that minutes later; said passenger revised her featured complaint to "I sat next to the most dreadful man...."

I bet you can do better, what are some of the most outlandish travel complaints you've overheard?

Posted by Tom at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (0)

Egencia Australia Launches! 

As global footprints go, we've been been on quite a journey. And today, Egencia continues its worldwide walkabout with the launching of Egencia Australia.  Companies doing business in Australia will have access to fully localized service and content combined with our amazing online booking and travel management tools. In addition, our in-country account management team will provide dedicated client service.

Australian corporations and travelers will have access to:

• Industry leading self-booking platform including custom-defined destinations
• Dedicated local account management and customer service teams
• Strong business intelligence capabilities including unused ticket tracking and customizable Lowest Logical Fare reporting
• Egencia's broad global supply network including localized hotel and air content such as major low-cost carriers
• User friendly policy and trip approval controls
• Their data through the company's global reporting functionality

With this latest launch Down Under, Egencia now offers 10 points of sale worldwide: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom and United States with five  additional new country points of sale planned by the end of 2008.

Posted by Tom at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The business travel world lands in Los Angeles this week with the convening of the National Business Travel Association's (NBTA) Convention. The Egencia team is in attendance eager to share what's behind our recent branding and product launch. Drop by Booth 1101; we'll treat you well and acquaint you with our travel management solutions. NBTA  gets underway today and Egencia Account Manager and camera-wielding attendee, Shani DeSantis sent me a little preview shot of the Egencia booth at NBTA taken the night before the convention opened.  

Posted by Tom at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

U.S. Airlines are banding together and asking for your help, an SOS of sorts. In this case S.O.S. stands for Stop Oil Speculation now.  The following letter is being sent by the airlines cited above and seeks traveler involvement in contacting U.S. lawmakers to change the way oil is traded and the role speculation plays in driving up the price. The letter follows:

An Open letter to All Airline Customers:

Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now.

For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain. This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation.

Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs.

Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper.

The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem.

We need your help. Get more information and contact Congress by visiting

www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com

Each letter was signed by the respective airline president and/or CEO. 

Posted by Tom at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines announced it will go cashless in the cabin beginning August 5, accepting only major credit or debit cards for all inflight purchases. Basically, flight attendants will use a hand-held device to charge credit and debit cards. The airline has been using the point-of-sale devices on its transcontinental routes for more than a year. You may want to pack a lunch for your child, if they're traveling alone. Who am I kidding; don't most 10 year olds carry plastic with their cellphones and gameboys?

Posted by Tom at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The New York Times featured an article on social networking and user-generated content for the business traveler. .  Egencia's president Jean-Pierre Remy offered his insight, contending business travelers are more interested in finding the most efficient ways to plan and book travel. Case in point: Egencia will soon be launching new integrated content from TripAdvisor, and SeatGuru, into its booking tool. 

Read NYTimes: Advice From Strangers (NYTimes.com registration is free.)

Posted by Tom at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)