Clik here to view.
United Airlines Presents the Worst Seat Ever
Hub to hub? SFO–>IAD Lets fly a 737-800 which means NO UPGRADE for you. And now presenting seat 11F, a window seat. Not even an aisle seat. Sadly, you are stuck on United airlines. United just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Suites at 800 Locust in Des Moines, Iowa
I’ve never been to Iowa before, but my seven years in Indiana seems to have prepared me well. Nice people in this vowel state. Flat land. Impossible to get lost unless your IQ is very low indeed....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Manchester Airport Shower Secrets
I flew United through Manchester on my way to Munich. Why? Because an upgrade could be guaranteed at time of ticket purchase. Those lie flat seats are too good to pass up when you travel too much. And...
View ArticleClik here to view.
United net and other minor miracles
Even as recently as this morning, the twitter people at United were telling me how hard it was for them to install wifi. (Um, let me see if I care…nope.) Well they have it on this plane. That means...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Caveat Emptor: United’s Award Accelerator ripoff WARNING
I have been ignoring the upsell crap on United check in machines for years. But this year I may actually need to plus up to hit 100K miles (I know, that should be a good thing. And what the heck good...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Welcome to Iowa (Des Moines) 800 Locust Reprise
I was just here! And now I’m back. WTF?! At least there is snow this time. Grimey window view of Des Moines dusting. Where there is snow, there should be fire. I am back in room 402 here at 800 Locust....
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s 2013: Uber Wins, United Loses
My latest United airlines experience leads me to believe that air travel has finally degenerated to bus service. I don’t do bus. Two long-ish hub to hub flights on United (IAD—ORD) were crowded,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ending the Year Strong: Hotel Marlowe in Boston
Hotel Marlowe is one of my favorite destinations, especially with Joe Capalbo’s steady hand at the helm. What a great way to cap 2013′s out of control travel. The Marlowe staff for this short stay was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No fly Noel 2013
No question about it, 2013 was a rough year of travel. My plan to do around 30 trips turned into a complete FAIL with a 40% higher than planned 42 trips. Ouch. In 2014 I am getting serious about travel...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s 2014 and United Airlines Sucks
Two months in a row without flying anywhere. But I have to go to LA for the first trip of 2014. What kind of seat can I get for my 100K status and 1.5 million (that’s MILLION) miles? How about a crappy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
United Gold->Platinum Ripoff
This week, United sent me some dead tree mail “offering” a “limited-time opportunity to ensure Platinum status for 2014.” Seems that I only flew 68K miles on United, so I need 7000 more to make...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Please to be Giving us More Interwebs
Those of us on noplasticshowers have been on the interwebs since 1985. We have some claims to fame such as: we stood up node 400 on the web in 1993, we wrote a chapter 10 of the first book ever sold on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inn on Broadway, Rochester, NY Slides into Place
Snow in the morning. Post-equinox dusting. Rochester, NY again. Is Rochester emerging as a major tech hub? Who knows, but if you must stay in Rochester, the Inn on Broadway is the place to stay. After...
View ArticleClik here to view.
United Airlines Stoops to NEW LOW in Customer Service
I switched my flight to NY on the way up to LGA to avoid a united-caused crew delay which would have made me miss a major meeting. The red carpet club was very helpful and the switch was efficient and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We Interrupt No Fly July for NYC Tourism?!
If you follow NPS, you know about no fly July which basically gives me a chance to slow down and think away from airplanes. You may also have figured out that this year has (thankfully) been a light...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Back in the Air: Why Jet Blue Dogs United
Don’t tell anybody, but I have only been on 2 airplanes since June, and one was today! You see, air travel is no longer something I look forward to since it devolved to “bus service in the air” a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Air Travel on United is Just Awful: Check In
You know what’s sad? I just looked on my United app and I have at least 5 trips queued up to go. See, here in NPS-land, we’re stuck at a United hub. That is a total bummer. Regular readers know that I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
United: So Close and Yet So Close
Anybody who knows this blog knows how I feel these days about the unmitigated disaster that United has become under the operational “leadership” of the out of touch Jeff Smisek. I was pleasantly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hotel Fabian in Helsinki has the Best Showers
The Hotel Fabian has a computer now and they know I have been here before! Yay. On this nth visit I was upgraded to a very sweet suite 412. Thanks Fabian! Room 412 has a table And a living area And a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why United is Just Awful
Only since the ill-fated merger have I flown economy class to/from Europe because of no upgrade. That is just awful. You would think that after 1,578,471 miles (which I paid for) United would have some...
View Article
