Friday morning, Rome Italy:
Lessons from last night’s Worst Airline Flight Ever.
1. We’re at Rome Airport. Susan’s bag is at JFK. Don’t check bags ever. You can easily get away with a 25″ Eagle Creek. 22″ is “legal.” Delta left 40 bags in New York. No one knows why. Susan’s was marked “priority.” We went business class. The seats didn’t lie flat and were awful.
2. Bring oodles of batteries. Delta’s power outlets usually don’t work. Last night they said the outlets delivered “not enough power to charge” a laptop, but enough to keep it going. They lied. It didn’t deliver any power.
3. Be wary of connecting flights. Our flight was 3 1/2 hours late. That means you will miss your connecting flight. Some electronic panel didn’t work and needed technicians to come reboot it. (I don’t make this stuff up.) The AC was on the fritz. Temperature inside the plane before we took off rose to over 90. There was a storm. Another plane was blocking our path. Detailing Delta’s delays gives boredom a whole new meaning. They were not at their best last night.
4. The three most useful travel accessories are ear plugs, an eye mask and a decent pillow. I’d also include dental floss, if your teeth catch stuff. Mine do.
5. If you check, flossy up your bag. Make it different. Put markings on the back of your bag, since they pile bags onto carousels upside down.
6. Connecting flights save money. A lady went New York to Zurich, then to Rome on Swissair. She arrived in Rome at the same time we did. She said Swissair was “wonderful” and much cheaper than Delta.
7. Xcom Global’s MiFi, which I’m renting, works like a charm. That’s how I’m writing this column.
8. It’s much easier to read a book on a Kindle PaperWhite or using the Kindle software on your laptop. I prefer reading on my laptop. I’m reading Robert Hughes’ Rome. Great stuff. Much too heavy to carry on paper.
9. Our previous Delta flights — to Spain and South Africa were excellent. Delta could have done better last night.
I bought some JPM, CAT and a bit more AMZN before I left. Our 30-year TIPS are up to 83.
I read that BlackBerry’s sales were doing awfully. But I didn’t short because I was leaving for Italy. I should have. BlackBerry is down 19% this morning. Sales of computer and smartphones routinely get written up in tech sites. See left column.
It looks like the market is down today. Not to worry. Time for a Bunga Bunga Party.
Favorite recent New Yorker cartoons:
A statistician’s wife had twins.
He was delighted. He rang the minister who was also delighted.
“Bring them to church on Sunday and we’ll baptize them,” said the minister.
“No,” replied the statistician. “Baptize one. We’ll keep the other as a control.”
Harry Newton who has just arrived in Italy. And Googled “Bunga Bunga Party” images and found this one:
Further research discovered this from June 25:
Milan, Italy (CNN) — A panel of judges Monday sentenced former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to seven years in prison for abusing power and having sex with an underage prostitute.
Judges also barred the flamboyant former prime minister from holding public office.
The high-profile case centered on an exotic dancer nicknamed “Ruby the heart-stealer.”
Mr. Berlusconi says his trial was unfair and is appealing. Silvio Berlusconi is Italy’s sixth richest man. His entry in Wikipedia is fascinating. Click here.
Reminiscent of Allegheny (Agony) Airlines.
We use Delta a lot for air miles…they go most places we go…however, for our trip to Italy later this year we are getting Delta air miles on our Air France flight…much better service, little better price… We will originate in Phoenix so routing through BOS with an overnight in BOS both directions…15+ hour flights are too much for old people. Lucky with luggage so far…if lost it catches up in a day or two. if you want good prices to Europe check-out Icelandic…don’t know about their service but good prices.
Remember Harry, DELTA = Don’t Expect Luggage To Arrive 😉