Is This Anyway to Run an Airline

United Airlines has NOW announced the imposition of "minimum" stay requirements on essentially ALL of its airfares. What this means is that business travelers that want to, for example, fly to DC on the 630 am flight and return at night must now pay a super premium fare of $1025. Even if booked many months in advance. In essence, United has said to its business travelers, "you don't have a choice" so guess who is going to have to pay. I understand that the "theory" is that business travelers don't have a choice and will pay these outlandish fares (into BWI NO stay is a $950 ticket, 1 day $640, 2 days $450 and 3 or more days 307). But it will backfire. While airlines "claim" that back-to-back ticketing is illegal (that's buying, for example, a roundtrip on UAL from ORD to DCA to ORD on July 1 and July 20 and another ticket on UAL from DCA to ORD to DCA on July 2 and July 19) it would seem that this new ticketing policy would encourage flyers to purchase back to back ticketing on different airlines. (It is hard to fathom a policy in which BTB ticketing on different airlines would be illegal). And, of course, as this is significantly more than a non discounted SWA fare, it would seem that SWA's going to get a lot more business.

Stupid stupid stupid.
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Be Careful Out There

Its Bike-To-Work Week in Chicago. Its has gotten off to to a bad start. On Monday a Bicyclist was "door" by an SUV and fell in front of another car that ran him over and killed him. (See http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cyclist-dead-11-both-jun11,0,2308931.story) Meanwhile up on the North Side a CTA bus at Peterson and Broadway (a pretty wide open intersection) took out another bicyclist who is in serious condition.

For those that do not know, "dooring" is the process wherein the occupant of a car opens a door into the path of an oncoming bicycle. I, and most other bicyclists in the City, have been doored many times, and I was doored seriously once. (I suffered a broken hand, bruises on my legs, and a concussion when a Pizza delivery driver - trying to make his delivery commitment -- threw open his door without looking right as I was passing).

So far I have had a relatively uneventful Bike-To-Work week. I have only been "nearly" sideswiped by two cars that don't seem to understand the concept of a bike lane and the one time I was "doored" this week I was going slow enough to stop in time. (I pay close attention to the mirrors and the brake lights on cars in front of me. Normally once can see the cars park or other indicia that suggest that a door may open. In such cases, I take as many precautions as possible including making sure that traffic behind me is either slow or not there.)

What does this mean to my blog reader (maybe I have two or three now)? Not a great deal. But what I want to urge all of you to do is to take extra care when you open your car door. The life that you save might be the POD's.