unicorn

Wow--that's pretty ballsy. There are only two airlines in the whole planet whose on-time performance exceeds 85%: Aeromexico and Saudia: https://www.cirium.com/thoughtcloud/most-on-time-airlines-airports-2024-revealed-cirium/ In the Asia-Pacific market, only two airlines have over 80% on-time arrivals, and Cathay Pacific is not in the top 5: Only the top 5 North American airlines top over 3/4 on-time arrivals, and only the top 2 top over 4/5 on-time arrivals. Canadian carriers and low-cost US carriers have worse records: Given the high cost of missed connections (you have to include the cost of the hotel room you booked on arrival), I'm not willing to play Russian roulette.

I think that both JAL and AA use Haneda these days (we've flown both airlines there). My understanding is that for the last several years, maybe at least a decade, Narita is used mostly by low-cost carriers. Narita isn't in a particularly good location. Its location is especially bad if you're taking a cruise ship which docks in Yokohama.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a flight on American Airlines from Los Angeles to Miami. We were held at the gate for a good half hour past departure time, with the crew telling us that this was because there was a "maintenance issue" on one of the engines. When we arrived in Miami (about 30 minutes late), the crew asked people to somehow "let people with tight connections deplane first." Well, first of all, I can't see how that would work, unless all of those with tight connections were in aisle seats, and those who weren't were in window seats. As usually happens in these circumstances, the plane just deboarded as it usually does, from front to back (probably taking 10-15 minutes). According to the announcement, there were people who scheduled 1-hour connections on flights to South America, who therefore only had 30 minutes to make the connection (if the subsequent plane left on time). The primary culprits were AA, who should maintain their equipment properly so that this didn't delay departure. It is they who ultimately have to decide if they're going to hold the 2nd flights some 15-20 minutes, or if it's more cost-effective for them to reschedule all of the missed connections, paying the inconvenienced passengers with hotel and meal vouchers. Secondly, I had to wonder what kind of an idiot allows only 1 hour for international connections? 30-minute delays are not that uncommon, and some delays are even longer. I rarely will allow less than 2.5 hours for an international connection, or 1.5 hours for a domestic connection. Admittedly, AA is hardly overly proactive with warning people not to do this, as they do suggest tight connections at times, with only a small warning on the selection: Although the warning is there, I would make the warning more prominent, with a dialog box which one would have to click "Acknowledged" before purchasing the ticket. Even so, it seems like just common sense not to schedule tight connections when there's only one flight a day on a long-haul flight. The only time in the millions of miles I've flown in my life that I missed a connection was when I had allowed 2 hours and 45 minutes for the connection, but my plane from SFO to DFW was 3 hours late (this was some 7 years ago). I might have even been able to catch my ongoing flight, as there was a flight schedule to leave from SFO to DFW 2 hours after mine was scheduled, but that one was over 30 minutes late, too! But I'd never imagine allowing only an hour for an international connection. As the saying goes...

Just a 15-second short:

Not quite all the first class lounges. American Airlines' Flagship First lounges are just for Concierge Key, certain first-class fliers, a very small subset of business class passengers, and business class passengers who purchase AA's "Five Star Select Service" (which costs $650 per trip).

Well, at least with American Airlines, status has limited benefits. Gold status gets you free checked luggage, shorter check-in lines, the ability to sit near the front of the main cabin for no extra fee, and boarding group 4 (out of 8). Essentially no chance for free upgrades. Platinum also gets Main Cabin Extra for no extra charge, including seats in the exit row. MCE also get free drinks (and one can get several, if one wishes, on longer flights), and boarding group 3. Very little chance for free upgrades. You also get OneWorld Sapphire status, which gets you in some foreign business lounges even when you travel in the Main Cabin. Platinum Pro gets you OneWorld Emerald status, which lets you into foreign (not AA) First Class lounges even when traveling in the Main Cabin abroad, and boarding group 2. It holds a small but decent chance for free upgrades on North American routes (usually on less-traveled routes). Executive Platinum gets you in boarding group 1 (with First Class passengers), some systemwide upgrades which can sometimes but not commonly actually be used, and some free cold food if traveling in the Main Cabin (for example, a fruit & cheese plate, or a charcuterie plate). EP status has the best chance for complimentary upgrades within North America, as long as you don't pay the Basic Economy fare (if you pay basic economy, no chance for the free upgrade, but you still get the exit row seats, cold food, and free drinks). I've had EP status for years on AA, and feel happy if they still have a fruit & cheese plate by the time they get to the exit row. I do sometimes get upgraded to first class. On my last trip to Miami earlier this month, I flew from LAX to MIA, then MIA to DFW to BUR (Burbank, much more convenient to our house). I got upgraded only for the DFW to BUR segment. As for systemwide upgrades, I was once able to use it last year when we went to our honeymoon in the Galapagos, but only on our way back, from Quito to Miami, and last-minute from MIA to LAX (and we had to take the 6 AM flight out of Quito, not the afternoon flight). No other success with this, although I've requested this for an upcoming trip to Belgium in a month or so, and we'll see if I get it (though this would be for Business upgrade to First). At least with AA, using miles to upgrade from Premium Economy to Business is a thing of the past. They'll put you on a waiting list, but you really have to be willing to roll the dice (and be content with flying Premium Economy on a long-haul flight if unsuccessful). I have been able to use miles to get free tickets, even long-haul business tickets, but they charge hundreds of thousands of miles, and you won't get credit in either miles or towards Million Miler status (lifetime Gold). (I do have Million Miler status, but am working towards 2 Million Miler status, which is lifetime Platinum). There is a special tier called Concierge Key, the status of which goes mainly to people who influence which airline a company uses (such as the CEO of a large corporation, or travel planner for a large company), and can perhaps also be earned by spending over $50,000 a year on the airline. They get real benefits including transfers on the tarmac from one flight to another, free use of not only Admirals Lounges, but also Flagship First lounges, and so on. https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/american-airlines-conciergekey/ "...ConciergeKey is primarily meant for the primary decision makers for large corporate travel accounts or influencers who American feels can get more people to fly on their planes. In addition, those who hit very high spending levels on travel may be offered ConciergeKey, but it’s worth noting that the amount you need varies. Again, nobody fully knows the exact criteria for getting invited to ConciergeKey...".

Only a jackass would believe that the US and EU can "brainwash" people who aren't even their citizens.

Asinine statement, as you're well-aware. It's not up to courts to make such a determination. If you're going to put a map up, put up a map of those who voted for and against the UN resolution denouncing the Russian invasion. The only dingbat countries to vote with Russia were Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria. Needless to say, the current Syrian government would have voted differently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_ES-11/1 (Yellow and blue countries either abstained or didn't vote)

Wow. You're full of shit, as usual. As plainly described in the article (and I assume you're well-aware), the ruling simply declined assigning responsibility to Russia for the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight in 2014, and had nothing to do with the more recent invasion. " Judges at the top U.N. court on Wednesday found that Russia violated elements of a U.N. anti-terrorism treaty, but declined to rule on allegations brought by Kyiv that Moscow was responsible for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. In the same ruling, judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Russia had breached an anti-discrimination treaty by failing to support Ukrainian language education in Crimea after its 2014 annexation of the peninsula...".

Disgusting. Russia has almost 4.5 times Ukraine's population, which is forced to use its own people to defend itself from an aggressor. And yet Putin has to use hapless troops from another country, troops who have no say in their fate.

The gay subplot includes a romance involving openly gay actor Lukas Gage. I have a feeling we're going to meet him one of these days. It wouldn't surprise me if he earned a nomination for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role...

I just saw the movie Companion with my husband, a truly marvelous movie with a gay subplot, and the male lead was played by Jack Quaid, who I thought all along was Joshua Jackson. But I don't suppose Joshua Jackson could have aged quite so well. It's really incredible to me how similar those two are in appearance. Joshua Jackson: Jack Quaid:

Oh, get off your high horse. I can guarantee you that if you talk to 99.99% of Americans, they've never heard of any Karens other than bitchy complainers. Stop taking yourself so seriously.

I was imagining this:

Thanks for the informative post. It would seem like a pretty easy and intuitive software fix not to suggest the profiles of people who limit their friend requests. But what do I know? Just to get it straight, you don't change the email address that you check regularly, nor what you give to friends, only to companies, right?

I received an e-mail from a former student of my late father's, who was an esteemed professor, and has an endowed chair in his name at the university where he was a professor. He had apparently tried unsuccessfully to e-mail my step-mother because he wanted to donate his Required Minimum Distribution from his retirement account towards that chair's fund (the fund provides additional salary over and above the usual professors' salaries, in order to attract the most highly qualified professors). Well, she's changed her email a couple of times over the years, so the former student couldn't reach her. I myself have lost touch with a couple of old acquaintances because they changed their e-mails. I still have the same e-mail I used since I first set up an email account over 30 years ago on AOL. While I get some occasional snickers from people about what an old dinosaur I am for using such an old service, it doesn't cost me anything, and I can't imagine why I'd want to change it. However, I know a bunch of people who change their e-mail address with some frequency, and/or have multiple addresses, some of which they seldom check. I curious to hear from those who change their e-mail addresses. How often do you do it and why? On a related issue, I received an e-mail from Facebook with a friend suggestion, and recognized an old college friend, whom I haven't contacted in over a decade. I thought "Oh, I wonder how he's been doing?" so I clicked on adding a friend, but Facebook sent me a message that I couldn't submit a friend request because I "didn't know him." Any idea why Facebook would send me the suggestion, when it wouldn't let me act on their suggestion? This old friend is not someone famous, nor, from his job as listed on the Facebook page, does he appear to be wealthy.

I'm a fan of Chappell Roan's and was glad she was well-honored at the Grammy's. Seeing her clothing and make-up I think she'd do well on RuPaul's Drag Race, dont you?

I'm 100% behind locking up those who use AI to nudify images of real children, as well as any "how to" manuals. However, it's not fair nor a good idea to criminalize making videos with adult actors who simply "look very young." Locking such people up simply costs society, in absence of a real victim.

Interesting flight path for the commercial regional jet. I've actually flown into DCA many times, and know to always pick the port-side window seat because of the beautiful views of the National Mall and Jefferson Memorial on landing (from the north). I can't recall any flight I've taken which lands from the southerly direction. I agree that now is not the time to jump to conclusions, though it certainly seems that the helicopter pilot wasn't following instructions. The black boxes will tell us whether his instruments were faulty, or if he simply ignored the instructions intentionally. What got me hot under the collar was the statement that it could take a year or longer. It really shouldn't. They showed a photo of the helicopter pilot, and he appeared to be a cis white male, so at least that shoots down the ridiculous racist argument by the Ignorant Don.

I must admit that I saw red when I heard an FAA official on the radio yesterday say that the investigation into the fatal plane crash near DCA "could take over a year." The news report said that there were over FIFTY investigators on the case! Lives are at stake at this busy airport, and the causes for this accident need to be determined and addressed ASAP! The traffic control recordings and black boxes are available, so this really should not be a dragged out investigation. Already, it appears that the helicopter pilot bears at least a good deal of the responsibility, which should easily be confirmed with the black box data. While that piece of the problem fixed itself, hopefully there are other factors which can be addressed promptly in order to make landing at that airport--and not in "over a year." https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/business/dc-plane-helicopter-crash-cause.html "...The requested route — referred to as Route 4 at Reagan National — followed a specific path known to the air traffic controller and helicopter pilots. The helicopter confirmed visual sight of a regional jet and the air traffic controller instructed the helicopter to follow the route and fly behind the plane. But the helicopter did not follow the intended route, the people briefed on the matter said. Rather, it was above 300 feet, when it was supposed to be flying below 200 feet, and it was at least a half-mile off the approved route when it collided with the commercial jet...". One can only hope that the helicopter pilot was a heterosexual cis white male, to avoid giving fake talking points to Agent Orange.

Original Angry Birds https://www.youtube.com/shorts/X2ORbtBC2vE?feature=share