#HolidayTravel #SouthwestAirlines #flights #traffic #FunTravel
Southwest Airlines is getting back close to normal operations, according to reports.
Now comes the task of not only reuniting fliers with their belongings, but also making whole those customers who had to endure delays, rerouting and not making it to where they wanted to go in time.
It’s an unenviable task for the airline, but, hopefully, it will fix its operational shortcomings, and thrive again.
The weather was a catalyst to the problems, but apparently not the real cause.
But for travelers, it goes back to what we discussed here during the holiday season.
If you travel, by whatever means during the holidays, give some thought to why you are going, what enjoyment you’ll get from it and whether it’s worth the sacrifice you will make – and potential disasters you could face.
Travel is supposed to be fun. The journey should be pleasant. Certainly, regardless of transportation mode, there could be glitches: traffic, bad weather, mechanical issues etc.
That’s why the destination, and with whom you will interact, is worth some thought.
If you are traveling with a spouse, your children or others in your immediate family, and going to a fun destination, travel glitches should not matter. (If you don’t get there through no fault of your own, and you paid for a trip, someone should reimburse you.)
If you are going “home” to interact with people who will analyze your life, and give you advice you do not seek, you may want to rethink your sacrifice.
When wheels turn and wings fly, there is always the possibility of peril.
The odds, however, favor a good trip. That’s why it’s incumbent on those providing the journey to make sure the chances of a problem are minimized to every degree possible.
All travelers ask is that they get to their destination safely, and relatively on time, and get back to where they live the same way. The comfort in which one travels may be up to the person, and what he or she is willing to pay.
The mystique of travel in general is beginning to disappear. When one gets the opportunity to travel, the hassles become apparent quickly.
An old adage about life says it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey. For travel, the destination is what matters. The journey had better get you there on time.
It’s important here to remind everyone to not be discouraged about traveling. It’s loads of fun, usually, when things go right and you go to fun destinations. Travel can also be necessary for business. The travel issues this holiday season should make one think about “obligatory” travel that is not business. Are you going there for the right reasons? Are you going to be happy once you get there?
If the answer to those questions is yes, take the trip. Choose your mode of transportation with care, however. Hopefully, well before the next holiday season, Southwest Airlines would have fully dealt with its operational shortcomings to make it a good alternative to consider.
If you are unsure of the answers to those questions, you may want to rethink your plans. Southwest’s recent problems increase the potential peril of travel.
Therefore, if you go somewhere, go for the right reasons.
Peter
Tag Archives: traffic
HOLIDAY TRAVEL: THINK BEFORE YOU GO
#HolidayTravel #FamilyGatherings #traffic #AirTravel #families
This, and every holiday season, is a time for joy, celebration and reflections of faith.
It’s also a time for gifts, parties and family gatherings.
Are you looking forward to your family gathering?
Families can be wonderful, loving, inspiring and encouraging.
They can also be fraught with tension, animosity and jealousy.
If you have an extended family in which everyone not only gets along, but also is genuinely happy to be among one another, consider yourself truly blessed. Not all families are like that.
There is nothing worse this time of year than to make a big sacrifice to get somewhere for a family gathering, and either not want to be there or not have a good time.
As you ponder whether to go to a family gathering, consider what you might have to do to get there. Will you have to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, or drive through hazardous winter conditions, that extend a trip for hours more than it should take? Will you have to negotiate a crowded airport, complete with multiple contagions, risk flight cancellations because of weather or other reasons and wind up not getting there in time for the festivities?
And, as you consider whether to make the trek, do you hear things like: “so-and-so will be so disappointed if you don’t come.” Or, “this may be so-and-so’s last Christmas (or Hanukkah).”
Those guilt trips are merely that because, in some cases, the so-and-so who would be disappointed if you didn’t come may simply give you a hug when you arrive and when you leave, but not talk to you very much the rest of the time – unless, of course, to tell you how he or she doesn’t like, or disapproves of, something in your life.
By all means, if you have an overwhelming sense of obligation that you can’t shake, make the trip.
Holiday family gatherings became customary when everyone in the family lived near each other. As members of the family – usually the younger ones who grow up – move away, they become more complicated. With all the advances in travel over the decades, traveling today can be difficult, not to mention exhausting and frustrating. Holidays are supposed to be fun and celebratory. Often, they are stressful and lead to hurt feelings, arguments etc.
Political polarization within families can add to the tension. The TV commercial in which a holiday dinner leads to a physical fight is not necessarily overdramatic.
Yes, all of us are born into a family. We should cherish where we came from. But, we don’t necessarily have to be obligated to all members of that family.
A good rule of thumb is: if you KNOW you will enjoy yourself at a holiday family gathering, make the effort to go.
Or, if you really want to see some, if not necessarily all, members of the family, try to get there.
But if you know a trip to a family gathering will be stressful, and getting there will be a big sacrifice for you, then you may want to rethink making the trip.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. But, if you do, go having weighed all the considerations.
Sometimes we view these occasions as automatic. They don’t have to be. You have choices, even during the holidays. Try to celebrate wherever you will be the happiest.
The best of holidays to all.
Peter
FLYING TAXIS IN DUBAI
#FlyingTaxis #DriverlessVehicles #drones #drivers
If you are old enough to remember, there was a cartoon series in the 1960s called “The Jetsons,” a tale of what the future may look like.
“Cars” flew through space.
In Dubai, commuters in The United Arab Emirates may soon climb aboard automated, driverless taxis, soaring over busy streets and past the desert city’s gleaming skyscrapers at the push of a button, writes Russell Goldman in The New York Times.
The article was published in the Feb. 20, 2017, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
USA Today has also written about tests for driverless big-rig trucks.
The flying taxis will be capable of carrying a single rider and a small suitcase, Goldman writes. So, that probably means a group cannot pool resources for a taxi fare.
The taxi is an eight-rotor drone made by the Chinese firm Ehang, writes Goldman. It has flown test runs past the Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s iconic, sail-shaped skyscraper.
It can fly up to 31 miles, or about 30 minutes, on a single battery charge. Passengers can weigh up to 220 pounds, Goldman writes.
Let’s think about this for a minute. If you live in a populated area, with lots of traffic, you may someday be able to fly over that traffic, if this concept proves sustainable.
Air travel will be redefined. Would car travel become obsolete?
There is much else to ponder. What happens to the many folks who now drive for a living? Will ALL transportation become driverless?
When one is disabled, or too old to drive, will he or she own a driverless vehicle and not miss a transportation beat?
What about those who fly, sail and otherwise transport for a living?
Will all transportation be changed?
Perhaps those who make their living moving people and things about would be wise to find a Plan B to make money. The technology, therefore the trend, won’t be halted. The good news here is that if you fit that description, there’s time to plan. The technology won’t be commonplace tomorrow.
There are many good, Plan B options available. To check out one of the best, message me.
Technology alters life in good and bad ways. Competing rental car companies at Logan Airport in Boston decided to set up a common shuttle service to and from the terminals, stopping at each rental car base, instead of each company having its own drivers. The move saved money, and lessened traffic jams around the airport, but a lot of good drivers lost their jobs.
Now, imagine every airport doing the same thing, with driverless buses, cabs etc. Even Uber and Lyft are talking about driverless vehicles.
So what will flying taxis, driverless vehicles of all types, do for your life? That might depend on how you make your living now.
It might make sense to visualize that eventuality, and plan accordingly.
Peter