We’ve all been there, waiting impatiently at the baggage carousel, anxiously hoping for that first glimpse of our checked luggage. Then we breathe a sigh of relief, collect it and get on with our travels. Or we don’t. Last year in the United States, airlines lost or damaged one out …
Read More »Not Just Any Old Warehouse
It wasn’t enough for Ricky Choi, the co-founder of the clothing company Nice Laundry, to make high-quality socks, underwear and lounge attire. He wanted to deliver those goods in sturdy, chic packages, something his customers would appreciate and remember. In its first years, Nice Laundry, a direct-to-consumer brand, hired a …
Read More »Attention, Passengers: Someone Is Skipping the Line at Your Gate
Every airline traveler has been there. The boarding process begins, and the gate is swarmed with passengers before their zones have been called. They’re popularly known as “gate lice” and, despite being shamed and mocked in popular culture, U.S. airports are still experiencing outbreaks. Enter American Airlines, which recently announced …
Read More »Halloween’s Mutation: From Humble Holiday to Retail Monstrosity
On Nov. 1, 1876, The New York Times declared Halloween “departed,” destined for the grave. In 2024, consumers are expected to spend $11.6 billion celebrating the holiday, up from $3.3 billion in 2005. Perhaps it is time to eat some crow. Halloween, steeped in tradition, has transformed from a pagan …
Read More »What’s on the Menu? These Restaurants Aren’t Telling.
There are several bits of information you might wish to know before going to a restaurant. For example: When does it open? What can you eat there, and how much does it cost? These are just the sort of details that appear on a restaurant’s website, traditionally a digital repository …
Read More »Help! My Flight to Tokyo Was Canceled, and All I Got Was a Lousy Mileage Refund
Dear Tripped Up, For a trip in June 2023, I booked a first-class ticket on Japan Airlines from New York to Tokyo (and continuing on to Osaka) using 100,000 miles I had accumulated on Alaska Airlines, one of JAL’s partners. The flight from New York to Tokyo was canceled a …
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