Here's the Skinny

Don’t hate on me because I’m skinny. Don’t sit on me, either.

Now, I realize the following may be politically incorrect, but hear me out. Because for every overweight Kevin Smith who takes up a seat and a half on an airplane, there’s a .5 of us with an equal right to a full seat, even if we don’t fill up the space.

In case you missed it, the kerfuffle about overweight fliers has been re-inflated, thanks to the unceremonious de-boarding of one Kevin Smith, a semi-famous Hollywood director. While hardly a heavyweight like Orson Welles (in all manners of speaking), the increasingly-zaftig Smith normally buys two seats when flying. He says he does so because he can afford it (after all, he's a big Hollywood director) and he doesn‘t want to have someone sitting next to him. He neglects to mention that he is concerned about sitting on someone next to him.

Earlier this week, Smith chose to trade in his two tickets on a Southwest flight for a sole standby seat on an earlier flight. Said flight was fully booked. A flight attendant witnessed Smith overlapping into the next seat and ejected him, per Southwest Airlines policy (see footnote at end of post). Smith tweeted about the incident to his 1.6 million Twitter followers. Southwest apologized and refunded his fare.

Of course, in our 24-7 media age, that wasn’t the end of the story. Rage ensued and large people everywhere protested. Unheard during the coverage, however, was the view of the little guy. So, I'm here to represent.

You see, while I am no Victoria Beckham, I am a size 2. Thus, I am much smaller than the average American. And, I do not fill a seat. Therefore, I am seldom left to sit alone on a two-seat subway car. But that's public transportation, so what can you do?

On an airplane, however, it's a different bottom line. After all, consider what happens when someone with a fanny pack larger than the 17-to-18-inch-wide coach seat sits next to me. If Milton Burly gets to the row first, the armrest gets lifted and suddenly, my seat is reduced by one-third or one-half. Where, I ask you, is Lady Justice? That would be Justitia, that blindfolded babe who sometimes flashes a boob and always travels with a scale. (Incidentally, Justitia’s Greek equivalent is named Dike. If Dike were hanging out between seats, I suppose she could prevent seepage).

Apologies for the parenthetical odyssey. My point is, if my plump seatmate doesn’t have to pony up for taking up space and a half, then perhaps I should get a discount proportional to my width. To wit, in the interest of serious journalism, I just measured my butt. It’s approximately 11 inches across. Accounting for spreadage while seated, let‘s make it 12 inches. If a seat is 18 inches, and I take up 2/3s, I should get a 33% discount on my seat.

Or perhaps airlines could start charging fees for, ahem, extra baggage. While that specific strategy is unlikely, it may be that one day airlines do start taking total weight (you and your bags) into account.

Alas, I don’t have an answer. If you do, please weigh in. In the meantime, speaking from the skinny side of the seat, please stay out of my lap.

A footnote: While many carriers that don’t have official policies about this matter, Southwest does, and it’s been in place for 29 years. You can find details at http://www.southwest.com.
The policy states that large passengers must buy two seats. If there are fewer passengers than seats on a flight, Southwest will refund the second seat and give the customer side-by-side seats. If the flight is sold out, the passenger can opt to buy an extra seat on a less full flight. The reason behind the policy is that Southwest “could no longer ignore complaints from customers who traveled without full access to the seat purchased due to encroachment by a large seat mate." Bravo, Southwest.

Incidentally, the airline says its oversized passenger policy impacts fewer than half of one percent of its customers. That translates to about 127,000 people a year.

Soaking Up Beantown

Are you a member of that darned Red Sox Nation? Has the cold weather got you clamoring for chowder? If so, take a listen to my recent report on Boston for Around the World Radio.

http://http.vitalstreamcdn.com/newspress_vitalstream_com/02_11_2010_02.mp3
or visit the archives of AroundtheWorldRadio.com. The date of the program is February 11.

Weathering Winter Travel

With wicked winter weather whistling through the Midwest and Southeast (as it is wont to do in January), several airlines are once again proactively cancelling flights and encouraging ticketed customers to rebook itineraries. They are also waiving certain change fees.

During the last huge storm in Washington, DC, I was called upon by local television stations to give advice to airport-bound travelers. Given this week’s weather forecast, said advice bears repeating.

1. Whenever a big winter storm is looming, either in your hometown or anywhere in the country (storms in the East or Midwest can snarl air traffic as far west as Hawaii), go online or call your airline to check on delays and cancellations BEFORE going to the airport. There is absolutely no sense standing in long lines at the airport when it is just as easy...or easier...to monitor and rebook travel from the comfort of your Laz-E-Boy.

2. Especially in the winter, fly non-stop whenever possible. Note: Direct is NOT non-stop. Direct means there is an intermediate stop, although a change of planes is not required. For example, a non-stop flight from Boston to Denver goes from Boston to Denver. A direct flight from Boston to Denver may stop in Chicago, make this flight a triple threat for winter travel delays.

3. If you have a one-stop flight, try to travel earlier in the day. That way, if there is a snafu at Airport #2, the odds of catching a later connecting flight are greater. If you book a one-stop in the evening, be prepared to spend the night at the intermediary airport or at a local hotel.

4. Check on airline refund and rebooking policies due to weather problems. This year, airlines are being quite generous about change fee waivers and the like. Still, I can guarantee you that airlines are not going to give you free room and board in cases of delays to due acts of God and Mother Nature.

Resume

Laura Powell

PO Box 9444

Washington, DC 20016

(202) 415-6455  (202) 248-4622

dailysuitcase@gmail.com

www.dailysuitcase.com

Career Summary To Date: 25 years covering travel and lifestyle topics for a range of media outlets. Work has included television and video production; writing for print and online outlets; custom content development; strategic consulting; and spokesperson and media training work.

Current Positions:

1990- Executive Producer, LP Productions/DailySuitcase Washington, DC

Produce/host/write travel-related content. Also write speeches and do consulting and project work for associations and corporate clients.

1993-Content Writer, The Washington Post

Write special sections on travel, lifestyle, education, and the environment.

2005-Travel Correspondent, Around the World Radio Santa Barbara, CA

2007- Contributing Television Travel Expert, Great Day Washington and NewsChannel 8, Washington, DC

2015- Regular Contributor: CNN.com, ShermansTravel, Orbitz Blog

Professional Writing Experience:

2000-

Writer, Travel Supplements and Custom Content

Special supplements have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Reader's Digest, The Sunday Times (UK), Conde Nast Traveller (UK), and other publications.

2014

Writer, Groupon Washington City Guide

2007-2012

Contributing Editor, Hotel F and B

2002-2006

Writer, Travel Supplements, USA Today

1998-2005

Contributing Editor, Lodging, Washington, DC

2001-2003

Contributing Writer, Good Housekeeping New York, New York

1998-2002; 2007-2009

Columnist/Blogger, www.wyndhamworldwide.com/women_on_their_way

1998-1999

Writer/Columnist, MSN sidewalk.com Redmond, Washington

1986-1990

Producer, CNN TravelGuide Atlanta, Georgia

·        Created and produced CNN TravelGuide.

·        Provided management direction to production of CNN's travel coverage, including daily segments
on business and leisure travel.

·        Coordinated and planned field production at domestic and international locations, and wrote and produced daily packages and weekly programs.

Selected Television and Radio Appearances:

ABC World News This Morning, ABC News Now, CNBC, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport, WUSA (Washington, DC), NewsChannel 8 (Washington, DC), WTTG (Washington, DC), Fox News Channel, Good Day New York, Today Show/New York, WABC (Los Angeles), CBS 2 News This Morning (Los Angeles), AM-Philadelphia, WTOP-AM (Washington, DC), WOR-AM (New York), WGN-AM (Chicago), NPR, Martha Stewart/Sirius Radio.

Some Other Print and Online Freelance Outlets:
National Geographic Traveler; Forbes; Hemispheres/United: Alaska Airlines Magazine; Open Skies/Emirates; Travel Weekly

Education:

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York B.S., Broadcast Journalism

Distinction: Summa Cum Laude and Class Marshal-Newhouse School of Public Communications

University of Essex, Colchester, England M.A. International Relations

Distinction: Rotary Foundation Scholar

European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy  

My Hotel Holiday Wish List: Part II

Santa Baby,

I know I wrote to you last week, but I’m snowed in today and thus am using the time to pen you another missive. Normally, I would appeal to other holiday present presences, but Hanukah Harry has already put away his menorah (not that he can compare to you, anyway, in terms of holiday excess), and frankly, I am not familiar with your Kwanzaa equivalent. But lest you think I am being greedy, please note that I write on behalf of nice travelers everywhere.

1. Please have your elves make hotel hangers with hooks. I know hotels once had your worker bees mass-produce hangers with necks resembling Captain Hook’s peg leg in order to reduce theft. But really, now that we are all reduced to traveling in a carry-on, we are no longer in the business of hotel thievery (with the exception of those three ounces-or-less bottles of shampoo and lotion that are just begging to be taken).

2. Please convince hoteliers to discard those pesky resort fees. Yes, I know they are a way to bring in revenue while keeping room rates down, but come on, we aren’t stupid. Ten extra dollars a night is ten extra dollars a night, whether it’s in the form of a “resort fee” or simply added to the room rate.

3. Please ask luxury hotels to furnish us with free in-room Wi-Fi. Why is it that when we pay $59.95 a night at Four Points by Sheraton, we get free Internet, but when we pay $595.95 at some five-star hotel, we have the pleasure of paying another $10.95 a day for Internet access? If your elves are too busy with the hangers, Dancer or Prancer or Donner or Blitzen are welcome to horn in on this one.

4. Okay, Santa, I realize that at this point, I am getting a bit avaricious. But I do have one more appeal to make on behalf of fellow travelers everywhere. Given that we are paying a per-day rate, let us have our hotel room for a 24-hour cycle. Let us check in at 11:00 AM and leave at 11:00 AM the next day. Or let us check in at 7:00 PM and stay until 7:00 PM the next night. We international travelers would be especially grateful for this gift, as we often arrive in a city in the wee hours of the morning. I know that’s when you do your best work, but most of us like to stumble straight into bed after a night flight that arrives at 4 AM.



Thank you, Santa, for considering my requests. Travel safe.



Laura Powell

My Hotel Holiday Wish List

Dear Hotel Santa:

When stocking hotel rooms for 2010, please have your elves keep the following in mind:

1. Just because we are tea-drinkers, we still need our morning jolt. Therefore, please leave bags of caffeinated tea next to the in-room coffeemaker, instead of just the herbal dreck (which isn't really tea, anyway). One more note: As you are gifting coffee drinkers with upscale brands like Wolfgang Puck and Starbucks, you should provide the teatotalers (sic) something better than Lipton bags, which are a mere step up from generic.

2. However, if your elves would like to get rid of those cheap plastic coffeemakers altogether, that would be a good thing. They always seems to leave the fresh taste of melted plastic in one’s morning beverage. It’s more obvious in tea, since the flavor of said beverage isn’t as brisk, but it can be discerned in a cup of joe as well. Instead, please deliver those nice electric water kettles. Stock with Starbucks Via or another gourmet instant coffee (not a total oxymoron) and Twinings teabags and you’re brewing.

3. The wise philosopher Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Said statement is best encapsulated by hotel alarm clocks, most of which are as mind-baffling as a Rubik’s Cube. In reality, all we want for Christmas and beyond is an alarm clock that is easy to set, dependable, and quiet. Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance man extraordinaire, noted that “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Kudos to the Fairmont Battery Wharf in Boston for listening to Leonardo. The five-star property resorts to old-fashioned, non-electric, wind-up alarms. Perhaps these might befuddle the 20-something set, but for the rest of us, they are a godsend.

4. Elves, please add outlets. And please add them in spaces not located behind the bed or other heavy furniture. Plug them into logical places--by the bathroom sink (for hair dryers and electric razors); by the desk (for computers and cell phone chargers); and by the closet (for the iron).

That's all for now, Santa. But I'll be back with my airplane wish list soon. Thank you.

Fee-Fi-Fomites: Avoiding Germs Like the Plague

Okay, Ladies and Germs:

It's time to improve your word power. Today's lexeme is fomite. What it is, according to our friends at Merriam-Webster, is an inanimate object (such as a doorknob) that may be contaminated with infectious organisms and serves in their transmission. For the air traveler, fomites are lurking everywhere you look, and even places you don't.

Let's ponder the cribs of fomites at the airport. We'll start with the touch screens on the self-service check-in machines. Next, let's wander over to the elevator and ATM buttons. I like to feel I've escaped relatively unscathed from these areas thanks to the use of knuckles rather than fingertips.

You might want to avoid touching handrails lining stairways and escalators. But admittedly, it's pretty hard to avoid touching the locks on bathroom stalls and the flushing implements on toilets ('nuf said). At the very least, use a paper towel to open the door handle leading you out of the bathroom.

Now, even if you manage to make it through the airport fomite-free, good luck on the airplane, my friend. There's the fomite on your tray table. There's the fomite in your seatback pocket (which is a popular place to stuff used tissues, if you catch my drift). Speaking of drifts, there's the ventilation system to consider. Since you are dealing with recirculated air, the best bet is to avoid using the overhead air vent, which can blow fomites straight into your lungs. Other ventilation notes--air circulation tends to be better toward the front of the plane. So if you sit in the first 10 rows, you are exposed to fewer germs. That said, if a passenger in your row or in three rows behind or in front of you is hacking away, you're screwed, no matter where you are sitting. When you get off that plane, all you can do is take your Emergen-C, use other immunity-strengthening strategies, pray, and get plenty of sleep.

Back to our friends the Fomites. The Fo Fighters are at their mightiest in the airplane lavatory. Ah, yes, those lovely lockers that challenge even the most flexible contortionist when nature calls. Simply put, airplane lavs are disgusting. How often do you see them cleaned during flight? It really makes one question the mental health of those who use said privies to join the Mile-High Club.

But I digress. Even if you wash your hands prior to exiting the W/C, you are not out of the woods. First, consider that the Environmental Protection Agency has found that 17 percent of all water taps on airplanes contain coliform bacteria (and hold that thought as well...we'll get back to it in a minute). So, that water you are using to clean your hands--maybe not so much. Secondly, to escape from the W/C, you must touch that door handle. I have taken to using a towelette to open the escape hatch, so that I don't have to use hand sanitizer upon returning to my seat. (Then I dispose of the fomite-filled towelette in the seatback pocket).

Okay, back to those water taps. Included in the EPA tap list are those in the kitchen galley. That means the water used to make coffee or tea is running through a germ-filled tap 17 percent of the time. And since said water is seldom boiled to the point where germs will be eliminated, consider that your cuppa java may by plagued with pathogens. So, you might want to buy your Starbucks in the airport and bring it on the plane.

Remember, dear reader, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But let me proffer a few closing tips for fending off those foul fomites. The best advice I can offer is to be aware of your surroundings, wash frequently, carry hand sanitizer and a brawny supply of paper towels, and run like hell when the person sitting next to you in the waiting area starts sneezing.