Tagging Miles

Review: Packing Cubes

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 If you poll frequent travelers, I think you’ll get a mixed response on whether folks use or don’t use packing cubes. Until recently, I hadn’t even tried using a packing cube, but during the last Amazon Prime Day, there was a pretty decent deal, so I grabbed a 4-pack of two different sizes.

Packing cubes come in many different sizes, though they primarily seem to be quadrilaterals. There are also a bunch of brands as well, in addition to Amazon Essentials—Amazon’s private label brand—eBags has their own, and scores of others. Below are the two sizes that I got:

packing cubes

In general, packing cubes can be helpful for getting more into a smaller suitcase, as each cube compresses your clothes. They can also be really helpful in separating clothes if you are going to multiple destinations on your trip. For example, for a Southeast Asia trip, you could have one packing cube for Singapore and another for Bali. You can also use them to separate clean clothes from the dirty ones.

My Experience with Packing Cubes

I first tested out using the packing cubes on a 2 night trip a couple of weeks ago down to ResellingDO 5. My wife ended up using one as well, and we fit both of the smaller ones into a single Briggs & Riley carry-on—which incidentally is my favorite carry-on, period.

For 2 nights, really I could have just thrown clothes in a back-pack, but, I found for the most part, the clothes came out pretty neat. Not necessarily any more wrinkles than my normal standard rolling technique. Note: Due to the nature of packing cubes, I opted not to roll, just to fold and pack.

packing cubes

My second test of our packing cubes was on a 3 night trip to Napa Valley, California, to visit some friends. This time my wife opted for her own carry-on. You can see mine below:

packing cubes

Again, I was able to get all of my clothes into the smaller of the two sizes. Also of note, This carry-on is the Briggs and Riley Torq, and the cube fit fine with little to no wasted space wide-ways. It fit even easier into my normal Briggs and Riley international wide-body carry-on. 

Final Thoughts on Packing Cubes

While I’ve only had two trips with packing cubes thus far, I’m already sold on using them. I definitely feel like you can get more clothes in the smaller cubes. Are they appropriate for all situations and trips? Probably not, but, there are a lot of benefits. I’m still on the fence of what other sizes might make sense, but the ones that I do have, have already proven better. If anything, I’ll probably side more toward the smaller sizes.

Have you tried using packing cubes? Share your experience in the comments.

Can you save a seat on Southwest?

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This past weekend, my wife and I flew southwest down to Orlando for ResellingDO 5. On the flight home we saw a curious sight: bags were left on a couple of seats. It made me ask the question – can you save a seat on Southwest?

save a seat on southwest

Southwest’s policy

Logically, I turned to Twitter to ask Southwest. I was surprised with their response:
 
 save a seat on southwest
 
It seems like a reasonable thing for Southwest to do – that is, having no policy on the matter. I could see how enforcing such a policy could become contentious.
 
In my mind though, there shouldn’t be a need for a policy because people should have follow standard etiquette and be considerate. Taking the entire 3rd row on one side of the aircraft seems pretty inconsiderate and downright selfish to me.
 
Some folks on twitter weighed in:
 
save a seat on southwest
 
There is also the security aspect. For all intents and purposes, these bags were left unattended. A reasonable person might assume that the owners of these bags are onboard, but I have seen people deboard aircraft before. Yes, these bags were likely screened by TSA’s finest, but it still gives me pause to see unattended bags.

More details on the folks that saved the seats

It was not truly apparent upon boarding, but I will share what I think happened. When I boarded as A52, I saw row 1 ABC and DEF filled (well, DEF had 2 people but one looked like a gentleman of size, so giving him the benefit of the doubt that he purchased a second seat). I observed folks seated in row 2 ABC passing things back and forth with row 1, and there were interactions with row 3. Row 3 ABC was where bags were left. What I can surmise from this, is that ~4 members of the family pre-boarded, and saved seats for the remainder of the family. This took up 12 seats in the first 3 rows. 

I think Susan said it best:

save a seat on southwest

So, can you save a seat on Southwest?

The answer to this is simple, per Southwest, there is no policy for or against this practice. 
 
But I would offer that the question really is: Should you save a seat on Southwest? What about an entire row when not a single seat is occupied in that row? I would say no.  
 
To me, I might be more understanding if folks are trying to save seats further back in the aircraft, but seeing row 3 reserved (and I boarded as A52) seems incredibly inconsiderate. 
 
What do you think? Is saving an entire row on Southwest ok?

How I almost missed flying EVA Air’s Hello Kitty Plane

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Last week, I had the opportunity to fly EVA Air’s Hello Kitty plane, unfortunately I was very close to missing that opportunity. You see, a friend and I were booked on a 10pm United flight out of Washington-Dulles, which was scheduled to arrive just before 11pm into Chicago-O’Hare. Check-in for our Hello Kitty flight was supposed to close at 11:30, so that didn’t leave a whole lot of time. But that is what United’s award booking engine kicked out, so we figured we were well within Minimum Connect Time (MCT).

Weather Delay in Chicago left us grounded in Washington

Our United flight boarded roughly on time, and the captain announced that he was trying to get out before the FAA issued any ground stops; we hustled. Correction: most of us that understood what that meant, hustled. We even left the gate a minute early! but, unfortunately we were stuck with a ground stop at Dulles.

Eva Air Miss

I have to say, what happened next reminded me of why I used to enjoy flying United. The captain came out and started inviting kids from economy to see the cockpit. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo, but, I did tweet about the matter:

United, Eva

As the children were getting to visit the cockpit, I was sending a map to my cohort for this Hello Kitty flight. We already had an idea of the gate that we would arrive at (B2), so I sent him the map from the Hemisphere’s Magazine, letting him know which way we would need to run.

EVA

The above depiction shows where we arrived, an the path we had to run, catching the train roughly at the TSA PreCheck area, then sweating the entire train ride until we arrived at Terminal 5. I’m not the most athletic person, but I will tell you, I ran full bore with my favorite spinner carry-on (which was operating as a normal 2 wheel suitcase given the speed I was going). There are few times that I actually walk up or down escalators, but I was doing them 2 steps at a time. I wanted this flight.

Luckily, when we arrived at Terminal 5, while it looked like a desolate area, there were 2 EVA Air employees, and one was empowered to radio to the most empowered to see if they could check us in. The fact that we were flying business class and had no luggage definitely helped. Ultimately, the fact that EVA Air’s David had stuck around on the landside, was truly the reason we made this flight. He was truly awesome, and even after he got us checked in, he escorted us through security and right to the plain. I truly hope EVA Air knows how great a team member they have with him, because he pretty much made our trip.

 

 

Which Airline Serves 5% of the Worlds Caviar Supply?

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Many airlines choose to serve caviar in first class. Perhaps even more airlines choose not to serve caviar in first class. But the fact remains, some airlines work hard to serve food that is better than what you would eat in a restaurant. But, one of those airlines serves 5% of the worlds caviar supply.

Which Airline Serves 5% of the Worlds Caviar Supply?

I have to be honest, when I saw this tweet, first I was a bit quizzical then I sort of chuckled and acknowledged, given the amount of times I’ve enjoyed caviar on Lufthansa (ironically I have many more posts to write). 

5% of the worlds caviar supply

All that said, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that Lufthansa is the airline that serves 5% of the worlds caviar supply. 

Given the amount of times that I’ve enjoyed caviar (and I’m not even a seafood fan) on Lufthansa, I totally get it.

5% of the worlds caviar supply

A “no thank you portion” of caviar on Lufthansa

Aside from personal experience, I think its pretty impressive that a single airline serves 5% of the worlds caviar supply. Especially an airline that seems to have been cutting back on their first class cabin and first class routes.

Final Thoughts on a single airline that serves 5% of the worlds caviar supply

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Lufthansa serves a bunch of caviar. Ironically, they serve caviar with plastic spoons/spatulas, rather than what should be the standard, serving it with mother of pearl utensils. Interestingly enough, Singapore, and many other airlines serve caviar with less than preferred utensils; plastic is probably the best other than mother of pearl. The fact that the passenger utensils are still silver or otherwise metallic is probably the most important, as, according to this FlyerTalk thread, metallic utensils can spoil the taste.

Have you experienced Lufthansa First Class’ Caviar Service? What are your thoughts?

No more Electronics Ban for Abu Dhabi

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In what is an excellent example of cooler heads prevailing with respect to the electronics ban, it appears that the US Pre-Clearance Facility in Abu Dhabi does in fact provide sufficient security to allow electronics to fly in the cabin. 

The large electronics ban has been ongoing for far longer than I think any of us expected it to last. The ban has been in place since late March, which is phenomenal to me. It prevents passengers flying to the US from 8 countries from carrying anything larger than a cell phone. That means no tablets, no laptops.

Electronics Ban, Abu Dhabi

Electronics Ban Lifted out of Abu Dhabi

In what may be one of those “Duh” moments, it seems that Etihad Airways and the US have reached an agreement that the US Pre-Clearance facility is sufficient to screen electronic devices, to enable them to be brought in the cabin. 

Here’s what you can no bring into the cabin:

Electronics Ban, Abu Dhabi

Wrapping Up

I feel like this is kind of a no brainer here. I mean the United Kingdom didn’t institute an electronics ban for any flights out of the United Arab Emirates. I think the question becomes, is this the first step in a loosening of the electronics ban, or is this just the realization that it sends a horrible message that the US doesn’t even trust its US Pre-Clearance facility in Abu Dhabi–in which case, why is it even there?

I think this is a positive step, in that it does acknowledge and demonstrate some value for the US Pre-Clearance Facility. I am still not sure I see the true value of this electronics ban, in so much that folks can just re-route elsewhere. I’ve seen far less security in other areas of the world for example.

What do you think about the latest news with respect to the Electronics Ban?

18 June is Southwest Airlines’ Birthday

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If you’re flying Southwest Airlines today, enjoy a drink on them in celebration of their birthday! 

Southwest Airlines’ Birthday

Southwest Airlines, Birthday

I just happened to be flying home from Austin this morning and noticed in the cocktail menu that 18 June is Southwest Airlines’ birthday and that is a good enough reason to have a free drink from the airline. This joins St. Patrick’s Day and I think Valentine’s day as free drink days. Thanksgiving may also be on the list along with the other majors of Christmas and New Years.

It still amazes me, how Southwest, a fairly no frills airline, still finds a way to do nice gestures for its passengers. I’d imagine these days of a free drink don’t really cost all that much, but the goodwill it engenders is something that many other airlines could definitely benefit from.

Are you flying Southwest today? Did you toast a free drink for Southwest Birthday?

 

Dual Door Deplaning, British Airways’ IT Outage, Losing Global Entry, Tons of Southwest!

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The Weekly Travel News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel:

  • Last weekend British Airways became the latest airline to have a colossal IT failure. Seth Miller for Runway Girl Network covers some of the compounding mis-steps that BA made during that outage.
  • Southwest and reportedly Alaska are testing out dual door deplaning. It’s a great idea. I wish it were feasible everywhere.
  • Two business travellers, one with status, one with out. Ed calls it: The Hunger Games. I think that’s a pretty good approximation.
  • A fellow blogger got his Global Entry revoked, and you’ll never guess why. I personally find it appalling.

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Southwest’s New Seat

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Lately I’m flying Southwest more than I ever imagined. At least I’ve been able to avoid Seat 28B. It comes down to a different value of time. But I’m impressed with Southwest’s New Seat.

I was rather impressed though with my most recent flight though, which was on their new 737-800.

Southwest 737-800

You see, despite flying more than half a dozen Southwest flights this year, this was my first time flying on Southwest’s newest seat developed by B/E Aerospace. Cranky Flier wrote about these seats in 2015. Here’s what the seat looks like:

Southwest's new Seat 

The seat is an improvement and not. 

Southwest’s New Seat – Improvements

The seat has adjustable headrests. Headrests! The new American Airlines and legacy US Airways economy seats don’t even have headrests. I find them to be that little bit of comfort when you’re in the back of the plane–or in Southwest’s case, that means, behind the cockpit.

Also enhanced is the way Southwest has moved around the seat pocket.

Southwest New Seat

Its perhaps a bit tougher to see, but the literature is actually above the tray table, much like we see on Lufthansa’s regional flights. There’s an added webbing area below the tray table for personal items which I think is a much better approach. 

Southwest’s new seat lacks cushion!

Unfortunately, while Southwest did show some Luv for our necks and heads, they showed none for our behinds or backs. This seat is downright uncomfortable. The seat bottom felt like there was very little cushion at all and was uncomfortable before we even reached cruising altitude. The seat felt reasonable firm to start with, but for a 3 hour plus flight, it became downright uncomfortable far too quickly. 

While I didn’t look around, I didn’t notice any power or USB ports obviously placed either. 

Final Thoughts

I love seeing that Southwest now has headrests, I just wish it didn’t come at the cost of similar amounts of cushioning in the seat bottom.  Overall though, I think the seat is a positive move for Southwest. Headrests are good, and the movement of the literature storage helps to make the seat feel more roomy. It might not be much, but its that little bit more that is helpful. 

 

PSA: Cancel, don’t change Southwest Flights

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Southwest Airlines has great fare rules. Generally speaking, every Southwest Flight is refundable, usually as credit to use later, except with the new system.

Unfortunately, that reality has changed as Southwest made their transition to Amadeus. For one reason or another Southwest’s new reservation system doesn’t seem to offer the same flexibility that the old reservation offered with respect to changing your ticket. 

Here’s the message that you get when you attempt to change your ticket:

Southwest Airlines, Nonrefundable, Southwest Flights

The second and just as important caveat is the fact that the new reservation will inherit the earliest expiration date, so you no longer have the opportunity of extended funds. What this means is, if you book a flight 6 June 2017, you’ve got only a year from that, whether you book another flight in August and cancel.

Overall this doesn’t necessarily impact the value of flying Southwest, but you just have to be mindful of the new way of doing things–that is, Cancel, don’t change Southwest Flights. 

Have you have any issue changing / cancelling your reservations since the migration to the new system?

 

 

 

Electronics Ban Expansion, Qantas Heritage, Travel Scholarships, Singapore Long Haul

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The Weekly Travel News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

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