The Civilized Explorer aggregation

The Jan 26 Wall Street Journal has this article on a new way for airlines to get more from economy passengers: charge extra for better seats, food, and service. Unfortunately, it hasn’t hit America yet. It’s mostly overseas. 

The premium over basic coach fares ranges from $400 to $1,500 depending on the airline and the route. Passenger comment range from “no need for business class” to “better than economy but not as good as business.”

Passengers paying the premium get priority screening, boarding, and luggage, a little more seating space than economy, and better food service, again depending on the airline and the route.

If Premium Coach comes to an airline near you, read up on it before you spring the extra cash and see if it’s worth it to you. You still use the economy class restroom.

(If the article doesn’t show up in your browser without a subscription, drop by Google and search for wsj mccartney premium coach)

Jaunted has a mini-rant about Rand Paul and the TSA. “Silly” and “hypocrite” and “common sense” are thrown around. Personally, my opinion is that there is no common sense, but that’s another story.

There’s a dispute over the details, but apparently Rand Paul triggered an “anomaly” with a body scanner and refused an extended pat-down. The TSA says he wasn’t detained, Paul’s spokespersons say he was. He missed his originally scheduled flight, went through screening again later, and boarded a later flight.

The TSA has problems with regular people who refused to “complete the process” because the TSA thinks they’re terrorists learning how to game the system. A US Senator may be more equal than we are, to paraphrase a certain book.

Aggravated by Spirit Airline’s $45 fee for carry on luggage that won’t fit under the seat, Brent Hopkins decided this was a business opportunity. So he makes and sells carry on bags that fit Spirit Air’s precise underseat storage. $55 means the bags pay for themselves with one round-trip flight at $45 each way being avoided.

The US and the UK are regulating airline ads so that all fees are disclosed, and Jaunted points out that UK’s Easyjet has already figured out how to mislead some customers. 

Easyjet charges a fee of nine pounds for “administration” when you pay for your reservations online. But it only charges that fee once, no matter how many tickets you buy in one swoop. So Easyjet is showing the price for four tickets, with the nine pounds divided among them.

In all of 2011, no terrorists were captured by the TSA screeners. The items that were found and confiscated included guns and explosives; Mr. Schneier points out these items would have been found pre-September 11, 2001, through normal screening procedures.

Additionally, Mr. Schneier lists the stupid confiscations:

TSA confiscates a butter knife from an airline pilot. TSA confiscates a teenage girl’s purse with an embroidered handgun design. TSA confiscates a 4-inch plastic rifle from a GI Joe action doll on the grounds that it’s a “replica weapon.” TSA confiscates a liquid-filled baby rattle from airline pilot’s infant daughter. TSA confiscates a plastic “Star Wars” lightsaber from a toddler.

The TSA is looking for dosimeters to measure radiation from their machines at airports. We’ll see what happens to the reporting of the results. I’m betting it’s buried.