The Gate

The Gate has moved

The Gate has moved to a new site called Boarding Area. Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds.

The address may have changed but the message is still the same - it is all about Flyer Talk. And, Canarsie and I have some new features to play with.

A Lost and Found Story with a Happy Ending, Thanks to FlyerTalk!

I have been saving this one for Christmas Day to get all of you in the Christmas spirit:

Urgent lost and found help is a real lost and found story posted by FlyerTalk member photojojo that has a happy ending and will truly warm your heart.

If you are a FlyerTalk member, this story will make you proud to be a FlyerTalk member.

If you are not a FlyerTalk member, then what are you waiting for?!? Join now!!!

MAXjet Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Ceases Flights and Operations

What do you do next if you are holding tickets on a MAXjet flight? What will happen to the company? Where do you go to find out more information?

Start here in the either the MaxJet Files for Bankruptcy or MAXjet Ceases Operations on 12/24/2007 threads. There are also threads pertaining to MAXjet in the Continental Airlines, British Airways and United Airlines forums on FlyerTalk as well.

For those of you who are not familiar with MAXjet, this airline offered all-premium-class service between London and New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

12 days of Christmas

Read this thread for the 12 days of Christmas, BA style. Happy holidays everyone.

Should Companies Purchase Business Class Airline Tickets for Employees Traveling on Overseas International Flights?

If you read the opinions stated in the Company won't let me sit in business class thread, you will see that the answer depends on the individual FlyerTalk member who posts and the situation regarding company culture and corporate policy.

In the case of FlyerTalk member Ryan123, who launched the featured thread, the company for whom he works has a national corporate policy which states that business class is authorized for all international flights except to Mexico and Canada. However, the local office of the company for which he works refuses to allow him or any of his colleagues to fly in the business class cabin to Europe, to where he has flown six times last year.

Is this fair? Is this right? What do you think?

Go to HEL!

Whether you want to take a Weekend Trip to Helsinki, stay in Helsinki for 11 hours or find a nice restaurant using the Helsinki Dining Guide, Helsinki is a destination you may want to strongly consider.

Although I have never been there, the reason why I say this is because so many people have told me to go to HEL that I figured that it must be a really popular destination that is highly recommended by many people...

...what do you mean that they were not referring to the capital city in Finland to me?!?...

Saving Money Can Be a Real Gas!

These days, with fuel prices steadily on the increase, saving money at the petrol station is more important than ever.

I know I have had my fill of high gasoline prices.

Find out how in the CHEAP gas prices and Gas: Ways to save $ threads - but be prepared to get pumped for information from other FlyerTalk members.

Tank you very much.

Latest FT millionnaire in a year

bom_noite has collected a million hotel points in a year thanks to FT. Read how in the thread.

Visa: It is NOT Everywhere You Want to Be

No, I am not talking about the credit card. I mean, give me some credit!

Rather, have you ever refused to go to a country because of its high visa fee?

I know I have...

]]> ...Brazil and Russia immediately come to mind for me. I once had a choice of going to St. Petersburg in Russia or Malta. I chose Malta primarily because of the high visa fee imposed by Russia. As for Brazil, I stayed on the Argentina side of Iguassu Falls instead of on the Brazil side, again primarily due to the high visa fee imposed by Brazil.

Pizza!

Not to be crusty, but I repeat: I typically do not highlight FlyerTalk threads that I personally launch here in The Gate, but I am making another cheesy exception:

Where are the Best Pizza Places in the United States of America?

By the way, in Brooklyn we used to call them pizzerias.

Please do not slice into me that I highlighted another FlyerTalk thread lunched - er, I mean launched - by me. It is not like the toppings - er, I mean topics - of the threads are of a saucy nature or anything like that or that I was attempting to have the discussion mushroom in any way. Olive to highlight threads that may be of interest, that's all - threads that get to the meat of the information for which people are searching, simply to spice up everybody's day.

What is Your Traveler Intelligence Quotient?

I typically do not highlight FlyerTalk threads that I personally launch here in The Gate, but I am making an exception regarding a thread highlighting a challenge that is starting to take FlyerTalk by storm.

How well do you really know this planet of ours called Earth and its geography?

Find out by looking at The Traveler IQ Challenge thread and see just how good you really are at identifying places from around the world as quickly as possible.

Would You Pay $55.00 to Maintain Executive Elite Emerald Club Status?

National Car Rental has the Emerald Club program for frequent renters of its vehicles featuring Emerald Aisle service where one can bypass the rental counter and simply choose any vehicle in the Emerald Aisle section, check out at the exit and drive off. However, there is an Executive Elite status which offers such benefits as earning days of free car rentals sooner and an arguably better selection of vehicles. FlyerTalk member dbuckho is wondering if it is worth spending US$55.00 on two more car rentals from National Car Rental to qualify for Executive Elite Emerald Club status. Some FlyerTalk members believe it is; some do not.

Please weigh your thoughts, as well as read the comments of other FlyerTalk members, in the $55 to keep Executive Aisle - worth it? thread.

This Service Charge Just Isn't My Bag...

...or, at least that is representative of what the majority of Delta forum FlyerTalk members are posting in the New DL Service Charge as of 13DEC regarding charging US$3.00 per bag used for the transport of such items as car seats and backpacks on Delta Air Lines flights.

While many are opposed to it, some FlyerTalk members justify the charge, such as what FlyerTalk member FlyingUnderTheRadar says here. Others ask why all Delta Air Lines passengers should subsidize a service that only a minority of the passengers use.

However, the discussion has veered into a sarcastic yet humorous exchange on how else Delta Air Lines can "nickle-and-dime" their customers, such as charging for boarding passes, sticks of deodorant for those who need it, and a fee for standing in line at the gate before your zone was called.

By the way, that will be US$4.00 for reading this "blog" entry. Thank you very much.

Coca-Cola or Pepsi: Which Do You Prefer?

I suppose asking this decades-old question is like asking which came first: the chicken or the egg?

There may never be a consensus as to which soft drink is the clear (or caramel-colored) winner in the now-infamous "cola wars" spurred from countless cola taste tests, but you can certainly opine as well as read what others think when they want a cola to drink in The Billion Dollar Question: Coke or Pepsi? thread.

One caveat: I do not believe you will actually have a chance to win a billion dollars for answering the question correctly...

This person is clearly not an FTer

An FTer would not have almost died after drinking a litre of vodka to comply with liquid rules at an airport. The canny FTer would have packaged up in 100ml bottles in a clear 1litre bag to take through security. Read the comments on the thread.