The future of airline travel? (KLM "bumps and grinds" family)

I’ve had my share of bad travel experiences. But a recent European experience with KLM may surprise and shock you.

My journey begins well as my two teenage sons and I fly from San Francisco to Amsterdam for a wonderful 3-week tour of Europe. We work our way back to Amsterdam for our return flight, staying in the airport Sheraton the night before our departure. The next morning, as we check into Amsterdam 2 hours before our 11 a.m. return flight, we are immediately told that the flight is overbooked (!) and that KLM may not be able to put us on the flight.

My mind reels in disbelief. We paid for the tickets 6 months prior and no communications (e.g. email, phone call) had alerted us to any issue. The eventual airline statement is “KLM overbooked, EU law provides for compensation in these matters (600 Euro per person), and we’ll get you to SFO shortly.”

“Shortly” does not describe what follows. We end up on a 13:30 flight to New York City with mid-day connection to SFO, but thunderstorms prevent landing in NYC, we circle briefly, and we proceed to Boston to wait on a tarmac. (Internet stories suggest airlines are carrying less fuel to save on weight.) We depart that plane, after 12 hours , only to spend an additional 2 hours to wait for our bags (which never appear) .

So now it is midnight in one of the world’s biggest, baddest cities. No bags, no KLM staff, and no cell communications (batteries have died). I keep thinking “what are they planning for us? And where is KLM staff?”

We take several cabs in search of local hotels (all nearby “airport hotels” are booked) . I end up in Queens Flats, negotiating witho an innkeeper positioned behind bullet-proof windows at a Howard Johnsons. We uneasily step over locals who are sleeping in the lobby towards our two rooms.

The next morning I call KLM (NW is domestic partner) and ask them “what is the plan?” They have no plan. As we talk it through, the NW representative expresses amazement that I didn’t make the NYC connection (Don’t they already know this?! I was on the Boston tarmac at the time, in one of their planes, on their warped path to get me to SFO.) The agent starts offering me further multi-stops to get to SFO, I insist on non-stops, and after a half-hour cell phone conversation, we eventually get a non-stop to SFO for 6:00 p.m final arrival -- almost 48 hours after our original scheduled departure.

So I publicly ask KLM:

1) Are you okay with stranding a family at midnight in New York City?
2) Where are our bags? (As a hint, the baggage tags are attached to the boarding passes for the original flight which you took and held in Amsterdam.)
3) Where is my recovery of $500 for cab and hotel expenses in NYC? (Note: these are YOUR expenses – NYC was your plan, not mine).

And I continue to ask myself “what is the long-term lesson?” I think less family airline travel may be the only answer. In a world of airline profit pressure, the airlines don’t seem capable of caring for my family and my valuables.

Blogging is good for you

Expressive writing produces many physiological benefits, including improved memory and sleep, boost of immune cell activity, and improved healing after surgery.

A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

One theory by Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University, is that "blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art."

Celebrate your "weak friends"

You would think your "strong friends" or connections would be your most important asset. But Stanford University researcher Mark Granovetter has called out "the strength of weak ties" in research on how people find jobs. Weak ties bring new information. They are far more numerous. And they introduce a certain chaos into the equation, which is key to producing new opportunities and ideas.

From book, Who's Your City, by Richard Florida (and a excellent treatise on the trend toward 20M population cities!); http://creativeclass.com/whos_your_city/

Great tips to motivate yourself

I was intrigued by this posting of 8 self-motivation trips:

Start small. One goal. Examine your motivation. Really, really want it. Commit publicly. Get excited. Build anticipation. Print it out, post it up.

But particularly by two surprising recommendations:

1) Don't start right away. Start in a few days. Build anticipation. Announce and celebrate the upcoming start.

2) If you miss a day, don't worry. But never, ever miss two days in a row.

http://zenhabits.net/2008/06/the-ultimate-guide-to-motivation-how-to-achieve-any-goal/

"Always on" culture will pass

I was struck by this keen observation by Professor Naomi Baron at American University:

While talking with students in Sweden and Italy, where mobile phones have been ubiquitous far longer than in the United States, I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of people who turned their phones off when they were studying, ignored incoming calls or text messages—even from good friends—while watching a movie on TV, or intentionally ‘forgot’ their phones from time to time just to have some peace,” Baron said. “My hope is that Americans are only going through a phase of feeling they must be ‘always on’ and that over time, we will regain a more balanced sense of communicative equilibrium.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520161340.htm

IM is productive in business

Contrary to the perception that Instant Messaging (IM) is disruptive in business, recent research suggests that IM increases productivity because it is often used as a substitute for other, more disruptive forms of communication such as the telephone, e-mail, and face-to-face conversations. Using instant messaging led to more conversations on the computer, but the conversations were briefer.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080603120251.htm

Other Commencement Messages

There were lots of excellent semi-finalists for my recent Pinewood 8th Grade Commencement Speech, including:

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. - Michael Pollan

Glance Backwards, Look Heavenward, Reach Outward, and Press Onward - Thomas Monson

Accentuate the Positive; Eliminate the Negative - Charlotte Schultz (plus next two)

Surround yourself with the best people.

Whatever you do, do it with passion

Help others. Then help yourself.

Don't fall behind.

Work hard. Not too much. Be Kind.

Work hard. Be kind to others. Sleep.

The heavens are filled with disorder. The situation is excellent. - Chairman Mao

Know Thyself - Oracle at Delphi

To thine ownself be true - Shakespeare