Boutique Paris Hotel: Mama Shelter

12th June, 2010 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

An out of town friend of mine recently told me about this very different kind of boutique hotel in Paris, called Mama Shelter.  Isn’t it funny how, sometimes, it takes a tourist to tell you about your own city. First of all, Mama Shelter is a breakthrough name for a hotel, in that it truly breaks » Read More

Copa and Continental Airlines: Copa Copycat

7th August, 2009 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Notice any similarities? Looking up at this message board at CDG airport the other day, I could not help but notice the similarity in the logos of Copa Airlines and Continental Airlines. Dating back to a 1998 strategic alliance between these two companies (about which I previously knew nothing), it would seem that one of » Read More

Apple iPod Vending Machine at Airports around USA….

25th January, 2009 - Posted by Minter Dial - 3 Comments

At Las Vegas McCarran Airport, I found this kiosk selling a number of Apple goods. It was a peculiar site, the logo atop being the little Apple of my eye, caught my attention. While Apple has seemingly established these vending machines in many airports (I have read about kiosks at JFK, DFW, » Read More

No smoking ban enforced on planes — why the ashtrays?

24th January, 2009 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Do you know that there has been ‘no smoking’ policy on airlines since the mid 1990s*? How can you possibly not know that? Then, the question I have is: why do airline companies — and their suppliers Boeing and Airbus, in particular — continue to produce doors for the toilets with embedded ashtrays? » Read More

Airline Advertisements – Who Can Afford to Experience Luxury Service?

22nd October, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - 7 Comments

Airline Ads — the good, the bad and the luxury In these trying economic times, one of the industries that will inevitably be hit hard (again), will be the airline industry. Whether for personal or business travel, there is likely to be a good amount of seat-belt tightening. Some wise folk would say that » Read More

Airline Competition & Inflight Entertainment – How do they fare?

8th October, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - 3 Comments

AIRLINE COMPETITION & INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT ARE YOU ON BOARD? As the competition for airline passenger dollars is only going to get worse — between higher oil costs, personnel issues & union negotiations, terrorism threats, ecological considerations [not to mention economic crisis] — you wonder how most of the companies in the airline industry are going » Read More

Losing Weight on Planes

7th July, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Boy, you’re going to carry that weight… With the rising cost of fuel on the tips of all our tongues, the chase to reduce fuel costs is in full tilt. I am fascinated (if not confounded) by the work done by the airlines in this regard. It seems that every day there are » Read More

The New Age of Travel – Life after changes in the USA Visa Waiver Programme

18th June, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

The US has announced recently that citizens of the 27 visa waiver programme countries (most of Western Europe, Australia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand) will need to register (online) 72 hours in advance of their visit to the US. See here on the official VWP site. The new plan goes fully » Read More

Cell Phone Etiquette on Eurostar: It’s Not Good to Talk

9th June, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - 2 Comments

It’s Good to Talk? An old British Telecom (BT) saying that’s not applicable for Eurostar … or any public transportation for that matter. Having recently done a couple of round trips on the Eurostar I have made a few survey-of-one conclusions about the need for a standard of etiquette for cell phone usage on trains. There » Read More

Sports Sponsorship from Lovemark Emirates Airline

12th May, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

I had a marvelous marketing moment recently. I was walking down the Champs Elysées and, having just flown and enormously enjoyed Emirates Airline, I saw a photograph [left] on this storefront of a Paris St-Germain (PSG) football player wearing his uniform emblazoned “Fly Emirates.” Here is the thought: the Emirates’ advertisement actually made » Read More

Emirates Airline: Superlatives for flight to Dubai

21st April, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Wow! I felt like I actually rediscovered the pleasure of traveling yesterday. And, ironically, I did so going on holidays in the economy class of Emirates Airline, on a brand new Boeing 777-300ER. Expectations were totally outpaced. I was left utterly and positively surprised, almost regretting the fact the flight was » Read More

Fasten your seatbelts

7th February, 2008 - Posted by Minter Dial - No Comments

Fasten your seatbelt up at 10,000 feet? Is it any better to buckle up at 35,000 feet? If you are like me and the intimate masses who travel frequently, you will no doubt share a preconceived notion that wearing a seatbelt in an airplane is tantamount to putting a Band-Aid on a sawed off leg. » Read More

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