Mark Kolier’s Blog

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

I am far from unique in looking at train travel as an option to air, bus, and car travel. Having ridden trains in a number of countries (most recently in China) I am favorably inclined to ride a train since I can get work done, it is less stressful, often less expensive, AND greener.

Yesterday I attended a meeting in Washington D.C. and decided to take the Amtrak Northeast Regional – it was $ 98.00 round trip. Taking Acela would have saved me less than one hour and was substantially more expensive. Driving made no sense and flying would have not saved much time at all if any. Amtrak offers ‘free’ Wi-Fi and some limited food service on board. Since I spend a great deal of time working on my computer and talking on the phone it ended up being a sort of mobile office. They also have a frequent traveler program with rewards – and yes I enrolled just to see how they might market to me and they have been doing an ok job of sending emails – not too many thank goodness.

The first thing that was good was that the train did not derail. I am not certain as to what percentage of Amtrak trains derail but it seems that it happens with some frequency.

Overall my impressions are that it was better than flying and car or bus travel. Perhaps it took a bit longer than flying, (3:20 from Penn Station to Union Station) but the low stress and ability to be productive was a plus but I was not nearly as productive as I could have been. Why? The main reason is because the free Wi-Fi service is spotty at best. There was not any option to upgrade to better service. I kept in mind that when I rode the regional train in China this past November the condition of the trains were similar (the Chinese trains were newer but get more use so appeared somewhat worn just like Amtrak) and there was no Wi-Fi service available. In fact aside from that my experience in riding the train from Guangzhou (formerly known by Westerners as Canton) to Hong Kong was remarkably similar – except for the price which was less about half in China and I made no advance reservation. That should come as no surprise to anyone.

The Chinese rail does move faster although there are a similar amount of stops. That is primarily due to the fact that the rail lines have been laid more recently and do not limit speeds for fear of derailment on the ancient tracks as is the case in the Northeastern U.S.

I had made a reservation to return to New York City at 7:10PM but arrived early at the Union Station at 5:45 and noticed there was a 6:05PM Northeast regional train. I inquired as to if I could get on that train and was told yes, but it would cost an additional $113.00! More than what I paid for the round trip in the first place. I will go out on a limb and surmise the reason was not that the train was overbooked. Managing to suppress my outrage I simply said no thanks and went and had a nice dinner and a beverage and took the 7:10. But really – how insane is that? I was not going to travel any less time on the train (the same 3:20) and there was room for me to sit without question. Just to be clear had I originally booked the earlier train the roundtrip price would have been … $98.00.

Amtrak is a viable alternative and I will ride it again but it still has a long way to go. From a marketing perspective Amtrak does not do much advertising but the messaging they do is ok. However to have a customer experience what I did in terms of attempted fleecing to move up my time by one hour undoes whatever good marketing Amtrak might put out. What happened to me should be easy to fix (but will they?) and the fact that they allow it to happen tells me there are many other problems that have to be repaired in order for Amtrak to continue to present itself as a truly worthwhile means of transportation.

Have you ridden Amtrak lately? Regional or Acela? I’d love to

The last of the major airlines to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy, American Airlines is reportedly http://nyti.ms/yKLPAc on Delta Air Lines/TPG Capital’s radar for acquisition. In case you are not aware Delta Airlines is now the world’s largest airline. US Airways is also considering a bid. What I first thought was ‘how far the mighty have fallen’.

I was never a huge fan of American Airlines but that’s mainly because I had a few bad experiences a number of years ago that made my shy away from them whenever possible. Today that’s an impractical approach to air travel as trying to avoid an airline only serves to offer the customer fewer options and likely higher prices.

Flying commercial airlines in the U.S. today is akin to getting on a bus or train. Few airlines distinguish themselves and if you are flying economy they all appear to be the same to me. Remember Jet Blue and their original appeal? Leather seats, individual Direct TV in your seat and snacks that were a bit different than other airlines. Jet Blue also tried to be fun with glib flight attendants and pilots. Today Jet Blue (to me) is pretty much just another airline. The leather seats are nice but wearing a bit. The Direct TV thing is pretty good but I’ve been on flights where my individual screen did not work.

Is there any domestic airline that distinguishes itself? Virgin America has made a concerted effort although their fares are notably higher than the competition. Since the airlines have decided to make air travel akin to mass transit it’s a game where the lowest fare wins and damn everything else. In fact I don’t know about you but I’ve noticed that most (not all) flight attendants seem to just be going through the motions and look like they’d rather be someplace else. The airlines constant labor disputes and troubles have taken away flight attendant’s smiles.

There are a host of well-known and not so well-known aggregators and an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal highlighted the craziness when it comes to fare shopping – http://on.wsj.com/xJ9qdQ. Also this week in a response to sites like Kayak, Priceline and Travelocity, the several airlines introduced a collective fare buying platform of their own that will launch later this year. This is in response to the airlines dissatisfaction with the aggregators taking too large a portion of the airfares for the airlines’ liking.

The race to offer the lowest price with the least amount of service appears sure to continue.
If you have a favorite airline is it only because of the ability to stockpile miles and rewards? Or do you really have a favorite airline because you perceive that airline to be better?

Last night as we traveled back from the airport I was hungry and decided to order a small pizza. There’s a place www.PlanetPizza.com that makes good pizza near to our house. On their website they always have coupons for discounts and we use them nearly every time we go there. However on the road without a printer we were unable to print one out and get a discount on whatever might have been available. Unfortunately Planet Pizza like most local retailers does not allow you to show the coupon on your mobile device in order to use a coupon to get a discount.

Small portable printers have been around for several years. Of course what might be considered small and portable are adjectives that are best viewed through the eyes of the people that will use them. If you’ve rented a car anytime in the last few years you are probably familiar with the car rental company’s ability to print out your receipt on the spot. The devices they use to process the transaction are held in their hand and the printer often clipped on a belt. The print quality is acceptable but nothing great. This is the kind of device that would be practical for people to carry around in a car or even a briefcase.

When I started looking around for a small portable personal printer I was surprised to find there were not many reasonable options. The products were either too large, too expensive or both. Just to be clear I am looking for something small that could be held in one hand, and something that would cost under $ 75.00. A website www.planon.com advertises that it offers their PrintStik product as ‘The World’s Smallest Mobile Printer’. And small it is but it also costs $ 199.00. So far I have been unable to find anything that meets my small criteria at any price close to $ 75.00.

The other thing to keep in mind is the ultimate obsolescence of portable printers. After all with mobile communication sharing using things like NFC (near field communications) on the horizon it should not be too long before the need to print out a coupon is non-existent. It’s already happening with airline boarding passes and the trend is clear that ink on paper is fast becoming a relic.

Do you have any thoughts on using a miniature portable printer? Would you use one if it were affordable and available?

I am not exactly certain when the implementation of supplemental airline fees such as bags, seat choices and food came to be standard operating procedure. I believe it was the food first, and then the bags and now seat choices. One thing is certain, supplemental fees have become paramount airline profitability and are not going away ever.

The United States is the undisputed champion when it comes to implementing fees for just about everything on airlines. It appears to me that now if you want the lowest cost seat on the plane it will be in the middle, in the back (probably last row) and the likelihood of finding space in the overhead bin for carry-on luggage nearly zero. Of course the airline then will be happy to check the bag for you – something that they are not yet charging for but I am betting they will eventually. Spirit Airlines even tried to charge $ 45 to use the overhead bin a couple of years ago.

As many people know there are even ‘opportunities’ to change your position in getting on the plane – an express lane option that gets you on the plane with the ‘Elite’ status and first-class passengers. This can secure your place in an overhead bin. As I now only take carry-on it is of particular significance to me personally, (I recently returned from 2 weeks in China and only took carry-on – you can do it too folks) but I am determined to not pay the airlines ANY additional fees to board the plane sooner.

Movies, food, internet access, legroom – there seem to be unlimited opportunities for the airlines to make that $ 150 or $ 200 one way fare increase by $ 25% or more. What’s more the additional fees are pure profit – they go straight to the bottom line.

The worst thing is that there is nothing people can do about it. The airlines have not yet begun to charge for pillows and blankets but you can bet they have discussed those ideas. Changing a flight has resulted in additional fees for several years, but now even if you are stand-by for an open seat airlines are beginning to charge a fee.

What’s left? Well my associate and I were joking about charging for bathroom access on planes. And then it was not so funny since what’s to stop them? Once price for #1 and another for #2? It seems to me that if a fee can be imagined it’s not far from being implemented.

Air travel today in the U.S. (and don’t think the rest of the world isn’t taking notes) is nothing more than a flying bus in the air.

Do you have any other odd airline fees that you’ve been charged?

It goes without saying that with more than 1/5th of the world’s population China will be at the top of many lists. As the world’s #2 economy it is just a matter of time (some say by 2025) before China has the world’s #1 economy. The Chinese are pushing forward all the time which is in concert with the way the people are moving from place to place.

I’ve spent nearly the past two weeks traveling around the Middle Kingdom. I have traveled to seven cities in eleven days. Whether it be planes, trains, buses, cars, (no boats this time but on other trips), if you want to get around in China it does one no good to be meek. This is was bit alarming at first as since I am a New Yorker born and bred and New Yorkers have quite the reputation for being rude. When it comes to traveling in China you had better be willing to push through – literally – or be left behind.

The Chinese do not appear to have a culture of deferral. People cut right in front of you, elbow past you if you hesitate, and are generally most interested in getting where they are going as quickly as possible. However on the few occasions when I looked lost or out of sorts there was always a Chinese person willing to help – sometimes going out of their way in a manner that would probably never occur in the U.S.

Driving is harrowing and being a passenger even more so. I assume there are some traffic laws in China but they appear to be suggestions more than laws. I’ve seen things, eye and hair-raising things from the passenger seat. There were a few instances in which I actually closed my eyes, but alas nothing untoward occurred. One cannot be a deferrer when operating a motor vehicle as you will be cut-off and immobilized. And the Chinese LOVE to use their car horns. Keep in mind that for many Chinese, cars were scarce ten years ago and they did not start driving until they were adults in their thirties or older. China is learning how to drive all at once.

If you are shaking your head and thinking you’d rather not experience China for yourself you could not be more wrong. China is an amazing place and getting more so all the time. The new Central government is soon to be in place and there is much trepidation on how the new Central Government will behave. Like the U.S. and other western countries China has its own problems and challenges to face in the near future. But the Chinese are positive about what they can do and be and pushing hard to make it happen.

I am eager to get back even though I haven’t quite left yet.

How about you? Have you been or are you interested in going to China?