David J. Danto
Business travel
thoughts in my own, personal opinion
eMail:
ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Video &
Technology Industry News: @NJDavidD
(Read David’s Bio) (See
David’s CV) (Read David’s Other Blogs & Articles)
The
Things We’ve Lost
When my kids were very young
we’d sometimes take a short ride over to our local airport so they could join
me in the club. They
wouldn’t cause any trouble for frequent travelers. They’d just grab some packages of cookies and
stand by the window watching the planes taxi to the runway and take off. It was a relaxing, fun way to get more value
out of an airline club membership, and at the same time both entertain my kids
and help teach them that there is nothing stopping them from going anywhere in
the world.
Then
there was 9/11.
The
clubs – and any part of the airport (if you’re not flying) - are off
limits.
The
airlines have so oversubscribed the clubs and so under delivered services there
that there’d be no place for the kids to watch the planes in any case. The packaged snacks are also long gone. Anything you could throw in your briefcase or
pocket to eat on the plane has long been replaced by cheaper, non-packaged
versions of food that are very difficult to bring with you (not that you’d want
to.) The airports themselves are now
mostly miserable places – where there are long lines, angry people, angrier
employees, and pop-up merchants where there used to be moving walkways.
We’ve lost enjoyable airport
experiences.
Before
9/11 travelers knew to buy tickets with only a first initial and a last name -
so they could be transferred to someone else in the family at the last minute
if there was a change of plans. Change
fees were unheard-of. Now, the focus on
security (real or perceived) has removed that little trick.
We’ve lost free flexibility on airline
tickets.
A few
months later an idiot tried to light his
shoes on fire on a transatlantic flight.
He had plastic explosives hidden within them. Thankfully he was subdued by passengers and
has been locked-up ever since. In
response to this event, airport security now requires that most travelers take
off their shoes for inspection before getting past the checkpoint.
We’ve lost the ability to wear shoes
through security.
Before
2006 most travelers used to take small bottles of water to the airport so they
could stay hydrated during a flight.
Then, a group of terrorists came up with a hare-brained
scheme to use liquid explosives on a transatlantic flight. Bottles of liquid are now not allowed past
airport security. Oddly enough, that
16.9 ounce bottle of spring water that costs 50 cents at a Costco vending
machine (and 3.99 for a case of 24 bottles) now costs close to $4 at most
airports. Who pockets those
profits? Well, if you’ve noticed, you
can now pay for items at many airports with either money or frequent flyer
miles. You guess who’s pocketing the
cash.
We’ve lost the ability to bring water
to the airport.
In 1999
a brand-new, gleaming golden Las Vegas hotel had its grand opening. It was an amazing place, with a huge parking
lot, a restaurant that had a wall of
flames at its entrance, its very own House of Blues, and
awesome rooms that all had huge bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs. Later on it added an enormous convention
center, its own Four Seasons
hotel, a huge aquarium full of sharks,
and many other amenities.
I’ve
made many great memories at this place - there was the time I won a big jackpot
on a tennis themed slot machine….the great concerts on the beach…the artificial
wave pool and the lazy river I’ve floated around countless times. There is the annual CES conference, as this
is the place where all the press and analyst events are now held – and there
are countless other industry conferences where I’ve attended, networked and met
with clients and colleagues over a meal or a drink.
A week
ago, for no reason that has been put forward to date, a madman used my special
Las Vegas place as a sniper’s nest, raining bullets indiscriminately on an
unsuspecting crowd of concert goers.
Over 50 people were killed and over 200 wounded. The property, the community and the whole
world were shocked by the senseless violence.
Many people are grieving the loss.
We’ve lost 58 innocent souls.
We’ve forever tainted the memory and
history of Mandalay Bay, and to some extent Las Vegas.
I, like
many others, wish it never happened, and hope it can be a catalyst for the
implementation of common-sense regulations.
If 9/11 can keep non-flying kids from the airport and require us to use
full names and government ID for travel, If one idiot can force us to take our
shoes off at airport security, if one group of nutcases can stop us from
bringing bottles of water to the airport, then common sense dictates that we
should make some sort of change regarding weapons that have no place in
defending private citizens or sport hunting.
Without
wading too deeply into that debate however, it is obviously time to grieve
another huge loss.
This article was written by David Danto and
contains solely his own, personal opinions.
All image and links provided above as reference under
prevailing fair use statutes.