Get Some D%#@ Earbuds Already!

Some travel etiquette “no-no” rules are up for debate. Others should not be—like playing sound on your phone or tablet speaker in a public place. This rude behavior won’t just get you an angry stare from those around you if you’re on a train in Ireland. It could cost you a €100 fine from Irish Rail. This follows a public campaign on the London Tube, announcements on many flights, and a few isolated fines so far in public stations. Let’s hope that this highly popular “shame or fine” trend is going to spread quickly since the abuse is so rampant, from biz travelers filled with self-importance to the spoiled kids on iPads.

Things Not to Buy

We’re often recommending products and services on here that are a good fit for working travelers, but here are three products you might want to avoid for now. 1) Spirit Airlines tickets. The company’s CEO expressed “substantial doubt” about its ability to survive, which is bad news if you’re booking a ticket with them for a wedding you need to get to. 2) Cybertrucks. Musk said Tesla would sell a million cybertrucks. They’ve sold 52K instead and already had 8 recalls. 3) Kodak photography products. As with Spirit, the company expressed doubts about the “ability to continue as a going concern” and is trying to pivot to pharma products.

Airline Loyalty Program Changes

This has been a busy month for loyalty programs. Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines’ programs will merge into one October 1. JetBlue inked a deal to offer Condor flights to Europe with its miles—and vice-versa. Frontier has been busy capitalizing on Spirit’s troubles (see above) to take over its routes and is aggressively wooing customers with lots of new loyalty program goodies and status matches.

Business Class Deals to Latin America

Most of the online chatter about business class flights is about status upgrades or cashing in points, but some routes have a much lower premium for the front of the plane than others. As mentioned before, I’ve snagged one-way fares between the USA and Mexico for less than $100 more than basic economy. It’s often a 2X or less multiple when flying further south, on U.S. carriers or foreign ones like Copa, Aeromexico, or LATAM. See info in this article, with actual prices: Business Class Deals for Latin America.

---

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

09/4/25