OT: Should not be a surprise
Epidemic Of Thefts By First Class Airline Passengers
Light-fingered passengers flying first and business class are behind a mile-high pilfering epidemic, filching the high-value luxury treats available in their opulent cabins.
Some airlines are now reassessing their offerings available to their top-notch customers that include luxury blankets, pyjamas and designer perfume bottles that are exiting their planes, along with the passengers, on a grand scale.
Virgin Airlines is missing 1,700 lightweight blankets since the start of the year and have become so inured to the purloining of their distinctive 'jet engine' salt and pepper shakers that it now marks them with a tongue-in-cheek “Pinched from Virgin Atlantic” logo. Some 26,700 sets have gone missing over the last 12 months, the airline says.
According to The Times, British Airways, which offers its premium customers soft blankets with satin trim and padded mattress covers designed by The White Company, said: “We encourage passengers to try to grab 40 winks when they fly with us, rather than the bedding.”
Meanwhile, the well-heeled passengers are not only swiping all the cool, free stuff they can lay their hands on but are also known to try to profit from their misdemeanors by selling them online. Sites such as eBay feature BA blankets and Bulgari amenity bags made for Emirates. Etihad’s business class velvet plush throw sells for more than $130.
With first class and premium flights costing thousands of dollars, the moneyed fliers appear to have a sense of entitlement to the freebies they stuff in their hand luggage. “Almost anything that is not nailed down will at some point disappear,” Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry analyst and former airline marketing manager, told the WSJ.
Whilst many airlines take a tolerant approach to their prosperous plunderers (indeed, premium cabins account for 5.5% of international passenger traffic, but more than 30% of revenue, according to the WSJ), some have started dropping subtle hints at the excessive souvenir hunting. According to the WSJ, United Airlines' in-flight menus pointedly highlight which items are free and where they can buy the rest.
Comments
last commentI always try to take the paintings from the room when I stay at Motel 6 but they freaking nail them to the walls!
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WTF are they talking about? The amenities bags ARE meant to be taken with you.
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i got a hk ‘chika’ towel a few years ago. it was very well used and dirty from the shaving cream show.
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Maybe people think they are entitled based on the cost of their fare. They are no bettet than burglars.
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In a related story, hotels are complaining that guests are taking shampoo and soap.
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Whether it’s appropriate or not - I think the airlines are going to find it difficult to get any sympathy or support over this issue.
They will charge a huge premium for a larger seat, blankets, and passable food. Then they complain because passengers take a few items - because it hurts their inflated profits from overcharging for a seat in an uncomfortable metal tube...
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MisterWonderful: perhaps more description of the "shaving cream show" is warranted. Sounds brilliant!
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in hong kong tijuana reviews. can be fun!
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As to the hotel amenities, I have a dim and flawed memory of remarks by the late Barbara Bush, former First Lady and wife of Pres. George H.W. Bush. She said that she always took the soap and shampoo from hotel rooms, because those items were already factored in the room cost and were expected to be consumed by the guest. She collected these items and, when, the box was full, donated them to a homeless shelter. My guess is that hotels may be experiencing a higher than usual consumption of bathroom items, because they are the right size for carry-on. Saves a trip to the CVS looking for travel size.
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MisterWonderful and 4got2wipe, what good is a shaving cream show?
Either oil and vibrators, or a whipped cream show.
But shaving cream? Who wants that?
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Sure the airline is making a large profit off first class customers instead of us coach flyers, but that doesn't make theft right.
Would these same people think it's ok to take the comforter from the Ritz-Carlton just because they paid more than a room at Motel 8?
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I don't steal from the airlines myself but they don't get any sympathy from me either. You can't bring a pocket knife, wine opener, shampoo or even water on board, but if you check these items they charge $25. Last time I was on Delta they showed commercials on a screen in the back of the seat in front of me, and it couldn't be turned off. Airlines are despicable and they deserve whatever scams anyone can pull on them.
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