Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Goodbye SeatGuru, Southwest looks towards lounges, lake-turned-airport becomes a lake again, and bear attacks are on the rise in Japan.
Goodbye To SeatGuru, Here Are Alternate Options For Airline Seat Recommendations
In 2007, TripAdvisor purchased everyone’s favorite airline seat guide, SeatGuru. Now, after leaving it more or less dormant in the years since COVID, Tripadvisor has finally closed the site down altogether. To access this resource, you’ll now either have to visit the archive.org version or try out one of the alternatives suggested by Dan of Dan’s Deals. He suggests similar Aerolopa, or SeatMaps, as viable alternatives.
Virgin Group gets the depot access it needs to launch Channel Tunnel rail services
Something new is happening in the world of train travel, with Virgin Group gaining approval for depot access at the Temple Mills International Rail Depot. Virgin Group’s Richard Branson says this ends a 30-year Eurostar monopoly. For starters, the Virgin Group routes will be the same as the Eurostar routes, but unlike Eurostar, Virgin Group hopes to eventually stop in Ebbsfleet or Ashford International and will use single-decker trains (with plans for at-seat dining service). None of this is due to start until 2030, so it’s still a long way off, but it will be interesting to see if Virgin eventually sells tickets on Virgin Atlantic to London with a connection to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
The quick story is this: Southwest has been approved for a 5-year lease of 12,000 square feet for lounge space at the Honolulu airport. That’s the quick view, but the big picture here is also fairly interesting, as this marks another move Southwest is making away from being the airline that beats to its own drum. Southwest has been doing a lot of moving and shaking (for better or worse) in the last year, and most of these shake-ups have been making it less and less unique, opting for the same strategies to increase earnings that work for others in the industry. As Gary puts it, “Southwest has been making changes to its business model that [cause] the airline to be like others.” It’s a little bit like watching the quirky theater kid quit Glee Club and join soccer instead, but there’s a reason these other airlines have been doing things this way. To quote Gary again, “Airlines make far more money from credit card deals than they do from flying passengers.” Perhaps lounge access will become a credit card benefit to help incentivize credit card sign-ups?
Rainfall Buries a Mega-Airport in Mexico
The Lake Texcoco wetlands have had a tumultuous history ever since the 14th century, when they surrounded the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. Little by little, they were drained by the Aztecs, then the Spanish, and most recently, President Enrique Peña Nieto and his efforts to build the New Mexico City International Airport (NAICM). Those efforts did not pan out, which sounds like more sad news, but this has proven to be good news for the lake and its wildlife. Though not without some remaining hurdles (one of them being the somewhat inconvenient location, accessible only by car), the lake-turned-airport has turned back into a lake. In 2022, the area was declared a Protected Natural Area, and roughly a year later, the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park opened, spanning 55 square miles with water and wildlife returning at last. The plan uses a hybrid approach to include green spaces as well as recreational spaces, some of which make use of structures that had already been built for the airport, and focuses on letting nature do some of the heavy lifting of ecological repair. One way to revive a lake is to simply let the rain fall.
Japan governor calls for army to tackle deadly bear attacks
It’s time to unlock another new fear: bear attacks in Japan. This year, there have been 10 deadly bear attacks in Japan (a record high), and the governor of Akita prefecture is asking for the military’s help to address this. Not only have bear incidents suddenly spiked, but their general behavior has seemed to change as well. They’re leaving the mountains for populated areas and are attacking people in the neck and face. *shivers in horror* Why the increase in bear attacks? Experts say it’s due in part to food shortages, but also a decrease in hunters. You can read more about how Japan’s two bear types – the Asiatic Black Bear and the Brown Bear – differ from our own in this article here.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
