Air fare bargains are appearing

[BoundForElsewhere]

I do miss Continental gobbled up by United, but what are you referencing?

Most airlines (Delta, American, most international) will let you slide with an oversized carry-on and fins on the outside. United has gate keepers who harass you and make you pay extra if you're even slightly over.

 

[DandyDon]

Most airlines (Delta, American, most international) will let you slide with an oversized carry-on and fins on the outside. United has gate keepers who harass you and make you pay extra if you're even slightly over.

As cramped as plane cabins are, I can't sympathize. My fins are in my checked luggage. At ay rate, that's not the same as "make you pay to use the bathroom".

 

[Jcp2]

That’s Ryanair.

From the £1 loo charge to O'Leary's Twitter takeover: Ryanair's biggest PR disasters

 

[Christophdiver]

Well as Gary O said Cruz ships are Petrie dishes for disease. In fact Cozumel now leaving Saturday. Hope to come back mid April but I am keeping my powder dry. As someone indicated, lots of people have mild or no symptoms who catch the virus as if that is a good thing. It is for those individuals but makes it impossible to isolate people before infecting others. With all the Cruise ships in Coz, About 5 today, it is not hard to imagine this place becoming a hotbed for disease. Cruceros to taxi drivers waiters and bartenders, Mega etc and then we sit together in close quarters for 60 minute surface intervals. What could go wrong?! I don’t want to sound alarmist but watch and wait is what I am doing.

 

[ggunn]

1) Could these experts be wrong? You betcha. Just like the experts were wrong about Ebola and Zika.

2) Roughly 10,000 US citizens have died from the common flu so far this year. Why isn't our Congress allotting 8 billion to combat that?

1) They were not wrong. They pointed out causes for concern, which were extant. They did not predict the end of the world then and they aren't now.

2) (source: the US CDC) The coronavirus has a mortality rate 20 to 25 times higher than "normal" flu, is more contagious than "normal" flu, and people can transmit it days before they show any symptoms. "Only" 20 percent of people who contract it require hospitalization, and "only" 10-15% of those people die from it. Testing and containment are our only recourse; 8 billion may not be enough.

I have plans to go to Cozumel next month; I am in wait and see mode for now.

 

[sefuchs]

Amazing how many flights have opened up via AA points. Two weeks ago I was looking at 50k point for a round trip from PDX to CZM with very limited dates to select from. Today I booked round trip flights for 19k points with many options for dates/times (in Oct/Nov).

 

[deepsea21]

The coronavirus has a mortality rate 20 to 25 times higher than "normal" flu, is more contagious than "normal" flu, and people can transmit it days before they show any symptoms. "Only" 20 percent of people who contract it require hospitalization, and "only" 10-15% of those people die from it. Testing and containment are our only recourse; 8 billion may not be enough.

The CDC should not be releasing such a statement (unless they are seeking more and more and more $ to justify their crappy existence just like FEMA). Neither of these government agencies are worth a crap. FEMA can't get fresh drinking water to domestic disaster areas for 2 weeks when a human being will be dead in 3-4 days without water - and they've had multiple opportunities and natural disasters to learn from). The CDC has had YEARS to learn from prior potential pandemic threats but has learned nothing and done nothing to prepare for the next one.

At this stage there is absolutely no reliable scientific evidence or study that the mortality rate is 20-25 times higher than the normal flu. That is absolute fear mongering. Statistics being cited are based on diagnosed cases of this virus. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't 1-2 million people infected by this globally and many experience no symptoms or their symptoms are so minimal that there is no need to seek medical attention. As such, they are not tested and accounted for in these statistics.

Don't even get me started on the CDC's screwed up ramp-up of test kits for this virus. South Korea tested over 100,000 identified sick people in a day to find their first cases of this virus and they had their results a day later. We've tested what? Less than 5,000 so far and all while the CDC knew this was coming, It's great to start shipping test kits out but where do they send the specimens for diagnosis? Takes us around 7 days right now. South Korea can turn their tests around the same day. What a joke our government and all agencies within it are.

On the lighter side... What do you call a corona virus that's been bit by a tick? Corona with Lyme.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Are we great yet?

 

[lexvil]

The CDC should not be releasing such a statement (unless they are seeking more and more and more $ to justify their crappy existence just like FEMA). Neither of these government agencies are worth a crap. FEMA can't get fresh drinking water to domestic disaster areas for 2 weeks when a human being will be dead in 3-4 days without water - and they've had multiple opportunities and natural disasters to learn from). The CDC has had YEARS to learn from prior potential pandemic threats but has learned nothing and done nothing to prepare for the next one.

At this stage there is absolutely no reliable scientific evidence or study that the mortality rate is 20-25 times higher than the normal flu. That is absolute fear mongering. Statistics being cited are based on diagnosed cases of this virus. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't 1-2 million people infected by this globally and many experience no symptoms or their symptoms are so minimal that there is no need to seek medical attention. As such, they are not tested and accounted for in these statistics.

Don't even get me started on the CDC's screwed up ramp-up of test kits for this virus. South Korea tested over 100,000 identified sick people in a day to find their first cases of this virus and they had their results a day later. We've tested what? Less than 5,000 so far and all while the CDC knew this was coming, It's great to start shipping test kits out but where do they send the specimens for diagnosis? Takes us around 7 days right now. South Korea can turn their tests around the same day. What a joke our government and all agencies within it are.

On the lighter side... What do you call a corona virus that's been bit by a tick? Corona with Lyme.

So the “real” story is?

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .

At this stage there is absolutely no reliable scientific evidence or study that the mortality rate is 20-25 times higher than the normal flu. That is absolute fear mongering. Statistics being cited are based on diagnosed cases of this virus. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't 1-2 million people infected by this globally and many experience no symptoms or their symptoms are so minimal that there is no need to seek medical attention. As such, they are not tested and accounted for in these statistics. . . .

I heard this explanation yesterday. My first reaction was that CDC epidemiologists surely can’t be basing that calculated mortality rate on only the officially diagnosed cases. I mean, isn’t the science more sophisticated than that? I have to believe there is some extrapolation to account for the lack of testing. I suppose I can ask a friend—I know a couple of CDC epidemiologists.

I just realized after typing the above what the thread topic is here, and although I think we are OT I’m leaving it. There is a good discussion on the Coronavirus going on in the Pub forum, where issues likely to have a political side are best discussed.