Air Travel | The Adobo Chronicles

CHICAGO, Illinois (The Adobo Chronicles) – The same U.S. airline that started the ‘economy plus’ seats in its aircraft main cabin is about to take back that extra legroom in favor of ‘economy minus’ seats — for half the airfare.

UNITED Airlines (UAL) started offering its economy plus seats with more legroom some 15 years ago for passengers willing to pay extra as well as to reward its frequent fliers.

Beginning on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2015, UAL passengers will have the option to book economy minus seats for a 50% discount. These seats will have 50% less legroom compared to the already cramped regular economy seats. Furthermore, the economy minus seat backs will not recline and there will be no tray tables that fold down for meals or to set laptops and other portable devices on.

“It’s a win-win situation, ” a UNITED spokesperson said. “Passengers will see significant savings, and UAL will be able to increase the number of seats and generate more revenue.”

The Adobo Chronicles learned that non-alcoholic beverages and peanuts will still be complimentary, but economy minus passengers purchasing meals on board will have to set their food on their laps. UNITED will not be responsible for food items that may fall off passenger laps in the event of unexpected turbulence.

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – If you are planning to travel to the Philippines in the next few months, be prepared for extreme hot temperatures when you land at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.

NAIA’s reputation as one of the worst airports in the world has been exacerbated by airconditioning problems in its terminals, with incoming and outgoing passengers describing the terminal as a dry sauna. So it was a welcome relief when the airport administration finally received the shipment of 36 airconditioning units it had ordered from Japan. With much fanfare, Angel Hornado, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority, announced last week that the installation of the new units would begin and will be completed in three working days.

Like with all projects in the Philippines, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was scheduled Saturday to mark the official switching on of the new airconditioning units. Presidential sister, actress and television host Kris Aquino was invited as honored guest to cut the ribbon. “It’s quite an emotional moment for me,” she said. NAIA was, of course, named after her dad who was assassinated at the same airport upon his return from exile during the Marcos years.

Then Hornado flashed a thumbs up to signal the switching on of the cooling units. In less than 15 minutes, all units were functioning and guests and passengers could hear the soft humming of the fans that started to blow air into the sprawling, albeit crowded terminal.

But something was obviously terribly wrong. The new units were blowing hot air and they added to the already warm and humid temperature inside the terminal.

Immediately, an aide came rushing towards Hornado and whispered, “Sir, the units that were installed were actually heaters!”

Apparently, something was lost in translation when the airconditioning units were ordered from Japan.

For now, NAIA remains the hottest airport in the world.