To me, that's a major problem (and one I assume gosimply has no control over,) as I generally don't know I need a lounge until I get to the airport!

Dear Mr Broback,

I realise this may seem like an untimely response, but we have just discovered your post on airport lounges. First off, thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear of your disappointing experience.

The gosimply lounge program is designed for travellers to book their airport lounge before they travel (or at least 24 hours before arrival time). Amongst other reasons, this helps ensure there are enough potato chips and complimentary beverages to hand

In this instance it appears that the incorrect availability was given, which in turn allowed you to book within the 24 hour time frame. We cater for 1000's of lounge stays and this is the first time something like this has occurred (unfortunately for both of us). Based on this, we would of course be more than happy to refund your stay.

We have many hundreds of satisfied customers, who have enjoyed the extra touch of luxury that an airport lounge brings to their trip.

In our ongoing efforts to improve the gosimply airport lounge program we are trialling mobile phone ticketing (which removes the need for a printer), and hoping to shorten the notice period from the current 24 hours to 12 hours.

gosimply.com

Best online casino in canada online slots online canadian casinos.

The U.S.-based investors in Virgin America, the discount airline founded by Sir Richard Branson, recently cashed in their stakes in the startup carrier, according to people familiar with the situation — raising new questions about whether the airline can continue to comply with U.S. airline “citizenship” rules.

If the don't replace this backing with other U.S. based investors soon, the airline may not comply with ownership rules. Under federal law, a U.S.-based air carrier must be at least 75% owned and controlled by American investors.

Given the cash the airline is hemorrhaging, this may prove to be difficult.
Canada online casinos online casino no deposit online canadian casinos.

Expect deliverance from charger hell by 2012. Basta casinot online casino slots pa natet.

That means that when the ThinkPad boots up, new e-mail will already be loaded. There’s no need to establish a secure Internet connection to the employer’s servers. The user will also be able to send e-mail from the ThinkPad through the BlackBerry without an additional Internet connection.

The “Lenovo Constant Connect” card will let users combine the always-on nature of the BlackBerry with the larger keyboard and screen of the laptop, said Rick Cheston, executive director at Lenovo. For instance, a traveler could flip open the laptop to do some quick e-mailing at an airport layover, rather than spending time to set up Internet access, he said.

The new card will cost will cost $150 or less.

The airline has sought to keep its data under wraps, claiming it would suffer “competitive harm” if forced to open its books.

Rivals have pressured regulators to make Virgin America disclose a range of performance and financial statistics.

Industry analysts have speculated that the numbers if/when revealed could indicate a lack of financial viability for the airline.

Avondale Partners airline analyst Bob McAdoo, meanwhile, predicted in a research note Monday that upstart Virgin America — which is privately held and therefore releases less operating information than publicly owned carriers — could be the next casualty.

McAdoo cited preliminary filings with the Department of Transportation that suggest the carrier is rapidly losing money, and flew planes that were considerably emptier than some of its competitors through the end of last year.

“We caution that these estimates are based on limited (Transportation Department) filings and may be overly pessimistic,” he wrote. “However, given the ownership structure of Virgin America … we see parallels between Virgin and the three failed airlines.”

As if that isn’t enough, the blogosphere is up in arms about Virgin America suing a blogger over a parody ad.

Twenty-eight U.S. companies, from Altria Group Inc. to Universal Corp., divulged their sale or planned disposal of corporate aircraft in the past two years, says Equilar Inc., which tracks executive compensation and benefits. Several others, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Citigroup Inc., say they are seeking buyers for company planes.

Company aircraft are a flying office and “a day extender for me,” says James E. Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy Corp., a Charlotte, N.C., utility that owns two jets and a helicopter. After flying to White Plains, N.Y., for a business dinner this month, “I got back on the [Duke] plane and I was home by 10:30 p.m.,” Mr. Rogers recalls.

But public anger and tough times mean more CEOs may soon be joining Mr. McComb on commercial flights. The heads of the Big Three car makers provoked a firestorm of criticism from lawmakers by traveling to Washington on private jets in November to plead for federal help.

I’ve been intrigued with gosimply for some time and decided to try it today. The promise is inviting:

Relax in 1st class comfort and treat yourself to an executive airport lounge. From £13.50 per person
With 97 airport lounges across 38 countries we guarantee you’ll find the right lounge at the best prices.
Each airport lounge is uniquely designed and offers a haven of calm away from the airport crowds.
Enjoy some V.I.P treatment whether you’re on business or that much deserved holiday break!

I arrived at the airport a whopping 4.5 hours before my Alaska Airlines flight from Newark to Seattle was due to depart. (My intent was to get an exit row seat no matter what…) Due to weather issues, my flight from Newark to Seattle was delayed by 3.5 hours, so I had plenty of time on my hands. I thought it would be a great time to try out one of the services that (for a fee) can get you into an airline lounge. Here is my experience with gosimply:

1. Logged into gosimply.com and entered the airport and date/time of flight. The system responded with availability in one of the several President’s Club lounges. One was in the same building I was — and in the concourse adjacent to my flight. (2 minutes.)
2. Got a quote that for £20.00 (pounds?? wha…? No auto-detect of locale?) I could get a pass for 3 hours. Google tells me that converts to $32.00. I go for it. I enter my charge card data and I get a confirmation screen and an email of same. The system tells me repeatedly to “print” it. Hmmm. Might this be a problem down the road? I ponder… No matter, I can show them the email onscreen, and can forward it to them as required.
   (2 minutes.)
3. Headed for the Lounge. Wait in the security line. When I hit the point that they are reviewing my ticket, they won’t let me go any further since my plane departs from a gate on another concourse. They don’t care about what my laptop says. They insist I go back to the Continental desk and get a “gate pass.”
   (7 minutes.)
4. Waited in line at Continental counter.
   (10 minutes.)
5. Talked to counter agent. She had no idea what gosimply was or what I was talking about. Calls the President’s Club. They have never heard of me or my lounge booking. They think for some reason that I think that I have reserved a conference room. After some back and forth they say come on out, and I better bring a printout as pixels are meaningless to them. Forget emailing it, as THEY HAVE NO PRINTER(!) My impression is that they don’t get reimbursed unless I provide them with an atom-based representation. Luckily, I have an efax account, so I say “hey, can I fax you a copy?” They say that is fine and that I should bring my Pet Shop Boys cassettes with me. I head to the gate with my gate pass.
   (15 minutes.)
6. Show up at the lounge. Am greeted by what the Wall Street Journal used to call a “Bully Broad.” She has never heard of gosimply. As I get on wifi to fax my confirmation — she and her cohorts Patty, and Selma unceremoniously reject at least two other prospective entrants with a hearty “no lounge for you!!” Their Platinum cards are meaningless here. It’s clear to me that I better get her the damn printout. I send the efax email and sit down in a lobby chair.
   (5 minutes.)
7. Wait. After several minutes I realize they are not paying any attention to me, and may have even forgotten about my existence. No one is jumping up and telling me the magic fax has landed or not. I also notice that because of the weather, the lounge is starting to fill up. As I get up to inquire if the fax has arrived, I realize that if it has not, I will be forced back out into the utter hell that is the main concourse. Instead, I carefully slink unnoticed into the nirvana that is the President’s Club.
   (5 minutes.)

And here I sit. I have a glass of Stags Leap Artemis before me and am typing this in a well-lit luxury cubicle in a comfortable office chair. I have ample power and all the potato chips I can ingest. The internet access is fast and free. I believe I see a former T.V. newswoman sitting at the bar and have playful banter with what looks like a Fortune 500 CEO. In a nutshell, life is good.

The bottom line is that if you try gosimply, I suggest you:

• Buy your lounge time before you leave home, so you can print it.
• Realize that you may have to get in line to acquire a gate pass before you head to the lounge.
• Be prepared for no one in power having any idea what you are talking about when you show them the piece of paper that grants you access.

AN UPDATE: A nice email from gosimply.

It turns out that in most cases, the free membership offer perks that are well worth the hassle of signing up. Their experience at Omni Berkshire Place, for example, caught my attention:

During our Saturday night stay, the free membership let us dodge the hotel’s wireless Internet charge of $9.95 a day and entitled us to free coffee or tea with juice in our room in the morning.

Speaking as someone who is hopelessly addicted to the internet but who does not yet have a traveling internet card from Verizon, Clearwire, Sprint, or whoever else is selling them (I’m waiting for the $29.99 price point – I may have to wait a while), free hotel wi-fi is a great benefit.

You can find run-down of all the hotel programs they checked, which include benefits like check-cashing services and free champagne, over at the Wall Street Journal article.

The reality does not quite live up to the promise however.

I’ve been using the service for over a year and am now (sadly) about to drop it. The problem? Several come to mind. Here they are in order of importance:

1) Delivery takes forever (unless you’re doing the trial!) I signed up for the trial and very soon after I’d hang up, the transcription would appear in my in box. Once I became a paying customer, the lag times steadily increased. I called a transcription in yesterday around 3pm and did not receive the mail from them until after 12 noon today. As a blogger, it makes using the service for timely posts impossible.

2) It’s too expensive. 80 bucks a month(!) If anyone knows of a less pricey alternative that provides more than 30 seconds of talk time, let me know.

3) Inconsistent results. Some texts come in with proper interpretation of what I say, others come in riddled with errors.

1 and 3 are permissible, but not when 2 exists. This is an awesome free service, it’s just a lousy $80 a month service. My two cents.