EuroPoli

Does low-cost necessarily mean low-service? Last weekend, while stuck in Terminal 4 two times in a row, I started thinking about this. My conversation then turned to comparing low-cost airlines with an unfortunate chap who was sharing the same delay as I was.

Let’s get the ground rules out. I’ll fly low-cost, no issues there. I’ve used EasyJet, WizzAir (snicker), RyanAir and BabyBMI. Air Lingus will be soon… Like so many others, I’m willing to sacrifice an hour or two of comfort in return for a cheap flight to some exotic destination.

That said, I draw the line at RyanAir. I’ve flown with them a few times, and willl never, ever again. My row-buddy was of the same opinion; like many others I’ve realised. RyanAir is no longer just a low-cost airline, but flying money-trap. Would you like some breathable air? Oh, that’ll be extra. Would you like a seat where you can actually fit? That’ll be extra as well. I used to be able to accept this, my plan was to just sleep through it all and go to my happy place and pretent I couldn’t see the glaring yellow walls. But then it got worse, then they started advertising on the PA, so now I can’t even sleep… unless I bring earplugs, which means I miss any form of security announcements…

Anyhow, that’s not the point. Anyone who has ever flown RyanAir knows that their name is synonimous with the worst flying experience you could have (and I’ve flown on tupolevs without sound proofing, Southern China which almost fell apart on takeoff, and West African bus-flights). So we’ll leave RyanAir out of this debate for a moment.

Let’s deal with the normal low-cost airlines, the likes of EasyJet, WizzAir and co. Inequivocably, they are a line better than RyanAir. These are airlines that advertise themselves as the cheapest on the market, but in return you close a blind eye to a service or two. For example, you pay for your meals… and luggage… That said, the experience is still better than Ryan Air’s.

One thing which you think they cannot take is your mind… unless they start droning on an on about the latest promotion the entire flight over the PA…

Oh well, rant over.
M.

Part three… the real question is, is this episode III or episode VI. I can’t help the cheap humor, I’m forced to type this on a Mac…I’ve offered my laptop to a colleague, who’s machine in turn died following a failed PGP update. He tried using the Mac for a bit, then decided it was more hassle than it’s worth. Anyhow, moving swiftly on before i get death threats from the Macolytes…

The dark side of social networking sites. The most common and obvious of these is the risk of loss of confidentiality of confidential information. (try that for a tongue twister!) Call your bank, and tell them you have been stranded by the ash cloud in Timbuktu and you need to pay your credit card bill. You have the details for the card (from another bank), but don’t remember your bank’s details as you are in Timbuktu…

If your bank happens to be friendly and helpful in times of crisis (like mine is, I got a very friendly text from them the other day), they’ll run you through a set of “backup” security questions…

• Hello sir, may I have your full name?
  Sure! (FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc)
• Thank you sir, and your date of birth?
  No problem! (FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc)
• Great, and the first line of your address?
  Of course (118, FaceBook, electoral register, etc)
• And your security code?
  I’m afraid I forgot that, can we reset that please?
• Yes, sure. Let me just run you through a set of questions… may I know your mother’s maiden name please?
  Sure (FaceBook, MyFamilyTree, electoral register, etc)

and the list goes on. Ironically, with all the fairly advanced security measures in place nowadays, the weakest link is no longer the password (leaving aside the user, which is almost always the weakest link); the weakest link is the password reset mecchanism. (More on that in another post).

That said, many people are aware of this risk. What many are not aware of are of the slilghtly less talked about risks:

• spear phishing
• loss of passwords / password cross-polination
• cyberstalking
• etc

Anyhow, this post has been sitting in my drafts for months now… Time to hit the publish button… I’ll finish off in part 4!

M.

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