Cranky on the Web: When to Fly With Kids, Remaking ATPCO

Cranky on the Web, Fares

The Best Age for Your Child to Get a Smartphone and Experience 11 Other MilestonesReader’s Digest
It was quite a blast of nostalgia to get a request from Reader’s Digest. I can’t say I’d heard that name in a long time, but I was more than happy to chime in on when kids should take their first overseas trips. Naturally, the answer is “it depends,” but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Airline Data Powerhouse Needs to Evolve as Fast as Airfares HaveSkift
ATPCO has long been the central clearinghouse for fares in the airline industry, but if it changes nothing, its days are numbered. New models are going to make ATPCO less relevant, so the company is trying to evolve. This story takes a look at what ATPCO is thinking.

Get Cranky in Your Inbox!

The airline industry moves fast. Sign up and get every Cranky post in your inbox for free.

4 comments on “Cranky on the Web: When to Fly With Kids, Remaking ATPCO

  1. I kind of chuckled over some of those kid things. Being a baby boomer meant doing things that young parents today would think horrible. Like first graders walking to/from school and the school was a mile way. Staying in the car alone and never thinking of getting out and wandering around because you knew you would get a spanking if you did.

    Sleep overs and staying home alone at a young age, a non issue.

    Granted there was no smart phones and internet then to look up “naughty” things, but every kid knew another kid who knew where dad stashed the nudie magazines.

    It all comes down to don’t listen to other people, especially the so called “experts”, just use common sense and your gut feeling about your own child.

    1. My wife and I trend much younger across the board than this article. Our kids are mature, smart, and confident….because we do push and stretch boundaries and conventions. Just be smart, look around, and pay attention.

      The going to the UK because kids can find things to eat is another sad commentary on modern US parenting.

      1. Xnuiem – Congratulations on having perfect children. For the rest of us who want to expose our children to the world, it absolutely makes sense to start with places to which it will be easier for them to adapt. My kids are extremely picky eaters and it’s not for our lack of trying to push boundaries. They’re stubborn, and when we push, they just won’t eat. Will they eat eventually if no other option? Sure, but that’s not something I want to deal with while on vacation. Japan? It would be ridiculous for me to do that knowing the fight that will ensue at every meal. In a few years, it’ll undoubtedly be different, and I look forward to that. Until then, I guess I’ll just have to be your perfect example of bad parenting.

  2. I wonder if there is more than one person still alive who both collected domestic airline timetables (columnar timetables, of course, not those stupid quick-reference versions) and then personally paid for a subscription to ATPCO’s CAB-filed domestic airline passenger tariff set? I once had what I’d like to think was the world’s largest private collection of loose-leaf 8 1/2″ by 11″ ATPCO tariff pages, most of which contained those magical words: “This page intentionally left blank.” Where did they go? ATPCO? Somewhere there’s got to be someone willing to establish the “ATPCO Historical Museum.” No?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Cranky Flier