Ethics is a hot topic in the blogging world, so I’ve decided to put my code of ethics front and center. First I have included disclosures of any compensated relationships in the airline/travel industry. Then you will see details about my willingness to accept free or discounted products along with all offers, whether they have been accepted, and whether any blog posts were written about them. My goal is to be an open book here. You can always contact me with questions or comments at cf@crankyflier.com.
Disclosure of Current Compensated Relationships
- I currently have no financial holdings in any airlines
- I am not currently working with or having discussions about working with any airlines or airports
Historical Disclosures
- I was compensated with options to serve on the advisory council for Trippy.com, but the company has dissolved
- I was paid to write an occasional column for PlaneBusiness Banter from 2013 through 2015
- My role on the advisory council for Routehappy.com ended in June 2016
- I was paid to write a weekly column for the Intuit Small Business Center until July 2015
- I stopped writing for Conde Nast Traveler in 2014
- Airbus sponsored a series of posts during the week of November 11, 2013. My interaction was limited strictly to their marketing agency
- On July 30, 2013 I agreed to accept 75,000 TrueBlue points to participate on the JetBlue New Onboard Experience Advisory Board. This panel never succeeded and the points were never awarded
- Credit card links were removed in 2012 and no further compensation will be earned
- I stopped writing for CNN.com in 2012
- My contract to write the Headwinds blog for BNET (now part of CBS) ended in March 2011
- My consulting work for PASSUR Aerospace ended in August 2010.
- My short term social media consulting project for Long Beach Airport ended in August 2010
- My content reproduction agreement with BoardingArea.com ended in March 2010
Code of Ethics
For the purpose of this code, “free and/or discounted products and services” refers to anything above the cost of a meal offered to me for free or for a discount simply because of my status as a blogger
- When I write about free and/or discounted products and services, I will always disclose on this page who gave them to me, when they were given to me, and when I wrote about them. I will also include the discount amount offered in any post on the products/services.
- I will always write the truth about a product or service regardless of whether it is good or bad. I will never trade favorable press for free and/or discounted products and services.
- I will only accept free and/or discounted products and services if the people offering the product/service confirm that they have read this code of ethics and are willing to abide by the rules that have been set here.
- Just because I have been provided with free and/or discounted products and services doesn’t mean I will write about them. The only criteria for determining whether or not to write about a product is if it will make for a compelling post, good or bad.
List of Offered Free or Discounted Products/Services
The following is a full and complete list of trips/flights/boondoggles with a value of over $100 that have been offered to me along with whether they were accepted or not. This list does not include invitations to events unless a free or discounted product or service accompanied that invitation.
| Company | Offer | Date | Accepted | Blogged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing | 737 MAX Update in Seattle | 11/14/2019 | No | N/A |
| Sun Country | Media Day | 10/1/2019 | No | N/A |
| Hahn Air | Trip to Germany | 9/18/2019 | Yes | TBD |
| Embraer | E2 Flight in Florida | 9/2/2019 | No | N/A |
| Korean Air | Trip to Korea | 8/7/2019 | No | N/A |
| United Airlines | Media Day air and hotel | 8/4/2019 | Yes | 10/29/2019 11/4/2019 11/12/2019 |
| Southwest Airlines | Halloween Party Judge | 8/1/2019 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | Final MD-80 flight to Roswell | 7/31/2019 | No | N/A |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 6 Neighbor Island Flights in One Day | 7/3/2019 | Yes | 9/2/2019 |
| Alaska Airlines | Seattle lounge opening | 6/24/2019 | No | N/A |
| TAP Air Portugal | SFO Inaugural Flight | 5/2/2019 | No | N/A |
| Southwest Airlines | Hawai’i Inaugural Flight | 2/28/2019 | No | N/A |
| Virgin Atlantic | A350 Reveal Event | 2/25/2019 | Yes But Had to Cancel | 4/11/2019 |
| Southwest | Flight to Southwest Rally Las Vegas | 2/8/2019 | Yes | 2/21/2019 |
| Alaska Airlines | Alaska upgraded Airbus event | 1/28/2019 | No | N/A |
| American | Annual leadership conference flights | 1/23/2019 | Yes |
3/4/2019 3/11/2019 3/12/2019 |
| Southwest | Flights for Herb Kelleher Memorial | 1/14/2019 | Yes |
1/24/2019 2/05/2019 |
| Virgin Atlantic | Biofuel Demo Flight | 9/21/2018 | Yes (taken by correspondent) |
10/11/2018 10/18/2018 11/1/2018 |
| Spirit | Orlando Media Tour | 9/13/2018 | No | N/A |
| British Airways | Celebration of 60 Years of Jet Service Over the Atlantic | 8/31/2018 | No | N/A |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Long Beach Inaugural Flight Invite | 5/8/2018 | Yes | TBD |
| Air Canada | Event in Toronto and Vancouver | 4/5/2018 | No | N/A |
| China Eastern | Trip to Bangkok | 3/21/2018 | No | N/A |
| American | Invite to Annual Leadership Conference | 1/15/2018 | Yes | 02/27/2018 |
| Korean Air | Invite to Incheon Terminal 2 Opening | 12/13/2017 | No | N/A |
| American | Invite to Fly Snowball Express | 11/29/2017 | No | N/A |
| Air Canada | Invite to Roll-Out of New Premium Experience | 11/16/2017 | No | N/A |
| United Airlines | Invite to Final 747 Flight | 09/18/2017 | Yes (for another writer) | 11/14/2017 |
| British Airways | Invite on 25th 787 Delivery Flight | 09/06/2017 | No | N/A |
| Delta Air Lines | Invite to Customer Experience Showcase 2017 | 08/29/2017 | No | N/A |
| Southwest Airlines | Invite to 737 MAX Rollout | 08/16/2017 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | Invite to Media Day | 08/07/2017 | No | N/A |
| TAP Portugal | Invite to Retro Livery Flight | 06/26/2017 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | Invite to Flagship Dining Event | 04/21/2017 | No | N/A |
| Alaska Airlines | Milk Run from Anchorage to Seattle | 04/08/2017 | Yes | 06/29/2017 07/31/2017 08/01/2017 08/03/2017 08/07/2017 08/08/2017 08/10/2017 |
| Sabre | Invite to Airline Technology Exchange | 04/05/2017 | Yes | 05/18/2017 06/05/2017 |
| Delta Air Lines | Invite to media day | 03/30/2017 | No | N/A |
| Viva Air | Invite to inaugural Viva Peru flight | 03/29/2017 | TBD | TBD |
| British Airways | Flight to London for BAinvesting4U Launch | 03/20/2017 | No | N/A |
| Delta Air Lines | Invitation to Delta Grammy Party | 01/27/2017 | Yes | N/A |
| United Airlines | 777-300ER Polaris Demo Flight | 01/25/2017 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | Annual Leadership Conference | 01/09/2017 | Yes | 02/07/2017 |
| Grand Velas Riviera Maya | Wendy Perrin WOW List Summit | 12/01/2016 | Yes | 01/17/2017 01/18/2017 |
| Royal Air Maroc/The Moak Group | 787 Delivery Event in Seattle | 11/15/2016 | No | N/A |
| Delta Air Lines | Havana Inaugural Flight | 11/11/2016 | No | N/A |
| Alaska Airlines | Flight to Merger Closing Event (if it happens) | 11/10/2016 | No | N/A |
| Alaska Airlines | Havana Inaugural Flight | 11/10/2016 | No | N/A |
| Southwest Airlines, VisitBurbank, San Jose Airport, Sacramento | 9 Airports, 1 Day adventure where swag was given at every stop (mostly small things, but VisitBurbank did give a night at the Burbank Marriott along with theme park tickets | 08/09/2016 | Yes | 09/01/2016 09/08/2016 |
| Southwest Airlines | Flights to Seattle For Rollout of New Interior | 05/31/2016 | Yes | 08/16/2016 08/22/2016 |
| United Airlines | Flights to NYC For Media Event | 05/20/2016 | No | N/A |
| Wow Air Bristol Inaugural | Trip from Baltimore to Bristol, UK | 04/21/2016 | No | N/A |
| JetSuiteX Joyride Around LA | 30 Minute Flight Around LA | 04/13/2016 | Yes but plane broke so never took flight | 04/21/2016 |
| Delta Media Day | Flights and hotel | 03/18/2016 | No | N/A |
| Allegiant Media Day | Flights and hotel | 03/07/2016 | Yes but got sick so didn’t go | N/A |
| American Airlines | Upgraded paid return flight from DFW to LAX for Salesforce.com speaking event | 03/02/2016 | Yes | 03/15/2016 |
| Expedia | Invite to Expedia Partner Conference (flights/hotel/transport covered) | 11/10/2015 | No | No |
| Qatar | Invite to 787 delivery ceremony at Boeing | 10/1/2015 | No | N/A |
| United | New First Class seat rollout | 08/27/2015 | No | N/A |
| Hawaiian | Global Media Day | 6/29/2015 | Yes | 10/22/2015 11/3/2015 |
| Frontier | 21st Birthday Party Flight to Vegas | 06/23/2015 | No | N/A |
| JetBlue | Fly to NYC to meet with management | 06/11/2015 | No | N/A |
| United | Flight attendant training in Houston | 06/10/2015 | In progress | TBD |
| WestJet | Bombardier 500th Q400 Celebration | 06/03/2015 | No | N/A |
| Emirates Airlines | Inflight Preview of “Living in the Age of Airplanes” | 3/23/2015 | Yes (by Derek Pugh on behalf of Cranky) | 04/21/2015 |
| Alaska Airlines | Technology Demo Flight | 03/19/2015 | No | N/A |
| Icelandair | Northern Lights Flights | 02/02/2015 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | Leadership Conference | 01/19/2015 | Yes | 3/3/2015 3/9/2015 |
| Etihad | 787/A380 Launch Event in Abu Dhabi | 11/26/2014 | No | N/A |
| Etihad | 787 Delivery Ceremony in Seattle | 9/15/2014 | No | N/A |
| Travelport | Ignite Conference (paid for hotel only) | 8/12/2014 | Yes | 11/10/2014 11/17/2014 |
| Southwest | Southwest Media Day | 8/12/2014 | Yes | 9/15/2014 9/16/2014 9/18/2014 |
| ANA | 787 Flight from Seattle | 6/18/2014 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | Leadership Conference | 5/30/2014 | Yes | 6/19/2014 6/24/2014 |
| Delta Air Lines | Inside Delta Blogger Experience | 4/25/2014 | No | N/A |
| Honeywell | International Media Day | 4/24/2014 | Yes | 5/22/2014 5/29/2014 6/10/2014 8/19/2014 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Visit to Headquarters in Honolulu | 3/27/2014 | Yes | 7/7/2014 7/8/2014 7/14/2014 7/15/2014 7/21/2014 7/22/2014 |
| IATA | Annual General Meeting | 3/24/2014 | No | N/A |
| Silk Air | 737 Delivery Ceremony in Seattle | 1/20/2014 | Yes | 2/11/2014 2/13/2014 2/25/14 |
| United Airlines | Visit to Reopening of Concourse E at SFO | 1/18/2014 | No | N/A |
| JetBlue Airways | Inaugural Wifi Flight | 11/19/2013 | No | N/A |
| United Airlines | Visit to Headquarters in Chicago | 10/30/2013 | Yes | 12/12/2013 12/16/2013 12/17/2013 12/18/2013 12/19/2013 |
| Turkish Airlines | Flight for SocialTrippin Event | 10/25/2013 | No | N/A |
| Qatar Airways | Flight for oneworld Entry Ceremony | 10/7/2013 | No | N/A |
| KLM | New Business Class Seat Trip New York – Amsterdam | 9/6/2013 | No | N/A |
| Air France | Trip to Paris for New Coach Upgrade Announcement | 9/6/2013 | No | N/A |
| Delta | Delta Shuttle LAX-SFO flight | 8/22/2013 | Yes | 9/26/2013 |
| British Airways | A380 Inaugural LAX to London | 7/22/2013 | No | N/A |
| Korean Air | All inclusive 72 hour trip to Korea | 5/7/2013 | Yes | 6/10/2013 6/17/2013 6/25/2013 7/2/2013 |
| British Airways | A380 delivery flight | 6/10/2013 | No | N/A |
| US Airways Media Day and Leadership Conference | Two roundtrips to Phoenix for US Airways events | 3/12/2013 | Yes | 4/25/2013 4/29/2013 4/30/2013 5/6/2013 5/7/2013 |
| Travelport and CAPA | Trip to Dublin for Travelport meetings and CAPA conference | 3/12/2013 | Yes | 4/16/2013 4/18/2013 4/23/2013 |
| American | LHR trip to experience new business class | 3/5/2013 | Yes | 6/27/2013 7/11/2013 |
| Air New Zealand | Inflight focus group | 2/27/2013 | No | N/A |
| Farelogix | Media Day air and hotel covered | 1/2/2013 | Yes | 2/26/2013 |
| British Airways | BA Catchup and The Who Concert | 12/27/2012 | Yes | None |
| Lufthansa | 747-8 Media Trip to Frankfurt | 12/11/2012 | No | N/A |
| Qatar Airways | 787 Inaugural to Doha | 10/23/2012 | No | N/A |
| Lenovo | Yoga loaned for 10 days | 10/18/2012 | Yes | 12/12/12 |
| LAN | 787 Inaugural | 08/13/2012 | Uninvited due to space limitations | N/A |
| Southwest | Trip to Oshkosh for AirVenture | 06/28/2012 | No | N/A |
| British Airways | Trip to London for Olympics | 06/20/2012 | Yes | 08/07/2012 08/09/2012 |
| Southwest | Trip to Cabo on inaugural flight from Orange County | 05/16/2012 | No | N/A |
| Allegiant Air | Paid speaking engagement at airports conference | 03/29/2012 | Yes | 05/16/2012 |
| Southwest | 737-800 Inaugural | 03/27/2012 | No | N/A |
| Air France | FlyerTalk event in Paris | 03/27/2012 | No | N/A |
| US Airways | Flights to Phoenix for Media Day | 03/07/2012 | Yes | 03/26/2012 03/28/2012 |
| Alaska | Logo baby hoodie and onesie for my son | 02/14/2012 | Yes | N/A |
| Alaska, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest | Giveaways for Cranky 5 Year Anniversary | 08/15/2011 | Yes | 08/16/2011 |
| Emirates | Flight to Dubai | 07/14/2011 | Yes | 11/09/2011 11/16/2011 11/23/2011 |
| TAAG Angola | 777 Delivery Ceremony | 06/03/2011 | No | N/A |
| American Airlines | 737 Delivery Flight | 05/17/2011 | No | N/A |
| Airline Passenger Experience Expo | Flights and Hotel for annual convention in Seattle | 04/15/2011 | Yes | 09/13/2011 09/19/2011 09/20/2011 |
| Icelandair | Media trip to Iceland | 03/30/2011 | No | N/A |
| Lufthansa | Trip to Frankfurt for A380 back to SFO | 03/25/2011 | Yes | 05/12/2011 05/17/2011 |
| US Airways | Flights to Phoenix for Media Day | 02/28/2011 | No | No |
| American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law | Flight for speaking engagement on US Airways | 01/04/2011 | Yes | 02/28/2011 03/01/2011 |
| Air New Zealand | Flight to Seattle and 777 Delivery Flight | 12/07/2010 | No | 01/04/2011 |
| British Airways | Flight to London for BA Visit | 12/02/2010 | Yes | 01/20/2011 01/24/2011 01/25/2011 03/08/2011 |
| Cathay Pacific | Flight to Hong Kong for New Seat Event | 10/27/2010 | No | N/A |
| Southwest | Flights and Hotels at Southwest Media Day | 10/14/2010 | Yes | 10/29/2010 11/1/2010 11/2/2010 11/3/2010 |
| Delta | Flights to Atlanta for Headquarters Visit and Some Goodies from the Delta Museum | 08/25/2010 | Yes | 9/1/2010 9/2/2010 9/3/2010 9/13/2010 9/16/2010 9/20/2010 9/27/2010 10/1/2010 |
| Southwest | Flight to Chicago and then Oshkosh | 07/14/2010 | No | N/A |
| LAN | Trip to Peru for SFO Launch | 05/10/2010 | No | N/A |
| US Airways | Flight to Phoenix for Media Day | 03/02/2010 | Yes | 04/29/2010 04/30/2010 05/07/2010 |
| Denver International Airport | Transportation and Hotel provided for State of DIA panel participation | 01/28/2010 | Yes | 03/04/2010 03/19/2010 |
| Swiss | Trip to Zurich for SFO Launch | 02/23/2010 | No | N/A |
| Air New Zealand | Trip to Auckland for media event | 01/14/2010 | Yes | 01/25/2010 01/26/2010 02/01/2010 |
| Milwaukee Airport | Access to Midwest Best Care Club | 12/08/2009 | Yes | 12/29/2009 |
| Sony | Two week loan of Vaio P Series laptop | 11/04/2009 | Yes | 12/08/2009 |
| United Airlines | Last United 737 flight (to SFO) and return | 10/27/2009 | Yes | 10/29/2009 |
| JetSuite | Private jet from Long Beach to Orange County | 10/21/2009 | Yes | 11/2/2009 |
| Row 44 | Ride on wifi-equipped Grumman Albatross | 08/25/2009 | Yes | 8/25/2009 8/26/2009 |
| British Airways | Trip on new London/City to JFK service | 05/06/2009 | No | N/A |
| Delta Air Lines | Gift basket onboard for my brother’s engagement | 06/30/2009 | Yes | 07/01/2009 |
| Star Alliance | Free Round the World trip | 06/15/2009 | No | N/A |
| Southwest Airlines | Transportation from LAX to Dallas and overnight stay – winner schedule planning competition | 03/06/2009 | Yes | 04/03/2009 |
| Nintendo | Nintendo DS and Game | 02/12/2009 | Yes | 04/03/2009 |
| British Airways | Free trip on OpenSkies and back | 02/05/2009 | No | N/A |
| British Airways | Free trip to opening of London/Heathrow Terminal 5 | 12/27/2008 | No | N/A |
| Pearl Resorts | Discounted hotel stays in French Polynesia | 07/24/2008 | Yes | 04/30/2009 05/01/2009 |
| Emirates Airlines | VIP flight to nowhere on A380 | 07/09/2008 | Yes | 08/07/2008 08/08/2008 |
| Qantas/Airbus | Flight to nowhere on A380 | 11/27/2007 | Yes | 11/30/2007 |
| ExpressJet | Free transportation for two from Ontario to Tucson | 05/11/2007 | Yes | 05/14/2007 |
| MAXjet | Free roundtrip from LAX to London | 05/10/2007 | No | N/A |
| ExpressJet/LAWA | Dinner with ExpressJet executives | 03/12/2007 | Yes | 03/16/2007 |