Ditch the pyjamas: American flyers told they need to dress better

Sean Duffy, the US secretary of transportation, doesn't want to punish airlines for cancelling flights or running late; but he does want passengers to dress smarter.

Duffy, you guessed it, is a Donald Trump appointee who clearly favours big business over the Average Joe.

Duffy this week kicked off a new "civility" campaign week that he calls “The Golden Age of Travel Starts With You”. the New York Times reports. 

The campaign came with a 1960s-parody public service announcement that spliced together scenes of the country’s early air travellers, dressed in suits and hats, along with present-day clips of in-flight brawls and airport meltdowns.

In the background, Frank Sinatra sings “Come Fly With Me”.

 
The Transportation Department’s accompanying news release chastised fliers for forgetting to say “please” and “thank you” and for not helping older or pregnant passengers put their bags in the overhead bins.

“Are you dressing with respect?” asks the video. “Are you keeping control of your children?”

Data does back up the feeling that travellers in the US have become more unruly. 

Since 2019, the Federal Aviation Authority has reported a 400% increase of in-flight outbursts - ranging from disruptive behaviour to violence in the air. 

Duffy thinks getting passengers to dress better is one of the keys to reducing incidents. 

 

"Are you helping a pregnant woman or the elderly with placing their bags in the overhead bin?" he asks. "Are you dressing with respect?

"Are you keeping control of your children and helping them through the airport?

"Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants?

"Are you saying please and thank you in general?"

Sound like Americans need classes in how to behave like adult human beings. 

"Bringing civility back, I think, enhances the travel experience for everybody,” Duffy told Fox News. “Let’s maybe go back to an era where we didn’t wear our pajamas to the airport.”

While there is no doubt flying bogans are on the rise it is hard not to see the irony in taking advice on etiquette from a man whose boss likes to grab women "by the pussy", tells reporters to be "Quiet Piggy!" and how thinks his political opponents' opinions are "Punishable by Death".

 

And, unfortunately, the "dress better" initiative came just a few days after a Duffy decision to scrap a proposal that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for significant travel disruptions within carriers’ control. 

So airlines will not be held accountable for improving customer service.

* Sean Duffy is an American politician, attorney, and former television presenter who has been US secretary of transportation since January, 2025. 

Image: Erica Vigilante, Scop.io

Anyone for a weekend in Wuhan?

Wuhan will always been known as the city where the SARS virus responsible for the global Covid-19 epidemic was first discovered, but the Chinese city is keen to promote itself as a high-tech tourism hub.

Wuhan officials are describing their city as "dynamic"  and issued a press release saying: "From the suspended monorail that soars above the city to high-speed trains connecting you to major hubs -Wuhan's tech scene is always on the go!"

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei, with a population of over eleven million people.

The urban centre apparently boasts robots helping with daily life, drones delivering groceries, and cutting-edge satellite tech reshaping space exploration. 

The press release says: "The future is NOW, and it's happening right here! Wuhan is where sci-fi meets reality - every day."

Sounds intriguing, and I'd certainly put my hand up to explore. 

Among the drawcards are Optics Valley Square, the largest underground complex in Asia and a popular hangout spot for over a million university students and the Optics Valley Photon suspended monorail with a 270°view (below), the Changjiang Daily reports. 

The Optics Valley Quantum trams adopt supercapacitor power supply technology and provide passengers with free wifi service across the network. 

There is also a self-driving ride-hailing service and you can visit Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone and try a self-driving taxi on its 106km of smart roads.

Optics Valley Future City, meanwhile, powers itself with solar panels and recycles rainwater.

You can check out this colourful video to see what AI envisions for tomorrow in this futuristic city.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CegEcifYM2w

Star power unleashed to help promote New Zealand tourism

New Zealand is a brilliant place to visit with dramatic scenery and welcoming people,

It also does tourism promotion better than just about anywhere on the planet - as is shown in its new release video: New Zealand No Place Like It On Earth.

It's fun. It showcases New Zealand's natural beauty, and it stars actor/director Taika Waititi.

The plot twist sees Waititi busy filming, so his real-life stunt double, Jade Daniels, who is also a Kiwi, steps in to explore some of the best of New Zealand. Helmed by director Jackie van Beek, the film is hilarious.

See https://youtu.be/XitYCZu1oBc

Waititi is currently filming HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death Season 2 in New Zealand (below).



From whitewater rafting in Rotorua and a scenic flight over Mount Tarawera, to dolphin watching in Kaikōura and wine tasting in Auckland, he and Daniels showcase some of the best of Aotearoa.

"I always tell people you can go surfing in the morning and then drive a couple of hours and be skiing in the evening [in New Zealand] - I don't think there's anywhere else on earth where you can do that.” says Waititi.

“There's nothing like the New Zealand landscape, especially the coastline, the west coast up here in the North Island is very unique. You know, just that sand. I have a house out in Piha and it's one of my favourite places."

René de Monchy, the Tourism New Zealand CEO, says: “Taika Waititi is one of New Zealand's most well-known international talents, and with a bit of Kiwi ingenuity we came up with a creative solution to work within his busy schedule.

"The result sees Taika and Jade discovering some of the most incredible experiences that Taika's home country, Aotearoa New Zealand, has to offer."

To watch the 100% Pure New Zealand production 'No Place Like It On Earth' and discover more filming locations in New Zealand, visit www.newzealand.com/int/campaign/our-flag-means-death/.

Tourism campaign provokes global ridicule

Imagine launching an expensive new tourism promotion to encourage visitors to your country - and then finding yourselves a global laughing stock.

That's what happened to the tourism officials in the Philippines, who took their time to realise their new promotional video actually contained images from other countries around the world.

The "Love the Philippines" campaign - pretty weak tagline, to be honest - was launched last week.

Within days its ad agency came under fire for using footage of other countries - including rice terraces in Indonesia and sand dunes in Dubai - in the video.

In a statement, the Department of Tourism in Manila insisted it had sought confirmation on the originality and ownership of all materials used in the video multiple times and was “repeatedly assured” by the agency that everything was “in order.”

Ad agency DDB Philippines issued a statement “profusely” apologising for the “highly inappropriate” use of foreign stock footage in the video, which has since been taken down.

“While the use of stock footage in mood videos is standard practice in the industry, the use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part, DDB Philippines said in a statement to CNN.

The agency added that it is “fully co-operating” with an investigation.

The error resulted in a social media activity storm with images of global landmarks being posted with the tagline "Love the Philippines".