No-Deal Brexit? Expect Food Shortages, Higher Fuel Costs, and Chaos at the Border

by Paul Riegler

The British government released an internal policy paper that outlines what would be a “reasonable worst-case” outcome of a no-deal Brexit.  The document lists food shortages, dramatically higher fuel prices, and days-long waits for truckers at border crossings.
Prepared in August as part of a contingency exercise, code-named Operation Yellowhammer, the document identifies 12 areas of risk: transport systems, people crossing borders, key goods crossing borders, healthcare services, energy systems, other …

Review: ‘Oklahoma!’ at Circle in the Square Theater

by Jonathan Spira

Based on a 1931 play by Lynn Riggs, the 1943 musical “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!” returned to Broadway not as your father’s or grandfather’s “Oklahoma!” Rather, this production should be thought of as “Oklahoma! (Unplugged).”
Daniel Fish’s revival, the fifth since the show’s 1943 opening, is about as far away from the original as the Circle in the Square Theater is from Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906.
Meanwhile, on the sweeping prairies …

At the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show, Green Means Go

by Christian Stampfer

The biennial Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, aka the Frankfurt Auto Show, facing a dwindling number of exhibitors, says it will no longer focus on numbers, instead championing “sustainable individual mobility.”
“We wish to provide intelligent answers to the most urgent questions about the future of mobility,” said Bernhard Mattes, president of the Verband der Automobilindustrie, Germany’s auto industry association, at a press event last week.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche are showcasing high-end electric vehicles …

Poll: How Good is Airline Customer Service?

by Paul Riegler

When it comes to flying, everyone has a story: the surley check-in clerk or the time a flight attendant took a passenger’s medication, left behind on the aircraft, to her hotel.
Still, the days when Delta Air Lines founder C.E. Woolman would occasionally bring delayed passengers home for a meal or to stay overnight are a distant memory.
Please tell us about your customer-service experiences with an airline – both good and …

Review: What’s New in Apple CarPlay in iOS 13

by Paul Riegler

Apple CarPlay, first introduced five years ago at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show, is turning five and Apple has some major changes in store for it with the launch of iOS 13.
If you’re not familiar with Apple CarPlay, it is an in-vehicle touch-based display interface that functions as an extension of a driver’s iPhone.
While CarPlay has evolved considerably with the addition of new features and system improvements, the launch of …

Review: Taking the S-Bahn from Munich Airport to the City Center

by Jonathan Spira

Although I’ve taken the S-Bahn S1 and S8 from Munich Airport to the city center for years, it only occurred to me to document this fast and convenient means of transportation in the magazine on a recent trip.  The “S” is short for Stadtschnellbahn or urban rapid rail and it has characteristics of both a rapid transit system such as the New York City subway and a commuter rail system …

American Retires Its Last McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, the Onetime ‘Backbone’ of the Fleet

by Paul Riegler

America Airlines, at one time the world’s largest operator of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, retired its remaining 26 MD-80s on Wednesday.
The airline had previously announced plans to fully retire its McDonnell Douglas MD-80 fleet by the end of 2019, but accelerated the process.
The disappearance of the MD-80 from American’s fleet also means the end of the line for the airline’s logo and livery that was on its aircraft since 1968.   …