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Actually it is just the opposite: salary ranges must now be listed in job ads for salary transparency. This is to keep employers from underpaying applicants who don't realize what the pay ought to be. Unfortunately, that kind of underpay tended to be not demographically neutral. See the link...

I'd make sure that whatever I brought to eat in coach didn't have too much of a funky aroma. Those sitting near you will be happiest if stinky foods stayed home.

Let us know how your trip was once you're back. I have more than a passing interest, since Mr. Flitcraft and I are taking our 10 year old granddaughter on a cross-country trip via New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego this June. All three of us are already super excited and maybe just a...

Fridge magnets--my granddaughter collects them! She's going to be on the Keystone, Lake Shore Limited, and Southwest Chief this summer so I know she will want some souvenirs!

One thing that is seldom considered is the carbon footprint of a car's manufacturing. We were considering biting the bullet and getting an electric vehicle to replace our gasoline-fueled 2016 Honda Civic. We don't drive a lot--between Mr Flitcraft and me, it's about 4000 miles a year...

I want to chime in with my appreciation for all of the folks here who generously share their expertise. When I first started visiting this site, I knew nothing about the technical aspects of trains or Amtrak. Now I know next to nothing. So keep up the good work!

What's WashDOT's objection? It seems to me that Seattle-Spokane passenger rail service would be intrinsically important, given the size of both metro areas, and on top of that, it would provide a route across the passes when they are shut down, which is often during the winter. We won't...

Off season, yes, but I tried a couple of test dates in June and July and, with taxes you're looking at the mid 300 dollar a night range or higher. For inexpensive hotel space, I'd look for places near the airport with a shuttle to the airport, from which you can catch the light rail to King St...

Will you be in coach? If so, you will be limited to the cafe car. The Coast Starlight does allow business class passengers to eat in the diner, but, as has been said, dining on trains has always been communal tables except during the height of the pandemic. If you are in a roomette or bedroom...

How about making it also a fragrance free car, while we're at it? I've sat near people wearing eye-watering amounts of cologne, and I'm not even fragrance-sensitive. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have allergies to scents...

Call the airline to arrange for the bulkhead seats where a bassinet can be attached. I think international longhaul carriers still have these. They are limited to two on most planes, so I would call to confirm availability. As of the Before Times, there was no charge for the bassinet. If you...

Several years ago, we traveled from Greenfield MA to Seattle with my brother and sister-in-law via Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, and up to Seattle as a celebration of his retirement. They still call it the 'experience of a lifetime,' and their friends say they still can't stop talking...

There was just an item on the local news about hotel occupancy in Seattle now being at more than 95% of the occupancy during the last pre-COVID year, which is not a good thing for rates! Also, during the years before the pandemic, Seattle had an explosion of high rise office building, much...

In the early 1980's, Seattle's busses were all free in the downtown core. It seemed to work well. Passengers entered and exited more quickly at stops because they could use both front and back doors, downtown retail could better compete with malls and their free parking, those of us that worked...

Well, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that the rate for our June dates is only about sixty dollars a night more than the much lower end La Quinta. The bad news is that this still puts the rate at $360! Seems that my guess, that it is rates at the bottom of the range...

Amen, brother, amen...

All great ideas to make dining a more profitable aspect of LD trains. As for the suggestion regarding upsells, I recall from my days waiting tables that a tab should never be considered final till the customer walked out the door! Of course, that means that Number 4 is conditioned on...

Yup, the same one. Probably once school gets out, the real summer travel season of very high rates begins!

My guess is that the hotel chains are banking on a big summer travel season to make up for the ones that they lost to COVID, so they've jacked up prices particularly at the low end of their chains. I also noticed that most of the low end chain hotels have discontinued daily housekeeping to...

Be grateful that you traveled last year! That La Quinta is currently booking at $290 a night for the late June nights we needed--over $300 with taxes. Seems like $300 is the new $100, at least for summer-rates at hotels...:confused: