Is Mercury in Retrograde Causing These Airline Incidents?
I've been doing a lot of press around all these recent airline incidents, and the question is why is this happening? It seems like there's been an increase in these crazy incidents, and certainly the severity level of them.
If you ask the union chief of American Airlines' flight attendants, there are a lot of factors at play, including shrinking overhead bins and increased flight attendant schedules. After the United incident, I wrote a post about 4 Ways We Can Bring Humanity Back to American Aviation and the solutions are complex. But why would all these incidents be happening now?
Well, I found out the answer and it's going to shock you... Mercury is in retrograde.

Per the vaunted Old Farmer's Almanac, here's what "Mercury in retrograde" actually is:
Several times a year, it appears as if Mercury is going backwards. This time was traditionally associated with confusions, delay, and frustration.
The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, automobiles, and such. So, when Mercury is retrograde, remain flexible, allow time for extra travel, and avoid signing contracts.
You can't stop your life, but plan ahead, have back-up plans, and be prepared for angrier people and miscommunication.
You tell me if that doesn't sound exactly like what's been happening. And look at the timeline of events:
April 9 — Mercury goes into retrograde. The exact same day, the United #BumpGate incident occurs, kicking things off with a bang!
April 16 — United throws a bride and groom off their flight enroute to their wedding.
April 21 — An American Airlines employee gets into a verbal altercation with a passenger that nearly comes to blows.
April 23-May 2 — ?!?!?! (Delta, you're up next!)
May 3 — The last day Mercury will be in retrograde for now. Everyone should remain on high alert until this day.

For future travel reference, there are two other sets of dates in 2017 you'll need to watch out for since Mercury will be in retrograde again. They are August 13 through September 5 and December 3 to 23.
Luckily my flights have been uneventful thus far, but I will personally be on high alert until we're out of danger. What do you think? Am I crazy here?
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Cons
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

