05.23.25 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / U.S. Air Traffic Control

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast Episode: May 23, 2025 Title: Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / U.S. Air Traffic Control Release Date: May 23, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, host Clark Howard delves into two primary topics: addressing criticism from listeners and discussing the ongoing challenges within the U.S. Air Traffic Control (ATC) system that could potentially disrupt summer travel. True to the episode's title, "Clark Stinks," Howard engages directly with listener feedback while also sharing his insights on significant national issues affecting everyday consumers.

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Clark Stinks: Addressing Listener Criticisms

[01:03 – 07:35]

Clark Howard opens the segment by acknowledging listener criticisms under the "Clark Stinks" segment. He addresses multiple complaints from listeners who have taken issue with his previous advice and general approach.

1. Job Application Advice Criticism

   • Listener Feedback (Lindsay) [02:14 – 04:18]:
     • Lindsay, a recruitment manager, criticizes Clark for suggesting that completing job applications is often futile. She explains her role in ensuring a fair and thorough hiring process at her company, emphasizing that applications are indeed reviewed and considered based on qualifications.
     • Quote: “As the recruitment manager for my employer, I spend the majority of my time posting jobs, determining screening criteria, screening all applicants to determine who's minimally qualified...” [02:14]
   • Clark's Response:
     • Clark acknowledges his overgeneralization and appreciates Lindsay's detailed feedback. He recognizes that his broad statements may discourage potential applicants from applying to reputable companies where their applications are genuinely considered.
     • Quote: “Lindsay, thank you very much. And if I spoke with too broad a brush... I will tell you, I hear so much from people who feel beaten down...” [03:23]

2. Podcast Format Feedback

   • Listener Feedback (Krista) [04:18 – 05:21]:
     • Krista suggests that Clark should handle one question at a time to improve clarity and listener comprehension. She feels that addressing multiple questions simultaneously can be confusing.
     • Quote: “Read one question at a time and let Clark answer... It'd be easier to grasp when the question and answer are simpler...” [04:18]
   • Clark's Response:
     • Clark humorously acknowledges this feedback, agreeing to simplify his responses in future episodes.
     • Quote: “See, that's the first time I've ever posted a Clark myself... I only have the ability to process one thought at a time.” [04:56]

3. 529 Plan Transfer Advice Criticism

   • Listener Feedback (Barry) [07:35 – 08:20]:
     • Barry challenges Clark's advice regarding transferring a 529 plan to grandparents, stating that his state's college savings plan allows for ownership transfers, contrary to Clark's claim.
     • Quote: “Clark, you quickly said you can't just do that... Ohio's College Advantage and they have straightforward form to transfer the ownership...” [07:35]
   • Clark's Response:
     • Clark concedes his mistake, recognizing that he was not fully informed about the specific capabilities of certain state programs. He reiterates the complexities surrounding financial aid evaluations.
     • Quote: “Barry, I definitely blew that because I know you can transfer ownership of an account...” [08:20]

4. Credit Card Advice Criticism

   • Listener Feedback (Chad) [09:24 – 10:23]:
     • Chad criticizes Clark's endorsement of credit cards and cash back rewards, arguing that the burden falls disproportionately on lower-income individuals who may struggle with debt accumulation.
     • Quote: “All the money that's given to the people who can afford... it's built on our deceptive system of credit cards.” [09:24]
   • Clark's Response:
     • Clark responds by explaining the structural issues within the U.S. credit card system, pointing out the role of the Visa-MasterCard Cartel in creating high merchant fees and how rewards are subsidized by merchants rather than high-interest payers.
     • Quote: “Our incentives in the United States are wrong... the rewards are all being subsidized by merchants...” [10:35]

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Main Topic: U.S. Air Traffic Control Challenges

[10:28 – 18:54]

Clark Howard transitions to a pressing national issue: the inefficiencies and outdated systems within the U.S. Air Traffic Control (ATC) infrastructure. He highlights how these problems are leading to increased flight delays and cancellations, particularly during the busy summer travel season.

1. Current State of U.S. Air Traffic Control

   • [10:28 – 12:40]
     • Howard emphasizes the shortage of trained air traffic controllers and the outdated technology systems in the U.S. ATC. He warns that without significant changes, safety could be compromised, leading to more delays and cancellations.
     • Quote: “We have a significant shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S. the system is creaky... something's got to give and it can't be safety.” [12:40]

2. Comparative Analysis with Canada

   • [12:48 – 15:09]
     • Clark contrasts the U.S. system with Canada’s Nav Canada, a private, non-profit organization that efficiently manages some of the world's busiest airspaces using modern technology. He advocates for the privatization of ATC in the U.S. as a long-term solution.
     • Quote: “Canada... runs extremely advanced air traffic control... they're able to do it for a fraction of the cost of us with a much better safety margin...” [15:09]

3. Practical Advice for Travelers

   • [15:09 – 18:54]
     • Clark provides listeners with practical strategies to navigate the unreliable U.S. ATC system:
       • Flight Tracking: He recommends using apps like FlightAware and Flight Radar 24 to monitor flight statuses proactively.
         • Quote: “When I'm flying, I use FlightAware... it's super proactive every flight because I know... that flight schedules get disrupted.” [16:42]
       • Early Verification: Advises checking flight statuses well in advance, especially if booking through third-party websites, to anticipate and mitigate potential delays or cancellations.
         • Quote: “You want to check your flights way before the day you're going to travel on, especially if your booking is more than six weeks out...” [17:35]

4. Personal Anecdote

   • [15:09 – 18:54]
     • Clark shares his personal experience with prostate cancer treatment, highlighting the importance of seeking advanced medical treatments and the value of resources like ClinicalTrials.gov. He connects this narrative to his broader message of being proactive and informed in critical aspects of life.
     • Quote: “If I had stayed local at that time, the only option that was being offered to me was surgery... Prostate cancer has many different genetic makeups...” [16:15]

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Listener Questions and Advice

[25:59 – 32:04]

Towards the end of the content segment, Clark addresses listener-submitted questions, providing tailored advice on travel and health-related matters.

1. Traveling to Japan on United Points

   • Listener (Dan) [26:01 – 28:31]:
     • Dan seeks advice on using 400,000 United Points for a family of six traveling from California to Japan.
     • Clark's Advice:
       • Suggests waiting until airlines post flight availabilities, typically around 330 days in advance, to maximize point usage.
       • Recommends exploring partner airlines and using resources like PointSky for optimal point redemption.
       • Quote: “Even if you're going to use United points for this trip, you need to wait a while... check your flights way before the day you're going...” [26:20]

2. Planning a Cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti

   • Listener (Mark) [29:11 – 31:57]:
     • Mark inquires about the best time to purchase airfare for a two-week cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti and seeks recommendations on seat classes.
     • Clark's Advice:
       • Recommends booking round-trip tickets from Los Angeles to Honolulu and from Papeete (Tahiti) back to LA to secure better fares.
       • Suggests considering Delta for its direct flights and notes the significant price difference between economy and business classes.
       • Quote: “Your first best option would probably be on them [Delta] because to my knowledge, they're the only airline that actually serves both routes...” [29:43]

3. Coffee Safety on Airplanes

   • Listener (Heidi) [32:04 – 33:50]:
     • Heidi asks about the safety of consuming coffee on airplanes, given conflicting reports about water quality in airplane tanks.
     • Clark's Response:
       • While admitting he hasn't personally consumed airplane coffee, Clark discusses the lack of definitive studies confirming the safety of onboard water, leading many flight crews to prefer bringing their own beverages.
       • Quote: “Should I say... that's really all I can say. Because there is no clear answer.” [32:25]

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Memorial Day Reflection

[34:02 – 34:06]

As the episode concludes, Clark Howard takes a moment to honor Memorial Day, emphasizing its significance in remembering and respecting the sacrifices of military personnel.

• Quote: “But what's so often forgotten is, what is Memorial Day about? It's about the brave men and women... who paid the ultimate sacrifice...” [34:05]

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Conclusion

In this episode, Clark Howard effectively balances addressing listener feedback with tackling broader systemic issues impacting consumers. By engaging directly with criticisms, he demonstrates a commitment to transparency and continuous improvement. Simultaneously, his in-depth discussion on U.S. Air Traffic Control underscores his dedication to shedding light on critical topics that affect the financial and personal lives of his audience. The blend of personal anecdotes, practical advice, and listener interaction makes for a comprehensive and engaging episode.

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

It'S great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show. You know our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. It's Friday. You know what that means. It's time for Clark Stinks. Something else that stinks. Oh man, the state of air traffic control in the United States could really mess up summertime travel. And by the way, this is not something that has been a problem just now. This has been an ongoing problem. I feel so bad for the air traffic controllers. They're not the problem. We, the United States, are the problem. I'll tell you what that means later on in this podcast, but right now you get to hear how I am the problem in today's car should have never encouraged you to speak. You almost think I'm pretty stupid.

[Listener]

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Clark Howard]

Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're right, pal.

[Listener]

Clark, you stink for telling your audience that completing applications for vacant positions is a waste of time. Because no, no one looks at the applications. Interviews are often fake and companies have already decided who they're going to pick for the position, most often an internal candidate to make such a blanket statement was over the top and outright wrong. As the recruitment manager for my employer, I spend the majority of my time posting jobs, determining screening criteria, screening all applicants to determine who's minimally qualified, and working with hiring managers to make sure the interview process is fair and equitable. I also happen to be the HR flunky as you so eloquently describe, who informs candidates that they have not been chosen for an interview and or the position. While I understand that networking is helpful in the job search process at my employer, candidates are chosen based on their qualifications and not on who they know. Handling the recruitment process any other way could lead to lawsuits by unchosen candidates, something HR and the hiring manager want to avoid. Not every job has been handed over to AI, at least not yet. Excuse me while I get back to screening applications. Lindsay.

[Clark Howard]

Lindsay, thank you very much. And if I spoke with too broad a brush, and I tend to be, you know, see things at extremes, I thank you for taking the time to write in. I will tell you, I hear so much from people who feel beaten down who applied job after job after job after job and often people apply to big name companies that's all they know to apply to and they get these standard rejection letters and so you're saying at your company? That's not how it works at all. So me painting with such a broad brush, Lindsey, means that somebody might not apply for a job at your company where they might really be a real candidate? From your telling, I way overstated the case.

[Listener]

Krista stinks. And then they say, just kidding, you're great, but I think I do stink with this one. A suggestion though. Read one question at a time and let Clark answer. For me, it's confusing to try to grasp both questions at once while listening possible ideas. Read one full question, let Clark answer since he might end up answering the second question even if it wasn't asked. Then if he wanted to, he could include a short, concise follow up question or, or just let it be and see if people still have follow up questions later. Sometimes I think it'd be easier to grasp when the question and answer are simpler or given in bites. Part One part now, one part later if people have a question.

[Clark Howard]

See, that's the first time I've ever posted a Clark myself. No, it's funny because I'm so linear, just as we heard right here. It's hard for me sometimes to remember oh, what was the first thing. Then people will say, well Clark, you didn't even answer what the person said. Because I. I only have the ability to process one thought at a time.

[Listener]

And I appreciate the feedback. So I will definitely try to just read one at a time. I won't double up anymore. This isn't a Clark stinks issue, but I did want to comment on the podcast. I found it interesting to hear that Lane's vision was one of the reasons she and Clark had gotten together. I had always assumed she had lost a bet. Just kidding. Cliff in Virginia just had to say it.

[Clark Howard]

I love that clip.

[Listener]

All right.

[Clark Howard]

I mean, just imagine poor Elaine when she had her Lasik and she opened her eyes and for the first time ever, truly saw what I looked like.

[Listener]

Stop it. I don't think you stink, but you missed an opportunity with a caller. I just heard they wrote in about their daughter graduating with $20,000 in debt that they could afford to pay off and asked your advice if they should. Your response? That she would appreciate it more if she held onto one of the four loans at the lowest interest rate was good. But I would take it one step further. We are in a very similar situation. We paid all but $5,000 per year for my son. He is our only child and we're in very good similar financial position. As the caller, my advice would have been to let her pay it all off so that she does appreciate it. But as the parent, I would be keeping that money secretly in a separate high yield savings account and gift it back to her with any interest. I think it would teach a valuable lesson and discipline. She could then use that money for whatever she wanted, maybe a house down payment.

[Clark Howard]

Linda, Linda, I love this. I love this whole thought process. You know, the problem with a wealthy family is that if you can afford to do something for your kid and you do, they don't necessarily learn the consequences of of the borrowing that took place in the first place. So every family has to navigate this, what's best for them. I like your suggestion as well. If you're disciplined with money and every time your kid makes a payment and you're noting that and you're putting that money aside and then when they finish paying it off, you say, hey, guess what? We're really proud of you. Here's the money back. I think that's a great way to teach financial discipline to a kid and at the same time reward them back.

[Listener]

So yeah, Clark, you can stink because you give a piece of an answer that needs more details. You answered my question on Monday, February 24th, about moving my 529 plan to my parents, the student's grandparents, so I don't have to report it on the fafsa. However, you quickly said you can't just do that, referring to the transfer ownership of a 529 from a parent to grandpar. I think you are incorrect. My 529 accounts are with Ohio's College Advantage and they have straightforward form to transfer the ownership and they link to it. You said some schools may ask about 529 plans owned by a grandparent. But I'm willing to take steps for the more likely case when they don't ask. Can you provide more details of why you said you can't just transfer ownership of the account? Barry?

[Clark Howard]

Barry, I definitely blew that because I know you can transfer ownership of an account as well as in an account you own. You can change the beneficiary designation. There may be a state plan somewhere that doesn't allow it. But I'm not aware of that. So I just wasn't thinking clearly I guess when I answered the question. Now let's go back to the original thing about you moving money to grandparents because the rule change that assets in a grandparents hands don't hurt a child the way they used to for financial aid. I'm trying to figure out how that transfer helps in the financial aid evaluation process of the 529 not being a parental asset and being a grandparents asset. I don't know how that specifically helps in the financial aid evaluation process, but they are transfers that generally are allowable.

[Listener]

I think you and your message about the value of credit cards and cash back stinks so bad because of who is getting crushed. I don't know if you've ever found out but all the money that's given to the people who can afford. Not really. Since consumer debt is over $1 trillion and that's not including mortgages. Who can afford the credit cards and annual fees that come along with getting points and cash back come from lower income people that can't afford it. But their life is built on our deceptive system of credit cards. It crashes. 10. You should study the report that the Federal Reserve put out in 2023. You can also you look at this link and they sent a link. It's a sick economy we live in where we're okay with robbing from lower income families to give upper income cash back. And they can't even manage their own budgets so they max out every credit card they can get. It's evil. And I wish you could make your listeners aware of who is really getting destroyed. I seriously doubt you would ever air this. Your philosophy is built on credit. It would implode your mission and go against your message.

[Clark Howard]

Chad implode that. My message is built on credit.

[Listener]

Right.

[Clark Howard]

I don't really understand.

[Listener]

I think, yeah, I think Chad hears you talking about cash back and all those things and thinks that.

[Clark Howard]

Oh okay. So the Way our system works in the United States is different than anywhere else in the world. The Visa MasterCard Cartel has been able to charge the merchants costs for taking credit cards that are massively profitable. And so our incentives in the United States are wrong. And they're all based on, on the Visa MasterCard Cartel funneling these giant profit margins on the backs of merchants to the banks. So what the banks do with their credit cards is to heavy spenders, the top 20% of income earners in the United States, they offer these reward cards trying to get huge volume run through them so that they make the money on the merchant fees. What you're talking about about wealthy people being cross subsidized by low income people that are paying high interest rates, that doesn't happen elsewhere in the world. And it's because the real problem here is the Visa MasterCard Cartel and the huge fees that are so many times higher than they are elsewhere anywhere else in the world. It's crazy. So I don't look at it specifically the way you do because I see this other element at play. Credit card companies are happy to have people who pay in full who run big dollar volumes is like a separate business from people who use credit cards as a borrowing system and are paying an average interest rate today of around 25%. They are two distinct markets, one not necessarily subsidizing the other. I'm repeating myself. But the rewards are all being subsidized by merchants, not by people paying high interest on cards that run balances.

[Listener]

And we do always say like we don't want anyone to use credit cards unless they're using them responsibly and paying them off every month. This is not, you know, you know.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, I'm not a shill for the banks trying to get people to pay 25%. Nobody ever got rich paying Visa or MasterCard 25% interest. I used to say 18, but now the average rate's been pushed up to about 25.

[Listener]

This Clark stinks. Regards. Clark's ongoing advice to switch away from a high cost Big three cell phone carrier plan to a low cost MVNO carrier plan most recently.

[Clark Howard]

We should say what MVNO is. That's a mobile virtual network operator. That's somebody who buys wholesale capacity on one of the Big three's networks.

[Listener]

Clark's advice doesn't stink. That is we're saving significant money. But I just wanted to call out an unanticipated side effect we have experienced after switching from T Mobile to Mint Mobile, which as we know is owned by T mobile and uses their network. We did not change our phone numbers. However, after switching to Mint, a handful of automated text alert notifications we used to get from various businesses have stopped. Apparently, despite not changing phone numbers, the cell service switch flagged somehow in their systems and our phone numbers are now considered invalid and must be manually re verified. In most cases. We don't even know since there was an issue until we realized we're no longer receiving notifications. Charlie.

[Clark Howard]

Charlie, thank you. There's a legacy technology that some companies use, I think some government public alert kind of systems use that requires as part of the registration the name of the cell phone carrier you're using. I had this recently. I'm on Google Fi, which is the little cell phone operation owned by Google, which is not little, but their cell phone operation is. And it asked me specifically and there was a long list of carriers I'd never heard of, a lot of the MVNOs and I had to select my MVNO in addition to my number to receive the alerts. So there are cases like that. And I don't even understand why that legacy way of setting up alerts operates with some some organizations. But it seems really, really unnecessary to me. Maybe somebody in the industry can explain why it does involve you listing your individual cell carrier.

[Listener]

Clark doesn't stink, but a while ago he was talking about his prostate cancer diagnosis and he was discussing the research he did about finding the latest treatment and going out to California. This description was quite intimidating for someone who may already be overwhelmed by a diagnosis. And not everyone can travel. I recommend that individuals check ClinicalTrials.gov which has all ongoing clinical trials. The centers participating in the trial would be a good place to go for the most advanced treatment and there may be a center near where they live. I'm a daily listener. Mark.

[Clark Howard]

Mark, thank you. I was not familiar with this website and I think that's awesome that you shared this information. Just hearing your words, I thought of two people already that it would be useful for me to tell them about going to this clinical trials website, which you said is clinical trials.gov and seeing what is going on and maybe it is driving distance from where you are. If I go back in the wayback machine when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 17 years ago. @ the time, clinical practice was very much geared towards doing aggressive treatment on every individual, every man who is diagnosed with prostate cancer. Second largest killer of men in the United States. I think at this point and by reading medical journals I was able to find out that that's not where Research university medical centers were with prostate cancer, there was roughly about 40% of men who did not need immediate treatment. In fact, immediate treatment would be harmful to them. And so I could not find any practice near where I was living at the time that would offer what was then called watchful waiting now called active surveillance. And so that's how I ended up in Los Angeles for my career. And here I am 17 years later, and the only thing I've ever had, other than annual tests and exams and of late every year in MRI is I've been on three different medicines for my prostate cancer and there's been no meaningful growth. Knock on formica over the 17 years and it's been great. But if I had stayed local at that time, the only option that was being offered to me was surgery or extreme treatment that would have been completely unnecessary in my specific circumstance. Prostate cancer has many different genetic makeups and so there are different procedures, diagnoses and treatment depending on or non treatment depending on the genetic makeup of the prostate cancer you have. So thank you, Mark, for your suggestion. I really appreciate it. And I'm about to have next week my annual mri and we'll see if I'm still good to go or not. And I'll let you know coming up ahead. Am I going to get there on my flight? What a question to have to worry about with the sudden extreme unreliability of air travel in the United States.

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[Clark Howard]

I can't imagine having been in an air traffic control center, how unbelievably difficult it is to carry that responsibility of being an air traffic controller. Incredibly difficult job. Think about carrying that on your shoulders that you make a mistake in that tower and people potentially are dead. And then our controllers in the United States are dealing with a technology system that is so crazy obsolete. And I'm going to go back on my soapbox. Been on for decades about what we need to do about this in a second. But right now you need to know the problems going on in the northeast airspace are the tip of the iceberg. We have a significant shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S. the system is creaky. There aren't enough controllers trained to work in the busy towers. And something's got to give and it can't be safety. So it means delays for you and me, cancellations for you and me. I have a flight coming up in two weeks where I'm flying into Newark. Newark obviously has been a mess so far. The airline I'm booked on is not offering a waiver where I can rebook in the LaGuardia or Kennedy that are not having the degree of difficulty that Newark is because the airspace is treated as a separate one controlled out of Philadelphia. But this is something we're having. Problems pop up at different places in the United States because we're going about it all wrong. Do you know how pretty much every other country does it now? And our neighbors to the north? Canada, as I've been on my soapbox again for decades, has been doing this right for so long, runs extremely advanced air traffic control. And how do they do it? It's a private enterprise. Nav Canada is a private organization, a nonprofit that is able to continually lower fees for air traffic control services across Canadian airspace because it's run as a private organization with the most modern equipment and is able to do it so efficiently that the cost of managing the airspace, one of the busiest airspaces in the world, by the way, is the Canadian airspace. And they're able to do it for a fraction of the cost of us with a much better safety margin because it is a private organization. And I know that the Congress is never excited about not controlling something in our lives. But the long term fix to this involves privatizing air traffic control. For you and me flying this summer, I need for you to follow my playbook. When I'm flying, I fly almost every week. And when I'm flying, I use FlightAware. There are other apps as well. I also use Flight Radar 24. But Flight Aware gives you the ability to not rely on the airline telling you what's going on with your flight. But you go on Flight Aware, you put in your flight number and it'll show you if it's showing that it's going to go on time or if it's canceled or delayed or whatever. And then you can click in it there's a little button that says where's my plane now? And you can see where the plane is. If your plane has not left wherever it is to come get you and it's delayed an hour and a half from where it is, you know that even though it says you're going on time, you're not. Unless the airline substitutes another aircraft, which can happen rarely. But I'm always tracking because then I can contact the airline really early and say, hey, I see that there's a potential long delay with my flight. Can I be rebooked on flight number whatever? I'm proactive every flight because I know, particularly with summer thunderstorms, that flight schedules get disrupted. Now we have all the problems that are now encroaching on reliability from their traffic control issues. Know that there are going to be a lot of schedule changes as a result of the ATC issues where flights you're booked on may not happen, they may be pulled out of the schedule and you don't know, particularly if you book through a third party website. So you want to check your flights way before the day you're going just to make sure the flight you're on is still going as you originally booked, bought and booked. Especially if your booking is happen more than six weeks out before what you're going to travel on.

[Listener]

All right, I have some travel questions.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, let's see if I can handle them.

[Listener]

Dan sent this one in. I'm trying to figure out how to get a family of six to Japan next summer during school summer vacation without breaking the bank. I've got 400,000 United Points, but looking at Points costs. Now it seems that's not enough. We're in California with LAX as our closest major airport. Any tips?

[Clark Howard]

Okay, first of all, family of six, 400,000 points, that not being enough to get to Japan seems crazy. Unless you're not going in coach. That should be way more than enough points for six people to go.

[Listener]

Yeah, I think that would be like.

[Clark Howard]

Well, look at the underlying fares, the underlying airfares from typically from LA to Japan in coach, around 700 bucks.

[Listener]

So you maybe not think about summer yet. Is that the problem? Maybe.

[Clark Howard]

Well, you can't even look at flights for next summer yet. So that brings me to the core of what I would say to you. Even if you're going to use United points for this trip, you need to wait a while. Airlines tend to post, even though they might be posting point availability, they're not going to post flight availabilities till 330 days out of your travel. So you need to wait till the back end of summer to look at flights to Japan for next summer and know that this early, once they post point availabilities, it's. There's nothing wrong with you booking with points really early when the point totals are low enough that it can get all six of you with the 400,000 points. But the thing is, if you've got that many United points, you probably have some status that allows you to redeposit without penalty when prices drop later. You also may find that fares go low enough that you actually pay a no. Perish the thought. You pay cash for your tickets to Japan and hold on to your points for future travel, where the redemption of points would be a better idea. But it's such a completely different story to Asian destinations from the west coast in the United States, Louisiana, San Francisco, Seattle, principally. The cost of those flights is a tiny fraction of what they are from the Midwest or the eastern part of the country.

[Listener]

Does United have any partner airlines that they should look at too for?

[Clark Howard]

Absolutely, absolutely. But again, we're too early, right, for that. Okay, so this is something you would do later and you could look at the Point sky or any of a number of websites that tell you the most efficient use of points for a flight from LA to Japan.

[Listener]

Okay, this is from Mark in Georgia. My wife and I plan to go on a two week cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti, visiting several islands in Hawaii and French Polynesia. I want to know the best way and optimal time to get airfare to Honolulu and then return from Puppet.

[Clark Howard]

How you say that, Pete?

[Listener]

I believe so someone I've never known.

[Clark Howard]

I've always mispronounced any French name so.

[Listener]

Badly I could be mispronouncing it. I'm sure someone will tell me if I am.

[Clark Howard]

No, you're. You're a scholar. I was the opposite. I was not a scholar.

[Listener]

When should I buy the tickets? Would you recommend economy comfort plus or business, given the long flying time? I mean, I'd always recommend business, but the problem is the price.

[Clark Howard]

It's, it's like nine times the cost of coach usually.

[Listener]

And imagine.

[Clark Howard]

So the flight from LA to Tahiti is about eight and a half hours, so you got to make your own call on that. What?

[Listener]

Because I want to go to Honolulu first.

[Clark Howard]

Right. So you. But, but I'm thinking first. I'm thinking about. Because the Honolulu flight from the west coast is not that far. Okay, do we know where are they going from Honolulu to Tahiti? We don't know where they're flying from in the United States. Oh, he's from Georgia.

[Listener]

From Georgia, so I would assume.

[Clark Howard]

Okay. So Mark, regardless of how you end up flying this route to Hawaii and then from Tahiti back to the United States, you want to do both from Los Angeles. That's the theme here. I know we just talked about the Japan thing. Because the fares from the east coast to Hawaii and to Tahiti will be cost prohibitive. So you can buy a really cheap ticket, round trip from Georgia to LA and then buy out of la. Now for you being a Georgian Delta, which operates the largest hub in the world of any airline in Atlanta, Delta now flies to Papeet. They fly non stop from Los Angeles there. They obviously fly to Hawaii. And your first best option would probably be on them because to my knowledge, they're the only airline that actually serves both routes. And so you could go LA to Honolulu and then Pete back to LA and save a lot of money versus a flight going to both from the East Coast. Again, you'll have to make the call on whether you want to do a coach ticket, premium economy, which is like a domestic first class seat, or you want to spend the big bucks. That will be, gosh, probably four grand or so. No, Delta doesn't do live flats to Honolulu from la. So it'd be maybe three grand to do that in the front of the plane. That would be a lot of money.

[Listener]

Yeah. And to go to Honolulu from LA isn't that long a flight. I wouldn't.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, five hours, 50 minutes.

[Listener]

All right.

[Clark Howard]

Plus or minus 10. I've done it a lot.

[Listener]

This is switch up from Heidi. Do you drink coffee on airplanes? I ask because I've seen stuff about this online. I just listened to a podcast about it. There seems to be conflicting information about whether or not the water provided on planes is safe. What is your opinion?

[Clark Howard]

So, Heidi, first of all, I've never had a cup of coffee in my life. I have tasted coffee ice cream. I've never had coffee, but the same thing would be if I was having a hot tea. So the tanks on airplanes are supposed to be cleaned and sanitized properly. And the water that is in those tanks that's used to make hot water and to make coffee on the planes is supposed to be clean. But as you pointed out, there are conflicting studies that say don't go near the coffee on an airplane. Others that say the coffee on planes is just fine, meaning the water, the underlying water supply, that the tanks carry bacteria, that they're not properly sanitized. Others say they are completely. There's no definitive study that I know of that absolutely says the water in the tanks on an airplane is just fine. That's why you'll see a lot of flight crews do not drink coffee on the airplane. They bring it on, you know, from the terminal rather than taking what for them would be free coffee on the airplane. So I don't know what to say about that. Should I say, I mean, that's really all I can say.

[Listener]

Sure.

[Clark Howard]

Because there is no clear answer.

[Listener]

I mean, I didn't know about this potential problem, but I do drink. I love coffee. And I have had it on planes. And the reason I don't drink it anymore is because it's always been awful. Like, it's really been bad coffee.

[Clark Howard]

I wouldn't know bad coffee from good coffee.

[Listener]

I know.

[Clark Howard]

And I want to mention this Memorial Day weekend, for most of us, it's the unofficial kickoff to summer. It's time for cookouts and all the rest, a great time to be with family and friends. But what's so often forgotten is, what is Memorial Day about? It's about the brave men and women over the centuries who put their lives on the line for your and my freedom and paid the ultimate sacrifice. And I am so grateful to the men and women who serve in our U.S. armed forces or have served in the past. And have a great time this weekend. Have a wonderful time Monday. But remember, why do we have this day off? Take just a second to be grateful to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and have a wonderful holiday weekend. I'll see you next Wednesday.