Ethics is a hot topic in the blogging world these days, so I’ve decided to put my code of ethics front and center. You’ll see the code below along with all sorts of disclosures. My goal is to be an open book here. You can always contact me with questions or comments at cf@crankyflier.com.

Code of Ethics
For the purpose of this code, “free and/or discounted products and services” refers to anything offered to me for free or for a discount simply because of my status as a blogger.

  • When I write about free and/or discounted products and services, I will always disclose on this page who gave them to me, when they were given to me, and when I wrote about them. I will also include the discount amount offered in any post on the products/services.
  • I will always write the truth about a product or service regardless of whether it is good or bad. I will never trade favorable press for free and/or discounted products and services.
  • I will only accept free and/or discounted products and services if the people offering the product/service confirm that they have read this code of ethics and are willing to abide by the rules that have been set here.
  • Just because I have been provided with free and/or discounted products and services doesn’t mean I will write about them. The only criteria for determining whether or not to write about a product is if it will make for a compelling post, good or bad.

List of Offered Free or Discounted Products/Services
The following is a full and complete list of products/services that have been offered to me along with whether they were accepted or not. This list does not include invitations to events unless a free or discounted product or service accompanied that invitation. (I apologize if I missed something small from the early days of the blog. Let me know if I need to add something.)

Company Offer Date Accepted Blogged
Alaska, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest Giveaways for Cranky 5 Year Anniversary 08/15/2011 Yes 08/16/2011
Emirates Flight to Dubai 07/14/2011 Yes 11/09/2011
11/16/2011
11/23/2011
TAAG Angola 777 Delivery Ceremony 06/03/2011 No N/A
American Airlines 737 Delivery Flight 05/17/2011 No N/A
Airline Passenger Experience Expo Flights and Hotel for annual convention in Seattle 04/15/2011 Yes 09/13/2011
09/19/2011
09/20/2011
Icelandair Media trip to Iceland 03/30/2011 No N/A
Lufthansa Trip to Frankfurt for A380 back to SFO 03/25/2011 Yes 05/12/2011
05/17/2011
US Airways Flights to Phoenix for Media Day 02/28/2011 No No
American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law Flight for speaking engagement on US Airways 01/04/2011 Yes 02/28/2011
03/01/2011
Air New Zealand Flight to Seattle and 777 Delivery Flight 12/07/2010 No 01/04/2011
British Airways Flight to London for BA Visit 12/02/2010 Yes 01/20/2011
01/24/2011
01/25/2011
03/08/2011
Cathay Pacific Flight to Hong Kong for New Seat Event 10/27/2010 No N/A
Southwest Flights and Hotels at Southwest Media Day 10/14/2010 Yes 10/29/2010
11/1/2010
11/2/2010
11/3/2010
Delta Flights to Atlanta for Headquarters Visit and Some Goodies from the Delta Museum 08/25/2010 Yes 9/1/2010
9/2/2010
9/3/2010
9/13/2010
9/16/2010
9/20/2010
9/27/2010
10/1/2010
Southwest Flight to Chicago and then Oshkosh 07/14/2010 No N/A
LAN Trip to Peru for SFO Launch 05/10/2010 No N/A
US Airways Flight to Phoenix for Media Day 03/02/2010 Yes 04/29/2010
04/30/2010
05/07/2010
Denver International Airport Transportation and Hotel provided for State of DIA panel participation 01/28/2010 Yes 03/04/2010
03/19/2010
Swiss Trip to Zurich for SFO Launch 02/23/2010 No N/A
Air New Zealand Trip to Auckland for media event 01/14/2010 Yes 01/25/2010
01/26/2010
02/01/2010
Milwaukee Airport Access to Midwest Best Care Club 12/08/2009 Yes 12/29/2009
Sony Two week loan of Vaio P Series laptop 11/04/2009 Yes 12/08/2009
United Airlines Last United 737 flight (to SFO) and return 10/27/2009 Yes 10/29/2009
JetSuite Private jet from Long Beach to Orange County 10/21/2009 Yes 11/2/2009
Row 44 Ride on wifi-equipped Grumman Albatross 08/25/2009 Yes 8/25/2009
8/26/2009
British Airways Trip on new London/City to JFK service 05/06/2009 No N/A
Delta Air Lines Gift basket onboard for my brother’s engagement 06/30/2009 Yes 07/01/2009
Star Alliance Free Round the World trip 06/15/2009 No N/A
Southwest Airlines Transportation from LAX to Dallas and overnight stay – winner schedule planning competition 03/06/2009 Yes 04/03/2009
Nintendo Nintendo DS and Game 02/12/2009 Yes 04/03/2009
British Airways Free trip on OpenSkies and back 02/05/2009 No N/A
British Airways Free trip to opening of London/Heathrow Terminal 5 12/27/2008 No N/A
Pearl Resorts Discounted hotel stays in French Polynesia 07/24/2008 Yes 04/30/2009
05/01/2009
Emirates Airlines VIP flight to nowhere on A380 07/09/2008 Yes 08/07/2008
08/08/2008
Qantas/Airbus Flight to nowhere on A380 11/27/2007 Yes 11/30/2007
ExpressJet Free transportation for two from Ontario to Tucson 05/11/2007 Yes 05/14/2007
MAXjet Free roundtrip from LAX to London 05/10/2007 No N/A
ExpressJet/LAWA Dinner with ExpressJet executives 03/12/2007 Yes 03/16/2007

Additional Disclosures

  • I am compensated to serve on the advisory council for Trippy.com
  • I am currently being paid to blog for Conde Nast
  • I am currently being paid to write a column for CNN.com
  • I am currently being paid to write a column for the Intuit Small Business Blog
  • I currently have no equity holdings in any airlines

Historical Disclosures

  • My consulting work for PASSUR Aerospace ended in August 2010
  • My short term social media consulting project for Long Beach Airport ended in August 2010
  • My content reproduction agreement with BoardingArea.com ended in March 2010
  • My contract to write the Headwinds blog for BNET ended in March 2011