In the Global Traveler office we call China Southern Airlines the black hole since whenever we call their North American regional office (in Los Angeles) we are sent in a loop of telephone holding that lasts for an eternity. It makes me wonder, with an airline like China Southern – which they claim is the largest airline in China – what is going on over there?! I was shocked to learn that SkyTeam just added China Southern to their list of alliance partners. And it made me wonder, why in the world would Delta and Air France want their customers to call in and not receive satisfaction? Can you imagine purchasing a ticket and thinking you are going to fly on one of the SkyTeam partners and then you find you are on China Southern? I have personally tried to contact the newest General Manager for the Americas, based in Los Angeles, many times and have heard nothing back. I have never been called back the few times I actually got to his voicemail. So as a traveler, when you book a flight through SkyTeam, be forewarned you might be entering the black hole. The New York Times reported that the US Olympic Team will be transporting their own food to Beijing. The Olympic team will be bringing 25,000 pounds of lean protein from North America to China. They made a dry run to China, tested the chicken (athletes need protein) and they found that the chicken from China was so full of steroids that the American team would test positive if they ate the food. It was also laden with veterinary drugs, so many times over the U.S. limits that Lassie would run and hide. So, when if ever, is China going to join the global economy? When are their airlines going to stop thinking like Mao and begin thinking like Chiang Kai-shek? And, don’t be fooled – the United States represents 44% of the global economy and China represents only 19% of our consumption. On an unrelated note, I will be traveling around the world next week. It is the first time that I have circumnavigated the earth. I will be departing from JFK on EOS Airlines, arriving in the U.K. on Sunday. On Tuesday night, I depart London Heathrow on Asiana Airlines business class to Incheon where I connect for a flight to Saipan to play the Lao Lao Bay Golf Resort, owned by Asiana’s parent company. From there, I fly to Guam to see what my pal Richard Cruz is up to. On Monday, I return to Incheon for a day in Seoul where I hope to see the DMZ and then that night I fly nonstop on Asiana’s new first class to NYC. Stay tuned for updates! -Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO