Author: openjargon

• Donald Trump questioned why Taylor Swift would support President Joe Biden.
• The former president made his comments during what was billed as a policy discussion with House Republicans.
• Swift endorsed Biden in 2020. She hasn't made an endorsement in the 2024 race.

Former President Donald Trump is starting to get a reputation for commenting on Taylor Swift.

On Thursday, Trump joined House Republicans for what was billed as a policy discussion to plan for the GOP's agenda if the former president wins in November. The gathering repeatedly went off the rails, according to multiple reports. One of the digressions was Trump's lingering resentment of Swift's support for Biden.

"Why would she endorse this dope," Trump said, CNN reported. "He doesn't know how to get off a stage."

Swift endorsed Biden in 2020. She has yet to endorse any candidates in the 2024 cycle. The pop star previously avoided commenting on politics but became increasingly vocal, starting with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee's successful candidacy in 2018. Swift's desire to weigh in on the race is detailed in her "Miss Americana" documentary.

Trump, according to Politico, also noted that while in office he signed a law geared toward helping songwriters. Trump was likely referring to the Music Modernization Act, a 2018 bipartisan law that changed royalties and licensing in light of the streaming era. Artists had pushed to update music copyrights for years.

This is far from the first time Trump has commented on the world's biggest pop star. According to the forthcoming book about Trump's time as a reality TV star, the former president repeatedly gushed that Swift is "beautiful."

"I think she's beautiful — very beautiful! I find her very beautiful. I think she's liberal," Trump told author Ramin Setoodeh, according to an early excerpt from "Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass.

Trump couldn't be accused of being a Swiftie, though. Setoodeh noted that he had to explain that Swift was no longer focused on country music after the former president questioned how a country star could be liberal.

"She probably doesn't like Trump. I hear she's very talented," Trump said. "I think she's very beautiful, actually — unusually beautiful!"

Tree Paine, Swift's longtime publicist, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

• Richard Brown converted a tiny, triangular car-repair shop into a home for himself and his fiancée.
• The building is 430 square feet, with pointy edges and sharp corners that posed design challenges.
• But Brown said it's the perfect size and is now set up to be their dream work-from-home space. 

Academics spend thousands of pages theorizing why most homes are rectangular. Is it that the tools early humans used were bad at carving out curves? Is it influenced by our understanding of math, space, and gravity?

Whatever the reason, most modern homes are — but, as with most things, there are always outliers.

Case in point: a triangle-shaped former car-repair shop in London that architect Richard Brown and his fiancée bought for over £200,000, or around $250,000. They then converted the 430-square-foot space into a livable home via a $127,000 renovation, creative thinking, and a lot of elbow grease.

The triangular home is in the heart of West Hampstead, a northwest London neighborhood where the average house costs roughly £1 million, or around $1.3 million.

Brown, 37, lives with his fiancée Katrina, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons, in the aptly named Triangle House. The property was recently shortlisted for the 2024 Don't Move, Improve! architectural competition recognizing London's most innovative home redesigns.

Take a look inside, and learn how the car-repair shop went from grittily industrial to a light, plant-filled home for two.

The 430-square-foot triangular property wasn't much to look at until Brown came along.

Before they bought the property in 2019, Brown told Business Insider that it was set up as a car mechanic, equipped to service two vehicles.

At the time, Brown said, Katrina was looking to buy a property after inheriting some money.

"You'd normally go and find a flat quite far out of London and get it without a mortgage," Brown said.

However, Katrina, who is a music teacher, thought otherwise when they happened across the 430-square-foot building in West Hampstead.

The car-repair shop cost over $250,000, but Brown said he and Katrina were instantly taken with it.

Brown said West Hampstead is a "valuable area" in London, but it wasn't the neighborhood that swayed them to buy the property.

"The weird thing is, we weren't that attracted to the area as much as we were to specifically this little project in this little corner," Brown said.

The couple wanted to renovate the space so that they both could work from home.

Brown is an architect who focuses on public, commercial, and private buildings, and Katrina is a musician who also runs a course that teaches music instructors how to better impart skills to their students.

Brown loves music and describes himself as an "amateur musician."

The couple wanted their home to be "clean" and "empty enough" for them to focus on their passions and professions, he said.

While the house is "tiny," Brown said it's the perfect size for him and Katrina to live and work in.

Brown also wasn't fazed at the prospect of living in a converted auto-body shop — his last home was a brick shed.

After moving to East London in the early 2010s, Brown became fascinated with industrial spaces, particularly warehouses, that people were using as living and work spaces.

"I got really interested in affordability and interested in the way in which people were converting warehouses for creative uses," he said. The experience shaped his architectural style, which he said focuses on using simple, sustainable materials and techniques.

Prior to the Triangle House, Brown had firsthand experience living and working in an unconventional space. His last home, for example, was a brick shed that he shared with six other people.

It was a pretty "bare construction," Brown added, but he loved it.

It took Brown a year to turn the tiny triangular building into his and Katrina's dream home.

Because Katrina bought the property with her inheritance money and Brown was the architect behind the renovation, they decided to draw up a formal contract on paper in case things went, as Brown said, "awry."

"It was really her money and everything on the line," he added. "It was definitely a client-architect relationship because the project could have obviously defeated us, and we'd still have to deliver."

Brown also carried out most of the renovations to keep costs down. In total, he said the project cost less than £100,000, or around $128,000.

"It was under £100,000, mainly because, as a laborer, I wasn't paid," he joked.

The renovation included putting in a new roof with a skylight and carving out an open-air courtyard.

Brown and Katrina were willing to move into the car-repair shop in its unrenovated state.

"We actually just thought we could just come in here and put some windows in and pretty much just occupy it," he said.

But to get a mortgage on the property as a residential space, he added, they had to make several changes for it to be deemed "properly habitable."

"That was when we realized, 'Wow, we have to do a lot more work than we thought,'" he recalled. Upgrades included revising the internal layout of the car-repair shop and installing new drainage, windows, and roof.

To let more light into the home, Brown designed roof skylights over the bathroom and main living space.

The two doors that rolled up to allow cars to drive into the shop also got makeovers. One became an entrance to the courtyard and the home. The other got transformed into a large bay window facing the street that is also covered in plants.

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out what to do with the former repair shop's pointy corners.

Designing a home with pointy corners — one of which is at a 40-degree acute angle — is tough, Brown said.

In fact, he added, he and Katrina went through around 10 design concepts before landing on one in which they planned "something interesting" for each corner of the house.

One corner holds their small courtyard, full of lush green plants; another houses the only bathroom. The third one, which is also the tightest corner of the property, has an upholstered daybed.

Brown and Katrina have nicknamed it the "cozy corner."

"We snuggle up in there, the two of us with the laptop watching Netflix all the time," he said. "It's the place to go at the end of the day and just fall asleep."

Brown designed a bed that slides into the bedroom wall, creating more floor space.

Although the couple initially considered designing the house as a studio, Brown said they ultimately decided to create a separate bedroom and bathroom.

But he had to get creative to maximize each space.

They dug down to lower the floor in the bedroom, which was "easy enough to do," he added. "And we were like, 'How do we use that extra space? How do we create storage?'"

The answer, he said, was a slide-away bed. Unlike a Murphy bed, which usually flips into a cabinet, Brown designed the bed to slide underneath an empty cubbyhole beneath the floor of the adjacent room — the bathroom — whenever it isn't being used.

A motorized system — to simply push a button and send the bed away into the wall — would have been great but costly, Brown added. So instead, he attached wheels to the frame. The couple just has to give it a quick push when they want more floor space in the bedroom.

"It's never going to go wrong," he said.

The couple has turned an industrial space into a home suited to both their work and personal lives.

Brown said his and Katrina's home exemplifies the ethos of most of his architectural projects, which blur the boundaries between living and working spaces.

Their triangular abode has homey and cozy features, but when needed, it can also be quite a "formal space," he added.

"When you take away the dining table, fold everything away, and clean it up," he said, it transforms into a triangular space that feels "industrial."

And even though it's small, Brown said there's plenty of room for the couple to host guests.

"Two weeks ago, we had seven people over rehearsing for a musical performance for someone's wedding — seven people with instruments in a space that's only 40 square meters," he said. "It worked quite well."

• Steve Jobs famously debuted the MacBook Air in 2008 by pulling it out of a manila envelope.
• Tim Cook said the move "established a characteristic about that device that lives today."
• The 13-inch MacBook Air is the best-selling laptop in the world today, according to Apple.

Tim Cook reflected on one of Apple's most iconic product launches ever in a recent interview.

Steve Jobs famously introduced the world to the MacBook Air in 2008 with a flourish, when he pulled the laptop out of a manila envelope to demonstrate how thin and portable it was.

Apple CEO Cook talked about the moment's significance in an interview with tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD.

"That moment of taking it out of the folder established a characteristic about that device that lives today," Cook said. "The first one, it wasn't about how many people buy it, it was about establishing the foundation."

"It was a huge moment for the company," Cook added.

"It's the world's thinnest notebook," Jobs said while announcing the product in 2008. "It's so thin it even fits inside one of these envelopes that we've all seen floating around the office," he added as he reached for the envelope and opened it to reveal the company's next big thing.

So thin was the laptop that one former Newsweek reporter at the time, Steven Levy, reported losing his device precisely for that reason.

"Levy isn't sure exactly what happened to his review machine, but strongly suspects that it was so thin that it got mixed up with a pile of magazines, which either he or his wife threw out," Wired wrote at the time.

Today, the MacBook Air is one of the world's most popular laptops.

Apple has said the 13-inch MacBook Air is the best-selling laptop in the world, and the 15-inch model is the world's bestselling 15-inch laptop.

The company in March announced a new MacBook Air with Apple's proprietary M3 processing chip.

The 13-inch model of the new MacBook Air measures 0.44 inches wide, while the 15-inch model is 0.45 inches wide, according to Apple. The original MacBook Air from 2008 measured 0.16 inches at its thinnest and 0.76 inches at its thickest.

The company's latest iPad Pro, introduced in May, is actually the thinnest Apple product ever though, with the 11-inch model measuring 5.3 mm, and the 13-inch model coming in at 5.1 mm.

Cook also touched on other topics in his interview with Brownlee.

Asked about his legacy, Cook said he doesn't pay it much attention and that "legacy is something that is defined by other people."

Cook also spoke about the company's recently unveiled AI, called Apple Intelligence, saying it could mean people actually spend less time on their phones because it could help them complete time-consuming tasks faster.

• Colgate-Palmolive uses sensors and robotics to speed up quality checks with less human intervention.
• These tools allow the company to optimize manufacturing at its 49 plants.
• This article is part of "The Future of Supply-Chain Management," a series on companies' manufacturing and distribution strategies.

Colgate-Palmolive produces more than 15,000 tubes of toothpaste a minute.

To ensure the manufacturing line was running properly, an employee would perform quality checks every 30 minutes to make sure that the Colgate toothpaste tube was aligned properly, its seal was sturdy, its artwork was printed properly, and the box's case matched the tube.

But with new technology investments, sensors, and other digital tools, the company can now conduct quality checks continuously. Similarly, the consumer products giant is rolling out analytical testing for Hill's pet food, using robotics to ensure the quality of the food matches the desired formulation.

With less human intervention, "people can really focus on the operation of the lines," Luciano Sieber, Colgate-Palmolive's chief supply-chain officer, told Business Insider.

How COVID changed supply chains for consumer-products giants

Colgate-Palmolive produces Irish Spring soap, Speed Stick deodorant, and Ajax cleaning supplies at 49 plants, and those products are stocked at close to 200 warehouses globally. Colgate-branded products are found in almost 60% of households worldwide.

Like other consumer-packaged goods giants, Colgate-Palmolive's supply chain was built on a fairly steady business model. Large volumes of goods are made at its plants, then shipped to warehouses that distribute them to large retailers.

However, the supply chain is more complex now because consumer shopping patterns have changed. COVID led to a spike in demand at e-commerce stores that sell household goods, even those that were still available at physical stores. Food and personal-care products saw the greatest revenue growth in transitioning to online channels, according to the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration.

That migration of spending has stuck, even after the pandemic waned, putting greater pressure on consumer brands to ensure their supply chains are as efficient as possible. CPG brands aren't just shipping to large accounts like Walmart and Target. Food and household goods are now coming from a lot more locations to reach shoppers.

Automation and AI allow for more efficient manufacturing

Automating Colgate-Palmolive's manufacturing lines helps smooth out location-related variables, the company said.

In Europe, where product formulas can vary by region, a plant might have hundreds of combinations of packs and formulas, and there are thousands of vendor partners for Colgate's toothpaste, tubes, and containers.

With artificial intelligence, the plants can use algorithms to optimize the manufacturing plan for all the different toothpastes the company produces.

"It supports our growth, but also it minimizes the amount of capital expenditure we need to invest in more capacity because we can optimize what we already have," Sieber said.

Emma Rolfe, Colgate-Palmolive's senior vice president of global supply, demand, and e-commerce, said that leveraging AI helps the company more effectively adjust for changes to the workflow when a new formula is added or capacity requirements change when demand increases locally.

"That is something that today takes many hours, and you get many different answers depending on who you are," Rolfe said. "AI can help in a more standardized way."

New AI tools help track and trace goods

Colgate-Palmolive is piloting digital AI tools, including track-and-trace technology, that can give retailers automatic updates to their product orders, including any delays that might occur during shipping.

Sales representatives can use a phone to scan a shelf in a store, leverage AI to look for gaps, and determine which items need to be restocked to meet the demand of that store's customer base.

Last year, the company opened a new Hill's pet-food factory in Kansas, a 365,000-square-foot facility that's Colgate-Palmolive's first "smart" factory, which relies on AI and automation and fewer people. It's allowed the company to shorten its production cycle, create flexibility to innovate new pet-food products, and decrease energy and water use compared to other plants, a press release from the company said.

"Every single operation, like quality testing, has been automated and that enables for a much more efficient factory," Sieber said.

As is often the case with AI and automation, new factories like the one in Kansas raise questions about their impact on jobs. But Sieber stresses that humans will always participate in manufacturing.

"What we find in our most advanced sites is technologies alone, they don't solve everything," Sieber said. Upskilling Colgate-Palmolive's workforce, he said, moves people "away from doing manual work to really using the power of critical thinking and conceptual thinking to improve process performance."

• In a recent survey, more than a third of US adults said "tipping has gotten out of control."
• Californian Ken Ozeki,  born in Japan, said the Japanese don't feel obliged to tip like in the US.
• He told Business Insider he often pays in cash and picks up food to avoid the charges.

Whenever Ken Ozeki buys a cup of coffee, he will tap the "custom tip" option on the swiveling tablet and round up the price to the nearest dollar.

He would never consider paying the barista the 20% gratuity that has become standard in the US.

"I'm not that person," the 41-year-old said.

According to a recent Bankrate survey, he's among a population of frugal — often frustrated — consumers. Researchers found that an increasing number of Americans are unwilling to leave generous tips.

Thirty-five percent of respondents agreed that "tipping culture has gotten out of control." A senior industry analyst at Bankrate, Ted Rossman, said rising inflation was partly responsible.

"Some of it is high prices, some of it is tip creep, some of it is maybe just people feeling like they don't have a lot of money to go around," Rossman told Business Insider.

Ozeki blamed much of his reluctance on contactless digital registers — which became popular during the pandemic — programmed to "demand" extra fees.

"I went to a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, and they wanted an additional 20% at the register," he said. "I thought, 'Wow! I'm tipping for the privilege of serving myself!'"

Ozeki has been living in the US since first grade but frequently travels to his native Japan

The public relations specialist claimed some businesses used new technology and the so-called "streamlining" of payments as an excuse to overcharge consumers.

"They think people will be more forgiving of sticker shock if they assume the increase is going to the person providing the service," he said.

"But there's no guarantee that the employees get it," he added. "Companies are cutting corners and getting craftier."

Ozeki, who immigrated to the US from Japan with his family around age 6, said tipping is anathema to people in his native country, which he visits yearly.

"There is such a high emphasis on delivering the utmost, interactive service when staff are dealing with customers," the San Franciscan said. "They don't believe in people giving them extra money for doing what is expected of them."

He said it would be considered rude to hand a tip to a hospitality worker, such as a hotel concierge, in exchange for directions or a restaurant recommendation. "They would probably refuse to take it," Ozeki said.

Still, back in the US, he recognized the argument that low-paid workers in the service industry have traditionally relied on tips to earn a living wage.

Ozeki never ordered food for delivery

But he said that recent increases in the minimum wage have changed the landscape — at least in certain states.

In California, for example, the minimum wage for fast-food workers rose by law this year from $16 to $20 an hour. The deal was struck as a compromise to initial demands of $22 an hour with annual raises.

"The current minimum wage at a fast food place is higher than my starting salary 15 years ago," Ozeki said.

He said he never ordered food for delivery because of the expected tip. "I pick it up myself," he said. "There's no need for me to tip the cashier for processing my payment or the person moving something a couple of feet across the counter for me to retrieve."

For sit-down meals, he often rounds up the bill to the nearest dollar if the service is "minimal" and he doesn't expect to return.

If the restaurant is more upscale and, he suggested, the waitstaff "attentively brings drinks and dishes to the table for 30 minutes or more," he would honor the included service charge.

The 41-year-old said taxi drivers prefer to be paid in cash

"An automatic gratuity indicates that the business is treating its staff well," he told BI.

As for transport, he doesn't use ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft — principally because of the expected gratuity. "I call a regular cab from my home and pay by cash, not a card," Ozeki said. "The drivers are grateful because they don't lose out by digitally processing the charge and paying the middleman."

He also pays the woman who cuts his hair in cash — with no tip. "I go to a neighborhood place where she works out of her garage," he said. "I pay the agreed amount and leave."

Are you tired of tipping culture in the US or abroad? Have you seen your tips dip recently as a service industry worker? Please share some details with jridley@businessinsider.com

• Business Insider spoke to two professional perfumers about the best scents to wear this summer. 
• Tomato leaf and leather with citrusy undertones are great unisex options.
• Instead of using warm vanilla scents, opt for fruity notes for a lightweight balance. 

As wardrobes change with the weather, so do perfumes.

Fragrances are one of the biggest affordable-luxury trends that have boomed in recent years, so Business Insider asked two professional perfumers what scents everyone should wear this summer.

Here's what the experts said.

Tomato leaf is a unique but pleasant base scent for warmer months.

According to Caitlin Hayes, founder of Sorcellerie Apothecary, tomato-leaf scents are reminiscent of summer weather and savory garden aromas.

"After a morning spent in the garden, the distinctive sweet and spicy scent of tomato leaves and vine lingers on your hands," she told BI. "So this is a perfect reminder of that."

Hayes recommended Garden Heaux by the Seattle-based company Samar.

A mixture of peony and bergamot is great for summer

Although floral scents never seem to be out of style, perfumes that offer a specific mix of peony and bergamot are the way to go this summer, according to Ashley Santiago, junior perfumer at Givaudan.

"It doesn't get more 'hot girl summer' than this scent, and it's a huge compliment getter as my go-to night-out fragrance when it's warm," she told BI.

She said Carolina Herrera's Good Girl Blush is a great option for this scent profile.

Mango is a classic and delicious scent to wear

It's mango season, and that goes for both the fruit and the wearable scent.

"This fresh, tropical summer fruit is having a moment — the more realistic, the better," Hayes said.

Santiago recommended Phlur's Mango Mood Body Mist for a realistic and fresh scent.

Tuberose is trending again, and you don't want to miss out

Tuberose has been around for hundreds of years, and according to Hayes, the floral scent is finally falling back into the spotlight.

"Prized for centuries for its sensual scent, it can have a cooling effect," she told BI. "Think gauzy, sweet white petals, still blooming or tempered with soft spice."

The perfumer recommended trying Tuberose Tantra by Kismet Olfactive.

If you like tea, it might be your perfect summer scent

According to Hayes, incorporating tea-scented perfumes into your summer rotation is a great and lightweight option.

"Green tea, black tea, matcha, oolong, Earl Grey — however you enjoy your cuppa, there's a perfume for that," she told BI

Some of her favorite options include Nest Fragrances' Indigo and Sweetly Known by Kerosene.

Sweet, citrusy scents are replacing warm vanillas this summer

It's time to put away warmer vanilla scents and opt for light, citrusy alternatives.

"Caramel and vanilla are usually welcome, but heavy gourmands can start to feel oppressive in the heat — a zingy citrus scent has a way of balancing the sugar," Hayes told BI.

The perfumer said Love and Crime by Ex Idolo is a good option for a sweet, citrus smell.

Salted caramel and pistachio make a warm and surprisingly beachy combo

If you want to smell toasty and beachy, Santiago recommended finding a body spray with notes of salted caramel and pistachio.

"I first discovered this salted-caramel-pistachio scent through hair oil and was so happy to see they offered it in a mist format," she told BI.

Sol de Janeiro's Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62 fragrance mist is the perfumer's top lightweight pick.

Instead of heavy leather scents, look for ones with notes of bergamot

Leather scents are typically reserved for colder months, but if you find ones balanced with citrus, it could be perfect for summer.

"A leather note combined with some bright citruses like bergamot is an unexpected and unisex combination," Santiago said.

She recommended Memo Paris' Sicilian Leather perfume.

• Tesla shareholders are demanding that Elon Musk stop diverting AI resources away from the company.
• They allege in a new lawsuit that Musk has treated the company with "brazen disloyalty."
• Tesla's board, they argue, has done nothing to stop him.

Some Tesla shareholders allege Elon Musk has been draining Tesla dry in an act of "brazen disloyalty" to his company.

The group of shareholders filed a new lawsuit against Musk and Tesla in Delaware, where the company is incorporated, on Thursday.

In it, the shareholders accuse Musk of diverting critical AI talent and resources away from Tesla and into his new AI-focused company, xAI.

They also allege that Tesla's board hasn't tried to stop him.

Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.

The plaintiffs allege in the suit that Musk has recently touted Tesla as more of an AI company than simply an electric car company.

He has, for example, repeatedly said that building out AI capabilities is essential to Tesla's future growth and success, doubling down on this commitment both to investors and in SEC filings, the lawsuit alleges.

During Tesla's quarterly earnings in April, the company gave investors a sneak peek at its plans for a robotaxi fleet, sending the stock soaring despite posting weak financial data.

But, the plaintiffs argue that ever since he founded xAI in 2023, Musk has poached AI-focused employees from Tesla and into his new startup. At one point, in response to a suggestion that a major AI researcher should work for Tesla, Musk publicly commented that he should join xAI instead, the lawsuit states.

It's not just AI talent that Musk is pilfering from Tesla — the shareholders also allege that Musk has redirected critical Nvidia GPUs from Tesla to xAI, despite previously stating that the car company would gobble up the hardware as fast as Nvidia could deliver it.

And Musk has flirted with focusing his AI efforts outside Tesla unless he gets a bigger stake in the company.

In January 2024, Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, "I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control . . . . Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla." The shareholders referenced that post in their lawsuit.

As for Tesla's board of directors, the shareholders allege they are just bowing down to Musk.

"Consistent with its long history of obsequiousness to Musk, the Tesla Board has utterly failed to even attempt to meet its unyielding fiduciary duty to protect the interests of Tesla and its stockholders in the face of Musk's brazen disloyalty," the suit alleges.

The shareholders demand in the suit that Musk and Tesla's board answer for their "disloyalty" and return the value that Musk has pulled away from Tesla back to the company.

Quite a lot of company value has been lost from Tesla of late, though it's unclear if that's solely due to Musk's alleged betrayal.

Tesla's stock has dropped more than 25% so far this year; some critics have argued Musk is being distracted by other projects.

The sharp decline in Tesla stock this year has even affected Musk's proposed pay package, dropping it from an estimated $55 billion down to $45 billion.

• I used to opt for ultra-low-cost airlines because the cheap fare was worth the same no-frills experience.
• A crackdown on bag size, poor customer service, and worse reliability pushed me away from ULCCs.
• Mainline carriers' basic economy is a better bang for your buck, and it's even sometimes cheaper.

Since I got the travel bug in college, I've spent a lot of time on US airlines — but mostly on ultra-low-cost carriers, or ULCCs, like Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines

I always loved the thrill of scoring a cheap ticket, and my younger self was perfectly OK with the no-frills cabin and stuffing everything into a personal item. 

Sacrificing comfort and onboard freebies to save a buck was worth it then, and the ULCCs were banking on travelers like me to stay loyal to the business model.

However, flexibility and convenience have become more important to me in recent years, and this is where the ULCCs have slipped while mainline carriers have improved.

Plus, I'm not convinced that Frontier and Spirit's recent addition of "premium" perks will give either a competitive edge.

Cheap mainline tickets still come with cabin perks 

I know when I book a ULCC that I am committing to at least a few hours of sitting in a cramped, bare-bones plane, where even a cup of water costs money.

Most seats don't recline, have headrests, or have televisions. Only Spirit offers WiFi — and for a fee.

These cabins can be bearable on shorter flights when the fare is a really good deal. But why settle when mainlines combine the best of both worlds?

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines recognized the budget competition years ago and created their own version of a cheap ticket: basic economy. The goal was to lure in price-conscious travelers like me with discounted but still amenity-heavy tickets.

These stripped-down fares have limitations. United doesn't allow a carry-on bag while American and Delta do, for example. Still, all three come with the regular mainline cabin perks, like reclining seats, in-flight entertainment, headrests, free snacks and drinks, and standard legroom.

Further, domestic WiFi is free on all three for eligible T-Mobile customers like me, while Delta and American have their respective free internet packages — even for basic economy ticketholders.

ULCCs are not always cheaper once you do the math

In my experience, mainline tickets are sometimes cheaper than Frontier or Spirit.

For example, the base fare for a roundtrip evening flight from LaGuardia Airport to Orlando in mid-August costs $211 on Spirit and $277 on Delta.

Once you factor in the $50 fee for a carry-on bag on Spirit — which applies in both directions — the total price is $311. Reserving a specific seat would be another $30 at least, with the cheapest seats being $15 per leg.

Delta's basic economy already includes a carry-on and a standard seat with WiFi, power, and entertainment. However, it doesn't offer seat selection, even if you want to pay extra. And, unlike Spirit's new policy, Delta charges change and cancel fees for its cheapest tickets.

Despite the pros and cons, it's still an easy choice.

With everything equal in terms of route, timing, and carry-ons, Delta is $34 cheaper.

I don't want to worry about the size of my carry-on

United CEO Scott Kirby said it perfectly in a podcast interview last week: "They don't treat their customers right."

He specifically pointed to an unnamed ULCC that charged people $99 for carry-ons and then paid a commission to the agent who charged the fee. 

I've never been charged for a personal item or carry-on on Frontier or Spirit because I follow the rules to a T.

However, the Frontier fiasco proved that it may not matter if you follow the rules — there's an incentive to charge people anyway. This adds a level of stress I don't have when flying the mainline.

To their credit, the ULCCs have ditched some of their low-cost strategies with more premium options. Spirit has dropped all change and cancel fees, and Frontier is adding business-class-like seats to lure in more premium travelers. 

But it's too little too late, in my opinion. The two still lag in terms of customer service, both ranking last in terms of customer complaints and the economy product for 2023. 

One of the best examples is that Frontier's only line of communication between the customer and the airline is an online chat, not a phone number. 

It's a way to save on costs but at the customer's expense — which is exactly Kirby's point. 

Frontier and Spirit have limited routes and poor reliability

Frontier and Spirit ranked last for flight delays and cancellations last year, according to Cirium, and they collected the highest number of customer complaints.

Sure, you could get delayed and canceled on any airline anytime — but the data doesn't lie. I have a better shot of getting to my destination on time by booking a mainline.

ULCC networks are also less robust than mainlines. The flights are commonly early in the morning or late at night, and there are fewer frequencies per day. This inconvenience makes flying ULCCs more risky overall.

For instance, if I miss a connection or my flight is canceled, the mainlines have a bigger network with more re-booking options. In my LaGuardia to Orlando example, Spirit's morning flights leave before 10 a.m., and the evening flights leave after 9 p.m.

Delta has options all day. I like that peace of mind. 

• Misaki and Amir Hajimirsadeghi got married on April 2.
• The couple planned a destination wedding at Nobu Hotel Los Cabos with a budget of $100,000.
• They managed to come in under budget and splurged on showstoppers like fireworks.

Misaki and Amir Hajimirsadeghi got married on April 2, five years after they started dating and nearly 10 years after they met.

As they started planning their wedding, Misaki and Amir wanted to prioritize not overspending.

Business Insider spoke to Misaki about how they planned their destination wedding — and came in under their $100,000 budget.

Misaki and Amir Hajimirsadeghi were friends for nearly a decade before they started dating.

Amir and Misaki met as freshmen in college at the University of California San Diego through a mutual friend.

"After college, he went to San Francisco," Misaki, 29, said of Amir, 28. "I was in LA, and when he moved back down to LA, where he grew up, then we reconnected and we started dating."

They've been an item since 2019, and Amir proposed in December 2022.

Today, the Hajimirsadeghis are still based in LA. Misaki is an analyst, while Amir is a software engineer and the cofounder of Faliam, a healthcare and financial platform.

After they got engaged, they examined their finances to set an overall budget.

Misaki and Amir knew they would be paying for their wedding themselves, so after they got engaged, they started building a budget based on their savings and other big purchases they wanted to make soon, including a home.

Misaki told BI she and Amir "worked backward," setting aside money for a down payment on a home and several months of mortgage payments, money for car payments, and emergency funds in case they lost their jobs.

From there, they discussed how much they wanted to spend on a wedding, landing on $80,000. But everyone they knew advised them they would likely go over budget, so they set aside $100,000 for the day.

Misaki and Amir decided to have a destination wedding.

"Most of our family and friends are out of California, so even if we had it in LA, it would have been a destination wedding for everyone else," Misaki said of why she and Amir chose a destination wedding.

They also had guests traveling internationally from Iran and Japan, so choosing a venue outside the US didn't seem like a big leap.

"Also, we were looking at the prices of LA venues, and it was crazy," she added. "The venue fee itself was half of our wedding budget. So we quickly found out we couldn't afford to do it in LA anyways."

They picked the Nobu Hotel Los Cabos in Mexico for their nuptials.

Misaki knew she wanted a minimalist, black-and-white vibe for their April 2 wedding.

"The vision was very clear to me from the beginning," she said.

That aesthetic guided their venue search, and when she and Amir saw Nobu Hotel Los Cabos, they knew it would be perfect. The Nobu brand is known for its iconic Japanese restaurants frequented by celebrities and the wealthy, but it also has luxury hotels that draw in a similar crowd. The Los Cabos location is particularly popular on social media.

Nobu Hotel's buildings, which offer ocean views, are sand-toned and modern, serving as an ideal backdrop for Misaki and Amir's nuptials. They also liked that all of their guests could be in one hotel for the duration of the celebrations.

Nobu also appealed to the Hajimirsadeghis because they didn't have to pay a venue fee.

Unlike many venues, Nobu Los Cabos didn't charge a fee to reserve the space. Instead, Misaki and Amir had to use Nobu for catering and bar services.

The catering cost $14,254, while the drinks for the open bar — a nonnegotiable for Misaki and Amir — came in at $14,606.

"Directly, that's for the food and the drinks, but indirectly, it's just the cost you pay for doing your wedding at Nobu and the cost you pay for having everyone at one hotel," Misaki said of the fee.

As is the case at many destination weddings, the Hajimirsadeghis' guests paid for their lodging. Rooms at Nobu Hotel Los Cabos vary depending on the time of year, ranging from $400 to $999 a night, according to its website.

Catering and drinks: $28,860

Misaki also found a wedding planner who could help them pull off the wedding.

Misaki used Instagram to track down a wedding planner, looking at planners who had already done weddings at Nobu Los Cabos.

"I made a list of all the wedding planners who have done weddings at Nobu that I liked so I could go to them and be like, 'I want a wedding like this,'" she said.

Look At Me Brides, based in Cabo, was a perfect fit.

"If you're doing a destination wedding, I can't recommend a destination wedding planner enough," Misaki said. "I could not have done any of this. She coordinated all the communication with the vendors."

Misaki also said she and Amir told the Look At Me Brides team that their budget was $80,000, not $100,000, in the hopes it would help them stick to it.

Wedding planner: $4,640

The ceremony took place overlooking the beach, and flowers helped to create the vibe they wanted.

The Hajimirsadeghis had a Persian wedding ceremony overlooking the beach. Their setup was simple, but they used white flowers to make a big impact.

Floral Dreams by Vero Romo created a detached floral arch to frame the ceremony. They stuck to white flowers throughout the day.

Flowers: $4,595

The couple didn't have to pay an officiant for their ceremony.

Amir's brother officiated their ceremony, so they didn't have to pay an officiant like many couples.

Misaki and Amir's wedding featured a Sofreh Aghd, a tradition in Persian wedding ceremonies where the bride and groom sit with a spread of items that hold symbolic meaning, including a mirror and candles, Brides reported.

The Hajimirsadeghis rented the table, mirror, and candelabras they used for their Sofreh Aghd from Yaya Rentals, while Misaki provided bowls and plates from their home collection for the other aspects of the ceremony.

Ceremony rentals: $275

Misaki wore a simple gown with a dramatic back.

Just as she did for the venue, Misaki first saw her wedding dress on Instagram. She knew the Made With Love gown was perfect as soon as she saw it.

"I just wanted something really simple that mimicked the minimalist, simple style that we went with for the wedding," Misaki said, adding that she liked that the dress hugged her figure because she's petite.

"I thought it was simple enough, but then it had some element of drama in the back," she said, pointing to the draping under the open back, buttons lining the gown, and the full train.

She paired the gown with platform heels from Badgley Mischka.

Dress: $3,027.78

Shoes: $130

A floor-length veil completed Misaki's bridal ensemble.

Misaki chose an affordable veil from Etsy for the nuptials. It trailed behind her as she walked down the aisle.

An updo held up the veil, which was styled by Los Cabos Makeup. The company also did Misaki's natural makeup.

Veil: $152

Hair and makeup: $300

Amir splurged on his shoes.

Amir rented a tuxedo from Michael Kors for the wedding rather than buying an ensemble. But he paired the affordable tux with high-end Gucci loafers.

"I feel like everyone focuses on the bride, and it was nice to have something special for him, too," Misaki said of the shoes. "He can re-wear those to a nice dinner. It was a good investment."

Tuxedo: $200

Shoes: $1,000

Misaki mixed and matched luxury and affordable details throughout the wedding.

The Hajimirsadeghis' wedding had a luxury feel, but Misaki ensured they didn't unnecessarily splurge on aspects of the wedding.

For instance, they both got high-end wedding rings from Cartier, but Misaki chose invitations from Minted, which are typically more affordable than fully custom stationery. However, she told BI she thinks she could have saved more money by DIYing the invitations.

"I think a lot of people will spend a lot on their wedding dress or invitations, some of the earlier costs, because you don't know how much everything else is going to cost," she said.

Rings: $5,820

Invitations: $549

Misaki and Amir had to build out their reception space, including a dance floor.

The reception occurred outside in a courtyard without lights, so the Hajimirsadeghis' planning team transformed it into a true reception space.

Misaki selected a black-and-white checkerboard dance floor from VVR PRO Cabo and strings of fairy lights from Pro-AV Los Cabos to frame it.

"We wanted to put our money toward big items that were noticeable and would be in every picture," Misaki said.

Dance floor: $3,300

Fairy lights: $2,800

Misaki and Amir stuck to their black-and-white theme with the rest of their decor.

The couple tapped Yaya Rentals again for their black tables and chairs, as well as their bar, and they chose coordinating plates, chargers, and runners from Del Cabo Events to complete their table settings. They also used both Yaya and Del Cabo for their linens and flatware.

Misaki and Amir were also able to repurpose the floral arch from the ceremony for their reception, ensuring they got more bang for their buck.

Misaki made the day-of signage for the wedding to save money, handmaking everything from their welcome sign to their menus.

Misaki told BI she could do most of the work on a laser printer, which saved her hundreds of dollars.

"You really can't tell the difference between the professional invitations and the DIY stuff that I made," she said.

DIY materials: $100

Tables, chairs, linens, flatware, and bar: $5,740

The Hajimirsadeghis wanted to invest in wedding details that felt true to them.

For instance, Misaki didn't want to provide guests with a traditional party favor. Instead, she used that money to turn their seating chart into a shot wall made by Bunker Project Studio.

"I knew we wanted to keep the energy going after the ceremony because it's so easy to just get tired and not be in the mood to get onto the dance floor," Misaki said.

Likewise, they chose an audio guestbook from After The Tone rather than a traditional book, both because she thought it was sentimental and because she thought it would suit their event better.

"The vibe was party, and I knew a lot of my friends and family weren't gonna write a meaningful letter while drinking a cocktail," she said. "I was bawling when I got the voicemails back."

Seating chart: $1,440

Guestbook: $400

Their welcome bags had fun touches, too.

Misaki and Amir provided welcome boxes for guests upon their arrival at the wedding weekend, which included white bags with black bows.

They were designed to hold guests' shoes during the beachside ceremony, allowing them to leave them behind if they didn't want to get sandy.

Welcome bags: $700

They of course had a wedding photographer, as well as a videographer.

They hired Francisco Salas to photograph the day, from the first look to candid shots at the reception, and Allan Carrazco was their videographer.

Photographer: $4,400

Videographer: $3,364

The Hajimirsadeghis also hired a content creator for the wedding.

Misaki connected with Kaitlin McDermott of Social Hour on TikTok and hired her to create content for the wedding.

"She, in hindsight, was probably my best hire," Misaki said.

"The amount of pictures and videos that I got back from what she took of us, it's just priceless," Misaki said, adding that she loved seeing candid content, including when she changed into her gown or when her guests started limboing on the dance floor.

"You can't put a price tag on it," she added.

Content creator: $1,500

They opted for a DJ over a band.

"We like DJs more than a live band," Misaki said of how they selected music for the event. "We like EDM, hip-hop, that kind of music."

They hired DJ Emmanuel for the reception and the ceremony.

"Having a live musician for the ceremony would have cost a lot more money," Misaki said.

DJ: $3,646

Misaki also changed into a shorter dress for the end of the festivities.

Later in the evening, Misaki changed into a strapless minidress from Meshki that was easier for dancing, which she paired with sheer gloves.

Her second ensemble was more affordable and perfect for the dance party vibes.

Second dress: $165

Gloves: $7

The Hajimirsadeghis chose a champagne tower over a cake.

Nobu's catering menu featured three courses, and Misaki told BI their menu included a bread assortment, a salad, a choice of entreé between beef, salmon, lamb, or ravioli, and a cheesecake dessert. Since dessert was already built into the meal, Misaki and Amir decided not to buy a separate wedding cake, which also would have had to come from Nobu.

Instead, the Hajimirsadeghis invested in a champagne tower they could pour bubbly into at the end of the night instead of cutting into a cake.

Champagne tower: $320

And to make the end of the night extra special, they splurged on fireworks.

The Hajimirsadeghis had their planning team arrange for fireworks to erupt while they popped the bubbly.

"We were pouring champagne while the fireworks were coming down," Misaki said.

The fireworks cost over $2,000 and only erupted for one minute, but it was worth it for Misaki and Amir.

Fireworks: $2,800

Misaki and Amir ended up coming in under budget, spending just over $80,000.

Misaki and Amir managed to stick to their preferred spend of $80,000 almost perfectly.

Misaki told BI that telling their planning team a lower budget than they actually felt comfortable spending helped keep their costs low and prevented her and Amir from getting stressed out when surprise costs came up.

"We actually felt good about it because we were kind of under budget," she said. "Obviously, you can always have a cheaper wedding; you can always have a backyard wedding. But for what we wanted, which was at a five-star hotel with all of our guests together having Nobu food, I think we saved a bunch of money."

Misaki advises other couples who are just starting to wedding plan to have an intentional conversation with their partner about what they want to prioritize financially before they start making wedding decisions.

"Everyone has different priorities," she said. "If you don't care to have a wedding, then obviously spending $80,000 on a wedding doesn't make any sense."

"Talk with your partner on where your priorities lie, whether you even want to have a wedding," she said. "And then if it is something you want to do, then think about all the other priorities in your life. For us, it was owning a home and having kids in the next few years."

Total: $80,230.78

• Catering and drinks: $28,860
• Wedding planner: $4,640
• Flowers: $4,595
• Ceremony rentals: $275
• Bride's first dress: $3,027.78
• Bride's shoes: $130
• Bride's second dress: $165
• Gloves: $7
• Veil: $152
• Hair and makeup: $300
• Tuxedo: $200
• Groom's shoes: $1,000
• Rings: $5,820
• Invitations: $549
• Dance floor: $3,300
• Fairy lights: $2,800
• DIY materials: $100
• Tables, chairs, linens, flatware, and bar: $5,740
• Seating chart: $1,440
• Guestbook: $400
• Welcome bags: $700
• Photographer: $4,400
• Videographer: $3,364
• Content creator: $1,500
• DJ: $3,646
• Champagne tower: $320
• Fireworks: $2,800

Misaki said her relationship with Amir "feels like home."

"We've been friends for over a decade now, so I'm just comfortable with him," Misaki said of her husband.

"We have the same sense of humor, the same goals and values in life," she added. "It's just easy with him."

If you want to share the real cost of your wedding with Business Insider for a story, get in touch at sgrindell@businessinsider.com.