Security

Ridiculous – Plane Diverted over Praying Jew

January 21, 2010
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This is not the first time this has happened, and that is sad. Today, a US Airways regional flight, flight 3079 operated by Chautaqua Airlines, from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Louisville, Kentucky was diverted to Philadelphia over a religious issue.
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Ireland Enraged after Slovakia Plants Explosives on Unsuspecting Passenger

January 5, 2010
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The Irish government is demanding answers after an unsuspecting passenger carried high-grade explosives on a flight to Dublin as part of a botched training exercise. Slovakian Agents planted RDX explosives in the bag of a 49-year old electrician without his knowledge. The explosive was one of eight items planted by the Slovakian authorities in...
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September 11th, 2001

September 11, 2009
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Saying something about 9/11 is almost obligatory, especially for a commercial aviation blogger. The scope of the tragedy was nearly unimaginable at the time...that such a thing could happen. Our hearts continue to go out to those who lost loved ones that day and we will never forget the sacrifice of those who rushed...
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Man Claiming to Be God Delays Flight

June 1, 2009
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View Larger Map US Airways flight 4423 was scheduled to leave Lynchburg, VA for Charlotte Airport at around 2:30PM yesterday, but was delayed due to an Act of God. God in this case was a 23-year old man who was overheard talking on his cell phone(we wonder what service provider He uses) commenting that...
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Travel Thoughts and ID

May 26, 2009
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We’ve been a bit busy lately with ‘real life’, also known as that stuff we do when we aren’t acting as a pundit. We have a lot to catch up on still. But, we have been reading, and planning a series of new posts to invigorate our partner site, Infrequentflier.com. We want to address...
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News of the Week: Upgrades and Downgrades

November 13, 2008
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We thought we’d clear our backlog of interesting news out before the weekend. Enjoy! JetBlue set a world performance record with one of its Embraer 190s as the regional jet was returned to JetBlue’s home base at JFK from its time as Sarah Palin‘s plane during the campaign. The plane flew nonstop without passengers...
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Tales of Horror – Losing a Corpse, United Stock, and More

September 10, 2008

American Airlines is being sued by a man for allegedly misplacing his wife’s body for four days. According to the lawsuit, the body was so badly decomposed when it finally arrived that they had to forego a traditional open-casket funeral. Shares of United Airlines stock tanked on Monday(Forbes reports) when a six-year-old Chicago Tribune...
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New Year…New Security Rules

January 3, 2008
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2008 is Here, and we’ll only be able to use it as an opening thought for a few more posts. Many exciting things have happened to our luggage in recent weeks. Let’s talk about the security screening process a bit. The picture is from the TSA’s SimpliFLY page. The idea, and certainly better than...
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The Coalition for Luggage Security’s Scare Tactics

August 23, 2007

We are looking for the people who actually take the Coalition for Luggage Security seriously. Let’s review some recent airline news through their lens… On August 3rd, they noted that British Airways was forecast to lose over 1.3 million bags this year. British Airways has a less than stellar baggage handling record. Solution from...
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Roundup – New Plane, Fee Hike, and Security Threats

August 12, 2007

Today in the Sky reports that, unannounced, Delta raised fees on August 1st. Same-day confirmed standby has doubled to $50, the direct booking fee has doubled to $20, their $50 change fee is now a $75 change fee. $75 is now also the charge for redepositing unused frequent-flier miles and for booking frequent flier...
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News of the Day

August 1, 2007

In a late breaking news story, ABC news in Salt Lake City has reported that sources has reported that Delta will unveil new service from Salt Lake City to Paris. Paris, unlike London, the focus of planned Delta expansion in Europe, is the hub of Air France, a Delta Skyteam Partner, which would give...
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Are you Safe in our Skies and Airports? Tales of Security and Tragedy

July 20, 2007
Are you Safe in our Skies and Airports? Tales of Security and Tragedy

It is a question we often ask ourselves…Perhaps a few bits of info should give you pause… The body of an Asian male in his 50s was found in the nose gear wheel well of a United 747 yesterday at San Francisco International Airport. Counting the most recent victim, the FAA has tallied 75...
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Roundup – Loss of Old Service, Adding of New Service…

July 14, 2007

The Ithaca Journal reports that Delta Airlines is cutting all service to Binghamton, New York. The county was informed that service would end September 6th, surprising airport officials. Boardings are up 43 percent so far this year and Delta had just started service to Kennedy Airport. Flights to Atlanta and Kennedy have been running...
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Security Scares Affect Independence Travel

July 3, 2007

London Heathrow reopened Terminal 4 after a security scare due to a suspicious bag led to the cancellation of over 100 flights. British Airways said it had cut 108 flights after cancelling all its European departures from the terminal for the day, as well as all long-haul flights for six hours. At least seven...
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Security Measures Increase Due to European Summer Security Issues

July 1, 2007

Bloomberg reports that increased security measures will delay summer travel for some passengers during this Independence Day week. Police arrested two men at Glasgow airport yesterday after their Jeep Cherokee crashed into the terminal entrance and caught fire. They arrested five additional people since. The Glasgow attack came as police were conducting one of...
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Flights from Hell

June 29, 2007

We don’t appreciate the media reporting airline delays as Flights from Hell. It seems too much hype as opposed to more useful reporting. Reuters comments that if airlines “want to ensure long-term survival, they say they have no choice but to restrain capacity, fill as many seats as possible and cut costs wherever they...
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Roundup – Biased Documentaries, Historical Hot Pants, and More

June 25, 2007
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For the first time, this Roundup was written while our editor was sitting at an airport, awaiting a flight. Hmm…perhaps a story on Airport Wifi is in order? The Coalition for Luggage Security….don’t you love their press releases as much as we do? They reported(and we use the term lightly) on the 13th about...
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Weekend Roundup

May 12, 2007

Southwest has announced its schedule for the return of service at San Francisco International Airport. It will begin service August 26th, with 18 nonstop daily departures. Service will begin with three daily flights to Chicago Midway, eight to San Diego, and seven to Las Vegas. Through these flights, it will offer connecting or direct...
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Roundup

May 10, 2007

Qatar Airways will be launching a national advertising campaign in the United States today, with service to New York on June 26th, and to Washington on July 19th. Continental Airlines will be moving up the start of Newark to Mumbai service to October 1st due to positive market response to the proposed flights. Aer...
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Safety and Security Roundup – Not Just a Drunk Pianist

April 21, 2007

Investigators say that fatigued air traffic controllers contributed to four aviation mishaps in recent years…including the Comair crash. They are calling on the FAA to revise work schedules and take other action. Their union jumped on the report as validation of its own claims that air traffic controllers are overworked and understaffed. Details available...
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Roundup

April 14, 2007

A white mouse onboard a Japan-bound Vietnam Airlines flight delayed the flight for four hours. The rodent had to be seized as a matter of safety. It was theorized it might have been brought on in carry-on luggage. On Thursday, Pinnacle Airlines, which operates as Northwest Airlink, was involved in an incident as Flight...
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Israeli Air Force Intercept Continental Flight

April 11, 2007

Four fighter jets, two F-15s and two F-16s, were dispatched to inspect a Continental Airlines Boeing 777 today from Newark to Tel Aviv which failed to make contact with Air Traffic Control and comply with international regulations as it approached Israeli airspace. The fighters incepted the Flight 90, carrying 251 passengers, once it reached...
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More Tales of Horror

April 5, 2007

Some days in the airline industry, it seems a neverending stream of negative publicity. Here are a few things we caught over the last few days. It fails to inspire us. (Note: In every one of our roundups, links to a news source are provided for each item. Feel free to click through for...
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Flight Stops to Remove Father who Attacked Son

March 22, 2007

The Associated Press reports that a United flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon was diverted to Salt Lake City on Friday after Kenneth R. Bullard of Jacksonville, FL attacked his son during an argument about the son’s girlfriend. Bullard had been drinking before and during the flight, and the flight attendants had to restrain...
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Roundup

March 18, 2007

A passenger on a regional flight to Auckland, New Zealand from New Plymouth managed to bring a rifle onboard the flight. As reported, he was pulled aside only before he boarded another flight to Kerikeri. Skywest Airlines has apologized for forcing him to urinate into an air sickness bag on a flight from Boise...
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