[caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Image via CrunchBase"][/caption] Several generations ago, a heretofore unimportant Senator arose brandishing a list which he claimed contained the names of 207 known Communists who had infiltrated the State Department. Never mind that Senator McCarthy had no such list, that the number changed from day to day. He knew that State…
Trey Scott Atwater of Hope Mills, NC was arrested Saturday morning attempting to bring explosives through security at Midland International Airport in Midland,TX. Specifics of the incident were not released. CNN reports that: Neither the FBI nor the TSA identified the explosives, though a Midland spokeswoman said the items were “wrapped in military grade wrapping”…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] As we mentioned previously, Theophilius Maranga a lawyer from Fishkill, NY, is suing Delta Airlines and Air France-KLM for ten million dollars in damages for not properly compensating him after they let a man onboard who intended on blowing up the aircraft. Maranga tried to get compensation through…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Yesterday, we read in USA Today’s Travel section that airports are starting to add loyalty programs to encourage travelers to patronize them. This is particularly useful for smaller airports, where people might otherwise drive to larger airports in the region. Even at larger airports, awarding frequent patrons points in…
The next time we fly, we’re going to be shaving. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Recently, Nick Bilton of the New York Times continued his reporting on the issue of in flight electronics, and how, while there may be reasons for the existing rules, they do not make any sense. If the electromagnetic…
A woman is seeking answers after she claims US Airways lost track of her special needs brother, who was physically and mentally disabled. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by Caleb's Photography via Flickr"][/caption] He missed his connecting flight in Charlotte, and when she called, they would not give out any information. Now, this is actually…
We can’t think of anything more fitting to wish greetings of the Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, New Year’s season than a chorus of TSA Agents at LAX singing What a Wonderful World. We’d have embedded this one, but the only version we found on Youtube appeared to have been doctored. Click Here Happy holidays from your…
Why is this a story? [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by soupboy via Flickr"][/caption] A family flying from Charlotte to Chicago was removed from an aircraft by US Airways. The family consisted of two adults, and four children: a 3-year old, two 20-month old twins, and an eight month old. Â The family purchased three tickets.…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXY27Rwg6UQ Cebu Pacific, a low cost carrier out of the Phillipines, has modified its safety dance for the holiday season. The dance, which started last year, has been received as overwhelmingly popular. Heather Poole, author of Cruising Attitude, an upcoming book about her life and work as a flight attendant, tweeted the following: “Seriously why must…
We just can’t believe this… [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] A New York man has named Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM in a suit that also names Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Underwear Bomber, as a co-defendant. The man, Theophilius Maranga of Wappinger Falls, is asking for ten million dollars in damages for…
The New York Times reported today on Minute Suites, a company which began providing small rooms for rent at Philadelphia International Airport in March, and has bee [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] n serving Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport since 2009. The company has already served 18,000 customers, 24 percent of them repeat business. The…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] In August of 2009, US Airways announced it would be selling LaGuardia out to Delta Air Lines in exchange for greater power at Washington-National Airport. Two years later, after selling off some of the slots, it is finally time for Delta to announce its expansion out of LaGuardia.…
There’s nothing worse that a long flight sitting next to a stranger who won’t stop talking about things that are utterly uninteresting to you. We previously wrote about Planely, a site to help you discover people on your flight with similar interests to you. Now KLM has announced plans to introduce a service that will…
A seventy-six year old man apparently’forgot’ that he had a loaded .38 caliber handgun strapped to his ankle when he went through security at Detroit’s Metro Airport. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] The man, not identified, claimed he wears the firearm for personal protection and it merely ‘slipped his mind’. The TSA claims…
When the TSA came into existence, their screeners worewhite. Then, they became Transportation Security Officers(TSOs), and got new blue uniforms. Their embroidered [caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] badges got replaced with metal ones to “represent the continuing evolution of the officers’ role and responsibilities.” At the time when this happened in 2008, we were…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p24WCHJgMTs Unless you’ve been out of touch, you probably heard about Alec Baldwin’s behavior onboard an American Airlines flight. We’ve been thinking about this for a few days now. By most accounts, Alec Baldwin was onboard an American Airlines flight. The Flight Attendants had instructed passengers to discontinue the use of portable electronics. Mr. Baldwin…
Is there an 18 foot hole in your air travel collection? If so, you won’t want to miss an auction currently underway. For only 1.25 million Pounds, you can own an 18 foot long 3.5 ton engine, together with operating manual and certificatw of authenticity. The engine was used on one of British Airway’s Concordes,…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Giving up the Ship just recently wrote on a new morale program at British Airways. The program, nicknamed Hug a Pilot, urged pilots to socialize with crew. Apparently, socialization led to something more. A teenage stewardess ended up pregnant, courtesy of a married pilot. It reads like an episode…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="116" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization today. Their stated goal for this bankruptcy reorganization was to achieve industry competitiveness….or “All our competitors have been through Chapter 11, why shouldn’t we?” The corporation has $24.7 billion in assets and…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l9ZEsOwyDqk Just yesterday, we commented briefly on JetBlue’s response to their 2007 Valentine’s Day meltdown. Today, JetBlue’s Chief Operating Officer took to the Youtubes to issue a public apology. As we said yesterday, everyone failed in this, not just the airlines. Blame should be apportioned evenly and fairly. JetBlue and American Airlines face millions in…
When the so-called Valentine’s Day Meltdown happened in February of 2007, JetBlue issued a public apology in the form of its then Chief Executive and Founder, David Neeleman. “Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that we caused. This is especially saddening because JetBlue was founded on the…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Image by Telstar Logistics via Flickr"][/caption] On Sunday, September 26th, a new show begins, Pan Am, which will use the legendary airline as it was in the 60s as a backdrop. Pan Am, or Pan American World Airways, ceased to exist as an airline on December 4, 1991. The spirit of…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] The U.S. Department of Transportation rules announced back in April are set to take effect today. However, many of the aspects of the ruling have been postponed at the request of the airlines, due implementation issues. The following come into effect today: Refund of Bag Fees is your…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] It is a sad fact of life that more and more human interaction is being replaced by computers. Or perhaps it isn’t in some cases, where we’d rather not talk to a human being. But Paris’ Orly Airport is experimenting with a virtual boarding agent. They recorded several…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Last week, the Cranky Flier, in an article on CNN entitled “This isn’t the Airline I signed up for”, Â covered the issues of codesharing. Namely… People often don’t realize what airline they are actually flying on… We put that in bold letters, because it is a big issue.…