Monthly Archives: June 2010

Maggots Fall on Passengers, US Airways Jet Returns to Gate

June 30, 2010
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Maggots Fall on Passengers, US Airways Jet Returns to Gate

Maggots Fall From Overhead Compartment on US Airways Flight Airline Says Spoiled Meat in a Bag is to Blame Deidra Dukes Fox 5 News~ Atlanta, GA A U.S. Airways flight bound for New York City was forced to return to the gate in Atlanta on Monday after maggots fell from a bag inside an overhead luggage bin. The airline says spoiled meat in a suitcase is to blame for the mess. Passenger Dona Adamo told FOX 5 she was...

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Airline Food in Question. Delicious In-flight Tidbits. But what are they, really?

June 28, 2010
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"Welcome aboard!"

Airlines Charge Extra For Roach Coach Food? USA Today Reporting: Inspectors find safety flaws where airline food is prepared Six months ago, Food and Drug Administration inspectors say, they found live roaches and dead roach carcasses “too numerous to count” inside the Denver facility of the world’s largest airline caterer, LSG Sky Chefs. They also reported finding ants, flies and debris, and employees handling food with bare hands. Samples from a kitchen floor tested positive for Listeria, a bacteria...

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British Airways Actively Recruiting Scabs, Hitting a New Low

June 26, 2010
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Beating the strike: New workers will not fly alongside union staff in a bid to stop the grounding of planes during strikes

25,000 want BA ‘scab’ jobs airline is creating to beat the strikes More than 25,000 hopefuls are lining up to take on strike-breaking jobs as British Airways cabin crew at almost half the salary of existing staff. BA chief executive Willie Walsh – who after 18 months of talks has failed to end the dispute with the Unite union – has advertised for cabin managers and crew to form what amounts to a separate airline. Recruits will be paid...

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United Airlines Pilot Detained for Dropping Pants at Sao Paulo Security Screening

June 26, 2010
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Oh yeah, like this is a bad thing!

US pilot detained for showing underwear in Brazil SAO PAULO (AP) — A United Airlines pilot was briefly detained at the international airport in Rio de Janeiro after lowering his pants during a security screening, police said Saturday. Pilot Michael D. Slynn, 49, was asked to remove his belt and shoes as part of a routine security screening Friday afternoon. In response, Slynn laughed at security guards and lowered his pants to his ankles, said a police spokesman who...

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Seems UAL and CAL Merger Has Hit a Snag with Pilots

June 25, 2010
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united-pilot-hat

So far, no specifics about the exact cause of the wrinkle. Seems both pilot groups are anxious for the ‘news’ to hit the fan. Here’s the initial release from PR newswire. Continental, United Pilots Encounter Roadblock to Merger Pre-contract talks with management stall at the table CHICAGO and HOUSTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The pilots of United and Continental, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) say they have run into a roadblock while negotiating a transition agreement with the management...

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Horrifying News From China: Making Cell Phone Calls During Flight Passes Safety Test and Awaits Approval

June 25, 2010
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air-china (2)

From Sohu: Cnr.cn news, Beijing. According to the news reported by Voice of China “Peak Evening News” at 17:39 on June 24, Air China cabin service department vice-president Wang Xiaolun said, some passengers need to be constantly reminded by the flight attendant to turn off their cell phones before the plane takes off, this indicates people’s need of communicating with the outside world (when on a plane). Achieving communication via cellular phone in above 10,000 meters altitude will become an...

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Airtran, It’s a Tiny Turtle Traveling With a Ten Year Old, Not an Underwear Bomber!

June 24, 2010
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AP - In this undated photo provided by Rebecca Helm, Carley Helm, 10, poses with her turtle Neytiri.

Tiny turtle causes taxiing plane to return to gate By Kate Brumback, Associated Press ATLANTA — A caged, 2-inch turtle traveling with a 10-year-old girl caused a crew to turn around a taxiing plane, take the girl and her sisters off the flight and tell them they couldn’t bring their pet along. The sisters threw the animal and cage in the trash and returned to their seats crying Tuesday after AirTran Airways employees on the jetway said they couldn’t...

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Delta Passengers Stuck at Detroit Metro Gate

June 24, 2010
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Aghhhhh, the joys of summer air travel.

Detroit — Passengers are stuck aboard a Delta flight leaving Detroit Metro Airport because pilots had to leave after the plane was forced to wait hours at the gate due to a weather delay in Philadelphia. Flight 2262 had been scheduled to depart for Philadelphia about 5:40 p.m., but the plane still was sitting on the runway after 10 p.m., passengers said. The DC-9-50 plane seats 125 passengers, according to federal flight records. Passengers didn’t board until about 7:25 p.m., and...

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Updated 06/25: Airline Passenger Arrested After Fight Over Carry-On Bag

June 24, 2010
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"Frontier, you've got some explaining (and damage control) to do!"

Authorities say a Frontier Airlines passenger has been arrested on suspicion of battery after fighting with a Los Angeles Airport Police officer who attempted to remove her from the flight after she refused to check an oversized carry-on bag. The officer suffered minor injuries in the incident Thursday. Los Angeles World Airports Police Sgt. Belinda Nettles says the passenger became irate when a flight attendant asked her to check her carry-on bag into the plane’s luggage compartment. Nettles says...

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Virgin Passengers Stranded on Tarmac for Hours

June 23, 2010
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David Cooper, of London, stands in Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., after arriving by bus from Connecticut June 23, 2010.  (AP Photo)

Bad Weather Grounded N.J.-Bound Flight from London in Conn.; Fliers Kept on Plane Because Airport Lacked Customs Officials Newark, NJ (CBS/AP) Passengers who spent hours stuck on a hot, dark plane on the tarmac in Connecticut described on Wednesday a scene of confusion and misery as their trans-Atlantic flight was delayed, then diverted. Kimberley Vince was on Tuesday night’s Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Newark to begin work as a camp counselor on New York’s Long Island. She...

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Leave it to Spirit Airlines, for the most inappropriate marketing ever!

June 22, 2010
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Seriously the most inappropriate marketing ever!

Unbelievable. I had to see it to believe it too.   Spirit.com BOYCOTT Spirit Airlines!

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The Baggage Fee With A Twist. And How to Avoid The Fee Altogether

June 22, 2010
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alaska-logo-tail

The Twist: Alaska Airlines Will Give You $20 (credit) if Your Checked Bag Does NOT Reach the Carousel in 20 Minutes. Alaska Airlines passengers will be subject to new baggage fees starting Wednesday. Customers checking one bag will be charged $20 per bag — $5 more for the first bag than previously charged, but $5 and $30 less for the second and third bags, respectively. Seattle-based parent company Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK), which also includes Horizon Air, also introduced...

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“I turned and I looked, there she blows! This baby was coming! It was like, whoa!”, says American Airlines flight attendant Patricia Sund

June 19, 2010
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American Airlines Flight attendant Patricia Hund holds newborn

You guessed it, American Airlines again. Seriously, between landing planes and birthing babies, AA stews really deserve a new contract, which expired more than two years ago (see latest update further down). Baby Born On Flight From Haiti To Florida Miami (CBS)- Patricia Sund had never seen anything like it. “Another crew member said, ‘This woman’s going to have a baby!’ I was like, ‘Get out,’” said Sund. But instead, Patricia Sund got ready. As an American Airlines flight attendant...

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American 777 Loses Door at DFW

June 17, 2010
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"Where's the door? It was here a second ago"

Well, they didn’t really “lose” the door. It’s still in the jetway. Deplaning didn’t go smoothly Tuesday morning for an American 777. Apparently, an American Airlines flight arriving at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport lost its door in a Terminal D jetbridge. The aircraft pulled up to the terminal around 6:20 a.m. and docked with the jetbridge. Flight attendants opened the door to start letting passengers off the plane. However, it appears that the brakes either failed or were not set and...

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Spirit, “the P.T. Barnum of airlines”

June 16, 2010
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Ben Baldanza, Spirit Airlines considering extra charge for airport contact with Spirit's humans

An Utter Lack of Spirit. Spirit has operated as the P.T. Barnum of airlines—management believes there’s a bargain-hunting sucker born every minute—but its reaction to a pilots’ strike appalls even the most cynical airline-industry observers. And now for something completely similar: An airline behaving badly. Because it is small, you may not have heard that Florida-based Spirit Airlines has been shut down since Saturday. After more than three years of negotiations and a federally mandated 30-day cooling-off period, Spirit’s approximately 450...

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P’s and Q’s of Seat Backs, Elbow Room, and Knee Caps

June 16, 2010
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Yes, you paid for that seat 'rental', be a considerate neighbor.

With personal space at a premium, reclining seats isn’t always OK Ed Hewitt, IndependentTraveler.com We’ve all experienced it — mere moments after you fly over your car in the airport parking lot, the seat in front of you slams at full speed into full reclining position, bashing down against your knees. The passenger then rustles around to get comfortable, thumping against your knees again and again. Or you reach down between your feet to pull out your headache medicine,...

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Flight attendant: Co-piloting ‘more fun than serving meals’

June 16, 2010
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Boeing_767_cockpit

June 16, 2010 01:00am Patti DeLuna  hadn’t piloted a plane in about 20 years until this week. Back then, it was a small Cessna. On Monday, she quickly stepped up to a Boeing 767 airliner. DeLuna, 61, an American Airlines flight attendant, helped her captain land the jumbo jet at O’Hare International Airport after the flight’s first officer fell ill with stomach flu. “I was the best available (back-up pilot) they had on the plane,” DeLuna said Tuesday from her...

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American Airlines: Pay a fee to board early, stand by and pay lower change fees

June 15, 2010
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"There's a fee for what?"

From Los Angeles Times/Travel The airline industry’s relentless drive to monetize services, many of which used to be free of charge, opened another front Tuesday when American Airlines began offering an optional “Boarding and Flexibility Package” that charges $9 and up each way for earlier boarding, the right to stand by for an earlier flight and a discount on change fees. As a consumer reporter, I tremble when I read airline news releases that promise great things for consumers. Here’s...

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Updated(06/15): Spirit Extends Cancellations Through Thursday, Thousands Stranded

June 13, 2010
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Budget conscious Spirit passengers get more than they bargained for, and paying for it too.

With Spirit Airlines’ flights canceled at least through Tuesday due to a pilots’ strike, thousands of irate passengers faced sky-high ticket prices for rebooking on other carriers. Preparing for the third day of its pilots’ strike, Spirit Airlines canceled all of its Monday and Tuesday flights. That means the roughly 10,000 Spirit passengers who travel through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport each day will be affected. Travelers returning from Caribbean cruises streamed into the airport Sunday to look for other...

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Night Flight Pictorial….

June 12, 2010
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Regular or De-Caf?

MarthArt…. On the all-nighter from Maui to San Francisco~ not so ordinary pics of my ordinary work space. The lights, the darks, the ice, and the nuts.  Here you go……..

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It’s on…. Spirit Airlines Pilot Strike Could Delay Thousands

June 12, 2010
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Spirit Airlines A321

Associated Press, Josh Freed – Airlines Writer Spirit Airlines pilots went on strike Saturday in a dispute over pay, and the discount carrier immediately canceled all of its flights for the day. The walkout and cancellations threatened to disrupt the travel plans for thousands of vacationers. Spirit flies from several airports in the eastern U.S., through Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to points in the Caribbean and Latin America. Spirit is the largest single carrier at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Its...

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Owner of Russia’s Biggest Breasts Sues Airline for Implant Damage

June 10, 2010
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Not actual bra. Just Chip's idea of a little booby humor

Business class seats turned implants into airbags The Register UK,  June 10, 2010- The owner of Russia’s biggest silicone breasts is suing an airline after a combination of turbulence and skimpy business class seats forced her professional assets to double up as airbags. Model Iren Ferrari is demanding €100,000 in restitution after the buffeting on a Moscow to Zurich flight left her key business assets bruised and painful, Pravda reports. Ferrari says she always flies business class, so that...

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Another P.O.S. Blunder, Too Fat To Fly? Or Not? Southwest Apologizes To Passenger

June 9, 2010
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Connie Guillory, of Texas, was issued an apology and a $100 voucher from Southwest Airlines after a flight attendant refused to let her board a plane, saying she was too big for one seat. This is a picture of her flying Southwest days earlier just fine.

Texas Woman Told She Needed To Buy Two Seats To Board, Despite Flying Airline Without Problems Before Ft. Lauderdale- Southwest Airlines is apologizing to one of its passengers over a flight restriction. Was she too fat to fly? The passenger said she was not allowed to board a plane because of her size. The trouble started on a return flight after a dream vacation, reports CBS station WCBS-TV. Best friends for as long as they can remember, Connie Guillory and...

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Illegal Immigrant Survives Flight From Vienna to London After Hiding in Landing Gear

June 9, 2010
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landing-gear

Adelaide.com.au Jun 9, 2010 AUSTRIAN police claim that a man hid himself in the landing gear of a jet parked at Vienna’s airport and survived a flight to London. Police chief Leo Lauber said that the man, a 20-year-old Romanian, told British authorities that he crawled under the wire of the fence surrounding the airport and climbed into the undercarriage of the jumbo jet that was parked near a construction site. Mr Lauber says the jet belonged to a high-ranking sheik...

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Update: Flight Attendant Blames Gun Arrest on Bag Mix Up

June 8, 2010
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Delta Flight Attendant Amber Robillard, arrested for concealed handgun

WishTV8 Update Report Indianapolis – Police have released more details in the arrest of a flight attendant who was carrying a handgun in her bag last week. Amber Robillard, 39, is charged with carrying a handgun without a license and entering a controlled area of an airport with a weapon. Case records show Robillard told investigators her home in Atlanta had recently been burglarized and she had placed the gun in a bag and had left it in her car...

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Daddy Stork~ “Maybe Cribs Should Come With a Flight Attendant Call Button”

June 8, 2010
By
master-caution-switch

by Daddy Stork , full time pilot and part-time stay at home dad. In the cockpit, when an alarm sounds, the first response is to “Identify and Cancel” the warning. This is the call to acknowledge the source of the alarm, silence the warning and then determine a course of action. If there are several warnings, you prioritize them – often based on the color of the alarm. Yes, our planes are color coded. Cyan = Let’s hope it...

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Most Complained About Airlines ~ from Travel & Leisure

June 8, 2010
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Delta & United, First Place and Runner Up

Have an airline gripe? Who doesn’t? Here are the U.S. airlines with the most complaints—and how you can make your voice heard, too. By Valaer Murray Sometimes air travel goes horribly wrong. Take the Continental-operated ExpressJet Flight 2816. On August 7, 2009, bad weather diverted the Houston-to-Minneapolis flight to Rochester, MN, where the tiny commuter plane sat packed with 47 passengers from midnight to 6:30 a.m. No one was allowed off, and passengers were offered only one drink. When the door was...

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Delta Flight Attendant Arrested For Attempting to Carry Handgun on Flight

June 4, 2010
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I'm sure there is a very logical explanation for this. Not for this pic, I mean for her packing a piece. She does look troubled. Nothing like her glamor shot on Facebook~ Martha

~Updated with news footage~ Kristi E. Swartz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution A Delta Air Lines flight attendant preparing to board a plane bound for Atlanta was arrested after authorities found a handgun in her purse. Amber Robillard, who lives in Atlanta, was stopped at the Transportation Security Administration security screening checkpoint at the Indianapolis airport and arrested after they discovered the gun, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said. Robillard, 39, did not fly to Atlanta with the rest of the crew on...

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From the WTF? File: DFW Airport Crash Sends Car Flying

June 3, 2010
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"Oh Crap. No change to pay. Hold on, we're going over!"

DALLAS – A woman hit a concrete barrier at a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport toll booth, sending her vehicle flying into the air and over another car, police said. According to investigators, Yasmine Villasana had just dropped off a passenger and was leaving the airport when the incident happened. Click link below for news story and slow motion vid: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/060310-DFW-Airport-Crash-Sends-Car-Flying

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A Few Bad Apples: Aeroflot Alcohol Ban Results in Fewer Drunken Incidents

June 2, 2010
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Russian Airline "Aeroflot" ticket office

Russian flag-carrier Aeroflot is citing a notable reduction in the number of on-board incidents fuelled by intoxication, after banning alcohol sales on specific flights. It has imposed the sales ban in the economy-class cabins. Aeroflot, which stopped distributing free alcoholic beverages in early 2006, started testing the tighter restriction on particular services in February. The carrier selected a number of long-haul flights for the trial, stating that these usually resulted in the highest proportion of passengers engaging in drunken...

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