Upgraded: In-flight personal space for Canadian disabled and obese passengers
Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that overweight and disabled passengers must be granted two airline seats if they can’t fit into a single seat. So… who will sue on behalf of tall passengers who need more legroom?
Upgraded: Flight attendants
An Air Canada flight attendant took the co-pilot’s seat and helped the captain land a Boeing 767 safely in Ireland after the first officer had a breakdown mid-flight. The flight attendant, who held a pilot’s license, was “not out of place” in the right seat, according to the captain’s report to authorities.
Upgraded: Virgin America’s inflight wi-fi
Engadget puts Virgin America’s inflight wi-fi (serviced by Gogo) to the test. And it sounds pretty good (and reasonably fast, considering), especially at $13 for a cross-country flight.
Upgraded: Life imitating art
A Japanese man has been living in the Mexico City airport for the past 3 months, a la Tom Hanks in “The Terminal.” “He is said to be foul-smelling.”
Downgraded: Flying to, from, or through Bangkok
Protesters against the Thai government have shut down Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok since last Wednesday. The other Bangkok airport, which services domestic flights, Don Muang, “fell” on Thursday. Getting in and out of the country is a mess. “The government is using a Vietnam War-era military base, U-Tapao, to fly stranded passengers out of the country, but the airport’s limited facilities are overloaded.”
Downgraded: Pilot’s cultural sensitivity
A US Airways pilot refused to fly his plane because three turban-wearing Sikh musicians were on board. How very enlightened.
Downgraded: Alitalia’s art collection
Embattled Alitalia is selling its art collection at auction to raise cash. 200 pieces of art are up for sale. That is, if their auctioneers don’t go on strike. (rimshot)
Upgraded: Trabant rentals
Back in 1990, shortly after the Berlin Wall fell, I traveled to what was then still technically East Germany. I took a hammer and chisel to the wall, I saw Soviet troops riding bicycles in circles (seriously), and above all, I drove a Trabant. The “Trabi” was the Volkswagen of socialist Germany, with a 0.6L two-stroke engine and a chassis made of a paper, resin, and wool compound called Duroplast, instead of steel. Seriously. Driving one is an experience, if you can keep the car running or operate the in-dash shifter. And now, you can experience it for yourself — by renting one — if you travel to Berlin.
Downgraded: What you do with a drunken sailor
Two Russian sailors were arrested after a flight from Houston to Frankfurt, after being the worst kind of drunks. “Frankfurt police say the two men smoked cigarettes in the plane’s bathroom and frightened fellow passengers before the flight crew ordered them to stay in their seats. The sailors responded by polishing off the two-liter bottle they bought in Texas and repeatedly attempting to use their mobile phones — forbidden during flight. … Police would not say which airline operated the flight.” Umm… only one airline operates that route. (Lufthansa.) If the passengers couldn’t be restrained and were threatening other passengers, why wasn’t the flight diverted?
Upgraded: Satire’s proximity to reality
The Onion’s headline: American Airlines Now Charging Fees To Non-Passengers. I like that “charges will include a $25 tax on citizens traveling with any other airline, as well as a mandatory $30 surcharge for passengers who decide to just stay home for the holidays instead.” Do they take Amex?
Upgraded: Cruise ship captain’s ability to haul ass
Unlike those Saudi oil tanker captains who just have their ship taken over by Somali pirates, the captain and crew of the Oceania cruise ship Nautica actually outran gun-toting pirates off the coast of Yemen. It takes work to maintain the sailing schedule And all the while I thought cruising seemed really boring!
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December 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
“The sailors responded by polishing off the two-liter bottle they bought in Texas” How did they get a two liter bottle through Homeland Security?…I am so jealous.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Duty free?
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:48 am
Re: Life imitating art… well, the art (The Terminal) was based on a real-life traveler stuck at CDG for years:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0621/p11s02-almo.html
I really have to try and get back to Berlin to try one of those Trabants. I remember frequently seeing them abandoned along West German autobahns after the wall came down.