With more airlines charging for checked baggage, and now carry-ons as well in some cases, passengers are sometimes inclined to push the limit. Traveling with children now means bringing a car seat and strollers that are far heavier and with more bells and whistles than one can imagine, as I’ve seen on a regular basis when working at SeaTac.  While in the security queue at Houston’s Bush International Airport one hot summer morning, I was amazed to see a family traveling with two children, one a toddler who was riding her tricycle in the line. TSA is not going to allow this, I figured. While I could kick myself for not sticking around for witnessing their reaction, a short time later, while I grabbed some breakfast, around came the child on the tricycle, bells a‘chinging, through the restaurant. They made it through! If I hadn’t seen the little girl hop off and run, I might have assumed that she had a physical challenge which required the tricycle. But then again, maybe it was a case where she required this for emotional support as has been the case with some passengers need emotional support animals.  Who knows?

VIP members of frequent flyer programs are often plied with bonus mileage, upgrades, lounge passes and all sorts of amenities.  Here comes Russian airline Aeroflot designing and providing a calendar for its elite members featuring their flight attendants in various stages of undress. There are poses both inside and outside of the airplane. The January page features a totally nude attendant sporting only a red uniform hat and shoes posing suggestively inside an engine cowling. Reportedly the airline was angry that the pictures were leaked online before their VIP members received their copies. Rival airline Avianova is known for racy TV commercials, one of which featured its bikini-clad attendants stripping down to wash an airplane. It’s gone viral on YouTube with a familiar song from the 60’s.(http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DVjO_NZrQVNA).

A few months earlier, flight attendants from bankrupt Spanish airline Air Comet posed nude for a calendar to bring attention to their financial plight.

It’s easy nowadays to earn miles for almost anything without leaving the ground as frequent flyer points have become a true currency of their own.  Here’s a way to earn 25,000 miles (enough for a free trip). Just have your Lasik surgery done by LasikPlus and pocket the miles on Delta. Details are online.

Not much is free on Spirit Airlines, which recently made the controversial move of charging passengers for carry-on baggage and is considering a $10 fee to talk to a human being.  They’ve also taken away the ability to recline your seat through their infamous “pre-reclined seats.” But not wanting to be tarred by the same brush (no pun intended, read on) as Irish carrier Ryanair, Spirit announced it would not be charging for lavatory use. In order to do that, they would begin advertising on their lavatory mirrors. “Fresh and Go” toothbrushes signed on as the first advertiser. I’m not so sure advertising toothbrushes in airplane lavs is such a good idea. If you intend to brush your teeth, just make sure the water from the sink is safe to use; on some carriers, especially abroad but also on regional jets in the U.S., it may not be potable.

Japanese airline ANA recently announced it would be the first airline in the world to offer beer from kegs, available on many of its domestic flights. Not so fast. Internet user-generated comments begged to differ, claiming Northwest used to offer in their World Business Class; Swissair in the 1990s rolled a keg down the aisle.  I remember Lufthansa did it on their Boeing 707s in the 1960s. In fact, online there’s a first day cover envelope with a stamp featuring a passenger being served from the keg on inaugural flight 402 on April 30, 1961 from Cologne to New York’s JFK. (See http://www.stamps-auction.com/germany-1961-lufthansa-flight-cover-advert-mug-beer-keg-for-sale-5717)  Sorry, ANA.  Not to be outdone, it’s reported Chicago O’Hare and Midway are considering roving beer and wine kegs to use within the terminal concourse for thirsty travelers, and Mayor Richard Daley has endorsed the idea.

Forget the rogue JetBlue flight attendant now in his 13th minute of 15 minutes of fame. Once again an airline captain has gone afoul of Brazilian security. In 2004, an American Airlines captain in Sao Paulo, disgusted with the new rule that required passengers to be photographed, gave the officer the finger which cost him a $13,000 fine in lieu of criminal charges.  (Coincidentally, had he given the “OK” sign common in the US and other countries, not the thumbs up, it would have been just as offensive in Brazil.) A United Airlines pilot, going through security for his flight to Washington, when asked to remove his belt and shoes, responded by dropping his pants.  Now remember that this is in Rio de Janeiro, known for scantily clad masses on the beach. But this isn’t the beach, and the pilot was briefly detained until he signed a form that we would return to court on his next trip to Brazil. No word on whether he did or not.

Here’s one of the more creative ads I’ve seen for an airline seat. KLM promoted its new economy class seats in a live installation in a shopping mall. It’s gone viral on YouTube, and not only does it not include dialogue, it doesn’t include the seat either! Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6NPF0A_vGC4

First a Volcano, Now a Vulture

Last spring’s eruption of Iceland’s unpredictable Eyjafjallajokul volcano caused major disruptions to trans-Atlantic and European air travel.  Now commercial pilots flying above Scotland and England have been warned by British air traffic control authorities to be on the lookout for a giant vulture, named Galdalf, no less, with a ten-foot wingspan, that can fly at altitudes higher than 30,000 feet. Native to Africa, the seven year old Rupell’s Vulture, escaped during a show at the World of Wings in North Lanarkshire. The bird, which performed in the show since 2006, has no fear of humans, can inflict a sharp bite if encountered, but the concern about damage to an aircraft is real.  In 1973, a vulture was ingested into a jet engine at an attitude of of 36,000 feet near Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

A Melbourne, Australia man has built an amazing model of a QANTAS Airbus A380 out of 35,000 LEGO bricks. Seven feet long and six feet wide, the double decker plane includes a cutaway of the interior, complete with touch screen-operated landing gear and lights. The model includes famous passengers such as Star War’s Yoda and Samuel L. Jackson (“Snakes on a Plane”) and even some of the serpents themselves. The plane took eight months to build, and was transported to Chicago (as delicate cargo) for the annual Brickworld event.  Catch a glimpse of it here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1253931/Lego-fan-builds-Qantas-Airbus-A380-2010-Brickworld-Lego-event-Chicago.html

Thank you Joel.  Comments are always welcome.

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