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Archive for July 2007

Gulf Air CEO Quits; Airline Under Criminal Investigation

Jul 24th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

As good as it’s been for other Middle East based airlines, Gulf Air, the carrier co-owned by Bahrain and Oman, has struggled mightily.  And things just got worse.  Their CEO, who just joined 4 months ago, resigned yesterday amid the news the Bahrain’s government has launched a criminal investigation of the airline.  No word on [...]

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Ghana Fails to Blackmail Lufthansa

Jul 23rd, 2007 | By Jared Blank

(Thanks to View from the Wing…)
An odd one on an otherwise slow news day:
Lufthansa has pulled out of its daily flights from Frankfurt to Accra, Ghana, after 40 years because they feel they’re being forced to pay a bribe to Ghana’s fledgling national airlines.  Ghana’s government had required Lufthansa to pay a "tax" that would [...]

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The Worst Travel Article Ever Written

Jul 20th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

Slate has published the worst travel article ever written.  Under the headline, "The Worst Airline in the World" it publishes what is basically a list of complaints about delays on TAM suffered by the writer during a recent vacation in Brazil.  While I loathe articles that use a handful of delays to indict an airline’s [...]

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Stowaway in Airplane Wheel Dies

Jul 20th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

A man died yesterday hiding in the wheel well of a United flight from Taiwan to San Francisco, the 59th person to die attempting this in the past 50 years or so.  Officials say the man died either from asphyxiation (not much oxygen at 37,000 feet) or froze to death (-40 below).  He was wearing [...]

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Etihad Drops Sri Lanka Flights — Kinda Sad, Actually

Jul 20th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has announced that it will drop flights to Sri Lanka beginning in September because tourism has dropped so significantly since civil war-related violence has picked up again.  I really only mention this because it because it’s actually really sad.  The country suffered civil war for years, finally becoming peaceful in 2002 or [...]

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Virgin America Seats for Sale

Jul 19th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

Virgin American began selling seats today for its launch on August 8th.  You can see the full schedule in the link, but basically they’ll be flying from JFK to San Francisco and LA; between San Francisco and LA & Vegas; and between Washington and San Fran & LA.  Transcon fares start at $139 from New [...]

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Ciao, Alitalia?

Jul 19th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

Italy’s Economy Minister (that would be Minister of the Economy, not a low priced Minister) said that if Alitalia cannot be sold, it will be liquidated.  Hard to believe that such a venerable carrier will never fly again, but it’s certainly looking that way after a 7 month auction closed with no buyers.  If you’d [...]

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Cheap Trips to Egypt and Paris

Jul 19th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

Frommers has a couple of great deals this week:
Foreign Independent Tours is offering a 5 day air/hotel package departing New York to Cairo, Egypt for $999.  Airfare alone is usually more than $800.  Departures are only December 1-12.
Air Tahiti Nui is offering a $575 round trip fare from Los Angeles to Paris for fall and [...]

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Pilot Steals iPod at Security Checkpoint

Jul 18th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

A Mesa Airlines pilot is accused of stealing another passenger’s iPod as they passed through a security checkpoint in Jacksonville, Florida.  The pilot said that he assumed the iPod was abandoned (yeah right) and would’ve just been taken by checkpoint personnel.  Incredibly, the pilot told police his flight was 15 minutes late and they let [...]

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Delta (Sort of) Strands to Alaska Kids in Salt Lake City

Jul 18th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

A 15 year old and a 10 year old travelling on their own from Dothan, Alabama to Fairbanks (through Salt Lake City) on Delta found themselves stranded in Salt Lake City for 20 hours after they missed their connection.  Delta gave the kids hotel vouchers and basically told them to go fend for themselves.  Their [...]

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