Cart Driver Demonstrates An Unusual Way To Get Around The Airport

by Jessica Festa on




Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday. This video, taken by YouTube user GrimbleGromble1 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in the United Terminal, shows an airport employee actually joking around with fliers. The vehicle warning sounds you hear are being made by the cart driver, who drove back and forth past travelers trying to get them to laugh. Watch at the end as the video gets a bit trippy, with the driver appearing to go through a tear in the space-time continuum.

On YouTube, the short clip got much feedback, with humorous comments like:

“You know money is tight when they can’t afford a real siren” – lemonjellies

“Bieber? Bieber? Bieber! Bieber! He’s probably a fan?” – jojacool

“At moment 0:13 you can actually see him breaking the sound barrier” – Longknife

“Job Description: License to drive electric airport terminal car. Ability to produce public awareness alarm by voice” – copperkipper1

According to user LenntBear, the cart drivers at O’Hare do this all the time.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen in an airport?

Plane dumps thousands of pounds of fuel over Lake Michigan

by Libby Zay on

Citing mechanical problems, an American Airlines flight en route to China dumped 151,000 pounds of fuel over Lake Michigan on Sunday night.

According to an American Airlines spokesman, the fuel was dumped over the freshwater lake after an emergency forced the plane to return to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport about 90 minutes after departing for Beijing. The fuel had to be dumped because landing overweight would have created problems, and even after the gas was unloaded the plane blew a tire when it touched down.

The spokesman claims dumping the fuel did not harm the lake because the fuel evaporates before it reaches the surface. However, one of the 249 passengers on board told NBC Chicago he watched from the plane’s window as the fuel was evacuated into the body of water.

[Photo by ReneS/Flickr]

Virgin America now connects California to Chicago

by Libby Zay on

Virgin America is taking its mood-lit flights to the Midwest. Today the airline kicks off service from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Chicago O’Hare, and Gadling is joining the airline for its inaugural celebration.

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To celebrate the new service, Virgin is offering Chicago flyers a $25 Groupon deal for $100 in air travel, discounting one-way fares as low as $59, and gifting triple points to frequent flyer members.

Stay tuned to Gadling this week for updates from the events and notes from the first few days of service. Word in the underground is that tonight’s celebration at The Wit in Chicago is going to rock the house. Rest assured, we’ll be in the middle of that storm.

Virgin America’s flight for Chicago challenge

by Justin Delaney on

In May, Virgin America will begin flying to Chicago O’Hare from Los Angeles and San Francisco. To celebrate their service to an airport traditionally dominated by legacy carriers, Virgin is rolling out a social media contest to entice travelers to “put the smack down on everyday air travel.”

The contest invites Chicagoans to submit a photo or video via the Virgin America Facebook fan page that will be voted on by fellow Facebookers. Entrants will receive a two for one offer on the new routes, but the top ten vote-champions will receive a whole lot more.

The votes will be tallied to crown the top five videos and top five pictures. The winners of the vote will receive complimentary air travel for two from Chicago to Los Angeles or San Francisco on a competitor airline and return airfare on Virgin America’s inaugural flight to Chicago. The winners will be challenged to contrast the stale environs in the legacy cabins of the competition to Virgin’s neon aesthetics, clean lines, and personal touch screens.The winners will also be put up for three nights at either the posh Mondrian hotel in Los Angeles or the modern Clift hotel in San Francisco. For the cherry on top, Sir Richard Branson will welcome the winners on the red carpet for their return to Chicago O’Hare airport.

So get creative and upload some shots. Who knows, maybe come May you will be soaking in the pool at L.A.’s Mondrian wondering just how your life got so sweet. The contest ends on May 11. Virgin America will donate $5 per entry to Stand up for Cancer.

Chef Rick Bayless opens airport restaurant at Chicago O’Hare

by Laurel Miller on

Mexican food authority, cookbook author, cooking show host, Top Chef Master, and all-around culinary badass Rick Bayless debuted his new O’Hare eatery, Tortas Frontera, over the weekend.

As its name implies, Tortas Frontera is devoted to the deliciously messy Mexican sandwiches, here served on bread from nearby Labriola Baking Company. Alas, as reported by Grubstreet, it’s located past security in Terminal 1, leaving non-travelers tortaless, margaritaless, and bereft. We can only hope that Bayless’ use of local and fresh ingredients (he’s a longtime champion of small family farms) will inspire other airport restaurants to follow suit.

Bayless is the chef/owner of Chicago’s acclaimed Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and Xoco. His second O’Hare restaurant is scheduled to open in Terminal 3 later this winter.