Passengers Horrified At Needles Found In Their Airline Food

by Jessica Festa on

And you thought your worst airline meal nightmare was getting runny eggs or stale bread? Passengers onboard four different flights from Amsterdam to the United States on Delta Air Lines were horrified to find sewing needles in their turkey sandwiches.

In total, six sandwiches were found to have needles, including two separate flights to Atlanta, one to Seattle and one to Minneapolis, where the passenger was injured but declined medical attention.

According to News.com.au, the meals were made by Gate Gourmet to be given to business class passengers on Delta flights. Christina Ulosevich, Gate Gourmet’s spokeswoman, has stated no other airlines operating out of Amsterdam have filed similar complaints. The company is launching their own personal investigation into the matter. Moreover, Delta is adding extra security to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

The airline stated, “Delta is taking this matter extremely seriously and is cooperating with local and federal authorities who are investigating the incident. Delta has taken immediate action with our in-flight caterer at Amsterdam to ensure the safety and quality of the food we provide on board our aircraft.”

[image via Andrei Dimofte]

Hiking The Black Canyon In The United States’ Newest National Park

by Jessica Festa on

“Our surroundings were of the wildest possible description. The roar of the water … was constantly in our ears, and the walls of the canyon, towering half mile in height above us, were seemingly vertical” – Abraham Lincoln Fellows, 1901

For those who love the outdoors and unique landscapes, Colorado is home to the United States’ newest national park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Named a national park in 1999, the canyon is 48 miles in length, with 14 of those being part of the park. Black Canyon gets its name from the fact that it’s extremely deep, sheer and narrow with very little light coming in. The first written record about it comes from the Hayden Expedition in 1873, deeming it inaccessible. However, in 1901 Abraham Lincoln Fellows and William Torrence floated 33 miles down the canyon’s river on a rubber mattress. Today, it’s still used for irrigation purposes.

A hike of the park will allow you to experience not only the awe-inspiring Black Canyon, but also unique rock formations, vibrant colored birds, wildlife, plants and beautiful nature surroundings.

For a more visual idea of the experience, check out the gallery below.

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[Above image via Jessie on a Journey. Gallery photos via Big Stock and Jessie on a Journey]

Airline Booking Agent Tells All In Online Q&A

by McLean Robbins on

There are entire websites and forums dedicated to maximizing your travel miles and getting the best bang for your buck when it comes to purchasing airline tickets. But rarely do we hear from those behind the reservations desk … until now.

Over on Reddit there’s an ongoing Q & A with “TravelAuthority,” a reservations agent for airlines like Delta, Air France and KLM. We’re sharing some of our favorite questions and answers from the thread. He shares that his Twitter handle is @Jackson_Dai and identifies himself there as the “world’s best Delta Skymiles booking agent.” He says he flies 200,000+ miles per year.

“Ask me anything about working for an airline, the flight benefits, using miles, earning miles, avoiding stupid airline fees, low fares, partner airlines, Skyteam vs Oneworld vs Star Alliance or anything really,” he challenged readers. So far, the thread has more than 1,300 comments.

Note, quotes are taken verbatim.

Q. Any general advice? Like the best time to shop for a fare, the best agency or website, how far in advance to book…
A. Best website: Bing.com/travel – the fare predictor is pure genius. Not even Delta agents have access to that information. A close second would be Skyscanner. In general you want to book 6 weeks to 12 weeks in advance. Any earlier and the flights won’t be on sale, any later and the others will have already snapped up all the low fares. Award tickets are another animal though.

Q. What is the fastest way to rack up miles? Credit Cards? Special promos or secret deals?
A. Credit Cards are the best. Some people run their businesses off their credit cards and rack up millions of miles pretty easily. Suntrust Bank also has a checking account with a Skymiles debit card. That account is nice because the electronic bill pay also earns miles. So you can pay your rent/mortgage via bill pay and get miles for it. And if the person or org you’re paying doesn’t accept electronic payments it mails them a check.

Q. I’m 6’6″. I’m flying back from Shanghai to DTW in a few weeks. Can you help me figure out the best way to get a seat with legroom? In general I arrive at the gate early to see if I can find my way into a better seat. Is there anything else I could do?
A. Go with Economy Comfort or Exit Row. That may cost you a bit though. Also take a look on Seatguru.com to determine witch seats have the most legroom. Unethically, you could call the reservations agents and say you have a medical disability that requires a bulkhead seat (you don’t have to state exactly what it is and Delta agents are forbidden to ask).

Q. … any tips on how to get any freebies/upgrades/benefits?
A. Yes, after your flight you should call or email (preferably the later) and let them know about every single thing you didn’t enjoy about your flight (food, movie selection, rude flight attendant, tray table didn’t work, Wi-Fi didn’t work etc.). The airlines have a specific department to deal with complaints and they’ll give you tens of thousands of miles, free business lounge passes, travel vouchers, drink tickets, etc.Q. … any special “tips” for international flights and getting the lowest fare? Does it even help if you book super far in advance? (+6 months)
A. Unless you’re booking business/first class, booking super far in advance is always a bad move. Airlines charge higher fares for those reservations. It’s just like in the tech world where the early adopters pay more. What kind of “tips”? Ethical or Unethical? I have lots of both. There are lots of unethical ones like booking child fares for adults to get 10-20% off or using bereavement/medical exemptions to get cheaper last minute fares or to get agents to waive change fees. Delta/AirFrance/KLM require a bit of info such as a hospital name, address, and phone number for a medical fare but they NEVER call to check up on it so I’m surprised more people don’t just lie about it.

Q. What qualifications do you need to be a reservation agent?
A. They prefer 2 years of sales or call center experience. Nothing other than that. Well, you do have to pass an incredibly thorough FBI background check but that’s all.

Q. Would this be a viable career for someone with a family?
A. Yes, definitely. The average age of the reservations agents and flight attendants in pre-merger Northwest cities (Minneapolis, Detroit, Seattle etc.) is probably 45 or higher so most of them have families. The hours are super flexible, the health benefits are decent, the pay is solid, and your spouse, parents, and kids fly free.

Q. Wow, everyone flies free? That is such a great deal. I need to look in to this. What airline is the best employer?
A. If you’re in the US it’s Southwest Airlines. No Question. Highest pay, best benefits, best management. Delta or United/Continental will offer better flight benefits because of their larger network but that’s about it.

Q. Is it possible to work for Star Alliance in general and then get flights all over their network? Is that what happens when you work with United or continental?
A. Flights on other airlines are heavily discounted (75-90%+) but not free. Actually, most airlines extend those heavily discounted travel tickets to employees of competing airlines too. For instance, Delta employees get 90% off tickets on United, British Airlines, Finnair, JetBlue, US Air, Alaska, Hawaiian, Japan Airlines, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Korean Airlines etc.

Q. I have a United Mileage plus rewards program. How would you rate it?
A. United’s program is really good for award redemption, much better than Delta actually. Delta’s program is better for complimentary upgrades and accruing miles.
Q. Another question, about how to send in complaints.

A. Did you use the comment/complaint form on Delta.com? Or did you mail in a letter? If you send in an email it should have the words “Platinum” or “Diamond” in the text somewhere (e.g. “I’m not yet a Diamond Medallion but…”). The system will flag your email and give it higher priority because it tries to pick out the complaints from “high value” customers and move them to the front of the queue. It’s unethical but it helps. If you call again make sure you talk to a supervisor. Updated: Better yet. Call the customer care dept. 404-773-0305 At the first prompt use option 1 if you have a Skymiles account and option 2 if you don’t. At the second prompt use option #7 to get to an agent.

[Flickr via simon_sees]

Announcing Gadling’s Facebook + Delta SkyMiles + Unicef Challenge

by Grant Martin on

There are too many “like our Facebook feeds and win a prize” challenges out there, so today I’d like to try to change tack: instead of rewarding ourselves let’s empower others. Today, let’s raise Facebook likes for UNICEF.

Instead of asking AOL (our bosses) to step up to the plate, however, I’d like to lead by example. So as editor of this fine site I’ll dig into my personal SkyMiles account and donate one mile for every FB Like that Gadling gets today, May 10th 2012 (Update: We’ve extended the campaign until 11:59PM on Sunday, May 13th!).

Didn’t know about the SkyWish charities? It’s a program created by Delta Air Lines to empower frequent fliers to donate their miles to charitable organizations. Here’s more about UNICEF:

For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading international children’s organization, working in over 150 countries to address the ongoing issues that affect why kids are dying. UNICEF provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. While millions of children die every year of preventable causes like dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF, with the support of partnering organizations and donors alike, has the global experience, resources and reach to give children the best hope of survival.

There are a variety of different organizations to choose and benefactors can give as many miles as they can afford. In this case, I’ll give up to as many as I have remaining in my account, which is just under 9500 miles.

Other airlines also have similar programs such as Operation Hero Miles at American Airlines or the program at United.

Delta, for their part, has no knowledge of this transaction at this point, but if this picks up steam maybe we’ll ask them to match our contribution.

Head on over to Gadling’s Facebook Page to share your likes. We’ll post an updated tally at the end of the campaign.

Update: 2:08PM May 10th: Delta Air Lines just reached out to tell us that they’ll be matching our contributions to UNICEF mile for mile up to 100,000 miles! We’ll extend the promotion to 11:59 PM on Sunday, May 13th to take full advantage. Thanks for all of the likes!

Update 10:09AM May 11th: Arianna Huffington has agreed to match the donations by Delta Airlines and our team! Thanks Arianna!

Update: 11:29AM May 11th: Travel writing legend Nomadic Matt will be matching our donations with American Airlines miles. Follow him on twitter at @nomadicmatt.

Like Gadling’s Facebook Page Here >>

Give Delta’s New York LaGuardia shuttle service a try

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Those that travel frequently between New York’s LaGuardia and Chicago’s O’Hare airport know that it is among the more tedious routes to fly, particularly if you’re traveling on a legacy carrier. Older, less comfortable airplanes, tiny overhead bins packed to the gills with carry-on luggage, and heavy flight traffic are all the norm, leading to plenty of stressed-out travelers.

It’s for exactly these reasons I’ve found myself pleasantly surprised in recent months by Delta’s stellar shuttle service operating out of LaGuardia’s Marine Air Terminal. It’s a service designed to cater to frequent travelers in key markets, concentrating only on those that fly between New York to either Boston Logan, Washington Reagan or Chicago O’Hare. The smaller, out-of-the-way terminal location means much shorter security lines and less crowds, and they’ve fitted the place out with comfy leather seats, lots of power ports, and complimentary newspapers and magazines. What’s more, the carrier announced this week that Wi-Fi is now available on all shuttle flights, always a nice perk. Pair that with complimentary beer and wine in economy class and you’ll begin to feel like you’re flying up in first.

True, there are downsides to the service. Skittish fliers that don’t like small planes probably won’t like the smaller Embraer 170’s Delta uses on the route. And for anyone not traveling to Boston, Washington DC or Chicago, you’re pretty much out of luck if you wish to try this one out. Still, for travelers looking to enjoy a little extra flying comfort leaving from LaGuardia, the airport most conveniently located near Manhattan (JFK, ahem, I’m not looking at you…) give Delta Shuttle a try.

[Photo by Flickr user redlegsfan21]