American Airlines food killed passenger, claims lawsuit

by Chris Owen on

As if filing for bankruptcy protection was not enough to fill American Airlines plate, now a passenger is claiming the troubled airline killed her husband.

According to the lawsuit, Raquel and Othon Cortes were on a flight to their home in Miami and had just completed the first leg of their journey, a flight from Barcelona to New York, when dinner was served. Othon chose the chicken, Raquel chose something else, reports NewTimes.

  On the ground at JFK it was apparent that something was wrong with Othon. He became pale, had stomach cramps and was suddenly very thirsty, symptoms consistent with food poisoning, in a typical time-frame.

Raquel told NewTimes that as they boarded the flight from JFK to Miami, her husband’s illness was “expressed and obvious” to AA staff. Boarding anyway, things took a turn for the worse quickly with Othon presenting nausea and shortness of breath which preceded a heart attack. He was pronounced dead in Norfolk, Virginia where the plane made an emergency landing, albeit too late.

Raquel and Sandra Cortes, Othon’s daughter have filed suit against American Airlines and Sky Chefs, the airplane catering company that apparently prepared the meal.

The lawsuit, reported to be in excess of $1 million by Tourism and Aviation has four points:

  • The chicken was poisoned.
  • AA was negligent for even allowing Othon to board the flight in the first place.
  • AA failed to provide medical attention.
  • AA waited too long for an emergency landing.

Flickr photo by Andrew Morrell Photography

Obese passenger forces neighbor on US Airways flight to stand for 7 hours

by Chris Owen on

Arthur Berkowitz, a passenger on US Airways Flight 901 from Anchorage to Philadelphia, had no other choice but to stand up during his seven hour flight. It seems the next seat over was occupied by a passenger so overweight that it was impossible for Berkowitz to stay in his seat. Now, Berkowitz is speaking out about the ordeal.

“I didn’t fly from Alaska to Philadelphia on Flight 901,” Berkowitz told consumer advocate Chris Elliott, “I stood.”

The neighboring 400-pound man’s body spilled over into Berkowitz’s personal space so much that he was forced to stand for most of the 7 hour flight, and he couldn’t use his seat belt during takeoff and landing.

“His size required both armrests to be raised up and allowed for his body to cover half of my seat.” said Berkowitz.

US Airways apologized for the incident and said in a statement “Our intention is to offer the best travel experience possible. The details you have provided indicate that we have failed to meet our intentions.” US Air offered Berkowitz a $200 voucher in compensation.

In a poll on Elliott’s consumer watchdog site, 96% (over 17,000 votes) thought that US Airways did not offer Berkowitz enough compensation. We agree.


[Image credit: AP]

Explore the world with Trazzler’s new iphone app

by Jessica Festa on

Trazzler’s new free iPhone app, called Trazzler, allows people to explore the world through their smartphone.

When the program first opens, users will be asked to take a short quiz that will allow the app to get to know their personality. The test consists of a series of images in which the user will be prompted to click the photos that appeal to them the most. Through the user’s answers, Trazzler can delve deeper into the personality of the user and figure out who they are most compatible to travel with as well as ideal destinations that fit the personality type.

Like a social network, this app makes it easy for you to find your friends who are also using Trazzler and see how well you would fit as traveler partners. Not only that, but users will also be able to read expert recommendations on travel.

The app seems to be getting a lot of attention, as last week more than 30,000 iPhone users downloaded Trazzler. To download the app for yourself, click here. The app is also available on the iPad and iPod Touch.

Ajungo, the new social network platform just for travelers

by Jessica Festa on

Sick of searching through advice sites and hearing reviews from who only knows? Wish you could connect with other travelers about past or upcoming trips and events? Love social networking but wish you could interact with others in your travel niche? Then there is a brand new social media website just for travelers that brings together all of these platforms into one site.

Ajungo, created by Ben Barton and Steve Shea, is a brand new networking site that allows travelers to connect before, during, and after a trip. Here is how it works:

1) Create a profile and link all of your social networking sites. What this does is allows the site to funnel through your social networking platforms to pull information and funnel it around specific
destinations.

2) Find others who have been to your destination of choice and look through their posted trip or ask them for advice. Or, you can find others who will be in your destination of choice and plan to meet up or travel together.

3) Create your trip canvas, which consists of enabling the sites real-time travel guide feature so that the site can pull your photos and updates while you’re on your trip. This allows other travelers to learn from your experience as well as acts like a blog or trip journal by keeping your trip memories organized and sharing them with friends.

The goal of the site is to make travel more social as well as more comfortable for people going to new destinations. And, if there is any information that you do not want shared, the site will not post it without your permission.

Make connections with travelers, view their trips, find travel buddies, or just interact with others in the travel community. It is all possible on Ajungo.

Airlines that could kill you

by Chris Owen on

Aviation safety is no small concern for the European Commission when it comes to airlines that could kill you. Airlines not up to standard are banned. Over 90 companies and 250 airlines are on the no-flight blacklist with African, Indonesian and Kazakhstan airlines dominating the list.

The 17th update of the so-called “blacklist” of airlines banned in the 27-nation European Union is serious business for the EU’s Safety Committee.

“The European Union now has a coherent approach to banning airlines”, said Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the Commission responsible for transport. “This black list will keep dubious airlines out of Europe. It will also make sure that all airlines operating in Europe’s sky meet the highest safety standards”.

In this latest update, airlines from the EU’s biggest member, Germany, were put on notice with a warning: Address safety issues or be grounded. Spanish carriers also received a warning to address safety concerns or be banned from skies over Europe.

“Germany and Spain are coming under fire because ramp inspections have shown an increase in the number of carriers registered in those countries with problems.” said Aviation Week noting “When the European Union upbraids an African country for lax aviation oversight it is, by now, par for the course. When the EU does so with its biggest member state, Germany, that is an entirely different issue.”

Spanish officials are working on a solution, examining carrier operations and suspending some operating certificates. Germany also increased oversight of some airlines but looks for improvement to happen next year.

Gadling reported on the possibility of a global blacklist in 2009 after a Yemenia Airbus A310 crashes with 154 passengers had once been on the black list for incomplete reporting on its fleet inspections.

Flickr photo by Hunter-Desportes

Related Stories