Radio presenter caught masturbating in-flight blames booze and painkillers

by Scott Carmichael on

A famous Irish radio presenter has taken to his own radio show to apologize for allegedly exposing himself to a female passenger and flight attendant, then masturbating in front of them. His actions took place on an Aer Lingus flight back in October flying from London Heathrow to Cork.

Neil Prendeville has 100,000 listeners on Cork96 FM, but claims he can not remember any details of the incident, blaming a mix of alcohol and codeine painkillers for his actions.

The news has clearly affected him quite badly – and he admits that he even contemplated suicide, but instead of taking the easy way out, he’s decided to try and educate people on the dangers of mixing alcohol and medication:

“I’m hoping others and people listening and those writing the article and whatever is to come will learn from this terrible personal experience and not mix painkillers or any tablets with alcohol.

As of right now, no charges have been filed, but the airline has concluded an investigation and passed their findings on to the police.

Volcano grounds jets in Indonesia

by Sean McLachlan on

Flights between Singapore and several Indonesian cities, including the capital Jakarta, have been grounded due to the latest eruption of Mt. Merapi. The volcano has been erupting for two weeks and has killed more than 130 people and displaced two hundred thousand.

Several airports have closed and while the ash cloud has affected international flights, domestic flights are continuing as normal. So far the suspensions of flights are up to the individual airlines, but major carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Lufthansa and Cathay have chosen to play it safe.

Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in the Ring of Fire, a giant arch of tectonic activity around the Pacific. Back in 2006, an eruption displaced tens of thousands and prompted local villagers to try animist rituals to placate the volcano’s spirits.

[Image courtesy user Tequendamia via Wikimedia Commons]

American Airlines and Orbitz tangle over fees and booking process

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Do you use Orbitz to book flights on American Airlines? Well, your online travel buying habits may have to change. American is getting tough with Orbitz – and other online travel agencies – about how they do business together. For now, you can keep buying tickets on American via Orbitz, but a change could come as early as December 1, 2010.

The rhetoric is already high, as you can see in a recent Bloomberg report. Barney Hartford, the CEO of Orbits, said, “This is a broad attack by American on the travel distribution landscape.” The airline wants the likes of Orbitz to pull flight and fare info directly, rather than through a global distribution system.

So, is this all saber-rattling, or are American’s threats to pull out of Orbitz real. Bloomberg reports:

American can’t afford to pull its content off all the global distribution systems, and its conflict with Orbitz is a “private negotiation that suddenly became public,” said Jay Sorensen, president of aviation consultant Ideaworks and a former marketing director at Midwest Airlines.

Sorensen said he doesn’t “see an agenda here for American to remake the travel industry.” He indicated that this is part of a prudent negotiating strategy but noted that Orbitz may call the carrier’s bluff.

There’s a lot at stake – hundreds of millions of dollars, in fact. American has paid nine-figure sums to companies like Sabre and Galileo to gain access to online travel agencies and wouldn’t mind bypassing them and saving a few bucks, it seems.

So, will negotiations turn into a game of “chicken” as the end of the month approaches? Let’s wait and see how this develops.

[Via USA Today, photo by Deanster1983 via Flickr]

Five United Airlines non-answers about the frequent-flier future

by Tom Johansmeyer on

United Airlines decided to dive into the weeds. Executives from the airline met with close to 200 members of the online forum FlyerTalkers to discuss some of the major issues they see with the carrier, according to USA Today. This may not seem like a bold move, but to put the company’s top dogs out in front of some of the highest-value customers comes with plenty of risk, especially for an airline recently named the second worst in the United States.

So, what was on the agenda? The frequent-flier program was of course top of mind, as many of the people in attendance hold elite-level memberships. Despite being pressed by customers and media, however, the United Airlines executives kept their lips sealed on future plans for the program.

Here are five key topics from the event:
1. How the merger will affect the Mileage Plus and One Pass programs: no details were provided on what will change. But, they are expected to come out in the next few weeks. Through 2011, according to USA Today, the programs will not be integrated, “though some streamlining changes will begin. Look for them to be integrated in 2010.

2. Doubling down for the end of the year: USA Today pushed to see if United would be offering any year-end double-elite-qualifying mile offers. The company was “noncommittal.”

3. A place to put your feet up: United would only say that a rebranding effort for its Untied and Continental lounges is “a possibility.” It may use one of the existing names – United’s Red Carpet or Continental’s Presidents Club – or it may not.

4. Slightly better seating: United wouldn’t reveal whether it’s premium economy section would be retained post-merger. Continental doesn’t have a similar offer.

5. Thresholds for top-tier: will it take 75,000 miles or 100,000 miles to become the top dog? Well, there’s still no answer.

So, United made itself visible and accessible, but it didn’t bring much to the table. This leads to the obvious question … why bother?

[photo by Deanster1983 via Flickr]