US Airways To Stop Serving Alcohol on New Mexico Flights, For Now

by Willy Volk on

On November 11, Dan Papst had some drinks while aboard a US Airways flight. When he de-planed, he swung by a convenience store and bought beer. Soon after, he was involved in a fatal drunk driving accident, which killed five members of one family as well as Papst, himself. Tests revealed Papst had a BAC four times the state’s legal limit for driving.

After an investigation revealed the airline did not have a liquor license, New Mexico’s Regulation and Licensing Department ordered the airline to stop serving alcohol on flights to or from the state. According to Ed Lopez, superintendent of the Department, the lack of a license means the airline is engaging in bootlegging. The airline has about two weeks to notify state regulators that it has stopped serving alcohol, at which point it may apply for a liquor license. In the meantime, grape juice is the hardest thing US Airways is going to be serving.

What Happens If I Push this Button? Learn Your Way Around A Flight Deck.

by Willy Volk on

Admit it. Every time you walk down the aisle of an airplane, you crane your neck just a little to see into the cockpit. All those levers, knobs, buttons, and dials are fascinating. But what do they do? Personally, I always believed they were more for show than anything else — to justify the cost of plane tickets. After all, if flying seems hard, then airlines can charge more for airline tickets, right? See how well I know my ecomonomics?

Surprisingly, it turns out that all those levers, knobs, buttons, and dials aren’t just for show. In fact, they control stuff — important stuff like SAARU altitude, waypoint monitoring, rain removal, pitch trim control, and more. They also control the fuel jettison system, which sure sounds important.

If you want to learn about those controls, check out Jerome Meriweather’s interactive Boeing 777 Flight Deck Simulation, on which he explains what all those twinkly things on the glareshield, the pedestal, and the overhead actually do. You can even cruise around the flight deck in a 360° panorama; it’s like having an out-of-body experience. Feel the need for speed? Check out the F-16 flight deck, and pretend to be Maverick.

[Via Digg]

3.5 million bags mishandled last year. Beat the odds.

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s a tidbit of news from Today Show travel editor Peter Greenberg — 3.5 million bags were mishandled January to November by U.S. airlines in 2006. No matter the reason, it happens.

Luckily, I’ve never had a bag get lost. Late? Yes. Lost? No. These days, though, more things are ending up where they are not supposed to be because of the airlines. It’s the volume of bags. More people are checking their bags instead of carrying them on in order to get their lotions, toothpaste and other liquids on the plane.

Greenberg’s luggage doesn’t get lost because he ships them ahead via FedEx. He said that the hours he saves not waiting for a bag is worth the money.

Here are highlights of the tips Greenberg recommends to help you keep track of your bag.

  • Put a name tag inside your suitcase as well since tags on the outside can get pulled off.
  • Take a picture of your bag so you can give a better description of what it looks like.

Here are tips from me:

  • Tie a bright ribbon on your suitcase so it stands out from the others. My mom found her bag in a huge pile in a storeroom this way. If you want a high brow look, here is a link to Wishing Fish.com luggage tags featured on Oprah and In Style. They are big and bright.
  • If you are going on a smaller carrier, take you larger carry-on bag with you to the plane’s door. At this point, your bag will be hand placed into the cargo hold and will be given back to you when you step off the plane. This method also works with strollers and car seats. At least it’s worked for me.

If your bag is lost, Greenberg advises that you get the phone number for the baggage claim office at the airport so that you can contact them to check up on your bag’s location. Otherwise, you’ll get the airline’s phone tree — and we know how that goes. Lots of luck with that.

Pimp my Jet: Vladimir Putin

by Dave Luna on


So, you think that first class upgrade you got was great, huh? Well, sneak a peek at these shots of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s jet. The source page is in Russian, but even with Babelfish, I couldn’t find out much more information. I doubt that all of the adornments are real gold, but you never know. The rest of the photo set includes pictures of a conference area, bar, and entertainment system. It’s sad when a plane has better amenities than your own home.


I mentioned the bathrooms on the new Airbus A380 recently, so this picture of a fancy toilet and bidet really caught my interest.

(via Boing Boing)

United Airlines Mileage Alert

by Neil Woodburn on

If ya got ’em, use ’em.

United Airlines just announced that frequent flier miles in their Mileage Plus program will expire if there is no activity on the account for 18 months.

The old term of expiration was three years.

If you’re like me, you have a pile of miles on UA but haven’t had the opportunity to cash them in because there are never any seats available unless you plan your vacation a year in advance. And, if you’re like me, you rarely add to the miles you have saved because you usually opt for a cheaper airfare instead of remaining faithful to your frequent flier program. And that’s the rub.

Last week I made sure to fly UA despite it not being the cheapest fare merely so my miles wouldn’t expire. I’m sure glad I did considering the new rule change they just announced. Now, I’m going to have to do this at least once every 18 months until I am able to cash in those miles.