“God” Edited Out Of In-Flight Movie

by Jonathon Morgan on

It’s long been common practice for airlines to show in-flight movies that have been edited for “offensive” content, as passengers vary considerably in age, culture, etc, and no one wants to offend a paying customer. But by bleeping out all mentions of the word “God” when showing the Oscar-nominated movie, “The Queen,” one company went a little too far.

“[Bleep] bless you, ma’am” is just one of seven instances in which the word “God” was accidentally removed.

While Jaguar Distribution, the company that distributed the movie to the airlines, regularly removes “foul language, excessive violence and nudity,” according to Jack Klein, company president, “A reference to God is not taboo in any culture that I know of.”

So how did this happen? Human error, apparently. An inexperienced employee was told to edit out all profanities and blasphemies, and was somewhat overzealous.

Let’s pray to [bleep] that the poor guy doesn’t get fired over this rather embarrassing mistake.

Did Southwest Airlines Refuse Boarding for a Dying Passenger?

by Justin Glow on

It wasn’t that long ago that A&E had a reality show called Airline, which chronicled the employees of Southwest Airlines as their patience were constantly tested by annoying passengers and bizarre situations. In one of the episodes, a man — already seated on the plane — is asked to purchase an extra ticket because of his weight. He eventually does, and only then was he allowed to leave with the plane. This situation is quite embarrassing, not to mention the fact that it’s being broadcast to millions of viewers across the world.

On January 21st, Southwest Airlines required another man to purchase a second ticket due to his weight, only this time it wasn’t embarrassment he was afraid of, it was death. Richard Brown, a “dying Hep-C patient,” writes The Consumerist, “…went to board in Scottsdale for California, [and] the ticket agent refused to let Richard fly unless he bought another ticket, due to his weight.”

The extra weight was due to his illness, and he was headed to the University of San Francisco for treatment, yet the ticket agent wouldn’t let him board the plane while he “sat freezing wrapped in several blankets at the gate,” explains his daughter, Brandi, for the Consumerist. He was eventually let on the plane when another Southwest Airlines agent paid for the extra ticket herself.

I can’t find a word about this story in any of the major news outlets, but The Consumerist has the scoop, complete with a detailed outline of events by the daughter of the man, and scans of his ticket purchase confirmation. I wonder if anyone will pick up on the story and get some responses from Southwest?

One-Stop-Shop for Digital Travel Resources

by Neil Woodburn on

Here’s a great one-stop resource for all you road warriors out there who spend far too much time jetting between cities for work.

WorldMate is a mobile travel application which combines into a singular platform all the online resources one normally accesses while traveling. In this way, travelers no longer have to jump between various websites and online travel tools spread across the web.

Of course, you’ll need a wireless handheld device, such as a BlackBerry, to access this bevy of information. And, you’ll need to pay an annual fee of $60-$75. But once you do, you can access currency rates, global dialing prefixes, recommended packing lists, flight schedules, flight status, weather forecasts, a measurement converter, a clothing converter, local tax & tip info, world clocks, Global Weather Satellite Imagery, and even local phone numbers for hotels and car rentals.

The self-billed “The Swiss Army Knife of Travel” is available on all major mobile platforms.

Another Bird-Aircraft Conflict

by Iva Skoch on

Looks like Air France is having a problem competing for the skies with birds. During takeoff from the small town of Pau, a bird allegedly flew into an engine of a Fokker 28-100 plane today, causing it to veer off the runway into a truck. The truck driver was killed on the spot. None of the 54 passengers on board of the plane were hurt.

Apparently, between 1990 and 1998, there were an estimated 22,000 bird-aircraft collisions in the United States, which cost an annual $400 million in aircraft repairs.

Good one to “Ask The Pilot” again.

It is really disturbing to know that something as small as a bird can completely cripple an airplane. Then again, I guess it works the other way around, too.

BA Cabin Crews Strike, Flights Canceled

by Jonathon Morgan on

Hopefully you’re not flying British Airways from London Heathrow next week. The company is canceling all flights on Tuesday and Wednesday due to an impending strike by cabin crew. Though BA still hopes to reach a temporary agreement with the Transport and General Workers union, according to BA chief executive Willie Walsh, better to cancel the flights now so passengers have time “to make alternate arrangements.”

Additional walkouts are set for Feb 5-7 and Feb 12-14 if no agreement is reached — although the union has scaled back its strike plans from three days next week to two, as a gesture of goodwill.

There’s the usual bickering and grandstanding on both sides of the fence — “we tried, but the unreasonable guys on the other side rejected our offer,” etc. The real loss is felt by the hundreds of thousands of people who need to re-adjust or re-schedule their travel plans.