Vegetarian child stranded in airport, fed burgers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Julien Reid, at only nine years old, is used to air travel. He routinely flies between his parents in Ottawa, and San Francisco, so he’s seen it all … well, he has now. Reid was forgotten in a children’s waiting room in Chicago, where he spent eight hours waiting and hoping to be discovered.

According to the Ottawa Citizen:

He was in a “tiny, little room cramped with kids,” where they played the same video on a loop all day, he said. The only food he’d been given was McDonald’s, a less than satisfactory option for a vegetarian like him. He said he and the other children were yelled at “to stop being kids.”

Meanwhile, the flight left without Reid. How did it happen? Among the many calls made to find out what was happening, Reid’s mother, Genevieve Harte, spoke with the United Airlines attendant tasked with keeping an eye on the kids. According to the Citizen, “It was this frazzled attendant who let it slip, Harte said, that no one had come to fetch Julien to put him on his flight.”

Citing something of an airline “omerta” policy, Harte, who suspects her son was bumped from a crowded flight, told the citizen: “It’s a lot easier to have a kid that’s not going to say anything than an adult who has a business meeting that’s going to scream at you in front of everybody.”

United said it’s going to give Harte “a refund for the childcare fee and an undisclosed goodwill gesture.”

[photo by FHKE via Flickr]

Airport efficiency: the world’s winners

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Do you get frustrated when you walk into an airport? Even before you get there? On good days, it’s a painful experience, with long lines, the security gauntlet and procedures (which may or may not be appropriate) that are guaranteed to annoy. It should come as no surprise that some are better than others. While the hope for a headache-free flight may not change your vacation plans, knowing that you’ll pass though one may take the edge off a bit.

The Air Transport Research Society has put out a list of the world’s most efficient airports, large and small, in the top three regions for travel: North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. The rankings were based on a wide range of statistic, including “traffic data, on-time statistics, financial reports and passenger throughput.”

According to the ATRS, the five airports least likely to drive you nuts (by region) are:

  • Europe, Large Airport (more than 15 million passengers): Oslo, Norway
  • Europe, Small Airport (less than 15 million passengers): Geneva, Switzerland
  • North America, Large Airport (more than 15 million passengers): Atlanta, Georgia
  • North America, Small Airport (less than 15 million passengers): Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
  • Asia-Pacific, Large Airport (more than 15 million passengers): Hong Kong
  • Asia-Pacific, Small Airport (less than 15 million passengers): Seoul-Gimpo, South Korea

So, which one is the best in the world? The ATRS gives that distinction to Atlanta, which is tops for traffic and has solid financial management. Seoul-Gimpo, according to the study, has made a “remarkable turnaround, and Oslo knocked Copenhagen out of the winner’s circle that it had owned for several years.

[photo by Franco Folini via Flickr]

New British airport to cost more than $100,000 a person

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Airports aren’t cheap, but the new one coming in on St Helena redefines pricey. The British government is getting ready to shell out £300 million (around $460 million) for an airport on the little island in the South Atlantic Ocean. This translates to £75,000 (approximately $115,000) for each of the 4,000 people living there. Right now, you can only get to the island by a ship that needs to be replaced – which would cost £64 million, in addition to operating costs afterward.

According to International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, the UK has an “obligation” to this British Overseas Territory to build a new airport. In the long run, the country’s ministers believe that an airport would be a better budgetary move, even though the last Labour Government scrapped the notion.

Fortunately for the folks on St Helena, the rest of the UK’s taxpayers will be pitching in some cash.

[photo by a.drian via Flickr]

Ten things you should NEVER do on a layover

by Annie Scott on


Until you can afford that private jet you’ve had your eye on, layovers are a necessary evil. Everyone copes in different ways with the prison-like feel of the airport between flights, and some people get creative about how to pass the time. Letter writing is good, working is good (sometimes, see #9) and of course, shopping is the closest to normal life layovers can get. Beware your own mind, though; your state of incarceration can lead you astray and make you forget the basics of not leaving your luggage unattended or any of the ten no-nos below.

Ten things you should NEVER do on a layover:

1. Drugs.

So you’ve got a few hours in Amsterdam. You can’t buy drugs and then get on the plane with them, so if you want to partake in the freedoms of the city, you’ll have to just go out, buy whatever you can, take it, and go back to the airport. This is about as good an idea as beating your face with a hammer on your 15 minute break during the SATs. Not only do airlines not have to board you if you are under the influence, but drugs are dangerous — even if you think you know what you’re doing, you might not know what you’re doing in Amsterdam, and you could have all kinds of bad reactions, including confusion — which would pretty much ensure you’d miss your connection.

2. Have a drink too many.

Like I said, they don’t have to board you if you’re under the influence. But furthermore, excessive drinking can lead to the dangerous world of cracking the kind of jokes that get you in trouble with TSA (“It’s not like I have a bomb in there.”), being an obnoxious person to sit next to and naps. Naps are bad.3. Nap.

Whether it’s alcohol, all the Xanax you took, the Ambien someone told you was a good idea or the fact that you’re just plain tired, going to sleep on a layover is a bad, bad idea. Bad! Think of sleep like fire and don’t play with it. There’s a one in three chance that you’ll sleep through an important announcement and/or the boarding of your flight (I just made that up).

4. Eat something you’ll regret.

Do you love ice cream, but know that it makes your insides explode? Don’t eat it. There’s nothing like boarding that next flight and having a gastric emergency during takeoff or meal service. Your seat partner will know you’re the one who stinks, even though it’s loud.

5. Not go to the gate if the flight’s delayed.

Even if your flight is delayed, make a stop at the gate. I once didn’t leave the Delta Sky Club because my computer kept telling me my flight was delayed. Then, suddenly, the online status was updated to “Pulled away from the gate.” I rushed down to the gate in a panic, only to discover that despite its delayed status, my flight boarded on time and was sitting on the tarmac — and no, there was no way I could get on it now. Other people I know have had this happen to them on multiple airlines. Check at the gate.

6. Get currency for the layover.

If you’re going to be in one foreign country for a few hours and then fly to another, don’t get currency. You’ll end up paying that conversion fee twice when you get that money changed for your destination’s currency. What do you really need cash for at the airport? Use a credit card with a low/no foreign transaction fee.

7. Go too crazy at the Duty Free store.

The Duty Free store can be a tempting beast, but be careful. You don’t want to have to lug a bunch of stuff around on your trip, and any liquids you don’t consume will have to be checked on the way back. If shopping on your way to somewhere else, you can have Duty Free hold the items for you to pick up upon your return. Just don’t forget! Furthermore, don’t go too crazy at the Duty Free shop; having over $5,000 in purchases can look sketchy to the customs officials.

8. Buy something that won’t fit in the overhead bin.

Even if that computer or hand-carved statue is available at a great price, you’re going to be sorry when the box doesn’t fit in the overhead bin and they ask you to check it. Get your larger purchases shipped.

9. Take an organized tour.

It’s great to go visit a city on a long layover, but the last thing you want to do is give up control over your time and location. What could go wrong with an hour long tour on a four hour layover? A lot. Go look around on your own, but if you take an organized tour, you’ll be in agony every time one of your co-tourists wants to stop and look in a gift shop or stand in line for a restroom.

10. Conduct business over an unofficial wifi connection or on a public computer.

Technology has created so many ways for us all to get ripped off. People can create an nefarious wifi network for you to use or put a keystroke logger on a public computer to steal every single letter you type — that means passwords, bank numbers and the rest of it. Pay for your wifi connection through a major company if you’re not getting a free one in a lounge or restaurant. If you’re suspicious that your wifi connection isn’t safe, stick to surfing and clicking and stay away from your bank accounts and logging into say, your stock portfolio or your company’s payroll system.

Neil Armstrong customs documents swiped, put up for sale by checkpoint worker

by Scott Carmichael on

Neil Armstrong took one very famous “small step”, but two Boston area men took a small step of their own, one that may see them serve up to ten years in jail.

When Armstrong passed through the arrivals checkpoint at Boston Logan, 50-year-old Thomas Chapman, of Malden was in charge of verifying his customs declaration form. Instead of placing the form in the correct file, Chapman kept it, and with the aid of his friend, 50-year-old Paul Brickman, of Chelsea, the document was put up for sale.

When one of the potential bidders notified authorities, the men were arrested and charged with stealing an official government record. At that point, bids were already over $1000.

According to the brother of one of the men, the whole thing has been blown out of proportion. He said his brother simply got starstruck and got an autograph on the wrong piece of paper.

[Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images]