German pilot dumped, lives in Brazilian airport for two weeks

by Tom Johansmeyer on

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Breakups are tough, but we always seem to get through them. Whether it’s strip clubs or buckets of ice cream, there are plenty of coping mechanisms. The latest is to move into an airport. I don’t know how this makes you feel better, but it seems to be working for a German tourist. Heinz Muller, a former pilot, was dumped by a Brazilian girl he met on the internet and subsequently hung out in the Campinas airport — about an hour from Sao Paulo — until he was finally removed Thursday. Muller was taken to a hospital for psychological testing. Big shock, right?

By the time he was … ummmm … evicted from the airport, Muller had run out of money. Broke and unwilling to say when he planned to leave, he subsisted on food court meals bought for him by airport employees. They had no plans to boot him, since he was in the country legally, but doctors decided he needed a closer look. Muller resisted slightly, but the authorities didn’t need to use force.

Muller’s been in the country all month. He arrived in Rio de Janeiro on October 2, 2009. Only 13 days of this time, however, was spent living in the Campinas airport. He washed himself in the airport’s bathrooms and slept on chairs. This must have become pretty tedious — the airport only has one terminal.

To pass the time, Muller plucked away at his laptop, which was placed on a luggage cart. Looking for a new girlfriend reason to stay in the country, maybe?

Blizzard forces delays and cancelations at Denver airport

by Alison Brick on

Is it just me or is it a little early for a winter snowstorm?

The Denver International Airport (DIA) had to cancel flights yesterday due to blizzard conditions. It was just too difficult to keep runways and taxiways clear, so United canceled about 200 of its 400 flights departures and arrivals, and Frontier canceled 19 of its 155 departures. Passengers on flights that had been delayed find themselves waiting one to four hours.

As of yesterday afternoon, about a foot of snow had dropped since Tuesday evening. But the wind — with 20 to 40 mph gusts — is actually the greater threat, rather than the snow.

The two east-west runways have been closed, but the other four north-south runways remain open.

Anybody with a flight scheduled into or out of DIA should check their flight status before going to the airport.

Gadlinks for Wednesday 10.28.09

by Brenda Yun on

Here’s a travel tidbit for you guys: Did you know that it was 95 years ago that the first rapid transit subway, the IRT, opened in New York City?

We have certainly come a long way in a century, and 95 years from now we’ll be just as astound at how travel times have changed. But let’s get to the travel stories circulating the Web right now, shall we? Here are some good reads to tie you over.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Man reconstructs entire Pan Am first class cabin in LA condo

by Grant Martin on

Airline nostalgia is a hobby of many hobbyists out in the travel world. I know that I’ve got an unwrapped deck of NWA playing cards from a 747 flight before the airline merged with Delta, and others I’ve met have collected things ranging from silverware to barf bags to life vests.

Never, however, have I seen someone collect an entire first class cabin.

As it turns out, it can be done. Anthony Toth, a sales director at United Airlines has been working on his mock-up of a Pan-Am first class cabin for twenty years. Reconstructed in his Los Angeles garage with original vintage and reconstructed materials, the model is a near replica of the Pan-Am cabins from yore, down to the flatware, seat covers and almonds.

Right now he uses the $50,000 investment to host friends and colleagues from United, but some day Mr Toth hopes to turn the mock-up into a museum. With the broad legacy that Pan-Am has left upon the current airline world, it would be a shame for it to be used otherwise.

Check out the Wall St. Journal link below for actual pictures.

Relive 1960’s air travel with Plane Talk

by Grant Martin on

It’s fun looking back at the way that air travel used to be in the 60’s. We all love to reminisce about the good old days of “space” in first class, three course meals, pianos and smoking lounges, but things as simple as the airline paint schemes, styles and strategies are always fascinating to revisit.

Watching this video about the industry, one finds himself marveling at the optimism and difference between air travel back then and today. “Why aren’t you charging that man to standby on an earlier flight? What is this strange customer service that I see before me?”

Irrespective of your feelings for the new or old airline industry, “Plane Talk” is still an interesting and entertaining watch. Take a look below: