From the New Europe: Drunk passenger causes emergency landing

by Iva Skoch on

You would think that crews would generally know how to handle a drunk passenger without having to land the plane first. Apparently, some drunks are harder to handle than others. Especially when they use the T word repeatedly.

A Lufthansa passenger jet had to make an emergency landing in the southern Polish city of Katowice earlier today after a drunk, unruly passenger began shouting that he was a terrorist, Reuters reports. The middle-aged, Russian-speaking passenger offered no resistance when an anti-terrorist squad boarded the plane to remove him. He is supposed to be questioned “once he sobers up.”

After a one-hour terrorist break, the Lufthansa Airbus A320 with 118 people on board peacefully continued its journey.

Oslo, London and Copenhagen: The world’s three most expensive cities

by Anna Brones on

If you’re planning a trip to Europe in the near future, you may want to consider the recent study conducted by Swiss bank UBS which ranked 71 world cities according to their costliness. Oslo, London and Copenhagen made the top three with Dublin coming in at a close fourth.

Thanks to a weak dollar, US cities like New York — which made the 18th spot — have moved down on the list compared to last year’s; in fact , compared to the same study in 2006, London was noted as 26% more expensive than the Big Apple. In Asia, Tokyo ranked the most expensive followed by Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong.

So where do you go if you want the biggest bang for your buck? Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires, or Mumbai, which ranked the three cheapest cities for visitors.

Eiffel Tower will get an upgrade next year

by Justin Glow on

Next year, in celebration of the Eiffel Tower’s 120-year birthday, the iconic structure will get a temporary, upgraded observation deck made of carbon kevlar.

“Our project will extend the top floor plate of the tower by grafting a high performance carbon Kevlar structure on it. The structure will be temporarily bolted to the slab without requiring any modification of the existing structure. It will expand the usable floor area from 280 m2 to 580m2. The extension is composed of 2 slabs connected to the third floor deck as well as the upper level used as an apartment of Mister Eiffel (a space provided for temporary resting of Gustave Eiffel).”

This is pretty cool, I guess. And what I mean by that is I can’t think of anything snarky to say about it. You win this time, Paris.

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[Via Neatorama]

US-to-UK flights expected to increase 31% by July

by Iva Skoch on

At some point I want to know how many more planes the sky can handle. I don’t even mean it from the perspective of the environment. I mean how many planes can we fit without sacrificing safety?

On March 30, the Open-Skies Agreement goes into effect. It will finally allow airlines based in the United States and Europe to fly across the Atlantic between any two airports in each region, NY Times reports. Before the pact, trans-Atlantic flights were governed by separate agreements between the United States and individual European nations. For example, the agreement required airlines to take off or land in their native countries, and limited which airlines could serve certain airports.

That is about to change. For the first time, the open market will dictate all trans-Atlantic routes between the United States and Europe and for example, Continental, Delta and Northwest will be able to serve Heathrow for the first time. According to OAG Back Aviation Solutions, flights from the United States to Heathrow are expected to increase 31 percent, to 2,932 flights in July from 2,233 this month. Heathrow is congested and chaotic as it is. No wonder, there are constant protests about expanding the airport. There has got to be such thing as “too many planes.”

Drive-thru Easter story (and more about Easter in Ohio)

by Iva Skoch on

So I actually made it to Cleveland for Easter. It was not exactly easy, but I guess Easter is all about suffering so I am not complaining. The flight from Prague to New York was delayed and the flight from New York to Cleveland was three hours more delayed because Ohio got hit with 8 inches of snow. Yes, snow on Easter. Long story short, I made it here in time to find what the Easter bunny left for me (iTunes card, dark chocolates, paddle ball set….it was a cool Easter bunny, I must say.)

It has been three and a half years since I was last in Ohio. Snow was on the ground then, too. The weather here is about as bad as the weather in Prague. What Prague lacks though, is the drive-thru Easter story. Only in America!

A church in Middleburg Heights, Ohio has developed a creative way of telling the Easter story without the inconvenience of having to get out of one’s car. You simply pull your car up to the last supper, and see the story dramatized by live actors. In their church parking lot, the actors stage Easter scenes-like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, writes wkyc.com.

Pastor Mike Wengerd says “What a wonderful, safe way for people to say-i don’t have to leave my car and do this.”
Members say their drive-thru attracts people who don’t normally come to church, and it also strengthens the faith of those who make it happen.

You gotta ask, what would Jesus say about this?