Somali pirates anchor Danish family yacht, threaten death

by Chris Owen on

Now it’s a Danish family of five, including three children, that has been taken hostage by Somali pirates who vow to kill them should a rescue attempt be made. The pirated yacht, taken last week, was anchored off the shore of Somalia today.

The 43-foot sailboat was being piloted by Jan Quist Johansen along with his wife, their three children, ages 12 to 16 and two Danish crew members.

A Somali pirate going by the name of Muse Abdi said the family was transferred to another, larger pirated ship.

The decison to anchor smaller vessels then transfer hostages to a larger ship is a common practice by Somali pirates.

“They are safe. They were just transferred from the boat to the big ship,” said Abdi, who has provided information in the past. “They have been added to other nationals in another ship to avoid any possible attack.”

The Associated Press reports a Somali pirate warning that if any attempt was made to rescue them, they would meet the same fate as the four American yachters slain by their pirate captors last week. Like Scott and Jean Adam who were killed by pirates last week, the Johansen family was aware of the pirate-infested waters but believed warships patrolling the area would protect them.

Somalia has not had a functioning government in place since 1991, a situation that has allowed pirating to grow and become ever more dangerous as time has gone on. This is the first known incident where children were taken hostage.

Flickr photo by RubyGoes

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Airline profits hit by high oil prices, rise in fares possible

by Chris Owen on

High oil prices cost us at the pump, play into the prices of most consumer goods and will cut 2011 airline profits in half in spite of the recent growth in air travel says a new forecast out today.

In a revised profit forecast, International Air Transport Association said it was downgrading its airline industry profit outlook for 2011 to $8.6 billion from the $9.1 billion it had estimated just last December.

“This is a 46 percent fall in net profits compared to the US$16 billion earned by the industry in 2010,” IATA said in a statement.

The new forecasts were based on oil priced at a average of $96 per barrel of Brent crude over the year, compared to $84 a barrel used in the December forecast. The price of oil spiked to $115 today, shy of last weeks high of $120.In February, responding to unrest in Egypt, American Airlines added fuel surcharges of as much as $5 each way on many routes with United Continental Holdings Inc. adding a $3 each-way surcharge. At the time, British Airways said they would increase the fuel surcharge they already have in place.

Now, with this latest announcement signaling an approaching hit on profits, airline shareholders are already in pain. The 2008 spike in oil prices sent airlines into a 2-year profit tailspin.

Flickr photo by L.C.Nottaasen

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Where was Justin Bieber in February?

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Twitter is good for lots of things, among these: encouraging solidarity in the name of toppling governments, publicizing breaking news, finding people with similar obsessions, and tracking the travel predilections of celebrities.

And there are few bigger celebrities at the moment than Canadian singer Justin Bieber. Mr. Bieber, 17 years old as of yesterday, has become an enormous star thanks to marketing brilliance, his actual talent as a performer, and a fair bit of good luck.

So what did the world’s most famous teenager get up to over the course of the month? A huge share of Bieber’s tweets in February were focused on promoting his 3-D feature documentary Never Say Never, which hit theaters on February 11.

And where was Justin Bieber in February? He spent time in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, London, and Paris, though what’s really striking is how few of Bieber’s tweets are about geographic location. Instead, they revolve around sites divorced from geographic specificity: television studios, movie multiplexes, and basketball games.

Below are the most travel-oriented of his tweets for each individual day over the past month. On those days when Bieber didn’t post a location-oriented tweet (see February 7, 20, 22, 25, 27, and 28) I went for whatever came closest.

A hour reviewing a month of tweets from Justin Bieber is instructive. The kid has his eyes on the prize. The spoils of success never materialized. There was no detailing of hotel suites. He attended premieres and award shows, watched the Super Bowl, and retweeted his followers like no one’s business. And he relied on multiple exclamation points along the way.

Mr. Bieber is constantly working. At some point, he should really take a vacation. And tweet about it.

Without further ado, Justin Bieber’s February travel (or travelish) tweets:February 28. im never gonna change…i will always remember…i will always be that kid from stratford…I will always be grateful.

February 27. shoutout to all of Latin America…i got love for all my Latin Girls

February 26. just got some new gear for the #MYWORLDTOUR – we coming to EUROPE next week…after MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

February 25. zero gravity + my stomach = not so good . lol

February 24. heading to zero gravity! #adventure

February 23. Just had a great time with the ladies at The Talk…they surprised me good. Met a hero of mine…

February 22. Rockin out the new #ThatShouldBeMe Video with @RascalFlatts !! EPIC!! #NsNremixes http://yfrog.com/h796zmkj

February 21. great night courtside at the All Star game… @kingjames with the triple double and my guy KOBE with the MVP!! #greatbasketball

February 20. Dream BIG and #NeverSayNever

February 19. we flew 13 hours to make the #allstargame but the French Premiere of #NSN3D was crazy…je t’aime – http://youtu.be/0D6GADVArfI

February 18. Just landed from a 13 hour flight. Rocked #NSNremixes on the plane. @chrisbrown our song is crazy!!

February 17. PARIS Premiere of #NSN3D was INSANE!! vid coming soon!! je t’aime

February 16. In route to the London Premiere! #NeverSayNever3D in the UK! Leggo!!

February 15. Headed to the BRITS!

February 14. 2nite was a great night. I got to perform at the grammys with my mentor @usherraymondiv and I feel like we did u guys proud

February 13. gonna head out and surprise some more theatres for #NSN3D – u support us so it only makes sense we support u. #thatslove

February 12. see! the crew with me to surprise theatres….we are grateful and excited. hope u are enjoying the movie – #NSN3D http://twitpic.com/3yt8er

February 11. Just surprised another theatre.. Midnight showing! That was awesome! #NeverSayNever3D is out Now!!

February 10. grammy rehearsals with @usherraymondiv – we are gettin it in

February 9. Just surprised the entire audience at @theellenshow – everyone is coming to the Premiere!!! Leggo!!

February 8. LA PREMIERE DAY!! #NEVERSAYNEVER3D !!!

February 7. 1 more quarter. game is getting serious. #superbowl #greenandyellow #blackandyellow – who do u got?

February 6. Thanks to everyone at SNL for having me. Had a blast. #5Days

February 5. in NYC causing a ruckus with @itsryanbutler and @chazsom3rs

February 4. IN THE BUILDING at @MTV !! GET READY FOR @thesevenmtv LIVE!! LEGGO!! #7DAYS

February 3. about to head over to @106andPark and show love. #8Days #Feb11th

February 2. now getting ready for NYC Premiere for #NEVERSAYNEVER3D ….my guy LA REID told me he is bringing a special guest.

February 1. And the secret Toronto Premiere for #NeverSayNever3D is at…. Dundas Square AMC!! Leggo #Canada !!! #ProudCanadian

[Image: Flickr | Snow DQ]

Celebrity Cruises to Wall Street, brings Caribbean

by Chris Owen on

Celebrity Cruises commissioned Kurt Werner, the inventor of 3-D street art, to create an innovative art installation at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. It was all to celebrate the arrival of the cruise line’s newest Solstice-class ship Celebrity Silhouette.

New York Stock Exchange employees had fun “relaxing” on the hammock and “grilling” on what will be the industry’s first outdoor, interactive grill restaurant, called The Lawn Club Grill.
Back in December, Celebrity Cruises president Dan Hanrahan announced some big changes to the lines popular Solstice-class ships. As an evolution of the Solstice-class signature Lawn Club, an on-deck grass area, the line will add several new features on upcoming Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection.

Among other features that will shake things up on the new ships:

  • The new Lawn Club Grill, an open-air restaurant and display kitchen will take place of the grassy area on other Solstice-class ships. A $30 charge per person will apply.
  • Continuing parent-company Royal Caribbean Internationals focus on the arts, The Art Studio allows small, intimate hands-on interaction and instruction with experts.
  • The Gathering Table will be where culinary activity becomes part of the art experience. Cabana-style private retreats called The Alcoves will offer the popular adults serenity experience for an additional charge. Picnic baskets will be available for an extra charge also.
  • Continuing the serenity focus, The Hideaway will an indoor, tree house like ambiance for casual dining.
  • Signature lounge Michael’s Club will evolve into beer tasting venue with 50 international beers with a Rascal Flats feel by day and a Kings of Leon feel at night.

Celebrity Silhouette will be sailing to the Caribbean out of Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ starting in November allowing Wall Street employees, all New Yorkers and tri-state area residents to start their vacation without taking a flight, maximizing their vacation time.

Photo-Celebrity Cruises

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Forget shuffleboard , 3D theater next on today’s cruise ships

by Chris Owen on

Royal Caribbean International, parent of giant sister cruise ships Oasis and Allure of the Seas announced it will add stereoscopic 3D digital cinema to on-board programming. Royal Caribbean also plans “Revitalizations” for other ships in 2011 including Oasis, Liberty Freedom, Radiance and Splendour of the Seas.

“While we look forward to a period of slower growth, we do not intend to stagnate,” said Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain in January just before the line announced a new, secret class of ships to be built in the future. The Royal Revitalizations program looks to use that period of slower growth wisely, adding features made popular on new ships to some others in the fleet

Royal Caribbean’s existing deal with Dreamworks Animation and a new partnership with FUNA International makes it possible.

“We called upon FUNA and their team to come up with creative technical design solutions in a number of areas including physical placement, additional cooling and power and integration with the existing audio system, and the result is a 3D movie experience as good as or better than any land-based theater” said Christopher Vlassopulos, Entertainment Technology and Technical Direction for Royal Caribbean International.

First to get the 3D upgrade will be Allure of the Seas but soon, Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas will have the 3D capability.

“On testing the finished product, people at the highest level at Barco [projection supplier], DreamWorks and Dolby [sound system supplier] were ‘blown away’ with the result. We wanted to do a good job but to impress them out of the gate was a real bonus and obviously something the guest will really enjoy. It looks and sounds great.” Vlassopulos added.

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Flickr photo by Monica R