Woman paralyzed after bad turbulence on Continental Airlines flight

by Scott Carmichael on

Turbulence just claimed another victim – this time the victim was in the bathroom on Continental flight 511 when the plane hit some turbulence and a sudden descent.

The sudden drop threw the woman against the ceiling of the bathroom, fracturing her neck.

Doctors spent 6 hours operating on her, but her injury left her paralyzed from the neck down.

The incident also injured one other passenger and a crew member, but they were released from hospital.

According to a Continental Airlines spokesperson, the seatbelt sign was illuminated when the plane hit the turbulence.

The NTSB is awaiting more information before they start an official investigation into the incident.

All I can say is let this be yet another reminder to pay attention to that seatbelt sign and that I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the lady is able to recover from this tragic accident, but doctors say only time will tell whether her situation can improve.

(Thanks Nick!)

Continental #1 in Fortune mag

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Okay, the competition couldn’t have been all that stiff. Continental Airlines was rated the top airline in Fortune magazine‘s annual list of most admired companies. Its score of 7.71 was not good enough to push the company into the top 50, though. This is the sixth year in a row that Continental has taken the lead spot in the airline category. Somehow, Southwest is listed as #7 on the full list, though it scored behind Continental.

Looks like Fortune is suffering from a case of “journalist’s math.”

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Kellner said that “Continental’s more than 42,000 co-workers are the reason for our success, and I’m proud to see their hard work recognized again this year.” Apparently, he has forgotten that the passengers shelling out cash to fly on the airline’s 2,800 daily departures might have something to do with that, too.

Air France-KLM followed Continental with a score of 7.15. Southwest Airlines (6.89), Singapore Airlines (6.57) and Delta Airlines (6.18) were also recognized on the Fortune list.

Funny, JetBlue didn’t show up.

10 tips for smarter flying


Man who can’t work cell phone sues Continental Airlines

by Annie Scott on

Saquib Fatah of Houston, Texas, is suing Continental Airlines because he can’t work his cell phone. Confused? I’ll break it down:

1. Fatah gets on airplane in London with his new cell phone.
2. Captain makes the usual “turn off all electronic devices” announcement and the plane begins to taxi.
3. “BEEP BEEP BEEP!” from Fatah’s phone.
4. A stewardess asks Fatah to “kill the phone.” He appears to do so. Taxiing continues …
5. “BEEP BEEP BEEP!”
6. Everything goes to Hell.

After the phone went off the second time, Fatah states in his lawsuit that “the Continental Airlines stewardess used degrading and insulting language, and then offloaded him and his luggage, and handed him over to the British police.”

Fatah was reportedly held in jail for a couple of hours, then sent along his not-so-merry way. A week later, Fatah arrived at the airport to try to go home to Houston again, but Continental turned him away at the check-in, saying he was “undesirable.” Ouch. Fatah bought a ticket on British Airways, flew home, and called his lawyer Ali Ahmed.

Ahmed has yet to serve the lawsuit, but if he’s already talking to the press about it, chances are he has every intention of doing so.

[via Houston Press Blogs]

9/11 widow dies in Buffalo plane crash

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Beverly Eckert, widow of 9/11 victim Sean Rooney, perished on Continental Airlines Flight 3407 last night. She was on her way to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been her husband’s 58th birthday. While in town, she had also planned to participate in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School. She had created the scholarship in honor of her late husband.

The crash of Continental Flight 3407 occurred at around 10:20 PM, when the plane hit a home in Clarence Center, NY. It resulted in 44 on-board fatalities: all 40 passengers and all four crew members. A person on the ground was killed, as well. Twelve local residents were evacuated, and firefighters were quick to respond, as the crash site was close to the local fire station.

The crash has been described as feeling like “a mini-earthquake” and “a large explosion.”

[Via CNN, photo via thebuffalobean]

Travel gems and hidden secrets from Concierge.com

by Jamie Rhein on

The winners of Concierge.com’s Million Mile Contest have been announced and their essays are posted on the website. Some essays offer a unique angle about a place where people might miss certain details if they didn’t know where or how to look.

The winner, Elizabeth Dwoskin of Brooklyn, New York wrote about Parque Lage, a jungle park in the middle of Rio De Janeiro. Within the reserve is my kind of place–Saint Teresa, a neighborhood of artists who live in 19th century mansions. Not one artist per mansion, but up to twenty. For her essay, Dwoskin won one million OnePass miles from Continental Airlines.

Here are the runners-up essays about particular places. They are quick, interesting reads that stimulate ones own memories about what made a particular travel spot at a particular time special. I’m thinking about the day I spent riding a motorbike around Skopelos, Greece.

Along with each essay are links that lead to more details about each location.