London, buried in snow

by Jeffrey White on


Here’s a sight you don’t see that often: London like a winter wonderland.

London today is still scrambling, digging out of one of the biggest snowfalls ever to fall on Europe’s largest city.

Of course, that’s not saying all that much. The “blizzard” dumped 6-8 inches of the white stuff on London, depending on where you measure. Not exactly like a US Nor’easter, huh?

Still, it was enough to wreaked general havoc among the usually restrained, “mustn’t grumble” British. The storm left roads impassable, and London’s beloved public transportation system, especially its buses, were frozen. London’s airports have also been in chaos. Heathrow saw 850 cancellations through this morning; Gatwick canceled 47 flights and Stansted, 170. Some travelers at these airports, especially Heathrow, have been stranded for more than 60 hours as area hotels started jacking up their rates.

Worst of all, Londoners are furious with the government, wondering why it was so poorly prepared to handle such a storm (hint: It never snows in London).

The infrequency of snow storms belies London’s northern location, which can often be overlooked and is an interesting example of how general variances in jet streams and ocean temperatures can make a northern place still relatively mild.

Some people don’t realize that London is on pretty much the same line of latitude as Winnipeg. Ever been to Winnipeg in the winter? Exactly.

Airline passenger swears, throws water, makes threats and hits an elderly man with a fork

by Jamie Rhein on

In a truth is stranger than fiction tale, picture this: You’re sitting minding your own business on a Jet Airways flight from London to Mumbai, India. The engines are humming. Perhaps, the “fasten your seat belt” light has gone off. Luggage is stored and you’re settled in. All seems normal. But WAIT! The young guy in his mid-twenties who is sitting near you starts verbally abusing you and anyone within earshot. Then he ramps it up a notch and grabs at the breasts of the woman sitting next to him.

After she moves seats to get away, he continues on his rampage going from bad to worse. He stands on his seat for better a vantage point, perhaps.

When the male flight attendant tries to stop him, the passenger (allegedly) throws water in the attendant’s face and continues his verbal rampage.

He also threatens to throw his passport out the window (neat trick on an airplane), rips up his boarding pass, and hurls a fork at an elderly man.

Finally, the passenger is handcuffed and tied to his seat after the pilot asked for something to be done with the guy. Eventually, he falls asleep and wakes up right as rain as if nothing had happened. Regardless of his personality shift, after the plane landed in Mumbai, the police arrested him because of his behaviors. Now they’re trying to figure out what caused the outburst.

According to the article in The Times of India, the man is an engineering student.

For a video of the news story, click here.

First 20 can pick up $199 round-trip tickets to London. Any takers?

by Alison Brick on

Travelers to London, here’s your deadline for squaring away your trip plans: Wednesday, January 21st at noon (CST).

If you’re under 26 years-old or a student, and you’re even remotely interested in heading across the pond in the next month, you’ll want to speed-dial STA Travel on Wednesday.

Why the rush? STA will be offering a mere 20 round-trip tickets from the US at $199 under their “Fastest Finger First” promotion. Those tickets will surely go as quickly as you can say “God save the queen.” Who’s heard of $199 round-trip flights from the west coast to London? Amazingly enough, they even include tax and fuel surcharges.

The promotion applies to travel from 16 US cities: Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.

Tickets won’t be available online–you’ll have to call 800.360.9273 or visit your local STA Travel branch.

You’ll be required to have a valid ISIC/IYTC identity card to buy the ticket, but you can always buy one at the same time for $22.

The promotion is good for travel through through March 22, 2009 on British Airways, and tickets are non-refundable and non-amendable. You’ll have to be prepared to pay in full when you book, and you can only buy one ticket per person.

Expect to wait, but not in Japan or Korea

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The worst airport delays in the world, of course, are those that affect you. If I’m stranded at LaGuardia‘s Marine Air terminal for a short hop to Boston, I really don’t care what’s going on over at JFK, O’Hare or anywhere else. However, some airports are more likely to inspire your anger than others, so it’s a pretty good idea to know which are the worst.

If you are headed to India or Europe, it seems, you should build a bit of extra time into your travels. India takes the top (or, lowest?) spot for the second year in a row, according to MSNBC. Mumbai‘s Chhatrapati Shivaji International is the worst of the worst; only 50 percent of its flights hit the ground on time last year. In New Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport had only a 51 percent success rate. Fortunately, both are expanding, with the latter having opened a new airport in October. Bangalore, which ranked fourth, has added a new airport.

Flight congestion is the culprit in arrival delays. But, it isn’t impeding departures. In Bangalore, for example, 80 percent of departures were on time, but only 60 percent arrived on time.

You can get out; you just can’t get in.

India isn’t the only country with arrival delays. Airports with tough on-time arrival rates include:

  • Casablanca‘s Mohammed V International Airport: 54 percent
  • Orio al Serio Airport near Bergamo, Italy: 61 percent
  • Birmingham Airport in England: 63 percent
  • London‘s Luton and Heathrow Airports: both 63 percent on time

And, in my neighborhood, it pays to bring a book with you to LaGuardia or Newark Liberty International. Both fail to impress, with on-time arrival rates of only 62 percent.

Now, if you’re looking for a bit of efficiency, try Japan or Korea. Every airport in each of these countries has an on-time arrival and departure percentage of at least 82 percent.

[Via MSNBC]

Heathrow gets go ahead for third runway – Greenpeace not happy

by Scott Carmichael on

London Heathrow airport is in desperate need of a third runway.

Despite being one of the busiest airports in the world, all 481,000 yearly aircraft movements take place on just 2 runways.

Anyone who has arrived or departed from Heathrow has probably spent a decent chunk of time waiting in line for a take off slot, or received a complimentary 45 minute sightseeing trip making circles over London waiting for permission to land.

The UK government has been working on a proposal for a third runway for years, and finally agreed to grant building permission for it yesterday.

Of course, nothing airport related ever goes without some major opposition, and this one is no different.

Greenpeace is so strongly opposed to the expansion plans, that they purchased a chunk of land right in the village of Sipson. Sipson is one of the communities destined to become extinct when construction on the runway begins.

Their plan is to break the land up into smaller chunks, and sell it to as many people as possible, making it harder for the government to claim ownership.

Greenpeace argues that the third runway is not necessary, and they have a long list of reasons for being against this expansion.

Of course, environmental clubs like Greenpeace have a long history in trying to prevent new runways from being built, but very little history in actually stopping the construction.

A similar situation happened in the Netherlands in the mid 90’s when a local environmental protection club purchased a small plot of land just outside Schiphol airport and planted it full of trees. It delayed things a bit, but the runway was still built.

At the end of the day these actions just cost massive amounts of taxpayer money and clog up our legal systems, but it’s a noble cause and I don’t think anyone denies Greenpeace a little publicity stunt.