Another passenger pulled off plane after booze fueled fight

And here we go again – once again, a passenger decided that being cut off from drinking more booze was not such a good idea, and decided to start a fight.

Russel Krebs, a 6’3″ 200 pound passenger was on his way to Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International airport on a Comair flight when the crew decided that he’d had enough to drink. At that point the real trouble started.

An off-duty pilot and one of the flight attendants were able to get him in plastic cuffs until the plane landed. Normally a situation like this would mean the cops wait until the plane is at the gate, but in this case, they actually met the plane on the runway to remove Krebs.

I’m not sure how stupid one has to be to start a fight in an aircraft cabin, especially with the knowledge that you may be on the same flight as a federal air marshal.

Krebs is currently locked away, and the FBI is investigating whether to press federal chargers. In that case, a few drinks and a couple of punches could mean he’ll be locked away for a pretty long time. Of course, things don’t get easier for him since the police discovered “a controlled substance” which will only add to the charges.

(Via: WCPO Cincinnati)

Check out these stories from the airport checkpoint!


Delta wonders about Atlanta

Is Delta playing chicken with Atlanta? The airline is getting ready for negotiations with Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport … and has opened by threatening to lean on secondary hubs like Memphis and Cincinnati. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution questions the airline’s likelihood of pulling the trigger, though.

Delta is concerned that the costs of running through Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport, could be twice as high as those of other airports. Moving two-thirds of connecting traffic away could save a pile of cash for a company in a perpetually struggling industry.

When you need an expert, you can always find one to take your side, it seems. Airport consultant Jerry FitzGerald believes that pulling out of Atlanta could cost Delta a good chunk of business traveler dollars – and that Memphis or Cincinnati may not be able to cover the difference.

Well, like anybody sitting on the tarmac, all we can do is wait and see.

[Via USA Today]

How safe is that romantic horse-drawn carriage anyway?

Last night, as I drove through downtown Cincinnati to take in the lights at Fountain Square, I passed several horse drawn carriages. Admittedly, they looked festive and romantic. I imagine that they are quite the tourist draw. Downtown Columbus has almost nothing going on at night. Cincinnati looks hopping. A horse drawn carriage might pep things up around the State House was my thinking.

Then a few hours later, after I arrived home, I caught a few minutes of a TV show about horse drawn carriages in New York City. They’ve been a fixture around Central Park as long as I can remember. Carriages have been featured in movies and have made it on TV. I’m thinking of that scene where Mr. Big took Carrie to the hospital to help deliver Miranda’s baby in Sex and the City. The horse lopped along transporting its star-crossed lovebirds through traffic. Therein lies the problem.

Everyone featured in the show about the horse-drawn carriages is against the carriages. One emergency medical technician talked about the hazards of trying to get emergency vehicles around them. Others talked about the medical issues horses have as a result of doing their jobs. Disaster stories where horses were hit by cars and died as a result of the accidents peppered the commentary. Also mentioned were the lack of safety features for passengers. There’s nothing holding passengers into the carriages, for example. One quick gallop down a busy avenue and you could be thrown out in no time.

A quick Google Search for info about the issues with horse carriages did turn up articles that address the same concerns covered in the show. As for me, I’m thinking about the cyclo and trishaw drivers in other parts of the world who have similar issues and hazards to their livelihood.

Although, I can see the point of the hazards of the carriages, on the other hand, they employ people and horses (horses need to have some way to get fed). The New York City carriages, according to this article I found, have been around as a business for 137 years. At the time of the article, there were 293 drivers and 220 horses who work in New York City. That’s a lot of carriage rides. I’m wondering about the percentage of accidents and incidents that actually happen. How many people have a lovely ride without any incident vs people who are not so lucky with their I Love New York experience?

If cities didn’t have carriages, I wonder how that would impact the economy of downtowns? Without carriages, downtown Cincinnati at night might look like Columbus. And what would happen to the Hollywood version of romance?

The Most Expensive and Least Expensive Airports in the US

According to the US Department of Transportation, airfares are now at an all time high. The average fare for the 2nd quarter of 2008 was $352. That’s up nearly 8% from a year ago. Travelers are definitely feeling the surge in prices. However, the averages for individual airports vary wildly. Cincinnati has it worst. With fares averaging $595, it is the most expensive airport to fly out of in the country. Like many similar-sized cities, Cinci has an airport with fewer carriers and fewer direct routes than big city airports. Lack of options almost always means higher prices.

On the other end of the spectrum, Love Field in Dallas has a fare average of $221. Though it is smaller and older than Dallas/Ft. Worth International, Love Field’s West terminal is dominated by Southwest Airlines, which is known for its cheaper fares. American Eagle and Continental Express offer flights to Houston and Chicago O’Hare from the airport’s other terminal. LA’s Burbank Airport, second fiddle to LAX, also has a low fare average ($252).It looks like having a second airport in your city is never a bad thing.

Why are these the world’s best airports?



Click the image to find out!

Photo of the Day (10.19.08)

Was your week a blur like mine was? I think this photo, by Flickr user JasonBechtel, is an apt photographic metaphor. Doesn’t it just “feel” fast? I love the sense of movement and the way the background blurs while parts of the cheetah’s body stay in focus. You might also think Jason took his cheetah photo on safari in Africa, right? Wrong. It was actually taken at the Cincinnati Zoo. Just goes to show you needn’t go far from home to get some great photos.

Have any great travel photos you’d like to share with the world? Why not add them to the Gadling photo pool on Flickr? We might just choose it as our Photo of the Day.