California woman arrested in nail-painting incident on Southwest flight

by Dave Seminara on

According to CBS Los Angeles, a California woman was arrested in late February for painting her nails on a Southwest flight bound for Houston. The woman, identified as Jeanie Daniels, was on her way to visit her boyfriend and claims that the passengers seated next to her agreed to let her do her nails.

But one of the flight attendants reportedly objected, so Daniels retreated to the bathroom to finish the job. When she got out of the bathroom, she got into a verbal altercation with two flight attendants and claims she was detained by law enforcement officials at the Houston airport for more than 10 hours before a judge charged her with profane and abusive language.

The CBS story essentially reports Daniels’ side of the story along with an anodyne statement from Southwest, so it’s hard to know if the flight attendants could have diffused the situation or if Daniels was the instigator.I’ve actually never seen someone paint their nails on a flight but I wouldn’t be surprised if some flight attendants are becoming increasingly intolerant of obnoxious passengers. These days it’s not that uncommon to see passengers watching videos without headphones (especially kids), loudly chattering on mobile phones on the runway, and generally acting as though they were in their living rooms. On Monday, Gadling will begin a new March Madness series that will allow our readers to vote on which airline annoyances are the most egregious.

Do you think that these Southwest flight attendants were right in showing zero tolerance for the California nail-painter, or does it sound like they overreacted?

[Photo via Borispumps on Flickr]

Passenger put on No Fly List for using iPad

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Think only suspected terrorists and hardened criminals end up on the government’s infamous No Fly List? Well you best mind your manners on your next flight – in these days of heightened airline security, all it takes to end up in hot water is some seriously obnoxious passenger behavior and an iPad. According to a recent story on Jalopnik, an air traveler en route from Chicago to New York’s LaGuardia landed himself in trouble for refusing to turn off his beloved Apple device (and repeatedly pissing off the flight crew).

The trouble started when the flight pulled back from the gate, a period during which passengers are required to turn off any electronic devices. The offending passenger ignored multiple requests from the flight staff to turn off his shiny iPad, instead choosing to remark, “Wait, so you mean that if my iPad is on, the entire plane can’t take off? I had no idea I had so much power!”

The trouble did not end there. Once the flight had taken off, said passenger asked to be served alcohol and was rebuffed by an understandably annoyed crew. This led to a further heated arguments and eventually, a lecture from the captain himself. Upon landing in New York, the passenger was met by police, who were waiting at the gate to arrest the man. A flight attendant from the plane confirmed the angry flyer’s name was also being added to the No-Fly list for his coarse behavior.

Air travel often sucks these days. Passengers understandably lose patience. But if you think unfavorable conditions give you the right to preferential treatment, think again. Being a jerk on a plane is no different than being a jerk on the ground. You just lose the privilege of flying along with it.

[Photo courtesy Flickr user Rego Korosi]

Vegas casino fined for dancing gambler

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Las Vegas has a reputation for letting visitors get away with all kinds of “bad” behavior. Activities like gambling and drinking on the street get a free pass in this anything-goes gaming capital. But apparently that permissive Vegas attitude doesn’t extend to all behaviors, particularly if you like celebratory dancing when you hit it big at the tables.

Vegas casino Caesar’s Palace was recently fined $250,000 for allowing a player at their high-stakes Baccarat tables to dance and walk on the tables during play. According to a complaint filed by Nevada Gaming regulators, the culprit got up from his chair and climbed on the game table for a stretch of 45 minutes, walking, dancing (and playing) along the way.

Why didn’t Caesar’s Palace stop this dancing fool? It probably had something to do with the fact the perpetrator was playing a high-stakes game. Apparently when there’s big money involved, you can get away with a lot more than if you start doing the jig on top of a $5 Blackjack table. Word to the wise – if you’re going to celebrate big winnings in Vegas, best leave your dancing shoes at home – or at least keep them off the gaming tables.

[Photo by Flickr user Alex Cheek]

Who are the world’s most obnoxious tourists? Hint: it’s not the Americans

by Anna Brones on

Monolingual, white tennis shoes, an unbecoming outfit and an ugly fanny pack: my stereotypical image of an American tourist. But apparently Americans don’t win the number one spot for the world’s most obnoxious tourists. In Europe, that special place is held for the French, reports Time Magazine.

According to an international survey conducted for Expedia.fr, the French are in fact considered to be overall the worst of the worst of tourists. Employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the U.K., Italy, France, Canada and the U.S. were asked to rank their clients on different levels ranging from willingness to speak the local language to discretion and elegance, and French travelers did not fare well.

France fell behind India and China as providing the world with the worst tourists. And the stereotypically obnoxious American tourist? Out of 21 countries, with the most liked at the top, the US got an impressive 11th place. Why is that? Among other reasons, despite language faults, Americans get the top spot for trying to speak local languages the most. Quelle surprise.