Most Annoying Airline Passengers

by Annie Scott on

The holidays are a hard time to travel, and Lemondrop has compiled a gallery of the people who make it even harder.

“The Most Annoying Airline Passengers Ever” include people who stop in the aisle while you’re boarding to rearrange the bag they’re stowing, strangers who talk too much, and everyone in first class.

While they don’t mention my personal nemeses (the people who can’t keep their elbow and/or various other body parts on their side of the arm rest) the list is pretty darn good, and the pictures are fun, too. Special appearance by Samuel L. Jackson in his Snakes on a Plane role.

[via Lemondrop]

China successfully flies into airplane manufacturing

by Meg Massie on

China’s very first fully homegrown aircraft has hit the skies at last, bringing China’s aviation industry another step closer to competition in the global market. The ARJ-21, a regional aircraft built at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, flew its maiden flight last Friday, after delays from suppliers held up the jet for about eight months.

With its new jets, the Aviation Industry Corp of China, or AVIC, expects to compete with Canada’s Bombadier Inc and Embraer SA of Brazil. AVIC officials expect the ARJ-21 to be certified airworthy by early 2009, and the company will start delivering planes to customers by the second half of next year if all goes according to plan.

According to the Chinese government, airlines have ordered 206 of the jets so far, and demand is expected to increase. Experts estimate that China’s growing domestic airline industry will require about 900 new mid-sized regional jets over the next twenty years, and the ARJ-21 should control most of that market.

The jets are designed to carry 70-110 passengers and have a flight range of 3,680 kilometers, or 2,286 miles.

Photo of the Day (11.23.08)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

There’s something intriguingly dreamlike about this photo from Flickr user Emerald2810. Is it the silhouetted biplanes? The luminous sky blanketed with clouds? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems to be laden with hidden symbolism and meaning. In some ways it reminds me of the work of early surrealist photographers like Man Ray.

Shot any of your own surrealist masterpieces during your travels? Why not share them with our Gadling readers? All you have to do is add them to our pool on Flickr, and one might just get chosen as our Photo of the Day.

SkyMall Monday: SkyRest Travel Pillow

by Mike Barish on

I suppose it’s about time that I used my SkyMall Monday bully pulpit to review a product that is directly related to travel. Sure, you could use the Double Umbrella on a trip to London, but what about when you’re en route to your destination? How will you arrive there well-rested and prepared to make the most of your time away from your empty, passionless life? Well, you’ll rest easy on your flight if you have the SkyRest Travel Pillow.

You could certainly purchase an airline pillow covered in lice and chlamydia or carry along one of those horseshoe shaped neck pillows that scream, “I’m a loser.” But studies have shown that the human body’s natural sleeping position is seated upright while the head and neck are tilted forward at a 68.4 degree angle. What studies? Hey, look over there!

Available only in dark seafoam green, the SkyRest Travel Pillow is inconspicuous and allows you to sleep while your fellow travelers are none the wiser. And it’s inflatable, so you know you’ll sleep like a baby once you have exhausted yourself filling it with air. Considering that it’s 14″ wide, 12″ deep, 11″ tall in the front and 17″ tall in the back, you’ll most likely have it inflated in time for the person next to you to take her first bathroom break. At which time I’m sure you’ll easily be able to move it out of the way for her.

And the best part? Since it rests on your lap, when the person in front of you reclines his seat, the pillow will be pushed back into you. It’s like getting a face massage in a fancy spa…but for free!

Just look at what the product description has to say about this fantastic product:

Why not join our many thousands of satisfied customers and enjoy the benefits of this uniquely different and very flexible travel pillow.

Yes, people who use this product like to be influenced by peer pressure and abhor proper punctuation. And while I have never actually seen any of these satisfied customers in person, I am sure that this person wishes that she had purchased the SkyRest Travel pillow before her flight. Don’t make the same mistake she did!

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Hermès Heir Gets Crotchety on Flight

by Mike Barish on

According to the NY Times, an heir to the Hermès fashion fortune got a little too touchy feely on a recent Air France Flight. It’s an odd episode that involves drinking, crotch grabbing and excessive restraints.

Mathias Guerrand-Hermès sidled up to a young mademoiselle in first class. She was a bit put off by this and woke her husband, who was – not so shockingly – similarly unamused by Mr. Guerrand-Hermès’ advances.

Guerrand-Hermès refused to listen to a flight attendant’s request to return to his seat so she summoned the captain. And here’s where things go from uncomfortable to erotic. When approached by the captain, Guerrand-Hermès decided his best mode of defense was the ol’ crotch grab. Thankfully, the captain was able to withstand this awkward maneuver and Guerrand-Hermès was eventually subdued in his seat. By three (male) flight attendants. And handcuffs. And shackles. And by being tied down.

Guerrand-Hermès claims that he mixed Propofan (a prescription drug similar to aspirin) with “quite a bit of alcohol.” I’m no doctor, but that sounds like a bad idea. But since the label didn’t say, “Side effects include lewd advances on married women and homoerotic attack strikes,” can you really blame him for the mix-up?

One can only hope that this bad publicity doesn’t hurt his career as a socialite and polo player.

Other Travel Troublemakers