EasyJet has apologized to everyone who will listen over a fashion shoot that appeared in its inflight magazine.

Did the models wear too little? Did they look like fourteen year-old cokeheads? No, none of the usual stuff; they happened to be posing at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial.

Yes, some fashion photographer decided the concrete blocks known as the "Field of Stelae", properly called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, would be a cool place for slinky women to show off designer duds. The editor of the magazine at INK Publishing thought it was a pretty neat idea too, and easyJet didn't notice until too late.

Now they've yanked the issue from all their planes and are "reviewing their relationship" with the publisher.

This was probably an honest oversight by easyJet, who acted quickly and appropriately when the issue came to their notice, but what about the magazine's editors? Or the photographer? Or the models? Didn't anyone stop and say , "Hey, millions of Jews died in the concentration camps. Perhaps we should take these photos somewhere else?"

Nope, apparently not.

EasyJet apologizes for Holocaust fashion shoot originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Two North Korean diplomats arrested for smuggling originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Inside Virgin America's "Stay Golden" launch event (photos)

Inside Virgin America's "Stay Golden" launch event (photos) originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you've ever seen a lava flow, you know that once the stuff cools and hardens, it's hard to move. In the Congo, this has created a big problem at the airport in Goma. Back in 2002, when the Nyiragongo Volcano erupted, lava flowed onto the runway, thus shortening it. A shorter runway does not sound good. It's not.

Today, this was proved true once more when an airplane flying from Kinshasa to Goma overshot the runway and landed on the lava instead. Ouch! According to the report, 20 people out of the 117 on board were injured.

This is not the first time that lava has created issues at the Goma airport. The last time was in 2007 when a cargo plane caught on fire after it hit the lava. This incidence caused 7 deaths.

As unusual as it is to hit lava on a runway, it's probably more unusual for a plane to hit a bush pig. The plane hits a bush pig incident happened a week ago on in Zimbabwe. When this pig made it's last oink, high drama ensued which included a couple of injuries that were caused when passengers fell into a ditch at the side of the runway.

As for the lava on the runway woes, hopefully this latest incident in Goma will help provide incentive to remove the rest of it.

When it comes to bush pigs on runways, pilots in Zimbabwe--and I guess elsewhere where bush pigs roam--are probably keeping their eyes on the lookout.

The photo taken by Julien Harneis from a helicopter shows the lava flow around Goma.

Another plane mishap in Africa. This time lava is the problem originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How far will a man drive without asking for directions? originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Unlike fellow Gadling writer Catherine, who took a painfully slow train through China, President Obama took Air Force One to China, where he will be doing his diplomatic "thing." Here are some things we can all learn from the Chinese. [via Yahoo!]
• Uh-oh... Another world treasure is evaporating due to global warming. It may be time to say goodbye to Lake Titicaca. [via the Associated Press]
• In other sad news, Indonesia's Papua is also in peril. [via Straits Times]
• Hawaii may seem like paradise, but racially it's anything but. [via NPR]
• Experience all the green places in San Francisco, one of America's greenest cities. [via CNN Travel]

Gadlinks for Wednesday 11.18.09 originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hawaii seems like a beautiful place to live - great coffee, awesome surf conditions, nearly perfect weather at all times. But, hundreds of miles out in the Pacific, I imagine it starts to feel a bit isolated, especially with the high cost of flights from the islands back to the mainland US. But for those Hawaiian islanders looking to get away to the rest of the US for a while, Hawaiian airlines, has a pretty great deal.

For every inter-island round trip flight you book on Hawaiian Airlines, you'll get a discount on your flight from Hawaii to other destinations in the US. The discount starts at 10% (for one round trip flight) and goes all the way up to 100% (yep, a free flight!) after you've taken 10 round trip flights around the islands.

Inter-island flights began racking up points towards the discounts on August 3 and will continue through December 31, 2009. The discount can be applied towards flights booked for now through June 15, 2010.

The discount applies to flights to select cities in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada.

Hawaiian airlines offers free flights to the mainland originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tony Martin, Kelly Ferris, and Antonio Santiago better order a few extra passport pages. Coca-Cola announced earlier today that the trio were the winners of a year-long trip to every country and territory where Coke is sold-- 206 in all.

Expedition 206, as the trip is called, will begin from Madrid on January 1, 2010, and will include stops at the World Cup in South Africa and the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Martin, Ferris, and Santiago will promote Coke's "Open Happiness" campaign by documenting and sharing scenes of happiness from their travels.

"It's an ambitious task," says Kelly Ferris, a 23-year-old student from Brussels, "but I can't think of a better way to spend a year than exploring what makes people happy."

I spoke with the three winners this morning shortly after it was announced that their team had prevailed in the contest's online voting. They discussed how they learned about and eventually won the contest, where they're most (and least) looking forward to going, and whether 206 countries in 365 days is way too much.

You can follow the entire expedition, through the team's photos, videos, and blog posts, at Expedition206.com.

A map of the expedition's planned route is below the fold...

Continue reading Coca-Cola awards three contest winners epic one-year, 206-country trip

Coca-Cola awards three contest winners epic one-year, 206-country trip originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New to Hong Kong Disneyland: Big Grizzly Mountain originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In anticipation of the Christmas Day release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie (starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law), Visit Britain has developed a microsite to help guide fans to the London locations used in the film. The site also offers possible itineraries for a Holmes-themed tour of London.

The list of London stops on the Holmes tour includes St. Paul's Cathedral, Simpson's-in-the-Strand, Freemason's Hall, Brompton Cemetery, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. The site also suggests a drink at the Sherlock Holmes Pub (decorated with Holmes memorabilia) or walking tour, "In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes", offered by London Walks.

For those venturing out of London, there are additional filming locations in Manchester. Cheshire, Kent, Leeds and Suffolk in England, plus spots in Scotland and Wales.

Explore London with Sherlock Holmes originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Delta joins the ranks of "cashless cabins"

Delta joins the ranks of "cashless cabins" originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Free wi-fi in Times Square originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this week, a pig on an airport runway in Zimbabwe wrecked a plane and panicked passengers as the plane was taking off. On Wednesday, it wasn't a pig that created a travel brouhaha. It was a low flying pelican--plus a cell phone.

Evidently, as the pelican made a low flying move in front of a million dollar sports car--a Bugatti Veyron, the man driving this expensive beauty became startled and dropped his cell phone.

Quick quiz:

What shouldn't you do if you drop your cell phone in your car?

Answer:

Don't do what this guy did. He bent down to pick up the phone.

Bad move.

If you've ever bent down to pick up anything when you drive, you know how easy it is for the car to swerve.

That's just what happened in this case. The man swerved the car right off the frontage road of Interstate 45 near Galveston, Texas and into a salt marsh. Luckily, the salt marsh wasn't so deep that the car disappeared entirely.

When the police showed up, it was easy to spot the car's silver grey shine where it waited for rescue 20 feet from shore---at least the part that wasn't under the briny water.

After the incident, along with gaining notoriety for being the owner of a salted, wet million dollar car, the man did get a call from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. [msnbc]

Low flying pelican and cell phone vs million dollar car: car loses originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Venice hosts its own funeral originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kids fly free to Vail this winter originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is under way on the North Shore of Oahu, and Pupukea is right in the thick of things. [via Honolulu Magazine]
• Speaking of surfing, Peru's hoping to find a way to make surf travel sustainable. [via Intelligent Travel]
• It's surf season here in Hawaii, but in other parts of the northern hemisphere it's also that time of year to dust off your skis or snowboard! Here's a great guide to responsible skiing. [via Green Traveller]
• It may be wintertime in Italy, but that shouldn't prevent you from dreaming of one of these beautiful Italian isles. [via BootsNAll]
• The web has been abuzz on the latest espionage charges on the three American hikers that were caught within Iran's borders back in July. I hope they return home safely -- and soon, but could serve as a serious bargaining chip between the U.S. and Iran. Stay tuned... [via Peter Greenberg and Time]

Gadlinks for Friday 11.13.09 originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sacred mountain added to World Heritage List originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tied to a chair and robbed in a five-star hotel originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Italian answer to swine flu--automatic holy water dispensers originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Miners accused of destroying part of Great Wall of China

Miners accused of destroying part of Great Wall of China originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.