Feb 7th, 2012 at 3:30PM: Last weekend nearly 700 passengers, on three different ships, contracted the flu-like Norovirus causing Princess and Royal Caribbean cruise lines to delay departure of this week's sailing for extensive cleaning. Now, another outbreak on one of the same ships has caused its cancellation, mid-sailing, and an early return to port for even more cleaning.
Princess Cruises Crown Princess was on a ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
passengers posts
Passengers sick again, cruise line cancels sailing
Feb 7th, 2012 at 3:30PM: Last weekend nearly 700 passengers, on three different ships, contracted the flu-like Norovirus causing Princess and Royal Caribbean cruise lines to delay departure of this week's sailing for extensive cleaning. Now, another outbreak on one of the same ships has caused its cancellation, mid-sailing, and an early return to port for even more cleaning.
Princess Cruises Crown Princess was on a ...Galley Gossip: Pilot sexually harassed by a passenger!
Oct 25th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
Dear Heather, I have to share this with you. I'm a pilot and I was sexually harassed last night. While jump-seating home, the lead flight attendant calls the cockpit and says a passenger thinks one of the flaps is out of position. The captain sends me back to check the wings. I squeeze into the fully occupied exit row to peer out the window. While looking out the window, ...Galley Gossip: Is it okay for passengers to dump their drinks on the floor during turbulence?
Jul 21st, 2011 at 9:30AM: Dear Heather, Today I heard an announcement in-flight I'd never heard before and was wondering if you make it often, or ever. After serving drinks, it got a little turbulent and the flight attendants had to sit down. A few minutes later the purser came on and said, "if you're having trouble controlling your drinks, please just dump them on the floor." WHAT? And waste all this good wine, I thought. ...Five reasons the airlines don't need to care about you
Jun 24th, 2011 at 8:00AM: I'm getting on a plane next week, and I'm not looking forward to it. This will be yet another long, painful flight this year – and I've already had more than I have in a while. Though I'm getting used to this sort of business travel again, I can't say that I like it. All the time spent in transit, quite frankly, blows.
It isn't unusual at this point to lament the state of customer service ...Top 5 ways to annoy your airplane seatmate
Jun 22nd, 2011 at 3:30PM: Over on Reddit earlier this month, there was a fascinating and hysterical story written by someone who was on an airplane with two seemingly horrible passengers. In fact, he ended up seated directly in between them [Note: The photo to the right is not the author of the Reddit post]. It seems that a mother (on crutches, mind you) boarded the plane with her young son. Rather than move their seats so ...Galley Gossip: Electronic devices & the passenger with the cat-like reflexes
May 5th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
When a passenger said to me with a straight face that he had cat-like reflexes, I tried not to laugh. Only it's impossible not to laugh when a person says something like this, and actually means it. FYI: I've been around a lot of passengers and I have yet to meet one with these kind of reflexes. At least not in this day and age of distracted air travel.
How did I meet my funny feline ...Photo of the day - Waiting at the gate
Mar 10th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
Today's photo of the day is from a place every traveler has a love/hate relationship with: the airport gate. Beyond it lies exploration, excitement, or maybe just home. But it also stands for all the worst in travel: delays, cramped seats, and maybe the worst, other travelers. Flickr user davitydave philosophically calls this pic from Chicago's O'Hare Airport "Each Waits His Own Way," which is ...Mystery bag gets passenger yanked from Boston flight
Jan 4th, 2011 at 9:00AM: Was Ognjen Milatovic a nutty professor? Only time – and the legal process – will tell. The University of North Florida professor of mathematics and statistics put a carry-on in the overhead bin ... and his fellow passengers said it was making strange noises. Then, he wouldn't get off his phone and take his seat when told to do so by the crew.
So, he was turned over to the ...Galley Gossip: A flight attendant Christmas story
Dec 25th, 2010 at 9:30AM:
I graduated from flight attendant training on the 8th of December in 1995. Two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, my roommate and I were called out to work a trip - together. The crew scheduling God's must have been smiling down on us that day because it's not often a flight attendant gets to work with their roommate who also happens to be their best friend on reserve. Although we were scheduled to ...Heathrow CEO kisses bonus goodbye
Dec 23rd, 2010 at 3:00PM: The backups and mayhem at Heathrow, the largest airport in Britain, have come with a very personal price tag. With thousands of flights cancelled and crowds of disgruntled passengers forming, it only makes sense that there would be some consequences. So, while passengers look for ways to get to their ultimate destinations this holiday season, there will be a little less under the tree in one ...The 10 easiest ways to improve air travel this holiday season
Dec 16th, 2010 at 3:00PM: It's time for you to drag your screaming kids, annoying spouse and endless amounts of overstuffed bags through the airport, as you find your way over the river and through the woods. Thanksgiving is behind us, and that's the really ugly time to travel, but Christmas is no picnic either. The gate areas and bars will be crowded, and it's going to be awfully hard for you to be happy while darting ...Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]
![Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2010/12/airportlounge_thumbnail.jpg)
Dec 10th, 2010 at 12:00PM: There are a whole lot more of us flying this year: 4.3 percent more, to be exact. That's the increase in domestic air traffic from September 2009 to September 2010, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In that month, U.S. airlines had 57.3 million passengers, leading to the largest year-over-year gain since September 2007. Meanwhile, international passenger ...Federal judge will decide on your right to relax, not airlines
Dec 9th, 2010 at 5:00PM: Nobody likes it when the passenger in front of him reclines. I can't fathom any circumstance in which having the person's seatback on your lap is enjoyable. I have numerous tactics I use to prevent the person in front of me from reclining, and I suspect I'm not alone (in fairness to the person behind me, I rarely recline, and if I do, it's never more than half way).
So, when you drive your ...Zagat survey: five ways customers say they hate airlines ... in their own words
Nov 30th, 2010 at 8:00AM: It's almost sport for customers to describe how much they hate airlines. Sure, there are a few that do well from time to time, occasionally delivering high levels of service or eschewing ancillary fees. But, the overwhelming trend tends to be one of customer dissatisfaction.
Zagat, which is in the business of measuring and publishing value and taste, has taken a shot defining the highs and lows ...Qantas luggage "all tied up" in Melbourne
Nov 29th, 2010 at 4:30PM: It must be those adventure travelers ... they're always so high maintenance.
A rock-climbing rope jammed up some of the Qantas baggage equipment at the Melbourne, Australia airport last night, and as many as 400 pieces of luggage are lying around, waiting to be reunited with their passengers. Of course, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, passengers are welcome to "search through the piles" if ...Flight attendants find dead Filipino passenger in Gulf Air lavatory
Oct 20th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
The cause of death – including suicide – still isn't clear, but the facts are. Gulf Air flight attendants found a 36-year-old Filipino passenger dead in the plane lav today; he was flying home to Manila from Bahrain. Attempts to revive him using CPR were unsuccessful.
The event occurred on Gulf Air flight 154, and is the second strange lav event in as many months. In September, ...Sex over service? Airlines try vixen pitch with passengers
Oct 13th, 2010 at 12:00PM: It's no secret that airline customer service is generally perceived to be as pleasant as a root canal. I was thinking about this over the weekend, as I walked home from Penn Station, after catching Amtrak's Acela back from Boston. I had a fantastic trip (up and back) and was hung up on the contrasts to air travel.
Later that night, I met a friend for a glass of wine and talked through the ...Galley Gossip: 5 reasons flight attendants don't serve first class predeparture beverages
Sep 20th, 2010 at 9:30AM: You've boarded a flight and you're feeling pretty relaxed sitting in that big comfy first class seat. Sucka, you think to yourself as a couple of passengers check you out on their way to coach. Glancing at your watch, you wonder where the heck the flight attendant is because you're dying of thirst and shouldn't she be offering drinks right about now!
Predepartures. That's what flight attendants ...Why don't airlines call us customers?
Sep 17th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Language shapes reality – there's no way around it. It is evident in the general absence of profanity in children (at least in front of their parents), forgoing certain expressions except among friends (or, for some people, completely) and the selection of particular phrases for impact. Words have meaning, and thus they have power. So, it makes sense for a major company or industry to ...Four reasons airlines blame passengers for their current woes
Sep 14th, 2010 at 11:00AM: It would be so much easier if we'd just pay more, right? That's what the airlines seem to believe. It's impossible for them to turn consistent profits because we just won't accept higher prices. And, kicking the poor off the plane doesn't seem to be an option.
I got up this morning and read George Hobica's hilarious "interview" with Wilbur Flywright, CEO of BrokenWings Airways. In it, I was ...
