September, 2004 | |
 |
| Page 5 |
Busted! AA ejects fliers for T-shirt
American Airlines ejected a passenger from a Saturday flight for wearing an "indecent" t-shirt, the Associated
Press reported. Oscar Arela and his girlfriend were returning to New York from a Costa Rican vacation, when
American cabin crew objected to the shirt, which showed a woman's bare breast. Arela refused to change the shirt
or turn it inside out at Miami International Airport, where the couple caught a connecting flight. Arela and his
girlfriend claim that none of the other passengers were offended and say their right to free speech was violated.
American, which supports the action of its crew, said the shirt was more graphic than the couple described.
"The description I heard was a picture of a graphic of a nake man and woman performing a sex act," airline
spokesman Tim Wagner told The Miami Herald. "We as an airline are in the service business, and we have the same latitude
as a restaurant that says 'proper attire' is required." The couple was given a refund by AA
Cat in cockpit causes emergency landing
BRUSSELS -- A Belgian airliner made an emergency landing after an agitated passenger -- a cat -- got into the cockpit
and attacked the co-pilot, the airline said Tuesday. The SN Brussels flight from the Belgian capital to Vienna, Austria, had
been in the air about 20 minutes Monday when "it was noticed" that a passenger's cat had escaped from its cage, "although"
it it not yet clear how," according to an airline statement. "Once free, the animal proceeded to wander around the cabin,"
slipping into the cockpit when meals were being delivered to the two-man flight crew, it said. "At this stage the animal
became agitated and nervous," it said. An airline spokeswoman added that the cat scratched the co-pilot's arm. The
pilot decided to return to Brussels as a precaution, and the 58 passengers departed once more two hours later on another
flight. The cat had been checked in Oslo, Norway, in an internationally-approved "flight transport bag," but the airline said
it may end up changing its procedures for pets in the cabin once it concludes its investigation. "At no time throughout the incident
was the passengers' security affected in any way," it said.
Now hear this! It's not a bomb
Part of an American Airlines terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth was evacuated
for several hours Thursday after baggage screening detected a suspicious
object with various wires. It turned out to be a "vintage microphone,"
authorities told the Associated Press. The terminal was reopened and airport
operations resumed after a bomb squad used a robot to revoe the pipe-shaped
object. "We always err on the side of caution ... to ensure the safety of
the traveling public," said Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation
Security Administration.
Singapore Airlines introduces text messaging check-in
Passengers on Singapore Airlines will be able to check in for flights by sending a text message on their mobile phones, the
carrier announced Tuesday. The short message service (SMS) function is the latest use of technology that Singapore
Airlines has introduced to make checking in easier and quicker, adding to Internet, mobile phone, and fax facilities.
"This enables our customer to check in in the manner that is most convenienent and saves time for passengers," the airline's
senior vice president of products and services, Yap Kim Wahf, said in a statement. After checking in remotely, passengers need
to pick up their boarding passes and check in their luggage on the day of departure from a dedicated counter, rather than
wait in regular queues. The SMS service will initially apply to flights departing from Singapore, Auckland, Bandar Seri Begawan,
Bangkok, Chennai, Christchurch, Dhaka, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Penang, and Taipei. Passengers have to first
register on the airline's website to use the service.
September, 2004 | |
|
| Page 5 |
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
BRATS Home Page