- A third person has died from Legionnaires’ Disease linked to a JW Marriott hotel in Chicago. Hotel officials removed the fountain and tests showed that the pool, whirlpool and both the men’s and women’s locker rooms contained “the same species of Legionella as were found in the ill patients.”
- Lufthansa woes continue as flight attendants went on strike again today in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin causing hundreds of cancellations. Lufthansa says only a “handful” of flights will be cancelled tomorrow.
- Did you know I’m an amenity kit collector? I wish I were flying Virgin Atlantic this Thursday as they’re giving away limited-edition Swarovski jewel-studded eye masks valued at $4,000. The airline is hiding five of them in coach (?!) amenity kits this week.
- Delta Air Lines quietly raised some award redemption levels in the SkyMiles program. Tisk, tisk. Leave it to hard-core Flyertalkers to discover the increase and (probably) be the first to chastise the airline.
- Last week was pretty quiet on the “air traveling idiot of the week” front. Fortunately, I have several candidates today. A flier aboard a Swiss flight on Sunday felt disturbed during his meal when the passenger in front of him reclined his seat, causing an altercation resulting in the plane returning to Zurich. A man was arrested over the weekend at an airport in Lagos after officials discovered he had more than $150,000 worth of cocaine stuffed inside roasted chickens. An Emirates flight attendant was arrested in England after flying drunk. She was eight times the legal limit for FAs (twice the limit for driving).
- Finally, Glenn Beck says he was subjected to treatment by American Airlines that would be considered “subhuman.” While I don’t agree with many (all) of Beck’s opinions, I think there might be a little truth to this story.
More news:
Anyone can be treated badly by a grumpy flight attendant on any given day. Beck should quit his whining.
Allegedly the FA didn’t treat everyone poorly, just him. I’m sure there is some truth to it, but it wouldn’t be surprised if there is just a bit of hyperbole there.
@Kris: I have a feeling the FA “had it out” for him. I could be wrong, but based on who he is and if the FA were keen to it and ultra-liberal, it wouldn’t surprise me. And you’re right… there might have been a bit of editorial liberty. This story is certainly making the rounds, anyway.