American Airlines Baggage Debacle: Yet Another Reason Why Flying Sucks

Ina Maier — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:09:00 GMT

If you've got flights booked on American Airlines, you might want to re-think that decision. If you care about getting anywhere with your luggage, that is.

Twenty-five American Airlines flights departing from JFK have been delayed today when the software that operates the baggage conveyor belts malfunctioned. But it's not the flight delays that are the problem (most ranged in the hour-long range - not that bad, by modern day airline standards) but the question of the luggage even getting there.

Workers had no choice but to sort through every piece of baggage by hand, which resulted in a baggage overflow disaster that kinda makes you wish robots really did run everything. It got so bad that, according to Reuters, passengers were given the option of bothering to check theirs bags, or even flying at all.

We can't find a good picture of this debacle (they're all too small) but this one will have to suffice.

We may not know much about flying, but we can assume that this does not bode well for American Airlines. (Yup, and it looks like we're right on the, er, money: Reuters also reports that American Airlines shares were down 2.43% at midday today.)

Also: here's a grainy, albeit kind of hilarious, video of the whole debacle - thanks to citizen journalism site iReport.

[via Reuters]

Can I Have A Window Seat In The Non-Masturbating Section?

Katie Halper — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:45:00 GMT

A 21-year old woman is suing American Airlines for failing to protect her from involuntarily and unknowingly joining the mile high club. Apparently as the woman slept during her flight from LA to Dallas, she got more than just beauty sleep. 20 minutes before the flight landed, the woman woke up to discover that a man had moved into the seat next to her, was looking at her, and masturbating. The woman responded by turning towards the window and nervously running her fingers through her hair when, in a There's Something About Mary moment (no, not the franks and beans one), she realized she had “a substantial amount of an extremely sticky substance in her hair,” -- and it wasn't an anti-frizz hair product. The woman then cried and unsuccessfully attempted to get the attention of the flight attendants. According to the law suit, "a passenger in the row in front of the woman comforted her and verified the semen in her hair." This sounds traumatic, and nobody wants to blame the victim. But it seems like the American Airlines flight attendants acted appropriately-- once the plane landed, they notified the airport police and the man was arrested. And anyone who has ever needed an extra blanket knows how hard it is to get the attention of a flight attendant. But we also know the old adage, "if at first you don't succeed in getting the attention of a flight attendant to report being masturbated on, dust yourself off and try again, even if that means getting out of your seat while the fastened seat belt sign is on."

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American Airlines Baggage Debacle: Yet Another Reason Why Flying Sucks

Can I Have A Window Seat In The Non-Masturbating Section?