Continental Cancels Flights After Pilots Come Down With Mystery Illness

Some sort of mysterious flu bug must be circulating the in cockpits of Continental flights. The airline has been forced to cancel 24 flights today because too many pilots called in sick.

A rep for the United Continental Voltron, which has, coincidentally, been negotiating a contract with pilots, said that most of the cancelled flights originate out of the Continental hub in Newark, NJ, and that the airline is trying to book passengers on other flights, ones that presumably have pilots to fly them.

The rep wouldn't say whether or not the airline views the rash of sick calls as an orchestrated "sick out" by pilots and a rep for the Air Line Pilots Association union didn't return Reuters' calls... probably because they were out sick too.

Continental cancels 24 flights for pilot sick calls [Reuters]

from Chris Morran @ The Consumerist

Salisbury Built Sternwheeler to Cruise Ohio River

A new 150-passenger sternwheeler is scheduled to make at least two stops in Marietta during the fall of 2012.

The Queen of the Mississippi from American Cruise Lines, currently under construction in Salisbury, Md., is slated to make port in the Pioneer City during cruises between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in September and October 2012.

"I'm very happy to hear they're bringing a boat back to Marietta," said Councilman Harley Noland, operator of the local Trolley Tours business and former proprietor of the Levee House Cafe.

It's been three years since the historic Delta Queen paid its last visit to the Ohio River levee before the sternwheeler was taken out of service. The Delta Queen is now a floating hotel in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Two other sternwheelers that once made stops in Marietta-The Mississippi Queen and American Queen- have also been taken out of passenger service since 2008.

READ MORE …

The Queen of the Mississippi is being built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, MD. – Ed.

Guy Arrested For Saggy Pants Plans To Sue US Airways

Yesterday, all charges were dropped against a University of New Mexico football player who was thrown off a plane and arrested by a US Airways pilot last month for wearing pj's that sagged off his posterior. Today his attorney says that Deshon plans on suing US Airways over how he was treated.

Deshon's attorney said his client had faced "a great deal of adversity" and public humiliation over his ordeal, and that US Airway has yet to either apologize or give a refund for the $500 flight he missed.

The football player had been told by a crew member to pull up his pants but his hands were full and he said he would do so when he got to his seat, according to his attorney. Police say that after Deshon reached his seat, he argued with the pilot for 10 minutes, and he allegedly got physical with police officers when they arrived. Deshon was arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and trespassing.

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Lufthansa Starts Biofuels Flights

Germany's biggest airline, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, says it has begun trial flights using biofuels in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Lufthansa said Friday that an Airbus A321 flying the Hamburg-Frankfurt route four times daily will use a 50/50 mix of regular fuel and biosynthetic kerosene in one of its two engines for the next six months.

The airline says during the test period the use of biofuel will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 1,500 tons.

German environmental group BUND criticized the project, saying any short-haul flight is bad for the environment compared with train travel.

In another effort to reduce emissions and fuel use, Lufthansa said Monday it will begin using a new plastic cargo container that is 15 percent lighter than the traditional aluminum ones.

from the Washington Examiner / AP

Stun Gun Found on JetBlue Plane at Newark Airport

If you feel smug when you get away with bringing more than three ounces of shampoo in your carry-on, you ain't seen nothing yet — the FBI is investigating the discovery of a stun gun on a JetBlue flight into Newark Airport yesterday, officials said.
The New York Daily News reports that the weapon was found in a seat back pocket by a cleaning crew on Flight 1179, after the plane landed from Boston on Friday night.

The airline alerted Transportation Security Administration agents and the FBI is now on the case as to how such a thing could've possibly slipped past screeners.
Stun gun found on JetBlue plane following arrival at Newark Airport [New York Daily News]
from M. B. Quirk @ The Consumerist

Gas Prices in Maryland and Virginia Below National Avg.

Travelers taking the car somewhere this holiday weekend will find gas prices in Virginia and Maryland at or below the national average.

Nationwide the average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.56, the same as the average price in Maryland. The average price in Virginia is a little less at $3.42.

Gas is more expensive in the District of Columbia, where a gallon of regular currently costs $3.87.

from the Associated Press

Five Great Places to Celebrate the Fourth in Hampton Roads

For our Virginia readers, the Daily Press offers some great options for enjoying the Fourth.  For our Lower Shore readers, you might find it interesting what kind of alternatives are offered by other communities.

Yes, Hampton Roads is far bigger in population.  It also offers ideas for us to emulate, if on a smaller scale.

If you live in the Hampton Roads area, or are travelling through, here are some great choices:

• Fort Monroe
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Yorktown
• Victory Landing Park, Newport News
• Towne Point Park, Norfolk

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Fewer Maryland Travelers Expected July 4th

"Staycations" will rule this Fourth of July, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The group for motorists predicts that about 760,000 Marylanders will travel this coming weekend, a 2.9 percent decrease from last year.

Ragina C. Averella, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said that although travel by Marylanders is down from last year, the numbers are still promising overall.

"Despite what may appear to be less than a stellar forecast for the July 4 holiday, overall travel is robust, reflecting the second consecutive year of healthy travel figures after declines for the 2008 and 2009 holidays," Averella said.

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Great Travel Gadgets

In my teens, I never went on vacation without my yellow Sony Walkman. Today's travel gear may be more sophisticated, but the premise is the same: high tech toys that help out when it's time for R&R.

When I'm leaving on a trip, I spend hours syncing iPads, iPhones, and eReaders with my media library so I can watch new episodes of AMC's "The Killing," listen to tech podcasts, or read ebooks. But you need fun gear to play all of this digital content too.

Here's my checklist of a few simple toys that will make your summer travel go far more smoothly.

Marley Headphones and Earbuds
You can't listen to your fresh summer tunes if you don't have headphones. The House of Marley line of headphones and earbuds offer high-quality sound that you can feel good about -- they're made from recycled material.

Styled after the late Bob Marley, they'll make you look cool whether you are listening to a lecture about biochemistry or jamming to a Justin Bieber album. These are affordable too! They start at just $29.99 for the earbuds and $59.99 for the headphones.

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TSA Modifies Screening of Young Children

After incidents like this pat-down of an infant at a Kansas City airport landed the Transportation Security Administration in a public relations mess, the head of the agency said this morning that TSA has changed its policies regarding the screening of small children.

Speaking to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, TSA chief John Pistole said screeners have been told to make repeated attempts to screen young children instead of resorting to a pat-down.

Even so, Senator Rand Paul took Pistole to task over the screening of children:

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You CAN Carry-on More Than 3 oz. of Contact Solution

If you don't have time to buy a travel-sized version instead of your mondo bottle of saline solution before the next time you fly, don't sweat it. It's totally cool to fly with more than 3oz of contact solution, as it is covered under the TSA "liquid medication" provision.

This caveat allows for liquids to be packed in your carry-on bag as long as they are for a medical purpose. You also need to *not* put them in the usual quart-sized bag and should declare them to the security officer when you go through security.

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Pay $400 to Play With Bulldozers in Las Vegas

If you're looking for something different to do on vacation this summer, how about playing in a giant sandbox driving bulldozers and earth movers? That's the idea behind "Dig This," a "construction theme park" opening in Las Vegas this summer.

It's a 5 acre dirt park with two Caterpillar D5 track-type bulldozers and three Caterpillar 315CL hydraulic excavators. A 3 hour-package for $400 gets you a half-hour of safety and handling instruction and then you're free to let it rip. Build a 10 foot deep trench, pile a mound, or pick and move 2-ton tires and snag basketballs from safety cones.

"Once we get our model finalized, we could move to Atlanta and New York as well as Tokyo and Australia," the developer told Engineering News-Record.

You could also recreate this experience at home by getting a job in construction. Not only is it cheaper, they'll actually pay you to do it.

DigThis.info [Official Site]
Heavy-Duty Playground Opens in Las Vegas [ENR]

from Ben Popken @ The Consumerist

Save More Cash on Your Next Vacation Road Trip

Taking a vacation via your vehicle is already one way to save some money, instead of flying your entire family to a destination that will add even more costs. But just because you're saving by driving, there are even more ways you can stretch a buck on a road trip and still see the big attractions.

CNNMoney outlines a few ways road trippers can save, even when going somewhere with big ticket attractions like Orlando. Going to Disney World means you'll have to pay to get into the park, but since you have a car at your disposal, save money by staying somewhere outside the park.

Instead of paying $498 at somewhere like Disney's Grand Floridian in July, Expedia suggests finding a hotel within 20 miles like the Polynesian Isles Vacation Villas in Kissimmee, where you'll pay only $117 per night. Some hotels might even offer theme park packages.

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Chef Walks Through TSA Security With Bag of Knives

Another day, another example of the ineptitude of the TSA screeners at American airports. The latest news comes from an award-winning Chicago chef who says that while the screeners were busy worrying about the contents of his pockets, they completely missed an arsenal of knives in his carry-on.

A few days ago James Beard Award-winning chef Paul Kahan wrote the following on his Twitter account:

“Flew outa ohare today. Forgot I had four huge chefs knives in carry on bag. Got patted down for wallet. Knives went through. ”

That's right, travelers of the skies, the TSA will detain you while they inspect your contact lens solution, but feel free to just carry those huge, deadly knives onto the plane.

Chicago Chef Paul Kahan Slips Chef Knives Through TSA Security [Jaunted.com]

from Chris Morran @ The Consumerist

Hotel Openly Advertises for Fake Reviews on TripAdvisor

It's no secret that hotels put bogus user reviews of themselves on sites like TripAdvisor, but usually they're more discreet than this.TripAdvisor Watch found an example of an owner of several hotels in Hanoi posting on freelancer.com under his real name asking "if anyone can teach me the way to write reviews on this forum in which my reviews can not be found as fake and be removed."

The posting generated a bevy of bids for the project, many from people who said they had been paid to post fake online reviews in the past.

Always read user reviews with a grain a salt and look for overall themes reflected in comments across several different sites. User reviews are just one data set you use when making a purchasing decision.

In other news, if you're looking to earn some extra cash...

Earn Money Writing TripAdvisor Reviews [TripAdvisorWatch]

from Ben Popken @ The Consumerist

Delaware Not Worried About Bay Bridget Toll Hikes

Starting this fall, the cost for most drivers crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge will likely double, with Maryland officials considering their first toll increase since 1983.

But Delaware tourism leaders aren't too concerned that the steeper rates will crimp travelers' plans.

The tolls paid by travelers heading east, onto the Delmarva Peninsula, would rise from $2.50 now to $5 this fall, and jump again to $8 by 2013.

Drivers heading west, back into mainland Maryland, don't pay to cross the two-span, 4.3-mile-long bridge.

The Bay Bridge, one of only three ways for out-of-state visitors to get to the Delaware resorts, is the primary route for tourists from Washington, D.C., and the western shore of Maryland.

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Avoid Credit Card Problems When Traveling Overseas

Most credit cards in Europe have an embedded PIN chip in them, called an EMV card. Almost no American credit cards do. This causes big problems for Americans traveling in Europe but there are a few ways to minimize the hassle.

It's very common to swipe your American credit card over there and have the transaction be denied either because of the system itself or because the cashier doesn't know how to work it. NYT says the best thing to do is carry several credit cards and if one doesn't work, politely ask the merchant to try another one. You may have to try several times.

However, that doesn't help when dealing with things like a telephone, parking meter, or gas pump that can't recognize a magnetic-strip only card. You can't charm a kiosk.

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Delta Changes Bag Policy After MASSIVE Embarassment

Earlier this week, a group of U.S. soldiers returning from Afghanistan made headlines when they posted a YouTube video to voice their displeasure with Delta Airlines over the carrier's checked baggage policy for active duty members of the armed forces.

The soldiers had understood that they were allowed four pieces of luggage at no charge, while Delta said their policy only allowed three free bags. Regardless, the airline has since changed its policy to allow for an additional piece of luggage.

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Walk Your Family to the Plane

A lot of big dramatic scenes in movies where there's a last ditch effort by one lover to make it right with another lover by grabbing them just before they get on the plane don't seem like they could happen these days with new restrictions that make it so you have to buy a ticket in order to go past security. But it turns out they could still happen, we would just have to have an explanatory side-scene where they ask the ticket counter for what's called a "gate pass."

Lifehacker explains how these gate passes work. Basically they allow you to go through security and go all the way to the gate, just not get on the plane.

They're free and all you have to do is ask for one. It will help if you have the ticketholder standing next to you at the counter at the time - sorry, Hollywood - and securing yours at least an hour in advance of the flight is a wise move too.

Family Going on a Trip? You Can Walk them All the Way to the Boarding Gate if You Ask [Lifehacker]

from Ben Popken @ The Consumerist

9 Out of 10 Parents Installing Car Seats Incorrectly

According to the New York City Department of Transportation, 9 out of 10 parents install their child's car seat incorrectly. This could lead to your child getting hurt or killed in the event of an accident. Why risk it? Find an expert who can inspect your car seat and make sure you've put it in correctly. NHTSA has an online searchable database to find a certified technician near you.

Here's a few common ways from Consumer Reports that parents incorrectly install car seats and how they can be spotted and fixed.

Common mistakes when installing child car seats: What to watch for [Consumer Reports]

from Ben Popken @ The Consumerist