Iraq Veteran Has Necklace With a Love Letter Inside Confiscated by TSA

by Gary Leff

Aaron-Bradley-necklace-Janelle-Verke
Aug 12 2019

Empty shell casings are permitted in carry on luggage — just not if they contain a love letter to an ex-Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, apparently. The TSA defends their supervisor saying they have ‘discretion’ to throw away items of sentimental value belonging to members of the military.

After an outcry though they went ahead and violated policy and returned the man’s necklace, which had also contained a fingerprint from his late grandfather and a cross he wore through his wartime deployments.

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American Airlines Taking Israel’s Biggest-Ever Subsidy for New Dallas – Tel Aviv Route

by Gary Leff

Aug 12 2019

Back in early May I wrote that American was looking to re-start service to Tel Aviv with a Boeing 787. They announced plans to do so from Dallas Fort-Worth last week. The airline intends to offer three-times weekly service beginning September 9, 2020 – so more than a year away.

Unlike most other flights between the U.S. and Israel this one isn’t focused on the Jewish market or even directly the tech sector (though there’s tech in Texas to be sure). Instead it should draw evangelical tourists, and should be the preferred flight for travel from places like Waco and Tulsa.

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Classic Anti-Competitive Behavior: With Other Airlines Gone, American Drops Dallas – Iceland Service Too

by Gary Leff

american plane
Aug 12 2019

In November 2017 American Airlines announced Dallas Fort-Worth – Reykjavik service. They were only flying there because two Icelandic carriers started flying to Dallas. It was classic capacity dumping. Now with those airlines gone from the market, American is pulling out too — and moving their Reykjavik flight to Philadephia, where they’d have logically put it all along.

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Flight to Los Angeles Rains Down Glowing Engine Pieces By the Hundreds on People Below

by Gary Leff

plane on runway
Aug 12 2019

A Norwegian Boeing 787-8 took off from Rome Fiumicino enroute to Los Angeles as flight DY7115 on Saturday. As it climbed from runway 16R, one of its Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines suffered an uncontained failure. Pieces of the engine — described as “glowing pieces of metal” rained down on the town below “in the hundreds.”

The pilot stopped climbing at 3000 feet and returned to the same runway 23 minutes after takeoff with all 310 passengers and crew on board safe. However 12 homes and 25 vehicles were reportedly damaged by falling parts. One person was actually hit, but wasn’t injured.

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Hong Kong Departing Flights Cancelled as Protesters Take Over Airport, No United/American Travel Waivers

by Gary Leff

Aug 12 2019

Clashes between police and democracy protesters have escalated. Here an officer arrests a man on Sunday night, pressing his knee into the man’s face pushing him into his own pooling blood as he calls out “Don’t do this. I’m begging you.” There were 45 protesters injured over the weekend. Of those 25 remain in the hospital.

Spurred on by the government’s increasingly violent crackdown, protesters occupied the airport on Monday. Traffic came to a standstill and protesters crossed the roads leading in and out. All departures were cancelled for the rest of the day.

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Fly American’s New Casablanca Flight in Business From $772 Roundtrip

by Gary Leff

Aug 11 2019

American Airlines is launching summer seasonal service between Casablanca, Morocco and Philadelphia with a Boeing 757 offering lie flat seats in business class. This leverages their new oneworld partnership with Royal Air Maroc, that will allow for connections around Africa and the Mideast.

American has filed a really cheap fare originating in Casablanca to myriad cities in the U.S. and back.

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Two Airports Are Up For the Best Public Restroom in America Award

by Gary Leff

seatac restroom
Aug 11 2019

You’d never expect a U.S. airport to be nominated for the country’s best public restroom. At Dallas Fort-Worth, for instance, when they renovated the A terminal they didn’t even refresh the bathrooms and when they re-do terminal C they’ve scaled back the budget so there’s no money to do the restrooms there, either.

However a new restroom in Seattle’s North Satellite terminal is a finalist for American’s best. And so is a restroom in the refreshed New York LaGuardia Terminal B. Say what?

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