737 Hits Calf in Indonesia

A Merpati Nusantara Airlines 737 landing on the Indonesian island of Papua hit a calf on the runway at Merauke Airport over the weekend. The airport wasn’t fully fenced in from the nearby village from which the calf escaped. One of the plane’s engines was damaged, but no people were injured. The report also says that it’s not clear whether the calf was injured, but I’m guessing he ended up delicious.

Has BA Been Flying Empty Planes Across the Atlantic to Save Its Slots?

British Airways has been accused of flying empty widebodies across the Atlantic in a bid to keep its landing slots at London airports. This seems a bit odd (and iah-phx doesn't buy it at all) that they would fly empty planes from London to Houston (and other cities) considering the huge amount of fuel that would be used on the flight (the British articles about this all talk about the CO2 emissions from an empty plane). For its part, BA says it has flown a handful of these so-called ghost flights because it needed to reposition crew (that doesn't really make much sense either) and that no crews were available to staff these flights. In short, I don't know what the hell is going on over there.

But what's interesting is how the British press is outraged from an environmental standpoint. While people in the US are still arguing about whether there's any global warming at all, Europe has woven the issue into how it looks at every aspect of business.

Saudi Prince Buys Himself an A380

Airbus announced the identity of the first person to purchase his own A380 is Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, the world's 13th richest man. Plans for the airplane, which features 6,400 square feet of interior space, are still being finalized, but they will likely include several bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, showers, gym, and an area for "courtiers" (I don't know). The aircraft will carry about 50 people.

Man Covered in Salad Dressing Arrested at DFW

(via Jaunted)

A man was arrested at Dallas/Fort Worth airport after police found him sitting on an American Eagle jetbridge covered in salad dressing. He also didn't notice that he was missing a shoe.

A quick investigation found that he had spent the day drinking vodka at an airport watering hole.

Will Australia Implement a Tax for Fat Passengers?

An Australian doctor is crusading to get airlines to implement a tax for obese passengers to offset the extra fuel it takes to carry the portly travelers. Says the doctor (without hyperbole, of course): "Flight attendants in the US have to go down the aisle handing extension seatbelts out like headphones...And it's starting to happen here, too.'' Right.

This all seems to stem from a trip he took where he had to pay extra to transport his golf clubs, while passengers of a certain size got to squish their oversized frames into narrow coach seats without paying an extra fee. There is, of course, no chance of this tax being implemented.