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This would be annoying too:

Southwest Airlines passenger masturbates 4 times mid-flight, calls it 'kind of kinky': Feds

A nightmare passenger aboard a Southwest Airlines flight is banned from the airline for life after authorities say he pleasured himself four times with his genitals out in front of other passengers during a trip from Washington to Arizona. Authorities added that he said he thought it was "kind of kinky" that a woman next to him did not appear to be uncomfortable with it, according to court papers and officials.
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Seated next to a woman, McGarity allegedly waited until the flight had taken off before he lowered his pants and shorts and began pleasuring himself with his genitalia exposed. The woman seated in seat 11E snapped photos of some explicit acts, and later complained and was ultimately moved to a different seat on the plane.

She later told Phoenix Police Department McGarity masturbated "on four separate occasions, using both his left and right hands," court papers state.
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The FBI later interviewed McGarity, when he admitted to the lewd behavior and said he had reached orgasm. He went on to say he knew the woman was aware of what he was doing and could see his genitals, and added that he also knew she photographed his alleged acts, the complaint states.

"MCGARITY advised he asked the female witness if she minded if he masturbates. According to MCGARITY, the female witness put her hands in the air and said, ‘it really doesn’t matter,'" the document further states. "[He] said he thought it was kind of kinky."

He allegedly added that he did not think the woman was uncomfortable with the acts.

Entire article: https://www.foxnews.com/us/southwest-airlines-passenger-masturbating-flight-feds
 
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US airlines are so desperate for pilots they are dropping some requirements and considering cutting training hours to get more pilots flying sooner
Taylor Rains
May 21, 2022
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-...quirements-to-get-more-pilots-shortage-2022-5
  • US airlines are once again grappling with the pilot shortage as travel demand skyrockets.
  • Regional carrier Republic Airways is considering reducing training requirements from 1,500 to 750 hours.
  • Senator Lindsay Graham reportedly could propose legislation that would increase the mandatory pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.
As the pilot shortage continues to rock the airline industry, carriers are struggling to fulfill their flight schedules, and some are even trying to reduce required training hours to get more pilots in the air.

On May 13, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci apologized in a YouTube video for continued flight cancellations that have been plaguing the carrier. Minicucci blamed the pilot shortage, saying "we had 63 fewer pilots than what we planned for when we built our scheduled," which caused a "ripple effect."


"By the time we caught this error, April and May schedules were bid on by our pilots and flight attendants, making it impossible to sufficiently adjust schedules to avoid cancellations," he continued.

The Seattle-based carrier is just one example of airlines struggling to find enough pilots to handle the busy post-pandemic travel surge. According to Bloomberg, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines have all cut regional flying in recent months due to the shortage, with United grounding 100 regional planes over the issue.

"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a quarterly earnings call in April, per CNBC.

Because of the lack of pilots, carriers are considering changing long-standing requirements to get more pilots flying sooner, like nixing degree requirements, dropping the mandatory number of flight hours needed to be hired, and increasing the pilot retirement age.

In January, Delta announced it would end the requirement for pilots to have a four-year degree, saying there are qualified candidates "who have gained more than the equivalent of a college education through years of life and leadership experience."

Regional carrier Republic Airways, which operates on behalf of Delta, American, and United, is trying to reduce its pilot training requirements. In April, the airline asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to hire pilots out of its training academy when they reach 750 flight hours instead of the 1,500 hours currently required for most pilots.

There are already hour exemptions in place for trainees with two or four-year degrees that reduce the required hours to 1,250 and 1,000 hours, respectively, according to The Points Guy.

Regional airlines are particularly impacted by the shortage as the mainline airlines scoop up their pilots. Mesa Airlines CEO Jonathan Ornstein told CNBC it takes 120 days to replace a pilot who gave their two weeks' notice to work for a bigger airline, and that the carrier could "use about 200 pilots."

In addition to reduced training and education requirements, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) could propose a bill that will increase the mandatory pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, reported aviation trade publication Airline Weekly. The move would be an attempted fix to the shortage, allowing pilots to stay on with their company for longer before being forced to retire.

"Optically, cutting the number of required flying hours may look like a riskier approach than allowing a healthy pilot to continue flying a few more years," Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, explained to Insider.

"What's critical, though, is for the FAA to promptly sit down with the airline industry to discuss these," he continued. "The airline industry literally doesn't have time for the FAA to drag out these discussions. We have seen route networks and airline schedules cut due to the lack of pilots, inconveniencing passengers and communities, and contributing to higher airfares."
 
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'Revenge travel' is surging. Here's what you need to know

June 16, 20225:53 AM ET
MANUELA LÓPEZ RESTREPO
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105...emic-revenge-travel-vacation-europe-recession
ap21088815940140-aec8dda2ec0b8bc8c20ab6c1ec2e1f78a707c323-s800-c85.webp

If you feel like everyone is on vacation without you right now, you might be right.

The data shows travel is surging — despite high plane-ticket prices — as many countries loosen their COVID-19 restrictions and reopen borders.

Analysts say vacation-starved Americans are making up for lost time during the pandemic, and there's even a new term for it: revenge travel.

Here's what's happening and what you should know if you want to join in.

What do the numbers show?
The short answer is that everything is going up lately: airfares, fuel costs and trips taken.

Travel insurance company Allianz Partners analyzed more than 40,000 trip itineraries planned for this summer and concluded that American travel to Europe will jump 600% from last year.

This sharp uptick is not limited to Europe. This month during an industry conference, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said that "demand is off the charts," while the airline industry is struggling to keep up.

ap20164357215333-94b9b81310e56a8de73ac7cafe7501339b7bfaef-s1100-c50.jpg

The Greek island of Mykonos is one of the many tourist destinations that are seeing an influx in visitors.
Derek Gatopoulos/AP

This boom is yet another consumer reaction to the pandemic, said Steve Trent, a research analyst for Citi who focuses on airline travel.

"Maybe 18 months ago, everybody wanted to buy a Peloton because people were still locked up, and now we're kind of in a different phase of the pandemic," he said, noting that infection rates were rising but hospitalizations hadn't reached the levels of previous waves.

So now, people are buying airline tickets.

"There's a shift from consumers purchasing goods to consumers purchasing services."

He said the data shows the prices of tickets sold so far for this July were 35% higher than tickets sold in July 2019 (the last summer before the pandemic started). Meanwhile, the industry as a whole isn't operating at the same level as it was before the pandemic. Fewer flight routes, fewer crew members and less equipment mean that capacity is down 15%, Trent said.

What exactly is "revenge travel"?
There's no dictionary definition yet, but industry professionals say the term "revenge travel" is starting to catch on.

They broadly describe revenge travel as a huge increase in people wanting to make up for time and experiences lost to the pandemic.

Eric Hrubant, the owner of CIRE Travel, a luxury travel agency in New York City, said that while the idea of travel as revenge didn't necessarily resonate with him, he saw it more as an attitude within the customers.



"This also could be the time to maybe do something more adventurous, where it's still not overrun with tourists," Hrubant added.

His final tip: Remember that everyone has had a rough past few years. Trying to return to normal has put a lot of stress on the fewer workers in the hospitality industry.

"Everyone is beat down and overworked right now," he said. "Be nice, be patient and just know that you're gonna have the best experience if you go into it with the best mindset."

So if one of these people go to Europe and take a tour, would it be considered a "Revenge Tour?" :thinking:
 
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I flew recently and had an overnight from CA to Chicago. The first flight was delayed and once we landed in Chicago I had 25 minutes to get from one terminal to another (different airline for final leg from Chicago to Cleveland). Landed in Chicago and did my best OJ impersonation getting to the right departure gate in 20 minutes. All I want to share is there is a special place in Hell for people walking four wide at a slow pace in O'Hare on a Monday morning.

PS - Although my flights were all jacked up due to something that originated out of LaGuardia (surprise), the airlines were great getting us switched around.
 
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This is what Americans hate most about flying — and it’s not reclining seats, or even disruptive passengers

A new survey from the Vacationer website finds that Americans are most bothered by passengers who kick the seat in front of them or who display drunken or disruptive behavior. The Airplane Etiquette Violations Survey was based on a poll of 1,098 Americans over the age of 18, who were asked to pick from a list of actions that “they found irritating,” according to the Vacationer. Respondents could select as many actions as they wanted.

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Entire article; https://www.marketwatch.com/story/d...can-fliers-the-most-11663606727?siteid=yhoof2
 
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A worker at San Antonio’s international airport died after being sucked into a jet’s engine late on Friday.

A source who was briefed directly on the case told the Guardian on Sunday that it appeared the worker had “intentionally stepped in front of the live engine” on the jet and that police were investigating that aspect. But the cause of worker’s death hadn’t officially been determined Sunday, and the source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation into the case was still pending.

The worker’s death occurred at about 10.25pm as a Delta Air Lines jet which had just arrived from Los Angeles was taxiing to an arrival gate, US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials said in a statement.


Officials added that the worker – whose identity has not been publicly released – was ingested into the one engine which the plane in question had on at the time.
 
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