Heathrow Terminal “Curfuffle” Costs Carrier $32 Million
Supermodel Naomi Campbell Arrested After Airport Ruckus
Court Views Martyrdom Videos From Alleged Terrorist Gang
Northwest Hikes Fees and Fares, Cuts Service
Billionaire Dismisses Plans for Subcontinental Tunnel, Still Owns Enormous Drill
HEATHROW TERMINAL “CURFUFFLE” COSTS CARRIER $32 MILLION – The Wall Street Journal
British Airways said the “curfuffle” that plagued Heathrow’s Terminal 5 most likely will cost them a whopping $32 million. Glitches forced the carrier to cancel 300 short-haul flights when baggage-handling systems malfunctioned. Lost revenue, lost bags and stranded passengers in hotel rooms accounts for the financial impact. With fingers crossed, BA aims to operate a full schedule on Saturday. The airline said its passenger traffic—measured in revenue passenger kilometers—fell 2.8 percent in March from a year earlier, with premium traffic down 5 percent and non-premium traffic down 2.3 percent.
Link: The Wall Street Journal
SUPERMODEL CAMPBELL ARRESTED AFTER CAUSING AIRPORT RUCKUS - USA Today
As if Heathrow’s Terminal 5 hasn’t caused enough problems, it also happened to inconvenience historically temperamental supermodel Naomi Campbell. According to the Associated Press, Campbell “was arrested late Thursday on suspicion of assaulting an officer after police were called to a disturbance at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5. Witnesses said Campbell was aboard a British Airways plane due to depart for Los Angeles when she became involved in a dispute over her luggage.” Campbell spokeswoman Annabel Fox announced she became upset when she found out one of her two checked bags had gone missing. The Mercury newspaper of Australia, however, said, “The notoriously bad tempered prima donna demanded British Airways staff immediately find the lost article. … [But] when they said they would have to find and forward it to her later, she flew into a rage.” Campbell is known for assaulting assistants and employees.
Link: USA Today
COURT VIEWS MARTYRDOM VIDEOS FROM ALLEGED TERRORIST GANG – The Times (UK)
Six videos containing pledges of martyrdom by an alleged gang of terrorists were presented in court. The suspected terrorist mob has been accused of scheming to detonate no fewer than seven transatlantic flights in late 2006, which they hoped would serve as an act of revenge against American and British foreign policy in Muslim lands. The first video seen by the jury featured one Umar Islam iterating that the innocent people he intended to kill are “too busy watching Home and Away and EastEnders, complaining about the World Cup, drinking your alcohol, to care about anything.”
Link: The Times (UK)
NORTHWEST HIKES FARES, BAG FEES, AND CUTS SERVICE - Reuters
With rising fuel costs, airlines are scrapping by and charging its passengers more in any way possible. Northwest Airlines announced it not only would cut domestic capacity by nearly 5 percent later this year, but also would charge fuel surcharges, higher fares and new fees for bags. In taking these measures, the carrier hopes to improve its bottom line by $100 million annually. It also will retire between 15 and 20 mostly older aircraft from its fleet. The airline emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, during which it cut employee pay and benefits, and it said it has no plans to seek wage concessions with these new moves.
Link: Reuters
BILLIONAIRE DISMISSES PLANS FOR SUB-CONTINENTAL TUNNEL, STILL OWNS ENORMOUS DRILL – Russia Today
When a tunnel connecting Russia to the United States was first proposed, the Tsars put the kibosh on it; the same thing happened again in the 1990s, when a 55-mile wide tunnel was proposed. Now, just as we thought Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich would make the dream happen and link Russia’s Chukotka region with Alaska, he has dismissed claims of the plans entirely. Despite Abramavich’s dismissal of plans, he still has in his possession a German-made drill that costs $160 million and is 19 meters wide—the world’s largest.
Link: Russia Today
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