All Articles Tagged "flights"
‘Shut That Ni–er Baby Up!’: Man Arrested After Slapping A Crying Baby In The Face
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A crying baby on a flight en route to Atlanta caused a man to lose his mind and ultimately, find himself the focus of an FBI investigation.
Joe Rickey Hundley of Idaho was charged with assaulting a minor after he slapped a two year old baby who wouldn’t stop crying.
According to CNN, the baby began crying because of the change in altitude as the plane was preparing to descent to Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport. Jessica Bennett, the child’s mother, said she began trying to soothe him but was unsuccessful.
At that point, Hundley, who was seated next to her, turned to her and said, “Shut that n***er baby up,” according to the FBI agent’s filed affidavit.
When that didn’t immediately happened, Hundley took an open hand and slapped the baby right in the face. Of course, the baby started crying even louder. As a result, the baby suffered a scratch under his right eye.
Many passengers were able to tell the story to the FBI agent once the plane landed.
Delta Airlines released a statement saying they were fully cooperating with authorities and apologized to passengers for the inconvenience.
Hundley isn’t answering any questions; instead, he referred questions to his lawyer who, as of Friday, had not returned CNN’s phone calls.
Lord, Lord, LORD, hold my mule while I run this race! I assume Miss Bennett must either have been in shock or she was more professional about it than anyone else I know would have ever been. I’ve literally thought about this all night and I am pretty sure that had this been me, this would have had a slightly different ending.
I’m pretty sure I would have made a quick phone call to make sure someone could come pick my baby from the airport. Then, I’d have spoken to the flight attendant to make sure my baby got to said person meeting us at the airport. At that point, I would have beat the you-know-what out of that old man for laying hands on my child. See, someone would have to pick my kid up because clearly we both would have been hauled off to jail. I just don’t see how it’s possible that I would not have laid hands on the man.
Here’s the thing: there’s not one person who likes being on a flight with a crying baby. But hey, things happen and you have to deal with it. This man was mad because the plane was landing and the baby’s ears were popping and it hurt. Not only did he hit the baby but he called him a “n***er baby.” Being old and annoyed doesn’t mean you get a pass for being a crazy racist.
I’m still floored.
I need to know: How do you think you would have reacted? Let’s talk.
You’re Not Going Anywhere: Winter Storm Nemo Leads to Canceled Flights
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As the Northeast hunkers down for the blizzard dubbed Nemo, airlines have canceled more than 3,000 flights for Friday, mostly from New York, Boston and Chicago airports, reports KTLA.
Amtrak has also canceled some trips. CNN is saying 30 inches of snow is possible in Boston.
According to the flight-monitoring site FlightAware, this is in addition to 475 flights canceled for Thursday and 454 canceled for Saturday.
Storm warnings and blizzard conditions have been predicted, and the snow is already falling in many places. According to the National Weather Service, two weather systems meet over the next 24 hours to “produce a major and potentially historic winter storm for the Northeastern U.S.”
KTLA explains: “A wet subtropical system rising from the Gulf Coast will collide with a polar front rolling in from the Midwest to produce a potentially historic winter storm. The icy rage is expected to begin in the New England area Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service predicts, and will last into Saturday.” The storms are expects to hit some of the areas that were devastated (and still recovering from) Superstorm Sandy.
But many of the nation’s largest airlines have announced they will waive the fees they normally charge to rebook a flight with a non-refundable ticket, reports the LA Times.
Travel Abroad Without Busting Your Budget
(Black Enterprise) — If your summer travel plans will take you abroad, youmight be a little bit concerned that all the fun activities you’re planning may wreak havoc on your finances. Fortunately, going overseas doesn’t have to be a budget killer, as long as you travel smart and do some planning ahead of time. Here’s how to get the most for your travel dollar on your next international vacation.
Score Flights for Less: Airline tickets are likely to be one of your biggest travel costs if you’re heading out of the country. Whether you’re going off to Italy, Brazil, Egypt or elsewhere, try these suggestions to land terrific airfare bargains.
The Real Cost of Flying
(New York Times) — FOR the last two weeks, I’ve been complaining about the fees and surcharges that some hotels add to the bill for things like maid service, bellhop availability and landscaping. But travelers have also been telling me to look harder at the fees the airlines are busily conjuring up. John Carrick, for example, said he was recently surprised to discover that transferring some of his wife’s American Airlines frequent flier miles to a daughter resulted in charges of $250 for the transfer of the mileage points, $30 for a “processing fee” and $18.75 in taxes. “I found the processing fee, which I had never heard of before, outrageous,” Mr. Carrick said. For some time now, the airlines have been adding fees for all sorts of things that used to be part of the ticket price. So figuring out the true costs of air travel has been baffling for business travelers as well as the corporate managers who pay the bills. American Express estimates that business travel accounted for $242 billion in domestic spending last year.
Buying an Airline Ticket? The Day You Purchase Matters
(Wall Street Journal) — Shoppers looking for the cheapest airfare can learn something from stand-up comedians: It’s all about timing. Ticket prices are highest on weekends, on average, according to online travel agencies, fare trackers and airline pricing executives. When’s the best time to buy? Travel experts have long said Tuesday is when sales are most often in place, which is true. An analysis of domestic fares shows that Wednesday also has good—and occasionally better—ticket prices.
Dodging Those Pesky Airline Fees
(New York Times) — AFTER scouring the Web for the cheapest flight possible, you finally book a ticket for your holiday trip. Think your work is done? Not if you want to avoid paying those pesky fees airlines are charging. Need to check a bag? That can cost between $15 and $35. Want to get on the standby list? It’s $50 to confirm a seat on an earlier flight. How about an exit row seat? Expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $40 depending on the airline, the seat and the length of the flight. Airlines say charging for services à la carte rather than bundling the fees into the cost of the ticket helps keep prices low and imposes fees only on passengers who use those services. Of course, charging separately also increases ancillary revenue — money generated by sources other than fares — which jumped 15.8 percent in the second quarter to $2.1 billion, compared with the same period last year, according to the Transportation Department. So far this year, airlines have collected $1.7 billion from baggage fees and $1.5 billion in reservation, cancellation and change fees alone.
