What a year in travel it was. The phrase "When pigs fly" took on a whole new meaning this year when US Airways allowed a pig to travel with its owner in first class from Philadelphia to Seattle. The airline said it was told the pig weighed a paltry 13 pounds. But an eyewitness says it tipped the Toledos at around 300 pounds. It behaved itself until the plane taxied to the gate in Seattle, when it went rampaging through the plane and tried to break into the cockpit. Never again, said the embarrassed airline.
This was the year when United pilots showed other airline employees how effective - and devastating - an unofficial work slowdown can be. It was the year 2800 passengers aboard four Premier Cruise Line ships were escorted to land - mid-vacation - as creditors seized the ships. And it was the year Singapore Airlines discovered a long-time employee in its accounting department had been taking a little off the top for himself. Over the course of 13 years, the employee embezzled nearly $35 million. Air Botswana, meanwhile, turned a record-breaking profit after a disgruntled pilot sneaked aboard a plane and destroyed three of the airline's four aircraft in a suicide mission. The resulting insurance payment gave the airline its best year ever - financially, that is.
Who knows what next year will bring? May I say that I'm glad I'm here to find out? And from the entire staff at the Savvy Traveler, we raise a glass to toast you, our listeners, for inviting us into your lives. Happy new year.
{ Rudy's View Index }
