• 35k number of miles on Steve Kamb’s travel itinerary
• 9 number of countries he’ll be visiting
• $419 total cost of the trip; no, that’s not a typo source

• stupidA passenger on an airplane in the Democratic Republic of Congo hid a crocodile in a duffel bag, with the intent of selling it.
• horrific The crocodile got loose, scared passengers, and directly led to the plane’s crash. Twenty people died in the accident. source

• I don’t think he’s going to be in trouble very long. I think he just had a very small meltdown, and I think he deserves to be able to have that meltdown if you saw the egg on his head where he got smacked.
• Diane Slater • Discussing her son’s memorable meltdown. Flight attendant Steven Slater’s quitting – getting into a fight with a passenger, grabbing a couple of beers, and escaping through the plane’s inflatable chute – was perhaps the most bizarrely random thing to ever happen on an airplane, ever. It’s good to know that his mom has his back on this, but she may understand it better than most – she’s a retired flight attendant. source

• As we’re sure you’ve heard, Ted Stevens died in a plane crash. Looking beyond the man’s history (a long-standing Alaska senator who finished his career in scandal) and the crash itself (which killed five and injured four others, including a top aerospace executive), it’s good to point out a little bit of the culture around why Ted Stevens, who was 86 years old at the time of the crash, was in a small plane in a remote region of Alaska, rather than, say, on the road. Simple answer: It’s pretty much the best option available. source

Alaska: A state built for small planes

• 1.3 the number of pilots per 100 people in Alaska source

• » Why? Simply put, Alaska has a very complex geography which makes it impossible to drive to the many small towns that pepper the state. So instead, they fly. In fact, there’s a whole cottage industry around flying in small aircraft, or air taxis, as the natives call them. So, as a result, it has a higher pilots-per-capita than any other state by far.

Stevens: Synonymous with planes in Alaska

• Stevens was no stranger to planes, or plane crashes. In 1978, Stevens survived a plane crash in Anchorage that killed his first wife, Ann. It’s also worth pointing out that Ted Stevens has an entire airport named after him, the “Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.” Will they keep the name? It’s going to be a strange reminder of a man who died in a plane crash.

• 24
  hours the size of the
  intervals airlines used
  to re-check no-fly lists
  before today
• yes
  sir Times Square suspect Faisal Shahzad managed to board a plane before the list was updated
• two
  hours the size of the new intervals to check for individuals with “special circumstances” source

• » Our take: Why aren’t they using a high-security equivalent to Twitter to do something like this? Why isn’t it updated to the minute? It seems silly that it’s not.

• $29 billion in revenue per year
  for the combined airline

• 370 number of destinations the combined airline will cover; it’ll have 10 hubs
• 90,000 number of employees the airline will have after the merger source

• It seems we’re getting pretty good at exporting our disasters. I think people might get funny ideas about Iceland. … We’re not to blame for an eruption.
• Icelandic political commentator Egill Helgason • Regarding the country nicked by multiple crises in the last couple of years – crises that have hit Europe as hard as the tiny island. The country, however, has reason to feel a bit of relief about the volcano. Despite its continent-grounding air drama, the country itself isn’t affected by it too much. Flights are even getting out of the capital, no problem. Maybe we should hate Iceland. source

• $200 million in losses for the airlines daily source

• » Side effects: If the delays stretch out for weeks, not just days, experts say that the crisis could start having major side effects on the economy, such as factory supply chains. The volcano is showing no signs of letting up, by the way, and in fact may be intensifying today.

• Because, hey, who needs consumer choice, anyway? The two airlines are in the kind of talks that saw Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines merge recently, a move which confused the pilots. They’ve almost merged a few times already, most recently in 2008. But with the warm feeling of precedent slicking the runway, the skies could clear. It might just happen this time. source

• Starting in April, the limit is three hours. Ever get that weird cabin fever feeling from being stuck in one place for too long? Well, after one too many incidents where people were stuck in planes on the tarmac for as many as 10 hours (holy crap!), the feds have stepped in. “Airline passengers have rights, and these new rules will require airlines to live up to their obligation,” said transportation secretary Ray LaHood. Good someone remembered that. Bad someone had to say it. source