The Schlicken Empire

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Flybe has given the term low-fare airline an entirely new meaning: it is paying 172 people to fly back and forth across England and the Irish Sea to help it meet a target for passenger numbers at Norwich airport.

Flybe was narrowly falling short of a target to deliver at least 15,000 passengers on the Dublin-Norwich route in the 12 months ending on Monday, which meant it would have to forego a 280,000 pound ($550,000) rebate from the airport.

After the airport rejected a request for a partial rebate for almost hitting the target, Flybe hired 172 temps for 30-40 pounds each, plus a free bar and in-flight entertainment, though it admitted “it probably sounds like an early April fool.”

But Richard Jenner, managing director of the airport in eastern England, called the British carrier’s move “ludicrous” and said the target had to be met by regular fare-paying passengers.

“The ludicrousness is on the Norwich side who in essence have tried to hold us to ransom, putting at risk routes into Norwich,” Flybe Chief Commercial Officer Mike Rutter replied in a joint interview with Jenner on Irish public broadcaster RTE.

(Reporting by Andras Gergely; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source:

With the dollar at new lows, and passport regulations more onerous, it was natural to think Americans would have cut back on their overseas travel. But according to the official numbers, nearly 63.7 million U.S. residents traveled internationally in 2006. Take a closer look at Americans’ top 20 international destinations, as compiled by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI):

1. Mexico
19,659,000 travelers

Certain forms of Mexican travel to the U.S. may be a source of high anxiety these days, but traffic flowed freely the other way: Nearly 20 million Americans headed south in 2006—and spent 9% more than they did the previous year.

See the entire list after the jump. (more…)

Hmmmm. I believe I would probably wait a day or two before I flew with Mandarin. Considering the situation, you know, the burnt out plane and all.

These pictures (click on it for a larger view) were taken in Lebanon. These people are taking an extreame risk but you do what you’ve got to do. This was after the bombings. I think I would have taken the long way home instead, what do you think?