Free Republic

I would greatly appreciate a larger or better version of this: The original was done by CNN. I had a couple stored on my hard drive, but they were lost during a computer crash last year... Thanks!

Federal agents have searched several Western Washington locations in an expanding investigation of two Pakistani men arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday after their names appeared on terrorism watch lists. Agents also have scrutinized passenger lists for possible associates of the men on the American Airlines and JetBlue flights for which they tried to buy tickets. The men, who bought one-way tickets with cash, have not been charged with a crime and have not been publicly identified. One, a 29-year-old with a New York driver's license, had been detained and released at an unnamed airport once before and had...

A group of family members, survivors and first responders shared their thoughts about 9/11 while visiting the nearly completed Pentagon Memorial here on Aug. 28. Pentagon Memorial Fund manager Jim Laychak visits the Pentagon Memorial, Aug. 28, 2008. Laychak lost his younger brother, David, an Army civilian employee, during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. The $22 million memorial, Laychak said, is a culmination of years of effort and hard work. “It is a great feeling of pride and accomplishment. Everybody has worked together on this over the past five and a half years,” he said. Tom Heidenberger, 62, lost...

Tue, Aug. 12, 2008 American Airlines has truth on its side, still gets beaten up By TREBOR BANSTETTER tbanstetter@star-telegram.com It sounds like another of those "greedy airline" stories that are always so popular around the water cooler: American Airlines is forcing soldiers heading to combat duty in Iraq to pay baggage fees for checking duffel bags loaded with military equipment. It’s a great story, except that it’s largely untrue. (snip)

Israel's national airline, El Al, and American Airlines said Tuesday they will begin selling tickets on each other's connecting flights beginning in September. The agreement replaces a code-share deal that El Al had with Delta Air Lines Inc. until late last year, when Delta began its own direct flights from the United States to Tel Aviv. The agreement with American will begin Sept. 2. American will sell tickets on El Al flights from the US to Tel Aviv as if they were American jets. El Al will sell seats, or place its "code" on tickets, on some American domestic flights...

LOS ANGELES -- American Airlines Flight 725, scheduled to fly nonstop from Boston to Los Angeles on Friday, was diverted to Oklahoma City after a disruptive passenger took his clothes off and had to be subdued.

MIAMI (CBS) ― Savvy travelers who think they can get around an airline's new fees for checked bags by just bringing a big carry on may have to come up with a 'plan B' American Airlines has started cracking down on the size of the bags passengers stuff into the overhead bins. "I'm very frustrated because I travel a lot," said Corrine Celestine. Air passengers like Celestine say they're upset that American is now scrutinizing the size of carry on bags and charging an extra fee if the bags are over the stated limit. "It's really frustrating, the airlines are...

US Airways is imposing new passenger fees in the face of rising jet fuel prices, but it's going even further than some other airlines have recently. The Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier (NYSE: LCC), which has a large presence at Reagan National Airport, will start charging $2 for nonalcoholic beverages in coach class on all domestic flights. The fee covers sodas, juices, bottled water and coffee. The charge for alcoholic beverages in coach will increase to $7. Following the lead of several other airlines, US Airways also will charge $15 for the first checked bag for tickets purchased beginning July 9 for...

The aging planes of United, American, and Delta guzzle more gas and make the U.S. carriers more vulnerable to soaring oil prices—and to their global competitors For a look at one of the biggest headaches facing U.S. airlines, head out to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport any day and watch the big jets taking off for the U.S. There goes United Airlines to Chicago, American Airlines to Boston, Delta Air Lines to Atlanta, and Air France to New York's John F. Kennedy airport. What's the big deal? Many of the U.S. carriers' planes are Boeing 767s, a model that dates...

American Airlines’ new bag policy discriminates against women, because most women will have to check their bag while men will not. As an example, here are the non-solid products my husband and I take when traveling: My List: Shampoo, Cream Rinse, Body Wash, Body Lotion, Spray Perfume, Toothpaste, Mouthwash, Contact Lens Solution, Glasses Cleaner, Face Cleanser, Toner, Facial Night Cream, Moisturizer, Sunscreen, Vaseline Lip Therapy, Hand Cream, Mascara, Lipgloss My Husband’s List: Shampoo, Cream Rinse, Toothpaste, Mouthwash, Glasses Lens Cleaner Since we are required to put our lotions in a quart bag if we want to carry them on board,...

The Federal Aviation Administration is going to begin alerting its top headquarters officials when field inspectors miss airline safety inspections, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced Friday. Peters also demanded that the FAA and American Airlines explain to her within 14 days why 250,000 U.S. air travelers endured canceled flights last week. American grounded its MD-80 jetliners and canceled 3,100 flights in order to inspect or redo wiring that was supposed to have been completed between Sept. 5, 2006, and March 5, 2008....

As luck would have it, AMR Corp. couldn't have picked a worse time to reward its top people with company stock. American Airlines Inc., its principal subsidiary, is coming off a week with 3,300 flights canceled due to inadequate inspections and modifications. And Wall Street analysts expect AMR to report a quarterly loss of around $300 million Wednesday, the parent company's worst first quarter in five years. On top of all that, the company's stock price is trading near four-year lows – less than one-fourth the price 15 months ago. Still, the company this week is set to distribute around...

ATLANTA - Air traveler angst was sure to continue Friday as American Airlines grounded hundreds more flights. The financial toll and loss of goodwill likely would grow as well, as the inspection-related mess spread further to other carriers and hurt an industry already bleeding cash thanks to high fuel costs. Lawmakers were asking questions and some fed-up air travelers headed for trains. Others gave the airlines a pass, saying the companies were doing the best they could. "If somebody's got a choice between being in a plane crash and being late, is there a choice?" Jane Bernard, a writer from...

DALLAS - American Airlines canceled 850 flights Wednesday — more than one-third of its schedule — as it spent a second straight day inspecting the wiring on some of its jets, the same issue that caused the nation's biggest airline to scrub hundreds of flights two weeks ago. American canceled nearly 500 flights on Tuesday, stranding hundreds of passengers. Federal inspectors found problems with wiring work done two weeks ago, although the airline says safety was never jeopardized. Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, said cancellations could continue beyond Wednesday as the airline works on its MD-80 jets. American uses...

March 24, 2008, 5:00 a.m. Chilling ConfirmationYes, Saddam Hussein was an Islamofascist threat. By Deroy Murdock As Operation Iraqi Freedom is now five years old, a new study confirms that ousting Saddam Hussein was justified and vital to U.S. national security. Though war critics hate to admit it, the Baathist dictator was up to his mustache in aid for Islamofascist terrorism. As a report from the Institute for Defense Analyses explains, “captured Iraqi documents uncovered strong evidence that links the regime of Saddam Hussein to regional and global terrorism.� IDA’s review of some 600,000 documents discovered in Iraq since...

Lawsuit: Staff Did Not Help Woman After Man Ejaculated On Her A 21-year-old Harris County woman filed a lawsuit against American Airlines Monday, alleging her trip to visit family and friends in Los Angeles last spring break turned X-rated.

A major airline is under fire from environmentalists for flying an aircraft across the Atlantic with only five passengers on board. American Airlines has been accused of reckless behaviour It led to American Airlines being accused of reckless behaviour by green lobby groups. The latest “eco- scandal” flight took place on February 9 after American was forced to cancel one of its four daily services from Chicago to London. While it was able to find places for nearly all the passengers on the fully-booked flight, five still had to be accommodated. Those who did fly were upgraded to the business...

NEW YORK — An American Airlines passenger died after a flight attendant told her he couldn't give her any oxygen and then tried to help her with faulty equipment, including an empty oxygen tank, a relative said. The airline confirmed the flight death and said medical professionals had tried to save the passenger, Carine Desir, who was returning home to Brooklyn from Haiti. Desir, who had heart disease, died of natural causes, medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said Sunday. Desir had complained of not feeling well and being very thirsty on the Friday flight from Port-au-Prince after she ate...

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Smoke filled the cockpit of an American Airlines flight from Puerto Rico, forcing an emergency landing, an airport official said. Seven people — the pilot, co-pilot, three flight attendants and two passengers — were taken to a hospital Wednesday, but none of the injuries was life threatening, The Palm Beach Post reported. A windshield was also broken, but the reason was unclear.

Although admitting he wasn't "very effective" as a spy, a federal judge today sentenced a Des Plaines man to four years in prison for his role as an Iraqi "sleeper" secretly placed in Chicago for Saddam Hussein's spy service. Sami Khoshaba Latchin, 61, was convicted by a federal jury in April. Latchin, who worked for American Airlines at O'Hare Airport, had lied about his intelligence links with the former government in Iraq and made false statements to U.S. immigration officials when he applied for naturalization in 1998. Now Latchin faces deportation - which the federal government wants - and Judge...

American Airline Employees' Honor Fallen SoldiersPOSTED: 4:07 pm EDT October 8, 2007 UPDATED: 7:25 pm EDT October 8, 2007 DETROIT -- A group of American Airlines employees’ at Metro Airport used their free time to design a military transportation cart for fallen Michigan soldiers. “Well, we created the military cart to honor the fallen soldier and we thought it was fitting to raise the bar,” said American Airlines ground crew Dan Howard. The employees solicited local businesses to design the military transportation cart. “It has been a combined effort from all. It was not an issue that American Airlines said...

ORONO, Maine -- Charles Frank Burlingame III was the pilot flying American Airlines Flight 77 on Sept. 11. Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon with 64 people onboard. It is believed Burlingame helped divert the plane from its original destination -- the White House -- by literally fighting off the terrorists in the cockpit. In an FBI report released after the crash, it was revealed that the pilot died of injuries sustained before the plane hit the ground. Burlingame's family has requested that he be buried in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, an honor bestowed only on soldiers and their families. ...

In a lawsuit similar to many others that preceded it, American Airlines is taking on Google's keyword-based AdWords business by alleging the practice is a blatant example of trademark infringement. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, makes the same argument presented by a number of other companies that have sued the search giant during the past five years: Google has no right to sell company trademarks for use as keyword triggers that elicit paid advertisements. In addition to the assertions of trademark infringement and other claims, the lawsuit alleges Google engages in false advertising when it...

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - AMR Corp. (AMR.N: Quote, Profile , Research) , parent company of American Airlines, might be a buyout target of a group including Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile , Research), say people familiar with the matter, according to the Feb. 26 edition of BusinessWeek magazine. The proposed bid is said to be between $9.8 billion, or $46 a share, and $11.1 billion, or $52 a share, according to the magazine. Sources say it is uncertain that a bid for the company will materialize, BusinessWeek said. Neither Goldman...

Angry passengers pitch airline changes By TREBOR BANSTETTER STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER Passengers on an American Airlines flight that was stuck on the tarmac in Austin for nearly 10 hours last month are pushing for a national Passengers Bill of Rights to protect traveling consumers. The proposal would require airlines to return passengers to terminal gates after three hours on the tarmac. It would also impose penalties on airlines for losing baggage and bumping passengers, and create a consumer committee to review and investigate complaints. The measure doesn't yet have a backer in Congress. But it comes as lawmakers are increasing...

A federal jury has ordered American Airlines to pay $400,000 to a computer consultant who was pulled from a flight at Logan International Airport because of security concerns, then denied reboarding even after he had been cleared by State Police. "I felt like I was being treated like a terrorist and there was no way I could prove I didn't do anything or say anything at all," said John Cerqueira , 39, who grew up in Fall River and now lives in Miami. "I'm grateful to the jury for sending the message to American Airlines that just the use of...

Terror threat? Er, no ... it's B.O. 03:43 PM CST on Monday, December 4, 2006 Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A flight headed to Dallas-Fort Worth was diverted in Nashville on Monday after passengers reported the smell of burning matches, which officials said came from a woman trying to hide body odor. The 99 passengers and five crew members were evacuated from the American Airlines plane after it landed around 6:40 a.m., Nashville Airport Authority spokeswoman Lynne Lowrance said. The plane, which was en route from Reagan National Airport in Washington, was searched, and luggage was screened. Matches were found...

A woman claims she landed on a hyperdermic needle filled with fluid as she was sitting down in her seat after returning from the restroom on an American Airlines flight into Dallas. Sueanne Lineberger spent a night in the emergency room after her finger jabbed the needle while reaching back. "When I sat down I felt something stick me in my rear end and I yelled," she said. "It hurt." Lineberger was taken to the emergency room where she said ER doctors could not tell her what was in the syringe and possibly in her body. They referred her to...

An email American just sent out: Mr. xxxxxx, I think it is important for you to know that ABC had factual errors in its dramatization, and we are looking at possible legal actions as a result. According to the 9-11 Commission report, it was not American Airlines, nor was it even the right airport that was depicted. In reality, it was another airline, flying out of Maine. Please know this was a tragic incident in our company's history and we hope you will be sympathetic to our employees and our airline on this day especially. Again, we are outraged by...

"ABC's airing of its "Path to 9/11" docudrama last night has drawn its first lawsuit threat, and the surprise is that it's coming not from angry Democrats but from an "outraged" American Airlines..."

I didn't know if there was a west coast version of this thread. It didn't make sense to post on thread for the show that was almost over on the East Coast.

HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY American, the world's largest carrier, is particularly sensitive about what it shows on its overhead movie screens. Mary McKee, American's managing director of in-flight products, said the airline avoids anything with anti-U.S. themes and even political films. ''Michael Moore will not be shown on any of our flights,'' she said. But American is adopting looser standards for its in-seat screens. This summer, American said it would install personal entertainment systems in business- and first-class seats on 767 and 777 aircraft through 2007. Both will offer multiple movies, plus other services such as television, music videos, news and music...

A family of General Electric engines widely used on Boeing Co. commercial jetliners and some Airbus planes should be inspected more than twice as often as federal regulators are requiring, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday. The warning comes only a week after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered U.S. airlines to inspect the engines more frequently after one exploded on an American Airlines jet that was on the ground in June, sending a 50-pound piece of metal more than a half mile across Los Angeles International Airport. Had that engine explosion occurred in flight, the NTSB said, the plane...

While US airlines cut and slash service -- care and feeding -- of their travelers, the Asian airlines have been buying new planes, installing elaborate entertainment systems, and allowing passengers in-flight e-mail and web surfing options. Add to that plush seats and meals created by celebrity chefs, and the result is that America doesn't know service. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines services beat all American carriers, hands down. On the long-haul flights, choices of movies, frequent meals (America doesn't need this) -- Western or Asian style -- and friendly service are the standard. Not only are the US airlines behind,...

Breaking on Fox News. Airliner travelling from Orlando to Puerto Rico makes successful emergency landing in Miami. Pilots reported "full hydraulic failure", but managed to land safely.

June is Gay Pride Month June is recognized as Pride month for American and American Eagle's gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered (GLBT) employees. The multi-colored Rainbow Flag, a symbol of GLBT pride, will be displayed in the atrium at HDQ1, HDQ2 and FSU. The flag, designed by Gilbert Baker, debuted at the 1978 San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day parade. It is comprised of six colors, representing life, healing, sun, nature, harmony and spirit. It represents the diversity and the unity of GLBT persons everywhere. Historical Perspective In June of 1969, a group of gays and lesbians resisted harassment...

General Electric is investigating the cause of an apparent uncontained engine failure which caused extensive damage to an American Airlines Boeing 767-200 at Los Angeles on Friday. The aircraft (N330AA) was undergoing a ground run-up of the (left) No.1 engine when the problem occurred. The CF6-80A was being tested after the crew bringing the aircraft in from the New York reported abnormal power response from the engine during the flight. Reports say the engine was at more than 90% power when the failure occurred, either in the shaft or the high pressure turbine (HPT) area. Judging by images of the...

5 Men Detained After Plane Lands in N.J. 3 minutes ago Authorities on Saturday boarded an American Airlines plane and detained five men after it landed at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to a spokesman for the airport's operator. The plane was bound from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport when an air marshal notified authorities of five men he considered suspicious, according to Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. Port Authority police took the five men into custody immediately after the plane landed at 3:20 p.m., LaVorgna said....

| As anticipation builds toward the countdown of Gay Games VII in Chicago this July 15-22, American Airlines, the world's largest airline has just been selected the Official Airline of the 2006 Gay Games. Fort Worth-based American Airlines is proud to provide top-notch air travel service bringing the world to Chicago. Highlights of American Airlines partnership with Gay Games VII: * American Airlines and its regional partner American Eagle will provide air travel to support Gay Games operations and to select Gay Games 2006 Scholarship recipients. * American Airlines will offer discount airfare for those traveling to Chicago for the...

For the first time on Monday, a relative of a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks that were mostly carried out by Saudi nationals will speak in public in the kingdom. Sonia Tita Puopolo, is the daughter of Sonia Morales Puopolo, who was a passenger on American Airlines flight 11 that crashed into one of the towers of New York's World Trade Center.She is to speak during a session titled "Terrorism - The Human Toll" at the Jeddah Economic Forum starting in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah in the west of the ultra conservative kingdom on Saturday....

The rumor mill started humming Monday morning, Nov. 28, after ABC Radio aired the following report: FBI and Homeland Security agents spent part of the weekend investigating the report of a possible missile fired at a plane leaving Los Angeles international airport. ABC's Alex Stone has the details. ... the pilots radioed air-traffic controllers saying what appeared to be a rocket had been fired at the aircraft and missed as American Airlines Flight 621 was climbing over the water. It had just taken off from LAX. The plane was enroute to Chicago ... When it landed, FBI agents spoke with...

MIAMI - A passenger who claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot by a federal air marshal Wednesday on a jetway connected to an American Airlines plane that had just arrived from Colombia, officials said. The passenger's condition was not immediately disclosed. Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said after the plane had parked at the gate, a passenger indicated there was a bomb in the bag. The passenger was confronted by air marshals but ran off the plane, Doyle said. A team of air marshals pursued and ordered the passenger to get on the ground....

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Congressional negotiators agreed on Thursday to exempt Missouri from restrictions on direct air service from Dallas Love Field to several states, an issue that has Texas rivals' Southwest Airlines and American Airlines locked in a bitter fight. House-Senate lawmakers hammering out details of a spending bill for transportation and treasury programs agreed to the Missouri exemption to a 26-year-old law called the Wright Amendment. The exemption was sponsored by Sen. Christopher Bond, a Missouri Republican. Congress has approved similar waivers for other states in the past. Budget powerhouse Southwest wants the Wright Amendment repealed to...

Report: Co-Pilot Over-Stressed Rudder Federal safety officials say pilot error caused a 2001 American Airlines crash that killed 265 people. The National Transportation Safety Board said the copilot of Flight 587 moved the rudder back and forth several times, putting so much stress on the tail that it snapped off. The plane plummeted into a New York neighborhood shortly after takeoff. An NTSB investigator said the copilot's reaction to turbulence was "unnecessary and aggressive." He also said the airline improperly trained its pilots to use the plane's rudder to recover from upsets. The jet's rudder control system is sensitive at...

Hello, this is my email to the American Embassy: I applied today September 2005 for a TRANSIT VISA..because I have to travel to England (by American Airlines) in October. Your person in charge rejected my application. I brought all the documents indicated in your web page and more that she did not want to see... and just rejected this. So I want to complaint because in your web page you don't say that to apply to a transit visa is going to be as difficult as a more important visa.... you don't say that people should bring many proofs that...

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- An American Airlines Boeing 757 carrying nearly 200 people made an emergency landing in Grand Cayman Sunday after stopping in Miami, and two passengers suffered minor injuries, officials said. "The pilot declared an emergency after a problem with the de-icing equipment,'' airlines spokesman John Hotard said. ``As the plane was clearing 28,000 feet on its descent into Grand Cayman, the aircraft experienced moderate turbulence.''

A local pilot for American Airlines was in trouble with the law Monday after neighbors in his upscale neighborhood complained about his bizarre behavior. 47 year-old Roy Clemmons has been a highly-regarded pilot for American Airlines. Neighbors like Dorene Phillips said Clemmons is a family man and a hard-working professional, and said they were stunned to learn of Clemmons arrest. Wilson County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Clemmons Friday and charged him with performing lewd and obscene acts while naked, in broad daylight, and in front of his home. In the police report, a neighbor reported Clemmons fondled himself on his front...

At the invitation of UPI, Jon Loose and I wrote this op-ed and submitted it a week ago. UPI told us that every single person who read it there said that this was not commentary but that it was news. They have told us they were assigning staff to cover this story. Since Newsmax has broken the story, I thought it time to put out information that has not yet come to light. The Cost of Life By Jon Loose and Connie Hair Hindsight is always 20/20. You see causes and proactive avenues that could have altered the outcome. Sometimes ...

Death of Disruptive Air Passenger Is Probed From Times Wire Services Prosecutors are investigating the death of a man who was subdued by several fellow airline passengers after he became disruptive on a New York-bound flight from Los Angeles, a spokesman for American Airlines said. William Lee, 48, was pronounced dead late Friday after he was removed from American Flight 4 at Kennedy International Airport.

WASHINGTON – With the push to overturn flight restrictions at Dallas Love Field heating up, a schism has emerged among North Texas lawmakers. Three of the region's eight House members – all from the Dallas side – say it's time to loosen or scrap the 25-year-old Wright amendment. "I think it's outlived its usefulness," Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, said Thursday. "That doesn't mean it's going to get repealed this year." The willingness of Dallas-area lawmakers to openly side with Southwest Airlines Co. against American Airlines Inc. represents a fresh threat to American and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Both have been...