How Does a Software Problem Equate to a Travel Disaster?

How vulnerable is the travel infrastructure in this country?

A software glitch that snarled air traffic and caused baggage pileups at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport stretched into Thursday, with more flight cancellations expected.

American Airlines planned to cancel at least five flights scheduled to depart from Kennedy and said others could be delayed, a day after the malfunction led to headaches and angry passengers.

Technicians had diagnosed the problem by Wednesday evening. However, the system was still being tested early Thursday and was not yet up and running again, said airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely. She said she couldn't estimate when the system would be working again or how many passengers had been affected.

The glitch on Wednesday led to the delay of 48 flights and the cancellation of five more. Thousands of customers had to leave their luggage behind and hope it would be delivered later.

I realize this is probably a lowest bidder situation and all, but one thing I've noticed is that companies are relying on some very old software. When we recently bought a couch at a furniture chain we like, I noticed that the terminal and software used was a kind of antique, running something common for the mid-1990s. When I had a vehicle worked on, the repair shop had some very old looking proprietary software and the ever-present dot-matrix printer stitching away. Not everyone upgrades relentlessly. Maybe it's me, but I think there's a lot of junk out there still running, and in the Vista world, how much longer can someone keep operating that old stuff?

--WS

I guess common sense means nothing...

I mean, who brings a box of ammunition on a plane these days?

(AP) A Moscow court on Monday sentenced a U.S. pastor to more than three years in prison for smuggling hunting ammunition into Russia.

Phillip Miles, from Conway, S.C., has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 3. He was arrested several days after customs agents at a Moscow airport found a box of 20 rifle shells in his luggage.

The court sentenced him to serve three years and two months in prison, with the sentence calculated from his detention date.

Miles has said he brought the .300 caliber cartridges for a friend who had recently bought a Winchester rifle. He said he did not know bringing such ammunition into Russia was illegal.

Judge Olga Drozdova accepted in her 20-minute summation that Miles had brought the ammunition for a friend, "as they are both inveterate hunters."

The cartridges were not initially found as he flew into Moscow. They were detected a day later as airport security put his luggage through an X-ray machine while he was on his way to check in for a flight to Perm, a city in Siberia.

Miles was dressed in a gray jacket and clerical collar for his sentencing.

"I'm very disappointed. It's a strange sentence for one box of hunting bullets," he said as court bailiffs led him in handcuffs from the courtroom cage, where defendants in Russian criminal courts are held during trial.

If what you were doing was that innocent, wouldn't you be smart to just "declare" the items and ask officials how to transport it to the friend BEFORE entering Russia? You know, something you could do by visiting their embassy or consulate?

And given what we know about air travel, how is it that someone still thinks getting on a plane with live ammunition is a good thing? Who is that stupid?

If you're curious, here's the Transportation Safety Administration site with their rules.

Airlines may have their own additional requirements on the carriage of firearms and the amount of ammunition that you may have in your checked baggage. Therefore, travelers should also contact the airline regarding its firearm and ammunition carriage policies.

Also, please note that many other countries have different laws that address transportation and possession of firearms. If you are traveling internationally, please check with the authorities at your destination about their requirements.

The Collapse of American Airlines

Another reason not to fly...

(CBS/AP) American Airlines canceled more than 900 flights Thursday to fix faulty wiring in hundreds of jets, marking the third straight day of mass groundings as company executives offered profuse apologies and travel vouchers to calm angry customers.

The airline is looking at 250,000 people or more who will be bumped from their flights, reports reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

The airline says a return to normal operations depends on how quickly mechanics can inspect and fix the wiring.

As of late yesterday, a spokesman said 60 planes had been cleared to fly, but more than 200 were being worked on or hadn't been inspected yet.

American, the nation's largest carrier, has now scrubbed more than 2,400 flights since Tuesday, when federal regulators warned that nearly half its planes could violate a safety regulation designed to prevent fires.

Is there an industry in worse shape than the airlines these days? Besides the media?

If my line of work depended on reliable air travel, I'd be looking for a new line of work right now. On the one hand--you have to commend them for ensuring they are being safe and that they are fixing or inspecting what might not work properly. On the other hand, the margin of error is very thin, and there's no flexibility in air travel anymore. Fewer airlines and fewer options means no ability to absord traveler who might be stuck.

If gas really does hit $3.60 a gallon, a lot of people are just going to stay home and watch their grass grow. Not THAT grass, dangit. Would someone get me an editor, please?