Engine Trouble Diverts Flight From Bradley

A turbo-prop flying 14 passengers from Bradley to Montreal diverted to Burlington, Vt., on Wednesday because of an oil leak in one engine, the Burlington Free Press reports.

The Beechcraft 1900D, flown by Air Georgian on a code-share with Air Canada, left Bradley at 4:42 p.m. and landed at Burlington at 5:29 p.m., according to FlightAware.com. A replacement aircraft finally brought the passengers to Montreal, landing at 11:08 p.m., according to the site.

That must have been pretty frustrating for the passengers because Montreal is a two-hour drive from Burlington.

The Other Side Of Fall In New England

Just two days ago I bragged about the beautiful autumn season in New England. I will never do that again.

For the record, though, let me point out that it’s the leaves that are supposed to fall. Not snow.

High Tea On Carnival, And Other Anomalies On The Seas

The mass-market cruise lines have long been identified by their customer base: young partiers on Carnival, middle-aged types and families on Royal Caribbean, old folks on Holland America and slightly more well-to-do people on Princess and Celebrity.

There’s some truth to the stereotypes. The various lines market themselves to certain demographic elements. But other factors can be more important in determining who takes a cruise and what the atmosphere is like.

Carnival’s reputation for floating wild party boats took a serious hit with me last fall. Much to my delight, our cruise on the Carnival Spirit from Vancouver to Honolulu was as sedate as afternoon tea. In fact, tea was served on days at sea, with a string trio playing classical music. I kid you not.

Read the rest of this entry »