Air Transportation

Scorpion on a Plane!

Breaking News, Sorta

So Long, Friendly Skies

Please Check Your Seatbacks -- and Pilot

Memories of Pauline and Mike Holovak

Aftermath: The Black Keys at Meridian

News of the Weird

L'Italia Classica

Simposio

High-Speed Rail Coming To Texas, Once Again

Last week, the Houston Business Journal reported that high speed rail  is coming to Houston. At a speech at New York's Penn Station, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced that her office will soon begin "accepting expressions of interest to finance, design, build, op ... More >>

Southwest Adding Flights To See Obama Get His First Executive Experience

As we've noted before, Houstonians are going wild over the chance to be in DC for Barack Obama's inauguration (assuming it still goes on, after the world discovers The Truth about his birth certificate.) More proof: Southwest Airlines is adding flights to Washington just to handle the increased ... More >>

At Least Someone Wants To Come To The Texas Bowl

Okay, so Notre Dame somehow preferred the Hawaii Bowl to the Texas Bowl. Some people just prefer Honolulu to Houston, we guess.But ND's replacement, Western Michigan University, is pleased as punch to be coming here.That can happen when you live in Kalamazoo (Motto: No, We Are An Actual City).The an ... More >>

Tough Month To Be A Houston Flier

October was really a tough month to be an air passenger in Houston.The federal Bureau of Transportation has released its latest survey of flight delays, and Houston plays a prominent role in it.The third-worst airline when it came to on-time arrivals was our very own Continental. Almost 19 percent o ... More >>

You Are Now Free To Bounce Around The Runway

Think you had a bad weekend?It could have been worse: You could have been coming home from Denver on Contintental.As you've no doubt heard, a Continental jet skidded off the runway into a ravine while trying to take off Saturday.Continental has issued an Official Statement: "The care of our passenge ... More >>

Southwest Airlines Going All International On Us

You are now free to move about...another country?Has Southwest Airlines, the little Texas company that introduced cattle-call boarding, going all international on us?The airline announced today it's taking the first steps to offering flights to Canada, which is a country somewhere to the north of th ... More >>

Continental Wants Its Pilots to Work Harder, Fly Righter

If you're flying Continental to Mumbai in the near future, you might want to pay close attention to how rested the pilot is. Are her eyes bloodshot, or are the lids propped up with toothpicks? Or is she perhaps knocking back little pills with gallons of coffee? Well, the FAA seems a bit worried tha ... More >>

That Snowstorm Was No Fun For Fliers Or On-Time Statistics

Remember that freak snowstorm that hit Houston late last year? Fun, right?Not if you're an airline worried about your on-time statistics.The federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics has released its latest report, and while overall airline performance improved -- mostly because there's fewer flig ... More >>

Erin Andrews: Playboy's Sexiest Sportscaster

Photo by speedye The competition has ended, and just like the Philadelphia Phillies putting down the upstart Tampa Bay Rays in last year's World Series, ESPN Erin Andrews' dominated her competition once again to repeat as Playboy.com's Sexiest Sportscaster. Playboy.com attempted to toughen things u ... More >>

Houstonian Survives First Day Of Amazing-ness

Photo courtesy CBSHoustonian Jodi Wincheski and her partner have (apparently) survived to live another day on The Amazing Race.The reality-Tv show's 14th season premiered last night, and Wincheski was on one of the teams, partnered with a fellow Southwest Airlines flight attendant.According to this ... More >>

The Airport That Wouldn't Die

Last fall, environmentalists thought they'd finally put a stake through the heart of the West Side Airport. But the mayoral race seems to have given it a new lease on life.

Dumb Like a Fox

Last fall, environmentalists thought they'd finally put a stake through the heart of the West Side Airport. But the mayoral race seems to have given it a new lease on life.

What, The Name "Death To Jews" Was Taken?

Photo courtesy Qatar AirwaysQatar Airways is making a big move in the Houston market -- it's got ads on the air touting its luxurious service, it's got a giant new 777 plying the new Houston-Doha route.One thing it's probably not doing -- advertising in Houston's Jewish Herald-Voice. Or, if they are ... More >>

News of the Weird

Photo courtesy Qatar AirwaysQatar Airways is making a big move in the Houston market -- it's got ads on the air touting its luxurious service, it's got a giant new 777 plying the new Houston-Doha route.One thing it's probably not doing -- advertising in Houston's Jewish Herald-Voice. Or, if they are ... More >>

Life On The Rodeo Road: The Road Was My Home

Photo by Paul KnightScotty Drennan Rodeo cowboys basically live on the road, traveling with a herd of men and women crazy enough to ride, rope and wrestle live animals for a paycheck. Each day, Hair Balls is asking a different cowboy to tell us a little bit about himself and his wildest story from a ... More >>

Business As Usual

The State Bar of Texas tries again to KAYO John O'Quinn but can't lay a glove on him

The Former Chron Employees' List, So Far (Updated April 3)

So far we've been limiting our list of laid-off Chron people to names readers might recognize; we've heard from some current and ex-Chronsters that they'd like a master list, since no centralized information is coming anywhere else.With that in mind, here's what we've heard so far. Other names are s ... More >>

Cowboy in the Kitchen

Welcome The Houston Press's new food critic, Robb Walsh

Best Japanese Restaurant

Kaneyama Japanese Restaurant

Erin Andrews: Playboy's Sexiest Sportscaster

Photo by speedye The competition has ended, and just like the Philadelphia Phillies putting down the upstart Tampa Bay Rays in last year's World Series, ESPN Erin Andrews' dominated her competition once again to repeat as Playboy.com's Sexiest Sportscaster. Playboy.com attempted to toughen things u ... More >>

The 1940 Air Terminal Museum’s Aviation History Day

Web exclusive!

Flying Objects: "Jac Leirner" at Gallery Sonja Roesch

Jac Leirner transforms daily life's debris into art

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

Despite major opposition, construction commences on what could become North America's most dangerous airport

Image-Free Art

Julian Dashper gives us audio but no visuals in his recordings of the museum exhibit environment

Man's New Best Friend

In the wake of September 11, security dogs have become must-have items. Prices have skyrocketed. There aren't enough German shepherds.

We're (Kinda) Sorry

The Chron finally gets around to apologizing for being wrong about the supposed Clinton-staff vandalism scandal

Air Sic

In cargo holds or plane cabins, critters are taking more than flights of fancy

Alison Cook looks back at 1996: Year of the Rat

In cargo holds or plane cabins, critters are taking more than flights of fancy

The fight to save the Katy Prairie

How many winters more will Arctic waterfowl make their 10,000-year-old journey to the western edge of Houston?

Southwest Airlines Offering Some Really Cheap Seats

Photo by ACommentSouthwest Airlines has created a huge amount of buzz among low-fare junkies this morning with the announcement of a two-day sale where all tickets cost either $30, $60 or $90 one-way.As the Dallas Morning News' aviation blog puts it: Southwest calls it "one of the biggest fare sales ... More >>

Texas Watchdog Finds A Lucrative Revolving Door At The Houston Airport System

When we first encountered the Houston Airport System's side-business advising various countries and cities how to build airports, we were a little baffled by it. HAS wasn't exactly forthcoming with financial information on it all, and we moved on to other things.We don't know if that insignificant i ... More >>

Larry Kellner Out At Continental Airlines

Larry Kellner, the head of Continental Airlines and a prominent guy in Houston political, social and charitable circles, is gone.The airline announced that he "has decided to return to private equity at year-end after 14 years with Continental, the last five of them as chairman and CEO."Taking his p ... More >>

Continental Airlines Manages To Piss Off India

Continental Airlines is having a tough stretch -- its CEO quit, its recently announced earnings are dismaying Wall Street (What do those two things have in common? Hmmm....), its laying off a bunch of workers, and now it's got the parliament of India all in an uproar.Indian politicians are shocked, ... More >>

Southwest To Make Guinea Pigs Out Of Passengers, All In The Name Of The Environment

​We've heard of test pilots, but Southwest Airlines is offering the chance to be a test passenger.The airline is introducing a new "Green Plane," one where the materials used on a lot of things are lighter, resulting in a plane that uses less fuel to fly.If it works.One aircraft will be outfitted ... More >>

First, They Came For My Legroom...Then They Came For My Food

​Earlier this month Houston's Continental Airlines announced that it would be improving its customer service for tall people by charging them for legroom.Today the airline announced it would be improving customer service for everybody in coach by no longer giving them free food."Continental Airlin ... More >>

Top 5 Airplane Snacks

​Last week, Continental announced that complimentary meals would no longer be offered for most passengers. Starting this fall, healthier meals will be available for purchase to economy passengers. Continental will reserve complimentary meals for first-class passengers, international flights, a ... More >>

Annise Parker Says Fear Not Tthe Continental/United Merger

Continental -- just a memory now​Houston's Continental Airlines is seemingly about to be taken over by the Yankee corporation of United Airlines in a $3 billion merger than will create the world's largest airline.That airline will not be named Continental.Bad news for Houston? Not necessarily so, ... More >>

Say Vanderland Industries! IAH Gets New Baggage Handling System

The new baggage handling system at IAH is real, and it's spectacular.​With pat downs and body scans and full cavity searches (we're pretty sure those are all real), it seems like airports are taking our safety pretty damn seriously. Sure, it's an inconvenience and there's a chance naked manneq ... More >>

Pointing Lasers at Planes: A Big Texas Pastime

Save it for Laser Floyd, people​The FAA has issued its annual report on the growing problem of airplane pilots being targeted by laser pointers as they try to land, and be proud, Texas: You had more such incidents than any state but California. It happened 239 times in Texas in 2010, FAA spok ... More >>

Patti LaBelle Update: Beaten Cadet Sues Airport Worker Who Allegedly Squealed to West Point

Patti LaBelle case: Airport worker told West Point about cadet incident, cadet gets suspended​The former West Point cadet who's suing singer Patti LaBelle's entourage for allegedly assaulting him at Bush Intercontinental Airport last March has added an airport operations worker to the list of ... More >>

The 6 Worst Air-Show Disasters: A Video Collection, Just In Time For Wings Over Houston

Things can go wrong​Next time you go to an air show, take a look at the fine print on the ticket. Besides the usual stuff about acts of God and "Promoter not responsible if the frontman doesn't show due to injecting Drano into his balls," there's something else. It says they're really, really ... More >>

The A380 Superjumbo Jet Coming to Houston

Upstairs, downstairs.​The double-decker Airbus A380, the largest commercial jet in the world, will begin making regular landings in Houston next year. Bush Intercontinental will be the first Texas airport, and only the fourth in the U.S., to have flights from the massive jet that began regula ... More >>