Travel News

Icarus Award: Cannabis for Christmas, Facebook Frienemies & a Spacey Spokesman

Golden Wings Of Icarus - photo via Flickr User debaird(tm)

Locations in this article:  San Francisco, CA

If you learn one thing from this week’s Icarus Award, you should know not to keep your friends close and to keep your Ryanair seat mates even farther away. Find out why this week’s Icarus nominees are all worthy of being defriended.

Up in Smoke

Derik Dwayne Neely had a head start on his Christmas shopping until the TSA has to come in and bust up his pot party. Neely was flying out of LAX to Cleveland on Wednesday when the TSA found out he was traveling with a 120 pounds of marijuana, all disguised as Christmas presents. Airport officials suggest that Neely was only traveling with 35 pounds—carry-on size, perhaps? Neely has since been arrested on suspicion of transporting marijuana for sale.

Your Theft Request Has Been Accepted

Facebook tells you about a friend’s birthday, a friend’s relationship and a friend’s vacation plans. What could you do with all this information? You could write on their wall, you could look at their vacation photos, or you could rob them. Steven Pieczynski is accused of using Facebook for just that. According to the local Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania paper, on September 27, Pieczynski used information from the social network to break into his friend’s house while he was away and rob him. Neighbors noted something suspicious and alerted the police, which lead to Pieczynski’s arrest.

An Unusual Endorsement

In looking to revamp its image, American Airlines has chosen an unusual spokesperson—Kevin Spacey. Spacey was tapped to star in a series of ads for the airline that will start to run tomorrow on television in the UK. Spacey, who is known for being very private with his personal life, shows off his many heterosexual sides in this ad that depicts him as a young family dad and a doting elderly husband.

Personal Entertainment Systems

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary appears to be making a hard push to win an Icarus award. He didn’t win with duct-tapped windows or flight attendant pin ups, but his latest plan for x-rated in-flight entertainment systems is a real contender. In speaking with British tabloid The Sun, O’Leary said that he wanted to offer a pay-per-view porn service similar to those offered in hotel rooms through a new Ryanair app on smart phones. While O’Leary promised the entertainment would be discreet, he didn’t address the concerns for passengers, who might not want to fly next to a porn-watching seat mate. An airline spokesperson confirmed that nothing has been decided about this scheme.

One Fee Too Many 

A Sonoma County resident was stranded at an airport for eight-days when suddenly faced with an unexpected fee. Teri Weissinger went to San Francisco International Airport with just her luggage and $30 in her pocket. Having checked one bag too many, Weissinger was subject to a $60 fee that she couldn’t pay on the spot. Unable to pay for her luggage upon arrival or abandon her bags to make the flight, Weissinger missed her flight and was asked to buy a new ticket, which she couldn’t afford. Weissinger remained trapped in the airport for eight days until the Airport Church of Christ paid $210 for her transportation fees.

No Mask for you won last week’s Icarus Award. Check out past winners in our Icarus Award section. And vote here for this week’s most worthy contender:

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by Lily J. Kosner for Petergreenberg.com

Feature Image credit: via Flickr Creative Commons user debaird(tm) 

Related links: New York Daily News, Huffington Post, MSNBC, Gawker, Huffington Post