Victoria Scardigno, the 33-year-old former Continental Airlines ticket who was busted for selling $1 million in fake travel vouchers pled guilty to wire fraud in court today more ›

At one gate at Continental Airlines' hub in Houston, the airline is testing out "self-boarding" for passengers. This is how USA Today explains it: "In self-boarding, passengers — much like customers of the New York City subway— swipe their boarding passes at a kiosk reader at the gate. That opens a turnstile or door to the jet-bridge. Although an agent isn't there to take the pass, one is typically present to handle problems and other customer service tasks." Just hope those boarding pass kiosk sensors don't get too dirty, okay? USA Today adds/warns, "The practice has been common at many foreign airports for several years. And if the rate of adoption abroad is any indication, self-boarding could soon proliferate here." more ›

A New Jersey man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a sleeping woman on Continental's Hong Kong-to-Newark flight last week. The AP reports, "Authorities say [Ramesh] Advani reached under her blanket and sexually abused her... Two passengers seated behind the pair observed what was happening and kicked the woman's seat to wake her. The woman awoke and alerted the flight crew." The 63-year-old Berkeley Heights resident was detained by FBI agents when the flight landed last Friday and charged with abusive sexual conduct. more ›

United Airlines and Continental Airlines have agreed to merge to create the world's largest carrier by passenger traffic. According to Bloomberg News, the deal will be "stock swap valued at more than $3 billion" and "United and Continental together would take the top spot in global traffic from Delta Air Lines Inc., with hubs in New York and Washington and the most traffic among U.S. carriers on high- fare Atlantic and Pacific routes." The merged company will keep United's name and base in Chicago; the NY Times says the deal, should it be approved, "would give the airlines the muscle to fend off low-cost rivals at home and to take on foreign carriers abroad." more ›

Former Continental Airlines ticket agent Victoria Scardigno is due in court today on a charge of wire fraud for allegedly making over $1 million by selling travelers fake free-travel vouchers. The Newark Liberty International Airport agent allegedly printed fake vouchers that are normally given to customers whose flights were cancelled. Scardingo would sell the fake vouchers to customers for as much as $600 each, and used the profits to pay off her credit card debt and go on a $15,000 shopping spree at Louis Vuitton. The Daily News reports that she covered her tracks by using some of her profits to buy certain victims real tickets. more ›

Yesterday, the pilot of a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels to Newark died mid-flight, and a cardiologist who tried to revive Captain Craig Lennell believes he died from a heart attack. (An autopsy will determine cause of death.) Dr. Julien Struyven, who was a passenger on the flight, said, "It's a wonderful death. You die on duty. You don't feel anything." Two co-pilots took over the flight and safely landed the plane, which carried 247 passengers. more ›

According to WCBS 2, "A Continental Airlines flight from Brussels will be making an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport after the plane's captain died mid-flight Thursday morning." The plane, a Boeing 777, will land around noon. CityRoom reports, "Two first officers were operating the plane, 'which they are perfectly qualified to do,' said Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport." The plane was scheduled to land at Newark, but now will receive "priority" landing. Update: The plane landed safely and passengers said they were not told. One, whose husband called her when the plane landed and informed her, said the crew "did an incredible job"—even handing out snacks—"I would have done the exact same thing." However, another passenger told CityRoom the staff was "very irritated and unpleasant," though now the passenger understands why. It's believed the 60-year-old pilot had a heart attack; a cardiologist onboard had tried to revive him with a defibrillator. more ›

Continental Airlines apologized after admitting that "miscommunication among staff members resulted in the child being boarded on the wrong aircraft." Jonathan Kamens had taken daughter Miriam, 10, to Boston's Logan Airport and explicitly spoke to Continental agents about Miriam's solo trip to Cleveland to visit her grandparents, "They seemed like they knew what they were doing. The paperwork" had her flight number, destination, and phone numbers for himself and his in-laws. But Miriam ended up at Newark International Airport, not Cleveland, because the gate was being used by two different flights and the girl was put on the wrong flight. Kamens said he only found out that Miriam never made it to Cleveland as scheduled when his father-in-law called—and Continental couldn't tell him where his daughter was for 45 minutes. While Continental rebooked Miriam on another flight and she made it there a few hours later, her dad questions the airline's procedures, "I'm sure there are rules that the flight crew is supposed to verify the number of people on the plane matches the number of people on the manifest." more ›

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed a number of details about the Continental Express flight to Buffalo that crashed on Thursday night. more ›

You might think flying business class is always about being fanned with palm leaves while flipping through books on golf, but sometimes there are real hardships going on behind that curtain, as Lynne Meadow, who makes $395,824 a year as artistic director of the non-profit Manhattan Theatre Club, discovered last August on a flight from Rome to New York on Continental Airlines. The Sun has it that Meadow (pictured) is now suing the airline after an argument between herself and a flight attendant culminated in her being interrogated by the FBI upon landing. more ›

More troubles from the airline sector: United Airlines and Continental Airlines announced measures to cut costs through decreasing its workforces and total number of flights. This comes as other carriers have announced higher fares, less flights, and additional charges. more ›

What started off as an excellent concert lineup just got better and better as the date approached. The additions of Spoon's Britt Daniel and Kevin Drew were a bonus treat. Music, reading and charity aside, perhaps the biggest wow moment was show headliner Jim James' new closely cropped haircut. The My Morning Jacket front man sheared his trademark Muppet locks since the last time we've seen him about. Not that it affected the music in any way, which nearly stole the show from some other very capable performers. Check out more thoughts and pics at BV and Stereogum, and check out our interview with 826NYC's Sarah Vowell. (pic via Muzicspy's flickr) more ›

29-year-old artist Jacob Thomas has been putting pen to paper since he was a child, planting the seeds for what would become a full-time career. Hailing from Maryland, he did a four-year stint in the Coast Guard, where his creative talents didn't go unnoticed. He was asked to paint interiors of ships and design logos and other artwork for them, which in turn helped spur his own creative impulses. After several years in Pittsburgh, he moved to New York and developed his colorful, modern portraits which have since attracted the attention of major media companies. more ›

If you've got millions, does the Port Authority have a deal for you! The Port Authority is considering bids for naming rights to the bus terminal. And some companies might be interested, since it's in the hubbub of Times Square, even though some critics think people might be confused.

But PA officials doubt that even the most ardent preservationists would bemoan the loss of "Port Authority Bus Terminal" from the cityscape. more ›

This is not a good time for Newark Liberty Airport. First there was the TSA sting to see how well screeners would do with undercover agents traveling with 'bombs" and things (not well). And now there's a story about a pilot landing a plane on a taxiway instead of a runway. more ›

It’s Bruce Ratner!!Will Develop Don't Destory Brooklyn write a song to counter this? There are also mentions of Richard Jefferson and Nenad Kristec - listen to an MP3 here. M Bars will perform the song at the April 19 season ender at the Continental Airlines Arena; the game is against the Knicks and will be broadcast on YES. Gothamist desperately hopes that the theme song performance will be aired. more ›

The story of tabby cat Emily, who ended up far from her Wisconsin home when the cargo container she wandered into wound up in France, has captured the country, because it involves gracious airline service, something good with the French, and a fuzzy feline. When employees of Raflatac in Nancy, France found Emily dehydrated and probably extremely freaked out in a crate of paper bales, they used Emily's tags to call her veterinarian. Hooray for tags! The vet contacted the McElhiney family, who noted that Emily seemed much fatter and was jealous she got to travel business class. Continental Airlines, which gave up a $6,000 seat plus two escorts, for the cat now has some sweet publicity action. If anything, stories like this serve as a good reminder to tag and microchip your pet. Because at the end of the day, you are your pet. more ›

NYC 2012 released the design for the Olympics Stadium in Queens yesterday. It's at the point where New Yorkers will soon need a crib sheet of all the stadium plans being proposed: Brooklyn Nets Arena, new Yankee Stadium, even the old West Side Stadium. The proposed Olympics Stadium would be the new Shea Stadium, but expandable to fit 80,000 visitors. The NY Times makes the point that it's not "high-tech" looking like the West Side Stadium, and Gothamist has to say, thank God (we really hated the West Side Stadium design), since something super high-tech would probably look slightly incongruous in Queens - though the World's Fair monuments are holding up well. more ›

We couldn't help but notice the abundance of talented white male rockers invading NYC this week. New and old and originating from various corners of the Earth, the white boys of rock n' roll are invading. Let us be your guide. more ›

More airport security news: All visitors to the U.S. who require visas will now be fingerprinted in operation US–VISIT(one think tank consultant says, "The system seems to presume that most terrorists are fools"). British Transport Secretary tells citizens to get used to huge delays with airplanes. more ›