It seems even supermodels get their day in court.

Back in the beginning of April, we reported on famed beauty and alleged phone-thrower Naomi Campbell causing a scene at Heathrow’s then brand new Terminal 5.

Upon landing, Ms. Campbell was escorted off a plane by officers, and as reported by Breitbart.com, was subsequently charged with “three counts of assaulting a constable, one of disorderly conduct likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and one of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour to cabin crew.”

Naomi will appear in court in London on June 20th, so the whole mess should be wrapped up relatively soon.

Now, if only an angry supermodel was the worst problem Heathrow’s Terminal 5 had to deal with.

Pretzels are the latest casualty of rising fuel prices. US Airways, battling escalating costs and shrinking profits has decided to do away with pretzels in coach. Sure, you fancy first class passengers can still enjoy a snack, but the majority of fliers will have to go without.

As reported by Travel Weekly (subscription required):

Beginning June 1, US Airways will no longer serve free snacks to coach passengers on domestic flights. The airline said high fuel prices prompted the change. Passengers will still receive complimentary beverages.

Alas, the perks just keep disappearing. Hey, at least we don’t have to pay for checking bags…oh, right.

Or the mountains or the jungles or the deserts or what ever tickles your psyche when it comes to vacations.

Yep, to heck with that dang gas crisis. Because according to Rick (uh, sorry, Mr. Seaney), you have to look at the overall cost of the vacation.

And it looks like the price of some things is coming down. Like hotels. So read his column.

Where am I vacationing? Outside. In a lounge chair. With trashy novels. Whoo-hoo.

Radar Online has a new and improved list of places you don’t ever wanna see.

And I thought this list would be hard to top. I humbly stand corrected.

Radar’s list includes diseased petting zoos, brain-damaging midway rides and a hotel in Virginia Beach that Radar says “has plenty of availability since it won traveladvisor.com’s distinction as the dirtiest hotel in the United States‘.”

Oh, and don’t miss the section on cruises, where you can take your pick of “rampant food poisoning” or capture by Somali pirates.

Remember…it’s not just about the barbeque…

Okay, there’s mother, father, grandma, grandpa and toddler. Here’s the story of their Big Adventure.

Earlier this month, the happy little family was running, running, running to catch an Air Canada flight in the Vancouver airport. With no time to spare, they made the plane. All got onboard, and all were scattered throughout the aircraft.

Which is apparently why nobody noticed that nobody had the toddler. Yes, the beloved little tyke had been forgotten. He was eventually found by some Air Canadians, no doubt wondering where the heck everyone had disappeared to.

Actually, this is an extraordinary story of detective work on the part of the airline folks, who eventually reunited the kid with his parents (among the hurdles: the child was a lap sitter so he didn’t show up on the manifest, plus he was only 2-years old so he didn’t speak much, plus what little he did speak was Tagalog — this was an immigrant family from the Philippines).

Hey, all’s well that ends well.

Well, these 10 vacation destinations are not exactly IN hell but I guess you could say these hot spots (ha) are hell-ish.

Included in the list: Papua New Guinea (dissed because of disease), North Korea (for their interesting ideas on good governance), and Yakutsk, Russia (where temperatures often drop to minus-58F). I saw the list in this Reuter’s article, so don’t yell at me, I didn’t make this up.

Did the U.S. make the list? You betcha! Oklahoma City is #5.

I’ll let you guess why (HINT: funnel-shaped windiness).

Again — I didn’t choose any of these. Chill.

A 19-year old man who worked as a flight attendant for Compass Airlines (a subsidiary of Northwest) had a problem: he didn’t want to fly the airline’s Minneapolis-St. Paul to Regina, Saskatchewan route. Why not? I dunno. The report doesn’t say.

Anyhoo, this bozo was apparently told that he had to work the route.

So… solution to the problem? Why, set the lavatory on fire!

So that is what he did. And the plane had to make an emergency landing in Fargo, which is where the young lad is being held without bail.

Just one question: you didn’t want to go to Regina — but you’re okay with Fargo?

I love this site — The Consumerist — because they know how to get to the heart of things — plus, they sure can write.

Take the dry topic of mergers.

The Consumerators have a nice, informative post all about how United is talking merger with multiple airlines. So, they begin their story this way (and I quote):

“United Airlines is a slut.”

Zing!

Rick’s latest ABCNews.com column is about the high cost of oil and the future of air travel.

Sooooo, Rick fills in the blank with the word “grim”.

We fill in the blank with the word “MrHappyIsCrying”.

Now you try it! But better read his column first — yep, just click here.

Maybe the middle seat isn’t as bad as we all think it is. JetBlue passenger Gokhan Mutlu would have loved a middle seat. Instead, he claims he was forced by the airline to spend a large portion of his California to New York flight sitting on the toilet, and he’s now suing JetBlue for $2M.

Mutlu was flying on a “Buddy Pass,” and he was told that a flight attendant would give up her seat and sit in the jump seat, so Mutlu could fly. Mutlu claims, though, that about 90 minutes in he was told that the flight attendant was uncomfortable in the jump seat, and that she wanted her original seat back. Mutlu was also told that due to regulations he could not sit in the jump seat. The pilot came out of the cockpit and allegedly told Mutlu to “hang out in the bathroom.” A brief argument ensued, but Mutlu eventually ended up fighting turbulence on a toilet, no seatbelt in sight.

When I contacted JetBlue I was told the airline “does not comment on pending litigation.” On the surface, this seems like a horrible story with a pilot, flight attendant, and airline breaking FAA regulations and every unspoken customer service rule. However, it seems to me that we’re not quite getting the whole story, so I urge readers and passengers to reserve judgment until we know a little more. In the meantime, think twice before complaining about getting stuck in that middle seat. There are far worse places to spend a flight.

Visit the Chicago Tribune and the New York Post for more on this story.

UPDATE: Southwest passenger Joe David Jones has defended his cell phone use on the Austin to Dallas flight:

“Jones reportedly was on the phone to talk to a hospital about his father’s care. A business associate, Mark Clayton, says Jones told him his father’s heart had stopped and a cardiac unit needed to talk to him immediately to discuss care options.

Clayton says the nature of the call was life and death.” (from Fox News)

A passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight from Austin to Dallas was met by police upon landing, because he refused to stop talking on his cell phone throughout the flight.

As reported by the Dallas Morning News, flight attendants repeatedly asked the passenger to stop using the phone, but to no avail. The passenger was met by Dallas Police and cited for disorderly conduct.

OK, as someone who has flown between Austin and Dallas many times, I have to say, “Get off your phone!” The Austin to Dallas flight is one of those where you barely have time to get your drink before the plane starts its descent. Can’t you be “disconnected” for 50 minutes?

Oh, and the airline can be fined up $25,000 if they don’t comply with FAA regulations regarding cell phones, so it’s not like the flight attendants are just being difficult.

One day, we may be cursed with legal cell phone use in the air. Until that time, let your fellow travelers enjoy the silence.

Okay, you’re the pilot of an American Airlines plane, on the runway at Dallas heading to Paris. You and/or your colleagues hear the following:

1. Loud noises (from the belly of the plane)
2. Loud shaking noises
3. An explosion

What do you do?

A. Stop the plane
B. Stop the plane!
C. Keep flying to Paris

If you guessed C., you too can work for American Airlines! (Yeah, yeah, they all got to Paris safely, even though a panel to the air-conditioning system popped off, blah, blah…but…I mean, really).

Yes, it’s true. Delta is shutting down 9 of its 42 members-only airport lounges.

If you’re a rich guy (membership costs $300 to $600 a year) and you fly to Boston, Cincinnati, Denver, Honolulu, Kansas City, London, Phoenix, or Seattle — well, by the end of the month, you’re outta luck. Delta’s shutting them down, to save money.

Not being a rich guy, I can only dream of the exotic charms of these lounges: naugahyde seats? A listless wait-staff? All the peanut packs you can hold?

No matter. 9 lounges will disappear. By the end of this month.

Never get tired on a Southwest Airlines flight again! The carrier announced that it is now offering Monster energy drinks for passengers who need an extra boost. A taste of Monster’s low-carb liquid energy will cost you $3.00.

Southwest hopes that sales of Monster and other little perks will help create additional revenue streams as they, like all carriers, try to deal with rising fuel costs.

Check out the Dallas Morning News for all the details.

Air New Zealand is kicking things up a notch for many of their long-haul passengers by providing a staff of concierges in the sky. The concierge staff will make things a little easier for passengers by providing vacation tips, booking assistance, and even a bit of wine expertise.

Check out Air New Zealand: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Concierge! for all the details.

Do you watch all of those travel shows and think to yourself, “Man, I could do this,”? Well, now is your chance. Lonely Planet is offering $500 for amateur travel videos. If you’re out seeing the world and you’ve got an eye for the original, you could have your work seen by thousands, and pick up a little extra cash on the side.

Check out Gadling for more on the story and visit Lonely Planet.tv to see exactly what they’re looking for.