Battleangel

Here is a hilarious anecdote from The Inquirer.

TRAVELING back from Intel’s Developer Forum in San Francisco a few weeks back, we were reminded by a nice chap at the gate that it’s now illegal to carry matches and lighters not only on your person, but in your stow baggage back to Blighty.

So how come you’re able to buy Zippo lighters in the UK across the web then? Are containerloads being shipped via Shanghai? We think we should be told.

Incidentally, on the same fright back to Blighty, the nice blonde stewardesses on Virgin broadcast a message that you weren’t allowed to put your cellphone into “flight mode”. And you’re not allowed to use headphones that fit snugly over your ears, although iSpod type headphones are permitted. We think we heard that right.

It is unclear if this is just for flights to the UK. I suspect that it is still ok to bring matches / lighters on your way TO the US though. I recall something about tobacco companies getting a hissyfit when they realized that flight safety may interfere with sales in those precious moments when one disembarks and needs to get a smoke.

Go ahead, make it just a little more complicated to fly and you’ll get rid of all those pesky customers who seem to be bothering you … and the pesky people who seem bent on going to the US or indeed Britain.