Last week, a Ryanair passenger on a flight from Poland to England became so enraged that he couldn’t collect his $13,550 prize money from a winning lottery ticket in cash immediately (aka while still on board the flight) that he swallowed the evidence as the shocked crew looked on. Ryanair, the popular low-budget European carrier, is famous for holding in-flight contests and promotional giveaways . . . handing over 10 cars, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash prizes, and 100,000 flight vouchers to lucky participants in just the last two years. With the prize thus unclaimed, the airline joked about the man’s “expensive taste” and is donating the money to charity. 

But guess what? There are winning tickets out there you might accidentally take a bite out of. The Wonka candy company is finally launching a real-life “Golden Ticket” contest (based on its namesake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory films). Secretly wrapped within 10 random chocolate bars from its new Exceptionals line are grand-prize Golden Tickets, which promise a free trip around the world for each winner, three of their friends, and $12,500 in spending money. Other prizes include airline vouchers, and winning tickets claims must be received by September 27. Pretty sweet — just don’t eat the whole ticket!

Should passengers get penalized if they are considered obese by a particular airline? United Airlines certainly thinks so, announcing recently that they will soon be charging chubby travelers for two seats if they can not comfortably fit into one. Opponents to this new rule feel that the airlines should instead update their seats, which have remained the same size since the 1960s, in order to accommodate the larger frames of today’s average American body. After all, there’s no doubt that the United States is suffering from a massive obesity issue. But with things as they are, should “smaller” travelers have to suffer because the person seated next to them is taking up too much space? Commence the great weight debate! Read the rest of this post »