This week, a JetBlue pilot had a breakdown on-board a flight from New York City to Las Vegas. He started wandering around, flipping switches, and yelling about bombs and Al Qaeda. Luckily, his copilot did some really quick thinking. He convinced the pilot to leave the cockpit and then locked him out. When the pilot started to panic and scream at passengers to say their prayers, a group of passengers tackled him and held him down until the plane could make an emergency landing.

We all remember the time that JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater dramatically quit his job and then slid out of the plane on the emergency chute. That was pretty funny, but given this pilot episode, I’m glad I never fly JetBlue. It seems like they need to screen their employees a bit more intensely. This kind of news terrifies me, because I go to college far from home. There’s no way for me to get home to visit my family without getting on a plane, so I do a lot of flying.

These days, every time I get on a plane, I don’t even bother to hope that the experience will be good. I just hope that I’ll make it to my final destination in one piece. Inspired by the dangers of flying, here are eight things you never want to hear your pilot say.

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Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

[Lead image via Jeff Thrower/Shutterstock]

Trying to plan a spring break trip to Europe that won’t leave you broke? Good luck; those things are expensive! When you add up airfare, hotels, daily transportation, meals and alcohol, you could be spending close to $1500!

What’s a girl to do?

A few years ago, I backpacked through Greece with a close friend. We spent eight days traveling throughout the country, taking ferries, visiting the islands, lounging on the beach and shopping. It was a fabulous vacation and we both managed to spend under $1000! How did we save so much money? We didn’t eat huge meals, took transportation during off-peak hours and stayed in hostels.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: hostels are gross! And to tell you the truth, they are. But, if you’re traveling in Europe and want to save a few bucks, you’re going to have to stay in them. Keeping that in mind, here are a few tips for hostel survival and general vacation budgeting from someone who’s been there:

1) Never travel alone- It’s always best to have a buddy with you, especially if you’re staying in large communal rooms. Although I traveled with a girl friend, having a boy around definitely couldn’t hurt. Read More »

It’s that time of year when travel is a major part of our lives. Whether we’re off to backpack in Europe, explore ancient ruins, or just heading home to spend the summer reverting back to the days of our youth and being catered to by Mom, it’s no secret these days that air travel has become increasingly frustrating and difficult as airlines make cuts, flights get cancelled if they aren’t full because of fuel prices, and the cost of tickets rapidly go up.

Needless to say, air travel can be a headache and after a few hellacious experiences of my own, and stories of horrendous experiences from friends and family, I decided to write down a few things I’ve learned in order to better deal with what can be an upsetting and exhausting experience. Read More »