There were two separate incidents, one in which three crew members (pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendant) flew from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City, and the other on a flight scheduled to fly from Costa Rica to Mexico. The latter flight never took off and was canceled. In this article, it’s reported that the pilots who were flying 101 passengers between Costa Rica and Mexico were reported by cabin crew members on suspicion of drinking. Media reports out of Mexico are claiming that the two pilots partied 7 hours before the Costa Rica flight, a violation of civil aviation rules.

[Image: eheçåtzin ::  ::. / Flickr]

How common are pilots under the influence? Perhaps more than we’d care to know. We came across this forum post at the Professional Pilots Rumour Network. Referenced is an article from The Times of India that reported 57 pilots were found to be drunk between January 2009 and November 2010. One member, a professional pilot, stated that pilots in India are tested before almost every flight, whereas when he was working in the US, he was only tested six times in 19 years of flying. So perhaps they just catch more in India.

In any case, not the most comforting news.

Go green for less green

Travelocity just created a green directory of eco-friendly hotels, and to celebrate Earth Day, you can save up to 50% when you book a green-stay. Plus, they’ll offset the carbon impact of your stay for free when you reserve by 4/30 for travel after 6/30 and use the promo code OFFSET.

Featured eco-friendly hotels include:

Fairmont Palliser in Calgary – $92/night + support the care of Burrowing Owls
Hotel Monaco in Denver – $109/night + donate used toiletries to charity
The Belamar in Los Angeles – $139/night + recycling proceeds support public transportation use

Visit Travelocity for more info.

It’s a good time to be a flexible traveler.

Over the past few weeks airlines from JetBlue to Southwest have offered super-low last minute fares. Spirit Airlines is joining the bandwagon with fares starting at just $18 each way to destinations across the U.S., Caribbean and Americas. Fares are only available on a handful of dates through the fall and must be booked by midnight tonight!

Sample one-way fares include:

Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, Puerto Rico $28
Fort Lauderdale to Lima, Peru $88
Fort Lauderdale to Kingston, Jamaica $18

For more info visit Spirit Airlines.

Feel like heading South?

From the ancient walls of Machu Picchu to the tango-infused barrio of San Telmo, discover the wonders of South America  with AeroMexico’s Mucho More Than Mexico sale. Book by 5/8 and save half off of regular round trip rates to cities like Lima and Buenos Aires.

Sample round trip fares include:

NYC to Buenos Aires $518
San Francisco to Lima $349
Toronto to Lima $212
Miami to Buenos Aires $439

For more info visit AeroMexico.

Green photo by A National Acrobat/Creative Commons, San Juan photo by Oquenda/Creative Commons, San Telmo photo by Pablodda/Creative Commons.