Russians + Vodka + 35,000 feet = Trouble.

That's the formula that played out on a recent flight from Houston to Frankfurt. Two Russian sailors reportedly polished off the 2 liter bottle of vodka they'd bought at Duty Free and promptly began running wild on board the plane (police are not confirming which airline was involved).

The two men smoked cigarettes in the bathroom and went up and down aisles "frightening passengers," according to the Associated Press. They also reportedly attempted at several intervals to use their mobiles ("Hey man, I'm so wasted!").

The flight crew eventually ordered the men to their seats and the two were arrested on the tarmac by German police when the plane landed. One admitted to causing a disturbance and was released after paying a fine. The other, more contrarian, wouldn't cop to anything and is awaiting a court hearing.

China's very first fully homegrown aircraft has hit the skies at last, bringing China's aviation industry another step closer to competition in the global market. The ARJ-21, a regional aircraft built at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, flew its maiden flight last Friday, after delays from suppliers held up the jet for about eight months.

With its new jets, the Aviation Industry Corp of China, or AVIC, expects to compete with Canada's Bombadier Inc and Embraer SA of Brazil. AVIC officials expect the ARJ-21 to be certified airworthy by early 2009, and the company will start delivering planes to customers by the second half of next year if all goes according to plan.

According to the Chinese government, airlines have ordered 206 of the jets so far, and demand is expected to increase. Experts estimate that China's growing domestic airline industry will require about 900 new mid-sized regional jets over the next twenty years, and the ARJ-21 should control most of that market.

The jets are designed to carry 70-110 passengers and have a flight range of 3,680 kilometers, or 2,286 miles.

The European Union as a whole may not be too keen on so-called "all body scanners" at their airports -- the bloc voted them down earlier this month -- but Germany is still going ahead and testing out the technology.

Germany's interior ministry announced yesterday that in the coming weeks it was going to begin "laboratory tests" of these scanners -- known in Europe as 'naked scanners' -- in an effort to see if it's possible to produce images with these devises that do not show passengers naked.

The technology is controversial, of course, because in the devises that have been tested at airports in the US, the images do show passengers naked, for all intents and purposes. This enables security to more easily detect concealed weapons and other contraband.

The devises have been tested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, but have not appeared elsewhere in Europe.

A friend of mine recently sent me this article from the Wall Street Journal about the true cost an airline incurs flying your luggage. In the relatively new era of baggage fees, it's probably fair to question just how expensive it's been for airlines to handle baggage.

The answer: $15 a bag. The WSJ arrived at this number through some good deductive reporting, since most major airlines claim they do not actually know the per-bag breakdown of their baggage costs (which, of course, is complete bull).

What's in that $15? Well, about $13 per bag in labor costs and another $1-$2 in fuel costs (I'm really summarizing here -- the article does a much better breakdown of costs).

So it's not a coincidence that most major carriers are charging $15 for your first piece of checked luggage. Yet for some reason, airlines themselves are loath to admit this, most saying they set their baggage fees not strictly based on costs.

One airline official seem to suggest that the costs for flying your luggage might actually be lower, since in a very defensive response to a question from the WSJ he told the newspaper, "I hope you would agree that we are allowed to make a profit."

Thanks, Ed.

Virgin America launched it's community website yesterday, where you can dig deep into the annals of VX history and read stories from contributing authors. Over at community.virginamerica.com, you can also find links to the assorted tentacles that the airline has slipped into the interwebs via Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Soon, yes, you can be a Virgin America groupie too (I already have my monogrammed VX beret, treehouse pass and pajamas, thank you.)

Where did all of these testamonials come from? Stories at the community website are culled from a variety of sources including VX employees and passengers like you. So if you're absolutley bursting with praise for the airline, this is a great place to show your gratitude.

I wonder what criteria are required for getting your experienced published? Will VX only allow fun, happy experiences to make it online? Will they accept critical or analytical stories? I have a few fun storiess from Virgin America events that I could submit....

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon might be stepping down from his post after eight hectic years, but he still has something to say about the future of the famous Australian airline. Though he did not announce a merger, Dixon stated that a future merger is "inevitable."

"For Qantas, consolidation is highly desirable. It is in our interests to be at the leading edge of efforts to build a global airline grouping."

However, he did not give any further details, leading some to believe that he is just letting off steam after running up against stiff government restrictions concerning the percentage of foreign ownership allowed of Australian airlines. Attempts to merge with Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand were less than successful.

Dixon will leave Qantas in relatively stable condition, all things considered. He will hand a profitable company over to Alan Joyce, the current CEO of Jetstar (the low-cost-carrier affiliated with Qantas). The airline claims to have saved money because it operates more fuel-efficient aircraft.

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It's time. The worst travel day of the year is upon us, the sun has risen and it's time to get the shit kicked out of you at the airport. Have you got your passport? Did you sleep well last night?

Go through the rituals before you leave your house: passport and wallet, left pocket. Phone, right pocket. Laptop, charger, soap, jacket, headphones, book. Got a ride into the office and a ride to airport at lunch. Head to the airport empowered, take the bull by the horns and charge straight into the chaos with no fear.

You've got a great flight, great weather and great family and friends to binge on this weekend, so leave your stress at the door, get to the airport early and revel in the true beauty of travel, people moving, talking, sliding, shifting into new places and new times, the science and flow of departures and arrivals.

Every single one of us at Gadling will be out there with you, somewhere in the terminal or on the road, waiting in lines, collecting data, drinking sake at the airport bar, occupying the lav. We'll be with you all of the way. We promise.

It's going to be a great weekend. Safe travels to all of you,

<3 Gadling

Digital boarding passes in this eco-friendly, high-tech world are the next new big thing among the big airlines. Continental, American and Northwest are rolling out service to airports all over the country, and if you haven't got a kiosk at your local airport, there is probably one on the way.

In concept, the system is pretty simple. When you check in online, instead of printing off your boarding pass you're given the option to receive it digitally onto your phone or PDA. In addition to saving paper, the big advantage is that those on the go without a printer can just flash the barcode (it's actually a matrix code) at security and at the gate then not have to worry about the slip of paper.

In actuality, the system still needs some time to get going – or rather, the airport employees still need some time to adapt.

This past Friday on the way to New York's LaGuardia airport I was given the chance to try out a digital boarding pass on my iPhone. After the jump I'll tell you how it went.

Yesterday I wrote about the fun I had on board Virgin America flight 8001. This inaugural GoGo Wi-Fi enabled plane was also the celebration plane for the launch of Youtube Live.

Of course, when you mix free Champagne, live broadcasts of Youtube celebrities and Internet access, you end up with one happy party plane.

Check out the gallery of shots I made of the flight, and you might get a bit of an idea just how much fun we had (don't worry, I'm keeping the photos of the afterparty to myself).

After receiving my 37th email of the day from an airline PR firm hailing their place in this year's Zagat survey, I decided it might be worth taking a look into it. Rather than trumpet one airline's accomplishments over the rest in any particular category, however, I'll give you the straight up list of their #1's. You can find it on their website too.

• Best Large Domestic Airlines (Premium Seating): Continental Airlines

  Best Large Domestic Airlines (Economy Seating): Jetblue Airways
  

• Best International Airlines (Premium Seating): Singapore Airlines

  Best Airline Websites: Southwest Airlines

  Best In-Flight Entertainment: (Domestic): JetBlue Airways

  Best In-Flight Entertainment (International): Virgin Atlantic Airways

  Best Consumer On-Time Estimates (Domestic Only): Southwest Airlines

• Best Midsized Domestic Airlines (Premium Seating): Virgin America

  Best Midsized Domestic Airlines (Economy Seating): Midwest Airlines

  Best International Airlines: (Economy Seating): Singapore Airlines

  Best Frequent Flier Programs: Southwest Airlines

  Best Value for the Money: (Domestic): Southwest Airlines

  Best Value for the Money: (International): Continental Airlines

  Best Luggage Policy (Domestic Only): Southwest Airlines

Prevailing theme? LOW COST CARRIERS. The airline with the best hedged fuel and most leverage in industry, Southwest, captured the most awards, while other carriers like Jetblue and Virgin America cleaned up with most of the rest. The only other domestic airlines to take home prizes were Continental Airlines and the near-defunct Midwest Airlines.

Perhaps this will send a message to the legacy carriers that they're quickly losing ground to the younger, low-cost crowd and that it's finally time to come off of their high horse and cater to the masses. Or perhaps they'll use this as another excuse to instill fees and figure out how to make mileage tickets more expensive. My guess is the latter.