Gadling

For those fans of America's favorite pleasure-cruisers-turned-castaways, the New York Daily News is reporting that a movie treatment of the beloved show Gilligan's Island is in the works -- though there are not many details right now to report.

Who's going to play the title character? Michael Cera, he most recently of "Superbad" and "Juno" fame, has reportedly agreed to play the hapless first mate of the ill-fated S.S. Minnow.

No word yet on casting choices for the Skipper and the Professor, but the original creators of the TV series are also involved in the film and are reportedly trying to tempt Beyonce Knowles to take on the role of Ginger.

So I suppose this is one "travel movie" we can expect to see sooner rather than later.

You don't here often about those charged with DUI when taking tourists around on horse-drawn carriage rides.

But in Vienna this week that's just what happened. A carriage -- or Fiaker, in local dialect -- driver was nailed for being drunk. How? Police gave him a breath test after his horses broke away from him and took a 39-year-old tourist and her two children on a wild ride through the Austrian capital.

The driver was just opening the carriage door to let his guests out when the horses broke free.

The Associated Press is reporting that the horses then preceded to run from Vienna's Third District over a bridge above the Danube into the city's Second District. In the process, the carriage hit two cars, which broke the horses loose. The horses continued running, while the carriage hit a third car and came to a rest.

The tourist and her children were uninjured in the incident. Police say the driver did not take proper precautions securing his horses.

The bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (pictured) in which US Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested 18 months ago for using his "wide stance" to solicit sex is fading as a tourist destination, the airport tells the Associated Press.

While it might seem ridiculous that the bathroom ever became a tourist draw, apparently it did so. People who might not have otherwise stopped in the men's room that lies in the middle of MSP's busy Lindberg terminal did so knowing it was the "Larry Craig bathroom," the airport says.

In his excellent piece in the Atlantic a few months ago about the idiocy of airport security, writer Jeffrey Goldberg sets an opening scene in this famously lewd loo. An unidentified person once offered MSP $5,000 to buy the stall in which Craig was arrested -- the airport turned the offer down.

If MSP is a little tired about the interest this bathroom has generated -- and therefore relieved that this interest is waning -- it has had some benefit: namely, the airport has not had to follow through on plans to modify the restroom in order to prevent the kind of lewd activity long reported to have been going on there.

Officials were considering making changes to the bathroom's stalls to thwart the kind of toe-tapping and other signals men used to solicit sex. But the airport says the number of complaints about inappropriate behavior in the bathroom has dropped significantly since the Craig arrest.

For the record, Craig pleaded guilty of disorderly conduct in August 2007, though he denies doing anything wrong. He did not run again this year for re-election, and will leave Washington this month.

Need a little background on the Craig scandal? Check out Slate's re-enactment of the incident, and this particularly thoughtful and funny essay about the incident by Christopher Hitchens -- worth the read for the last two sentences alone.

Here at Gadling, we have from time to time chastised the Transportation Security Administration for its ineptitude.

Need examples? Check out this funny round-up from Scott on some of the dumbest things the TSA did in 2008. Highlights include a TSA agent smuggling a gun on board an airplane, agents failing to catch a mock bomb (in front of CNN cameras) and, of course, the famous Nipplegate scandal.

But we also like to spread the ridicule around.

With that, I give you the possibly more inept security workers at Birmingham International Airport in Britain.

A Pakistani man recently succeeded in flying between BIA and Islamabad, passing through no fewer than three security checkpoints along the way, using his sister's passport. When he arrived in Pakistan, border guards there noticed the, uh, discrepancy and promptly sent the man back to Britain -- where he had to rebook his trip, this time with the right documentation.

Businessman Kasim Raja, 26, said it was an honest mistake. He told Britain's Sunday Mercury: "I was in a bit of a rush and grabbed what I thought was my passport as I was leaving."

He added: "I handed it over at the desk, they checked it and everything was fine. When we got to the boarding gate they checked it again and waved me straight through."

Swissport, who operates the BIA terminal out of which Pakistan International Airways flies, says it is investigating the incident.

Mr. Raja is actually angry at Swissport for refusing to give him a refund upon his return. "If they had spotted the error like they are supposed to, I could have gone home, got my passport and still made the flight," he said.

Then again, if Mr. Raja had actually made sure he had the right passport on him to begin with.....

It's been a great year here at Gadling, and you, dear readers, are largely the reason why.

By the looks of things, what you liked most this year was our coverage of scandals and overall hi-jinks on airplanes. Can't say we blame you.

So, as we slide into the New Year -- a German expression -- we want to leave you with what you liked reading the most this year.

Here are Gadling's 10 most popular posts for 2008 (though two of them were actually written in 2007).

Earlier this fall, Scott posted about a unique hostel option at Stockholm-Arlanda airport.

There, a rich businessman has bought an old Boeing 747 jumbo jet and refurbished it. Now it is a hostel, offering accommodation for 85 people, and it is finally open for business at the entrance of the airport.

While this is undeniably an interesting place to stay, it's perhaps a little too early to say whether this concept will connect with travelers. For one thing, the Jumbo Hostel is decidedly more expensive than a normal hostel -- EUR 110 per night for basic accommodation -- even in somewhat pricey Stockholm.

Then again, the hostel is obviously convenient to the airport, and there are short stay options for around EUR 25 that are perfect for people connecting through Stockholm on long haul flights and are looking for a little rest.

Those looking to splurge can get rooms in the upper deck, or opt for the cockpit suite for around EUR 500 a night.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, fresh from her 15 minutes of election fame, is using her pull to help save some sectors of her state's travel industry.

Specifically, Palin recently intervened on behalf of Japan Airlines, asking the US Dept. of Homeland Security to resume customs checks on winter flights from Japan to Fairbanks. Customs had said it did not have enough staff in Fairbanks to maintain a winter presence, which led DHS to deny landing rights to roughly 20 JAL flights.

Logistically, it's a pain for US Customs and Border Protection to meet these flights; customs officers have to be flown from Anchorage to Fairbanks each time a JAL flight lands.

But these flights mean big business for Fairbanks' economy: $4 million, according to some estimates.

After Palin intervened, DHS decided to reverse its decision.

"We recognized right away the importance," Patricia Eckert, a trade specialist with the governor's office, tells the Associated Press. "There is tremendous economic impact at a time of year when it's most valued."

I've got another Qantas story that came across my desk recently.

The BBC is reporting that an Australian man is behind bars and facing two years in jail after it was found that he had faked being a Qantas engineer for 10 months

The guy's name is Timothy McCormack, and he admitted to some 42 different charges of deception, including forging an engineer's license.

He was caught posing as a supervising engineer checking some 30 Qantas 747 airplanes at Sydney airport.

A Sydney judge said McCormack put thousands of passengers' lives in jeopardy.

Qantas has been plagued with safety concerns this year, with several high profile incidents involving its aircraft. No word yet whether McCormack is being tied to a specific incident...

I was in New York recently, where there is talk that the MTA is considering raising the city's subway fare from $2.00 to $2.50 per ride.

Why? The New York Times recently reported that the state of New York is trying to work out a bailout of the MTA, which is saddled with a $1.2 billion deficit. Failing to do that, the MTA says it plans to raise fares and toll revenue in 2009 some 23 percent to close that budget gap, along with making what the Times describes as "deep cuts in service."

That means a jump in single-ride fares, and the cost of a 30-day MetroCard could increase to $104 by late next spring.

Obviously tourists are more inclined to be impacted by the simple single fare increase, even though $2.50 still seems like a pretty good deal for such a massive subway network. Sure, New York's subway system is rundown, dirty and generally disgusting, but it does get you to pretty much anywhere you want to go in one of the world's largest city.

I think of Berlin, where I live: Also a big city, with an amazingly extensive and efficient subway system. But single-ride fares there are nearly $3.00. Then again, I'd happily pay that in New York if they'd clean the subway up and figure out some way to let passengers known when they can expect the next train.

While most of us wouldn't think about heading to the airport specifically for a good meal, let's face it: For all the time we spend in them, it would be nice to count on something better than Chilis or food court Chinese from time to time.

Luckily, the New York Times' so-called Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, tackles this very subject this weekend, sussing out where to nail down some good noshes as we make our way through the country's major hubs this holiday season.

Among the airport restaurants that get a shout-out from Mr. Frugal are Vino Volo at JFK, Figs at La Guardia, Bistro del Sol at Altanta, Dickey's Barbecue Pin at Dallas-Ft. Worth and La Carreta in Miami.

Got other favorites? Drop us a line.