NORFOLK, VIRGINIA – A Virginia same-sex couple is suing Houston-based United/Continental Airlines for an incident in which baggage handlers removed a sex toy from one of their checked bags, and then smeared lubricant all over it, finally taping it to the bag before placing it upon the baggage claim belt.

According to court documents in the case—Bridgeman, et al v. United Continental Holdings, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc., which was filed on Friday, August 24—Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger claim that after they arrived in Houston on a flight from Costa Rica, they retrieved their checked luggage and “discovered, to their horror, that a private sex toy had been removed from one of their bags, covered in a greasy foul-smelling substance, and taped prominently to the top of their bag.”

The suit continues, “Plaintiffs experienced extreme shock and horror when they observed the above described bag, and when observing the surprised and/or laughing faces of numerous onlookers in the baggage claim area.”

The men say that the baggage handlers—who were employed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston—were motivated by “the fact that the sex toy was contained in the bag of a male, and because the employee(s) responsible knew that the bag belonged to a male due to the name tag attached to the bag and the male clothing contained in the bag.”

It adds that “these egregious actions were directed towards Plaintiffs because they are homosexual and because they are males.”

According to the lawsuit, Bridgeman and Borger “seek punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and negligence.”

The Southwest Airlines pilot, who was not identified by the FAA or the airline, could be heard talking to his co-pilot in the cockpit, expressing frustration over the airline hiring so many flight attendants that he found to be unsuitable for dating.

“A continuous stream of gays and grannies,” the pilot said over the Houston Center air traffic control frequency, which covers hundreds of miles over Texas. “Eleven (expletive) over-the-top (expletive) ass (expletive) homosexuals and a granny,” the pilot said as he complained to his co-pilot about the lack of flight attendants who caught his interest. The pilot used a slur against gay flight attendants, saying he had gone to a bar with a group of flight attendants. He described that trip to the bar by saying, “Once with the granny and the (derogatory term) and I wish I hadn’t gone.”

Pilots within certain altitude guidelines over that entire geographic area were unable to communicate with Houston Center air traffic controllers for the entire four-minute duration of his conversation since his headset microphone was stuck.

Since the birth of the “frequent flyer” in 1981, skepticism has clouded the longevity of airline loyalty programs. Nevertheless, not economic turmoil, terrorism, oil spikes nor bankruptcies have crushed these rewards juggernauts. Frequent flyer programs and their mileage offspring are here to stay. The terms and conditions of earning and using miles, however, are here to change. According to mileage guru and frequent flyer extraordinaire Gary Steiger of www.freefrequentflyermiles.com, collecting and spending frequent flyer miles has become a skillful economic game, but it’s still not difficult to maximize your rewards within the binding constraints of the small print.

Rack ‘em Up!

Inflated credit card bonuses. Rising from the depths of the recession – and swimming in government handouts – banks and airlines have teamed up to offer the most generous credit card signup bonuses in history. A 100,000 British Airways bonus mile promotion from Chase, and Citibank’s similar enticement of 75,000 American Airlines Aadvantage miles, have set a precedent for more outrageous offers to come in late 2011. Search Google to find these amazing credit card offers. Elite status multipliers. Loyalty to an airline eventually equates to a mileage multiplier – and usually a handful of free upgrades. For example, those who reach Gold status on Continental or Platinum on American Airlines (50,000 miles flown in one year) earn a 100% mileage bonus on all miles flown on the respective airline. Promotion Registration. Airlines often tantalize consumers with bonuses on new and specific routes, the use of hotel, car rental and shopping partners, or the completion of a suite of activities during mileage marathons; most of these bonuses require registration. Browse the “bonus offers” section of your chosen airline before booking your flights to find possible extras, or sign up to receive e-mails from mileage gurus like Gary through Websites like www.freefrequentflyermiles. com.

Spend and Save

Off-peak reward discounts. A major perk for traveling during an airline’s offpeak calendar is more value for your miles. US Airways lowers the mileage between the US and Europe from 60,000 to 35,000 round-trip in January and February, while American Airlines lowers it to 40,000 between October 15 and May 15; Free Spirit Mastercard holders can fly to any destination less than 1249 miles away for 5,000 miles round-trip during certain times of the year (Sept., Nov., Dec. and May). Use and abuse partners. Take a closer look at your favorite US-based airline partner reward chart and look for the bargains. While earning miles directly on foreign airlines is diffi cult, partner availability is often high on foreign airlines. One World Alliance airlines charge only 10,000 miles for internal oneway flights within Japan, Peru and Argentina, which normally cost $200-$400 each. Continental Airlines charges only 30,000 miles for a business class round trip ticket between North and South Asia on partners Asiana, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines. “I just returned from a wonderful hiking trip in Bavaria and Switzerland, flying San Francisco to Munich on Lufthansa and returning from Zurich on Swiss Air in business class, using U.S. Airways miles, though I have never even flown on a U.S. Airways flight,” explains Gary.

Avoid taxes and fees.

It doesn’t really feel like a free ticket when taxes and fees amount to nearly $400.00 per person. British Airways Executive Club and Virgin Flying Club are notorious for charging outlandish taxes and fees with reward tickets. Miles from these two programs are better used with their US-based partners. Avoid miles hording. Miles do not earn interest. They even expire in short timeframes. The inception of the tiered rewards system, like the one used by Delta Airlines, now “makes tickets more expensive in terms of miles, thus devaluing the miles already earned,“ says Gary. Future changes are not likely to work in the consumer’s favor, so spend your miles now!