Some people can’t sleep on planes at all…and apparently some can sleep all too well. Take Kris Lines, a British law professor who was seated in the rear of an Air Canada Jazz plane. After staying awake from London Heathrow all the way to Calgary, Canada he finally succumbed and decided to take a quick catnap on the 90-minute second leg of his journey to Vancouver.

But when Prof Lines woke up, he discovered that his flight had landed nearly an hour and a half earlier and his plane was now sitting quietly… in the hangar! He might still be sleeping if a surprised mechanic hadn’t nudged him awake.

The disgruntled Prof was offered an apology and a 20 per cent discount on his next Air Canada Jazz flight. Now we know cost cutting is all the rage in the airline business, but talk about stingy! They could have at least given him a free upgrade, a free flight, something free.

The airline, in an e-mail apology— jeez, they could even pick up the phone!? — the flight attendant forgot to do a final walkthrough because he was busy helping wheelchair-bound passengers.

Darn, now they have the moral high ground. An airline spokeswoman told the Globe and Mail that it was an “isolated incident”, and that it was raised with the crew member, as well as other crew members, to ensure that something similar doesn’t happen again.

But what the Bellyachers can’t quite figure out, is how *anyone* could possibly sleep on one of those cramped kneesagainst- the-seat-in-front regional jets that ply North America’s hinterland. Perhaps Prof Lines was a Professor of Kinesiology.