Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Sully Gets the Key | Michael Bloomberg presented keys to the city this morning to Chesley Sullenberger and four other members of the crew of Flight 1549 for their heroic efforts in saving the lives of 155 people a couple of weeks ago. "These true professionals are not there to just serve drinks and snacks. They are there to keep us safe," the mayor said in his opening remarks. It's nice to see Sully receive an honor he rightfully deserves, but "drinks and snacks"? What airline is Mayor Bloomberg flying? Oh, right, that's the one. [NYT]

Virgin doesn't have a problem mocking current events as part of its own ad campaigns. (Perhaps you saw Virgin Mobile's Eliot Spitzer-themed ad last year?) But clearly Virgin America isn't quite as happy when other people do it. The company filed a lawsuit against the advertising blog Adrants.com yesterday over a fake ad the site posted on the day Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River. The spoof (left), which appeared below the headline "The Hudson Crash: Just One More Reason to Fly Virgin," was later updated to make it clear the ad was a parody. (It was eventually removed from the site entirely, although you'll find a cached version here.) But that hasn't stopped Virgin from suing Adrants and the site's founders for defamation, trademark infringement and dilution, false designation, and false and deceptive advertising. "Virgin America deplores the fact that anyone would try to take advantage of the crash of flight 1549," the company said in court documents. (Here's looking at you, Ken Cole!) You can take a look at Virgin's full lawsuit after the jump.More

Kenneth Cole Billboard Pays Tribute to US Airways Flight 1549 [WCBS]

US Airways: 'The Check Is in the Mail' | Saying that it was "truly sorry," US Airways mailed out $5,000 checks over the weekend to each of the 150 passengers who were aboard Flight 1549 when it crashed into the Hudson last week. The checks are intended to compensate passengers for their luggage, which the airline now says may be "unrecoverable," but US Airways was also kind enough to reimbursed passengers for their ticket costs, too. Alas, no word yet on whether the airline plans to give passengers frequent flyer credit for the six-minute trip. [NYT]

Flood the Scene | How many New York Times reporters does it take to cover a plane crash? 34. No wonder the paper had to mortgage its office building. [Doree]

Plane Down in the Hudson River | A US Airways flight carrying 148 people went down in the Hudson River about an hour ago, reportedly after flying into a flock of birds. News reports indicate many passengers may still be in the water, so if you've been complaining about how cold you are today, you should probably shut up now. [NYT, CNN]