The long anticipated first flight of Korean Air’s A380 took place last week. The sixth airline in the world to fly the plane after Singapore, Qantas, Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa, the first flights were from Seoul (ICN) to Tokyo and Hong Kong Korean have ordered ten A380s. Five will be delivered this year and the next five not until 2014. They have configured the plane to have the least number of seats of all the airlines flying it (414) with the top deck being all business class with 94 seats. The lower deck has 12 First Class and…
Yearly Archives
Yearly Archives for 2011.
The Unsafe Tiger
I have been critical about the “budget” carrier Tiger Airways Australia which can be likened to a bus with wings as noted in my previous blog about them.Seems the bus is not safe. On Saturday July 2, 2011 Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) grounded Tiger after the airline’s planes twice breached lowest safe altitudes. This grounding came after they had given the carrier a warning in March saying Tiger needed to “improve the proficiency of Tiger Airways Australia’s pilots, improvements to pilot training and checking processes, changes to fatigue management, improvements to maintenance control and ongoing airworthiness…
A-Z of Welcome Aboard
Ever noticed how airlines welcome you aboard? As you go down the jetbridge and through the open aeroplane door, what happens. In Australia and New Zealand domestic travel, crew members check your boarding pass and usually greet you. This is generally the case with international flights. Not so in the USA as passengers wander onto the plane ignored by cabin crew. These have been my experiences with domestic and international cabin crews. Air Asia-there were flight crew on board? Air Canada- Calm cheerfulness Air France- Gallic hospitality-feel like I am coming home Air New Zealand – Awesome Kiwi friendliness American- Surly British- mix…
My 757th Flight on a United 757-mega fail
Thanks to Flight Memory.com and my friend Tony (see blog post), I know exactly how many fights, miles and hours have been spent in pressurised tubes of metal flying around the world. Even after many flying hours, and despite the determined efforts by some airlines to make travel as horrible as possible, I am still wildly excited about plane travel. United flight 967 at gate in LAX Flight 737 on a Boeing 737 with Southwest was a fun experience. Flight 747 on a Qantas Boeing 747 was made very special by the delightful cabin crew.…
Buzzing Brasilia- the Tourist Experience
This is my fourth article on my recent experiences on Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. When I told people that I was going to visit there, I got one of three reactions: Why? Where? What for? I was regaled with tales of people going mad with boredom in the sterile cityscape and the empty streets. Even Brazilians said to me that it would not take long to see the sights! Brasilia gets such a bad rap – from anyone who has never been there. The locals I spoke to, however, liked their city. Many who were born there, bristle at the…
My 737 Milestone- 200 flights
A Qantas 737-800 I have been flying too much! Another milestone with my 200th flight in a Boeing 737. I have flown 737s more than any other type of aeroplane. (767- 106 times, 747 – 93 times) From Iceland in the North to New Zealand in the South and East to Honolulu in the West, I have flown to or from 84 airports in 737s operated by 23 airlines. around the world, although over half of the flights were a single carrier Qantas (see airline list below) I think of the 737 as a reliable functional car…
Appraising Brasília -How does this planned city rate?
I had been long been fascinated by the architecture, the structure, the layout and its impact on the people who call Brasilia home. Some people say its a success and others warn of its failures. Brasilia is the 160th city over 100 000 people I have visited. And I have rated every city and update the ratings regularly!!! (ESFJ personality). These ratings are based on my perceptions and experiences. Overall Rating out of 100 I gave Brasília an overall score of 81.4 per cent. This gives it 74th place out of the 160th cities I have visited. Bizarrely…
Beautiful Brazil- My 50th Country visited
Brazil, the first country I have been to in South America is the 50th country I have visited. It also popped into my top ten favourite countries in the world. I loved Brazil! Geography To misquote Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: “Brazil is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean you may think it’s a long walk down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to Brazil“. As the fifth largest country in the world, total area is 8,514,877 km2 (3,287,597 sq mi ). For US people that’s almost…
Bewitching Brasília -birds eye view of the capital
Brasília, has me transfixed. Have a look at this amazing panoramic slide show of Brasília scenes. Then take a peek at an amazing flight over the city – in a hang glider! The author of this video declares that Brasília, is like the movie Gattaca. He is right
10 000 plus
Over 10 000 people have now viewed this blog! Thanks everyone. The Top Ten Visited posts are: Three Airlines-one plane- comparing the A380 Sep 30, 2010, 7 comments My fave plane compared across 3 airlines! First Korean Air A380 peeks out in Toulouse Feb 5, 2011- seems there are a lot of A380 geeks Virgin across the Pacific Mar 3, 2011 1 comment – My First V Australia flight from Aust to USA $198 to Europe or $981.80 to Europe Feb 11, 2011 I hate “dishonesty” in ticket pricing The Five Peeve Taxi Journey Sept 11, 2010 Taxis…
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