A video of Qantas refitted 747-400 with A380 features including new seats, cabin mood lighting and espresso machines. The 747-400 has 58 Business Class seats, 36 Premium Economy, 270 Economy seats and no First Class. Seat layout plan is here. Five have been refitted now. Three more 747s will be refitted by October 2012. It is great that the 747 is going to look great but it is of concern that Qantas are continuing to fly an aeroplane that should be retired. Not only will it cost Qantas more in excessive fuel consumption, but older planes cost more to maintain. I am curious that they are…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2012.
Air Finland
We almost made it through June without an airline bankruptcy. On Tuesday June 26, Air Finland, an airline and package tour operator filed for bankruptcy, ending all operations. 1,000 customers were stranded. They have been the 16th airline to collapse in 2012 (for list of collapsed carriers see here). Founded in 2002, Air Finland flew to destinations in Dubai, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. They state that they have flown over 400.000 passengers every year since 2005. Air Finland fleet had three Boeing 757s with an average age of 18 years. Each seated 219 passengers in a one class configuration. They…
Delta to have 1000 wifi enabled planes
Delta announced last Thursday,wifi will be added to its 150 strong international fleet from 2013. It currently has 550 planes wifi equipped and they say they are aiming at a wifi equipped fleet of 1000 planes. Domestically, Delta uses GoGo which provides the service via air-to-ground technology that uses land-based cell towers to beam signals to aircraft. For International flights, this is not so practical so it will be an Air to Satellite product. GoGo are working on their satellite systems. Delta have annouced Gogo will be Delta’s provider on the international services Satellite systems are almost four times more expensive…
What NOT to say at the airport
From the TSA (Transport Security Administration) Blog last week. A passenger at Kansas City (KCI) who was frustrated after being on standby said: “I’m going to go get a gun and shoot everybody if I don’t make this flight.” The Blog does not say if he made his flight.
Travel Tip #4 Treat People with Respect
I had flown in six hours late and found my four star hotel had given my room away. In return, however, they had upgraded me to a five star hotel next door and added a couple of extras. Grateful for having a bed for the night, I thanked the agent. She said “you are not going to yell at me?” “No”, I replied. “you sorted out the problem and I have a better deal. Why should I yell at you?” She said “The last three guys yelled at me” After apologising on their behalf, I wheeled my suitcase…
This Week
Virginia and then London bound…..first Premium Economy flight with Virgin Atlantic.
Early Unbuckling
On landing in Toronto as the rear wheels of the 737 hit the runway, a guy hopped out of his seat and headed to the rear restroom. Simultaneously a guy in row 16 got up and started looking under the seats of Row 13 as the plane decelerated. The Flight attendant jumped out of his seat shouting as he ran down the plane. He shepherded Mr Row 16 back into his seat and got Mr Bathroom back to his seat. Mr Row 16 didnt buckle up as the fight attendant returned to his seat. As we taxied in, Mr Row 13 got…
Trip Report: American- LAX to SFO
A positive review from me about American airlines? There is aways room for a first! I have flown AA 49 times and given them universally low rankings: Today my fiftieth American Airlines flight was a very pleasant experience. Check in: 9 out of 10 I was on a tight time frame and the LAX inter terminal bus was slowed by lost tourists. Upon getting to the LAX American Airlines terminal, I became a little lost. I saw a sign emblazoned “priority Access” and assumed (wrongly) that it was referring to entry to the gates so for some reason went…
Travel Tip: Don’t Check in baggage
Following on from last week, when I talked about how many toiletries people travel with, I had a very frustrating week with fellow passengers and their luggage . At Melbourne airport, a family of five were checking in, in front of me. They had fifteen bags – for a vacation. They had a huge argument with the check in staff about their baggage allowance. They were claiming the first class luggage allowance whilst travelling in Economy. The check in clerk was not giving it to them despite their posturing and yelling. The end result of a lot of wasted time, was a re pack…
US Best and Worst Carriers
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study was released on June 13 showing satisfaction with US and Canadian airlines declined slightly from the previous year . This survey run by J.D. Power and Associates 2012 involves more than 13,500 passengers giving their input between May 2011 and April 2012. Power scores airlines out of 1000 points with points being awarded for seven factors in this order of importance: Cost and fees In-flight services; Boarding/deplaning/baggage; Flight crew; Aircraft; Check-in; Reservations, Overall North American airlines rated 681 points down from 683 in 2011. Low cost carriers (average score 754 up 3) performed…
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