We recently spent a few days at Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock). To get to the spiritual heart of Australia means flying to its remote airport (code:AYQ) at an outrageous cost. Fares from Sydney can range from $450 to $1000 for the round trip. I could fly round trip to Singapore for $450 to $750 in the same period. Yet, Ayers Rock is three hours and 40 mins from Sydney and Singapore is just over eight hours! We chose to fly with Jetstar, which cost us around $490 round trip. I have never been a huge…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2016.
What’s that code? The ultimate airport decoder lists
I wrote a few weeks ago that I have been to 212 unique airports in 48 countries. Each of these airports, like most airports across the world has a three letter code which appears at ticketing, on documents and in airline routing procedures. Some codes are obvious eg SYD for Sydney or SFO for San Francisco and some of these codes can be quite obscure. eg EZE is Buenos Aires or IAD is Washington Dulles or ORD is Chicago O’Hare. If I am ever unsure of an airport code, there are two places I turn:…
Why are we so focussed on air accidents?
I do not want for one second to belittle the tragic loss of life that occurs with each air crash but I wonder, what is it about a plane crash that impacts on our consciousness? Every two days, approximately 66 people are killed on Egyptian roads; a total of 12,000 a year. 45 people per 100,000 die on Egyptian roads. Thats a horrific statistic but no one says anything about it. A year ago, a bus veered off the road at Giza into a canal leading to 35 people dead. It barely made a blip in…
21 times around the earth with Qantas -my 350th #QF Flight
Is there one airline that you have flown more than any other? I have flown on 90 different airlines. Almost one third of all my lifetime plane flights (I’ve flown 1089 times) have been with the Australian carrier, Qantas. I have just flown my 350th flight with them from Canberra, to Melbourne, Australia! Pictured here on the early morning 737-800 service. The plane on my 35oth Qantas flight itself (VH-XZG) was named Bungendore, after a small town outside Canberra. This is their 101st 737 and Boeing jetliner number 251. It was my third time on this particular…
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