I flew four days after the finalisation of the United-Continental merger and four days after the new combined reservations system had commenced. Thought I would test things didn’t I? This flight was the 830th I have ever flown in my life and was my 93rd flight with United and/or Continental. The flight itself was pretty okay. It was about what I would expect from the pre merger United so if I was expecting a dramatic leap to being one of the world’s greatest airlines as promised by United CEO, I didn’t see it. I have long regarded United as one of the worst legacy carriers in the…
This Week: March 26 to April 1
I am in sunny Perth, Australia! Anyone else here? Any tips or advice for the week? I have no flights for a whole week! Luxury! Have a great week.
Armavia Ailing or Aspiring?
Few will have heard of Amravia but this week they sounded like they were about to join the list if bankrupt airlines for 2012. Armavia is the national airline of Armenia, a small landlocked mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It was part of the USSR. Armavia was established in 1996, with commercial flights to Russia and Turkey starting in 2001. It had a strategic alliance with Russian S7 Airlines who owned 68% of Armavia for a while. The carrier took over flights from Armenian airlines which went bankrupt in 2003 and then it…
Invention for Slow walkers
One of my frustrations in Airports are people who meander. Some people wander slowly through airports because they are lost or confused or stressed and some because they are day dreaming. These individuals (and groups) walk slowly on travelators, stop for discussions at the top of escalators, hold the button on the lifts (elevators) and bunch at the doors of airports. Drives me crazy!! I am always trying to minimise my time in an airport, so I want to plow through. I am also familiar with airports and how to quickly get to gates. I have to remember, not everyone is as adept…
Trip Report: Thalys – Paris – Amsterdam
I love trains! Always have. Travelling from Paris to Amsterdam recently, the logical thing was to book a flight.In fact, the friends I was meeting, assumed I would fly in. There is an amazing alternative, which means I got to ride a train! Thalys is a direct train service using High Speed lines to key destinations on two routes: Paris-Brussels-Cologne-Essen and Paris-Brussels-Antwerp-Amsterdam. Thalys International company is owned by the SNCF French Railways -62%, Belgium Railways (NMBS/SNCB ) -28% and German Railways ( Deutsche Bahn) -10%. Thalys has no meaning and can be spoken, understood and recognised by travellers from all of the countries served…
This Week: 19th to 25th March
I fly from New York to Melbourne via Los Angeles and Sydney (United and Qantas with a sector on my beloved 380!) bringing my flights for the year to 25 from 22 airports in 9 countries on 4 continents with 10 airlines! So much for flying less in 2012! On my Qantas flight to Sydney, my total miles will exceed 1, 200 000 air miles flown in my life (five times between earth and moon) and a scarey 17 weeks inside planes! Check out myFlightmemory for more information. Home briefly before heading to Perth, Western Australia (flight 26 for…
Air India and the 787 revisited
On July 18, 2011, I declared that it was unlikely we would see a promised Air India 787 flying non stop between Melbourne and Delhi by October of that year. I was right. More recently, the Premier (Leader) of the state of Victoria, Australia (capital Melbourne) led a delegation to India where discussion about this proposed service occurred with India’s civil aviation minister. It is now believed a direct Melbourne- New Delhi service will start in 2013. The airline expects to get their first 787 in May 2012 with seven delivered by March, 2013. It is believed Boeing has agreed to compensate the airline about…
Direct Air Directionless
To the list of defunct airlines in 2012: Air Australia, Air Zimbabwe, Spanair and Malev, we can add the latest collapse of an airline: Directair. After suspending all of its scheduled flights in the middle of the spring break travel season last week, there probably was not much left to do. White knights are few and far between in this economy. Initially they promised a resumption of service on March 15. This resumption was delayed until May 15. Now that option has gone. Court documents show the company has at least $10 million in debt and just $500,000 to…
Virgin gives luggage free ride
Ever locked your keys in the car or lost them? I had some friends lose my house keys recently. They tore apart their car looking for the keys (turned out they had been dropped behind a tree in the garden!). Imagine finding you had locked everyone’s luggage in a Boeing 747 and could not get it out?! This happened to Virgin Atlantic last week. Flight VS029, arrived from London into Barbados with 288 passengers. On the ground,staff tried everything (and failed) to open the rear hold door of the plane. Eventually. it was decided to take…
Tuesday Trip Report: Gulf Air
It has been over a decade since I last flew Gulf Air. Australia was a Gulf Air destination in those days. James Hogan (now at Etihad) was CEO and the airline had new A330s and new uniforms. It was in the middle of a major transformation. Its crews were very international and the airline felt like it was going places. A lot has happened to Gulf since with its major shareholders all setting up rival carriers including Etihad. Booking- 10 out of 10 I cannot fault the Gulf Air booking webpage. Worked quickly and logically…
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