I was on a completely full 10 hour flight on Sunday. Nearby to me was a passenger travelling with the worst body odour I have ever been in a confined space with! On an informal test, I discovered their smell could be detected from five seats away. The woman sitting next to the passenger feigned sleep and covered her face with a blanket in an attempt to block him out. I know Air Canada have de-planed a smelly passenger in the past. What would you do in this situation? Do/say nothing Silently offer deodorant…
Blue Ice: Fact or Fiction?
Many people are convinced that when they flush an airport lavatory, that the contents drop on the people below! This is fueled by the legendary stories about “blue ice” tearing through roofs across the world. “Blue ice” is the mix of sewage material and blue liquid disinfectant that freezes because of the plane’s altitude. One chunk in London tore a large hole in the roof of a Unitrainn Church in London, and is reprtedly one reason for the building’s demolition! Earlier this year, a guy in the UK lost part of his conservatory roof to Blue Ice. In the…
Etihad Ten Years
Last week, Etihad celebrated ten years of operations with a flyover of AbubDabi. From one A320 flying from Abu Dhabi to Beirut, the UAE carrier has grown to be one of the world’s largest carriers. The airline operates over 1,000 flights per week with 88 aeroplanes to 95 passenger and cargo destinations across the globe. In 2012 it carried 10.3 million passengers, up 23 per cent on 2011. Etihad is very good at growth. Just not good at making money. In fact growth seems to come before profit. For much of its decade, the airline…
Sweden is not Switzerland
Entries close next week for a competition asking Chinese people to come up with funny ways to help differentiate Sweden and Switzerland. Both nations’ names start with the same symbol in Mandarin. Sweden is Ruidian and Ruishi is Switzerland and many Chinese confuse the two. I suspect they are not the only people who mix them up. Spanish speakers can mix up ‘Suecia’ and ‘Suiza’. I have been told by people how much they love the Swiss furniture store Ikea. People also mix up Taiwan and Thailand. I once confused the Caribbean island of Grenada with Granada…
Remembrance Day 2013
Lest we forget In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not…
US Airlines switch On PED Devices
The US Federal Aviation Administration ruled on October 31 that Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) may be used at every stage of a passenger’s air journey, that is from gate to gate. PEDs include e-readers, noise reduction headphones, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The ruling is “based on input from the PED Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) which concluded that most commercial airplanes can tolerate radio interference signals from PEDs.” Most of the key US carriers are now allowing usage: Alaska Airlines from Nov 9 American Airlines from Nov. 4 American Eagle flights from Nov 4 except those operated by Chautauqua , ExpressJet Airlines,…
Thoughts with the Philippines
My thoughst to the people of the Philippines impacted by Super Typhoon Haiyan which slammed into the country on Friday with a sustained windspeed of 278km/h (170mph). The death toll sits at 1200 plus with some saying it may be 10, 000. The typhoon is now heading toward Northern Vietnam. The Red Cross/Red Crescent movement world wide is supporting the relief work. Donations can be made by Paypal, Credit Card or Bank Transfer. Related Posts: Japan- One Year On
Hyperloop – less hype- more real?
The hyperloop concept was unveiled earlier in 2013. It involves sitting in a capsule and being “fired” down a pressurised tube between two cities at 1100km/h (660pmh). On Thursday a company “Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc” was established to have a prototype running by the end of 2015. The company is using a crowd source model to complete the work. 130 people have indicated an interest in company leadership. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has also announced partnerships with: Ansys, which created some of the first software simulations of the rail and stated: they were “convinced that the Hyperloop…
Fly Nonstop Stops
The old adage about the airline business is that the way to make a small fortune in the airline business is to start with a large one. Espen Hennig-Olsen, an heir to the Norwegian Hennig-Olsen ice cream company invested his money in a full service airline start-up carrier called Fly Nonstop. The airline started flying on April 25th, 2013. The airline leased a 100-passenger Embraer 190 which was flown by a Dutch charter company. The aircraft had two-class seating. Fly Nonstop had 17 weekly flights serving eight European destinations: Berlin, Dubrovnik, London City, Manchester, Nice,…
Funny Safety Briefings
Depending on how strict the airline is, some flight crews will make their safety presentations funnier. Here are some of the better ones that I havew found on the web. Any more? Intro “Ladies and gentlemen, did anyone lose a wallet near the front of the aircraft? – (silence) – We found a brown leather wallet on the floor (again, more silence……..). Ok, now that we have your attention, let’s begin the safety briefing… Please pretend that you care while we go over these important announcements. Welcome to SWA flight #3479. This is a non-stop,…
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