The news that part of an aeroplane has washed up on the shore of the Island of Réunion last Wednesday gives little comfort to families and friends of those who were on Malaysia Airlines 370 that disappeared on March 8, 2014. Confirmation by Malaysia on Friday, that the part is a flaperon and is indeed from a Boeing 777 tells us that it is likely that the plane did indeed end up in the sea. It does not tell us how, where or why. (See wsj: What is a flaperon?) Additional information emerged that a suitcase was…
My Musings (Sundays)
Category Archives for My Musings (Sundays).
My 300th time thru Sydney
This week I celebrate another geeky milestone! I have now flown into or out of SYD Sydney’s (Kingsford Smith) Airport 300 times! Of the 212 airports I have travelled through in my life, this Australian airport is my second most visited: 1 MEL Melbourne 328 15.7 % 4.2 2 SYD Sydney 300 14.3 % 2.9 3 LAX Los Angeles 99 4.7 % 1.7 4 ADL Adelaide 78 3.7 % 4.4 5 AKL Auckland 78 3.7 % 3.2 Since my first flight into Sydney on 3rd July 1971 on a Pan Am 747, I have now travelled to…
Vale Malaysia Airlines- Why it must be
In 1947, a Malayan Airways six seater Airspeed Consul took off from Sinagpore to Kuala Lumpur beginning what became the five star Malaysia Airlines we know today with their 98 strong fleet including 380s flying to 60 destinations. Malaysia Airlines has for years, epitomised to me the romance of flying. Friendly attentive crews who worked hard to take passengers to exotic places like Sabah, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi. Their clean comfortable interesting planes and great service have made my travels a delight. All of this will come to an end by September 1 under a restructuring…
Scrubba- a intriguing idea
Scrubba is a wash bag that is not just for storing your laundry- you can actually use it’s built in flexible washboard to wash your clothes in 30 seconds with 2 gallons of water! Its an Australian invention! The Scrubba wash bag measures approximately 54 cm x 32 cm (21 inches x 12.5) and weighs less than 145g five ounces). A percentage of all sales go to clean water projects in Ethiopia and Bangladesh. I do not have a Scrubba. Would you use one?
My Grandfather & World War- ANZAC Day 2015
100 years ago on 25th April, a dramatic World War One battle impacted Australia and New Zealand when soldiers from both countries supported the British attempt to take control of the northern bank of the Dardanelles as part of the campaign to capture Constantinople (now) Istanbul in Turkey. 100,000 men perished in eight months over this failed attempt. The date of the landing, is known as “Anzac Day” (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp) and is commemorated by hundreds of thousands across both countries and Turkey, every April 25th. Yesterday, I attended a dawn commemoration with 120 000…
If Zappos ran an Airline
The CEO of Nevada based online retailer Zappos has reiterated that he has flirted with the idea of running an airline following customer requests. For those who do not know, Zappos started as a shoe retailer and grew annual sales from one million to one billion dollars in eight years. Zappos is known for their obsession with customer service and their desire to blur the line between work and play: We seek to WOW our customers, our co-workers, our vendors, our partners, and in the long run, our investors. The company recruits new staff based on how…
Still Flying
In forums and conversations since the tragic Germanwings crash, people have been lamenting that flying has become more dangerous. One person sad to me “you hear of all of these crashes and you wonder of its safe to travel anywhere” The word “hear” is an important one. I am old enough to remember Entebbe in 1976 when terrorists seized and diverted an Air France plane. The astonishing crash between two 747s in 1977. In 1985 there were multiple hijackings, bombings and crashes including the horrific Japan Airlines 747, crash into Mount Osutaka which killed 520 of 524…
Post Germanwings: 2 in cockpit
On many of my flights, I have watched the pilot come out of the cockpit to use the lavatory. On some airlines, as he or she has emerged, a member of the cabin crew has replaced him. On others, the pilot or co pilot has left their colleague alone in charge of the plane. The U.S.A had rules before last Tuesday’s Germanwings crash requiring airlines to have two crew members present at all times during the flight. Many other countries allowed airlines to set their own policies. And this has always bothered me. I have always…
I Hike Hadrians Wall across England
There are many crazy things I like to do in life. One is walking long distances! I have walked several long distance tracks in Australia, the UK and New Zealand now including the famed NZ Milford track. One of my goals was to walk the width of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea following the path of Hadrian’s wall. 84 miles (140km) long. And I did it! It took seven days walking West to East. To back track, Hadrian’s Wall was built in the 2nd Century AD by the order of the Roman Emperor…
An appeal to civility in 2015
Some people collect stamps, some build and race model cars and others garden. Me? I travel. And I blog. That is my hobby and that is how I see it. I enjoy sharing my world with my friends – and others. Over the last year, I have become concerned, disappointed and distressed at what feels like an erosion of civility in social media. Just as we see teens bullying each other, so I see adults behaving disappointingly. I welcome your comments. I want to know where I go wrong, what I can learn and what…
Recent Comments