Yesterday was International Women’s Day and I spent part of the day wondering why we have so few pilots who are women? Of the 53,000 members of the Air Line Pilots Association, only 5 percent are female. According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, there are only about 450 women worldwide serving as airline captains. Of the major airlines Qantas female Pilots are around 3.6 per cent while at American it is four percent. At British Airways it is just under six percent. Both they and Lufthansa (six percent female) have started campaigns…
My Musings (Sundays)
Category Archives for My Musings (Sundays).
Any advice for Myanmar?
I am visiting Myanmar (Burma) in April. This will be my first visit! Any tips and advice welcome! Related Posts My 58th country: Vietnam I visit my 57th country
Qatar’s Staff Criticisms – 3 questions
Is it acceptable to have your employer grant permission “in case you wish to change your marital status and get married“? This employee rule made the news, this week, in an article The truth about the luxury of Qatar Airways published last week in a Swedish tabloid: Expressen. The article is blisteringly critical of the airline. Qatar Airways has been voted world!s best airline for two years in a row. They pick up awards for business class, their service and their lounges. On top of that, the airline had been involved in massive expansion going from four to 120…
Toomey Quits & Jet Airways expands
Anyone know why Jet Airways chief executive officer Gary Toomey announced his immediate departure from the airline last week after four months? Jet Airways announced on January 16; “Gary Kenneth Toomey, chief executive of the company has resigned with immediate effect…Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan, the chief financial officer of the airline, will officiate as the “acting chief executive officer” till the board appoints a new chief“. Mr Toomey said: “I have enjoyed my time at Jet Airways working with the Chairman, the management team and the wonderful staff. I am confident that the Company will be successful in…
Non allocated Seating Dead?
In the early days of Low Cost Carriers, non allocated seating was the norm. With Ryanair’s announcement of allocated seating from February, 2014, there are few airlines that continue to offer it. Easyjet made the transition to alllocated seating last year. Jetstar did it in 2011. Air Asia followed on 2012. Southwest continue to offer it but their boarding system is now so complicated it may as well be a form of allocation! Now airlines (Low cost and full service) almost universally offer seat allocation on line. Some carriers charge a fee for advance seat…
Lost in Transit
As I lined up to withdraw from an ATM at Singapire’s Changi airport, I became aware of a disturbance . An elderly Sikh gentleman was clearly struggling to use the machine. Firstly, he did not appear to know how to insert his card. A young couple behind him showed him this. Entering the pin stumped him next. Dressed simply, in sandals, open necked shirt and a wrap and clutching an ID card, atm card and some cash, he looked vulnerable and out of place in this vast bustling mega airport. At this point, some of…
2014 World Anniversaries
2014 marks 100 years since World War One. It is 75 years since World War Two and 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. How will you remember these events? Have we learnt from them?
2013 Worst Airlines
I upset some people with my 2012 list of the worst airlines. One reader wrote “Sorry you have no idea what you’re talking about.” Another defended Tiger Airways which I would consider to be undefendable: “what is your problem!?! …tiger is alite! [sic – I think meaning elite] u r exhaggerating these airlines! these are not bad. do not listen to this person! they r provided wrong information!” I beg to disagree! Having now flown 985 times on 89 airlines, I have seen the best and worst of customer service, products and safety. My flights…
My 58th country: Vietnam
Crossed the border into Vietnam making this nation the 58th I have been to in my life. The crossing was made smoother, thanks to Mekong Express Limousine Bus. They are easily the best coach operator in Cambodia and I would not use anyone else. It was one of the best land crossings I have ever experienced! My goal is to visit or live in 99 countries by the age of 70! This gives me an average of two new places per year to achieve that. Related posts I visit my 57th country/
I visit Cambodia – my 57th country
A slow third class train trip through rural Thailand, followed by a tuk tuk ride and a walk across the Thai-Cambodian border got me into Cambodia. This is the 57th country I have been to. It is also the tenth Asian country I have visited (along with Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand). Over the next two weeks I will be travelling to Siam Reap and Pnom Penh in Cambodia plus Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi and Ha Long in Vietnam.
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