When I blogged about Australia’s newest airline in January, I was not convinced it was a viable proposition. So many start ups have tried in Australia and failed/disappeared (East-West, Compass I, Compass II, Impulse, for example). More recently, we have seen Tiger Airways Australia in trouble. Australia is a tough aviation market in a tough aviation world. Already in 2012, three airlines have collapsed including Malev that I blogged about last week. Air Australia is the world’s fourth airline to be grounded this year. On the morning of February 17, Air Australia, after less than three months of operations, ran…
Wednesday weirdness: How late do you leave it?
As I was standing in the Priority check in line for a Virgin Australia flight at Sydney airport, a young guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could squeeze to the front of the line as his plane was leaving “in ten minutes“. He sprinted to the counter. We watched the check in clerk smile at him, reach for the phone presumably to check with the gate. She shook her head and he came past me looking furious. Whats the latest you have got to an airport and got onto a flight? Picture from: http://lifehacker.com
Tuesday Trip Report: My last Malév flight
With the collapse of Malév this seems like the only time to post about my last Malev flight in July 2009 – 2.5 years ago from Rome to Budapest. Booking: 10 out of 10 My ticket was actually booked in conjunction with a Cathay Pacific fare (Malév were part of the One World alliance). I travelled to Budapest from Australia via Hong Kong and Roma. From my visits to Malév ‘s website, I found it to be streamlined, straightforward and effective. Check In: 7 out of 10 Signposting for the Malév check in at Rome’s Leonardo Da…
Malév Over Budapest
In doing some research about failed Hungarian carrier Malév, I came across this amazing video. On August 20, 2006 a Malév 737 followed by a Sky Europe plane flew at a low altitude over Budapest, Hungary. This ten minute video has some stunning view of this beautiful city. The two planes then flew side by side. I assume it was done for the sixtieth anniversay of the founding of the successor to Malév. Ironically, both airlines are gone now.
This Week: 13-19 February, 2012
I am in Bangkok, Wellington, Palmerston North, Auckland and Melbourne this week. 8005 miles (12 808 km) to be flown with four airlines: Air New Zealand, British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia. Trivia: I will fly my 820th flight of my life! I will also have my 40th Air New Zealand flight! Where are you this week? Hope its a great one!
Malév Malaise- Hungary’s flag carrier demise
After several horror years of airline failures globally, 2011 was a relatively quiet year with only a small number of airline names vanishing. 2012 has already been busy, however, with the collapse of Spanair and Cirrus in January. This week I was sad to see the collapse of Malév, the Hungarian flag carrier. The airline has been on the edge of collapse for years. Shutdown was triggered by a European Commission order to repay €300 million in “illegal” government subsidies and forced when Tel Aviv and Dublin airports grounded two of Malév’s jets. On closure day, 30 000 passengers were stranded. The airline had…
Happy 40th Birthday Troy
To a loyal blog reader and fellow plane geek..Have a great celebration.
Wednesday Weirdness: The battle for power
One of the biggest frustrations for today’s traveller is access to power to recharge devices. Considering how much we need to keep powered, I am surprised that no one has set up a charging station network across the globe. In the meantime travellers have to earnestly ferret out power outlets, share, negotiate, bargain and beg. On January 1st, I was in Queens Plaza Shopping Centre in Brisbane, Queensland eating my lunch. It is a shopping centre with the David Jones Department Store where I planned to do some shirt buying. As I sat in the food hall,…
A380 Cracking Up?
Qantas Airways has temporarily grounded one of its A380 superjumbos after discovering dozens of hairline cracks in its wings. They have said tehy: 1. do not pose a threat to safety 2. they are different from the types of cracks that manufacturer Airbus found in the wings of two jets last month Should we be worried about my beloved A380?
This Week: 6 to 12 February, 2012
Summer is over for me! Back into work travel. Tuesday will be my first work trip for 2012! Off to Bangkok this week with Qantas. Trivia: The Melbourne to Sydney flight will be my 240th Qantas flight of my life.It will also be the 260th time I have flown into or out of Melbourne airport! Finally, on the Sydney to Bangkok leg I will hit 260 000 km flown with Qantas! Basically thats over 15 times around the earth with them!
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