Extraordinary footage of Boeing 737 MAX planes grounded at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, USA, forty kilometers (25 miles) north of Seattle. The footage was taken by local TV network King5 in June 2019. Globally, there are approximately five hundred grounded 737 MAX’s and 100 of those are at The Boeing Company’s Renton, Washington Factory in southern Seattle. There are now so many 737 MAXs waiting that Boeing has started placing them in the employee car park. It must be a weird feeling driving into a car park to be confronted by a product that…
Eva vs Austrian Premium Economy Dilemma!
Found a great airfare between Europe and Austria with Eva, the Taiwanese five star airline for a seat in Premium Economy. Ticks a few boxes. Great value for money, a five star airline, a new carrier for me and Star Alliance for points earning. Oh and a cool looking amenity kit! I was close to booking this fare, when another Star Alliance carrier’s Premium Economy product popped up. This time it was Austrian for a price point much lower than Eva’s. They use older planes (often on a 767 – which I love). I hear…
50 years of Airbus…what is your favourite plane?
I belong to a special class of nerds that are actually fascinated by the different models of planes that ply our skies. If you do not share this “nerdishenss“, then you may want to skip this post! It is the fiftieth anniversary of Airbus Industrie, established as a government initiative between France, West Germany and the UK that originated in 1967. The name “Airbus” was used as it was acceptable to the French linguistically! This video captures a stunning tribute to all ten of the Airbus models Which model is your favourite? I will be…
Alice Springs Surrounds- a Central Australia Journey
Entering the Centre of Australia is like entering a whole new world. The landscapes are alien, the animal unusual, the flies relentless, the stars stunning and the visitors surprisingly few. When people think of the centre of Australia, they often only think of Uluru, regarded as the spiritual heart of the continent. I have had the privilege of visiting “The Rock” five times in my life. It is a is mind blowingly wonderful place. The town of Alice Springs, 500 kilometers from Uluru, is home to a number of impressive sights which I am exploring…
NOK Air Trip Report
If you travel around Thailand, you will see Nok’s bold yellow planes with an image of a bird at the front of the aircraft nose. The word “Nok” is Thai for Bird. I have flown them half a dozen times and recently, I joined them for a flight from Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok’s smaller airport: Don Muang. Don Munag (DMK) handles domestic and regional flights and is not to be confused with the bigger and busier Suvarnabhumi Airport. Booking: 10/10 Their easy to use website delivers and their app is one of the best…
Sri Lanka Easter Horror
I was going to write a positive post wishing everyone who celebrates it a “Happy Easter” but this morning’s news from Sri Lanka of over 200 killed at three churches and three five star hotels experienced bomb attacks shook me. Six bombs all went off at around 845am local time. Three suicide bombers have been reported as being involved, so far. No claim of the cause and no motives as yet. Explosions were reported at: St Anthony’s, an historic shrine in Kochchikade, a district of Colombo. St Sebastian’s Katuwapitiya in Negombo, a town 10km from…
Jet Airways suspended- not coming back
On my list of airlines in trouble, Jet was near the top. People hoped that they would find a rescuer. I was more pessimistic. Jet suspended all operations this week after 25 years of operations after teetering on the brink of collapse for almost six months. After the State Bank of India, on behalf of the consortium of refused to offer a cash lifeline, the airline announced its flights were grounded. At the last count, only seven of their planes were still in the air, anyway. The rest were being held by creditors at ports…
Hiking at the top of Thailand
Few people make it to Doi Phu Kha National Park in the Northern province of Nan, Thailand, one of the country’s most isolated regions. The whole province gets as many foreign tourists in a year as Phuket gets in a week! The Verdict: My Overall Rating: 83% -High Score My Ranking: My favourite place in Thailand Why it should be visited: Views, birds, hiking, peace and quiet, waterfalls, caves Negatives: Transport options limited Would I return?: Yes. For a slower pace in a quieter place, it was a wonderful place to be. Location and Orientation The park…
Busiest International Air Routes in the world
Being the air nerd that I am, I have been absorbed with the 2019 OAG listing of the busiest international air routes in the world. I cannot help myself, I am afraid. On the top 20 routes, airlines offer a combined 332,000 flights annually. This is about one percent of all the flights in the world! Fifteen of the top 20 air routes in the world are in Asia with four connecting Singapore and five connecting Hong Kong (including the route between them!). This shows the major shift in air traffic over the last 20…
Air Asia rapped over knuckles for “sex trade” ad
AirAsia began a new direct flight route between Brisbane, Australia and Bangkok, Thailand in February this year. To announce the route, the airline placed the full size bus advertisements pictured above on the government bus fleet in Brisbane. Melinda Liszewski of Collective Shout, a campaign movement against the objectification of women and girls says the ad was “promoting sex tourism” in Thailand noting that at least 250,000 men travel to Thailand for sexual services annually. We know that for every two female tourists that travels to Thailand, statistically, there are three men. The number of…
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