On a visit to Australia‘s Gloucester Tree, two tourists jumped as I barked at them. 350 plus years old and standing at 72 metres tall, this Karris is the second tallest fire lookout tree in the world. Over one million tourists have climbed the tree in Pemberton, Western Australia since 1947. These two tourists had decided that the tree needed their names carved into the tree and were engrossed in the task with a knife when chewed out by me . Furious at this intrusion into one of my favourite spots, I was determined to make…
Ranking US airlines by complaints
US airlines get about 10, 000 complaints a year reported to the US Department of Transport. The number of complaints rose until 2012, when they fell slightly. Last year, 643 million passengers were carried by US airlines, so the number of complaints in that perspective does not seem to me to be that high. Of course few of us take our frustration with an airline to the appropriate authorities, preferring to whine about it ourselves or post our experiences on Facebook! The report “Unfriendly Skies”, an analysis of five years of airline complaints by…
Mexicana Exits (at last)
The privately-operated Mexicana flew from 1921 to 2010 making it one of the oldest airlines in the world. It kept company with Australia’s Qantas, Colombia’s Avianca and KLM of the Netherlands. The airline was grounded before it made its 90th birthday, just months after joining the One World alliance. The grounding stranded passengers in 16 countries and impacted 8,500 employees. Mexico’s Federal Judiciary Council ordered an end to efforts to revive moribund airline through bankruptcy proceedings, saying no credible new investor had expressed interest in the carrier. The decision means an administrator will be appointed…
Spirit most complained about US airline
I have never had the delight of flying Spirit Airlines in the USA. The one time, I turned up for a Spirit flight, they cancelled it! In the mould of Ryanair, Spirit combines low fares and profitability and customer complaints. Over the last five years, Spirit has consistently received three times more complaints than any other airline and the number of complaints against the airline kept rising in that period. In a report compiled by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund based on Department of Transport statistics, Spirit managed to increase its customer complaints from 6.7 per…
Get your Rent a Car Costs down
I was talking to a friend yesterday who paid more to rent a car for three days than I would pay for a week! When I asked him why he had spent so much money, he told me he booked it from the airport counter and he always rented from the same rental company. I have written in detail about car rentals but some tips for saving money: Book in advance Use a comparison website eg Priceline, Vroomvroomvroom or expedia.com.au/Car-Hire Ditch loyalty – other companies have the same cars so I have joined more than one…
Signals akin to Black Box detected – MH370?
The towed pinger locator deployed from HMAS Ocean Shield (right) has detected signals consistent with those emitted by black boxes. It could mean searchers are close to the missing plane. Ocean Shield is one of two ships towing the pinger locators. The other is HMS Echo. Time is running out as the black box batteries only have a 30 day lifespan. Hard to believe ot has been already a month since the disappearance! Related Posts MH370 “Pings” detected?
MH370 “Pings” detected?
Reports are coming in that a Chinese patrol ship Haixun have detected electronic “pings” which could be coming from the black boxes of Malaysia Airlines MH370. The pings are coming in from the 217 559 square kilometre (84,000 square mile) area the Boeing 777 is believed to be lost in. At a press conference Sunday morning in Perth, Australia, Air Chief Marshal “Angus” Houston, who was appointed to lead the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, outlined the facts and realities of the situation as captured in the conference transcript. Related Posts 3 weeks 3 questions unanswered MH370 ended in…
Etihad finishes Alitalia Due Diligence
Etihad Airways has reportedly finished a due diligence for a possible 40 percent investment in Alitalia. Maurizio Lupi , the Italian transport minister told parliament on Wednesday that Etihad could present its industrial plan for the troubled Italian carrier to the government by the end of this week. The Middle Eastern airline is apparently considering its options which a month ago its’ Chief Executive James Hogan said could swing either way. Etihad has said it will invest in the Italian carrier only if it fits in its network and if Alitalia has a credible plan to return to profit.…
3 New Airlines Joining One World
My favourite alliance oneworld (named best airline alliance of 2013) are in the process of adding three airlines to its stable of airlines. This addition of these new members is reportedly the biggest expansion since the program began.The three new carriers are: TAM – member from 31st March, 2014 US Airways – member from 31st March, 2014 Sri Lankan- member from 1st May 2014 TAM (JJ) Hubs: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Founded: 1976 Fleet: 172 Destinations: 61 destinations in 16 countries Skytrax Rating: 3 star airline. Skytrax Passenger Rating: 42% In 2012, Brazil’s TAM merged with Chile’s LAN. One…
Lion King Flash Mob on Jet
Passengers on a Virgin Australia 737 were entertained by the Australian cast of The Lion King with a rendition of the opening number, Elton John’s award-winning song “The Circle of Life” The team had been in Brisbane to announce the launch of the production in that city from September, 2014… For some passengers, it could have been a really fun start to a flight. For others, it would have been a nightmare! Wonder what the nervous passengers would have thought of it? Related Posts Five Fun Safety Briefings Funny safety briefings Emergency Landing Caused by Song Fly Hobbits Fly
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