No Posts Today
July 12 2006
Hi all…I’m in London on business (long story) today, so there’ll be no posts. But I’ll have a review of my flight over on Eos tomorrow.
Archive for July, 2006
What Happens If You’re Denied Entry Into a Country?
July 11 2006
The guys over at Airliners.net have answered a question I’ve always (sorta) wondered about: If you fly to another country and, for whatever reason, you’re denied entry, who is responsible for the price of the airline ticket back home? Turns out the airline is, even if it’s your fault. This actually happened to a friend of my family (went to Brazil, was never told he needed a visa, was sent home from Sao Paulo after 11 hour flight), but I never knew the actual policy. Now you know. And that’s one to grow on.
Southwest Pilot Suspect of Being Drunk
July 11 2006
Southwest Airlines is known for its laid-back attitude, but sometimes it’s apparently a bit too laid back. A Southwest pilot was arrested at Salt Lake City’s airport on Sunday after security staff smelled alcohol on his breath. Airport police removed the pilot from the cockpit minutes before his departure to Phoenix. The co-pilot continued on without him. Sober.
Google Founders in Lawsuit over 767
July 10 2006
You may remember that the founders of Google purchased a 767 and are in the process of renovating it. It hasn’t gone well. The Wall Street Journal reported that the airplane’s interior designer is embroiled in a lawsuit with the holding company that owns the plane. The more interesting part is that the two founders had some odd requests. Like having a hammock in the plane. They also disagreed about the size of the mattress for the bedroom (California King?). It’s definitely worth a read…
US Airways Considering Eliminating Some First Class Seats
July 07 2006
Bad news for US Airways elite flyers: The airline is considering removing 10 of its 26 first class seats from its A321 aircraft. These planes typically fly cross-country, where elite flyers were enjoying free upgrades. You can say goodbye to that. The 26 seats was pretty generous to begin with, as most airlines had fewer than that so while there’ll be some grumbling, it’s what most frequent flyers are facing these days. The carrier is also going to add a row of coach seats to its A319s, reducing seat pitch by an inch or so, and removing 4 first class seats (previously 16, now 12) from its A320s. In short, they’re making the airline look more like America West and less like US Airways.
London to Hong Kong: $140 each way
July 06 2006
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is launching new service from London-Gatwick to Hong Kong and offering impossibly low fares to celebrate. Starting in October, you can fly between the two cities for GBP 75 each way (that’s about $140). Crazy!
Air Canada Loses Dog, Then Runs It Over
July 06 2006
Air Canada lost a passenger’s dog at Halifax airport last month. The animal escaped from the airline’s handlers as it was being loaded into an aircraft. Following the escape, airport and airline workers tried to find the dog on the airline’s property. Unfortunately, the animal was located a couple of days ago after an Air Canada A320 struck the dog on the runway. To the airline’s credit, a spokesperson said that they carry more than 100,000 pets each year without running over any of them. The streak had to end some time.
Approach to SFO
July 05 2006
On a holiday weekend, I thought I’d pass along a photo my father sent to me (thoUGH he didn’t take it), of two jets on approach to San Francisco’s airport. It’s an illusion — they’re not about to crash, but it’s quite cool nonetheless. Click to make it larger…
