Archive for August, 2006
August 24 2006
For the unnecessary press release pile: Aer Lingus breathlessly announced today that its customers will board their aircraft and find water at their seats. Says some guy quoted in the release, "The new security processes are
critically
important for overall safety. If we can ease the hassle
just a bit by
having water ready for each customer then the restriction
on carrying
liquids becomes a bit easier to take."
Yes. Because of terrorism, Aer Lingus will give you water. God bless those people.
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August 24 2006
A Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai returned to the airport after takeoff when 12 passengers were seen acting oddly in a way that concerned other passengers. The passengers pulled out cell phones during the flight and would not remain seated when the fasten seatbelt light was on. This caused a major ruckus, and sky marshalls contained the passengers as the plane returned to Amsterdam. The passengers have not been arrested but can be held for 3 days without being charged (or I suppose they can be sent to Guantanamo for 3 years without being charged). This appears for now to be a giant case of nothing. The flight will attempt to leave again today.
FOLLOW UP: It turns out that it was, in fact, a giant case of nothing. All 12 passengers were released.
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August 23 2006
I have no idea why there’s so much Ryanair news lately, but the LA Times has a good piece about the low fares that Ryanair advertises. The reporter learns that the 34 cent ticket from London to Dublin will actually cost him $70 once you add in all of the unadvertised taxes and fees. The best additional cost is the one for using a wheelchair, which Ryanair charges everyone because it would be "discriminatory" only to charge people using wheelchairs. I’m sure their heart is in the right place.
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August 23 2006
A Pulkovo Airlines plane crashed in the Ukraine yesterday en route from the resort town of Anapa to St. Petersburg, killing all 170 on board. The crash of the Russian-made Tupolev 154 was the 3rd accident in the region in less than 4 months– an Armavia A320 went down in May and an S7 Airlines A310 overran the runway at Irkutsk last month. As always, ignore the wild speculation about the cause of the crash until people have actually done an investigation.
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August 22 2006
Michael O’Leary, the head of Ryanair, is not happy about the way the British airports have handled the latest terrorism scare. No, he is not happy. He is now threatening to sue British airport authorities for the new security regulations, which he calls, "nuts." He added that terrorists "must be rolling around the caves of Pakistan, laughing". The article goes on to say, "He said it
was ‘complete horse manure’ to infer that passengers either faced
delays or death." (ed note: I think they mean imply, not infer. Whatever).
O’Leary added, "We are not in danger of dying at the hands of toiletries." Very true.
I can’t imagine a US airline chief questionning how the government is handling airport security, so I’ll give him credit for addressing the issue head on. Head on, apply directly to the forehead. Head on, apply directly to the forehead. Head on, apply directly to the forehead.
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August 21 2006
A US airline would never mention terrorism in an advertisement, let alone use terrorism as a way to sell tickets. But Ryanair is not a US airline, which is why they have this ad, which says that you can beat terrorism by flying Ryanair. You can’t argue with that.
(thanks to reader Sanj for the heads up)
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August 18 2006
Connexion by Boeing, the company that provided in-flight Internet access to a bunch of airlines, announced that it is shutting down the service. This won’t affect airlines using the product for another couple of months, but it will likely be gone by the end of 2006. Airlines affected include Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, ANA, SAS, China Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, El Al and Singapore Airlines. The product was launched with a ton of hype, but ran into trouble when US airlines cancelled their orders after 9/11. Fewer than 150 aircraft actually offer on-board Internet access.
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August 17 2006
I wish I had a bit more info on this one: An Asiana flight from Seoul to Jeju somehow departed without any flight attendants on board. The pilot didn’t figure this out until 30 minutes into the flight (possibly when his coffee didn’t arrive?) upon which he returned to Seoul. Investigators are looking into the incident.
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August 17 2006
A United Airlines flight from London to Washington, DC, was diverted to Boston when a passenger suffering from claustrophobia had a bit of a freak out. Fighter jets escorted the plane to Logan airport where it continued on without incident. As these are rather hysterical times, an initial report said that the woman had Vaseline, a screwdriver, matches and a note on the Islamic militant group al Qaeda in her luggage. Turns out, of course, that none of that was true. Glad to see that various media outlets are so responsible.
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August 16 2006
So let’s say you’re a bankrupt airline. And let’s say you have to lay off a bunch of people. You put together a booklet to help laid off workers save money. Now, if you’re Northwest Airlines you include helpful hints in the booklet like, don’t be "shy about pulling something you like out of the trash." Yes, go back and read that again. This once mighty airline suggested to workers that they save money by pulling stuff (food? medical waste?) out of the trash for re-use. The suggestion has been taken out of the most recent version of the booklet, but still…
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Aer Lingus Passengers Get, Uh, Water?