I just read this excellent interview of Mark Gerhick, former chief counsel of the FAA about a book he wrote: ‘Full Upright And Locked Position‘ (I have not read the book. The full interview (on NPR) can be found here in both written and audio form. Here are some key points he makes:
Traveling in Economy is getting worse:
No objection to that statement at all. While some airlines now have Economy Plus or ‘better’ Economy seats for their Elites or for a fee, most economy seats are getting closer to the …

The giveaway I am running for the Lufthansa Magazine Special Issue on the 747-8i is ending tonight at Midnight, EST. To enter, go to the original post (here) and leave a comment with the route you have flown on the 747-8i or would like to see the plane fly.
(DO NOT leave a comment on this post.)
I will be declaring a winner tomorrow.
Check out the latest Current Credit Card Offers on my new Credit Card Offers page.
Subscribe to get updates via email. Subscribe to get updates via RSS.
Join more than 6,500 …

Last year I had to opportunity to fly in a brand spanking new Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i (also known as a 747 Intercontinental). I actually flew the aircraft all the way from Washington, DC (IAD) to Delhi (DEL), via Frankfurt (FRA). Separate aircraft on each segment, but both 747-8i. For the FRA-DEL segment, the aircraft was on its second round trip ever. What I found on that aircraft was a Special Issue of the Lufthansa Magazine – dedicated to the new 747-8i. I saved my copy and each family member I …

Very interesting article on the Economist on possible innovations in the airline industry. I would personally like to see the pre-boarding using ‘people containers’. Here are a few selections from the article:

Coating common surfaces with silver to prevent the spread of colds and flu
People are pre-loaded into detached air-conditioned cabins that would then be rolled onto the plane (+1)
Localized temperature controls (+1)
Radio-frequency-ID-enabled travel documents
Seat allocation could also be based on the amount of hand luggage a passenger is carrying (+1)

What innovations would you like to see in airplanes, airports and …

Like everyone else on web, April Fool’s day has become a way to get some free attention by making outrageous claims (YouTube is shutting down!) and seeing who falls for it (yes, people do). Here are a few I found this morning:

Virgin Atlantic Launches worlds First Glass Bottom Aircraft!
WestJet Airlines eases restrictions on Animals on board (Including Bears!)

South Africa’s Airlines offers skywriting service (using Boeing Planes!)
Brussels Airlines and RyanAir announce merger (in French).

If you have seen another Airline related Aprils Fools jokes, do share by leaving a comment below. And …

One of the most popular Blog Posts I have ever written was on the Boeing 747 Piano bar (posted in July 2010!). This post gets the highest monthly traffic on my blog almost every month! A few days ago, I had a very interesting comment posted on the article. This comment shares the story of Don Morningstar, a piano repairman who worked on the pianos for the 747s operated by American Airlines. The comment is re-posted here in it’s entirety, for your reading pleasure.
“Here is a little more information you are …

A very interesting article in this Sunday’s New York Times. It states that air travel is the highest carbon emission activity a human being can take. A trans-Atlantic (TATL) or Trans-continental (TCON) flight across the US, can generate 2 to 3 tons of Carbon Emissions! I am not an extreme left wing environmentalist by any measure, but I care about the environment. I believe that we owe our future generations a planet that is in shape good enough to live in. This article is disconcerting. Now, I drive a lot, …

There is absolutely no technical reason for aircraft to not allow cell phone use in-flight. The only issue today is the lack of cell service at that altitude or above water, but that is a technical problem that has already been solved. Airlines like Emirates provide cell phone service on almost all their flights, with an on-board cell tower. It is tine for the airlines to get to the 21st century and make some money along the way.
We live today in a ever-more connected world. We have always-on internet on …

Editor’s note – I wrote these posts when I flew to India a few weeks ago. Forgot all about posting them during my trip. Here they are – in the original order and form as I wrote them. Let’s pretend I am still on the trip… . Beats being at work anyways…

I am writing this from 36,000 feet in the air, somewhere above Boston. More importantly, I am on the aBoeing 747-8i! Or as Lufthansa tags it – a 74H.
I am on the upper deck, in Business class! And …

I appreciate airlines finding connections with partners. It offers us alternate routes they do not fly and timings they do not fly at. But really, shouldn’t they assure ‘minimum aircraft type’? I was trying to look for flight to and from Albany (ALB), from Washington Dulles (IAD). The outgoing flight options had no surprises. But on the return, right at the bottom of the page, showing up was a ‘Partner flight’. It showed a routing via Boston (BOS) with the ALB-BOS segment on a partner called Cape Air. How cool! …