Travel, Aviation News Updates..

What happens if you open the plane door during a flight?

2016-05-03T12:25:00.003-07:00

It’s one of the nervous flier’s (numerous) nightmare scenarios. A potty fellow passenger makes a beeline for the emergency exit and yanks the door open, sending themselves, and any unsecured trolley dollies and holidaymakers, spinning into the stratosphere.

That nightmare almost became reality this week, when a female passenger attempted to open the cabin door on board a Jetstar service between Sydney and Avalon. The crew managed to restrain her and she was arrested once the plane touched down.

But are our fears founded? What would have happened had she been successful? Should someone actually manage to open the door of a large passenger aircraft at high altitude, the cabin would lose pressure – extremely rapidly – and chaos would ensue.

Even instances of slow decompression, of which there are an estimated 40 to 50 a year, can be fatal. In 2005 a Boeing 737 operated by Helios Airways crashed, killing all 121 passengers and crew (the deadliest air disaster in Greek history), after a gradual loss of cabin pressure. The lack of oxygen at 30,000 feet left the crew incapacitated, and the plane – on auto-pilot – slowly ran out of fuel, before plunging to the ground.

In such instances, oxygen masks (with enough oxygen to last several minutes) should drop from the ceiling to stave off hypoxia (a lack of oxygen, which leads to sluggish thinking, dimmed visions, unconsiousness and then death). In the cockpit, the flight crew will don their rubber masks and begin a rapid descent to a safe altitude – anything below 10,000ft (mountainous obstacles notwithstanding).

READ Where is the safest Seat on an airplane?

Sudden decompression, which would occur if a plane door was suddenly thrust open, is another matter. Anyone standing near the exit would be ejected into the sky; the cabin temperature would quickly plummet to frostbite-inducing levels, and the plane itself might even begin to break apart. In 1988, an Aloha Airlines flight (also a Boeing 737) with 90 people on board was en route to Honolulu, cruising at an altitude of 24,000 feet, when a small section of the roof ruptured.

The resulting “explosive” decompression tore off a larger section of the roof, and a 57-year-old flight attendant called Clarabelle Lansing was swept from her seat and out of the hole in the aircraft. Luckily, all other passengers were belted up, and the pilot managed to land 13 minutes later, avoiding further loss of life. Dozens of other examples of explosive decompression have been recorded, and it often doesn’t end well. And let’s not forget the vaguely hilarious demise of James Bond’s nemesis Goldfinger (see video below).

Fortunately, while decompression can be dangerous, it is not going to happen because a fellow flier fancied a bit of fresh air for one simple reason: it is simply impossible to open a plane door during a flight.

“Cabin pressure won’t allow it,” explains Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential, a book about air travel. “Think of an aircraft door as a drain plug, fixed in place by the interior pressure. Almost all aircraft exits open inward. Some retract upward into the ceiling; others swing outward; but they open inward first.

READ Why Emirates Is the Best Airline in the World

“At a typical cruising altitude, up to eight pounds of pressure are pushing against every square inch of interior fuselage. That’s over 1,100 pounds against each square foot of door.”

So even Chuck Norris couldn’t open it. But what about at lower altitudes, when cabin pressure is reduced?

“A meager two pounds per square inch is still more than anyone can displace — even after six cups of coffee and the aggravation that comes with sitting behind a shrieking baby,” says Smith. “The doors are further secured by a series of electrical and/or mechanical latches. You would need a hydraulic jack, and airport security doesn’t allow those.”

But there has been at least one incident when a passenger did manage to open the door of an aircraft while it was in the sky. In 1971 “Dan Cooper” hijacked a Boeing 727, extorted a $200,000 ransom, and then leapt from the rear exit with a parachute, never to be seen again. However, he had the pilot depressurise the plane in order to do so, while a year later “Cooper vanes” were installed to completely disable aircraft doors while the landing gear is up.

Incidentally, the reason skydivers or military personnel can regularly leap from aircraft doors is because those planes are not pressurised.

On the ground, however, the situation changes — as one would hope, with the possibility of an evacuation in mind.

Smith explains: “While the plane is taxiing, you will get the door to open. You will also activate the door’s emergency escape slide. As an aircraft approaches the gate, you will sometimes hear the cabin crew calling out ‘doors to manual’. This has to do with overriding the automatic deployment function of the slides. Those slides can unfurl with enough force to kill a person, and you don’t want them billowing onto the jet bridge or into a catering truck.”

How To Fly Zero Sideslip When Your Engine Fails

2016-05-02T08:53:00.002-07:00

What Kind Of Drag Can You Clean Up?

Obviously, you want to make sure your failed engine is feathered, and you’ll do that with your checklist. But after that, the next step isn’t quite as obvious.

If you’re flying with an engine inoperative and you’re keeping your wings level and slip-skid indicator centered like you do in normal flight, you’re actually slipping through the air, and killing your climb performance.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an instrument in your plane that can tell you that when you’re slipping during single-engine flight. But there is something that can prove it: yarn. And we’ll get to that in a second.

Why Is My Plane Slipping Through The Air?

So why is your plane slipping? First off, if you’re flying with both engines running, and you’re keeping the slip-skid indicator centered and your wings level, you’re in a zero sideslip configuration. Basically, your plane is going straight through the air.

- See more at: AirlineUpdates

16 Reasons You Got Rejected At The Final Interview For Cabin Crew

2016-05-02T04:17:00.000-07:00

So you got rejected. You’re frustrated and depressed. You’re also confused; you thought you already made it. You’ve come this far. It was the final stage. You’re asking yourself, “What did I do wrong?”

I’ve been there. I know exactly how rejection feels. I was rejected 8 times by three different airlines.

There isn’t a simple answer to why one gets rejected. Don’t bother asking the airlines because they won’t give you their reasons for not selecting you.

However, the airlines will allow you to re-apply after 6 or 12 months. So, the important thing to do after rejection is not to lose hope and maybe be more prepared for the next interview.

Lift your head up and keep trying. Believe it or not; your “acceptance letter” will come sooner than you expect.

Below is a list of questions you should ask yourself. Think back to the interview and try to remember as much as you can. Pinpoint where you might have fallen short.

Why I Got Rejected At The Final Interview For Cabin Crew

16 Reasons You Got Rejected At The Final Interview For Cabin Crew

2015-09-21T11:51:00.002-07:00

Guy Late For His Flight Accused Of Running Onto Airport Ramp In Attempt To Stop Departing Plane

2015-08-20T01:06:00.001-07:00

(kevindean)

It might sound like a scene from a romantic comedy: A man is on his way to his high school reunion, but he’s late for his flight, he goes all out in his efforts to keep the plane from leaving without him, he reunites with his former love, all ends well, etc. Except in real life, police weren’t pleased with a man accused of running into a secure area of the Denver Airport to try to halt a departing plane he was supposed to be on.

A 58-year-old man has been charged with one felony count of endangering public transportation and one misdemeanor count of hindering transportation, a spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, said in a statement to Reuters.

The incident went down on Aug. 6 but the details were just released today: According to police, the man arrived at his gate in Denver only to find the United Airlines plane headed to Ohio was already pushing back.

Officials say he then “forcibly” opened a locked emergency exit door on the concourse, which set off an alarm, and allegedly ran onto a secured ramp area.

The suspect then ran “out of the door into a sterile area of the airport and chased down on foot, a tug and tug driver who was actively engaged in pushing back… (an) aircraft filled with passengers,” the police’s probable cause affidavit said.

The tug driver stopped, at which point the man allegedly insisted on boarding the plane before he was arrested. It’s unclear if his demand was met, or if he ever made it to the reunion to see what Peggy Sue was up to.

An airport spokesman said the incident didn’t significantly delay the flight or any other flights at the airport.

Man charged with trying to halt departing plane at Denver airport [Reuters]

By Mary Beth Quirk

Refund from airline doesn't arrive on time

2015-04-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

Getting passengers to where they're going on time is an airline's top priority. Refunding money to a passenger, well, that's not such a priority, at least for American Airlines.

David Shaw of Whitehall Township just got the refund he says he was promised in September, and he got it only after the Watchdog repeatedly pestered the airline about it. That's so un-American.

Shaw and I had just about given up hope that he'd see the $150 American had said it would refund him after a booking glitch. Then the airline told me last week that Shaw's refund had been paid this month. The airline just never bothered to tell Shaw.

He didn't know about it until I relayed the good news. I guess customer communications and satisfaction aren't priorities for American either.

The last time Shaw heard from the airline was in mid-January, when it emailed him to say it was reviewing his request and any refund would be returned to his credit card within two billing cycles.

When that didn't happen, I jumped on board and contacted American Airlines on March 18. The airline left me in stand-by for three weeks, responding only after I called to follow up April 7. A spokeswoman told me then that the airline would check into it and get back to me.

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Another week passed with no word, so I contacted the airline again last week and was told the money had been paid, on April 7.

"We sincerely apologize for the delay in issuing his refund," an airline spokeswoman told me in an email.

She ignored my question about why it took so long, saying only that the refund "didn't meet our goals for timeliness."

I would hope not.

Shaw wasn't surprised about how he was treated. He's been bounced around by airlines before. Several years ago, he turned to the Watchdog for help when it appeared United Airlines and Chase bank were going to stiff him out of frequent flier miles. He told me he fears customers will endure more mistakes as airlines such as American and USAirways merge and grow larger.

This problem started in September when Shaw and his wife were preparing to return from an overseas trip. They went to the airport in Berlin to check in for their flight and were told that despite the confirmation paperwork they had, their reservation wasn't valid.

They had only an hour to straighten things out before takeoff. Shaw said he reached American Airlines and was told it never charged the credit card he used to book the trip. He gave the representative his card information again and they got their tickets, barely making it aboard.

But they weren't home free.

American Airlines had charged an extra $150 to his credit card. Shaw said he called to ask why and was informed there was a $75 fee for adjusting each itinerary by phone.

He wouldn't have had to call if the airline had processed his reservation correctly and charged the card he supplied. He pointed that out to the representative, noting he had received confirmation of his purchase and the airline hadn't contacted him to say it had a problem charging his card.

Shaw said the rep agreed to refund the fee. Three months later, at the end of December, the airline hadn't returned the money. He wrote a letter asking where it was and got an email Jan. 14 saying his request was under review.

It's a good thing airline regulators don't track American's on-time performance for paying refunds, because I suspect seven months wouldn't garner a top rating.

American Airlines is used to its rating slipping, though. Its performance dipped in a study released this month by researchers at Wichita State and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical universities, which combined the results for American and USAirways due to the merger.

The universities annually review federal data about airlines' on-time arrival rate, lost baggage rate, passenger bumpings and customer complaints, including those about refunds. The latest report found the airline industry as a whole performed worse last year than in 2013.

Shaw said if he and his wife had missed their flight, they would have been out at least 700 Euro (about $750) to get another flight. They also would have had to deal with the domino effect that would have had on their connecting flights home.

He said from now on, he won't trust a reservation confirmation from an airline.

"I learned a lesson from a hard way," he said. "We must double check our bookings before leaving home for a trip."

If you have a beef with an airline, you can seek help from the U.S. Department of Transportation at dot.gov/airconsumer or 202-366-2220.

The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me at watchdog@mcall.com, 610-841-2364 or The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. I'm on Twitter @mcwatchdog and Facebook at Morning Call Watchdog.
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Apple Watch Brings Flight and Airline Apps to Your Wrist

2015-04-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Apple Watch will make the flying experience more convenient for both casual and frequent flyers, with a number of airlines updating their apps for the Apple Watch in recent weeks, or announcing support coming soon, including American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, JetBlue, British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair, Qantas Airways, Air Canada, WestJet, Emirates and Japan Airlines.

Notable airlines that have not announced or planned Apple Watch support include Southwest Airlines and Virgin Airlines in the United States, and Cologne-based Lufthansa, the largest airline in Europe. As more airlines begin updating their apps for the Apple Watch, however, it is likely that others will follow in an effort to keep up with their competitors around the world.

The roundup below provides a closer look at Apple Watch apps for several airlines across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Ireland, United Arab Emirates and Japan. A handful of other general flight-related apps are also listed that provide general flight statuses, notifications, real-time departure and delay information and more for an easier traveling experience.

United States

American Airlines

American Airlines for Apple Watch provides comprehensive flight information on your wrist, including gate change announcements, an in-flight map with estimated travel time remaining until arrival, and baggage claim and connection details. You can also receive a notification when it's time to leave for the airport and check in to your fight directly from your Apple Watch. American Airlines is free on the App Store.

Delta

Delta Air Lines will also be joining the mix of airline apps for Apple Watch in a future update to its current Fly Delta app for iPhone and iPad. Delta for Apple Watch will deliver notifications about flights to users ahead of their boarding times, and it will give them access to the boarding pass stored on their iPhones directly on the wrist.

Delta for Apple Watch will offer flight numbers, gate numbers, flight times, and other info. If a flight gets changed, for example, users will get a notification on their Apple Watch. There will also be a notification when a flight is approaching a destination city, with information about luggage pickup. Fly Delta is free on the App Store.

United Airlines

United Airlines has not released screenshots or in-depth details about its Apple Watch plans, but it has confirmed that support for the wrist-worn device is in the works. United's app will offer at-a-glance information on upcoming flights, including gate numbers and status, and let users view their flight reservations. It will also pull a traveler's boarding pass from the Passbook app, and it's able to alert users if flight times or gate numbers change. United Airlines is free on the App Store.

JetBlue

JetBlue has updated its app with Apple Watch support, enabling users to purchase onboard premium offerings from their wrists. The new Apple Watch app provides flyers with a Glance flight status, travel countdown and smart mobile boarding pass from the Apple Watch. JetBlue is free on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Canada

Air Canada

Air Canada, the largest airline in Canada, recently updated their app with Apple Watch support for viewing the status of your flights departing within 24 hours, seeing your countdown to boarding time from your Glances, getting notifications for checking in and boarding your flight, using Handoff from your Apple Watch to complete your check-in and viewing boarding passes from Passbook. Air Canada is free on the App Store.

WestJet

WestJet, the second-largest Canadian airline behind Air Canada, recently updated its app for the Apple Watch to allow users to keep track of saved flight statuses and details in Glances, or view a countdown of time remaining until your next WestJet flight. WestJet boarding passes saved to Passbook will also be available on Apple Watch. WestJet is free on the App Store.

United Kingdom

British Airways

Keep up to date with the latest flight information using British Airways for Apple Watch. At a glance, the app allows you to view the status of your next flight, access both scheduled and estimated departure times, and view the latest weather at your destination. The app also provides up-to-date information about the flight's gate status and provides notifications on your wrist when your gate status changes at Heathrow Terminals 3 and 5. British Airways is free on the App Store.

EasyJet

EasyJet, a low-cost airline in the United Kingdom, has also updated their app with Apple Watch support recently, providing personalized flight information and real-time views of travel information checked most frequently by passengers. Apple Watch users can also tweet and post to Facebook at various stages of their trip directly from the watch face. EasyJet is free on the App Store.

Australia

Qantas Airways

Qantas for Apple Watch is designed to eliminate the stress that can be associated with the flying experience. The app will provide a range of up-to-the-minute travel information and notifications on your Apple Watch including: departure time and gate information, in-air departure and arrival time-zone information, transit time information, lounge access eligibility, frequent Flyer login access, baggage carousel information (at selected destinations), boarding pass access (via Passbook) and delay or cancellation notifications. Qantas Airways is free on the App Store.

France

Air France

Air France for Apple Watch will deliver much of the same functionality as the airline's iPhone app, access upcoming reservations, including the ability to check if your flight is on time or confirm that you are checked in. You can also view all of your essential trip information via Glances, including your gate or departure terminal, your seat and the time remaining before boarding, and obtain your boarding pass through Passbook. Air France isfree on the App Store.

Ireland

Ryanair

Ryanair has pledged support for the Apple Watch when the wrist-worn device becomes available in Ireland.

United Arab Emirates

Emirates

While the Apple Watch is not available in United Arab Emirates until later in 2015, the airline Emirates recently updated their app with Apple Watch support for a hands-free travel experience. Emirates will be the first airline in the Middle East and African region to offer an Apple Watch app, with similar functionality as others: review your list of upcoming trips, access real-time flight information, receive notifications and access your boarding pass through Passbook. Emirates is free on the App Store.

Japan

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines has developed an Apple Watch app that it will be available when the device launches on April 24. The app will offer similar functionality as the other airlines listed above. JAL is free on the App Store.
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Southwest Airlines flight attendant sues airline for husband's wrongful-death

2015-04-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

A Southwest Airlines flight attendant is suing her employer for the alleged wrongful-death of her husband, who suffered a fatal blood clot while flying on the airlines.

According to the lawsuit, financial analyst Richard Ilczyszyn suffered a pulmonary embolism during a flight in September 2014. Flight attendants allegedly heard the 46-year-old man groaning and crying in the aircraft's bathrooms.

"One flight attendant said she opened the door and she saw the top of my husband's head and his head was down and he was just whimpering, and [she] left him there," Ilczyszyn's widow Kelly Ilczyszyn claimed.

However, the airline disputes Ilczyszyn's claim and states that staff called the authorities before landing in Orange County, California.

"We offer our continued sympathy and condolences. It appears to have been an unfortunate medical event that we believe our flight attendants handled appropriately," a statement from Southwest Airlines read.

Southwest disputes the claim

Despite the airline's claim, CBS News reported that staff allegedly called the Orange County Sheriff's Department describing an unruly passenger, not someone in need of medical attention. "Apparently there's a passenger in... locked himself in the lav and is screaming and yelling," the staff member allegedly said in the recording.

According to CBS, Sheriff's deputies cleared the flight once it landed before checking up on the man. Ilczyszyn never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

"The paramedics should have met the aircraft. Absolutely. Absolutely. And he would be here today," Kelly said. The widow's lawyer Andrew Speilberger added: "Our experts say these flight attendants and the crew, the captain, did not act reasonably based on the information that was before them".

Southwest told CBS that crew members were unable to open the bathroom door and could not fully assess his condition.

"Somebody that's head is down and there's no communication is somebody that's in distress, that needs help. That doesn't need a police officer," Kelly argued. "They need paramedics."

At The Airport He Hands Her His Passport. Suddenly She Climbs Over The Desk And Does THIS! Wow!

2015-04-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

At The Airport He Hands Her His Passport. Suddenly She Climbs Over The Desk And Does THIS! Wow!

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in LOT’s livery have already carried half a million travellers! For this occasion, we prepared something special at Warsaw Chopin Airport. The biggest surprise for the Half a Millionth Passenger, and numerous travellers at Warsaw Airport, was an unusual flash mob performed by artists from ROMA Musical Theatre. Check it out!

First charter flights at Liverpool John Lennon Airport in seven years

2015-04-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

Thomson and First Choice will launch the first charter service out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) in seven years, starting next summer.

They they will introduce a new Thomson Airways route to Palma, Majorca from (LJLA) offering Thomson Cruises holidays to customers from the region for the first time.

It is part of a strategy by the tour operator to enable its customers to fly from their local airport to its hotels and destinations.

The new route will go on sale next Thursday, April 23.

Customers travelling from Liverpool from summer 2016 will be able to join the Thomson Majesty sailing from Palma, exploring the Western Mediterranean, with the introduction of evening stays in Ibiza and Barcelona on its Catalan Promise itinerary.

Thomson Cruises will also be offering customers the chance to add a stay in central locations in Corfu town, Palma and Malaga for those looking for a city break experience.

A range of alternative holidays will also be available from Liverpool from Thomson and First Choice, from all-inclusive holidays to villa breaks.

Flights will depart from Liverpool on Tuesdays, starting May 3, 2016, operating for 26 weeks throughout the summer 2016 season, on a Thomson Airways 189-seat Boeing 737-800.

Karen Switzer, director of aviation planning for Thomson and First Choice, said: “Adding a flight to Majorca from Liverpool demonstrates our commitment to the airport and the local area. It’s great that we can give local customers the chance to take advantage of fabulous new itineraries on board the Thomson Majesty next summer and allowing them to experience the cruise and stay programme.

“We’re excited to extend our cruise offering by making it easily accessible for those living in the North West. “

She added: “Expanding access to our destinations and hotels is part of our strategy. We hope this will enhance the holiday experience for customers.”

Andrew Cornish, LJLA chief executive, said: “This is yet another significant announcement for the sirport as we re-establish a full season holiday charter product from Liverpool for the first time in seven years. There is huge demand for charter holidays from our core catchment area.

“Today’s news means that the region’s passengers will now be able to start their Thomson or First Choice holiday with the added convenience of flying from their local airport.”

Etihad says delivered $1bn boost, 11,000 jobs to Europe in 2014

2015-04-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

Etihad Airways chief James Hogan has met with Europe's Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc to highlight the benefits which the airline delivers to European consumers amid growing resistance from to its growth from rival carriers.

Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad, said he outlined the multi-billion euro contribution which the airline makes to European economies at the meeting, and reinforced the risks associated with rising protectionist sentiment.

The meeting comes amid criticism of Etihad from the likes of Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline group, which said last month that the Abu Dhabi carrier should “respect” European laws and engage in more due diligence in order to avoid clashing with the EU in relation to its purchase of equity stakes in European airlines.

The European Commission in April 2014 launched an investigation into Etihad’s investments in European airlines as part of a wider examination into whether foreign ownership of European airlines complies with EU airline licensing rules.

In a statement following his meeting with Bulc, Hogan said any moves to impede foreign carrier access and limit competition would not just damage Etihad and its European partners, but would also reverberate throughout the air transport industry, and potentially undermine international confidence in Europe's commitment to global trade and investment.

He said research conducted by Oxford Economics had verified that in 2014, Etihad's core operations in the European Union contributed a total of $1 billion to the combined GDP of the 28 EU member nations and supported more than 11,000 jobs.

Additionally, the airline's 2014 capital spending on aircraft and other aviation equipment contributed $2.6 billion to the EU28 GDP, and supported more than 28,100 jobs.

Additional economic benefits were also calculated based on passenger and freight flows as a result of expanded flight connectivity. In 2014, connectivity benefits to the EU28 GDP were estimated at $1.3 billion, while the amount for the past decade was $5 billion.

Hogan said: "Etihad Airways is not just another foreign airline flying to Europe to poach local traffic. We are a sophisticated partner to and investor in Europe for long-term mutual benefit, contributing billions of euros every year to EU and non-EU economies, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and both maintaining and expanding choice for air travellers to and from Europe.

"Through our own flights, our 21 European codeshare partnerships and our minority investments in five European airlines, we are adding value to Europe in a way that no other foreign airline is."

He added: "Etihad Airways is committed to Europe. But growing resistance to us from a handful of protectionist competitors could have unintended consequences well beyond limiting our development.

"If our growth is curtailed or our investments in airlines are compromised, the real damage will be to Europe in lost jobs, lost flight connectivity, lost investment in local and national economies and lost consumer choice."

Chabad Woman 'Saved Plane Full of People'

2015-04-15T22:56:00.001-07:00

She heard noises and insisted that something was wrong. She was laughed at but eventually proved right, her father told Crownheights.info.

Inside airplane (Reuters)

A young woman from the Chabad stream most likely saved the lives of thepassengers in a plane full of people when she suspected a malfunction in the aircraft moments before takeoff, according to Crownheights.info.

Respecting her request of anonymity, the site does not identify her, but says she is a member of the Crown Heights community and the daughter of Rabbi Kalman Winefeld. She was scheduled to return from a trip to Israel, where she spent the Pesach holiday.
Rabbi Winefeld told the story to CrownHeights.info:

“My daughter was scheduled to return to New York on Motzai Shabbos from Israel with a stopover in Moscow on Russian airline TransAero. She boarded her flight at Ben Gurion Airport and was seated at the window.

“Moments before takeoff, she realized that something was not right with the wing and heard noises that she believed were not regular noises. She first brought this to the attention of the passengers seated beside her, who in turn laughed it off and said it was just noise from the engines.”

“Not deterred, she persisted, unbuckling her seatbelt and standing up. The flight attendants, who themselves were already seated and buckled in, instructed her to return to her seat. When she told them her concerns about the plane they too laughed at her. She insisted that she will not fly on the plane if they didn’t check it out.”

The airline officials shouted at her and voiced threats, but she did not relent. Faced with what must have been her indomitable conviction, however, they agreed to delay takeoff and investigate her claim. Her father went on:

“After returning to the gate, a ground crew began checking over the airplane. At first they said it would be 45 minutes, but nearly two hours later they removed all the passengersfrom the aircraft, telling them that it did indeed require repairs.

“An additional three hours later, the passengers were notified that a replacement plane would be necessary, since the problem was far more severe than originally discovered.Passengers were sent home and told to return the following day.

“The issue was so severe that the plane, a Boeing 767, had to be grounded due to the fact that it could have had a mid-air emergency that would have threatened the lives of all those on board, airline officials explained.

“The relieved passengers – many of whom had originally expressed irritation at the woman who caused the prolonged delay – came over to her and profusely thanked her for saving their lives.”

Some might find the incident reminiscent of the miraculous insights of the Lubavicher Rebbe.

According to Chabad.org, on July 23rd 1968, the Lubavicher Rebbe met with Major General Ariel Sharon. During the meeting, the site relates, Sharon periodically checked his watch, since he was scheduled to return to Israel that night. The Rebbe suggested that Sharon stay a little longer and take another flight, and Sharon complied.

"Later that night, the EL-AL flight Sharon had planned to take was hijacked to Algeria by the ‘Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.’ All Jewish passengers were held for five weeks before being released unharmed. According to those released," says Chabad.org, "the hijackers seemed to be looking for ‘someone important,’ and they were enraged when they realized that he was not aboard. It was later revealed that the entire incident was an operation executed to capture Ariel Sharon."

Put your Airline tax refund to work: How to invest $1,000

2015-04-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

By Patrick Gillespie
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- So your tax refund arrived (or is on its way). How will you spend it?
Consider investing. The typical tax refund is $2,800. After you pay some bills, buy your next vacation flights or eat that steak dinner (medium rare, please), you could have about $1,000 left to spend freely.
Investing is the time-tested way to grow your money tree. About half of Americans have their money -- in one form or another -- in the markets. Millennials, especially, could benefit from jumping in now.

Getting started with anything can be daunting. You want to make sure you think about whether you'll need that $1,000 in the next year or two or whether you can really invest it for the long-term (think over a decade).

Then you need to decide what to actually do with the money. Stocks or bonds? And do you buy individual stocks like Google or funds?

CNNMoney spoke with several experts to get their tips. They all recommend a few things:
It's important to have a wide range of investments -- don't put your pennies all in one jar. Do your homework on stocks or funds. Look at a couple of basic yardsticks (including fees) -- it's not too much math. And relax: invest for the long-term. Don't panic when the markets go crazy in a day.

Pick wisely: When you pick your fantasy football team, you never choose a bunch of players on the same NFL team. If the real team loses, you'll have a terrible week in your fantasy league. The same thinking goes with investing. Don't place all your bets on one horse.

"Diversification is the cheapest form of risk management," says David O'Malley, CEO of Penn Mutual Asset Management.

The easiest way to diversify is to buy a mutual fund or ETF (exchange-traded fund). Funds typically hold 50 or more stocks or even some bonds. So you get a lot of variety right away.

Some popular investments are funds that track an index or an industry sector such as health care or technology. One of the biggest funds is the SPDR (think Spider) S&P 500 ETF. As you can guess, it just tracks the S&P 500, meaning you get exposure to 500 of America's biggest publicly traded companies. Plus, the minimum investment is only about $210.

The ETF has gained a whopping 190% since the bull market began in 2009. In other words, if you put that $1,000 in the market six year ago, you would have $2,900 today.

"I would highly urge [new investors] to invest in funds," says James Abate, managing director at Centre Asset Management.

Stock funds tend to do better over time than bond funds, although stocks have bigger swings up and down than bonds, so you need to ask yourself if you would be OK with a really rough year. If not, consider a popular bond fund such as PIMCO's Total Return fund. (Note the minimum investment for this fund is $1,000).

Watch the fees: The main thing to watch out for with funds is fees. SPDR's fee is only 0.09% a year -- an extremely low fee. Another popular option is Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index Fund, which tracks an even boarder range of U.S. stocks than just the S&P 500. Vanguard's fund is also way up and charges investors a 0.17% fee, although the downside is it requires a minimum investment of $3,000.
The cheapest funds just track a set index. When you see fees over 0.5%, it's typically because the fund has a manager who actually buys and sells stocks. The idea is that active managers should have the skill to beat the market, but that's proven very hard to do.

Buying individual stocks: If you already have money in a pension fund or 401(k) retirement fund, you probably have a pretty well diversified portfolio and can afford to take more risks with your $1,000 by picking an individual stock or two.

Warren Buffett famously recommends buying stock in companies you know and understand. Buffett has bought companies like Heinz Ketchup, Dairy Queen and paint company Benjamin Moore.
Another simple gauge is to look for company's that are "beating" the market -- meaning the stock is going up faster than the S&P 500 over the past month or year, experts say. Right now the S&P 500 is up 1.6% this year and 14% over the past 12 months.

Some market-beating stocks over the past year are Starbucks, Apple, Under Armour and Southwest Airlines. Starbucks currently trades at just under $50 a share, so you could buy 20 shares or else buy some Starbucks and then another company.

"Start with better-than-average companies for your average Joe," says Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?: Understanding a company's value can be overwhelming. If you want to buy individual stocks, like Tesla or GE, start by understanding what the company does and checking its revenues.
Justin Brosseau, a 23-year old investor used Buffett's "buy what you know" principle to make about a 250% profit on the first four stocks he bought. His very first purchase was United Airlines. Why?
"Whenever I went on a family vacation, we always flew American or United," says Brosseau. He did a little more homework and decided on United.

That extra homework should include a company's revenue -- sometimes called sales. It's how much money the company makes in the last three months or year.

Companies can manipulate other numbers in their earnings statement, but revenue is a lot harder to alter. Compare the company's revenue from the first quarter of this year to the first quarter of last year -- an apples-to-apples comparison. Is it growing?

You can also check out a company's past performance and forecasts CNNMoney's stock pages. Here's the page for Apple.

Go read a book: Once you establish your goals and make diverse investments, chill out.
New investors should NOT look at the markets everyday, experts emphasize. It's unhealthy and could cause beginners to panic over a bad day or two. If you're investing for the long haul, which many recommend, you should check out your investments occasionally, not daily.

"Read a history book and don't look at the prices of anything you own -- I'm not kidding," says Abate.

Delta's 1Q profit up: More traffic, lower fuel prices

2015-04-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

By DAVID KOENIG

DALLAS — Delta Air Lines plans to reduce international flying later this year as travel demand in some places weakens due to lower oil prices and the strong U.S. dollar.

The airline said Wednesday that it will make cuts of up to 20 percent on routes to Japan, India, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East. It will suspend winter flights to Moscow.

Delta announced the moves as it reported first-quarter profit that more than tripled from a year ago, helped by lower jet fuel prices.

The results were slightly better than analysts expected, and the shares rose in afternoon trading.

CEO Richard Anderson said it was Delta’s best January-through-March quarter ever both financially and operationally.

However, the strong U.S. dollar and low oil prices are hurting ticket sales in some foreign markets, and Delta announced that it will reduce its international passenger-carrying capacity by 3 percent later this year. It’s an even bigger cut, 6 percent, from Delta’s original, ambitious plan.

Anderson told analysts on a conference call that the moves would get the airline’s so-called unit revenue back on track. Revenue for every seat flown one mile, a closely watched figure in the airline business, fell 2 percent in the first quarter and is expected to decline between 2 percent and 4 percent in the April-through-June quarter.

Airline officials said that other than suspending seasonal service to Moscow, they would not eliminate routes altogether. Instead, they will use smaller planes or fly less often on existing international routes. U.S. passenger-carrying capacity will grow 2 percent.

Analysts have worried that falling oil prices have tempted airlines to add too many new flights, which tends to depress fares. They feared that airlines would abandon their recent strategy of no or slow growth in capacity, which has helped boost fares and produce record profits. Delta’s announcement cheered them.

“It’s a great sign that the company is going to be disciplined whenever there is any sign of demand weakness anywhere in the world,” Jim Corridore, an analyst with S&P Capital IQ, said in an interview. “We hope the rest of the industry follows Delta’s lead.”

That would squeeze bargain-hunting passengers, though.

Years ago, vacationers could often count on fare sales when airlines grew too quickly and then desperately tried to fill seats by cutting prices. But now airlines are keeping their planes nearly full. The average flight on Delta and Delta Connection in the first quarter was 81.7 percent full. Demand for travel is strong enough that the airlines don’t need to discount deeply, as consumers saw even while jet fuel prices were tumbling last year.

“The years of huge fare sales, the boom-and-bust cycle that customers benefited from, are long gone,” Corridore said.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s third-biggest airline company behind American and

United, reported first-quarter net income of $746 million, or 90 cents per share, up from $213 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Including regional Delta Connection flights, the company spent about $600 million less on fuel than a year ago, a savings of 22 percent.

However, Delta paid for its strategy of hedging against fuel price spikes. Hedging contracts work like insurance against rising oil prices, but they lose value when energy prices fall. Delta took a write-down of $372 million on its hedging contracts on top of the $1.2 billion that it took in the previous quarter.

Excluding those write-downs and other one-time items, Delta said it would have earned 45 cents per share. That was a penny better than the average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $9.39 billion, matching the Zacks forecast. Traffic, measured in miles flown by passengers, gained 4 percent.

In afternoon trading, Delta shares were up 88 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $43.97. They began the day down 12 percent in 2015, compared with a 2 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

America's Best Airlines

2015-04-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

The annual Airline Quality Report from Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was just published and the news is not good for the traveling consumer. Overall, the airline industry dropped in quality over the course of 2014, down to a low not seen since 2009.

The study ranks carriers by a four trackable metrics including on-time percent, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints, then weighs each category based on its consumer impact. Not considered are more subjective measures such as cabin comfort and design, customer service or quality of aircraft — unless, that is, a customer complaint was filed.

The good news, however, is that not all airlines declined in quality. Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin America all managed to improve their rankings from the 2014 study, helping keep them among the top five airlines in the nation. Including them, the top five airlines were:

Virgin America
Hawaiian Airlines
Delta
JetBlue
Alaska Airlines

#1: Virgin America - Virgin America held its number one spot again for the third year straight

The bottom of the twelve member pack was filled largely with regional carriers. Ranked from worst to least-worst, those were

Envoy / American Eagle
ExpressJet
SkyWest
United
Frontier

At large, much of the decrease in overall score this year likely comes from the difficult 2013-2014 winter handled across the Midwest and the Atlantic coast. Numerous airports were shut down during a series of storms during the season, driving down on-time percentages and ballooning customer complaints. Hawaiian Airlines, an airline that doesn’t have to deal with massive snowstorms, perennially benefits from this loophole.

It is also a bit unfair to see regional carriers like Envoy, ExpressJet and SkyWest in bottom tier of the rankings. As feeder airlines, these carriers often are the first to see cancellations and other disruptions when poor weather strikes. Without them though, the main carriers would suffer from the same problems.

In general, however, the AQR is a good thumbnail for not only how good the domestic airline industry is performing but also for where it’s headed. As usual, the boutique carriers of Virgin America and JetBlue got high marks while Delta, an airline that many prefer because if its better planes and service, also fared well.

There are also a few silver linings to the report despite the weather dragging down scores. JetBlue’s on-time performance improved, even though it has a hub in New York City; Virgin America’s rate of customer complaints and mishandled luggage both went down; Delta’s rate of mishandled bags is dropping precipitously. With better weather already in the books for 2015, next year’s AQR should see some nice improvement.

This year’s full report can be found here.

Source

Flyer beware: is a direct flight really direct?

2015-04-14T04:03:00.001-07:00

WATCH: Some frustrated airline passengers serve as a reminder that it’s always wise to read the fine print. Jennifer Tryon reports.

Desperate to escape what seemed like Canada’s never ending winter, Laura Kirby booked a direct flight to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on CanJet.

She said she booked “direct” to optimize her vacation time.

But, once on board she said half of the passengers were destined for Punta Cana (also in the Dominican Republic) and the plane was dropping them off and picking up new passengers there first.

“As far and I knew, and as far as was shown on our flight print out, it was a direct flight,” Kirby told Global News.

“When I first booked there was no mention of stopping in Punta Cana. There was no mention of any stop,” another passenger, Jon Manzanares said.

Kirby said no one around her, on board the plane, knew about any stops.

In camera footage obtained by Global News, taken on-board the CanJet flight, a flight attendant is heard telling passengers even she didn’t know there was going to be a stop until the day before.

“I didn’t know this was a double stop until yesterday,” she told a passenger. “When I bid for this flight it was Toronto to Punta Cana.”

Camera footage from the flight, captured during the stop, shows passengers double booked in seats.

The captain said the flight is now overbooked by four passengers and everyone onboard is required to show their boarding cards again.

Kirby said this lead to chaos on board and nearly an extra hour delay on the tarmac, in addition to the extra flight time.

On camera, the flight attendant is heard explaining to passengers why the plane is making extra stops.

“From a business standpoint it’s because we’re losing a lot of money.”

She goes on to say, “If you’re not satisfied you can call the company.”

CanJet didn’t respond to Global’s repeated requests for an interview over a five-week period — including a registered letter to CanJet’s president, Stephen Rowe.

In an email received before the story was scheduled to air on Global National Monday evening, John Kirk, Vice President of Sales and Marketing CanJet Vacations, said CanJet was unaware of the requests for an interview.

“This comes as somewhat of a surprise as we have received very few complaints regarding changes in flight schedules throughout the winter,” wrote Kirk. He went on to write that CanJet advises passengers in advance of departure regarding “flight consolidations” based on information on file.

Kirk says Kirby’s travel agent was notified two weeks prior that the direct flight was now going to include a stop. Kirby and her travel agent say they received no notification.

In the fine print on CanJet’s website, the airline reserves the right not to tell passengers when changes are made.

CanJet’s Terms of Agreement when booking a flight online say: “Consolidations and changes in the …schedule, aircraft type, days of operation….and flight itinerary may be undertaken at any time and without prior notice…”

Many passengers, like Kirby, are unaware that some airlines have different definitions for non-stop and direct flights.

For example, some travel websites warn that “direct” flights can mean one-stop, if passengers aren’t required to get off the plane. A “non-stop” flight should guarantee no stops that will fly immediately to the destination.

The Consumers’ Association of Canada said it has received complaints from travellers who’ve booked direct flights from CanJet and learned while in the air they were making a stop.

“They’re advertising one thing and delivering something else,” said Bruce Cran, president of the Consumer Association of Canada. “That’s like buying and apple and delivering you a banana and we don’t want this.”

The Association wants the Canadian Competition Bureau to investigate.

“It’s giving these people at Canjet an unfair advantage when they’re claiming one thing and actually supplying another,” Cran said. “There is a lot wrong here and I’m hoping the competition bureau will have a look at it because they’re in charge of false advertising and it seems to me that’s exactly where this falls.”

In an email, the Competition Bureau said investigations are confidential and won’t make public whether it’s looking into CanJet’s flying practices. The government agency said if complaints are made and if CanJet is found to be in violation of good practices, information would then be released.

“They’ll get away with it unless someone complains and it’s reached the stage, I think, where a lot of people are complaining,” said Cran. “At the moment, [travellers] are telling us that they probably would have bought something else if they had known there was a stop in the middle.”

Kirby said she would have.

She now wants a full refund from CanJet because her flight home from Puerta Plata, she said, also made a stop unbeknownst to her and other passengers.

CanJet said it’s going to work with Kirby directly to resolve the complaint.

“They need to know that this isn’t okay and we aren’t going to stop until we get some sort of compensation,” Kirby said.

Source

These are the 5 worst airlines in America

2015-04-14T02:06:00.000-07:00

Taking a domestic flight on one of the 12 commercial carriers in the U.S. is an experience rife with delays, rudely-handled luggage and oversold bookings.

Taking a domestic flight on one of the 12 commercial carriers in the U.S. is an experience rife with delays, rudely-handled luggage and oversold bookings. This is the conclusion of the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report, a publication based on the findings of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona and Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

The 25th annual edition of this publication was released today, and it draws upon data from the Air Travel Consumer Report, released monthly by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The four criteria used to evaluate each airline’s ranking are on-time performance, mishandled baggage reports, customer complaints and involuntarily denied boardings, known to long-suffering travelers as “getting bumped.”

Virgin America fared the best in the report. Although its 81.5% on-time performance rate represented a small decline from its 2013 rate of 82.1%, it did the best of any airline in all three other areas and even outperformed the industry average.

Now for the bad news. Here are the airlines that took the bottom five spots on the AQR report.

5. Frontier Airlines

Frontier is a budget airline with one-way fares for as little as $19 a pop, including flights from Cleveland to Atlanta and Denver to Las Vegas. In 2014 it showed as many improvements to its 2013 performance as regressions.

Its on-time performance in 2014 was 74.1%, compared with 73.1% in 2013. The mishandled baggage rate improved as well. Unfortunately, these gains were inhibited by increases in its customer complaint rate and number of bumped passengers.

4. United Airlines

According to the Star Alliance Network, United is the world’s largest airline, with 5,314 daily departures, 369 airports served and 140 million passengers served annually. When you’re that big, flaws are probably inevitable, and the AQR report was only too happy to list them.

United showed a decline in its on-time performance rate from 79.3% to 76%. The rate of customer complaints increased, as did the rate of mishandled baggage. The one area that didn’t show decline was the rate of involuntary denied boardings, which stayed the same as it was in 2013.

3. SkyWest Airlines

In the AQR report released last year, SkyWest was rated the third-worst airline in the industry. This year, they held on to the same spot, so give them points for consistency.

A closer inspection of the numbers shows that while the mishandled baggage rate improved, performance dropped in all other areas. Worst of all was the rate of involuntary denied boardings, which exceeded the industry average.

2. ExpressJet

ExpressJet appeared in newspaper headlines in 2013 when one of its planes, operating as a United Express flight, had its tail clipped by a Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A330 at Newark Airport. Nobody was hurt, but the airline’s second-to-last place ranking in the AQR report might leave a mark.

On-time performance dropped to 70.8% from 72.8%, and both the mishandled baggage rate and denied boardings rate were worse than the year before. The customer complaint rate was better than the industry average, but still represented a decline for the carrier over the previous year.

1. Envoy / American Eagle

Envoy / American Eagle showed improvement to its rate of customer complaints over the previous year. Other than that, the AQR report left the carrier little to smile about.

Its denied boarding rate increased and its on-time performance rate dropped, which is bad enough, but the AQR report went on to describe the mishandled baggage rate as “noticeably worse” than the year before, which was itself worse than the industry average.

The airline came in last place in the previous AQR report, so there’s no further down that it could sink in terms of ranking. However, its decline from -1.95 in 2013 to -2.83 in 2014 represents the single largest drop of any airline in 2014.

Via - Source

Missing pilot found; plane nearly buried after crash

2015-04-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

BOONE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — The week-long search for a missing Indianapolis pilot ended on a somber note this weekend, when 58-year-old Glenn Foy was found in the wreckage of his plane in a Boone County field.

A small memorial sits near the field where Foy was found, reading “Blue Skies forever.”

But a cloud hangs over the Indianapolis aviation community, especially at Eagle Creek Airport where Foy kept his plane.

“[When] you lose one of your own, especially under circumstances like this, it hits home. It hurts,” said Alan Reber, whose airplane is stored in a hangar across from Foy’s.

Foy was an antique plane enthusiast, and flew a YAK-52 originally developed in the Soviet Union.

It was nearly buried on impact, only the tail remaining visible.

Colonel Tim Turner of the Indiana Civil Air Patrol says it’s not surprising that it was overlooked by passersby.

“As you drive by from the road, you can tell there’s something out there but it could be farm equipment, it could be debris, could be who knows what. It’s not obvious at all,” said Turner.

The pilot did not return from his flight April 3. His business partner reported him missing a few days later.

When the Indiana Civil Air Patrol took the case, it had been a week since Foy embarked on his last flight.

“Based on the time we believe he left Eagle Creek Airport and the cell phone data, that’s how we were able to figure out this was definitely or most likely the path his aircraft took,” said Turner.

As for the delay: the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also said they followed protocol in only publicizing Foy’s case once investigators determined his life was in danger.

The Federal Aviation Administration continues to investigate the cause of the crash, but fellow pilots describe him as caring and competent.

“I’m usually careful who I fly with but I always felt comfortable with him the few times that we were together,” said Reber, who is a professional commercial airline pilot. “He will be missed, he’s a great guy.”

The Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol sent us the following statement:- “The Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol is saddened by the loss of a fellow pilot. Civil Air Patrol aircrews, ground crews, and command staff worked diligently night and day in an effort to locate Mr. Foy. During the early morning hours of Sunday, April 12th, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center along with Civil Air Patrol radar and cell phone forensic experts were able to send the Indiana Wing actionable information regarding Mr. Foy’s probable location. This information led to the early morning discovery of Mr. Foy’s airplane in Boone County.”

Source

U.S. airline quality worse in 2014

2015-04-14T00:33:00.002-07:00

If you think airline travel is getting worse, there are now numbers to back that feeling up.

U.S. airline quality declined in 2014 according to the latest ranking from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which looks at on time performance, lost bags, customer complaints and bumped passengers.

The ratings for most airlines fell, but Virgin America (VA) took the top spot as it has for each of the last two years.
Best on-time performance: Hawaiian Airlines (HA) was tops in the category, thanks to relatively few weather delays. But Alaska Air came in second despite the fact that it has much more difficult weather to deal with.

Fewest customer complaints: Alaska Airlines had the fewest number of complaints about things like ticketing and baggage problems.

Fewest lost bags: Virgin America. Virgin also bumped almost no passengers from their scheduled flights.
Biggest decline in quality: Envoy, which used to be known as American Eagle, took the biggest hit in this year's rankings. It also suffered the worst in the overall score out of the dozen airlines that were ranked. It had the highest rate of lost bags and the worst on-time performance.

Bringing up the rear in the 2014 rankings are ExpressJet and SkyWest (SKYW), which like Envoy both provide feeder services for the major carriers.

Most complaints: Frontier Airlines. The industry's overall complaint rate jumped 22% from 2013.
"Things are going in the wrong direction, that's for sure," said Wichita State professor Dean Headley, one of the report's authors.
The study's authors don't expect to see an improvement any time soon, since more people are flying.
"I think it comes from a decision to not reinvest in customer service," said Embry-Riddle professor Brent Bowen.

Airline customers had plenty of problems in 2014, but airline investors did very well as the industry posted record profits. Shares of the four major airline - American Airlines (AAL), United Continental (UAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest (LUV) - were all among the market's top-performers. Shares of Southwest more than doubled, posting the biggest gain in the S&P.

12 beautiful airline ads from the 'Mad Men' era

2015-04-13T22:18:00.001-07:00

In the "Mad Men" TV series, fictional ad agency Sterling Cooper memorably creates ads and concepts for airlines including Mohawk and American Airlines.
Back in the 1960s it was a creative director's dream to land an airline account. As Paul Jarvis, British Airways' museum archivist, told us: "It wasn't really until the late sixties that the British public considered going abroad for a holiday. It was a very exciting time, when the world was still being discovered."

The British Airways Heritage centre has a vast stock of posters from over the decades, and has kindly allowed us access to its treasure trove of 1960s and 1970s ads, back when the brand was known as the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC.)

See 12 beautiful airline ads from the 'Mad Men' era

This ad showcased one of the early passenger flights to Rome.

Add caption

Source - http://www.businessinsider.in/12-beautiful-airline-ads-from-the-mad-men-era/articleshow/46910311.cms

Jet2 flight from Edinburgh declares emergency

2015-04-13T04:23:00.002-07:00

AN AIRCRAFT that left Scotland had to divert to London this morning after declaring an emergency mid-flight.

Jet2 flight LS775 had left Edinburgh Airport around 8.30am bound for Alicante, but signalled an emergency situation around an hour into the flight.

It diverted to London Gatwick, where it landed safely just after 10.00am.

Jet2 has confirmed that a medical emergency caused the detour.

The airline carried 5.5m passengers on over 36,000 flights in 2013, an increase of 15.5 per cent on the previous year.

Jet2 is based at Leeds-Bradford Airport, and flies to 17 destinations from Edinburgh, including Salzburg in Austria, Faro in Portugal, Hungarian capital Budapest and Croatian cities Dubrovnik and Split.

36 Rafale fighter jets Deal with France

2015-04-12T21:58:00.003-07:00

Paris/New Delhi: French President Francois Hollande would chair a high-level meeting in Parison Monday to thrash out the finer details of the nearly USD 5 billion deal for the sale of 36 Rafale jets to India in flyaway conditions.

French sources said the meeting at the Elysee Palace would be held between Hollande, his top officials and executives from Dassault Aviation, the manufacturers of the Rafale jets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who concluded his four-day visit to France today, had asked France to supply 36 Rafale jets in flyaway conditions as soon as possible in view of the critical operational necessity of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The deal would be between the two governments.

"There was nobody, either from Indian side or the French side, when the two leaders spoke about the Rafale. Everyone would be briefed in detail on Monday about what transpired and discussions would be held on how it can be taken forward," sources said.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the 36 Rafale fighter jets would be inducted into the IAF in two years.

Sources said that two years is a fair time as a final contract needs to be negotiated and signed while production of planes will also take time.

The capacity of the Dassault plant is 36 aircraft per anum and the Indian version of the aircraft will have to be fine- tuned as per its requirement.

"The French already have an order from Egypt for 24 Rafale jets which has to be also delivered as soon as possible" sources said, pointing out that specific timelines will have to be worked out.

One of the options that is being looked at is putting on hold the order for the French military and diverting them to meet India's immediate requirements.

Another issue that will come up for discussion is the pricing and also if the French government will be providing a tax holiday or some other concession to Dassault to bring down the prices of the aircraft for India.

Modi and Hollande had agreed to conclude an Inter- Governmental Agreement for supply of the aircraft on terms that would be better than conveyed by Dassault Aviation as part of a separate process underway, which is the MMRCA tender.

The delivery would be in time-frame that would be compatible with the operational requirement of IAF and the aircraft and associated systems and weapons would be delivered on the same configuration as had been tested and approved by IAF, and with a longer maintenance responsibility by France, a joint statement had said.

Source

LA’s Biggest Snowfall Was Back in 1949

2015-01-13T01:53:00.000-08:00

The Sexist History Of The Public Restroom

2015-01-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

17 Monumental Moments In WTF History

2015-01-02T21:47:00.000-08:00