Can you land this plane? Continued..

In an earlier post we tested your knowledge in European Geogpraphy. This time the challenge is to land the plane in the correct city within the United States. Give it a go!

Play musical chair while traveling

Courtesy of  Travelteq

Not the ordinary luggage. This one lets you sit on it and even plays your favourite tunes through the removable, integrated soundsystem. It has its price but bringing your own chair to a crowded gate area might come in handy. Check it out

British Airways chairman attacks U.S. airport security demands

Britain should stop "kowtowing" to US demands over airport security, the chairman of British Airways, Martin Broughton, said yesterday, adding that American airports did not implement some checks on their own internal flights. Read full story on Guardian.co.uk

Pillow fight on board Lufthansa

On board a Lufthansa flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt a pillow fight broke out. The flight attendant standing in the aisle seemed to have enjoyed it very much! By the way you won't see this happen on US carriers since those tend to charge a fee for pillows...

Pan Am announces return to the sky!

Pan Am founded in the late 1920's and collapsed in December 1991 is planning to announce its revival on November 12th. The new Pan Am will be headquartered in the original Pan

American Airways Building in Brownsville Texas.

Press release

Pan Am Website

Crocodile caused airplane crash

A Let-410 Turbolet similar to the one involved in the accident
Picture courtesy of Dmitri A. Motti

According to the lone survivor of the crash, a crocdile hidden in a duffle bag in the cabin, caused the plane to crash. The crocodile managed to escape from the duffle bag, frightening passengers and crew which eventually led to the crash. Apparently the crocodile survived the impact but was later killed. Full story

United Airlines announces profit for 3rd quarter

New United CEO Jeff Smisek in front of a B737 in the new livery
Picture courtesy of United Airlines

During the 3rd quarter, and the last one as a standalone airline, United reports a $387 million profit. Continental's profit was $354 million. The results for both airlines were released by United Continental Holdings, the parent company created on Oct. 1 when the airlines closed their merger deal. Press release

How quickly can you "assemble" the A380?

According to Airbus in the U.S. it took them 23 seconds to solve this puzzle. We are sure you can do better!

Airbus Puzzle

Virgin Airlines Richard Branson: "worried that the Queen was going to use the sword to cut my head off"

Richard Branson during a visit in Nairobi
Picture courtesy of Virgin Atlantic

In an interview while in Orlando, to launch the new Virgin America service to the West Coast, founder of the Virgin Group Richard Branson talks about the Virgin onboard experience, flights into space and about being  knighted by the Queen of England. Full story

Ex Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater may plead guilty

CNN reports that Steve Slater, who made a dramatic escape from a flight last August by deploying the emergency slides, may plead guilty. The district office is considering an alternative sentencing program that could include anger management and alcohol counseling programs. Read full story here

Brightly colored and funny livery on Kulula.com airplanes

South Africa's first low fare airline Kulula.com has a great sense of humour when it comes down to painting their aircraft. When visiting Kulula Air's Gallery make sure to check the various other paint jobs by clicking on the tabs above the pictures. Go to the gallery

Courtesy of Kulula.com

Can you land the plane in the correct city?

Let's do a little warm up for your brain to start into a new week. Test your knowledge in Europe geography. The game consists of 3 rounds, with each round containing 5 destinations. Try it!

What could your meal look like on your next flight

Airlinemeals.net has an impressive collection of almost 20'000 pictures of over 500 airlines and their food served. Visit the site

Air New Zealand's dirty new commercial. Funny or just bad taste?

Check out NZ's latest advertising campaign and decide for yourself. We give it a thumbs up but imagine that it probably does not fit everyone's taste..

Car-Eating Rabbits Invade Denver Airport

AOL Travel News: In the category of weird but true, Denver International Airport may have a problem with pesky rabbits, who eat cars. Yes, cars. 
Traveler Dexter Meyer tells KUSA-TV he parked his brand new Turbo Diesel Volkswagen Jetta at the Pikes Peak Parking Lot at the airport as he headed off on a vacation. And it was eaten. Read full story on AOL

Airbus A380 360-degree cockpit view

Notice the monitor in the center console displaying the outside of the A380 from the tail camera. You can also zoom in on the image. Enjoy your visit to the flight deck of the largest airplane. Check it out

Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater costume for Halloween

Ricky's, a New York City based costume company, has come up with an "angry steward costume" relating to Steven Slater, a former Jet Blue Flight attendant. Steven made a spectacular escape from his job, grabing 2 beers and deploying  the emergency slide past August after a heated argument with a passenger upon arrival at New York's Kennedy Airport.
Get dressed up!

Courtesy Ricky's NYC

Lufthansa 100'000 miles give away!

Lufthansa's Facebook fanpage has reached over 100'000 fans! To celebrate this achievement you are given the chance to win 100'000 miles or other great prizes by playing their slot machine.That's what we call serious social business. Well done Lufthansa! Play here

Severe challenges passing through airport security

Not much in the news today. Therefore have a laugh!

By Time Magazine

How airlines use Twitter to revamp customer service

In a world of ever present social media, airlines can't afford not to use such channels. The Toronto Star has an interesting article on how airlines use Twitter to interact with their customers. Read it here

Air New Zealand rolls out state of the art economy seat

Starting April 2011 on NZ's Boeing 777-300 those new seats, unique in the industry, will be available on selected routes. Seated in the space seat  watch movies or play video games on your personal 10.6'' wide touch screen and in case you d'like a snack to go along with favorite movie or TV program you can order it right from your screen.

Read about all the new features here

SWISS Airlines "Heidi look a like" contest in San Francisco

The contest benefits the Academy of Friends and the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. Each organization received a travel package for two to Switzerland, including round-trip SWISS Business tickets, and hotel designated for use in fundraising purposes. See Pictures here

SWISS launched a new Zurich-San Francisco service back June with a specialy painted Airbus A340 flower power motif. The flight currently operates 6 times weekly.

Pilots push Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the limit

As flight testing for the Dreamliner continues, Boeing released a video showing some extended tests like tail strikes, crosswind landings and touch downs on wet runways. Excellent footage! Watch here

Zurich Airport wins Leading Airport in Europe Award

For the 7th time in a row Zurich Airport won the Europe's Leading Airport Award.
See nominees and results here

Know where you are sitting on your next flight

These websites are a great help when it comes to choose your seat on your next flight. Check it out!

• Seatguru     
• Seatexpert

Publish Post

Continental attendants decline joint contract talks

(Reuters) - Flight attendants with Continental Airlines Inc said they will not participate in contract talks with their peers at United Airlines, according to a report in Bloomberg.

United flight attendants had said in an exchange of letters they would have more leverage if they worked together, according to Bloomberg.

Representatives for Continental and for Association of Flight Attendants could not be immediately reached for comment.

UAL Corp and Continental merged last week to form the world's largest carrier, called United Airlines. The airline is a unit of United Continental Holding Inc.

Qatar Airways voted the best dressed cabin crew

Qatar Airways has topped a list of 10 “best-dressed” airlines conducted by airfare comparison site Skyscanner on over 500 users.

The runner up is Air France followed by British Airways on the 3rd place. Other entries in the top 10 included Iberia and Alitalia, along with Delta and Jet Airways. On the 10th place is Lufthansa.

Singapore Airlines To Launch Inflight Connectivity

Customers travelling on Singapore Airlines flights will soon be able to stay connected at all times, even at 35,000 feet.

The multi-million-dollar collaboration with inflight connectivity provider OnAir includes a full suite of onboard communication offerings, providing the Airline’s customers with access to Wi-Fi Internet and mobile telephony services.  The mobile telephony services will enable customers to send and receive SMS text messages with their GSM-compatible mobile phones, send and receive email messages easily on smartphones and BlackBerry® devices, and make and receive voice calls.

With plans to roll out the services from as early as the first half of 2011, Singapore Airlines will be the first major airline in Asia to launch a full suite of inflight connectivity services.  These will be introduced progressively on flights operated by the Airline’s Airbus A380, Airbus A340-500 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

UFO shuts down chinese airport

This marks the eighth reported UFO sighting in China since June, according to The Daily Telegraph. But officials admitted military tests accounting for at least several of the cases. Read full story here

Sixth Boeing 787 Makes First Flight

The final Boeing 787 Dreamliner to join the flight test fleet made its first flight yesterday from Paine Field in Everett, Washington.  The airplane, ZA006, is the second 787 equipped with General Electric GEnx engines to fly. The flight lasted 1 hour and 4 minutes. More on Boeing Dreamliner test flights here

Suitcase on wheels turns 40. Happy anniversary!

Nowadays hardly anyone who travels goes without. But where did it all start? Read the article here

Cebu Pacific Airlines features Lady Gaga in their inflight safety demo

Those flight attendants surely get everyones attention during their safety demo!

It's time for a little game - Play Airport Mania

Travel through 8 amusing airports while you land a variety of planes, purchase upgrades, and avoid delays. Stay on your toes as some planes carry precious cargo and will need to land in a hurry, while others might need a trip to the repair shop. But, with good planning, you'll make it to the gate on time!

Play it!

Interview with new United CEO Jeff Smisek

Jeff Smisek talks with USA Today about what lies ahead of the new giant of the skies and outlines his vision of the new United. Read it here