Airline passengers lose it in December

(Source : UT San Diego, January 01, 2013)
From cellphones to prosthetic limbs, passengers have a habit of leaving everything imaginable behind on airplanes and at airports, forcing some airports and airlines to put systems in place to try to reunite lost items with their owners. Full Story

Freak Show at the Airport

Courtesy of www.FreakJet.com

Today air travel most likely includes wait time in some way or the other. Whether it be at check-in, security or due to a delayed flight. We all end up waiting at some point.
Turns out when people have to wait they like to watch each other. For this reason FreakJet has created a platform dedicated to people watching. Travelers can upload funny pictures taken at airports. Check it out

Behind-The-Scenes: Your Bag's Journey On Delta

Ever wondered what happens to your bag once you checked it in?
This clip shows the journey of a suitcase equipped with 6 cameras from check-in, trough the maze of conveyor belts and shoots in the baggage sorting, onto a plane and back to baggage claim. The clip is part of a Delta advertising campaign of a new feature called mobile baggage tracking launched by the carrier last November.

Happy New Year

Airtravelstuff.com wishes every one a Happy New Year!

After a long period of absence we will be back in the New Year with frequent updates again.

Please bookmark this page and come and see us in the New Year!

All the best to all our readers out there.

Your Airtravelstuff.com Team

Airbus A380 clips tail of CRJ @ JFK

"U better send a truck. They just hit us," the pilot of the Delta jet, remarkably calm, called out to controllers over the radio, according to a recording of the airport radio traffic. Luckily no one was injured. The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating.

April Fouls Day by West Jet - Very funny!

WestJet today introduced a new state-of-the-art money-saving feature on board all flights aimed at countering the rising price of jet fuel. Effective today, WestJet will be using air mixed with helium in the ventilation system to lighten the weight of the aircraft.

Airbus A310 VIP for sale by German government

Screenshot from www.vebeg.com

The German air force special air mission wing federal ministery of defence (Flugbereitschaft) is auctioning of their Airbus A310 VIP version.The A310 was used by Germany's senior government officials such as Chancellor Angela Merkel. The plane of East Germany's Interflug was redesigned around 20 years ago by Lufthansa Technik into a VIP version. The current Chancellor at that time Helmut Kohl insisted that a shower is available on board. At this time this was not an easy task for the engineers but the request was fullfilled. The complete tender information including interior picture are found here. By the way bidding closure is May 24th. If you have the necessary  spare change to bid then click here.

Penguins really can fly on South West Airlines

Recently on a South West flight from San Francisco to San Diego, SeaWorld was transporting penguins back home from a science convention. The waddling, flightless birds were allowed to roam the aisle much to the delights of passengers.While marching down the aisle a tutorial on the species was given over the airplane's passenger announcement system.

ANA begins relief programme

(Source: Staralliance.com) ANA has announced a series of initiatives to help with rescue and recovery efforts in Japan.

The ANA Group will donate 100 million yen to aid and support those affected by the earthquake. The Group is also asking for donations from its employees.

ANA is providing transport of relief supplies, at no charge, across all domestic and international routes operated by the ANA until April 15.

The airline is also providing seats on its flights for relief workers. This free transport will be made available on all domestic and international routes until April 15.

ANA has also introduced a donation programme for Mileage Club members until April 15. Members can donate in 1,000 mile increments by filling in the application available at the ANA SKY WEB site (www.ana.co.jp). ANA will donate one yen for every mile donated by its Mileage Club members

Space Shuttle Launch: Viewed From an Airplane

The last flight of the Discovery space shuttle into space took off on February 24th 2011. Passengers departing on a commercial flight from Orlando, FL where lucky enough to see the take off from their window seats.
The space shuttle is due to return from the ISS space station for the very last time today.

"Sully" Reflects, 2 Years After Hudson Landing

US Airways Captain Chester "Sully" Sullenberger looks back on the "Miracle on the Hudson," two years after he successfully landed a passenger jet in the Hudson River.

First United Boeing 747-400 with new livery back in service

Courtesy of United Airlines

Just recently a United Airlines Boeing 747-400 returned to service wearing the new livery. Finishing the paint job on the 1st B-747 United has now at least one of each of their mainline fleet and 304 aircrafts overall painted in the new livery. In the month ahead United will start to re-brand airport facilities and launch new advertising campaigns.

Live webcast of the new Boeing 747-8

Dont't miss the live webcast on February 13th 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard (19:00GMT) of the new Boeing 747-8 intercontinental passenger airplane roll out!
Link to webcast.
In the meanwhile watch a video from Boeing showing the extreme flight tests the B747-8F undergoes. The footage features, tail strikes, stall testing and a take off with a record breaking one million pounds of weight! Watch.

Geneva Airport unveils first mobile terminal

Geneva airport unveiled a mobile passenger terminal today. Officials said it is the world's first of its kind. The tent-style construction offers check-in counters and self check-in units and holds about 200 passengers on 220 square meters. It will be mainly used to handle the large numbers of skiers returning home from the alps in the winter month. It can be installed and ready for use within a week and be moved to other locations.

Pictures courtesy of www.gva.ch 

Boeing 787 Dreamliner lands at Houston, TX

The Dreamliner visited Houston this week after some flight testing in South America. This particular Boeing787 is currently one of six aircrafts used to certify the 787 program. While on ground, Houston Airport employees had the chance to have a look inside. Watch the video below to see some insights of what the cabin currently looks like like during the testing phase and the impressive cockpit.

Smoking toilet on Singapore Airbus A380

For all your smokers out there - Sorry but this does not mean that you can smoke on SQ's A380 toilets. It's about an incident that occured on a flight between Hongkong and Singapore where smoked developed in one of the lavatories. There was no fire and the aircraft landed safely. Full story here

First United Airlines Airbus A319 in new livery

Courtesy of United Airlines

An A319 showing the new livery was ferried from the paint shop in Greenville Miss., to Chicago yesterday. From there,  the A319 was put back in service for its first revenue flight in the new livery to Denver, CO. 

Currently, another  A319 and two A320's Airbus planes from United are at the paint shop in Mississippi.

Bid for how much you are willing to be bumped of a flight

Delta Airlines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport

Up to now if a flight is oversold airlines would make an announcement in the gate area looking for volunteers willing to take a later flight  in return for travel credits on future flights. Delta Airlines is taking a new approach by letting passengers silently bid on a bumped seat. If a flight is oversold passengers can name an amount, during check-in, they are willing to accept in return of taking a later flight. Delta would then consider the lowest bid to be bumped of the flight if it becomes necessary. Full story here.

TSA gets own song from Grammy winner Buck Howdy

In regards to the invasive TSA body searches throughout airports in the United States, Buck Howdy has created a funny parody song.

Win 2 round the world business class tickets with Star Alliance

There's a new contest on www.staralliance.com to promote the Alliance's unique upgrade awards product to frequent international travellers. Customers can win prizes by answering a few basic Alliance questions and entering their frequent flyer numbers.

The product allows customers to redeem miles or points from their FFP accounts to upgrade on 19 other Star Alliance member carriers by one class, either from economy to business or from business to first. Prizes to win in the contest  include 2 round the world tickets in business class, several other tickets in business or economy class and miles credited to the contestant's respective frequent flyer programme.