Top Gun spoof features a 787 and A380




Let’s do this. Goose and Maverick are back on the (computer) screen in this new spoof from 3D-Aviation. The team took classic footage from Top Gun and re-worked the plane shots to feature a 787 and A380 completing dastardly feats of daring, including spins, turns, and “goosing” the tower.

What do you think?

Lufthansa coupon: Take 40EUR off your next flight

Lufthansa has been issuing a wave of coupon codes geared at American travelers over the last six months, perhaps as a way of driving marketshare straight to their site rather than having users go to an online travel agency. Their most recent coupon is for 40 Euros ($55.64 at time of publication) off of an international flight. The voucher can be redeemed until May 1st and travel must be be before August 1st, 2011.

All that you have to do to scour up your own unique coupon code is venture over to Lufthansa.com and enter in your info.

As to whether or not Lufthansa’s fares are competitive in your particular market is another question. Our suggestion over at Gadling Labs is to run your fare search on Kayak first and then see if LH is competitive. After that, move back to Lufthansa.com and proceed with your booking.

Another area in which this coupon might be useful is for flights on the A380. Since Lufthansa just started flying out of JFK with the new double decker this could be a good opportunity to experience your first flight on the new aircraft.

Lufthansa contest offers free tickets on the world’s largest plane

Who wants to take a free flight across the Atlantic on a super-jumbo? Lufthansa is offering such an opportunity to travelers to commemorate the launch of their sixth A380. The new jet will begin flying between New York and Frankfurt on February 28, just in time to whisk you away for a much needed European vacation. The contest winners will clamber aboard the world’s largest plane, for free, and be treated to a behind-the-scenes tour.

The first contest, “A380 SeatTweet,” begins on February 16 and ends on February 19. To register, you need to select a seat on the Virtual 380 on the Lufthansa contest website, and a tweet will post to reserve your spot. Once all 526 virtual seats are filled, the day’s winners will be announced. A number of prizes will be distributed including four A380 prize packages. You can follow Lufthansa USA’s tweets @Lufthansa_USA.

The second contest is a bit more location sensitive and will be open to those in New York City. This contest is titled “Catch the 380 Crew” and involves clues and a bit of good old fashioned sleuthing. Starting February 25, @Lufthansa USA will begin tweeting clues about the contest. After the inaugural flight from Frankfurt to New York’s JFK airport on the 28th of February, 23 “crew members” will descend upon SoHo. Only one will be holding the golden ticket – a pair of business class return tickets to Europe. To successfully game the contest, you will need to pay attention to the clues and locate 10 crew members that will lead you to your destiny.

flickr image via JeremyKunz

Emirates Airbus A380 taken out of service by a catering truck

Of all the things that can disable a $300 million plane – a broken catering truck has to be one of the more embarrassing.

Sadly, this is the fate of Emirates A6-EDE, the seventeenth Airbus A380, delivered to the airline in April of 2009.

During a routine catering delivery at Toronto airport, the scissor lift on the truck broke, smashing the truck body onto the wing of the jet.

The plane has been taken out of service while repairs are made to the damaged wing. No passengers were on the aircraft at the time and the exact extent of the damage has not yet been determined, but repairs are estimated to take several weeks. For more photos of the incident, head on over to Cargolaw.com.

Thankfully for Emirates, they have another 89 Airbus A380’s in operation or on order.

Qantas Airbus A380 loses engine – drops parts over Indonesia

A Qantas A380 en route from London via Singapore to Sydney had a catastrophic engine failure 15 minutes into its flight. After departing Singapore, passengers reported hearing a loud “bang” followed by showers of sparks from one of its engines. Looking out the window, people on board the super jumbo could see parts of the engine skin peeled off, exposing foam and broken wires.

The engine parts started raining down on Batam, Indonesia – some as large as a door. There are thankfully no reports of injuries on the ground.

Despite the horrific looking damage, jetliners are designed to fly on 50% of their engines, so the plane was not at risk of crashing, though the cause of the blown Rolls-Royce engine will certainly be one that requires very close examination.

The plane circled Singapore to dump fuel in preparation for an emergency landing, which happened without incident. Because of the seriousness of the engine failure, Qantas grounded their entire A380 fleet.

In searching for a cause, one expert pointed to a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, and investigators will most certainly be looking very closely at the engine parts to determine whether volcanic ash may have contributed to the accident.

[Photo: Getty Images]