Plane crash caused by crocodile?

by Sean McLachlan on

Any time I fly an African carrier my friends get worried. While some have good safety records like the ten safest airlines in Africa, others show an abysmal lack of basic care. Such was the case of the ill-fated Filair flight on August 25 that crashed into a house as it approached Bandundu city airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Twenty people were killed. Authorities claimed the airplane ran out of fuel, but the company said it was a technical problem.

The lone survivor of the crash tells a different tale, Juene Afrique reports. The unnamed survivor says a crocodile slipped out of a sports bag someone had brought as a carry on. The passengers panicked and rushed to the front of the plane, causing a weight imbalance that put the aircraft into a nosedive. The crocodile reportedly survived the crash only to be killed by a machete-wielding local when it emerged from the wreckage.

Whether this is true are not is hard to say. Juene Afrique is a respected news source, but eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, especially when it’s anonymous. The plane was a Soviet-era Let-410 like the one shown here. It only seats 19 passengers so it’s small enough that if everyone ran to one end it would have weight balance issues. Plus the pilot reportedly complained it was in bad condition. Congolese company Filair is one of many airlines banned from flying into the European Union thanks to its poor track record.

Yet if the crocodile tale is true it wouldn’t be one of a kind. An eerily similar incident of a crocodile in a plane happened on an EgyptAir flight last year. Luckily nobody was hurt that time.

[Image courtesy Mottld via Wikimedia Commons. Note that this is not a Filair plane but a Russian carrier]

Gogo Inflight Internet now available between Anchorage and Fairbanks on Alaska Airlines

by Scott Carmichael on

While many of us were eagerly awaiting that availability of Gogo Inflight on our flights, our friends up in Alaska were waiting to get any kind of inflight access. Thankfully for them, Gogo Inflight just flipped the switch on the first of their towers covering the route between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Passengers on this 55 minute Alaska Airlines flight can now enjoy their online content on their laptop or other Wi-Fi enabled mobile device. Best of all, the service is being offered complimentary to passengers until the remainder of the network goes live later this year. Once complete, passengers will be able to get online for the first hour of their flight over Alaska, then get back online once their plane reaches the lower 48.

Gogo Inflight Internet is available on 1028 aircraft from 9 airlines – access prices start at just $4.95, and are currently on sale until the end of the month – which means you can get an unlimited subscription for just $19.95. For an overview of their various pricing plans, head on over to Gogoinflight.com.

Review – ITA Software OnTheFly for Android

by Scott Carmichael on

If you have ever booked an airline ticket online, then you have a very good chance you made use of fare information from a company called ITA Software. ITA is so important to the online world that Google purchased them earlier this year. ITA’s technology is what powers many of the major booking engines, including some from the airlines themselves.

So can you imagine how powerful an app could be if it had live access to the ITA fare data? Well, imagine no longer, because owners of an Android phone or an iPhone can download OnTheFly – ITA’s mobile application for airfare searches.

Unlike many other airline ticket applications, OnTheFly is designed with a specific kind of traveler in mind – the kind of traveler that doesn’t get scared when they see booking codes or fare constructions. If you understand how airline tickets work – an application like OnTheFly could be your best tool for fighting overpriced tickets – as long as you know where to look.

The application itself is very well made – the version I tested was for Android, and given the ITA – Google – Android links, it comes as no surprise that this is one well designed application.

The smart design starts when you enter an airport – in addition to the airport name or code you entered, it’ll also show other airports to consider.

In the case of Minneapolis, the closest alternative airport is 61 miles away, but when you enter one of the New York airports, you obviously get some better alternatives. Searches can be done by date, flexible dates, fare class, number of stops and a variety of other options.

The results matrix shows airfare by airline, along with the number of stops – making it very simple to pinpoint the best fare.
Results can expanded with other airports or alternative dates.

Once you’ve picked a fare, you can pick your times. Depending on the departure time, fares may go up, so this simple chart shows then the best time to fly will be.

And once you pick an actual flight, you can display its fare information, mileage and even its emissions data – which is great if you participate in a CO2 offset program.

Now – to be perfectly clear – OnTheFly is NOT a ticket booking application – it merely shows the best fares, from ITA’s database. Once you’ve found the perfect flights, you will need to call the airline and give them the information they need to actually book your ticket. Of course, you can also call your travel agent if you still happen to use one.

Thankfully, OnTheFly tells you EXACTLY what the airline will need to know in order to book the exact ticket you want. Since some of these tickets use specific booking codes, you’ll need this data to snag the fare you found.

Bottom line is that OnTheFly is the best mobile airfare search app I’ve ever tested – but it is most certainly not for everyone. If you just want to go online and book whatever looks cheap-ish, then you’ll probably want to stay away from it. But if you make a sport out of finding the absolute cheapest airfare, maximizing your miles and taking advantage of specific booking classes, you’ll get a real kick out of the power of ITA on your mobile device.

To learn more about ITA Software OnTheFly, and to find download links, head on over to their product page.

North Korea: flight attendants redefine customer service

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There’s no shortage of gripes among both business and leisure travelers about the level of service we receive from the airlines. We’ve all had our shares of miserable customer service experiences, from bad experiences with orange juice to getting bumped by the beverage cart. Yet, nothing compares to what you experience on Air Koryo, it seems.

There’s only one airline that flies in and out of North Korea. From Beijing to Pyongyang and back, Air Koryo takes care of everything you need. Yet, unique characteristics of the hiring process lead to a vastly different experience from that found here in the United States. The planes are described as “rickety,” and one can assume there will be little more than the basics (well, this part is just like home).

%Gallery-105693%Randy Schmidt, cameraman and editor for CBS News, recounts his recent exchange with a flight attendant on Air Koryo:

“Where are you from?” the North Korean flight attendant asks me.

“I’m American, but I live in Japan.”

“I hate America! I hate Japan! What would you like to drink today, sir?” she said.

Perhaps it was because the flight was international, but at least the guy got a beverage!

Schmidt further observes:

The comment is not personal. North Koreans are schooled to believe that America and Japan are enemies, but that hatred is directed at the governments of those countries, not at individuals.

[photo via Wikipedia]

Steven Slater’s home burglarized by partner’s brother: insult added to injury

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If Steven Slater was going to use the cash under his mattress to repay JetBlue, he needs to put together another plan. The day after he plead guilty to a felony charges (which could be knocked down to misdemeanors in year), it was revealed that the former flight attendant‘s home was robbed.

John Rochelle, Slater’s partner’s brother, is accused of having absconded with a laptop, printer and microwave on October 14, 2010, reports MSNBC. Rochelle is waiting to be arraigned on second-degree burglary chares. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown is calling it a “crime of opportunity.”

Howard Bragman, Slater’s publicist, said the former flight attendant didn’t have anything to say about it.

As part of his plea agreement, Slater has to pay JetBlue $10,000 to compensate for the costs he generated when dropping the emergency slide.

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