Icelandic volcano disrupts flights again

by Sean McLachlan on

Irish airline operators had a bad case of déjà-vu this morning when a cloud of ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull swept over the Emerald Isle and grounded all flights. The Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland were also affected. Flights in the rest of the UK operated normally.

The Irish Aviation Authority canceled all flights in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland starting at 7am local time and allowed them to resume at 1pm local time. The few small airports affected in the Hebrides also plan to reopen sometime in the afternoon.

The ash cloud only reached about 20,000 feet so flights crossing Irish airspace at cruising altitude were not affected. The cloud was thin and sparse compared with the massive one that grounded flights for six days last month. It thinned out to safe levels by the afternoon, prompting aviation officials to reopen service.

Clear speedy airport security lanes making a comeback?

by Scott Carmichael on

Last year, Clear abruptly shut down – but after a bankruptcy hearing last month, a large portion of the business has been handed over to new owners. And these owners are very serious about getting the service back online as soon as they can.

With Clear, passengers paid a yearly subscription fee, and were able to jump to the front of the line at airport security checkpoints. The service was fairly successful, but obviously not enough of a success to stay commercially viable.

The new company, called AlClear, spent $6 million to acquire the remaining assets of the company that operated Clear. Sadly, those assets did not include the individual contracts with airport operators, which means the new venture may not arrive at your airport as soon as you’d hope.

Within the next couple of weeks, former subscribers will be contacted, offering them the chance to reactivate their subscriptions. If airport negotiations go as planned, AlClear may begin service this fall. The fee for AlClear will be $179 – plus an additional $50 to convert the individual plan into a family plan. Customers that do not wish to reactivate their old Clear account will have their personal information purged from the database.

Whether or not AlClear will be able to overcome the hurdles that put Clear out of business remains to be seen – the price was not the biggest issue Clear faced. Lack of availability around the nation and a security breach probably hurt them more than anything else. Personally, I wish AlClear lots of luck – I’m a huge fan of airport biometrics, and have been ever since I signed up for the Privium system at Amsterdam Airport back in 2002.

New United Airlines livery still keeps a bit of Continental in the mix

by Scott Carmichael on

What you see here is the proposed final product of the United Airlines – Continental merger. As you can see, the new airline will fly with the United name, but keeps the globe logo from Continental.

I’m not sure what to make of it – but since these two airlines have been such important players in the aviation world, it’ll take a while to get used to the combination.

Over at Unitecontinentalmerger.com, you’ll find a lot of information about the merger, and how it’ll impact travelers.

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Detroit airport cop and TSA worker accused of stealing pizza and punching clerk

by Scott Carmichael on

Ladies and gentlemen, we have two new contenders for the “dumbest TSA workers of the year” award. An airport cop and TSA worker both showed up at a Hartland Township, MI gas station to buy some booze in order to continue their buzz (which means they drove there drunk already). The two paid for the booze, then Renee Zima, the TSA officer, is accused of stealing two pieces of pizza, and leaving the store.

When the store clerk approached them demanding payment for the items, Zima flashed her TSA badge, claiming she was with Homeland Security. When the clerk tried to get their plate number, these two idiots bent the plate, then stood in front of it, blocking his view. When the clerk went back outside, Zima’s partner in crime (and off duty airport police officer) Richard Frederick punched him in the face.

The funny part is that all the effort put into covering up their license plate was completely useless, as these two smart criminals already identified themselves by paying for their booze purchase with a credit card, and I’m sure all the surveillance footage doesn’t help their case that much either.

When apprehended, Frederick claimed he punched the clerk because he felt threatened by “all the store clerks surrounding him”, even though the video clips only show one person. Both the Wayne County Airport Authority and the TSA have started an investigation into the actions. Zima has been placed on administrative leave, and Frederick has entered rehab.%Gallery-76818%

Galley Gossip: Do flight attendants hang out with pilots on layovers?

by Heather Poole on

Dear Heather,

is it common that you associate with pilots when on layovers? Also after each leg of a trip, does everyone go to the bar? I can’t imagine this is a great family lifestyle for those married.

Just My Thoughts

Dear Just My Thoughts,

Do pilots and flight attendants spend time together on layovers? Sometimes. Depends on the crew. Also depends on the length of the layover. At my airline, the majority of our domestic layovers average 10 hours. Add a delay or a mechanical into the mix (they happen!) and that 10 hour layover quickly becomes a nine hour layover. That’s not enough time to do much other than sleep, eat and shower.

As for international flying, imagine you’re in a foreign country far away from home with twenty four hours to kill and you don’t speak the language. Now imagine yourself in a strange city several times a month – month after month, year after year after year. It’s only natural for people with things in common to spend time together. Would you prefer to spend all that time away from home alone? Now keep in mind that airline crews who do have time to meet up at a hotel bar for a quick drink are probably just too exhausted from jet lag to do anything other than take an elevator downstairs and sit on a stool. Not to mention, the majority of our layover hotels offer airline employees discounts on food and beverage. If there’s one thing crew members have in common, its we’re a frugal bunch.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, working for an airline is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle, a very unusual one. Not many people can handle it. Our schedules are always changing, making it difficult to create long term plans. We work holidays and weekends and we’re away from home for days at a time. A lot of that time is spent associating with coworkers – on the airplane and at hotels. This is why we need a significant other who is confident and loyal, a person who is independent and can deal with last minute changes. They also have to be able to make spur of the moment decisions that include back up plans A, B, & C – just in case something goes wrong, because when you work for an airline, something is bound to go wrong.

Because my husband is a frequent flier who travels over 100,000 miles a year for business, he knows what it’s like, really like, to travel. That’s why he doesn’t get worked up if I find myself exploring the city with a colleague of the opposite sex. In fact, we encourage each other to to go out and enjoy ourselves. The time spent away from each other actually does our marriage good. We certainly don’t take each other for granted and we always cherish the time we have together. If that doesn’t make for a good marriage, I don’t know what does.

Photo Courtesy of Gurms