Inside the Emirates A380 First Class shower

by Scott Carmichael on

Last week, I wrote how smelly passengers are among the most annoying people to be sitting next to on a flight. For passengers in First Class on Emirates flights serviced by their Airbus A380, body odor can be a thing of the past (and I don’t mean though copious amounts of Drakar Noir).

The Emirates Airbus A380 is the first commercial plane in the world to feature full shower facilities. Passengers in First Class can request the use of the shower, and are allotted 30 minutes of privacy, along with 5 minutes of water.

The shower facility is massive when compared to most bathrooms in the skies, and the room is thoroughly cleaned between each visit. In fact, this flying shower has more features than most of us have at home, including a flat panel TV and several integrated closets and hangers.

This photo was taken inside the shower cubicle. You can clearly see the water timer to the left of the shower head, which should help prevent you from a nasty surprise when your 5 minutes are up.

A beautifully arranged sink area with a marble counter top and a real faucet, unlike the crappy faucets us commoners get on most flights. Other amenities include a hair dryer and of course various toiletries.

I’m not an aviation specialist, but I can imagine the design hassles involved in carrying enough water for all these showers are immense. Still, when you are paying upwards of $4000 for the pleasure, a little luxury goes a long way.

Many thanks to Flyertalk member Flyingfox for granting us permission to use his fantastic photos.

Airlines told to cough up the cash on lost luggage

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Transportation Department is getting serious about lost luggage reimbursement. The department has told airlines that they can’t set arbitrary limits on reimbursement for the bags they lose – or items that they have to replace because of delays. Several airlines, the DOT says, will only pay for necessities that passengers buy more than 24 hours after they hit the ground without their bags. And, they limit their willingness to pay to outbound trips. So, if you’re on your way home, you may get stuck with the tab.

The fed’s regs put the airlines on the hook for up to $3,300 per passenger on domestic flights for expenses resulting from lost or delayed luggage.

The Transportation Department is going to monitor the situation for 90 days, it says, then take enforcement steps against airlines that don’t play ball. One airline, the DOT disclosed, was fined last month for only footing the bill on outbound trips and only for items bought after that first 24-hour window after passengers landed.

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EU rules on liquid carry-ons may become “fluid”

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Grab a drink, if you feel inclined … in Europe, at least. The European Union is getting ready to lift the ban on liquids in carry-ons. The target date is still pretty far in the future, because the technology the EU plans to use isn’t widely available yet. Originally, the prohibition was supposed to expire in April, but now it’s looking like no later than 2014.

Okay, so don’t rush to celebrate the change.

That being said, the EU’s transportation officials are pressuring the technology companies involved to move quickly.

The rules against liquids in containers larger than 100 ml and not in clear bags have been in effect for three years, after a terrorist plot was uncovered in Britain. The perps were planning to use liquid explosives in soda cans.

Now that everyone’s safe, we’re also free to gripe about what we can’t take on board – not to mention longer waits at security checkpoints. Progress may be slow, but at least it’s happening. Let’s give a nod to innovative thinking, with a technological solution being devised to give us back some of our time without compromising our security.

If you need action sooner, there’s a chance that the rules may be eased a bit for duty-free liquids bought outside the EU.

Gun-toting pilot gets gig back

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A gun was fired in the cockpit and so was the pilot. In March 2008, on a flight from Denver to Charlotte, US Airways pilot Jim Langenhahn’s gun discharged, an action taken by his employer shortly after. Now that his 18-month disciplinary suspension is over, he’s back in training and getting ready to take to the friendly skies. The Associated Press didn’t mention whether the current program involves targets.

A federal arbitrator’s decision is what’s leading to Langenhahn’s reinstatement, but he won’t be allowed to pack heat on board. He was strapped in 2008 because of a 2002 federal law that permits pilots to carry handguns onto the plane – as long as they complete a Transportation Security Administration program that includes a week of weapons training. The law was passed following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Support from the US Airways pilots’ union helped, along with a Department of Homeland Security position that found the holsters pilots used to be faulty. The holsters, DHS found, increased the likelihood of an accidental discharge.

New FAA plane tracking computer off to a bad start

by Scott Carmichael on

For years, the Federal Aviation Administration has been working on modernizing the computer systems that keep our skies safe.

Many of these systems have been in operation for over 30 years, and while the old “it it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” saying may apply to a lot of stuff, it isn’t really applicable to air traffic control.

One of the new systems being tested by the FAA is actually live in Salt Lake City. The “En Route Automation” computer system provides better flight management, and allows flight controllers to handle more aircraft, in a wider range than the current systems.

Sadly, the system is not entirely free of glitches, as a controller at Salt Lake City airport encountered last weekend. When monitoring a flight on its way to Texas, the screen suddenly changed the plane to one that had just landed.

The new system was immediately taken offline, and all planes were told to increase their distances between each other while the backup air traffic control computers were brought online.

The glitch has been identified and a fix will be applied. Obviously, a new system is needed to reduce delays in the sky, but if basic things like aircraft identification do not work correctly, there may be quite a bit of work necessary before the new system goes nationwide.