Birds vs planes. Another bird loses and forces an emergency landing.

by Jamie Rhein on

The bird strike in the skies above LaGuardia airport yesterday didn’t faze the passengers–they didn’t know it occurred. When American Airlines Flight 1256 was arriving from Miami, getting ready to land, it met up with some of our feathered friends. Good-bye birds. Also, good- bye nose gear hydraulic system

After landing, the pilot discovered that the system wasn’t working, thus the 737-800 had to be towed to a gate. Upon inspection, a large bird was discovered stuck in the landing gear. This story reminds me of when we were hitting pheasants right and left in North Dakota last summer.

As you have probably read a bit about, bird strikes are quite the concern. In this human vs the wild story, the humans are determined to win and killing off some of the birds is part of the solution. Scott’s post explains just how.

Kent Wien, Gadling’s beloved pilot extraordinaire provided this photo of his own bird vs plane experience. This gross occurrence happened on a final approach to Barbados last year. Paradise can be hell. Seeing this photo made me think too bad that I don’t have shot of my husband removing a pheasant from the grill of our car.

Spring Airlines considers standing-room tickets

by Stephen Greenwood on

Remember a few years ago when Airbus was considering standing-room only economy class tickets? Well it looks like the aircraft manufacturer might have its first taker.

China’s Spring Airlines says it has been considering the concept since the beginning of the year to accommodate a surge in passenger volume. While a representative for the airline claims that the new method is “just like bar stools,” it could allow for 40% more passengers and cut costs by 20%, while lowering airfare for consumers.

Spring Airlines could submit the idea for approval within the year.

I guess this will bring up entirely new issues of when it’s appropriate to be out of your “seat.”

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[Thanks, Howard!]

Breaking news – Yemenia Airbus A310 crashes with 154 passengers on board

by Scott Carmichael on

June is turning out to be a pretty bad month for aviation safety.

This evening, a Yemenia Airbus A310 crashed an hour from its destination into the Indian Ocean off the island nation of Comoros.

Nothing is known about the cause of the crash, but the plane was carrying a total of 154 passengers when it went down. This is the second Airbus crash this month. On June 1, an Airbus crashed killing all 228 passengers.

The flight was en route to Moroni, and had departed from the Yemen captal Sanaa for its four and a half hour flight.

The official site of the airline has not posted any additional information yet.

UPDATE: The Airbus A310 was carrying 142 passengers – including families with babies – and 11 crew members. Comoros police said three bodies had been recovered so far and the five-year-old child has been pulled from the water alive. There is no word on other survivors.

UPDATE 2: Faults were detected on this plane in 2007, which has sparked an inquiry into the Yemenia airline’s safety record.

UPDATE 3: “We never had problems with the plane. [The accident] was purely weather,” Yemenia Chairman Abdulkalek Saleh Al-Kadi said in a telephone interview from Sana’a.

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(Image is of a Yemenia Airbus A330)

Paris Air Show 2009: The debut of a new Russian airliner the Sukhoi Superjet 100

by Kent Wien on

The biggest orders of the Paris Air Show were racked up by Sukhoi, the Russian aerospace firm best known for its fighters.

The 98-seat airplane is the first to come from the country since the fall of the Soviet Union and is slated to compete with the new Bombardier CSeries and Embraer’s E-Jets.

Sukhoi claims the operating cost of the Superjet 100 will be 10-15% lower than either of its competitors.

The airplane made its public debut at the 2009 Paris Air Show and racked up 27 firm orders with 17 options at the show, an impressive total considering the otherwise gloomy mood in Paris.

Carriers from Italy, Indonesia, Russia, Spain and Armenia have ordered the jet, bringing the total firm orders to 149 so far. It may be time for a U.S. carrier to take a look at this airplane as well.

Gadling was there for the public flying debut of the Superjet 100:

There’s also a nice video of the proposed interior of the Sukhoi’s first airliner here.

Check out the rest of Gadling’s Paris Air Show coverage.

Favorable fares may be coming to a close

by Tom Johansmeyer on

In past years, Memorial Day signaled the end of sweetheart flight prices. This year, a sinking economy stretched the deals a bit longer, but experts say the good times may be coming to a close. Remember the problems last summer, with higher prices blamed on jet fuel? Well, we could see the cost of oil work the same dismal magic this summer.

Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, cites recent fare increases of $10 to $20 per roundtrip as an indicator that we are the brink of an upswing. But, these are counterbalanced by new lows elsewhere. A recent survey by Travelocity shows ticket prices down 17 percent for trips between Memorial Day and Labor Day. So, buyers and sellers are locked in a silent struggle to determine how much your next vacation will cost.

With an eye out for possible deals, customers are waiting, booking their flights 86 days ahead instead of the usual 90. While this doesn’t seem like much, it takes a lot of last minute purchases to bring the average down.

Even if airline fares are coming back, you can still take advantage of the lows now. If you’re thinking about taking a vacation, stop … and take action instead.