Jetstar website caves under pressure

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Jetstar doesn’t deal with pressure well. Whether it’s the weight of a hefty passenger slowing down the plane or a deluge of traffic for a sale, the airline just can’t seem to get nimble. A deal to kick off its new domestic service in New Zealand led to digital mayhem.

The Australian low-cost carrier offered $1 fares on its website. This drew 50,000 bargain-hunters at once, causing the Jetstar website to collapse. Even success leads to failure for this hapless airline.

The promotion was actually pretty generous. Jetstar put 20,000 $1 one-way tickets on the table for use between July 22 and September 22. The two-hour sale was extended by 30 minutes, and the inventory was sold out.

As with any super-bargain, there’s always room for complaint. A $1 ticket actually cost $3 when the customer paid with a credit card. Checked luggage was not permitted under the deal. In some cases, transaction costs reached as high as $8 … the horror!

Needless to say, this is the most effective online travel gimmick since Leading Hotels of the World disappointed would-be travelers by under-powering its website for a sweetheart hotel deal.

[Via Sydney Morning Herald]

Pilot sues flight attendants over safety

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Three Phoenix-based flight attendants are in the unusual position of defending themselves from pilot-instigated litigation. Of course, they deserve it. I mean, what would you do when people responsible for passenger safety report safety concerns to federal regulators? Either you can fix a problem or you can sue. Since the pilot is obviously a proud American, he chose the latter course. And, he’s now proving his patriotism by messing with the media.

America West Flight 851 was about to leave Calgary, Alberta back in 2003. The flight attendants were worried about frost on the wings, but the pilots saw no need to de-ice before take-off. Eventually, the guys at the front of the plane gave in, but the flight attendants were worried enough by the incident to report it to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Looking back on the crash in Buffalo a little over a week ago, this looks like a decent idea.

First Officer Ed Gannon didn’t see it that way, even after he was cleared by the FAA (which offered to pick up the tab for some of his legal fees).

Now, I am somewhat sympathetic to Gannon (sorry, Heather). I’m not plane-savvy enough to know if the FAs had a good point or if they were intruding on the pilot’s turf. Even though the FAA cleared the guy, he still had his life at least inconvenienced by the flight attendants. And, let’s be realistic. Being sued is not something you can just brush off.

Assume you feel you’ve done nothing wrong, and you have to spend thousands of dollars to make that point. Yeah, you’d be pissed. You’d want a bit of payback.
If Gannon wanted to make a point, filing the suit was enough. The fact that the judge tossed out some of his arguments (including “infliction of emotional distress”) suggests that he shouldn’t push too hard (the defamation bit is still in play). Instead, however, he’s upping the ante.

The seemingly wronged pilot has subpoenaed reporters’ notes from the Phoenix New Times, not to mention any documents supplied by the flight attendants who are being sued. Gannon has also gone after the FAs’ blog, hunting for information about the people who have posted comments on the site.

Imagine getting a call from a lawyer because you posted a comment on this story … scary, isn’t it?

Gannon’s made his point. It’s time for him to put all this in the past (hell, it happened six years ago). If you feel strongly about this, consider a contribution to the FAs’ legal defense fund.

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Another passenger pulled off plane after booze fueled fight

by Scott Carmichael on

And here we go again – once again, a passenger decided that being cut off from drinking more booze was not such a good idea, and decided to start a fight.

Russel Krebs, a 6’3″ 200 pound passenger was on his way to Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International airport on a Comair flight when the crew decided that he’d had enough to drink. At that point the real trouble started.

An off-duty pilot and one of the flight attendants were able to get him in plastic cuffs until the plane landed. Normally a situation like this would mean the cops wait until the plane is at the gate, but in this case, they actually met the plane on the runway to remove Krebs.

I’m not sure how stupid one has to be to start a fight in an aircraft cabin, especially with the knowledge that you may be on the same flight as a federal air marshal.

Krebs is currently locked away, and the FBI is investigating whether to press federal chargers. In that case, a few drinks and a couple of punches could mean he’ll be locked away for a pretty long time. Of course, things don’t get easier for him since the police discovered “a controlled substance” which will only add to the charges.

(Via: WCPO Cincinnati)

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Next upgrade for the A380: Bunk Beds?

by Grant Martin on

With so much space in the Airbus A380, there really is no limit on what you can design and build into the aircraft. Sure, you’re going to want to cram as many people as possible into Economy seating, but in Business and First Class, you can let the extravagancies seep in. Emirates’ version has showers. Singapore’s has double beds. Lufthansa envisions an aircraft with conference rooms and bedrooms. You get the idea.

The next upgrade? Bunk beds. As the airline industry tries to carve out a Premium Economy market, one concept that Airbus is exploring is the possibility of using stacked beds to utilize space better while still offering a lie flat experience. The beds would be smaller than a premium lie-flat seat, but would cost a fraction of the price.

Airbus is still toying with the concept of integrating the beds, so it may be some time before you’re able to bunk up with your best mate on the way out to Australia, but if the idea pans out, we’ll be the first to test drive it.

Commuter plane crashed on way to Nome and all safe

by Jamie Rhein on

Last night a Frontier Flying Service plane heading to Nome, Alaska from Brevig Mission went down with a pilot and five passengers. Although the story is not as fantastical as the Hudson River landing, I imagine the sentiments of those on board are similar, particularly with the news of the crash near Buffalo still so recent.

According to this Anchorage Daily News article sent our way by Matt, a Gadling reader, the pilot guided the plane into a safe crash landing then set off the emergency locator beacon to help rescue teams locate the plane. Only one person suffered a bump on the head.

When the plane didn’t arrive on time after the pilot lost contact with the tower, officials knew something was wrong. The Piper PA-31-350 was found seven miles from Nome by rescuers on snow machines. The plane crash is under investigation, and it’s unclear what happened to cause the crash.

Reading the story reminded me of the harrowing tales my husband has told about flying to fish camp in Alaska. He had a couple of flights where his heart ended up in his throat, so to speak. No crashes, though–just some dips and turns he could have done without. [The photo is of a Piper Chieftain with Golden Eagle Airlines in Australia.]