Remember that New York Magazine cover by Ryu Ho-Yeol showing the departure of a score of aircraft from a German runway? It’s actually a composite image stitching all of the aircraft together, and we’ve now the same thing in video format.
Over the Black Friday weekend, filmmaker Cy Kuckenbaker captured every single aircraft landing on one runway at San Diego International airport and merged them into one composite piece of film. It’s an impressive task when you consider the moving background and the number of clips involved. Take a look at the impressive shot above.
Legroom in coach continues to be a big issue with air travelers who would love to stretch out like those lucky people in first class. Side-to-side room is also of interest as those flying on airlines without assigned seating hope no one sits next to them. Now, one airline has a way to make it all better.
“Main Cabin Extra makes travel more comfortable by providing you with 4 to 6 inches of additional legroom and Group 1 boarding,” said an email I received from American Airlines encouraging me to pay a bit more for coach seats. That’s an extra fee they don’t have to talk me into either. On American Airlines 767-300, 757 and 777-300ER aircraft I have paid as little as $9 for the pleasure.
Added on up until the airport check-in cut-off time, prices range between $8 and $118 per flight and can be purchased when checking in for a flight through airport self-service machines, AA Reservations, and through select travel agencies.
Different airlines call it by a different name but it all adds up the same: more space.
Ask me to pay $20 for checking a bag (or up to $150 for an overweight bag), $50-$150 per ticket to make a change in plans or any one of a score of other fees and I simply won’t do it. Tell me I can stretch out for a few dollars and I am all for it.
“Airlines aren’t chasing volume anymore, they’re chasing the bottom line,” explains Mike Boyd, chairman of Boyd Group International, an Aviation consulting firm in Evergreen, Colorado, in a Fox News report.
Indeed, holiday airfare shoppers already know that the number of flights is down as airlines choose to fly full planes that generate more profit. Not all that long ago, three classes of seating were available and clearly defined. At the top was first class, followed by business class, then economy coach seating. Today, premium economy is coming more into focus as one of the best travel values available.
“Part of this is this premium economy thing. Business class has become the battleground,” added Boyd. “That went up and up in terms of perks but has become too expensive, so now we’ve gone back to introducing another class – we’ve gone full circle. And internationally, premium economy is what business class was 20 years ago.”
Personally, it surprises me that more travelers don’t choose this inexpensive travel option. There are a limited number of exit row or expanded economy seats available but I almost always find one for a small fee when checking in for a flight.
Another steal, perhaps the gold ring of travel values, is same-day upgrades to first class on the day of departure. Domestic flights are commonly $50 more; international flight upgrades to first class (complete with bragging rights that define one as a savvy air buyer) can be a couple hundred.
An anonymous woman who said she is a 22-year-old flight attendant for a major airline urged Reddit users to ask her anything in an open forum over the weekend. The candid Q&A session turned into a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a flight attendant, including a tell all on the weird things passengers ask for, a discussion on how many people really try to join the mile high club and a confession about the kind of shenanigans that really happen between lonely crew members at outposts. Keep reading to learn more about the ups and downs of the job, including why you should be nice while on board a plane. Just be warned this post is most definitely NSFW (not safe for work).
Q: What is the most crazy request you have been asked by a passenger?
A: Crazy? Goodness.
A bag to spit in. I had to confirm several times the word spit
A lady with a neck brace “I need soft food I will have rice” (The menu items did not include rice even after explaining she kept ordering things that just didn’t exist)
Hot fried chips
Nappies
Ice cream
My number
On a Lagos flight a passenger told me he wanted to masturbate. I directed him to the on board toilet.
If it exists a passenger has asked me for it. They ask for EVERYTHING.
Q: What is the best thing about being a flight attendant?
A: Best thing? I feel obvious but new destinations, I get a small taste of EVERYTHING I love it so much, I get to see smell and taste so much. I meet friends all over the world and party like a rockstar everywhere I go because I know I wont be there for long.
Q: What is the pay like? Besides being able to travel all over the world, are there any other benefits, either monetary or otherwise?
A: About 38k US a year, free rent transport and bills, all I pay is internet and taxi. 90% off tickets.
Q: Are there as many people joining the mile high club in the bathroom as television portrays it?
A: Yes people try to join the mile high club. Let me tell you something, those toilets are FILTHY. Absolute FILTH. People shit in the sinks.
Moving on, I caught a lesbian couple in the toilets we had to get three crew to bang open the door and make them come out. She responded with[,] “We were trying to piss[.]”
A crew was fired for getting drunk while she was a passenger flying somewhere and joining a gentleman in the lavatory.
A women had TWO men going at it on a flight from Manchester. Crew opened the door on them and the female tried to assault the crew. When the men went to their connecting flight they were arrested. Not sure what happened to them!
Q: Do people really get bumped to first class if there is a conflict with another passenger?
A: With the question of bumping people yes we move people but generally not for conflict. A month ago on one of my flights economy was full and this gentleman had changed seats several times to accommodate couples, families etc who needed to change seats. He didnt care where he sat and was so gracious. So we moved him to business class. Lesson, be nice!
If you are ill (severely) you will usually be moved to business or first if there aren’t many people in those cabins to recuperate and lie down at the discretion of the seniors.
Q: What’s something a passenger has done that you’ve really appreciated, or was just really nice?
A: I’ve had passengers write comment cards about me, they get given to me via emails from my manager, which is so nice … i love them[.]
Q: When do you plan on settling down? This job doesn’t seem like the type where you can keep a stable relationship.
A: I know :( I hope it’s around 25 … I am 22 now and I love the job so I think two or so more years before I move back home and find love … I will never find a stable relationship in the industry, it is unstable. I want a stable relationship but I wont find it here[.]
Q: Since you fly so much, do you happen to have any sexual urges while in a different country? Do you get off to hooking up with passengers or do you go somewhere to get some?
A: Yep! I um see friends in outstations. I have had some encounters in Hong Kong and I have a few ‘friends’ in Dubai. It’s really hard and you get really lonely so you look for any guy to meet you after flights. All the crew sleep with each other in outstation. It’s a big problem, the cabin crew are desperate to sleep with pilots and senior crew. You have crew call you in the middle of the night in your room, especially pilots!
Q: How long do you stay in each city?
A: Usually 24-72 hours[.]
Q: What’s your favourite city in the world?
A: I cannot name one but I will try to do it region wise
4) Melbourne, Australia (Diverse, charming filled with character)
I find some redeeming quality in every city I visit.
Q: What are your thoughts on flight etiquette (e.g. when it’s okay to put your seat all the way back). Is there a classic faux pas we should know about?
A: Seat back if your legs are too long and when not eating. During the meal seats up and if you’re short, it’s not really necessarily. But otherwise seats up for everyone when eating, you can do whatever you want after service.
Q: I’d like to be a flight attendant to see what it’s like to travel and interact. Would I have to go through an exorbitant amount of training before I can work?
A: I did 7 weeks! So worth it… I felt so ready. The training is hard but it paid [off] for me[.]
Q: How do you adjust being in the air so often, and with different time zones and all that? When I fly from the US to Singapore, by the time of the end of the trip I want to actually throw up. Air gets so thin, and the airline food is pretty bad even on Singapore Airlines. I literally need to have a can of sprite when flying on long flights next to me once every hour, slowly sipping until the soda is done to keep sane.
A: You never really adjust. I just did three middle of the night flights and I can’t stay awake in the day, so I have been nocturnal for a week. Some things that I do to keep myself sane is as soon as I get on board I get a bottle of 1.5L water and make myself drink it all. Then I brew a big pot of mint tea after the service and make myself drink that throughout the flight too. Keeping hydrated is valuable to my sanity and mood. We have one trip that is four days long and you have 24 hours in each port but the whole flights are nighttime only. It is TORTURE. Key points 1) Stay hydrated 2) Stay rested (sleep whenever you are tired) 3) Eat smart (this means no business class cheese boards or first class caviar, stick to fresh food only) For me eating right is the hardest, you’re so tired you just want to SHOVE chocolate in your mouth. If I follow the above I am totally fine on board. On flights over 10 hours or so we get rest (sleep) in the crew bunks[.]
Q: What airline/flight benefits or perks do you get as a result of your job?
A: 90% [Off] Flights
Hotel discounts
Event discounts
Free tickets to events
For more adventures in the sky, be sure to follow our resident flight attendant, Heather Poole, in her “Galley Gossip” column.
Please note: These questions and answers have been edited slightly to fit an interview format.
I’m not an anti-social traveler. In fact, I love to meet new people when I’m traveling. But when I find myself sitting on an airplane with the seat next to me open, I tend to get a little nervous wondering who is going to come and occupy the middle seat next to me.
On most airlines, I feel OK about looking to see who is coming down the aisle, because if they’re assigned to the seat next to me, they’re going to sit there, whether they like the looks of me or not. But when I fly Southwest, and other airlines that have open seating, I find myself strategizing on how best to preserve my extra space.
On a short flight, the stakes are low, but on a long flight, the difference between having an open seat next to you and having a size XXL traveler plop down beside you can be huge. And in fairness, it isn’t just large people you don’t want next to you. The overly chatty, the obnoxious, and the malodorous can be even worse. On Thursday, I traveled on Southwest from Chicago to Los Angeles, a 4.5-hour flight (if it’s on time), and, with most of the passengers already on board, I still had an open middle seat next to my aisle.
I know it’s horrible and selfish, but as the few remaining stragglers made their way down the aisle, a small voice inside me was pleading, please, please, please don’t sit next to me. My brain quickly ran through the different strategies that one might employ in order to preserve the extra space.
Spread Your Stuff Out
It rarely works, but who hasn’t put their reading material or other stuff on the seat next to them to make it seem as though the seat might be occupied? Admit it, you’ve done this before.
Make The Center Seat Seem Even Smaller Than It is
Put the armrest up, spread your legs out and make that center seat look as small and unappealing as possible.
Look Busy
It’s a longshot, but if you’re working on a laptop positioned on the tray table, some passersby might be so polite that they’ll chose another middle seat rather than make you get up and reposition with a computer in tow. (Or you can talk on the phone, but I’ve never stooped to that level because it’s an annoyance to everyone in the vicinity.)
Look Crazy
There are plenty of different ways to do this – you can stare, you can let your eyes roll around towards the back of your head, let your tongue hang out of your mouth, drool a bit perhaps. Just watch “One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest” if you need some suggestions. If you really want to take this one the extra mile, wear a T-shirt with an aggressively anti-social slogan on it. Something like, “I worship Satan” might do the trick.
Give Off God Vibes
Have a bible out and before the person even asks if the seat next to you is free, ask them if they’ve accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ as Their Savior.
Give Off Skunky Vibes
You probably don’t want to avoid showering for days before your flight but you can carry a bag with some smelly cheese, durian or some other food that smells awful.
Carry Depends or Have a Barf Bag Cocked and Ready to Go
Would you sit next to someone that had a box of Depends undergarments on their lap? What about someone who was hyperventilating and clutching a barf bag?
Gangsta-rap or Richard Marx at Full Blast
I guarantee you that if you are blasting Richard Marx’s “I Will Be Right Here Waiting For You” or NWA’s “F**ck the Police” into a pair of oversized headphones, people will think twice about sidling up next to you. 2 Live Cru’s “Me So Horny” Or the Devinyl’s “I Touch Myself” could work for most men, but might serve the opposite purpose if women try it.
Court A Skinny Passerby
If it’s a relatively full flight and I’m resigned to the fact that someone is going to sit next to me, I might make the effort to smile at people that I think would make good seat mates. Sometimes, if they’re looking at the seat next to me, I’ll go one step further and invite them to sit down. Alternately, when I see someone who I really do not want to sit next to me coming down the aisle, my heart starts beating faster and I begin to employ any and all of the tactics mentioned above.
Sometimes I’ve already spotted people I don’t want to sit next to before I’ve even boarded the flight, such as the individual in the photo at the top of this post, who I encountered on Thursday. It wasn’t just the fact that he was quite large but also the fact that he looked like he might break my neck or cast some kind of satanic curse on me if I happened to brush his elbow by accident. When I saw him sit in a middle seat next to someone a few rows in front of me, I was ready to pop open a bottle of Champagne. I’m sure he’s a great guy but I just didn’t want to sit next to him (sue me).
Don’t Make Eye Contact
This was the tactic I tried on my recent Southwest flight. My head was buried in a newspaper, even though I was too nervous about who was going to sit next to me to do anything more than run my eyes across the words without really digesting what was on the page.
On this occasion, the tactic didn’t work. I heard a voice ask if the seat next to me was occupied and I looked up to see, who else but an attractive and petite woman of perhaps 25. An ideal seat mate if there ever was one. The truth is that I enjoyed chatting with her and the woman in the window seat and the trip was, in fact, a good reminder that trying to repel people isn’t always the best idea.
[Photo credits: Dave Seminara and Skley on Flickr]
During Air Force Week earlier this year, the team at Gadling Labs was invited out to witness a demonstration of the KC-10 Extender refueling four F-15 aircraft over the open sky just off the coast of Cape Cod.
We took a morning Air Train to meet the departing crew out of New York’s JFK Airport. Manned by a crew of nearly a dozen, the Extender’s mission is to refuel aircraft in flight, but their hospitality and attitudes on this day were just as awe inspiring. It was a great trip, and we’re thankful to the folks in the Air Force who invited us along on their journey.
