Bad fuel pumps ground Singapore Air’s A380s

by Grant Martin on

It looks like the commercial Airbus A380s have hit their first snag. Singapore Airlines (SQ) announced today that it had to ground it’s only operational super jumbo because of an issue with the fuel pumps. Luckily the problem was detected while the aircraft was on the ground prior to departure and not sometime during transit.

SQ’s other A380 wasn’t rotated into the schedule because it was “undergoing maintenance.” No mention on this CNN article as to what that maintenance was, or whether or not it was related to the fuel pump.

As those in the know point out, however, what do you expect? With a new aircraft, new pilots and limited flight hours things are going to go wrong. It’s a good thing that enough checks are in place to rout out problems on the ground before they manifest in the skies.

What’s your preferred seat position?

by Grant Martin on

I’m curious as to what people consider an appropriate position for their seat while they are cruising America’s skies. I’ve always been in the school of thought that I don’t want to encroach on the space of the person behind me. From personal experience, I know that working on a laptop is next to impossible with a reclined seat in front of you. Even reading the newspaper or anything on your lap can be really difficult.

What I’ve found so far is that people are sorely divided on the topic. Some people don’t feel the least bit awkward about leaning back into the next seat – others refuse to recline out of respect for the person behind.

I don’t mean to say that anyone who reclines their seat back on an airplane is a terrible person and hates the person behind them. What I’m most curious about though is what space you prefer: the space you recline into or the space that the person in front of you doesn’t recline into. What do you think?

%Poll-9953%

Alert! Dallas and Los Angeles to Hawaii for under $200!

by Grant Martin on

Doing anything March1? A secret/mistake fare on American Airlines and United just popped up where you can get a ticket from Dallas or Los Angeles to Hawaii from March 1st to the 3rd or 4th for just under $200.

Run a flex search on Kayak or Travelocity around those dates and it’ll come up, but you’ve got to hurry — this fare definitely won’t last long.

Both United and American have 24 hour cancellation policies, so if there’s any question, book now and ask questions later.

Aloha!

The biggest plane ever built

by Jerry Guo on

I just saw The Aviator, director Martin Scorsese’s 2004 blockbuster with Leonardo DiCaprio as aviation tycoon Howard Hughes.

It’s a pretty entertaining movie that really gives you a glimpse into the airline industry’s early days–when Pan-American was pretty much the only business in town. The story does feel a little dragged out and pretty early on, you already get the picture that Hughes is a bit of a nut.

One of the more relevant part is his development of the “Spruce Goose”, or more properly, “The Hercule”, quite frankly the world’s largest airplane ever built. At five stories and more than a football field in wingspan, this wooden plane (that’s right, it was made from wood because aluminum was too scarce during WWII) still beats out the Airbus A380 in size.

So the next time you’re on an Airbus, or even a Boeing 747, imagine if that whole thing was made out of wood–and made fifty years earlier.

Here’s a great graphical comparison.

Virgin Atlantic Flyers: Get free Silver status with your Amex

by Grant Martin on

You’ve probably heard me preach about the virtues of elite status when flying around the world: shorter security lines, first class upgrades, lounge membership and free drinks await those willing (or forced) to spend extra time in the skies.

It takes a fair amount of work to achieve status though — more time than the average bear has. Unless you can find a shortcut, that is. Luckily, we have American Express to sponsor that shortcut. They’ve teamed up with Virgin Atlantic to offer free Silver Status to anyone joining Virgin’s Flying club.

And what are the perks? Well for one you get an extra free 25% miles per flight. That means your typical transatlantic 3500 mile hop between New York and London will net you 4375 miles — 875 miles closer to a free ticket. You’ll also get complimentary single First Class upgrade vouchers for the Gatwick & Heathrow express trains. Full benefits can be found at Virgin Atlantic’s website here.

Another thing to keep in mind is that miles you earn on Virgin you can credit to other airlines. So just because you don’t have an account with them you can always open one up and funnel the miles to Continental or Delta. Check out the partner airlines under the “Flying Club Partners” link.

Ready to get started? Follow this link.