Flying courier: can it still be done?

by Grant Martin on

Every so often, the wayward adventure traveler still asks me whether or not its possible to fly courier. That is, a company pays for your plane ticket and you transport an article for them as your checked luggage. They save on shipping and you get to fly somewhere. If you’ve ever seen EuroTrip you know what I mean.

The topic has been discussed ad nauseum across several travel forums, but I’ve never seen a consolidated post about why it’s implausible. Yes, implausible. In fact, damn near impossible. Our friends over at Airfarewatchdog.com have created a very comprehensive post on the topic discussing the fabled fares out there and the companies that claim to deal in them these days.

Fact of the matter is that these days the market is too competitive (both in the airline and the shipping sectors) to support any sort of margin for courier fares. Couple that with added security measures in the last few years and it’s best to just keep an eye out for travel deals. Luckily you have people like George and me for that.

Crazy budget airline names

by Abha Malpani on


What’s in a name? Nothing really, it’s just a name but I wanted to share some cheap thrill budget airline names with you guys:

– Wizz Air: Hungarian Airline (in Britain you want to pee when you go for a wizz :)
– Flybaboo: Has the tagline “A breath of Swiss air” hehe.
– One-Two-Go: The domestic wing of Orient-Thai Airlines.
– Spice Jet: Low cost domestic Indian airline. Well, India and spice can be synonyms, so it’s actually quite a valid name.
– Allegiant Air: Ironically it’s a Las Vegas based carrier, that also allows cats and dogs on board. (I didn’t think any airline allowed that. Are there more?)
– Tiger Airways: Asia-Pacific budget airline based out of Australia that seems to be a roaring success.
– Fly-For-Beans: Not in air yet, but the name is great! It’s planned to be an airline for Europe, and with that name I’m sure it’s based out of Britain.
– Spirit Air: Flies to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Latin America.
– BWIA West Indies Airways: That stands for “British West Indian Airways West Indies Airways”, haha. (I don’t think that’s meant to be funny. It’s probably one of those errors that is so deep-seated, there’s no point fixing it anymore).
–Garuda Airlines: It’s an Indonesian airline, and ‘garuda’ is a Hindu/Buddhist mythological bird. Interesting as majority of Indonesia is muslim.

I remember when Virgin Airlines launched ages ago (now Virgin Atlantic) — I found its name cool and innovative; guess it’s way behind on that front now!

[Via News.com]

When flight crews drink on the job

by Catherine Bodry on

You can view a video on YouTube of a Delta flight attendant being removed and booked for on-the-job intoxication. Neil provided a video of drunken flight attendants making out on a flight in Russia. So how common is it for flight crews to imbibe on the clock?

Despite the recent media coverage, it’s not common at all (you can breathe that sigh of relief now). Travel columnist James Wysong, who also works as a flight attendant, examined the tendency of airline employees to hit the bottle while on duty. While the traveling life might be conducive to partying, Wysong discovered that for the most part employees are keeping their partying on terra firma.

Wysong discusses the looser rules of the past, when a flight attendant he knew began her nine-hour flight with two fingers of scotch, and pilots arrived to work with alcohol on their breath. But now flight crews are randomly tested (he’s been tested three times in the past two years) and the ramifications are severe if caught.

So you can relax on your next flight. And if you find that you can’t relax, well, passengers are certainly allowed to imbibe!

[via Msnbc]

Airport woes from New York Magazine

by Grant Martin on

This week’s New York Magazine covers the growing fiasco of air travel, from congested skies to travel tips to new developments in the industry — all centered around the New York co-terminals, LGA, JFK and EWR (or NYC if you’re in a hurry).

Headlining the feature is an article by Michael Idov, called Gridlock at 30,000 feet, which is an excellent (albeit sobering) look at the volume versus capacity of the New York airports and its deleterious result on traffic across the country. Indeed, it states that “75 percent of delays around the country originate in New York”

Idov does say that there are a variety of solutions and technologies in the works to alleviate the problem. But don’t plan on anything coming soon; the bureaucratic jungle awaits any changes to the flight plans or antiquated air traffic control system, hampering any improvement with red tape.

As always, when flying into New York its best to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Make sure you have plenty of time to connect or make your dinner reservations. From a personal standpoint, I flew American Airlines twice this weekend in and out of LGA. Both flights were late by almost an hour.

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British Airways 747 with broken wing tip flies on

by Grant Martin on

I don’t know how comfortable I would feel looking out my window and seeing the wingtip torn off of my airplane, but British Airways seemed to think that nobody would mind. Apparently, while the B747 was waiting on the tarmac in London a couple of weeks ago, a Sri Lankan Airlines A340 snuck up from behind and sliced off the tip as it was passing. After the BA flight was canceled and the flight postponed to the next day, rebooked travelers were surprised to discover that they were getting on the exact same plane. The British Daily Mail reports that a half dozen passengers subsequently threw a fit and refused to fly.

From a functional standpoint, I suppose the wing tips aren’t really necessary to keep the plane in the sky; as the airline pointed out, they’re purely for aerodynamic reasons to reduce drag. But the visceral feeling of dread when you see your wing torn off can easily overcome logic. While I personally would not have gotten off the plane, I would definitely be on the edge of my seat for the entire flight.