Nepal Airlines Officials Sacrifice Goats to Appease Sky Gods

by Martha Edwards on

The driving forces behind Nepal’s national state-run airline have found a novel way to fix a technical problem with their airplanes — they’ve sacrificed goats to appeal to the Hindu ‘sky god’, Akash Bhairab. Sacrificing animals is an ancient tradition that seems to have resisted modern logic, at least in some part of Asia, and in this case, the practice was used to fix and electrical problem in a Boeing 757. And it might sound like a strange way to fix a mechanical issue, but here’s what’s even stranger: it worked.

Still, the whole idea of sacrificing goats to appease the sky gods doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in skeptics like myself. Luckily, I don’t think I’ll be taking Nepal Airlines anytime soon.

Sleeping Girl Cam and Big Sheepdogs on Planes

by Neil Woodburn on

Budget airlines are notorious for the things that they don’t offer. Their stripped-down version of air travel is one that provides a seat and little else. And that’s why it’s so frickin’ cheap!

But even budget airlines have to find ways to differentiate themselves from other budget airlines to win your business. Midwest Airlines, for example, is now offering a service in which a camera is trained on the hottest girl on the plane. The moment she falls asleep, her image is broadcast across the plane’s closed circuit television so that everyone can watch her snooze.

Not to be outdone, Spirit Airlines is now putting a “big, friendly sheep dog” on every plane so that passengers can have a bit of fun playing fetch as they’re flying over the Midwest.

Okay, ya got me. These aren’t real amenities. But they are two examples from a rather funny Onion article, Budget Airline Perks. Pop on over for a good read.

(Thanks, Marilyn!)

Southwest Airlines Imposes Dress Code on Passenger

by Catherine Bodry on

If you’re flying the “family” airline Southwest, you’d best stick to your Sunday church-going clothes rather than your Saturday night clubbing duds.

Kyla Ebbert found this rule out the hard way: she was asked to leave a flight before it departed because the flight attendants felt her attire was too revealing. Ebbert adjusted her outfit to meet the flight attendants’ standards, and was allowed to stay on board. On her return flight, however, she wore the same outfit — and not only did no one ask her to change, but one flight attendant actually complimented her on it.

Ebbert didn’t disclose how much her outfit revealed, but she acknowledged that it was “sexy,” consisting of a low-cut, tight shirt and a short skirt. Nothing was exposed that shouldn’t have been, she claimed.

Southwest Airlines has no formal dress code, and it’s obvious that Ebbert may sue. What do you think should happen?

Read the full article here.

A Look Inside the New Airbus A380

by Justin Glow on

Korean Air is the proud new owner of the quad-engine, double-decked monstrosity that is the Airbus A380. This thing is so big, and so luxurious — even the bathroom has a window! That’s how you know when you’re flying in the most technologically advanced airplane on the planet. A demonstration flight was conducted in Seoul, Korea, and Aving.net was there to capture the lavish innards. Check out the gallery below — I wonder how much it’ll cost to fly in this thing?

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Bangkok Balloon Protest Endangers Airport Today

by Neil Woodburn on

If you’re flying out of Bangkok today, be very, very careful.

Residents living near Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi airport have threatened to release a wave of balloons into the air to disrupt flights today.

The source of this dangerous protest is the airport itself. Villagers living nearby have complained bitterly to authorities about the horrific noise pollution which has destroyed their otherwise bucolic lifestyle since the airport opened a year ago. The airport authorities responded to their complaints with gifts of earplugs and sleeping pills. This, as you might imagine, hardly placated the airport’s angry neighbors. What they really want is some financial retribution so they could move to quieter environs far away from the jumbo jets.

So far, the government isn’t willing to concede to this demand and as a result, the airport is facing the balloon protest today. Let’s just hope that none of the balloons cause a plane to crash into one of the local villages. That would be ironic, wouldn’t it?