Fly SMINTair: Smokers International Airline

by Justin Glow on

Last year we reported on a new airline trying to take to the skies called SMINTair. Everyone knows that for an airline to succeed nowadays they need to have some sort of angle: budget, luxury, high-tech, or in the case of SMINTair: cigarette smoke.

Aside from offering to “treat its passengers like the guest of an international Grand Hotel,” SMINTair will allow all paying customers to suck on a smooth, refreshing boomstick while en route to their destination. “Can you imagine the air in that plane after 12 hours? And your bloodshot eyes and stinky clothes?” Neil wrote in our earlier coverage. Turns out SMINTair has already thought of this.

“Non-smokers will find the cabin air more refreshing than on any other flight with any other airline, as SMINTAIR adds fresh outside air to the conditioning system!” their website reads. Not all is peachy, however. “This is more expensive, as it burns more fuel, but it is seen as an additional service to our guests.”

Now they’ve got the anti-smoking advocates and the environmentalists on their back. Not a good move. But according to Globorati, the airline “has now scored daily slots at Dusseldorf airport,” which means, I guess, that they’re at least one step closer to actually flying.

Regulations for Traveling with Needles

by Jamie Rhein on

I keep thinking about that syringe/hypodermic needle combo under my 5 year-old’s airplane seat. The one I mentioned in a previous post. Sure, the package was still intact, but whoever used it didn’t listen to the Skybus folks when they said, “Please, hand us any trash so we can throw it out.” And they ask often–so it’s not that the opportunity wasn’t there. I was asked a couple of times if I wanted to throw out my styrofoam tea cup, but since I was in the mood for refills, it took me awhile to give it up.

One of the ways Skybus keeps its costs low is by everybody pitching in to help. If you’re a passenger, part of the courtesy is to help throw out the trash. During our flights to and from Bellingham, the crew went through the cabin several times with garbage bags asking people to pitch in by pitching out. The requests were made with smiles and reminders that one of the ways to keep costs low and the planes running on schedule is if the trash is not left behind when the passengers leave. The planes are not at the gate all that long for a detailed cleaning either. Passengers get off. Passengers get on and the plane heads out once more. It’s a smooth system for the most part–but stuff can be missed.

The syringe packaging and the vial in the seat pocket told me that the person had to have injected him or herself while still seated. The vial was a teeny, tiny thing. So was the one that I found on the floor under the seat. The flight attendant was aghast when I handed everything over and then mentioned that the crew knew a person with diabetes was on board. If people are traveling with hypodermic needles, according to the regulations, they are supposed to let the airlines know and have documentation that says they are to have it. I’ve been interested in the rules about hypodermic needles since there are rules for so many other things. There doesn’t seem to be any other rules posted for what to do with the needles once they are on board and I’ve been looking. I did come across this post about hypodermic needles on a flight to Helsinki and Qantas Airlines has more detailed information.

It would be easy for a hypodermic needle to fall out of a purse or tumble out of a backpack when it’s slid under a seat for take off or landing. And it must be hell to try to do an injection without a lot of leg room, but I sure wish the person had done a quick check before heading off the plane. Then again, it’s easy to leave stuff behind when you’re feeling bleary-eyed and rushed, and without a lot of elbow or leg room for searching for items that may have scattered.

Oh, when our hand cleaner was confiscated at security screening, I asked if I could use another dab. Not that my hands were dirty, but I hate to waste stuff. Nope, that was a little too dangerous. The TSA person said the only way I could use it again was if I passed back through security to the terminal.

World Airline Awards: The Best Airlines of 2007

by Neil Woodburn on

Every year at about this time, SKYTRAX–a privately owned British company–releases information gleamed from some 14 million surveys filled out by more than 90 nationalities. The surveys rank every aspect of air travel and the result is the World Airline Awards.

2007 didn’t bring too many surprises; the regular suspects are all at the top of the list like they always are. I was interested to learn, however, that Australian based Jetstar Airways–an airline I’ve never heard of before–beat out some serious competition for the best low-cost airline. I’m certainly going to check them out.

The winners of other major categories are listed below. Click on any link to find out which other airlines finished in the Top Ten.

Airline of the Year: Singapore Airlines
Best Cabin Staff: Malaysia Airlines
Best Catering: Gulf Air
Best In-Flight-Entertainment: Emirates
Best Lounges (First Class): Thai Airways – BKK
Best Low-cost Airline: Jetstar Airways
Best First Class: Qatar Airways
Best Business Class: Singapore Airlines
Best Economy Class: Korean Air

Snakes on a Plane — Almost

by Catherine Bodry on

The campy movie “Snakes on a Plane” played up a common phobia of many people — that’s right; snakes. But it was just a movie, right? Surely with modern airport security no one could get on a plane with a suitcase full of reptiles, right?

Right — so far. But a 22-year-old Saudi passenger in Cairo, Egypt made it all the way to his departure gate before officials stopped him to check his suspect suitcase. Inside, they found baby crocodiles, chameleons, and several snakes, including “at least one cobra, squirming to escape.” The man claimed not to know about any rules disallowing reptiles, and that he was transporting them to a Saudi university for research.

In May, another Saudi was caught at the airport with 700 live snakes in his carry-on luggage.

Samuel L. Jackson, this is not a dress rehearsal.

New Air Passenger Screening: Round 3

by Catherine Bodry on

The U.S. is finally figuring out how to screen flight passengers without compromising the privacy of its citizens. The Associated Press reports that a “new” and simpler program, called “Secure Flight,” was introduced recently to improve security and keep terrorists off airplanes.

The solution? Passengers must give their full names when booking a flight, whether it be online or by phone. Not only that, but they are also asked to agree to a confirmation of their age and gender in order to reduce the chance of a false match with names on the watch lists.

Hasn’t this always happened? Not only do I give my full name when I book a flight, I also show my i.d. a bazillion times as I check my bags, pass security, and board my flight. But according to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, airlines are passing along their manifests after flights have left, rendering a lot of those i.d.-checking measures a waste of time.

It makes me wonder — if asking for my name, gender, and birth date when I fly is a “new” security tactic, what were the old tactics? If these measures are “simpler,” what other measures will they do away with? With all the flight delays happening, it would be nice not to spend an hour in a security line. But I have little hope of this happening any time soon.