Yesterday the much anticipated Airbus A380 made a landing at LAX, and the Cranky Flier has some great coverage on the event. He’s got almost 70 photos, video of the landing (which you can see here after the jump) and a good recap of the invite-only welcoming event. It’s really unbelevable how large this plane is. And this isn’t the first time we’ve talked about the A380 here at Gadling. Be sure and check out the archive for complete coverage of the plane leading up to its landing yesterday.
Man Uses Air Sickness Bag as Mini-Urinal
James Whipple was an ordinary air traveler in Boise, Idaho on March 7th. He trudged through airport security, drank two beers at the airport bar, and boarded his plane for Salt Lake City. Though, the beer — as it is wont to do — coursed through his system and was ready for expulsion mid-flight. This normally wouldn’t be a problem except the restroom was labeled out-of-order… and there’s the rub.
The captain decided to keep the restroom closed for the one-hour trip because of a broken light. Whipple pleaded with the flight attendants to let him relieve his bladder, but the crew refused his requests to use the commode. So, with some MacGuyver-esque inspiration, Whipple grabbed an air sickness bag and urinated into it without alerting his fellow passengers.
A flight attendant noticed the bulging bag and notified the airport police while in-flight. Whipple answered a few questions upon landing, but was sent on his way. SkyWest corporate learned of the incident and formally apologized to the put-off passenger with a flight voucher. They added that the light would have been fixed before take-off, but the airline didn’t want to delay its passengers.
China to Compete With Boeing and Airbus
By announcing plans to build a plane that can carry more than 150 people, China has officially become a competitor of Boeing and Airbus. The larger jets won’t be finished until 2020 at the earliest, but the China Aviation Industry Corporation has already started building a smaller, regional plane that can carry up to 105 people.
Increased wealth in China has made flying a more viable means of travel for it’s citizens. In light of the air travel boom, the country will need to purchase an estimated 2,230 planes before 2025. Thus, according to the State Council, China’s firms are committed to constructing an “internationally competitive product” that can take a share of the market.
With mass production on the mid-size ARJ-21 regional jet set to begin later this year, it sounds like it won’t be long before you’ll be flying on Chinese-built planes when you travel within the country.
Flying First Class With a Corpse
So you’re an flight attendant, and one of your passengers dies while flying from Delhi to Heathrow. What do you do?
If you work for British airways, you escort the dead woman and her daughter to first class, strap in the corpse, and wait out the rest of the flight — without telling anyone why the woman in front won’t stop wailing in grief.
They propped up her body using pillows.
According to the man sitting next to the deceased, “I didn’t have a clue what was going on. She kept slipping under the seatbelt and moving about with the motion of the plane.”
After the woman was joined by her grieving daughter and son-in-law, the man adds: “It was terrifying. I put my earplugs in but couldn’t get away from the fact that there was a woman wailing at the top of her voice just yards away.”
It was only after asking for an explanation from BA staff that he was informed the woman was dead.
Apparently this happens about 10 times a year. While other airlines have “corpse cupboards” to use when there isn’t an empty row of seats for the body, BA’s response, is essentially: the plane was full, so deal with it.
A first class ticket from Delhi to Heathrow on British Airways costs about £3,000.
[via Boing Boing]
Airlines Learning the Art of “Sorry.”
Maybe this scenario sounds familiar. You’ve just finished your airplane food lunch. Not bad, particularly since you’re on an international flight and the wine is free. Then, just when you’re halfway into the first movie, the pilot comes on and says, “We’re sorry, but the plane has lost an engine and we’re heading to ____ (fill in the blank.) You wipe your mouth on your napkin giving yourself time to regroup while you realize that it doesn’t look like you’ll be waking up where you thought you might. Instead, you find yourself being held over somewhere with meal vouchers and a place to stay. You’ll be equipped with a tiny toothbrush and toothpaste, but not a change of clothes. Yes, you’ll be sleeping in the clothes you’ve been wearing all day, in your underwear, or in nothing.
This has happened to me three times. Each time on a flight that left LAX in Los Angeles. Once I ended up in Seoul, Korea on an unplanned overnight. The second time was a dreadful experience. After taking off on a noon flight to Singapore, we ended up back at LAX by 10:30 that night after being diverted to San Francisco. The thirty of us at the end of the rebooking line, after 6 hours of waiting, were told all the hotels in San Francisco were now full. If we wanted a room on the airline’s dime we needed to return to LA. The next day, on the 12 noon flight, it was the same food and the same movie, as if, the airline was trying to pretend that the day before hadn’t happened. Since I was wearing the same clothes, they might have fooled me, but I know what clothes smell like when I wear them two days in a row.
The third time was not too shabby. On our way to Taiwan, we had a two day layover in Honolulu. Northwest put us up at the Waikiki Sheraton in a room overlooking the ocean with plenty of phone cards, great meals and communication about what was happening and why. I still happily fly Northwest.
Lately, many airlines are learning the art of apology does make a difference. A recent article mentioned Southwest Airlines as being the best at saying I’m sorry. One guy’s job is to do just that. It helps keeps customers happy and coming back when a flight doesn’t go as planned.