The World’s 10 Busiest Airports in 2006

by Willy Volk on

According to a preliminary report released by Airports Council International, passenger traffic in the US in 2006 increased by 5% over 2005, while international traffic rose by a more robust 7%. In total, therefore, airports moved an astounding 4.4 billion passengers around the world in 2006. That’s a lot of salted nuts.

According to the same report, the world’s 10 busiest airports are:

  1. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson
  2. Chicago’s O’Hare
  3. London’s Heathrow
  4. Tokyo’s Haneda
  5. Los Angeles International
  6. Dallas/Ft. Worth International
  7. Paris’ Charles de Gaulle
  8. Frankfurt International
  9. Beijing International
  10. Denver International

Interestingly, the world’s busiest airport in terms of cargo traffic was Memphis International. Hmm… wonder why.

If you’re interested (or waiting on a flight delay), you can check out the rest of the Top 30 busiest airports (PDF).

[Photo: Brent Danley]

How Do Airplane Toilets Work?

by Willy Volk on

The typical home toilet is a bowl filled with water… as I imagine you know. When you flush that toilet, gravity pulls pulls the water down the pipes and into the the sewer system. Because gravity is a major player, your home toilet is called a gravity toilet.

However, an airplane can’t use a bowl filled with water — or, at least it can’t do it very conveniently. Every time the pilot hit turbulence, the lavatory would be covered in water.

Instead, modern airplane toilets are vacuum toilets. The flush works in two stages. First, a small quantity of water is is released. Second, a powerful — and often frightening-sounding — vacuum is activated for a few seconds. During that unsettling sucking sound, a valve in the sewer line opens, and the vacuum in the line sucks the contents out of the bowl and into a tank, which is later cleared out by a lavatory service cart.

[Photo: TheMachineStops]

Airplane Exercises You Can Try at Home

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the best plane trips we took when our daughter was small was a Japan Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Narita, Japan. Instead of letting you figure out what to do to amuse yourselves for the hours on end it takes to get across the Pacific, they help you out. We played Sky Bingo as part of the entertainment. Whoever wanted to play got a Bingo card and the numbers were shown on the big screen. (I think that’s how it worked.) I do remember that our daughter was given extra prizes just for being cute. I have no idea if Sky Bingo is still played, but it was a great idea, I thought.

Another fun thing was the exercises we were led through after we had whatever sleep we could snag. I loved the exercises. These were the kind you do in your seat, but meant to get your blood flowing and the kinks out. Here is a video I came across on You Tube of exercises being done on a plane you can even try at home. This is some Chinese flight, I assume. You can practice counting in Chinese while you watch.

Genius Or Useless: TravelKleen Headrest Protectors

by Willy Volk on

According to TravelKleen, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention indicates that “there is a distinct possibility that air borne viruses can survive for short periods even on surfaces such as food tray tables, arm rests and seat backs.” Ick.

In order to prevent those seat back viruses from touching your face and head, TravelKleen has developed a lightweight, reusable fabric that acts as a barrier between seat-back and back-of-your-head. Boasting a special adhesive backing, the one-size-fits-all material is adjustable to the person, meaning kids can use it, too. A pair of TravelKleens costs $9.

Part of me thinks TravelKleens are genius: after reading what people are doing in the lavatories, I don’t want my face to touch those greasy seat backs. The other part of me thinks these are useless and that people just need to tough it out.

[Via Practical Travel Gear]

Getting the Lowdown on Best Plane Seats

by Neil Woodburn on

Here’s another site that promises to help you find the very best seat on an airplane.

SeatGuru.Com provides cool little maps of airplane interiors with information about legroom, seat pitch, mis-aligned windows, seat width, and proximity to bathroom and emergency exits.

Each plane description also includes an In-Flight Amenity box. With one quick glance one can tell if the plane provides personal TV screens, audio entertainment, food, or internet access.

Pretty cool. I just wish they would figure out a way to combine this information with a Kayak/Expedia/etc plane search when buying tickets. With enough in-flight entertainment at my fingertips, and access to the most spacious seats, I would most certainly choose a more expensive airline over the very cheapest.