Airbus A340 crashes into wall during engine tests

by Grant Martin on

In another blow to the embattled EADS, an Airbus A340 slammed into a wall and injured 10 people during engine tests in Toulouse yesterday afternoon. AFP and the AP report that the Abu Dhabi-bound aircraft was in the final stages of testing before the accident occurred. According to an Airbus spokesman, “the aircraft began to roll and it climbed up the embankment in front of it” just before careening over and into the wall. Scary.

No word yet on what the cause of the accident was or the nature of the injuries, but the A340 is a proven, reliable aircraft that Airbus has been manufacturing for years.

Hopefully this doesn’t have any effect on sales or the performance of the struggling EADS. While Airbus isn’t my favorite airline manufacturer, it’s hard to see the company take the beating that its been getting recently.

Paypal offers 50$ rebates on NWA flights

by Grant Martin on

If you’re flying anywhere in the next few months (say, Thanksgiving or oh, Christmas) and Northwest Airlines is an option, check out the 50$ rebate that Paypal is offering on bookings. You have to book between November 13th and 21st, but the terms and conditions don’t stipulate when you have to fly.

As with most other rebates, you’ll have to wait 6-8 weeks for your money to show up, but the benefit here is that you don’t have to fill in any paperwork or cash a check — the money just shows up in your account in a few weeks. And if you’re like myself and most of the other people out there on the interwebs, you’ve already got a Paypal account that’s linked to your bank; all you have to do is select the Paypal option, the money comes from the same place and you get 50$ back.

Make sure you follow the booking link before you pay.

What does the TSA do with your confiscated goods?

by Catherine Bodry on

Ever wonder what happened to your airport-security-confiscated bottle of French wine, the $20 bottle of shampoo you splurged on, or even just the best darn pair of clippers to ever touch your toenails? Well, it probably didn’t go into the rubbish bin. However, it might’ve gone straight to your security agent’s gut (or in the case of my Aveda shampoo and favorite nail clippers, bathroom).

Travel writer and flight attendant James Wysong decided to inquire after all the contraband withheld at the airport, and here’s what he found out: most metal items go to a melting plant, while pocket knives are donated to organizations like the Boy Scouts of America. And his friend now has a stellar collection comprised of 600 lighters.

Liquor used to be tossed (away, not back!), until cleaning staff reportedly began getting tipsy on the job. Now liquor must be taken to a supervisor’s office to be “properly disposed.”

Just what “properly disposed” means Wysong isn’t able to find out. But I know exactly how I would properly dispose of my French wine. Don’t you?

[via Msnbc]

British Airways flying ghost planes across the pond.

by Grant Martin on

If you’re a carbon emissions activist, better close your eyes and plug your ears now. Word on the street from the Daily Mail is that British Airways (BA) has been flying ghost planes across the Atlantic strictly to conserve airline slots at the appropriate airports. They can’t load passengers because of crew shortages and nobody is sure whether or not any cargo is loaded.

Yes, these are the same people who were fixing fuel surcharges to gouge transatlantic customers earlier this year.

And the same people who are increasing fuel surcharges again November 15th.

In other news, the dollar is trading at, 1$ = 0.483£.

Spot on, old chap!

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Why do airlines board in such a strange order?

by Grant Martin on

Ever wonder what the deal is with the “zones” that are printed on your boarding pass or why it seems like they’re boarding planes in a completely backwards way? Seems like if you wanted to save time you’d fill up the back of the plane first as you filed in from the front. Instead, you often find your way fighting to get to the back of the plane against the flow of people who walked to the back to stow their luggage in your overhead-bin and the boarding process takes twice as long as it should. Frustrating, isn’t it?

Fact of the matter is, airlines don’t necessarily try to mash everyone up on purpose. What they do try to do, however, is try to cater to their first class and frequent flyers by awarding them with better seats and priority boarding. These travelers usually want to sit near the front of the plane (it’s quieter and you can get out faster) and when the airlines pre-board them they usually file in, put their bags wherever they want and take a seat before the herd arrives.

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So it’s not really a matter of the frequent flyer wanting to be in the stuffy, bacteria soaked plane longer, but rather that they want to settle in, take a seat, open up their book and drink their cranberry juice before fighting the masses.
Some carriers, like Northwest Airlines, used to specifically board the elites first, then load the regular passengers in zones from back to front. Few years back though they realized that it really didn’t save that much time to board in this way and that they wanted the gate agents to be busy elsewhere instead of herding traffic. Now they preboard those with special needs, first class then elite members before releasing the stampede onto the plane.

I used to wait until the the last possible second before I got onto the plane. Now, with the checked luggage restrictions and volumes in the overhead bins, I try to get on as early as possible so there is space for my backpack above; I can’t stand it when people put their oversized luggage above my seat.

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