When flight crews drink on the job

by Catherine Bodry on

You can view a video on YouTube of a Delta flight attendant being removed and booked for on-the-job intoxication. Neil provided a video of drunken flight attendants making out on a flight in Russia. So how common is it for flight crews to imbibe on the clock?

Despite the recent media coverage, it’s not common at all (you can breathe that sigh of relief now). Travel columnist James Wysong, who also works as a flight attendant, examined the tendency of airline employees to hit the bottle while on duty. While the traveling life might be conducive to partying, Wysong discovered that for the most part employees are keeping their partying on terra firma.

Wysong discusses the looser rules of the past, when a flight attendant he knew began her nine-hour flight with two fingers of scotch, and pilots arrived to work with alcohol on their breath. But now flight crews are randomly tested (he’s been tested three times in the past two years) and the ramifications are severe if caught.

So you can relax on your next flight. And if you find that you can’t relax, well, passengers are certainly allowed to imbibe!

[via Msnbc]

Airport woes from New York Magazine

by Grant Martin on

This week’s New York Magazine covers the growing fiasco of air travel, from congested skies to travel tips to new developments in the industry — all centered around the New York co-terminals, LGA, JFK and EWR (or NYC if you’re in a hurry).

Headlining the feature is an article by Michael Idov, called Gridlock at 30,000 feet, which is an excellent (albeit sobering) look at the volume versus capacity of the New York airports and its deleterious result on traffic across the country. Indeed, it states that “75 percent of delays around the country originate in New York”

Idov does say that there are a variety of solutions and technologies in the works to alleviate the problem. But don’t plan on anything coming soon; the bureaucratic jungle awaits any changes to the flight plans or antiquated air traffic control system, hampering any improvement with red tape.

As always, when flying into New York its best to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Make sure you have plenty of time to connect or make your dinner reservations. From a personal standpoint, I flew American Airlines twice this weekend in and out of LGA. Both flights were late by almost an hour.

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British Airways 747 with broken wing tip flies on

by Grant Martin on

I don’t know how comfortable I would feel looking out my window and seeing the wingtip torn off of my airplane, but British Airways seemed to think that nobody would mind. Apparently, while the B747 was waiting on the tarmac in London a couple of weeks ago, a Sri Lankan Airlines A340 snuck up from behind and sliced off the tip as it was passing. After the BA flight was canceled and the flight postponed to the next day, rebooked travelers were surprised to discover that they were getting on the exact same plane. The British Daily Mail reports that a half dozen passengers subsequently threw a fit and refused to fly.

From a functional standpoint, I suppose the wing tips aren’t really necessary to keep the plane in the sky; as the airline pointed out, they’re purely for aerodynamic reasons to reduce drag. But the visceral feeling of dread when you see your wing torn off can easily overcome logic. While I personally would not have gotten off the plane, I would definitely be on the edge of my seat for the entire flight.

Pilots fall asleep during red-eye flight

by Catherine Bodry on

Here’s another spooky story from the skies — and this one isn’t just an urban legend. Two pilots fell asleep during an all-night flight between Baltimore and Denver. One pilot woke up to “frantic” calls from air traffic control advising that they were approaching the airport at twice the allowed speed. The pilot was able to safely land the plane with no further problems.

The incident was anonymously documented through NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System. Both the airline and pilots are unknown, though the article implies that Frontier Airlines might be to blame.

The airline admits that pilot fatigue is a big problem in the airline industry, but that they have measures in place to help avoid events such as this one.

Read the full article here.

Worst Airports

by Neil Woodburn on

This just in! London’s Heathrow Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International have been named the worst airports in the world.

Well, technically, 2,500 travelers asked by TripAdvisor to rate 36 international airports responded by voting Heathrow and O’Hare as their “least favorite” based upon ease of navigation, bathroom cleanliness, and parking facilities. Frankly, it’s a rather misleading survey since there are far, far worse airports out there than the 36 measured. But, with that caveat in mind, here the ten “least favorite” airports according to TripAdvisor.

  • London, Heathrow Airport / Chicago, O’Hare International
  • New York, JFK
  • Atlanta, Hartsfield International
  • Los Angeles International
  • Miami International
  • New York, La Guardia
  • Paris, Charles de Gaulle
  • Dallas Fort Worth
  • Newark Liberty International
  • London Gatwick

Those may be the ten “least favorite” airports, but these are definitely the coolest.
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