Video of the Day – IranAir 727 makes emergency landing

by Stephen Greenwood on

Just one week ago on October 18th, an IranAir Boeing 727 landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport without the use of its front landing gear, after the bay of the nose gear failed to open on approach.

The crew performed a landing without the nose gear on runway 29L and came to a stand still on both the main gear and the nose of the aircraft. The flight, traveling from Moscow to Iran, held 94 passengers and 19 crew members; none were injured in the landing.

Video of the landing has now surfaced on Youtube, demonstrating an incredibly skillful landing executed by the pilot and his crew.

Hats off to a job well done in a critical situation. If you’ve seen incredible rescue video online or witnessed an amazing safety performance on your travels, we want to see it. Leave us a link the comments below or submit your photos to our Flickr Pool. It could just be the next Photo/Video of the Day!

Steamline Luggage makes junk in the trunk look good

by Libby Zay on

After hours and hours of watching travelers roll by with boring baggage at the airport, I finally spotted a line of suitcases that gives me luggage envy. SteamLine Luggage makes well-tailored, vintage-style cases that are reminiscent of old steamer trunks-except with a modern twist.

These leather-bound bags are at the same time fashionable and funcitonal. Color combos range from pink and crème to teal and tan (and some more modest options, too). As expected, SteamLine designed a range of sizes, including a stylish carry-on bag with discreet trolley wheels that ensures travelers will get to their departing gates with ease.

Purchasing luggage can be quite the commitment. In this case, with a price tag upwards of $280, many would consider it an investment. But not only do these trunks seem like fun pieces to wheel around the airport; they could be displayed at home when you’re not on the road. Any excuse to put off unpacking a little longer!

‘Mile Runners’ are in it for the long haul

by Libby Zay on

A group of frequent flier hustlers is so obsessed with wracking up miles they are willing to do absurd acts such as flying around the world in 48 hours or going through Detroit five times on a single trip just to earn freebies.

For $320, Randy Petersen accrued a marathon of 35,000 miles for the following flight sequence: YXU-DTW-ATL-SFO-JFK-DTW-ATL-SEA-YVR-MSP-DTW-NRT-LAX-DTW-MSP-YVR-DTW-YXU-DTW-MSP-YVR-DTW-JFK-NRT-ATL-MSP-YVR-MSP-DTW-YXU. That’s a roundtrip flight from London that passes through Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, Detroit (again), Atlanta (again), Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Detroit (third time), Japan, Los Angeles, Detroit (fourth time), London (again), Minneapolis (again), Vancouver (again), Detroit (fourth time), New York (again), Japan (again), Atlanta (third time), Minneapolis (third time), Japan (third time), Minneapolis (third time), Detroit (fifth time) and finally back to London.

Petersen, who co-founded the frequent flyer community MilePoint.com, seems to think the upgrades are worth hours of sitting on planes and in airports. “It’s a ratio of travel time vs. distance flown vs. cost vs. end game,” says Petersen. “A mileage runner for value always wants to accrue miles at a low cost and then redeem at a high cost.”

Is the multiple-leg jog throughout airports around the world worth perks like a priority boarding, access to airport lounges, and maybe a few free tickets? It’s a question Shira Levine examines for Fox News.

A video tour of SFO’s T2

by Grant Martin on

Do you know those drawings that architectural firms create to illustrate what a building will look like after it’s finished? The ones with all of the two dimensional people and the rendered trees, benches, concrete and shadows? That’s what San Francisco airport’s Terminal 2 looks like in this video — only it’s actually real. T2, which I just passed through last week, has this crisp, almost surreal angularity to it, a kind of dreamlike sheen that makes one feel part of a airport-like Eden.

It’s gorgeous, no doubt, and given the chance, everyone should take some extra time to wander through the great, arching halls. Just don’t get lost in the clouds and miss your flight.

Dancing at Denver International Airport

by Mike Barish on

There are only so many ways to kill time at the airport. You can eat overpriced food, drink overpriced alcohol, read or dance. OK, there might be more things to do at the airport, but for the sake of introducing this video, let’s pretend that those are the only options. This young lady was bored at Denver International Airport and decided to cut a rug right there in the terminal. Not to be outdone, a random traveler walked by, booty bumped our dancer and, in one motion, stole the scene.

We could all learn a lesson from both of these rhythmic travelers: don’t get stressed at the airport. Delays will happen, flights will get canceled but you can always control your attitude. Keep your cool and have some fun when you’re traveling. Oh, and always booty bump when you have the chance.