Air Asia Passenger Jumps From Moving Airplane

by Jessica Festa on

I guess some people need to think their travel plans through a little more carefully. On an Air Asia flight from Miri to Kuala Lumpur, a passenger decided he did not want to be on board anymore. He took matters into his own hands and actually opened the emergency exit door, jumping out of the airplane while it was taxiing on the runway.

According to news.com.au, the drastic move caused panic among other fliers, and emergency procedures were activated.

“The raft automatically opened when the door was opened. The passengers inside the aircraft started screaming. The flight attendants immediately alerted the pilots and the plane was stopped in its track,” said passenger and Environment Department chief Siva Nathiran.

The plane was delayed for over an hour and the man, believed to be in his late 20s, was later arrested. While he was taken to the hospital, he did not suffer any injuries.

[photo via Deanster1983]

Video of the Day: Paper Osaka

by Mike Barish on

People spend a lot of time complaining about airlines, and often that criticism is rightly deserved. It’s rare that you hear airlines getting praised for any sort of creativity. However, we have to tip our caps to Air Asia for their nifty little video announcing their newest destination, Osaka. It’s a clever animation that highlights some of Osaka’s quirks and isn’t just a boring commercial for a product or service.

We’ll still spend a lot of time nitpicking airlines and calling them our when they fail to meet expectations. But, for now, we’re just going to enjoy watching that paper girl journey to one of our favorite cities on the planet.

Richard Branson loses bet; will serve as flight attendant on Air Asia

by Melanie Nayer on

For some, losing a bet to your buddies means having to shave your head or paint your face in the opposing team’s colors for a day. For Richard Branson, losing a bet means having to dress in drag at 38,000-feet.

The Virgin boss and airline superstar lost a bet to his pal Tony Fernandes, who owns Air Asia, over which one of their Formula One teams would perform better this season. The bet: Loser has to put on a pair of high heels and serve as a “stewardess” on an international flight of the winner’s airline.

While neither of the men’s teams scored anything in their debut Formula One season, Lotus’s Air Asia did slightly better than Branson’s Virgin brand and thus, Branson will step out in high heels and serve guests on an Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to London.

The date of the flight hasn’t been set, but the airline has agreed to auction of seats for the flight and give the money to Branson’s chosen charity.

[via Stuff.co.nz]

Want to be a pilot? No experience required

by Grant Martin on

Those of you that have been reading Kent Wien’s Cockpit Chronicles may experience the deep envy that many feel when we read about the great destinations, experiences and adventures that a pilot is privy to. Indeed for many, the job of a pilot is a dream, something that we aspire to as children but rarely pursue later in life. And by the time many of realize how much we want to chase that dream, well, we may think that it’s too late to inviest the time and money in training. If you win this contest, however, that could all change.

Air Asia, Malaysia’s most successful low cost carrier has a shortage of pilots, and in an effort to build interest and support in the brand they’re launching the “So you Wanna be a Pilot” competition. 10 lucky winners who submit a blog entry to their site could be selected to win training from the ground up. Obviously you have to have basic education in Physics, Mathematics and the like, but every pilot should have that, right? Oh and the other caveat? You need to have a good command of Bahasa Malaysia. But that’s not hard to learn, right?

Check out the rest of the details on AirAsia’s blog.