BA 747 narrowly escapes a mid-air collision

by Martha Edwards on

I’m constantly extolling the virtues of flying, telling my fearful friends how safe it is — much more so than driving, suntanning, crossing the street, etc. So I always cringe a bit when I hear stories about plane crashes or near crashes. Like this one: A British Airways 747, bound for Johannesburg, narrowly missed crashing into a Argentinian747 in the airspace over Marseilles, France, much to the horror of those looking on.

The incident happened in late September, but has only been revealed now. Witnesses claim that the whole thing has been hushed up. It’s thought that French air traffic control is to blame, but further investigation will hopefully determine the cause for sure.

Luckily, it all ended ok, but other close calls might not be so lucky. Hopefully whoever is at fault has learned their lesson.

See also:

Why not fly in style? Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 has full size beds! Check it out:

%Gallery-9672%

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.

Jet Airways Offers (Relatively) Cheap Luxury Cabin

by Justin Glow on

India-based airline Jet Airways has introduced a 26-square-foot cabin on its London to Mumbai flight which costs £1200 less than a first-class British Airways ticket. So let’s see: £5000+ for first-class, or £4000 for my own private cabin? That’s an easy one.

As you can see from the photo above, the dual-seat configuration folds down to make a bed, and the 23″ flat TV screen offers over 200 hours of the latest movies. Well, you can see the TV (upper left-hand corner), but you’ll have to trust me on the 200 hours deal, as it’s tough to capture that feature in a photo. Other amenities include a “personal hanging wardrobe,” and “office facilities for working.” More pictures after the jump. [Via Luxist]

Dying Mid-flight. First Class or a Storage Bin?

by Jamie Rhein on

I was at potluck tonight of Central Ohio Returned Peace Corps volunteers (CORVA) when someone mentioned the person who died on the British Airways flight last week. The dead woman, as described in the post by gadling blogger Jonathon Morgan, was strapped into a first class seat for the rest of the journey from India to Great Britain. Another first class passenger woke up to find the elderly dead woman sliding out of the seatbelt to the floor next to him and the serenity of his expensive seat being disrupted by the wails of her grieving daughter. This passenger, according to my friends, has decided to sue the airlines.

After Jonathon’s post on March 19, there have been other accounts and blogs written. Evidently, a person dying on a flight is not that uncommon. It’s never happened on one of the flights I’ve been on that I’ve been aware of, but some airlines have contingency plans if someone does expire after take-off.

According to an article I came across, on average, 10 people a year die on British Airways flights. On Virgin Atlantic, there were 2 in the past twelve months. Supposedly, on its 17 hour flights, Singapore Airlines’ planes have a special cupboard for a dead person if need be.

On some airlines, an overhead bin might be used. It depends on the circumstances, the airlines, and I suppose, how much carry-on luggage is already stored. If someone dies in flight, it’s not so easy to turn the plane around. A person who takes off alive, and returns to the departure point dead, generates a mountain of paperwork. Also, people who are still alive might like to get where they were planning on going in a timely manner. Forging ahead is often the best solution.

Flying First Class With a Corpse

by Jonathon Morgan on

So you’re an flight attendant, and one of your passengers dies while flying from Delhi to Heathrow. What do you do?

If you work for British airways, you escort the dead woman and her daughter to first class, strap in the corpse, and wait out the rest of the flight — without telling anyone why the woman in front won’t stop wailing in grief.

They propped up her body using pillows.

According to the man sitting next to the deceased, “I didn’t have a clue what was going on. She kept slipping under the seatbelt and moving about with the motion of the plane.”

After the woman was joined by her grieving daughter and son-in-law, the man adds: “It was terrifying. I put my earplugs in but couldn’t get away from the fact that there was a woman wailing at the top of her voice just yards away.”

It was only after asking for an explanation from BA staff that he was informed the woman was dead.

Apparently this happens about 10 times a year. While other airlines have “corpse cupboards” to use when there isn’t an empty row of seats for the body, BA’s response, is essentially: the plane was full, so deal with it.

A first class ticket from Delhi to Heathrow on British Airways costs about £3,000.

[via Boing Boing]