Continental Airlines experiments with algae jet fuel mix

by Scott Carmichael on

On Wednesday, Continental Airlines flew a Boeing 737 from Houston in a circle over the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing too special about that. Except that this flight was a test of a new 50/50 jet fuel/biofuel mixture, powering one of the engines.

The bio portion of the fuel was a mix of algae and jatropha oil, an alternative fuel that can be grown in poor soil, yet is able to produce more yields than soybean. The fuel was approved for aviation use last year, and meets or exceeds all requirements for a jet fuel.

The jet was not the first biofuel powered airplane. Early last year, Virgin Atlantic flew a 747 from London to Amsterdam powered partially by coconut oil.

Most experts agree that the aviation industry will have to invest heavily in finding alternative fuels, but given how much is at stake during these trials it is understandable that they take things kind of slow.

This trial was a huge success, and the test pilot called it “textbook”. Whether or not we’ll start flying in coconut and algae powered jets any time soon, will all depend on how quickly these new crops can be grown on a massive scale. The amount of biofuel required to become a really viable alternative is quite staggering.

(Via: BBC News)

The flight from hell involves a passenger covered in poop

by Scott Carmichael on

There have been plenty of stories in the past year involving passengers going berserk and attacking the crew and others on their flight.

But every now and then I read a new one, and just can’t help think “what the hell?”.

Such is the story of a Continental Express flight from Houston to Omaha last week. Halfway during the flight, a middle aged man left the lavatory covered in his own fecal matter.

At that point the poor flight attendant tried to move passengers away from this lunatic and ordered the man to clean himself. Things then got out of control, and the flight attendant ended up on the floor being beaten by the unruly passenger.

Fellow passengers came to the assistance of the flight attendant, and managed to get the poop covered man buckled into a seat and calmed down for the remainder of the flight.

Upon arrival at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, the man was detained, and taken into custody by the care facility in Iowa where he lives. The flight attendant ended up with a black eye, and probably a horribly smelly uniform.

Authorities are investigating whether the mental condition of this passenger should bar him from flying on his own in the future. Personally, I hope he takes a train next time, as I have no need to witness anyone covered in poop, planes are dirty enough as it is.

(Via: WOWT Omaha)

Get more mileage out of your miles: upgrade

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Before you book your next award ticket, think about what you’re giving the airline. Yeah, you read that correctly; think about what you are giving them. In the Wall Street Journal, that font of all things financial, the secret to screwing the airlines a little harder is revealed: upgrade.

Apparently, the most common use of miles is the bland, vanilla domestic coach ticket. That’s it. While you delight in your free ticket and lament the absence of a meal, the airline truly gives you as little as possible. You get a whopping 1.2 center per mile for the basic domestic coach flight. At 30,000 miles (the average price of an upgrade in miles), which is usually the price of admission, that translates to around $360. Depending on where you want to go (and when), your $300 in “free” travel could be more expensive than just buying the ticket.

According to “experts” cited by WSJ, you can get four times as much bang for your virtual buck by upgrading instead of just cashing in. shell out the cash for the coach ticket, the Journal advises, and use those miles for the upgrade. You could pick up a few thousand dollars in value … and that’s just on the domestic side. Fly overseas, and you could shaft the airlines to the tune of almost 8 cents per mile!

Of course, the party isn’t going to last forever. Airlines are beginning to add “co-pay” fees to upgrade awards. United is planning to pull the trigger on this starting July 1, 2009. You already take it on the chin with American, which can slam you for $700 to upgrade a discount coach seat on a flight to Europe. On Continental, it can reach $1,000. Nonetheless, upgrading still delivers the most value per mile.

And, there’s one more factor that tips in your favor. If you haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of a nasty economic climate. All those large, faceless corporations are forcing more of their employees – even those more accustomed to having a bit more legroom – to ride with the proletarians. That means more seats will be open up front, and you can cash in.

Continental plane slides off runway in Denver, catches fire

by Jeffrey White on

A Continental 737 aircraft taking off from Denver yesterday either slid or crashed, according to reports, into a ravine off the runway before catching fire, injuring nearly 40 people.

The Associated Press is reporting that the 107 passengers on board the Houston-bound flight were evacuated via emergency slides. Thirty-seven were rushed to area hospitals with a variety of injuries, none of which are being reported as life-threatening.

There were no deaths in the incident.

Emergency responders on the ground put out the fire quickly.

Authorities are not saying what caused the botched take-off, though a National Transportation Safety Board team is reportedly heading to Denver to investigate the incident.

All Continental Airlines says is the aircraft “exited” the runway prior to take-off. There are conflicting reports that the plane actually had taken off before crashing into the ravine.

The incident shut a part of Denver International down for approximately 45 minutes.

Many inexpensive last minute holiday airfares do exist

by Jamie Rhein on

You’ve probably noticed the stories about how airfares have dropped and air traffic is down. Two weeks ago, I flew from Copenhagen to Columbus on two airplanes that were not full. The Continental flight from Copenhagen to Newark was empty enough that most people had seats between them.

The flight from Newark to Columbus was even more roomy. The row in front of my daughter and me was empty, and we had that hoped for seat between us as well.

With less people flying that means more competition to entice passengers to fly. My mom is heading to New York City for the holidays. This past May, she took the bus because of gas prices and soaring airline costs. Her ticket plane ticket would have cost almost $400 at the time.

She thought about the bus again until last night when I searched for airplane tickets on a whim. There were several options for a $166 airfare when I used the variable date function. Delta and Northwest were the least expensive flights, but the flight she wanted was on Delta to LaGuardia which she prefers over JFK. Flights into Newark, at least the ones I saw, were more expensive.

Not only was she able to score a flight to the airport of choice, she also was able to get flights that are direct and leave at the times she preferred. At first, it looked like she’d have to leave at 6 a.m., but after going to another day of departure, an early afternoon flight to New York appeared. She also wanted to book a return flight later in the day than what originally appeared. Again, further looking found the exact flight out of LaGuardia.

After using Travelocity to find choices, I went directly to Delta’s web site to book the ticket. The amazing detail is that she’s leaving on Monday, just days from booking the ticket. Cheap flights so close to departure used to be unheard of.

So, if you’re thinking of going somewhere for the holidays, look into flying. It may be far less expensive than you thought. These are the days of deals. To find the best ones, look for flights during the week. My mom is flying out on a Monday and back on a Wednesday. In this case, the direct flights were less than the flights that went through another airport. I am amazed.