Where is America’s most on-time airport?

by Anna Brones on

Flight delays, baggage complications and tight seating; flying isn’t really on anyone”s list of favorites anymore. But because the state of airline and airport affairs is so mediocre, whenever you have a good experience there is a sense of elation; “My plane landed on time?!?!? Great!” That feeling is a whole lot better than knowing that you’ll be flying into one of the world’s most delayed airports.

If you want to plan your flying schedules around the airports that are known for getting their jets in and out in a timely fashion — so you can actually stick to your travel schedule — where should you go? MSNBC posted an article today with America’s top 15 most on-time airports. Here are the top five with their percentage of on time flights:

  1. Honolulu International, 84.3%
  2. Kahului, 84.2%
  3. Portland International, 81.8%
  4. Salt Lake City International, 81.1%
  5. Albuquerque International, 81%

Check out the other ten here and then book accordingly.

Thanks Emma!

Galley Gossip: Italy: Prepare for takeoff.

by Heather Poole on

“Want to go to Italy?” The husband asked.

“Umm…I don’t know…Yes. As in YES YES YES!” I exclaimed. And then I added, “But I’m not flying standby.” Because I wasn’t. And I was ready to stand my ground.

“Yeah, well me neither,” he said, and that was that.

When The Husband and I decided to go to Italy on our vacation last month, we actually purchased our tickets, even though I can fly standby for free. Why? Because we wanted to go to Italy, remember? We actually wanted to make it to the land of wine and cheese and olives and pasta and prosciutto served with a loaf of crusty bread.

What we didn’t want to do was get stuck sitting around an airport for days praying that two people wouldn’t show up for their flight. Oh no, we wanted to get fat from drinking wine and eating cheese and olives and pasta and prosciutto with a loaf of crusty bread in Venice, Rome, and Positano. Not from cheeseburgers and pizza at the JFK food court. And not only did we have plans to eat our way through Italy, we also planned on getting back home when the vacation came to an end. Oh the joys of stand-by travel…

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Because The Husband flies over 100,000 miles a year, we were able to use his frequent flier miles to bump us up to business class, where you can usually find me working. Did I happen to mention this was a dream trip, a trip we’ve been planning for years, a trip that was supposed to be our honeymoon trip five years ago things got screwed up and we wound up in Playa Blanca, a teeny tiny town near Zihautanejo. The war had just broken out and someone was afraid to travel too far from home for fear of getting stuck, since that same someone had gotten stuck in Zurich with her mother for two weeks immediately following 9/11.

Okay okay, so there are worse places to get stuck than Zurich, I know, but when you’re a flight attendant and make a flight attendant salary, it’s very easy to go broke on cappuccino and croissant alone. Though there are worse ways to go broke, I guess.

The best part about actually buying a ticket on a flight, opposed to standing-by for free, is that you get to choose your seat. A window seat, that’s what I chose, and that’s exactly what I got. Man, I couldn’t wait to get on that airplane. And sit. Not work. And watch movies. As others worked. While I sat. Not working. I did mention that this was my dream trip, right? Oh yeah, trust me, that’s part of the dream. I couldn’t wait to take off from JFK at dusk, my favorite time of day, and look out my window, camera in hand, from a business class seat. Not the jumpseat. I couldn’t wait to see a breathtaking view of New York City. Not the first class closet. Or the business class galley. Or the nasty coach carpet. Or the flight attendant sitting next to me. No offense to the flight attendant sitting next to me, whoever that flight attendant may happen to be. I couldn’t wait to….oh you get the picture. Speaking of pictures, here’s a few from our flight from New York to London, where we transferred to another flight that would take us to Venice.

Breaking News: Man runs onto runway at Heathrow

by Abha Malpani on

Heathrow airport is currently in chaos and on high security alert after a man with a rucksack jumped over the perimeter fencing and ran onto the runway.

20 emergency vehicles were sent, the man was arrested, sniffer dogs and explosive officers have been called in. No one is hurt and there isn’t any more information on the man yet.

Drunks, mentally unstable and protesters have done this before, but this case is particularly suspicious as tomorrow the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are due to open the new terminal 5.

Certain flights have been delayed or canceled, it is therefore advisable to call the airport should you have a flight today or tomorrow. You can watch and get constant updates on BBC.

More than 26% of last year’s flights late. Blame congested skies

by Iva Skoch on

As far as airline delays go, 2007 was the second worst year ever, with over a quarter of all US flights arriving late. In December, more than one third of all flights arrived late. Only 2000 was worse, with over 27%.

Rising passenger demand and an industry preference for smaller planes causing congestion in the skies and on runways is to blame, AP reports. Experts say that flight delays will be getting increasingly more common. There is no hope for improvement anytime soon, because airlines continue to replace large planes with smaller ones in order to maximize profit margins by flying with fewer empty seats.

We can expect, once again, that the airlines will just adjust their flights times. If you tell passengers upfront that a flight from Boston to DC takes 4 hours (although it should only take about 1 hour) and you get them there in 4 hours, there is–technically speaking–no delay.

(Photo: NASA – Day In the Life of Air Traffic Over the United States)

Lightning strikes twice on Irish flights

by Martha Edwards on

Fliers arriving at the Shannon Airport in Ireland on Saturday morning were greeted by a powerful force from Mother Nature — two Aer Lingus planes were hit by lightning as they landed, according to reports. No one was injured, but both aircrafts had minor damage that prevented them from continuing on to the Irish capital, Dublin.

Needless to say, it’s pretty rare for two flights to get struck by lightning on the same day. But if you’re worried about the possibility of your flight being struck, don’t be — planes regularly get hit by lightning, and it’s not a big deal if it happens. In fact, it hasn’t caused any crashes in over 40 years. For more info on lightning and flights, click here.
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