Rate your bad flight

by Martha Edwards on

Think about it — what was your worst flight of all time? Mine was just a few months ago — we booked one of those all-inclusive Mexico trips and were a little peeved when we found out that the flight left at 1am. When boarded with bleary eyes, we were surprised at the size of the plane — I’m not exaggerating when I say that if you sit at the window seat, you have to lean to the side because of the curve in the airplane. My guy is 6’2 and we had to trade seats because to sit by the window, he had to slouch painfully.

If that wasn’t bad enough, when the plane took off, it flew north (um, Mr. Pilot, Mexico is south… ) to pick up some passengers from another city because the flight wasn’t full enough. Ok, fine, we can deal with that — but we sat at the airport in that other city for 3 hours, and we weren’t allowed to leave the plane! We didn’t arrive in Mexico until almost noon the next day. Yes, it sucked. But I have to say it was worth it when I got onto that beach.

My point: Everyone has a bad flight story, and now you can rate your flights and post your stories. Check out MyBadFlight.com for stories, ratings, and even the occasional airline celeb sighting! I’ll warn you though — there are some real nightmare stories out there — like being stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours. Good grief!

Snakes on a Plane — Almost

by Catherine Bodry on

The campy movie “Snakes on a Plane” played up a common phobia of many people — that’s right; snakes. But it was just a movie, right? Surely with modern airport security no one could get on a plane with a suitcase full of reptiles, right?

Right — so far. But a 22-year-old Saudi passenger in Cairo, Egypt made it all the way to his departure gate before officials stopped him to check his suspect suitcase. Inside, they found baby crocodiles, chameleons, and several snakes, including “at least one cobra, squirming to escape.” The man claimed not to know about any rules disallowing reptiles, and that he was transporting them to a Saudi university for research.

In May, another Saudi was caught at the airport with 700 live snakes in his carry-on luggage.

Samuel L. Jackson, this is not a dress rehearsal.

Travel by Flying Saucer?

by Martha Edwards on

There might soon be a new way to get around, and it’s something you would expect to see on the pages of a comic book from the 1960s — the flying saucer. Okay, it’s not really a flying saucer like the one that belonged to that little martian guy on the Flintstones. It just looks like one. It’s actually an eco-friendly plane of sorts, developed under the CleanEra Project at Delft University. It cuts down the environmental impact in a few ways, including:

  • Using propellers rather than fuel-hungry jets, though this creates a concern because it makes for longer flight times. And, as you’ll know if you’ve ever flown in a prop plane, it is freakin’ loud.
  • Using composite materials, which make the body of the plane weigh less and therefore use less fuel
  • Using a ergonomic design, which also decreases the amount of fuel needed.
  • Accommodating more passengers. One of these flying saucers could potentially hold up to 800 passengers.

It’s just in the planning stages right now, so we’ll have to sit tight and see if anything comes of it.

(Via Autoblog Green)

Do You Have What it Takes to be a Flight Attendant?

by Martha Edwards on

When I was growing up, I had high career aspirations — literally. I wanted nothing more than to be a flight attendant. With my dad being a pilot, flying was always highly exalted around our house and I found that, like him, I was happiest in the air. I don’t know why I never considered being a pilot … something in the child version of myself would rather pour drinks in the air than be at the helm. And all these years later, I still get a hankering for a career change as the excitement of take-off gets the best of me. Not to mention the lure of free flights.

Most people think that being a flight attendant is the cushiest job in the world, but I beg to differ. I have several friends who work for Westjet, and while they like the travel perks and flexibility of the job, their jobs aren’t all sunshine and roses — for one, they have to clean the plane after every flight and I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say it’s not pretty. They also spend countless hours in safety training and are tested every year — with the promise of dismissal if they fail. Sounds harsh, but it sure makes me feel safe. Then there’s the lack of a normal schedule, the chance of working every holiday — it’s definitely a trade-off.

Still interested? Here’s an insider’s look into the job from Fly Away Cafe.

Runway in Sao Paulo Too Short? Too Wet?

by Iva Skoch on

Almost 200 passengers are suspected dead after the TAM airlines Airbus-320 (en route to Sao Paulo from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil) skidded on the rain-slicked runway in Sao Paulo and slammed into a gas station and TAM building yesterday, USA Today reports.

This is apparently the second major airline disaster in Brazil within a year. In September, 154 died when a Gol Aerolinhas Inteligentes SA Boeing 737 and an executive jet collided over the Amazon rain forest.

There have been questions about the country’s underfunded air traffic control systems, deficient radar system and the airlines’ ability to cope with a surge in travelers. Also, the length of the runway at Sao Paulo’s airport has been repeatedly criticized for being too short (it is 6,365 feet, compared with a 7,003-foot runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which accommodates similar planes) and two planes slipped off it in rainy weather just a day earlier, though no one was injured in either incident.

Plus, yesterday in Colombia, a passenger plane skidded off a wet runway and into the Caribbean Sea.

Seriously, if a wet runway is all it takes, I am worried.