# Sticky  General Aviation News



## CharlieP

hkskyline said:


> I don't think controllers can do much with birds flying around the take-off zone. But I do remember hearing about sharp-shooters who go around the airport firing rounds to scare them off now and then.


Not exactly "sharpshooters" - they're not trying to hit the birds!


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## Timon91

They should definately improve the security of the runway. At Fairbanks Intl. Airport you can just walk from the road onto the runway: no fence.


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## hkskyline

*Airline Systems Aim to Prevent Runway Crashes *
9 September 2008
The Wall Street Journal

Airplane makers and technology companies are working to develop systems that will help prevent what safety experts say is the greatest airline hazard in the U.S. and most of Europe -- on-the-ground collisions.

Alaska Airlines on Tuesday is expected to announce the fleet-wide installation of a new safety feature that aims to prevent jetliners from colliding on the ground. The safety tool, called Runway Awareness and Advisory System, was developed by Honeywell International Inc.'s aerospace business unit. It is part of an array of new automated cockpit aids emerging to protect passengers and crew members from runway accidents. Boeing Co. and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.'s Airbus are pursuing related new ways to minimize the risks of jetliners running off the ends of runways when landing. Boeing in coming months also will decide how and when to adopt a modified version of Honeywell's runway warning system. The system eventually would become standard equipment on newly manufactured Boeing aircraft.

The cockpit technology being installed at Alaska Airlines guides pilots through the seemingly routine task of steering their aircraft through a maze of taxiways and makes sure they get on the correct runway at the assigned point to take off.

When they are taxiing, Alaska pilots hear a woman's voice in their headsets telling them which specific runway they are approaching, then announcing that they are on it and warning if they don't have enough acceleration room for a safe takeoff. The voice also tells them -- in a louder, more urgent tone -- if they erroneously start to roll toward takeoff on a taxiway. (Taxiways aren't safe for takeoffs.)

Loss of control in the air and flying into the ground remain big aviation killers in some foreign regions. But potential ground mishaps -- which can be just as deadly if fuel-laden airliners crash into each other or can't stop before the end of the air strip -- are greater hazards in the U.S., large parts of Europe and other developed regions, safety experts say. The cause is straightforward: increasing traffic and congestion at airports, often compounded by poor visibility and miscommunications between pilots and air-traffic controllers.

For the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2007, the FAA reported 24 serious near-collisions at airports in the U.S., only slightly down from 31 the year before and largely unchanged since 2003, though the administration says the trend shows fewer incidents involving commercial aircraft, For the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the agency counts 19 serious ground incidents. Bob Smith, Honeywell Aerospace's vice president of advanced technology, estimates that runway near-misses in the U.S., including less dangerous incidents, occur once a day on average.

These "runway incursions" -- when through some mistake, two planes are in some danger of colliding -- have proved resistant to safety campaigns in the industry, although there are many more near misses than actual accidents. Between 1996 and 2007, Honeywell's data indicate incursions caused seven accidents and 269 fatalities around the world. One, a 2001 collision in foggy conditions between two planes on the ground at the Milan airport in Italy, killed 122 people.

But running off the ends of runways occurs more frequently, by some measures accounting for roughly a third of all major commercial airline crashes world-wide. In the same 11-year period, Mr. Smith says, Honeywell counts 220 accidents and 459 fatalities from so-called excursions, with an average of 15 such events annually. In July 2007, a TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 zoomed off a wet runway in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after landing fast and too far down the strip. It crossed a busy highway and smashed into a fuel depot. In all, 199 people died.

Companies are developing a host of technologies to combat precisely such errors. Airbus and Honeywell are working separately to create next-generation cockpit safeguards that will help pilots maintain stable descents just before touchdown, monitor their speed and trajectory, and even warn pilots to deploy the flaps, part of the wing that helps slow a plane when landing. There also are plans for warnings to tell pilots they are landing too far down the runway to stop safely, and to abort landings when short, wet or icy runways make it too dangerous to touch down.

Airbus has been perfecting an automated braking technique to alert pilots to deploy reverse-thrusters, while the plane's computers would order adequate braking force to prevent running off the end of a landing strip. The goal is to highlight dangers "pilots might not have realized before deciding to touch down," says Claude Lelaie, the top safety official at Airbus.

Airbus claims its proposed system would have given an Air France crew coming into Toronto during stormy weather in 2005 at least two warnings to pull up and abort a landing. Instead, the widebody plane landed one-third of the way down the 9,000-foot runway, crossed two roads and crashed into a ravine going 100 miles an hour. Two crew members and 10 passengers were seriously injured. "Now, everyone is putting a lot of effort to prevent runway excursions," says Airbus's Mr. Lelaie.

Airbus hopes to have its runway overrun system on a test A380 super jumbo aircraft in October, and to have it certified on a number of models next year.

Alaska, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc., will be the first passenger airline to outfit its entire fleet with a customized version of the Honeywell runway warning system when it finishes installing the software this month on its 112 Boeing 737s.

The system costs about $20,000 per plane and takes an hour to install. That's because it is a software upgrade to another Honeywell product, the so-called enhanced ground proximity warning system. That system provides pilots with a map-like cockpit display of nearby terrain, tall structures and the layouts of 10,000 airports world-wide, sounding an alert before the plane is expected to encounter an obstacle.

The runway alerting system combines that information with the plane's navigation equipment to help pilots pinpoint their position on or near runways. Mr. Smith says the system at this point "doesn't tell you if there is another plane on the runway," but Honeywell and other companies are working on advanced cockpit-map displays to do just that.

Sarah Dalton, Alaska's director of airspace and technology, says that since runway incursions are an industrywide safety problem, "here's a technology that's pretty simple and straightforward. Why not adopt it?" Alaska's pilots initially rebelled against the intrusiveness of the system, but the company reduced the number of alerts and dialed down the volume. Gary Beck, vice president of flight operations, says that for pilots "it's a little annoying at airports they're familiar with," but it's "one more safety layer."


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## hkskyline

*Alaska Air to equip entire fleet with Honeywell system aimed at preventing runway accidents *
9 September 2008

SEATTLE (AP) - Alaska Airlines said Tuesday it will equip its entire fleet with a system developed by Phoenix-based Honeywell International Inc. aimed at preventing runway accidents.

The carrier, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc., said the system gives audible cues to pilots when they approach taxiways or runways. It also sends a warning signal if the pilot begins accelerating on the wrong taxiway.

Alaska Airlines began installing the system on its Boeing 737s in July. Alaska's fleet is expected be fully equipped with the alert software by the end of the month.


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## hkskyline

*MISC | Pilot Fatigue Spurs Calls for New Safeguards*

*Pilot Fatigue Spurs Calls for New Safeguards *
12 September 2008
The Wall Street Journal

Safety experts and regulators have long been concerned about the dangers of exhausted, overworked or downright sleepy pilots. But the problem is intensifying as financially strapped airlines try to squeeze more productivity out of pilots, who by most measures are logging more hours per month and flying more grueling schedules than at any time since 2001.

Many big airlines with new labor contracts bargained in bankruptcy -- or under threat of it -- have many pilots flying up to an extra 10 or 15 hours each month, closer to the 100-hour maximum allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. That's in addition to layovers and time spent on ground duties.

Flight schedules that look manageable on paper often don't account for storms, air-traffic congestion or other potential delays that can make a long work day longer. In July, according to the latest government statistics, 19 U.S. airlines saw one quarter of all their flights, on average, arrive late by more than 15 minutes. And pilots say certain airlines schedule flight times at or just under eight hours -- the FAA-mandated limit that a pilot can be behind the controls per day -- on trans-Atlantic routes that regularly run longer, so they don't have to pay for an extra pilot.

Now, pilots and safety experts are stepping up pressure on the FAA to rewrite rest and scheduling regulations that basically haven't been updated since the 1960s. Critics say the rules don't reflect the current flying reality, and are based on outdated science that ignores the latest sleep research showing the cumulative impact of inadequate rest. At a hearing earlier this year, several National Transportation Safety Board members and staffers expressed concern that the U.S. was in danger of falling behind other countries in combating pilot fatigue.

After working more than 12 hours in a row -- inside and out of the cockpit -- error rates shoot up, complacency increases and communications become impaired, says Peter Demitry, a former test pilot and fatigue expert who consults for pilot groups. One symptom of fatigue that scientists are now studying is "micro sleep," when pilots become unresponsive for a few seconds or a minute, though their eyes are open.

The NTSB identifies tired pilots as one of its 10 "Most Wanted" safety improvements, linking at least 10 U.S. airliner accidents and 260 fatalities to fatigue since 1990. Hundreds more close calls have been reported to pilot unions and confidential federal safety databases over the years. Fatigue-related mistakes have included pilots forgetting to extend flaps before takeoff, inadvertently shutting down engines in midair, and losing track of a plane's position on final approach. In several cases, crew members have nodded off at the controls.

Airline officials say their own internal programs help counter fatigue and allow pilots to stop flying if they feel unsafe. And overall, jetliner accidents in the U.S. are at historically low levels, with the last crash of a wide-body jet occurring nearly seven years ago. New rules "have to be based on conclusive research, not anecdotal evidence," says David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for major carriers. "You shouldn't change regulations simply because there are times airplanes run late" and pilots end up working longer than anticipated.

But critics say new regulations are necessary to prevent incidents like one that unfolded in February. A flight operated by commuter carrier Go!, en route from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii, encountered a serious problem as it flew over Maui: Both pilots were fast asleep.

Cruising at 21,000 feet with 40 passengers aboard a Bombardier regional jet shortly before 10 a.m., the pilots for 18 minutes failed to respond to frantic calls from air-traffic controllers. The jet overshot its destination, crossed the big island of Hawaii and headed southeast over the Pacific. After traveling 26 nautical miles beyond its destination, the flight crew finally responded, reversed course and landed safely, according to the NTSB.

No official report has yet been released on the incident. In a letter urging the FAA and the airlines to more closely monitor pilot fatigue, the safety board said the pilots, who had been on duty four and a half hours that morning, "were on the third day of a trip schedule that involved repeated early start times and demanding sequences of numerous short flight segments." The letter concluded the pilots -- who no longer work for the airline -- "unintentionally fell asleep."

Go!, a division of Mesa Air Group Inc., is cooperating with the safety board's investigation. The company declined to comment on the incident, and hasn't identified the two pilots.

Pilots say short commuter hops are often more tiring than long hauls. Schedules can entail half a dozen legs in a single day, sometimes requiring planes to go up and down in storms that aircraft on longer routes are able to avoid. Since many commuter flights shuttle between hubs and outlying airports, they tend to run late and start early. That means crews can end up with short layovers in the middle of the night.

The routine can become "take a shower, brush your teeth, pretend you slept," says Tom Wychor, an 18-year veteran of Mesaba Aviation Inc., a wholly owned regional unit of Northwest Airlines Corp. Mr. Wychor recalls, in the early 1990s, nodding off on approach to the Houghton, Mich., airport in snow and fog.

"I was bathed in sweat and scared to death," when the runway suddenly appeared, he says. Mr. Wychor had started early three days in a row, and flown numerous 15-minute hops between Houghton and Marquette, Mich. Mesaba declined to comment for this article.

When Mesa pilots reach a destination late at night, they often want to nap before climbing back into the cockpit for an early morning departure. But for crews on the ground four hours or less, Mesa won't pay for hotel rooms.

Pilots "call it a 'camping trip,'" says Kevin Wilson, a captain and union chief for the 1,400 pilots at Mesa, which flies for UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. He says pilots will sometimes curl up on a chair in the terminal "or sleep on the plane; I've done it once myself." The same crews then fly up to three more legs before calling it quits and getting their mandatory rest period.

Such punishing schedules are legal under FAA regulations. Michael Lotz, Mesa's president and chief operating officer, says the carrier complies with all collective-bargaining agreements, and its pilots can be scheduled to fly "as many legs" as the FAA allows.

"I've heard anecdotal stories" of pilots sleeping on planes between flights, he says. "We don't track that."

With this segment growing -- regional airlines now carry one in four U.S. passengers and operate half the country's scheduled flights -- fatigue issues are coming into the spotlight. Peggy Gilligan, the FAA's deputy associate administrator for safety, recently suggested the most taxing commuter airline schedules may be reassessed. "This may be another area where we need to pay more attention," she said in an interview. Years ago, the agency pledged to establish a single level of safety for large and small airliners.

Airlines say they'd prefer to negotiate with their unions to set acceptable work limits rather than having Washington-imposed solutions. Fatigue "isn't a tremendous issue" for the 2,000 pilots at Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which owns three commuter carriers, according to Wayne Heller, chief operating officer, adding that the airline's work rules are stricter than the FAA's. "If we have fatigue," he says, "it's due to unplanned circumstances" outside the company's control.

The FAA, reluctant to impose additional financial burdens on the ailing industry, has hesitated to rewrite fatigue-prevention rules. But regulators acknowledge that fatigue in the cockpit is a significant threat. In an interview, former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey calls pilot scheduling disputes "the third rail of aviation safety regulation." And in June, the agency convened a comprehensive fatigue forum for the first time, gathering international airline officials, human-factors experts and sleep researchers. FAA officials say they intend to evaluate material presented in the sessions.

Foreign airlines and regulators have broken new ground in recent years by taking multiple factors into account when setting work limits for pilots. For example, pilots who fly numerous short legs or have so-called "backside of the clock" schedules -- requiring them to stay up all night or cross multiple time zones -- generally stop working sooner and are guaranteed more rest between trips than those following less demanding timetables.

The FAA allows all airline pilots eight hours of scheduled time behind the controls per day, and up to 16 hours of total duty time, which includes wait time at airports between flights. The agency allows up to 30 hours of flight time weekly and up to 100 hours monthly.

But pilots complain there are no explicit limits for overall hours of duty per week. And while most airlines schedule longer overnight layovers than Mesa, and will reserve hotel rooms for their pilots, ground duties combined with travel to and from hotels can reduce time available for actual shut eye.

The FAA's attempts to update its fatigue rules date back to the mid-1990s, when the agency proposed a wholesale revision of pilot scheduling limits. The goal was to ensure a 36-hour period of consecutive rest each week in addition to daily rest periods. (Currently, the agency mandates eight consecutive hours of rest in any 24-hour period.) To placate airlines, the proposal also sought to increase maximum daily flight hours behind the controls to 10 hours from eight hours. That would allow carriers to use a single crew to fly round-trip transcontinental runs the same day. But after heated debate, the FAA in 1996 jettisoned the package and later compromise attempts failed.

The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks made it virtually impossible to advocate far-reaching safety initiatives, according to current and former FAA officials. Traffic plummeted and the industry, fighting for survival, was shedding pilots and aircraft at a breakneck pace. Like many pilot-union leaders, the agency shifted its emphasis to security matters.

Once the industry started to recover financially about three years ago, business and government couldn't agree on what changes to pursue. Advances in cockpit automation and onboard safety-warning systems were supposed to provide extra protections against human slipups. New routes spanning huge expanses of the Pacific drew more attention to fatigue issues on ultra-long haul flights.

In April 2008, safety board member Steven Chealander told Congress that "little or no action has been taken" by the FAA to grapple with fatigue, and agency officials "have not indicated any firm plans" to improve their track record. That's in dramatic contrast to enhanced fatigue-prevention measures developed for operators of trucks, trains and ships in the U.S.

Two months later, the NTSB reiterated calls to fight chronic fatigue after it was found to be a factor in last year's nonfatal crash of a Pinnacle Airlines Corp. commuter jet. The safety board determined that the captain, making his fifth landing on a short airstrip that day, had been working for 14 hours in mostly bad weather. Landing on a snowy Michigan runway, he failed to heed various warnings and didn't perform basic calculations before the plane careened off the strip. The captain "absolutely made some poor decisions," says Michael Garvin, Pinnacle's vice president of flight operations. The pilot couldn't be located for comment.

Some airlines have struck independent deals with regulators to modify their pilots' schedules. The FAA and Delta, for example, at the end of 2006, signed an agreement authorizing pilots to fly longer than normal shifts on certain non-stop trips between the U.S. and India. Lasting 16 or 17 hours one way, such ultra-long flights pose formidable fatigue issues. The deal includes extra precautions such as extended rest periods for cockpit crews before leaving the U.S., and two full days off in India prior to the return leg. The FAA's Ms. Gilligan said at the time that the voluntary pact was "a very good example of what we are going to do" with subsequent requests.

Frustrated by what they say are unreasonably long shifts on certain domestic and transatlantic routes, pilots at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines recently delivered a report to the FAA and the NTSB documenting individual flights that consistently take longer than scheduled. On selected trips from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport -- which normally operate with two pilots -- scheduled trip durations of eight hours or less were exceeded more than half the time, say pilots. If the FAA determines American isn't adhering to "realistic" scheduling rules, those flights would have to carry an extra reserve pilot.

FAA officials declined to comment on the matter. An American spokesman said the company projects months ahead to "set realistic schedules about what out real flying time could be," factoring in historical trends, prevailing winds, aircraft types, specific airport operations and other variables. The airline has previously disputed pilot data on flight times.


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## hkskyline

*FAA claims progress on runway safety
NTSB says number of serious incidents is unchanged *
25 September 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - Under pressure to reduce close calls on airport runways, federal aviation officials say they are making progress. The numbers tell a different story.

Over the past year, the National Transportation Safety Board says 23 of the most serious types of runway incursions occurred at U.S. airports. A recent incident in Allentown, Pa., is expected to push that to 24 -- the same number of serious incursions as last year.

Defined as an event in which any aircraft, vehicle or person intrudes in space reserved for takeoff or landing, runway incursions are a top safety concern internationally and among U.S. air safety officials.

And Thursday, a congressional panel will hear from the Federal Aviation Administration, airline pilots and air traffic controllers about steps taken to prevent collisions.

The FAA is expected to cite a series of initiatives taken to boost runway safety, including:

--Installation of electronic mapping equipment in the cockpits of 80 airliners, belonging to four airlines, that will provide the position of the aircraft while on the ground.

--Installation of runway status lights over the next three years at 21 airports to signal pilots when a runway is safe to enter or cross.

--Plans for a satellite-based map system on all commercial airliners that will show pilots the location of their aircraft in the air and on the ground, as well as the positions of other planes.

In December, congressional investigators warned that air travelers face a high risk of a catastrophic collision on U.S. airport runways because of faltering federal leadership, malfunctioning technology and overworked air traffic controllers.

NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said he applauds the steps the FAA has taken to reduce runway accidents but worries they may not be enough to head off a disaster.

"The runway incursion issue is the thing that keeps me up at night," Rosenker said.

"We have been very close in recent years to seeing a terrible collision," he said. "We have been very fortunate that the airmanship and the seconds in which pilots have had to react have averted potentially catastrophic results."

In the 1990s, as air traffic soared and airports grew busier, the number of serious runway incursions rose, peaking in 2001 at 53 incidents. However, a spate of 10 severe runway incursions late last year prompted concern among aviation officials and in Congress.

Since 1990, 112 people have died in seven U.S. runway incursions, according to the NTSB.

The deadliest disaster in commercial aviation history was a runway incursion in 1977, when 582 were killed in the ground collision of two Boeing 747s operated by Pan American and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines at the Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands.


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## trainrover

Flights wait as Greek air traffic controller sleeps


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## fairul

rules of thumb...make sure there's no FOD on the runway


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## hkskyline

*FAA broadens effort to split up controllers' duties; union worries about safety, less training *
20 October 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration is realigning the duties of air traffic controllers in some cities, a move that critics say will mean less training for the people responsible for the safety of the flying public.

Faced with a nationwide shortage of controllers, the FAA says it wants to streamline training by dividing the job of air traffic controllers into two specialties. In January, controllers in Memphis and Orlando, Fla. -- now trained to work in their airport towers as well as companion radar centers -- will be restricted to one job or the other.

"It's simply focusing their training to do precisely what they're going to be doing," FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said.

Some lawmakers and the controllers' union say the change will allow the FAA to certify controllers with fewer training hours than the current standard.

"It masks their staffing problems," said Victor Santore, regional vice president of the Air Traffic Controllers Association.

The union also argues that the new job descriptions will cut controllers' salaries by 4 percent to 8 percent and limit staffing flexibility in emergencies.

Radar centers called TRACONs, for Terminal Radar Approach Control, direct aircraft for landings and takeoffs up to 50 miles from their airports. Towers handle planes when they're within five miles of an airport or on the ground. More than 40 percent of the FAA's 315 air traffic control facilities have towers with companion radar centers.

John Wallin, president of the union local in Memphis, said training controllers to work in both airport towers and radar centers improves coordination between the groups as they work to keep planes safely spread out over busy airports.

He called the FAA's move dangerous.

"Controllers who work in the tower will no longer have the experience that radar controllers have and that could lead to a disaster because they're not going to know what each other is doing," he said.

The FAA's move to split the tower and radar center jobs is not new. More than 20 of the busiest airports in the U.S., including those in Atlanta and Chicago, already operate that way.

But Wallin said those airports get the most experienced controllers, many of them with both tower and radar experience earned in smaller cities like Memphis.

The FAA also has looked into splitting the controllers' job functions at cities including Cleveland, San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C. Moves to split the work in towers and radar centers at Miami and Philadelphia were recently scaled back following complaints from members of Congress and others who argued the plans needed more study and input from outside the FAA.

Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., joined other Pennsylvania lawmakers in opposing the plans, arguing that "any action that would dilute staff would dilute safety," his office said.

The FAA hired most of its 14,800 controllers within a few years of a 1981 strike that ended when former President Reagan fired the strikers.

Rep. Jerry Costello, chairman of the House subcommittee on aviation, said the FAA has failed to lay the groundwork to replace so many experienced controllers, and has caused early retirements by refusing to negotiate since 2006 on a new work contract.

Costello, D-Ill., said the agency must get more controllers on the job, but any moves to lessen certification requirements will draw a congressional review, "if in fact that is taking place."

Nationwide, about a fourth of air traffic controllers are in training, meaning they need on-the-job supervision, and the transportation department's inspector general says that may increase to 30 percent over the next four years as more new controllers are hired.

Memphis has 62 controllers, 45 of whom are fully certified. The rest are in training, and up to 10 more trainees are expected next year. Though several of the older hands are likely to retire soon, Wallin said, the number of controllers deemed fully certified will increase after the job split.

"They can go to Congress and say, 'Look, we fixed Memphis,'" he said. "'We now have 54 or 55 fully certified controllers, some in radar and some in the tower.'"


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## world1

actually i want to be an ATCO.....but lol...hno:.i donno wat to do...im doing science right now....


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## hkskyline

*MISC | Laser Attacks on Airplanes*

*More pilots blinded by lasers*
20 now report they've been targeted while trying to land at Pearson and Island airports 
Toronto Star
21 October 2008

Incidents of pilots being blinded by lasers while attempting to land in the GTA are on the rise.

Back in March, Transport Canada had got five complaints since 2005 from pilots attempting to land at Toronto area airports about someone shining a laser at their plane and trying to target their eyes from the ground.

Since then, 15 pilots have filed local complaints about laser pointers aimed at incoming or outgoing aircraft. The most recent reports were from Oct. 10 and 13, by pilots flying into Toronto Island and Pearson International airports respectively.

"We can no longer say that it's rare," said Robert Palmer, spokesperson for WestJet Airlines.

In total, Transport Canada has received 73 reports of lasers aimed into cockpits across the country, including 46 so far in 2008.

The aviation industry is labelling these incidents "security concerns," a category reserved for bomb threats, sabotage and hijackings in Transport Canada's civilian aviation reporting system.

The types of high-powered lasers able to reach a cockpit from several kilometres away can be found in most boardrooms.

Earlier this month, a WestJet first officer was hit in the eyes during takeoff from Calgary when someone shone a green light into the cockpit of the 130-seat aircraft.

Upon landing in Kelowna, he was taken to hospital and released without injury.

"I wonder if the people doing this truly appreciate how dangerous it is," said WestJet's Palmer.

"I think in their minds it's a prank, (but) it's far more serious."

While the level of industry concern may be high, police tend to find the practice a random one that they're at pains to prevent.

Pilots have reported a green laser coming from near Canada's Wonderland and white lasers from the area of Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. A Porter Airline pilot reported a green laser aimed from two kilometres north of Bluffers Park.

No laser-related arrests have been made in the GTA.

Under the Aeronautic Act, someone caught attempting to blind a pilot with a laser risks a $100,000 fine and five years in prison.

Only one conviction has occurred in Canada. A Calgary man, David Mackow, was caught beaming a green laser from his downtown apartment at an Air Canada Jazz flight a year ago. The pilot alerted police, who dispatched a helicopter.

When Mackow aimed the laser at the helicopter, police isolated his position and arrested him. He told police he was "just having some fun." He was fined $1,000.

Air Canada pilot Stephen Guetta says the threat to a cockpit is probably greatest when the plane is about 10 seconds from landing.


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## kegan

That sort of idiocy happens in NZ too. A couple of examples:


> *Police hunt for laser 'idiot'*
> The Dominion Post | Saturday, 27 September 2008
> 
> Police are searching for an "idiot" who repeatedly aimed a laser beam into the cockpits of planes at Wellington airport.
> <snip>


And even more stupid than the first: lasering the cops' helicopter. An almost guaranteed way to get nicked.


> *Police nab laser-pointing youth*
> By CATHERINE WOULFE - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 28 September 2008
> 
> A young Auckland man is facing up to 14 years in prison for allegedly shining a high-powered laser pointer at the police helicopter Eagle - which promptly hunted him down.
> <snip>


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## hkskyline

*Ground laser injures eye of WestJet first officer *
Canadian Press
17 October 2008

Calgary -- The number of cases involving lasers being pointed at pilots is on the rise.

In the latest incident two weeks ago, shortly after a WestJet plane took off from Calgary the first officer was hit in the eye by a green laser beam. He was taken to hospital in Kelowna to be examined.

WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer said any light or laser beam that hits a pilot's eye at a critical moment such as takeoff or landing can affect safety.

Transport Canada investigates all directed lights flashed at planes.


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## hkskyline

*MISC | Screening Your Flight - Passenger Data & Airport Security*

*US to improve air passenger screening in 2009 *
22 October 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - A long-delayed U.S. government program designed to more accurately prescreen the names of airline passengers against terror watch lists is expected to launch early next year.

On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was expected to announce the final rule for the program, called Secure Flight, which would validate air travelers' information so there's less chance a person could be mistaken for someone else on a watch list. The program has been delayed several times over privacy concerns.

Misidentification of passengers has been one of the biggest inconveniences in post-Sept. 11 air travel, and widely known for putting Democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy, a few infants and thousands of innocent U.S. residents through extensive searching and questioning before they were allowed to fly.

Currently, passenger prescreening for domestic flights is handled by the individual airlines. But those airlines do not always tap into the most up-to-date watch lists, which contain names of people whom intelligence agencies determined should not be on planes. Under the new program, the airlines will be responsible for collecting a passenger's full name, gender and birth date, as opposed to the current practice of only collecting the passenger's name.

"This should eliminate the vast majority of misidentifications and significantly reduce instances where travelers believe, or are even told by airlines, that they are on a watch list," said a Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the final rule had not been announced.

The early sharing of passenger information was designed to give U.S. authorities more time to identify and remove from flights suspected terrorists like Richard Reid, who attempted to light a shoe bomb on a trans-Atlantic flight in December 2001.

This is the third version of the air passenger prescreening program that became a key part of aviation security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Federal Aviation Administration oversaw the first iteration, which began in 1998, according to 9/11 Commission research. This program required air carriers to use a computer-assisted passenger prescreening program to single out passengers in need of additional screening.

The FAA rules required that the airline only screen that passenger's checked baggage for explosives and not the passenger or the passenger's carryon bags. Later versions of this program became controversial because of data mining elements that had aroused privacy concerns. Secure Flight does not include data mining, which is the computerized searching of large databanks of information for clues to the identities of terrorists or criminals.

Congress had barred the Bush administration from launching Secure Flight after it was learned that it acquired live data for testing rather than using made-up data. But since then, the program has been tested and reviewed and includes a privacy impact statement.

The Transportation Security Administration has a redress program for passengers who believe they were misidentified with names on the terror watch list. As of Sept. 30, there were more than 43,500 requests for redress, according to the TSA. Passenger redress will continue to be available after Secure Flight is implemented.


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## spongeg

gotta wonder who would do it - can't be kids - they get tired of things too quickly


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## stevo89

This stuff has Happened in Sydney, there was one last year when a plane was coming into land, the plane had to divert to a different runway, i think now in Australia if you do it you get fined

real stupid thing to do!


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## siamu maharaj

How do people target pilot's eyes from several kilometers away? Even just the aircraft window? You simply can't do that from that far without any other equipment to stabilize the laser. Even the slightest hand movement will be amplified greatly at such lengths, add to that the fact that the plane is also moving. Anyone who's ever tried zooming in on a video camera would know that. At about 40x, it shakes like crazy, although the movements are almost invisible to the naked eye (if you look at the hands). Also, these puny lasers found in boardrooms can't really damage eyes at such distances, or can they?


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## hkskyline

*Government to Take Over Airline Passenger Vetting *
23 October 2008
The Washington Post

The Department of Homeland Security will take over responsibility for checking airline passenger names against government watch lists beginning in January, and will require travelers for the first time to provide their full name, birth date and gender as a condition for boarding commercial flights, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Security officials say the additional personal information -- which will be given to airlines to forward to the federal agency in charge -- will dramatically cut down on cases of mistaken identity, in which people with names similar to those on watch lists are wrongly barred or delayed from flights.

The changes, to be phased in next year, will apply to 2 million daily passengers aboard all domestic flights and international flights to, from or over the United States. By transferring the screening duty from the airlines to the federal government, the Secure Flight program marks the Bush administration's long-delayed fulfillment of a top aviation security priority after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief Kip Hawley said yesterday that, except in rare situations, passengers who do not provide the additional information will not be given boarding passes.

"If you don't provide the data, then you are going to put yourself in a position where you are probably going to be a selectee," subject at a minimum to greater future security scrutiny, Chertoff said in remarks announcing the program at Reagan National Airport.

"We know that threats to our aviation system persist," he said. Secure Flight "will increase security and efficiency, it'll protect passengers' privacy, and it will reduce the number of false-positive misidentifications."

Over the years, watch-list mismatches have frustrated countless passengers whose names are similar to those on the agency's no-fly list, or on a second list of "selectees" identified for added questioning. The passengers have included infants and toddlers; Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.); and the wife of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Catherine, whose name is similar to Cat Stevens, the former name of the watch-listed Britain-based pop singer who converted to Islam.

Details about why certain passengers are stopped are normally not shared with travelers, who often endure long delays and pointed questions. DHS has received more than 43,500 requests for redress since February 2007 and has completed 24,000 of them, with the rest under review or awaiting more documentation, TSA spokesman Christopher White said.

But the number of people who actually match the names on the watch lists is minuscule, officials acknowledged. On average, DHS screeners discover a person who is actually on the no-fly list about once a month, usually overseas, and actual selectees daily, Hawley said.

To bolster their case for the new program, U.S. officials for their first time disclosed that the no-fly list includes fewer than 2,500 individuals and the selectee list fewer than 16,000. Ten percent of those named on the no-fly list and fewer than half on the selectee list are U.S. citizens, Chertoff said.

By taking over watch-list vetting from industry, the officials said, the government will consistently apply the most up-to-date list information and more sophisticated computer programs to catch name variations, and will avoid the risk of giving sensitive data to foreign air carriers, Chertoff said.

They estimated that adding identity details will allow "99 percent" of travelers to avoid delays -- all but 2,000 passengers a day.

Many details of Secure Flight -- which cost $200 million and five years to develop, and will cost an estimated $80 million a year to operate -- remain unclear. Final regulations will be published by early next month, officials said, and after that, airlines can begin requesting information after 60 days and must be ready to send data to the federal government after 270 days.

The TSA will phase in domestic airlines first and foreign flights and over-flights starting later next year. The officials offered no deadline for completing the process.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and subcommittee head Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) said they are disappointed and troubled that full implementation may not occur for several months or years.

Air carriers, particularly foreign airlines, say the changes duplicate other security measures. They complain that retooling data systems will cost some of them millions of dollars and take several months.

Steve Lott, spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, which represents most foreign airlines, said the group's 230 members "are disappointed that the TSA did not accept many of our detailed recommendations on how to improve the Secure Flight program. . . . We look forward to working with the next Congress and Administration to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs."

Privacy experts welcomed changes to Secure Flight but said problems remain. Two earlier versions were scrapped after civil libertarians warned that the vast new databases planned would violate Americans' privacy.

U.S. officials said Secure Flight will not tap commercial data, conduct "data-mining" or generate risk scores on passengers. Information on most passengers will be destroyed after seven days.

But the American Civil Liberties Union said the government still lacks adequate redress procedures for people mistakenly matched to secret watch lists based on the government's master terrorist database, which identifies about 400,000 individuals and includes roughly 1 million name records and aliases.

DHS's redress program "has proven to be a black hole that sucks in documents and information from those misidentified but never emits a final resolution to help affected travelers get off the lists and stay off the lists," said Caroline Fredrickson, head of the ACLU Washington legislative office.

"Until we fix the watch lists, reengineering Secure Flight is not enough," said Timothy Sparapani, ACLU senior legislative counsel.


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## hkskyline

*Travelers flying out of Cleveland can use cell phones as boarding pass under pilot program *
26 October 2008
Associated Press Newswires

Airline passengers are using their iPhones and BlackBerries as their boarding pass in Cleveland and at nine other airports around the country.

The federal pilot program started at Hopkins International Airport on Thursday.

Instead of a paper ticket, passengers can download their boarding passes to their cell phone from their airline's Web site. The electronic pass includes a bar code with encrypted flight information and passenger identification. Security and airline officials then scan the pass at the airport.

Continental, Northwest, Delta or Alaska airlines are taking part in the program, and Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jon Allen says officials hope to add more airports within the next year.


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## spongeg

cell phones should already work on planes

I heard the reason why they don't allow it is the cell phone signals bounce around too much so the cell phone companies cannot charge you for the calls you make while on the airplane


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## hkskyline

*Fewer people taking long-haul business trips -IATA *

GENEVA, April 16 (Reuters) - Airlines worldwide filled 21 percent fewer executive class seats in February than the same month a year ago as fewer people took long-haul business trips, industry group IATA said on Thursday.

The data suggest more trouble ahead for airlines, which have seen numbers of coveted premium class passengers shrink along with the economic downturn that has reduced demand for corporate travel.

Flights within Central America, between Africa and the Far East, and across the Pacific had the most vacant premium seats, according to the International Air Transport Association, which looks only at cross-border flights.

"Average travel distances are now getting shorter," it said in its latest snapshot of the top-tier air segment.

IATA, which represents 230 carriers including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines and Emirates, has said the airline industry would lose $2.5 billion in 2009 as a result of lower demand.

The industry lost $8.5 billion in 2008, pinched by high oil prices and the onset of the global credit and financial crisis.

IATA estimated that premium revenues fell about 30 percent in February as a result of the decline in high-end passenger traffic and aggressive fare reductions by airlines worldwide.

"This revenue stream is key for the profitability of most network airlines and so this reversal will be putting significant pressure on first quarter financial performance," it said.


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## Langur

Make the fatties pay!! :bash:


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## [email protected]

hkskyline said:


> United Air to charge obese double on full flights


Finally, hopefully other airlines will follow :applause:


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## Fern~Fern*

So would it not be easier for Big fellows to purchase a first class seat (bigger roomier seat) than two coach seats and not be put on the spot...?

Does anyone know the difference in seat and area room on a first class than coach?


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## Mynameischarlie

Fern~Fern* said:


> So would it not be easier for Big fellows to purchase a first class seat (bigger roomier seat) than two coach seats and not be put on the spot...?
> 
> Does anyone know the difference in seat and area room on a first class than coach?


Problem is that some are so obese that even a First/Business Class wouldn't fit them. In fact I saw myself a fat man, who occupied nearly 3 Economy Class seats.


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## gramercy

D'oh!


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## mhays

About f*cking time.


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## ir desi

Mynameischarlie said:


> Problem is that some are so obese that even a First/Business Class wouldn't fit them. In fact I saw myself a fat man, who occupied nearly 3 Economy Class seats.


What the...how is that even possible?


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## zivan56

I would be up for launching a lawsuit for discrimination against tall people and increasing the danger of deep vein thrombosis for us due to restricted legroom. If someone who is willingly fat (there is no way you can gain weight if you eat less calories than your body burns) gets extra privileges for a condition they brought on themselves by consuming excessive calories, a person who is tall naturally should get the similar rights for more room.


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## siamu maharaj

This war against fatties should continue unabated.


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## GlasgowMan

hkskyline said:


> *United Air to charge obese double on full flights *




Excellent and about time too!

Like others have said, I hope other airlines take note from this and start charting fatties for there extra weight.


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## Mynameischarlie

ir desi said:


> What the...how is that even possible?


Well the FAs put him into the first row of the economy class section. So he had some room.
can't imagine him between 2 Economy Class seat-rows :lol:


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## ir desi

Mynameischarlie said:


> Well the FAs put him into the first row of the economy class section. So he had some room.
> can't imagine him between 2 Economy Class seat-rows :lol:


Haha yea that was exactly what I couldn't figure out. If heavy folks are typically round, how could he fit between the seats, much less into them?


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## hkskyline

*4 more Sea-Tac flights targeted with laser beam *
18 April 2009

SEA-TAC, Wash. (AP) - Airport officials say four more planes have been targeted with a laser beam while heading into Sea-Tac Airport for a landing.

Airport spokesman Perry Cooper told KOMO-TV the pilots of the planes reported seeing a flash of bright red beam while preparing to land Friday night. All four were hit within a 15-minute period, beginning at 8:30.

The planes all landed without incident. All were headed for the airport's third runway.

Investigators believe the beams originated from a place two to three miles north of the airport. They've narrowed their search to an area north of Glen Acres Golf Course and east of State Route 509.

Friday night's incident follows nearly two dozen similar occurrences that have taken place at Sea-Tac Airport in 2009.


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## hkskyline

*Irish no-frills airline considering 'fat tax' on passengers *
22 April 2009
Agence France Presse

Irish budget airline Ryanair said Wednesday it was looking at how it could introduce a "fat tax" after almost a third of travellers voted to penalise obese fellow passengers.

Ryanair, which already charges separately for services like food onboard, asked customers to vote for their favourite "cost reduction" idea on its website over the last two weeks.

The move came after Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary caused a storm earlier this year by suggesting passengers could be charged to use toilets onboard aeroplanes.

Of more than 100,000 people who voted, 29 percent favoured excess fees for very overweight passengers, making it the most popular option.

Ryanair now says it will now ask travellers how any such charge could be levied. The four options include charging male passengers who weigh over 130 kilogram (287 pounds) or females over 100 kilograms for every extra kilogram they carry.

Another alternative is charging for a second seat if a passenger's waist touches both armrests simultaneously.

"With passengers voting overwhelmingly for a 'fat tax', we are now asking them to suggest which format the charge could take," said Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara.

"These charges, if introduced, might also act as an incentive to some of our very large passengers to lose a little weight."

After the "fat tax", the second most popular "cost reduction" idea in Ryanair's poll was charging passengers one euro (1.30 dollars) to use toilet paper with O'Leary's face on it, a move backed by 25 percent.


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## hkskyline

*Pilots rest plan dropped --- U.S. regulator ends long-haul initiative as airlines fight it *
16 March 2009
The Wall Street Journal Asia

After years of disputes with airlines over ways to reduce fatigue in the cockpit, federal aviation regulators last week withdrew a proposal mandating extra rest for U.S. pilots flying the longest international routes.

The Federal Aviation Administration's decision jettisons, at least for the time being, a policy that senior officials had championed as an important safety measure. By establishing new standards for the longest routes, the agency had hoped to set a precedent for addressing the broader issue of pilot fatigue throughout the industry. The agency had been pushing for additional rest for pilots before, during and after these long-haul runs.

The airline industry opposed the initiative, which could have required some carriers to redesign cabins to provide additional sleeping areas for flight crews. Less than a month ago, the FAA asked a federal judge to throw out industry challenges to enhanced crew rest on nonstop flights lasting 16 hours or longer.

But earlier last week, the agency informed airlines, and pilot unions, that it was dropping the idea after reviewing industry comments. "We remain committed to addressing the issue of fatigue" on such flights, an agency email said, "but believe additional data is necessary."

An FAA spokeswoman said Friday the agency will "work with airlines in the next year to gather data that will help us determine the safety requirements for these flights."

Although a number of carriers have indicated they will voluntarily comply with some provisions, it is still a setback for FAA efforts to use the latest research findings to revise pilot-scheduling rules that basically haven't been updated for decades. Various FAA initiatives have stalled over the years as a result of disagreements between airlines and pilot groups.

The impasse over these routes, such as direct flights from Chicago to Delhi, comes as outside experts express concern that tired and sleepy pilots are one of the major safety issues confronting U.S. commercial aviation.

On flights lasting longer than eight hours, additional pilots typically are assigned to relieve crew members. But when nonstop flights are scheduled for 16 hours or more, even four-person cockpit crews work beyond that traditional eight-hour-a-day limit.


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## siamu maharaj

There's speculation pilot fatigue caused the EK's A340 tailstrike at MEL.


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## hkskyline

*No Ryanair 'fat tax' if it delays flights: O'Leary *
30 April 2009
Agence France Presse

Ryanair will only go ahead with a "fat tax" on overweight passengers if it does not lead to flight delays, the chief executive of the Irish budget airline said Thursday.

"We are not going to introduce a fat tax unless it is easy to administer. If it is going to slow down either our check-in or our turnaround time then we won't do it," Micheal O'Leary told a news conference.

Last week the airline announced it was looking at how it could introduce a "fat tax" after 29 percent of the more than 100,000 people who responded to an online poll on cost-reduction measures voted in favour of the measure.

Twenty-five percent of respondents voted to charge travelers one euro to use toilet paper adorned with a picture of O’Leary’s face and 24 percent voted to charge passengers three euros to smoke in a converted toilet cubicle.

Ryanair, which already charges separately for services like food onboard, launched the online poll after O'Leary caused a storm earlier this year by suggesting passengers could be charged to use toilets onboard aeroplanes.

It is now asking travellers online how any "fax tax" could be levied. The four options include charging male passengers who weigh over 130 kilogrammes (287 pounds) or females over 100 kilograms for every extra kilogramme they carry.

Another alternative is charging for a second seat if a passenger's waist touches both armrests simultaneously.

The proposed measure sparked a fresh controversy with some suggesting it would be discriminatory and illegal if it is adopted, a charge O'Leary rejected.

"It is not against the law, we can make it a safety issue," he said.


----------



## hkskyline

siamu maharaj said:


> There's speculation pilot fatigue caused the EK's A340 tailstrike at MEL.


*Weight error caused Australia plane scare: officials *
30 April 2009
Agence France Presse

Incorrect weight data on an in-flight computer caused the tail of an Emirates plane to scrape the runway during take-off from an Australian airport, officials said Thursday.

The Dubai-bound Airbus A340 was forced to make an emergency landing an hour after taking off last month at Melbourne airport when the crew received a tail strike alarm.

Smoke began to enter the rear of the cabin as flight EK407 circled the airport for more than 30 minutes to dump fuel before landing safely and without any injuries. There were 257 passengers and 18 crew on board.

A preliminary investigation by Australia's air safety regulator found that the weight was entered incorrectly into the onboard computer.

"The result... was to produce a thrust setting and take-off reference speeds that were lower than those required for the aircraft’s actual weight," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.

The plane's tail was seriously damaged as the captain manually increased thruster pressure, scraping the rear fuselage along the tarmac and the grass verge beyond the runway.

An internal Emirates investigation had prompted review in a number of areas, including the potential introduction of a double-entry system for flight computers "to protect against single data source entry error," the ATSB said.


----------



## GlasgowMan

Hopefully "Fat Tax" gets the go ahead. Why should normal weight passengers subsidise a higher fuel fill because someone on bored cant stop eating.


----------



## Halawala

That is soo unfair! 

Those people should get their FATASSES and walk to their destinations instead of fly there--so they can loose the weight!


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## siamu maharaj

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25386322-2862,00.html

This is what I was refering too, but yours is dated 30th, so that's probably the latest on the issue.


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## hkskyline

*Ryanair says passenger 'fat tax' is a non-runner *
8 May 2009
Agence France Presse

Irish no-frills airline Ryanair has abandoned plans for a "fat tax" on obese passengers, because it would slow down check-in procedures, it said Friday.

The airline, criticised for considering other money-making schemes including charging people to go to the toilet, said 16,000 people had voted in an online poll on how to charge larger passengers.

The most popular suggestion was to charge per kilo (over 130 kg for men, 100 kg for women); followed by charging for a second seat if the passenger's waist touched both armests, charging for every point over 40 in the Body Mass Index (BMI), or for every inch of waist above 45 inches for men (40 inches for women).

But in the end the Ryanair ditched the idea, "because there is no way to collect it without disrupting its 25-minute turnarounds and its online check-in process," it said in a statement.

"Over 30,000 Ryanair passengers called for a ‘fat tax’ for very large passengers," said the airline's Stephen McNamara.

"However, as all passengers will soon be checking in online we have no way of collecting a ‘fat tax’ without disrupting our unrivalled punctuality," he added.

"Ryanair will continue to examine avoidable discretionary charges, which are paid for by some passengers but help lower fares for all passengers."


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## jpsolarized

totally discriminatory.......unffair.

i feel sorry for obese people, they suffer alot and some of them can't lose weight so easily.

i know is totally uncomfortable to travel with fat people cause they can't fit into a single seat, but lets not make this kind of discriminatory laws.

i see someone calling an obese person FATTY as calling a black person ***** a gay person ****** an arab TERRORIST an asian person ***** etc.

really sad


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## Bart_LCY

^^ 

U R born being black
U R born being gay
U R born being Arab
U R born being from Asia

U R NOT born being obese...

Except rare medical conditions fatties deserve that so called "discrimination"

That's all in that matter...


----------



## Mynameischarlie

Most fatties eat too much
do not train their physical fitness.

Since science found out that a small percentage can indeed get obese through medical condition, it has become the standard excuse.......

Lose your weight, SOB!


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## Get Smart

agreed with having fat people to pay for 2 seats, i speak from bad experience  when i had a fat cow next to me on a flight


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## GlasgowMan

Bart_LCY said:


> ^^
> 
> U R born being black
> U R born being gay
> U R born being Arab
> U R born being from Asia
> 
> U R NOT born being obese...
> 
> Except rare medical conditions fatties deserve that so called "discrimination"
> 
> That's all in that matter...


Exactly!!!


----------



## hkskyline

Let's not look at this from a medical or discriminatory perspective, but consider a simple cost and resource question. Is it fair for passengers who consume more resources (eg. fuel and space) to pay for their use of a great fair of resources?

How practical is it to implement this in a reasonable way? Shall we sell tickets by the pound of flesh?


----------



## hkskyline

*Airlines' fat scale unfare *
30 April 2009
Denver Post

Dori Kerwin flies to Denver every month on business.

She is also fat.

'This is what obesity looks like,' she says, squeezing belly folds to illustrate her point while waiting for a DIA shuttle.

Travelers like Kerwin are weighing in against airline policies that bump obese passengers from sold- out flights or charge them twice as much.

'They can measure me, weigh me or drag me out. But there's no way I'm paying double to fly in a sardine can,' adds Kerwin, a 230- pound sales rep from Fresno, Calif.

You know the scenario.

The plane is packed. The air is stale. And fate has seated you next to a jumbo-sized stranger.

'You get that look like you're the scum of the earth,' says Ed Lawrence, a stout flier from Denver. 'And you know the guy next to you will try to find every excuse in the book for the stewardess to move him.'

The excuse from United Airlines, the latest carrier to implement an obesity policy, is that 700 customers have griped about being crowded out by other passengers' body parts spilling into their seats. If there are no open seats together, travelers unable to contain themselves within armrests or belt their seats with one extender will be bumped from full flights and charged for a second seat.

The carrier, Denver's largest, is quick to note it's the eighth airline to set such a policy.

'We're just following our peers,' says spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.

It's easy, I know, to get crazy on an airplane, annoyed at anyone encroaching on your swatch of real estate in the sky.

Easy, that is, until you remember that it's people, not parcels, we're talking about. And that airlines are squeezing us all out, making seats narrower and leg room shorter, and forcing us to pay extra for luggage and now even pretzels.

'Companies are shifting the burden for problems they created by overbooking and cramming people into tighter spaces,' says Kate Harding, who blogs in defense of fat people.

It's easy to scapegoat fat folks until you stand in an airport and listen to their stories.

Kerwin books window seats and presses herself against the wall so she doesn't bug her neighbor: 'I'm self-conscious even about using the armrest.'

'It's hard enough being heavy without being messed with by an airline that, as it is, charges $600 to fly to Chicago,' Lawrence adds. 'This is a war on fat people.'

Harding, whose husband is also overweight, says it's easier for him to wrap his seat belt under his paunch than it is for her to squeeze her hips between armrests: 'It's sexist. They're discriminating against women.'

Obesity policies may not violate anyone's civil rights; being obese isn't protected by the Constitution or safeguarded by federal law. Michigan is the only state to classify weight bias as discrimination, says Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

But the policy is insulting - an affront to the dignity of the 34 percent of Americans the center says meets the criteria for obesity. Besides, it marks a fat tax on people who often happen to be poor.

It's hard to imagine that such a coldhearted, one-for-

the-price-of-two ticket rule would fly at a concert venue or baseball stadium.

United is in full damage control, having been slapped last week with paying a $3 million jury award to a worker retaliated against because she complained of sex discrimination. As spinmeister McCarthy tells it, the company does not 'tolerate discrimination in any form.'

Except, apparently, when it comes to size.

Susan Greene writes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or [email protected].


----------



## hkskyline

*Pet Airways*

*Fido, frequent flier, gets his own airline *
9 May 2009
Agence France Presse

Move over Jet Set -- here comes the Pet Set.

An airline catering exclusively to furry passengers takes to the skies this July with a promise to make air travel everything the domestic animal could want.

The first Pet Airways flight will depart July 14 from Teterboro, a small airport outside New York, en route to Washington, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles, said founder Alysa Binder.

"Pet Airways was created to provide a safe and comfortable solution for the transport of pets," said Binder and her husband Dan Wiesel in a company statement.

"Inspiration for the concept came from difficulties encountered when shipping Zoe, our Jack Russell Terrier, across the country."

Flights, which will cost 149 dollars each way, will be on a modified Beechcraft 1900 supplied under contract with Suburban Air.

The plane usually fits 19 passengers. This time there will be room for 50 cats and dogs.

"There will be two pilots and a pet attendant. Everything is done for the safety and comfort of the pets," Binder said.

Pooches and kitties won't actually get seats. They'll travel in kennels stacked on custom-made shelves.

Like many flights in these security conscious days, a check-in two hours before take-off is requested. To avoid the queues -- and any potential pre-flight nerves -- check-in can be done 72 hours earlier.

"We’ll be happy to board your pet at our PAWS Lodge until the flight," the company's website advertises.

Then it's time to go to the Pet Lounge and onto the aircraft.

The airline asks that pets answer the call of nature while on the ground, but says they don't have to.

"Potty breaks are very important to your pet. With the human airlines, your pet could be made to hold themselves for a very, very long time. Pet Airways monitors the last time your pet had a potty break, and makes sure that they get regular potty breaks along the way," the site says.

Elizabeth Cory, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Authority, explained that Pet Airways passengers -- the company calls them "pawsengers" -- will not be alone in the sky.

"Animals have always been carried by air, horses for example. This group only has a different marketing proposal. They are contracting with an existing carrier to carry animals," Cory said.

Cory said the airline met FAA safety standards.

"For us the most important is to avoid the unnecessary shift of weight, and to insure that the animals are properly restrained."

Some 76 million cats and dogs are estimated to travel each year in the United States, including two million in airplanes.

Air travel is no easy ride for domestic creatures. Some 5,000 animals a year suffer injury while being transported, according to animal rights experts.

The pet set looks likely to avoid such unpleasantness.

"Pet attendants make sure they’re all comfortable and that they, and their pet carrier, are secure," the website says. "A Pet attendant monitors and checks the comfort of all pawsengers every 15 minutes during the flight. After landing, pets will be disembarked, given a potty break, and will be available for pickup at the Pet Lounge."


----------



## siamu maharaj

jpsolarized said:


> totally discriminatory.......unffair.
> 
> i feel sorry for obese people, they suffer alot and some of them can't lose weight so easily.
> 
> i know is totally uncomfortable to travel with fat people cause they can't fit into a single seat, but lets not make this kind of discriminatory laws.
> 
> i see someone calling an obese person FATTY as calling a black person ***** a gay person ****** an arab TERRORIST an asian person ***** etc.
> 
> really sad


What a retarded comment.

Several airlines give discounted tickets to infants. So they must be discriminating against non-infants then, right?


----------



## luv2bebrown

i dont understand why they just dont lose weight. if your large size encroaches on somebody else's space, its YOU who is being unreasonable, not the airline for forcing you to take two seats.

what's next? should we allow smokers to smoke on planes now so that we don't discriminate against them?


----------



## Oasis-Bangkok

Frog Airways.....


----------



## hkskyline

*Business jet flights show sharp drop in Europe *

GENEVA, May 11 (Reuters) - Business aviation flights have shown a sharp drop of nearly 20 percent across Europe over the first quarter of this year as companies cut back on costs to fight recession, according to figures issued on Monday.

Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation which tracks aircraft movements from and across the continent, said traffic recovery in the long booming category was unlikely until the spring of 2010.

The drop echoed similar falls in the commercial airline and cargo-carrying sector which worldwide has been suffering from a decline in world trade shrinks cargo while the demand for mass passenger travel has also been drying up.

Business aviation -- which includes flight operators, taxi firms and companies operating their own aircraft as well as plane makers, airports and maintenance firms -- accounts for some 8 percent of air traffic movements in Europe.

The European Business Aviation Association says overall the sector -- whose planes in Europe are almost entirely owned by firms and governments and only 3 percent by individuals -- contributes some 20 billion euros, or 0.2 percent of GDP, to the European economy, and provides jobs for some 164,000 people.

The Brussels-based Eurocontrol released the statistics in Geneva on the eve of the annual European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE), at which aircraft makers, flight operators and their suppliers parade their wares.

But while industry officials in Geneva for the 2-day EBACE agreed the atmosphere was downbeat after years in which business aviation saw annual growth of some 10 percent, they argued that the medium-term outlook was good for the industry.

"This is an industry that is growing, an industry that is in demand," said Brian Humphries, president and chief executive officer of the EBAA which organises EBACE.

"We are going through a downturn but we have great potential ahead, and that it what we have to work on," he told a news conference with Eurocontrol and the International Aircraft Owners' and Pilots' Association, another industry body.

Among companies exhibiting at EBACE are Canada's Bombardier , Brazil's Embraer, Boeing Business Jets division, and Airbus, as well as airport groupings, navigation equipment providers and the aviation industry's main publications and journals.

Officials say the presence at EBACE 2009 of a wide range of companies across the industry shows continuing confidence, although they agree that its image even in Europe could have been affected by scandals in the United States over the use of high-luxury plans by executives of failing companies.

"The difference is that in Europe we come from a slightly different perspective, in that we have tended to use business aircraft modestly with little of the ostentation that has been seen across the Atlantic," he added.


----------



## Andrew_za

That "food" looks grose


----------



## hkskyline

*Crew members say 2 planes were tracked by a green laser as they flew out of NJ airport*
16 May 2009

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Federal officials will investigate reports that two Continental Airlines planes were tracked by a green laser as they flew out of Newark Liberty International Airport.

Both incidents occurred shortly after 10 p.m. Friday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said crew members aboard Continental flights 460 and 1192 reported the laser light to air traffic control. He said the incidents occurred about 4.2 miles south of the airport.

Flight 460 was headed toward San Antonio, Texas while flight 1192 was en route to Boston, according to the Continental Web site.

Further details on the incidents were not disclosed.


----------



## simcard

what a horrible thing to do hno: anyone know what the laser contraption looks like, cant be the puny ones that fit in pocket and used during presentations and lectures


----------



## hkskyline

*Southwest Air to let pets onboard - for a fee *
29 May 2009

DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co., which has bashed competitors for charging fees, said Friday it will add new fees for passengers who bring small pets onboard and for unaccompanied minors.

It will also raise the charge for checking a third piece of luggage or an overweight bag.

Other airlines have raised hundreds of millions of dollars since last year with new fees that include charges for checking one or two pieces of luggage and talking to reservations agents on the phone.

Southwest fired back by spending heavily on television commercials that blasted other airlines for charging "hidden fees." Southwest officials said they were winning customers turned off by the new bag fees.

On Friday, Southwest officials defended their own new fees, which Chief Executive Gary Kelly called "just the starting point" for more changes later this year.

"It is always our goal to be upfront with our customers and to set the right customer expectations," Kelly said. "Our changes today associate a charge for items that are truly an extra service."

Southwest has lost money the last three quarters, and it has joined all other airlines in searching for new revenue, a job made more difficult by a downturn in travel during the recession.

Southwest already charges for checking three or more pieces of luggage and for cocktails, and it is testing onboard Internet access for a fee. Kelly hinted last month that new fees were coming, while insisting they wouldn't be "hidden," by which he seemed to mean fees on first and second checked bags.

"It's disingenuous on our part to say that there are no, quote, fees," Kelly said last month. "We just try to be as honest and straightforward and have the right expectation with our customers on fees as we can."

Kelly said hidden fees are ones "that people don't think are right."

Starting with flights on June 17, Southwest will let small dogs and cats onboard -- now only service animals are allowed -- for $75 each way.

The Dallas-based discount airline will also begin charging $25 each way for unaccompanied children ages 5 through 11. That fee will apply to tickets bought after May 31 for travel June 17 or later.

And the fee for a third checked bag or a bag over 50 pounds but less than 71 pounds will rise to $50 from $25.

Betsy Snyder, an analyst who tracks Southwest for Standard & Poor's, noted that Southwest still doesn't charge for the first two checked bags, as the so-called legacy airlines such as Delta, American and United do.

"I don't think it is a big deal," she said of the pet charge.

Veteran travel industry expert Terry Trippler agreed that the new fees probably won't upset too many Southwest travelers.

"The fees for pets is something all airlines have -- in fact, some are close to $150 one way, so at $75 Southwest is pretty low," Trippler said.

American Airlines charges $100 one way to take a pet in the cabin and $150 in the cargo hold, the only option for pets that won't fit under an airline seat. Delta charges $150 in the cabin and $275 to check an animal as cargo.

JetBlue Airways, which like Southwest doesn't charge passengers who check a single bag, recently added pet service. It charges $100 each way, but pets earn two frequent-flier reward points for their master.

Trippler said many airlines also charge more than Southwest's new fee for unaccompanied minors, but he said the bump in third-bag fee might cause some grumbling. Southwest said only 1 percent of travelers check a third bag.


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## hkskyline

*Senators ask inspector general to investigate FAA safety regulation at regional airlines*
19 May 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Four senators, including the chairman of the Senate's aviation panel, have asked a government watchdog to investigate safety enforcement at regional airlines.

In a letter released Tuesday, the senators told Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel that the circumstances of the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo in February raised questions about the Federal Aviation Administration's enforcement of regulations related to pilot training and crew rest at regional carriers

"Adequate pilot training and rest is a basic prerequisite to make certain the air transportation system achieves a high level of safety," the letter said. "Such regulations, however, must be paired with vigorous FAA oversight of airline compliance to have a credible effect."

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-.N.D., chairman of the commerce committee's aviation subcommittee, also raised the issue with Randy Babbitt, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to head the FAA at a confirmation hearing Tuesday. Dorgan said he was "just furious" about testimony during a National Transportation Safety Board hearing last week suggesting that flaws in pilot hiring and training, as well as fatigue, may have contributed to the crash, which killed all 49 people aboard and one man on the ground.

Dorgan asked Babbitt if the same safety standards that apply to larger airlines also apply to regional carriers.

Babbitt, a former Air Line Pilots Association president and one time Eastern Airlines pilot, said there once were less rigorous standards for regional carriers, but changes he helped develop in the early 1990s were supposed to bring regional airlines up to the same safety standards as larger carriers.

Dorgan said he plans to hold a hearing June 10 on safety at regional airlines.

Other senators signing the letter were Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; the committee's senior Republican, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, and the aviation subcommittee's senior Republican, Jim DeMint of South Carolina.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who met privately with Babbitt just before the confirmation hearing, said he received assurances from Babbitt that he will look into FAA's regulation of pilot work hours at regional airlines to see if they lead to fatigue.

"I told him it seems to me they underpay and overwork their pilots," Schumer said in an interview. "He talked to me about how horrible it is. ... He talked about how if you're tired because you've flown across country, that's the wrong thing. He said he would look at it all. He said he was passionate about pilot fatigue."

Executives for regional airlines, meeting in Salt Lake City on Tuesday for an industry convention, defended the experience and professionalism of their pilots, saying the NTSB hearing had skewed public perception.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there," said Joseph D. Randell, president and CEO of Air Canada Jazz. "Anybody with an agenda will use it."

Members of Congress said they were stunned by the salaries of the Flight 3407 pilots, who were employees of commuter airline Colgan Air Inc. of Manassas, Va., which operated the flight for Continental.

NTSB investigators calculated that co-pilot Rebecca Shaw was paid just over $16,000. Colgan officials testified that captains such as pilot Marvin Renslow earn about $55,000 a year. The company later said Shaw's salary was $23,900 and that captains earn about $67,000.

The twin-engine turboprop experienced an aerodynamic stall as it neared Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Testimony and documents indicate Renslow and Shaw made a series of critical errors.

Shaw lived with her parents near Seattle and commuted across the country the night before the crash to report to work at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The pilots may have tried to snatch sleep before the flight in an airport crew lounge, which is against company policy.

------

Associated Press Writer Paul Foy in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.


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## hkskyline

*Corpulence at 35,000 feet
The issue of overweight passengers using more than one seat is far from resolved*
6 June 2009
National Post

Think of it as two approaches to dealing with obesity: tough love versus a kinder, gentler approach.

Airlines have been wrestling once again with the issue of how to treat "passengers of size" -- obese flyers who can't fit into one seat. When there's an available adjoining seat, no biggie. But when, as is increasingly the case these days, the flight is fully sold, a problem arises. Should an obese passenger who can't fit into a typically 17-to 19-inch-wide economy seat have to pay for a business class upgrade or wait for the next flight and buy an extra seat in economy?

The hard line approach is being adopted by U. K. discount carrier Ryanair after a majority of 100,000 respondents voted in favour last month at Ryanair.com.United Airlines also adopted this policy in April, joining major U. S. carriers such as Continental, Delta, American, US Airways, Southwest and JetBlue. This past winter, however, Canada's Supreme Court ruled against Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet when they tried to appeal a Canadian Transportation Agency decision saying airlines must provide an extra seat to obese passengers at no extra charge. Size-acceptance advocates hailed the decision. But ask most frequent flyers how they feel -- most opt for a less-Oprah, more-Dr. Phil approach.

"If a passenger uses two seats, he should pay for two seats, otherwise the rest of us subsidize him," argues MeMe Roth, a New York City-based health counsellor and president of the National Action Against Obesity, which lobbies against junk food in school cafeterias.

Harriet Baskas, author of the Stuck At The Airport blog (stuckattheairport. com), notes that a recent online survey she posted garnered 80% support for a two-seat-two-fare policy. "It's a really emotional subject," she says, noting the poll elicited 21,000 votes in less than 48 hours.

In an era of more luggage surcharges, many question why this form of "extra baggage" isn't being passed on to the individuals toting it. A 2004 study published in American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that in 2000, US$275-million in extra fuel was necessary to haul additional passenger weight.

This is simply a red herring, counters Bill Fabrey, a director at the Council on Size & Weight Discrimination ( cswd.org):Would the airlines, he asks, "be gracious enough to refund a portion of the fare paid by very lightweight passengers representing the fuel savings they might enable?" But is the issue really about money, or moral indignation?

Ask people about the "fat tax" issue and irate non-corpulent passengers offer up tales of being cramped next to a plus-size seatmate. "I was recently on a transatlantic, seven-hour flight where I was seated next to a woman who was obese enough that she encroached on about a third of my seat, so her thigh was partly on top of mine," says a Toronto web master who asked that her name be withheld. "It was hellish. I was in pain. I had to keep getting up and walking around."

Atlanta-based marketing manager Cathy Cooper spent a seven-hour honeymoon flight to Maui on an airplane jump seat next to the toilet because her ticketed row yielded "two clinically obese people who were basically sitting on me."

One frequent Toronto traveller who recently returned from a vacation in Japan says she sympathizes with the plight of the obese, "but damn it, you've paid for your space! You can minimize the discomfort of listening to a screaming baby by putting on headphones, but nothing can be done if someone's encroaching on your seat."

In late 2002, Virgin Atlantic paid £13,000 (then about US$20,000) to passenger Barbara Hewson, who suffered injuries after being partially crushed by an obese seatmate during a London-Los Angeles flight. Such payouts are rare. "And the recoverable damages -- if any -- will be very low," says San Francisco-based aviation lawyer Gerald Sterns of Sterns & Walker. (The money Hewson received was to compensate her for the acute sciatica, blood clot in her chest and torn leg muscles that developed during her 11-hour flight. Her first stop after LAX was the hospital.)

In 2004, according to Statistics Canada, 23% of Canadian adults were obese, with an additional 36% qualifying as overweight.

Whether we're talking about a minority group -- the position taken by size advocates -- or a majority, attitudes aren't changing, says Dr. Rebecca Puhl, a research scientist at the Rudd Center for Food & Obesity at Yale University. "Our culture tends to emphasize 'personal responsibility' for body weight, [which] perpetuates considerable blame and prejudice. Puhl says she fears that "fat tax" policies could be used to justify job discrimination: Employers may simply decided not to hire obese job candidates for positions that involve a lot of air travel.

"Would people complain about being inconvenienced by a wheelchair or because an elderly person is too slow?" asks one Toronto-based frequent traveller who supports the Supreme Court decision, adding "most people who are so obese they take up more than one seat probably have a legitimate health problem, so the airlines should just suck it up."

It's a thorny problem for the airlines. If they charge obese passengers, they face complaints of discrimination. If they don't, they may have to raise fares in an economic climate of increased competition and declining revenue. If they look the other way when the obese patron takes up extra seating, they face losing the squished average-size passenger and may possibly have to pay them in the form of ticket vouchers or even a lawsuit.

A solution that all passengers would love? Taking a ride in a time machine to the days when there were more flights and more open seats.

"Flights aren't like they used to be even five years ago. Now they're crammed without even a seat to spare. That used to be the exception, but now it's the rule," says McGee.

And are things likely to change in the foreseeable future?

Fat chance.

---------

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Standard-and plus-size passengers can improve their flight and make the best of a squished situation, says John Di Scala, founder and chief blogger at travel portal JohnnyJet.com.He averages more than 100 trips per year. If you are standard size - If you're cramped by an obese seatmate, find a flight attendant, "discreetly outline the situation and ask if there's any way they can move you." - Can't move? Ask for compensation. "Some flight attendants may have the authority to give you a credit. If not, ask them to give you their name so they can vouch for you," when you seek a credit post-flight. - Be nice: It could be a long flight.

If you are plus size - Approach the gate agent as early as possible and politely request a seat with an empty one next to it. - Ask if you can buy an upgrade to Business or First Class at the gate. "US Airways charges just $150 extra for a cross-country trip. That's money well spent." They're available only at the last minute. - Be nice: It could be a long flight.


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## hkskyline

*Aviation Unions Raise Concerns *
1 June 2009
Air Safety Week

The nation's aviation labor unions told Congress recently that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must improve its labor management relations after a contentious eight years under the Bush administration while at the same time address flight crew fatigue and tighten monitoring of foreign repair stations.

At a Senate aviation subcommittee hearing on the FAA reauthorization bill, Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), told the panel restoring relations with the FAA is only possible with a new collective bargaining agreement. Air traffic controllers have been working under FAA-imposed work and pay rules since 2006 after the Bush administration rejected NATCA's call for mediation and walked away from the bargaining table.

Said Forrey: "A resolution to the dispute is critical to stabilizing the controller workforce, restoring a collaborative working relationship between controllers and the FAA. Not only are controllers working longer on position, but the workload during that time has increased as well. A controller working without an assistant is responsible not only for communication with aircraft, but also for coordination with other controller positions and facilities, as well as updating flight progress information."

Mediation aimed at ending the ongoing contract dispute between the FAA and the NATCA is now ongoing. Both parties signed a process agreement to move the negotiations forward. The agreement provides for extensive mediation sessions and for binding resolution of any unresolved issues.

"One of my highest priorities, since coming to DOT, has been to resolve this issue so that we can move forward to make our commercial aviation system even better than it already is," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in announcing that Jane Garvey, a former FAA Administrator, would lead the mediation team.

Garvey is heading the mediation as part of a three-member panel that also includes Mediators Richard Bloch and George Cohen, who have extensive experience in mediating high profile disputes.

It is expected that the bargaining will continue through early June 2009.

At the same time, Tom Brantley, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), said change must be made in the contract negotiations process with the FAA. For the past six years, four PASS bargaining units have been at an impasse with the FAA.

Stated Brantley: "Over the past several years, labor-management relations within the FAA have been largely dysfunctional. This has resulted in low employee morale, stressful working conditions and overwhelming tension between labor and management--all of which impact the productivity of FAA employees and the efficiency of the aviation system."

Air Line Pilots Association President Captain John Prater and William McGlashen, assistant to the president of the Flight Attendants (AFA), both called on the FAA to address the issue of flight crew fatigue.

Said Prater: "One of the many hardships that the post-9/11 era brought to airline flying is pilots flying right up to the FAA regulatory limit. This has resulted in adverse safety impacts, fatigue, and more stress. Sixteen-hour domestic duty days are facts of life for many airline pilots."

McGlashen said "fatigue is a very real and serious concern for the flight attendant workforce in this country as well. As the deep concessions demanded of flight attendants during the recent and ongoing financial turmoil of the airline industry have taken hold it has become clear that airline management hopes to keep our members working for as long as possible with greatly reduced time off between duty."

Flight attendants, he continued, are so exhausted that they have in some cases forgotten to perform critical safety functions, including the arming of doors and even fallen asleep on the jump seats. "Even more troubling is that the FAA continues to allow the carriers to schedule reduced rest periods, making them more routine, and has failed to recognize or show any concern for the impact that flight attendant fatigue has on the overall safety of the aviation system," he testified.

Machinists (IAM) Vice President Robert A. Roach Jr. said "the aviation industry is at a crossroads. Thirty years of airline deregulation, reckless management decisions and more than a hundred bankruptcies have left it hobbled. Airline workers have shouldered more than their fair share to help revitalize their employers and their industry.

"As a consequence of putting dollars ahead of sense, maintenance of U.S. aircraft has been exported across the globe, at a faster pace than the FAA could respond. The FAA needs adequate funding to hire a sufficient number of inspectors to ensure aviation maintenance safety at home and abroad...to safeguard the U.S. aviation industry," Roach believes.

That same sentiment was expressed by Ken Hall, vice president at large, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who said "U.S. air carriers have ever- increasing amounts of significant maintenance performed on their aircraft by FAA-certified foreign repair stations or their contractors that are not subject to the same safety and security standards as domestic repair stations. This trend has eroded passenger safety, increased homeland security risk, and decimated a skilled workforce of American aircraft mechanics."

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require more inspections of aircraft repair stations outside the U.S. The language contained in the FAA reauthorization bill is opposed by the European Union. The U.S. Senate must still consider the provision.

The provision requires for the first time that FAA workers inspect at least twice annually any overseas maintenance facility used by American airliners. Currently, the FAA relies heavily on inspections by its foreign counterparts.

It also requires foreign workers to submit to the same drug and alcohol testing required of U.S. workers.

The European Commission has threatened to pull out of a pending aviation safety agreement unless the provision is dropped. A key part of that agreement stipulates that the U.S. and European Union aviation safety bodies have comparable safety requirements and inspection regimes.

William Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, said: "we have seen no evidence whatsoever that aircraft maintenance performed by non-U.S. repair stations is any less safe than that performed within the U.S., provided the repair stations and personnel are properly certificated and regulated. We would be very concerned about any interference in the carefully crafted international system of reciprocal recognition of airworthiness determinations."

Other provisions of the FAA reauthorization bill would: require the FAA to hire more safety inspectors; create an independent office within the FAA to investigate whistleblower complaints; and, direct the National Academy of Sciences to study pilot fatigue.


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## nazrey

*New airline Pet Airways' only passengers to be four-legged*
By Dan Reed, USA TODAY

A solution to some of the anxiety that Deborah Kehoe Wade and other pet owners suffer when they have to put a furry family member on a plane may be around the corner.

It's the sort of anxiety Wade experienced when she moved from Washington, D.C., to Bogota, Colombia, two years ago, despite paying a New York pet travel service more than $2,000 to ship her pets.

TELL US: How do you usually travel with your pets?

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-06-18-pet-airways_N.htm


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## ruifo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc2lvz1LGTc


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## Shezan

:laugh:


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## hkskyline

*Paris just isn't Paris without your pooch *
22 June 2009
The Globe and Mail

It was a picture-perfect night in Paris. As my husband and I strolled along the Seine, the lights of Notre Dame twinkling on the water, he reached for my hand and I looked into his eyes. He didn't have to say a word – I knew just what was on his mind.

“What do you think Lily is doing right now?”

Yes, in the midst of our once-in-a-lifetime vacation, in possibly the most romantic spot on Earth, we were both thinking about our dog. Not that there's much to wonder about: She basically sleeps and eats. It wasn't like she might be curing cancer or mastering agility courses in our absence. Still, Lily was a topic of conversation from Montmartre to the Eiffel Tower, and everywhere in between.

While I doubt Lily would have appreciated Paris, and while we certainly enjoyed ourselves despite her absence, sometimes a vacation just isn't a vacation without your pet.

The travel industry is starting to understand this, and to realize that pet owners can become loyal, and lucrative, customers. More and more hotels, even nice ones, are accepting pets, and airlines are becoming more pet-friendly as well.

Earlier this month, Air Canada reversed its policy on animals, which banished them to the cargo hold. It will now allow small cats and dogs (10 kilograms or less) to travel with their owners in the main cabin. In May, Southwest Airlines began allowing dogs and cats as carry-ons as well. All for a fee, of course.

What if Fido or Fluffy is too hefty to fit underneath the seat in front of you? Pet Airways, launching on July 14, will serve animals exclusively: Dogs and cats of any size will travel in the main cabin, in crates, with flight attendants checking on them every 15 minutes. Their humans have to fly separately. But at least owners have the peace of mind of knowing their pets aren't freaking out in the cargo hold.

“Us pet lovers, we're crazy about our pets, so we want a more safe, comfortable way to allow our pets to travel,” Pet Airways co-founder Alysa Binder told Fox News.

Cities to be served by Pet Airways include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, and their inaugural flights appear to be entirely booked, proving you can never overestimate the pet-craziness of the American public.

But air travel, even in the best conditions, isn't much fun for pets. A road trip, on the other hand, can be just what the veterinarian ordered. Happily, options for getting out of town with a pet have expanded in recent years to include more than just camping and cheap motels.

Bed-and-breakfasts are usually good bets for pet-friendliness. Silvia Brown has been welcoming dogs of all sizes to Clover Field House, her B&B in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., for about 10 years (her website features photos of happy canine customers). Aside from a couple of inattentive owners who left their dogs in the room all day, she reports few problems.

“Most of the dogs are better behaved than kids,” Ms. Brown says.

The Fairmont hotel chain, which owns 21 properties across Canada, has long welcomed pets and is officially phasing out its 10-kilogram weight restriction. Mike Taylor, Fairmont public-relations manager, says the rule wasn't necessary or always enforced – which I appreciated when Lily, who weighs in closer to 15 kilos, and I were guests at the Château Frontenac in Quebec City last summer.

I don't think Lily fully appreciated the grandeur of the Château Frontenac or the charms of Vieux-Québec, though she did seem to enjoy the many outdoor cafés and resulting croissant crumbs. But having her there made the trip more fun for me. And when it comes to experiencing local culture, a pet is the greatest travel companion. My French is horribly rusty, but I know what chien gentil means, and so does Lily. We may not have had Paris, but we'll always have Quebec City.


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## hkskyline

*WSJ: FAA Panel To Draft Rules On Commuter Air Pilot Fatigue *
24 June 2009
Dow Jones News Service

The Federal Aviation Administration, following up on earlier pledges to enhance commuter airline safety, said Wednesday it will convene a panel to draft recommendations by Sept. 1 on new rules aimed at alleviating fatigue among pilots working for such carriers.

As part of its effort to ramp up commuter oversight, the FAA for the first time also has specifically instructed its inspectors to review the performance of less-experienced pilots, as well as those who flunked flight tests or require remedial training. In addition, federal regulators will "develop the authority and processes" to ensure that contracts between major airlines and their commuter partners mandate sharing of safety practices, according to FAA documents released Wednesday.

To better identify pilots with repeated lapses in various training settings or at different carriers, the agency called on airlines and unions to commit, by July 31, to work together to produce more exhaustive background checks of pilots. The FAA called for an industry-wide policy to require that airlines obtain all FAA records pertaining to an individual pilot before hiring. Currently, airlines must obtain individual waivers from pilots to review their comprehensive training records.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)

The moves were prompted by fallout from the Feb. 12 crash of a commuter airliner outside Buffalo, N.Y, which killed 50 people.

The aviation rule making committee dealing with crew-scheduling and fatigue issues will consist of regulators, airline representatives and labor leaders. It is slated to be convened by mid-July, with an ambitious deadline of finishing its deliberations in roughly 60 days.

The multi-faceted announcement comes less than two weeks after FAA chief Randy Babbitt presided over an industry-wide summit on commuter airline safety held in Washington. Mr. Babbitt emerged from the summit saying he hoped to move quickly on several fronts, including drafting tougher rules on pilot fatigue within months.

Congressional and public concerns about commuter airline safety have grown since the Feb. 12 crash of a Colgan Air Inc. plane while on approach to land at the airport in Buffalo. Investigators discovered that the captain of the turboprop, flying under contract to serve Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL), failed a number of flight-proficiency tests in his career. The crash also highlighted questions about adequate crew rest and pay for many commuter pilots.

"The FAA is making pilot fatigue a high priority and will work rapidly to develop and implement a new flight time and rest rule based on fatigue science and a review of international approaches to the issue," the agency said in a statement Wednesday. The FAA said it intends to hold at least 10 regional safety forums to firm up previous commitments by airlines, unions and other interest groups. The FAA also promised to work with lawmakers who are working on a variety of bills to enhance commuter-airline safety.


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## hkskyline

*Southwest Air to let pets onboard - for a fee *
29 May 2009

DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co., which has bashed competitors for charging fees, said Friday it will add new fees for passengers who bring small pets onboard and for unaccompanied minors.

It will also raise the charge for checking a third piece of luggage or an overweight bag.

Other airlines have raised hundreds of millions of dollars since last year with new fees that include charges for checking one or two pieces of luggage and talking to reservations agents on the phone.

Southwest fired back by spending heavily on television commercials that blasted other airlines for charging "hidden fees." Southwest officials said they were winning customers turned off by the new bag fees.

On Friday, Southwest officials defended their own new fees, which Chief Executive Gary Kelly called "just the starting point" for more changes later this year.

"It is always our goal to be upfront with our customers and to set the right customer expectations," Kelly said. "Our changes today associate a charge for items that are truly an extra service."

Southwest has lost money the last three quarters, and it has joined all other airlines in searching for new revenue, a job made more difficult by a downturn in travel during the recession.

Southwest already charges for checking three or more pieces of luggage and for cocktails, and it is testing onboard Internet access for a fee. Kelly hinted last month that new fees were coming, while insisting they wouldn't be "hidden," by which he seemed to mean fees on first and second checked bags.

"It's disingenuous on our part to say that there are no, quote, fees," Kelly said last month. "We just try to be as honest and straightforward and have the right expectation with our customers on fees as we can."

Kelly said hidden fees are ones "that people don't think are right."

Starting with flights on June 17, Southwest will let small dogs and cats onboard -- now only service animals are allowed -- for $75 each way.

The Dallas-based discount airline will also begin charging $25 each way for unaccompanied children ages 5 through 11. That fee will apply to tickets bought after May 31 for travel June 17 or later.

And the fee for a third checked bag or a bag over 50 pounds but less than 71 pounds will rise to $50 from $25.

Betsy Snyder, an analyst who tracks Southwest for Standard & Poor's, noted that Southwest still doesn't charge for the first two checked bags, as the so-called legacy airlines such as Delta, American and United do.

"I don't think it is a big deal," she said of the pet charge.

Veteran travel industry expert Terry Trippler agreed that the new fees probably won't upset too many Southwest travelers.

"The fees for pets is something all airlines have -- in fact, some are close to $150 one way, so at $75 Southwest is pretty low," Trippler said.

American Airlines charges $100 one way to take a pet in the cabin and $150 in the cargo hold, the only option for pets that won't fit under an airline seat. Delta charges $150 in the cabin and $275 to check an animal as cargo.

JetBlue Airways, which like Southwest doesn't charge passengers who check a single bag, recently added pet service. It charges $100 each way, but pets earn two frequent-flier reward points for their master.

Trippler said many airlines also charge more than Southwest's new fee for unaccompanied minors, but he said the bump in third-bag fee might cause some grumbling. Southwest said only 1 percent of travelers check a third bag.


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## hkskyline

*The Middle Seat: Is Tougher Airport Screening Going Too Far? *
2 July 2009
The Wall Street Journal

The Transportation Security Administration has moved beyond just checking for weapons and explosives. It's now training airport screeners to spot anything suspicious, and then honoring them when searches lead to arrests for crimes like drug possession and credit-card fraud.

But two court cases in the past month question whether TSA searches -- which the agency says have broadened to allow screeners to use more judgment -- have been going too far.

A federal judge in June threw out seizure of three fake passports from a traveler, saying that TSA screeners violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. Congress authorizes TSA to search travelers for weapons and explosives; beyond that, the agency is overstepping its bounds, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley said.

"The extent of the search went beyond the permissible purpose of detecting weapons and explosives and was instead motivated by a desire to uncover contraband evidencing ordinary criminal wrongdoing," Judge Marbley wrote.

In the second case, Steven Bierfeldt, treasurer for the Campaign for Liberty, a political organization launched from Ron Paul's presidential run, was detained at the St. Louis airport because he was carrying $4,700 in a lock box from the sale of tickets, T-shirts, bumper stickers and campaign paraphernalia. TSA screeners quizzed him about the cash, his employment and the purpose of his trip to St. Louis, then summoned local police and threatened him with arrest because he responded to their questions with a question of his own: What were his rights and could TSA legally require him to answer?

Mr. Bierfeldt recorded the encounter on his iPhone and the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in June against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, claiming in part that Mr. Bierfeldt's experience at the airport was not an anomaly.

"Whether as a matter of formal policy or widespread practice, TSA now operates on the belief that airport security screening provides a convenient opportunity to fish for evidence of criminal conduct far removed from the agency's mandate of ensuring flight safety," the ACLU said in its suit.

TSA said in a statement on the Bierfeldt incident that travelers are required to cooperate with screeners, and while it is legal to carry any amount of money when flying domestically, the agency believes cooperation includes answering questions about property. As a result of the recording, however, TSA determined that "the tone and language used by the TSA employee was inappropriate and proper disciplinary action was taken."

The cases will likely inflame TSA critics and frequent travelers who believe screeners take a heavy-handed approach and worsen the hassle of getting through airports with layers of rules and sometimes inconsistent policies between different cities.

"TSA agents don't get to play cops," says Ben Wizner, an attorney who filed Mr. Bierfeldt's suit. The ACLU has heard an increasing number of reports of TSA agents involved in what he called "mission creep," he says.

TSA spokesman Greg Soule says airport screeners are trained to "look for threats to aviation security" and discrepancies in a passenger's identity. TSA says verifying someone's identity, or exposing false identity, is a security issue so that names can be checked against terrorism watch lists. Large amounts of cash can be evidence of criminal activity, Mr. Soule says, and so screeners look at the "quantity, packaging, circumstances of discovery or method by which the cash is carried."

Questioning travelers is part of TSA's standard procedures, and the agency gives its employees discretion. "TSA security officers are trained to ask questions and assess passenger reactions," Mr. Soule says. "TSA security officers may use their professional judgment and experience to determine what questions to ask passengers during screening."

No one questions arrests made after TSA runs into evidence of drugs or other crimes during weapons searches. A bulge in baggy pants can be investigated, for example, because it might be an explosive. If it turns out to be cocaine, TSA is expected to report it to police or Drug Enforcement Agency officials.

But once TSA has determined that someone doesn't have weapons or explosives, agents sometimes keep searching -- leading some legal experts to wonder whether questioning people about how much cash they're carrying, the number of credit cards they have and even prescription drugs in their bags stretches the intent of airport security law.

Congress charged TSA with protecting passengers and property on an aircraft "against an act of criminal violence or aircraft piracy" and prohibited individuals from carrying a "weapon, explosive or incendiary" onto an airplane. Without search warrants, courts have held that airport security checks are considered reasonable if the search is "no more extensive or intensive than necessary" to detect weapons or explosives.

In testimony to Congress last month, Gale D. Rossides, acting TSA administrator, said the agency had moved past simply trying to intercept guns, knives and razor blades to "physical and behavioral screening to counter constantly changing threats."

Every screener has completed a 16-hour retraining that "provides the latest information on intelligence, explosives detection and human factors affecting security," she said. "We have revised our checkpoint Standard Operating Procedures to enable officers to use their judgment appropriately in achieving sensible security results."

In the fake passport case, a man named Fode Amadou Fofana used a valid driver's license with his real name at a Columbus, Ohio, TSA checkpoint. Because he had purchased his ticket for a flight at the airport just before departure, he was flagged for secondary screening. He didn't set off metal detectors and TSA's X-ray equipment didn't see anything suspicious, according to court testimony. The bags were swabbed for explosive residue and did not trigger any alarms. TSA agents opened the bags and searched inside because he was selected for extra screening.

According to the judge's ruling, the TSA agent involved testified that she had been instructed to search for suspicious items beyond weapons and explosives and to "be alert for anything that might be unlawful for him to possess, such as credit cards belonging to other people, illegal drugs or counterfeit money."

The agent found envelopes with cash, which she considered suspicious. Three other envelopes had something more rigid than dollar bills. She testified she didn't believe there were weapons inside, but opened them looking for "contraband" and found three fake passports.

Judge Marbley said the TSA had no authority to open the envelopes. In his ruling, he said prior cases clearly established that airport security searches should be aimed only at detecting weapons or explosives.

"A checkpoint search tainted by 'general law enforcement objectives' such as uncovering contraband evidencing general criminal activity is improper," the judge wrote.The U.S. Attorney's Office in Columbus has filed notice that it will appeal the judge's order.

Mr. Bierfeldt's suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, seeks to bar TSA from "conducting suspicion-less pre-flight searches of passengers or their belongings for items other than weapons or explosives."

Mr. Bierfeldt, who was released by TSA after an official in plain clothes saw political materials in his bag and asked if the cash was campaign contributions, said he just wants to save others from harassment by TSA. "It's the principle of the matter," he said. "I didn't break any laws and was no threat."


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## siamu maharaj

I don't get why the Americans don't protest at the ridiculous amount of checking at the airports? If it were France, I'm sure half the cars in Paris would be burned by now.


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## Mynameischarlie

The politicians in democratic countries are afraid of losing the next election, if a terrorist attack happens during their term in office & therefore they pushing very hard for those rules.


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## hkskyline

Part of it is a confidence measure to reassure passengers they will be safe in the air.


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## hkskyline

*MISC | Air Traffic Controllers Burned Out*

*Audit: Chicago air traffic controllers get little rest between shifts, increased overtimep*
2 July 2009

CHICAGO (AP) - Air traffic controllers who direct planes in and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport have too little time off between shifts, a factor that contributes to fatigue and could be a safety threat, according to a federal audit released Thursday.

The 21-page report by the U.S. Department of Transportation criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for not acting sooner to alleviate air controller fatigue at three of the country's busiest air traffic facilities and recommended immediate changes.

The audit showed most controllers at the three facilities located in the Chicago area have had fewer than 10 hours rest between some shifts, progressively earlier start times on consecutive shifts and increased overtime hours.

"This type of work schedule offers minimal opportunity for sleep when the time required for commuting, eating and other necessary daily activities is taken into account," the report said.

The report said the FAA has not acted on earlier National Transportation Safety Board recommendations on controller fatigue and that the agency "does not consistently address human factors issues, such as fatigue and situational awareness" when it investigates operational errors.

O'Hare has had a series of near misses in recent years that were blamed on air traffic controller error. In June, the FAA said two American Airlines planes came close to each other while landing at O'Hare, though both planes landed safely and no injuries were reported.

The transportation department's report laid out recommendations, including increasing rest periods, rotating controllers through less demanding positions during each shift and providing fatigue awareness training.

FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said the agency disputes some of the audit, but has already made changes in the past year. For example, the FAA added training on fatigue awareness in May 2008. In light of the audit, the FAA said it would re-evaluate staffing and look at increasing rest periods between shifts.

"Certainly, fatigue is a concern of ours. This is something that we're watching very, very closely," Cory said Thursday. "We have made changes already and we continue to make changes."

The audit, which was sent to FAA earlier this week, was conducted between January 2008 and February at a tower at O'Hare and facilities in the Chicago suburbs of Elgin and Aurora. A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he requested the audit after hearing controllers' concerns.

Air traffic controllers said they felt "vindicated" by the audit's findings.

"We have expressed our concerns about controller fatigue for several years, only to have them fall on deaf ears at the FAA, which has ignored NTSB requests to meet with us and work on fatigue issues in a spirit of collaboration," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union which represents about 15,000 air traffic controllers.


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## hkskyline

*Report: Denver airport gets least gripes about airport screeners; Las Vegas has most *
6 July 2009

DENVER (AP) - Federal statistics show Denver's airport gets the fewest passenger complaints about security screeners among the nation's 10 busiest airports, while Las Vegas gets the most.

The Denver Post reported Monday that travelers filed just five complaints about screeners at Denver International over a 45-month period from 2003 to 2006. McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas had the most with 80.

The Transportation Security Administration released the totals at the newspaper's request.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport had 76 complaints, the second-highest. Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport had 16, the second-lowest.

TSA says about 10 percent of the complaints nationwide are related to the way screeners treated passengers.

TSA spokeswoman Carrie Harmon says the agency screens about 2 million passengers a day.


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## hkskyline

*Dogs, cats can fly in main cabin of new pet airline in Colo.; owners must fly separately *
9 July 2009

DENVER (AP) - A new airline for dogs and cats is coming to Colorado.

Pet Airways will offer flights across the country starting Tuesday, including Rocky Mountain Airport in Broomfield.

Pets will travel in their own carriers in the main cabin of the planes, not in the cargo hold as with most airlines. But owners aren't allowed on board and must fly separately.

The company says pet attendants will care for the animals in flight. But to prevent pets from getting sick, there won't be any beverage or snack service.

The airline will also fly to Chicago, Baltimore/Washington International, Los Angeles and New York.

One-way fares for Chicago to Los Angeles starts at $199. Tickets from Los Angeles to New York start at $299.


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## hkskyline

*Empty business class dims airline prospects-IATA *

GENEVA, July 16 (Reuters) - Airlines, deserted by premium class passengers, are increasingly gloomy about the prospects for the coming year and some do not expect recovery until early 2011.

The International Air Transport Association said on Thursday that fears of a prolonged recession and resurgent fuel prices had caused "renewed pessimism" for operators, which delivered their gloomiest ever assessment of profitability.

"Even the optimistic respondents don't see significant recovery before the fourth quarter this year and others not until early 2011," it said about its latest quarterly business confidence survey.

Leading carriers have been slashing seat prices to overcome anaemic demand during the downturn, which has also depressed cargo traffic at a double digit rate.

But passenger numbers have continued to drop, especially in the lucrative business class sector, said IATA, which represents 230 carriers including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines and Emirates.

In its latest snapshot of premium travel, also released on Thursday, the Geneva-based group said ticket sales in the sector dropped 23.6 percent in May, adding to the 22 percent decline in April.

This was due both to more corporate travellers moving to the back of the aircraft and buying cheaper economy seats, and an overall decline in passenger numbers that shows no sign of ending soon, IATA said.

Top-tier passengers typically make up 7 to 10 percent of numbers but 25 to 30 percent of revenues.

IATA estimated that the decrease in premium traffic plus heavy discounting of high-end tickets bled airlines' business class revenues by 40 to 45 percent in May.

"Premium seats are being discounted on average much more than economy seats, despite the latter usually being the more price-sensitive segment of the market," it found. "Airlines are seeking to generate any cash they can by filling these seats."

Economic woes explained much of the drop in business class demand for flights within Asia and from Europe to Asia.

But in the Americas, IATA said the emergence of pandemic influenza was a major factor for the sharp declines seen in May, affecting both premium and economy seats.

Overall air travel within Central America fell 62.4 percent in the month. Ticket sales for flights between Central America and South America were down 46.7 percent and from North America to Central America fell 22.9 percent.

While the epicentre of the H1N1 flu was considered to be Mexico, the virus has now spread worldwide and is causing mainly mild effects. The World Health Organisation is not recommending any border or travel restrictions as a result.

IATA has previously said the airline industry would lose $2.5 billion in 2009 as a result of lower demand. The sector lost $8.5 billion in 2008, pinched by high oil prices and the onset of the global credit and financial crisis.


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## hkskyline

*Blinding beam pointed at landing passenger jet *
22 July 2009
The Sun

A PILOT was almost blinded with a laser as he tried to land a passenger jet.

The Aer Lingus captain was bringing the plane in from Barcelona when he was BEAMED at Cork Airport.

He immediately contacted air traffic control.

Cops confirmed they are investigating the potentially disastrous incident on Monday night.

A Garda spokesman said: "We did respond to the call. But they were unable to find anyone with a laser.

"People seem to be bring-inthese devices in from abroad and they don't see it as being any big deal — but it is quite dangerous."

A second reported incident involving an Aer Lingus plane approaching Dub-liAirport an hour later was blamed on high-beam car headlights.

Interfering with planes carries a jail term of up to seven years. At Christmas, the Garda helicopter was scrambled three times after danger beams were aimed at landing planes in Dublin.

Last year the captain of a Boeing 737 was hit in the eye as he made his final approach in Belfast.

The Irish Airline Pilots' Association branded lasers "a very, very serious threat to safety".

Spokesman Capt Michael McLaughlin said: "The level of stupidity is almost unfathomable. They are potentially risking the lives of vast numbers of people."


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## KB

What kind of a laser are we talking about that would post such a risk...the normal ones you use for presentation,etc?

And how close one has to be to be able to focus a laser through the small cockpit of a plane into a pilots eye in a jet traveling at hundreds of kms per hour?


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## hkskyline

I'm getting conflicting thoughts from all these various reports on what type of laser can do this damage. I don't think the typical laser pointers used in school can reach that far, yet some articles make it seem like anyone can do it and these things are very common and can cause such lethal damage. Yet even though the plane may be moving at 300-400 km/h upon landing, because of its distance from the ground, if I'm on the rooftop, I can probably focus a laser beam on a plane for a good minute before it gets too far away?


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## KB

hkskyline said:


> I'm getting conflicting thoughts from all these various reports on what type of laser can do this damage. I don't think the typical laser pointers used in school can reach that far, yet some articles make it seem like anyone can do it and these things are very common and can cause such lethal damage. Yet even though the plane may be moving at 300-400 km/h upon landing, because of its distance from the ground, *if I'm on the rooftop, I can probably focus a laser beam on a plane for a good minute before it gets too far away?*


Focusing it on a plane would be difficult...focusing it on the cockpit window would be a challenge enough let alone targeting a pilots eye. Unless they mean an "accidental" flash on his eye for a second or less would be so annoying and lethal?

As for those idiots that do this, I hope they can develop laser seeking missiles that are carried on all commercial planes.


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## hkskyline

*It's back to the future as airlines chase corporates 
Business travel and MICE: a special advertising report*
24 July 2009
The Australian

BUSINESS class airfares have dropped to 1970s prices, with some airlines slashing prices beyond 30 per cent.

The financial downturn has hit the pointy end of the plane the hardest, as companies continue to tighten their travel budgets.

``Like all other airlines, we have been impacted by the current economic circumstances,'' a Qantas spokeswoman said.

``Domestically, demand is still quite strong-most of the impact has been international, particularly in first and business class.''

Qantas has responded by taking first class off some of its routes, such as Sydney to San Francisco and Melbourne to London via Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic has removed upper class pods from some of its London-based 747 fleet and replaced them with economy seats.

Virgin Atlantic spokesman, Nick Larkworthy, said flights remained at around 75 per cent capacity despite the downturn, but ``it's the yield that has taken the hit''.

``Prices at the moment are unsustainable and we've already seen Emirates up their prices in the last few days in an effort to boost yields,'' Mr Larkworthy added.

However, Mr Larkworthy said the downturn provided advantages in some instances, with companies that have traditionally flown with legacy carriers, changing airline contracts to get a better deal or choosing a best fare of the day system. Meanwhile, premium economy class has remained strong across the board. ``Our premium economy has always been an in-demand product, and is now absorbing passengers who would have otherwise travelled in business class,'' the Qantas spokeswoman said.

Mr Larkworthy agreed, saying premium economy had been popular among small to medium businesses since its inception, but larger corporations were now getting on board. ``Blue chip corporate clients are now switching to mid-cabin to save their pennies,'' Mr Larkworthy said.

He added that this was particularly evident on shorter legs, such as Sydney to Hong Kong.

While fares flash back to the 70s, the offerings are becoming increasingly futuristic.

Virgin Atlantic's upper class, for example is reminiscent of science-fiction cult classic Gattaca. Its ``valids'' dress in identical sleep suits while they watch on-demand films in glossy white pods. With a press of a button the seat flips over to create a flat bed, while a well-stocked bar caters to more lively travellers.

``When you consider that you can fly with us to London in a fully flat bed, with an onboard sit-down bar and chauffeur-driven transfers for a price that is pretty much the same in real terms as it was 30 years ago-it's pretty incredible,'' Mr Larkworthy said.


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## hkskyline

*Delta Air Lines giving extra benefits to elite fliers, could help lure business travelers *
28 July 2009

ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. is taking a page from the cell phone industry and will be allowing elite frequent fliers to roll over miles earned above their qualification status in a given year so they have an easier time maintaining that status or improving to a higher one the next year.

The world's biggest airline operator planned to announce Tuesday enhancements to its SkyMiles Medallion program that will go into effect over the next nine months.

The changes come at a time of weak demand in the airline industry amid the recession. Business travel, in particular, has been in a slump, and giving extra advantages to elite frequent fliers could be one way to lure in more business travelers.

Atlanta-based Delta has three elite frequent flier statuses -- silver, gold and platinum -- and will be adding a fourth, diamond. Customers reach those levels by flying a lot -- you reach the lowest level after flying 30 segments in a year -- and in return they get extra benefits like priority boarding, waived checked bag fees and free upgrades.

Now, Delta says it will allow customers to retain any Medallion qualification miles earned above a Medallion threshold at the end of the year, supplementing the ability to earn status the following year. For example, should a member accrue 40,000 Medallion qualification miles in one calendar year, the 15,000 Medallion qualification miles that exceed the 25,000 threshold for silver status will be rolled over to the following year.

Delta said there is no limit to the number of miles rolled over, and the benefit takes effect immediately.

The rollover idea is similar to one offered for several years to some AT&T cell phone customers, who can roll over unused minutes in certain plans to the following month.

Among other changes coming from Delta:

--The new diamond level for flyers who earn 125,000 MQMs or fly 140 segments per calendar year will include a complimentary Delta Sky Club membership, among other benefits.

--Diamond, platinum and gold Medallion members will have ticketing fees waived for all bookings, whether completed by phone, online or in person.


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## AltinD

Many companies used to fly their executives/sales personel in Business Class. When the crisis struck, they started cutting down on operation costs and approve only Economy class tickets now, unless for top-ranking managers/executives.


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## hkskyline

*US issues final report on 'sleeping pilots' case *
3 August 2009

HONOLULU (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed an initial finding that the captain and first officer of a flight that overflew its destination in Hawaii inadvertently fell asleep while the plane was on autopilot.

The NTSB on Monday issued its final report in the case of a 2008 go! airlines flight from Honolulu that overflew Hilo International Airport by 30 miles (48 kilometers).

A contributing factor in the incident was the captain's previously undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that likely caused him to experience chronic daytime fatigue and contributed to his falling asleep during the Feb. 13, 2008, flight, the NTSB said.

Another contributing factor was the flight crew's then-recent work schedules, which included several consecutive days of early morning start times, it said.

The day of the incident "was the third consecutive day that both pilots started duty at 0540," the final report said. "This likely caused the pilots to receive less daily sleep than is needed to sustain optimal alertness and resulted in an accumulation of sleep debt and increased levels of daytime fatigue."

"The effect of early start times on sleep is well documented," the NTSB said.

"A 1998 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Report, 'Flight Crew Fatigue II: Short-haul fixed wing air transport operations,' for example, concluded that requiring early report times makes it more difficult for crew members to obtain adequate sleep," it said.

The NTSB also cited a 1998 report published by North Atlantic Treaty Organization Research and Technology Organization that concluded "pilots reporting before 0600 had a significantly shorter total sleep time, impaired sleep quality, and impaired performance both preflight and at top of descent."

Flight 1002, with 43 people aboard, passed over Hilo International Airport at 21,000 feet (6,400 meters) and continued straight on over open ocean before the pilots awoke and landed the plane safely.


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## hkskyline

*MISC | Britain Plans to Replace Short-Haul Flights with Rail*

*Britain plans to replace short-haul flights with rail: report *
4 August 2009
Agence France Presse

Britain is aiming to replace short-haul flights with high-speed rail travel in a multi-billion pound plan that is well advanced, the transport minister said Wednesday.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis told the Guardian newspaper that plans for a route from London to Britain's second largest city Birmingham would be published by the end of the year.

The route, estimated to cost seven billion pounds (8.2 billion euros, 11.8 billion dollars) could be funded with a public-private partnership.

Under the ambitious plan, a north-south line could be extended to Scotland, while some high-speed trains could be run on existing networks, the newspaper said.

"For reasons of carbon reduction and wider environmental benefits, it is manifestly in the public interest that we systematically replace short-haul aviation with high-speed rail," Adonis said.

"But we would have to have, of course, the high-speed network before we can do it."

Adonis said he would also like to see some short-haul flights between Britain and Europe "progressively replaced" by an ultra-fast rail network.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.


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## megaark

*high speed rail in Britain - you're having laugh!*

It'll never happen - we're great at dreaming up transport plans, but try and actually get it done. I'm afraid Britain is a basket case for development of public transport - LHR Terminals 1-3 are a national disgrace, and New St station, the busiest in the country, is even worse. Here in Birmingham we've been hoping for an extension to our single metro line, maybe even a second line, but 10 years later, after lots of false promises we're still waiting with no light at the end of the tunnel. The list is endless I'm afraid, all I want to do is :lol: and then :bash:someone over the head!


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## FM 2258

How about a faster way to get to the airports and faster check-in and security? Personally I like flying better than rail.


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## hkskyline

FM 2258 said:


> How about a faster way to get to the airports and faster check-in and security? Personally I like flying better than rail.


In Australia I remember I can check-in less than 30 minutes before departure (not sure if that only applies to hand-carry-only passengers).


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## siamu maharaj

FM 2258 said:


> How about a faster way to get to the airports and faster check-in and security? Personally I like flying better than rail.


At Karachi airport (designed for 10m, currently at 7m), it takes less than 15 minutes to go from entering the departure lounge to standing at the end of the queue that's entering the plane. When you get off it takes about 10-15 minutes if you don't have to pick up any luggage. Now when I look at other airports that have more desks/pessenger and more floor space/passenger than KArachi, I can't seem to understand where they lose time. Luckily, in my whole life I've never spent more than 30 minutes in an airport, but I know everyone else has. I think someone should look at where the inefficiences come from. I know in the US it takes a lot of time for screening and shit, but what about other airports?


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## hkskyline

A more regional look :

*Eurostar takes off as passengers switch from flight *
9 August 2009
The Observer

As airlines cut back heavily on the frequency and range of their winter flights to Europe, train companies are planning to step in to fill the gap, it emerged last week.

A fall in flight bookings and a rise in Air Passenger Duty have caused Ryanair to cut 670 flights a week this winter (as yet, it has refused to specify routes) and move the base of some of its routes to Spain from Stansted. BA has followed suit, dropping Gatwick flights such as those to Madrid, Barcelona and Krakow.

Meanwhile, train operators and tour companies announced moves to make rail a far more popular option, even for journeys that start in the north of England or Scotland and end far beyond Paris. Eurostar (08705 186186; eurostar.com) has formed new links with regional train companies which now enable travellers to book connecting tickets from more than 200 cities and towns in the UK to any station on the Eurostar network. Previously the tickets had to be brought separately.

Tour operators are also turning to the train. Cosmos Tourama (cosmostourama.co.uk) has announced that many of its European tours in 2010 would be by rail instead of air, while Inntravel and Headwater are already offering rail options.

"High-speed rail is capturing the imagination as the new alternative to short-haul flights," says Nick Mercer of Eurostar. "And the launch next year of high-speed rail services between Brussels and Amsterdam will put a range of Dutch cities within three to four hours of London."

Eurostar has already seen an increase of 22% in the number of travellers visiting Amsterdam by rail this year.


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## rheintram

The choice rail vs. plane is not a choice of "liking" or not. Now obviously there are some destinations which are hard to reach by rail. Then there is the factor of time, cost and the environment of course.

France has barely any national flights left, because TGV services are faster and more frequent. In addition they save tons of carbon emissions.


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## siamu maharaj

rheintram said:


> The choice rail vs. plane is not a choice of "liking" or not. Now obviously there are some destinations which are hard to reach by rail. Then there is the factor of time, cost and the environment of course.
> 
> France has barely any national flights left, because TGV services are faster and more frequent. In addition they save tons of carbon emissions.


Not everybody in the wolrd likes to be told by the government what to do.


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## GlasgowMan

It will *NEVER *happen. 

It has taken 25 years to plan and finally build a Rail line from Glasgow City Centre to Glasgow International Airport, that's 7 miles of rail line. 25 years for just 7 miles. How long would it take to plan and built a proper rail infrastructure across the whole of the UK?!?


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## butterfingers22

megaark said:


> It'll never happen - we're great at dreaming up transport plans, but try and actually get it done. I'm afraid Britain is a basket case for development of public transport


Not all of Britian, here in Manchester, we're currently doubling the size of our metro system, and have 40 odd news trams on order, although it has taken decades of campaigns and false commitments by the government. But we got there in the end. 

It will happen, it'll just take double the time and triple the cost, as most things do here. hno:


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## Dahlis

siamu maharaj said:


> Not everybody in the wolrd likes to be told by the government what to do.


Its your choice, either you arrive in the city you plan to visit or you arrive 40 kilometres outside the city. When it comes to shorter travel trains are superior.


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## erbse

If Britain doesn't go ahead with this, Germany will do. At least I hope so.


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## hkskyline

*Greek pilots see red from laser pen pranks *
19 August 2009
Agence France Presse

Greece's civil aviation pilots on Wednesday called for a crackdown on laser pen pranksters who have endangered a growing number of plane landings around the country.

The pilots' association raised the alarm after a spate of incidents where teenagers flashed laser pens at incoming plane cockpits.

"This has been going on for around two years, apparently it's become fashionable among certain youngsters and the incidents are increasing in frequency," association chairman Grigoris Constantellos told AFP.

Around 30 laser pranks have been recorded this year, and the situation is more dangerous in summer when pilots need to be particularly careful due to seasonal high winds, Constantellos said.

"Having the pilot blinded for three or four seconds during landing can really create a difficult situation," he said.

The two last incidents occurred on the islands of Rhodes and Crete, two of Greece's main travel destinations which thousands of tourists visit every year.

Police arrested two teenagers on Rhodes over the weekend after they forced a domestic flight to abandon its first landing approach.

Another teenager in Iraklio, Crete, was placed under judicial supervision earlier this month.

Incidents have also been reported on the island of Corfu -- another major travel destination -- and in the northern city of Thessaloniki, where in June the local prosecutor ordered police to step up patrols around Makedonia Airport.

The sale of laser pens is nominally illegal in Greece but their use is particularly popular in sports stadiums where fans use them on rival players.

Laser pens were also used against riot police in the youth protests that rocked Greece in December.


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## dmarney

This has been happening in England Aswell:

*Cheshire Police hunt yobs shining laser pens at planes coming in to land at Liverpool John Lennon Airport
*
Aug 6 2009 by Paul Mannion, Chester Chronicle

TROUBLEMAKERS who shine laser pens into the cockpits of passenger jets have been warned they could cause a major disaster.

Idiots in Frodsham, Chester, Broughton and Runcorn are shining the potentially blinding lights into the eyes of pilots as the planes descend into Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Cheshire police Inspector Phil Hodgson said: “This type of offence has happened in other parts of the country, but it’s the first time for Cheshire and planes coming into Liverpool.

“The lasers are fairly common in teaching, but in these circumstances the potential serious consequences are too bad to contemplate.”

At about midnight on Friday, July 31, crew in a plane about 11 miles from the airport reported a green light directed toward them from the direction of Chester and Broughton, near the A55.

The previous day, a green light was shone at pilots about 3,000ft over Frodsham from Runcorn marshes.

And on Monday, July 27, at11.20pm, a flight from Milan, flying at just 2,000ft, had a green light directed towards it from the Frodsham area.

In all three cases, the planes landed safely. Police say the same group is responsible for each of the incidents.

Technology is to be introduced by the airport which can pinpoint the exact location of the lasers in seconds.

The British Airline Pilots Association says the culprits could expect custodial sentences if caught.

A spokesman said: “These incidents are extremely dangerous for passengers and crew and people are very wrong if they think playing with them is fun.”


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## hkskyline

Probably impossible to track them down. Unless they're stupid enough to beam those lasers from their homes, I suspect the people who do this move around locations. If lucky, maybe a CCTV can capture them.


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## KB

planes should be equipped with anti-laser missiles or maybe a powerful laser of their own.


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## Energy2003

i don´t understand what it gives to those people to that :dunno: 

if i want to do something stupid, i go to town and hit a man to look what happens

but an airplane with hunderts of people .... i don´t know


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## Noize_320

the articles makes me very upset...i feel like i want to ban laser pointers from being sold or used...or impose a huge fine because this is almost a terrorist-like act...hno:


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## UAE_isthebest

Few times a week we have this problem at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. I've heard it live on an ATC stream that they were sending police teams to the runways etc.. But yeah it's a big and dangerous problem!


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## hkskyline

*US gov't struggles to find answer to pilot fatigue *
1 September 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Current U.S. rules for how many hours pilots can be scheduled to work were written in an age of propellor-driven planes. Officials back then defined a reasonable work day for a pilot without a scientific understanding of fatigue and well before the modern airline industry.

Finding ways to prevent pilot fatigue has stymied federal regulators and the airline industry for decades. The National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending since 1990 that rules on how many hours pilots can be scheduled to work be updated to reflect modern research and take into account early starting times and frequent takeoffs and landings.

On Tuesday, a committee made up of airline officials and union leaders is expected to deliver recommendations for updating the regulations. Although Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt has promised to vet those recommendations swiftly and turn them into a formal proposal by the FAA, the process will at a minimum take months to complete.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said she does not expect the suggestions to be offered Tuesday to address all the issues that are part of the fatigue problem, but she hopes they will supply a foundation. "You have to build all the rest of the house around it," she said.

Some members of Congress, though, don't trust the FAA to finally come to grips with the problem. Besides forcing the agency's hand, a bill proposed by lawmakers would require airlines to use fatigue risk management systems -- complex scheduling programs that alert the company to potential fatigue problems.

After the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the bill earlier this month, Chairman James Oberstar ran through a list of the airline crashes in recent decades.

"The common thread running through all of it is fatigue," said Oberstar. "We have many experiences of the flight crew, the cabin crew, who in cases of emergency were just so numb they couldn't respond instantly to a tragedy at hand."

Linda Zimmerman, a retired Ohio teacher whose sister died in a 2004 regional airline crash in Kirksville, Missouri, said the government's slow response saddens her.

"So many people have died and they haven't done anything about it," Zimmerman said.

Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 was preparing to land on Oct. 19, 2004, when the twin-engine turboprop slammed into trees. The pilots and 11 passengers were killed. Two injured passengers survived by jumping from the plane moments before it was engulfed in flames.

The NTSB said the pilots failed to notice that their plane had descended too quickly because they failed to follow procedures and engaged in unprofessional cockpit banter. But the board also said the captain and first officer probably were exhausted -- they were completing their sixth flight of the day, had been on duty more than 14 hours and had flown three trips the day before.

Studies show exhaustion can impair a flier's judgment in much the same way alcohol does. It's not uncommon for overtired pilots to focus on a conversation or a single chore and miss other things going on around them, including critical flight information. In a few cases, they've just fallen asleep.

Last year, two Mesa Airlines pilots conked out for at least 18 minutes during a midmorning flight from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii, as their plane continued to cruise past its destination and out to sea. Air traffic controllers were finally able to raise the pilots, who turned around the plane with its 40 passengers and landed it safely.

NTSB said that even though the pilots had not been working long that day, they were clearly fatigued. They cited the pilots' work schedules -- the day of the incident was the third consecutive day that both pilots started duty at 5:40 a.m. -- and said the captain had an undiagnosed case of sleep apnea.

FAA rules on how many hours an airline pilot may fly or be on duty before he must rest have been virtually unchanged for nearly a half-century, mainly because if airlines have to allow their crews more rest, they would have to hire more crews.

An FAA effort to tackle the issue in the mid-1990s foundered because airlines wanted concessions from pilots in return for reducing flying hours, and the pilots unions wouldn't go along. The agency proposed a new rule, but it has languished for years without final action.

NTSB's investigation of the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on Feb. 12 near Buffalo, N.Y., killing 50, has spotlighted the long hours, low pay and long-distance commutes of regional airline pilots.

It's not clear where the captain of Flight 3407 slept the night before the crash, but it appears he may have tried to nap in a busy airport crew room where his company -- regional carrier Colgan Air Inc. of Manassas, Virginia, which operated the flight for Continental -- kept bright lights on continuously to discourage extended sleeping. The first officer commuted overnight from her home near Seattle to Newark, New Jersey, to make the flight to Buffalo.

Current rules say pilots can be scheduled for up to 16 hours on duty and up to eight hours of actual flight time in a day, with a minimum of eight hours off in between. They don't take into account that it is probably more tiring for regional airline pilots to fly five or six short legs in seven hours than it is for a pilot with a major airline to fly eight hours across the Atlantic to Europe with only one takeoff and landing.

One way to compensate would be a "controlled napping" policy, based on NASA research more than two decades ago. It found that pilots were more alert and performed better during landings when they were allowed to take turns napping during the cruise phase of flights. Other countries have adopted the policies, but the FAA has not.

According to Curtis Graeber, who ran NASA's fatigue research program for 10 years, some high-level officials worried that controlled napping would become the butt of jokes by late-night comedians.


----------



## hkskyline

*MISC | Stowaways on the Plane*

*Ticket agents, baggage handler in US Virgin Islands charged with smuggling illegal migrants *
4 September 2009

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A federal grand jury in the U.S. Virgin Islands has indicted two ticket agent contractors who worked for Delta Airlines and an airport employee on charges of conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants into the U.S.

The ticket agents, identified as Diana Telemaque, 33, and Felicia Browne, 22, were arrested Thursday along with luggage handler Daniel Confidente.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday in a statement that the two agents allegedly sold tickets to illegal immigrants. All three are accused of helping an unspecified number of migrants bypass customs officials from May 2008 to July 2009.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspects had lawyers.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott said the contract employees, who were paid by another company, had been dismissed.

She added that the airline is cooperating with federal authorities and declined further comment.

Hundreds of illegal migrants attempt to enter the U.S. Caribbean territory each year; some hope to stay on the island, while others try to enter the mainland.

The suspects were released on $10,000 bail and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.


----------



## hkskyline

*FAA to Propose New Fatigue Rules *
16 September 2009
The Wall Street Journal Online

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to propose changes to two of the most hotly contested issues involving cockpit fatigue, as part of a broader effort to revamp decades-old limits on how long commercial pilots can stay behind the controls.

The proposed changes would affect ultralong-range routes flown by jumbo jets as well as short hops flown by the smallest turboprop aircraft.

Airline pilots have long argued that current regulations governing crew scheduling on these two types of routes -- which operate at the opposite ends of commercial aviation -- fail to adequately address safety hazards. But the FAA hasn't followed through with changes, partly as a result of opposition from airlines concerned about costly rules.

Now, the agency is gearing up for an overhaul of regulations governing flight hours and length of workdays for all U.S. airline pilots. The FAA wants to replace the current one-size-fits-all rules on pilot workdays with a new regime that takes into consideration the latest scientific research on sleep.

Under these new parameters, pilots' schedules would vary depending on the time of day, the number of takeoffs and the internal body clocks of crew members.

Ultralong-range routes and small turboprop planes have long been a source of friction between pilot unions and regulators. Defusing these contentious issues could help the FAA craft a broader compromise on pilot-fatigue rules acceptable to both pilot unions and airlines.

The FAA is likely to end what are, in effect, longstanding exemptions permitting pilots of small turboprop aircraft at Skywest Airlines and a handful of other regional carriers to fly as much as 20% more hours per month than the rest of the industry, according to representatives of regional carriers and pilots. Such a change, affecting planes carrying between 19 and 30 passengers, could force some carriers to hire additional pilots.

An FAA spokeswoman Tuesday couldn't confirm details about special limits for some carriers.

For nonstop routes between 16 and 20 hours, the FAA is leaning toward proposing additional restrictions, possibly including enhanced rest periods for pilots, according to people familiar with the matter. Current FAA regulations were written decades before the advent of such flights connecting U.S. gateways with India or other far-flung destinations.

Airlines have successfully challenged earlier FAA proposals to extend pilot rest before, during and after flying ultralong routes. Airlines are concerned that it could be expensive to comply with new requirements because it could require that additional pilots be assigned to these routes.

Continental Airlines Inc., which has gone to court against previous FAA rules on ultra long-range rest periods, is among the carriers collecting fatigue data from crews flying Boeing 777s. The results are expected to help shape final rest rules.

Agency officials have declined to comment on specifics, but FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has indicated that an industry-labor group appears "close to consensus" on recommending a spate of regulatory changes. The agency has said it would fast-track the proposals with the goal of issuing a final rule before the end of 2010.

Spokeswomen for Skywest, a unit of Skywest Inc., and the Air Line Pilots Association declined to comment on specific proposals.

Skywest, which operates more than 50 twin-engine Embraer 120 turboprops and has one of the most experienced group of pilots among regional carriers, hasn't scheduled monthly flight times to the maximum lately because of economic conditions, a spokeswoman said. Some commuter carriers were supposed to temporarily retain higher flight-time limits for their pilots when the FAA and Congress established a single level of safety starting in the mid-1990s. But the FAA allowed the higher limits to stay in effect.

Daily scheduled flight-hour limits are a maximum of eight hours across the board for all scheduled passenger carriers, regardless of whether they have different weekly, monthly or annual flight-time rules.

A Skywest spokeswoman said the airline can schedule pilots to fly up to 120 hours a week and 1,200 hours a year, versus limits of 100 hours and 1,000 hours, respectively, for most carriers.


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## Girona Airport

Every one want to save money.If an airline can hire more pilots then they think they are in loss.Now they are earning 70 million then they will earn 68 million.What a loss ...lolzz


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## hkskyline

_Related : _

*Spain's ailing airlines suffer significant bullet wound *
2 November 2009
The Times

Spain's bullet train is beating the plane in the race to win passengers. For the first time, more passengers have chosen to travel on the highspeed AVE rail link between Madrid and Barcelona than have opted to fly — a switch that could influence British ambitions for a high-speed rail network and add impetus to the creation of a second high-speed line in the UK.

Between July and September, 651,498 passengers made the 314-mile journey between Spain's biggest cities (slightly farther than London to Newcastle), a rise of 21 per cent compared with the same period last year.

In comparison, 643,512 travellers made the journey by aircraft during the same period, a fall of 7.5 per cent compared with the third quarter of last year.

Madrid-Barcelona is the fifthbusiest air route in the world, with four airlines offering 116 flights a day, according to the Official Airline Guide in July. Since the rail link opened last year, Renfe, the Spanish state rail operator, and the airlines, led by Iberia, the national flag carrier, have fought a fierce battle to win passengers.

The high-speed train, which takes 2hr 40min to travel between Madrid and Barcelona, at 236.3 kilometres per hour (146.8mph), has won over commuters with competitive fares, greater comfort and the absence of elaborate airport security. It also offers promotions to attract tourists, as well as business travellers.

The success of the state-funded AVE may help efforts to build a similar line in Britain. Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, travelled on the AVE between Madrid and Barcelona this year to gauge the success of the line and was impressed, according to Spanish rail sources. It is thought that the Government may enlist Renfe's help if it decides to extend the highspeed rail network.

The High Speed One line between St Pancras and Ashford (a 30-minute journey at 140mph) opened in June and plans are under way for a second line. High Speed Two, a company charged with assessing possible highspeed routes in the UK, is due to report before the end of the year. It is thought that a line could open between London and the West Midlands by 2025.

Robert Preston, deputy editor of Railway Gazette International, said: "This [the success of the Madrid to Barcelona line] will add support to plans for a high-speed network in Britain. Spain is different to Britain geographically, but a high-speed line might bite into the air routes between London and Scotland."

The Madrid-Barcelona line success story is being followed closely elsewhere. Ray LaHood, the US Transportation Secretary, made the same journey as Lord Adonis on the AVE to learn from the Spanish experience in preparation for the upgrading of America's railways. President Obama has set aside $13 billion (£7.9 billion) in stimulus and budget funds for highspeed trains.

In Spain, the Socialist Government is expanding the high-speed network rapidly. Renfe plans that by 2020 everybody in the country will live within 50 kilometres of the network.

However, the expansion comes at a cost: the Government plans to spend ¤119 billion (£106.5 billion) on infrastructure and millions more on trains.

Speed kings

1 TGV France, Lorraine to Champagne: distance 167.6km, speed 271.8kmh

2 TGV France, Lorraine Muese to Champagne: distance 99.8km, speed 260.3kmh

3 TGV France, St Pierre de Corps to Massy: distance 206.8km, speed 258.5kmh

4 Japan, Hiroshima to Kokura: distance 192km, speed 256kmh

5 Japan, Okayama to Hiroshima: distance 144.9km, speed 255.7kmh 

Source: Railway Gazette International World Speed Survey 2009 Online Eurostar connections have brought British buyers back to France


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## Team Brian GB

Considering the British Government is running a budget deficit of 15% and the national debt will likely settle in the 80-90% vicinity where is the money going to come from?


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## Minna

Wouldn't this kill airlines that use a hub system? The idea of hubs is to feed Europeans to the rest of the world, and vice versa.


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## hkskyline

Minna said:


> Wouldn't this kill airlines that use a hub system? The idea of hubs is to feed Europeans to the rest of the world, and vice versa.


Probably, but I guess London can still be a successful hub for further European destinations beyond the 3-hour train ride zone.


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## Get Smart

haha, what a farce, UK cannot maintain its existing railway infrastructure, and to say it will replace air travel is total BS. fix the ordinary rails 1st before building crap, UK is not so technolocal as Japan or france, so the low cost airways need to stay


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## GlasgowMan

The UK cant even sustaine the rail network we have right now. Forget about expanding it to the level domestic flights would never be required. Its never going to happen!

Public transport in the United Kingdom is unreliable and extremely over-priced.

Fly: Glasgow to London in 40 minutes from £6 return including taxes.
Train: Glasgow to London in 5 hours from £108 return.

Which one would you chose?

The funniest part of this plan? this! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8348133.stm :lol: :lol:


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## hkskyline

*Pilots need to be truly awake *
23 November 2009
The Globe and Mail

Almost two dozen Canadians have died in half as many years in aviation accidents in which pilot fatigue was investigated. It was also a likely culprit in the near accident of an Air Canada Jazz flight from Houston to Calgary in 2005, when a plane almost stalled.

Canadian pilots say that the federal government is not doing enough to guard against these mishaps and that current rules are outmoded. They cite workday hour limits – 14 hours within a 24-hour period – as being ineffective, especially because that day can be stretched by an additional three hours when there are unexpected problems, such as a need to de-ice wings.

Those rules do not account for a complex industry, where pilots work odd hours, split shifts or long-haul flights over multiple time zones. Sleep sometimes amounts to sacking out for a few hours.

Their concerns, documented by the Globe and Mail reporter Tu Thanh Ha, are akin to those of pilots in the United States and Europe with one major difference: In Canada, the argument for stricter rules has not generated political will. Pilot fatigue is simply off the radar.

Transport Canada says its norms are adequate. But the rules on fatigue were written a decade ago when less was known about its effects on concentration.

One does not have to read a raft of scientific studies to know that fatigue has become a code word for one's imminent demise. Signs on Canadian highways today bear this unequivocal message to motorists: “Fatigue Kills, Take a Break.”

The procedure for detecting fatigue now relies on pilots, who must voluntarily label themselves as being not fit for duty. This is like asking the intoxicated if they are capable of driving; the impaired are never the best judges of their own incapacity.

The pilot-fatigue problem has surfaced at a time when discount air travel has become the norm. With the customer as king, the airline industry has tried to adjust.

Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and low-cost operators – such as Britain's easyJet and Australia's Virgin Blue – are using mathematical models to help predict pilot fatigue. With that system, computers analyze a pilot's work history, the time lengths of work and rest, and then flag potential fatigue risks.

The European Union has tougher rules than Canada – a 13-hour daily maximum that is trimmed if more than two legs are flown or if a shift commences between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. – but is considering even stricter standards.

In the U.S., the crash of a Buffalo commuter plane last winter that killed 50 people revealed the brutal conditions faced by regional airline pilots, who are underpaid and overworked, and who hopscotch the country because they cannot afford to live close to their base. In that accident, the first officer flew all night from her home near Seattle to a Newark airport where the flight originated.

The Federal Aviation Administration has since vowed to develop regulations aimed at reducing the threat of fatigue in the flight deck.

In Canada, pilot fatigue is often a matter negotiated between unions and airline carriers.

But the safety of air travel should not depend upon the negotiating effectiveness of a pilots' union, but on the science of fatigue and how best to prevent it to protect the public.

It is a question of political will. To do anything less is to leave Canadians flying blind.


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## GlasgowMan




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## Sukkiri

^^ 

Would have refused entry for such a passenger because that is a clear safety hazard.


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## mwg12a

Oh my Gosh, that man isn't just fat he is also super tall. While it is discrimpinatory to treat fat people differently, it is I must say also a "choice" rather than disability and something can be done to it no matter what precipitates the gain in weight. Other people has the right as well to complain if they are being inconvinienced by an obese person. They are willing to shed extra cash to satisfy their eating habits, I don't see why they can also she extra cash for an extra seat in an aircraft for their own convinience as well. That may sound harsh but come to think of it? they are willing to spend excessive amount of money for food, why can't they be willing to pay extra on a seat even if it's just half of the fare's price.


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## GlasgowMan

mwg12a said:


> Oh my Gosh, that man isn't just fat he is also super tall. While it is discrimpinatory to treat fat people differently, it is I must say also a "choice" rather than disability and something can be done to it no matter what precipitates the gain in weight. Other people has the right as well to complain if they are being inconvinienced by an obese person. They are willing to shed extra cash to satisfy their eating habits, I don't see why they can also she extra cash for an extra seat in an aircraft for their own convinience as well. That may sound harsh but come to think of it? they are willing to spend excessive amount of money for food, why can't they be willing to pay extra on a seat even if it's just half of the fare's price.


Not to mention that as it stands, other passengers are subsidising fat passengers tickets. More weight on the aircraft, the more fuel needed. You pay for excess baggage because it costs the airline. Why not pay for excess body weight? That too costs the airline more money for fuel.

As Bart LCY said:


> You are born black.
> You are born gay.
> You are born Arab.
> You are born Asian.
> You are NOT born obese.


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## hkskyline

*US airlines see recovery in business travel demand *

CHICAGO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. airline industry is seeing consistent signs of recovery that point to improved outlooks in 2010, executives at several top carriers said on Wednesday.

Speaking on webcasts of an analyst conference, industry leaders said business travel demand, which sagged earlier this year amid economic recession, was improving.

"I think we are seeing improvement in both leisure and premium traffic at this point," said Beverly Goulet, treasurer at AMR Corp , parent of American Airlines, at the Next Generation Equity Research Conference.

"We continue to see strength in close-in bookings," she said.

The U.S. airline industry has grappled in the last year with falling demand -- especially for high-end business travel -- as the recession eroded travel budgets.

Several airlines executives have noted improved demand in recent months and said on Wednesday the outlook continues to improve.

Delta Air Lines , the world's largest carrier, said demand would remain strong and that it expects to see improvements in unit revenue in 2010.

"When is unit revenue going to go positive? I think we've seen a steady step progression," Delta Chief Financial Officer Hank Halter said. "I don't want to give a specific date or guidance, but clearly it's going to be in 2010 and likely it's going to be in the front half of 2010."

Kathryn Mikells, chief financial officer at United Airlines parent UAL Corp , also noted "signs of recovery on the horizon."

"We did begin to see corporate and premium traffic improving (in the third quarter)," Mikells said.

US Airways Group President Scott Kirby said the airline also is seeing evidence of recovering business travel demand.

Gary Kelly, chief executive of Southwest Airlines , said, however, that business travel still lagged leisure and that he did not expect a rebound in business demand in 2010. Low-cost carrier Southwest caters less to business travels than its major rivals.

The Arca airline index <.XAL> was down 1 percent at mid-afternoon.


----------



## hkskyline

*Night Flight Bans*

*Lufthansa fights looming Frankfurt night flight ban *

FRANKFURT, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Fighting to head off a looming ban on night flights at its Frankfurt hub, Lufthansa will challenge a German court ruling that blocked an earlier appeal by the airline, a company spokesman said on Sunday.

At stake is whether Lufthansa's cargo fleet can operate at night at Frankfurt airport , Germany's largest, in spite of efforts to limit noise when it adds another runway in 2011.

The German state of Hesse, home to Frankfurt, has approved plans to expand the airport, but one condition was that flight movements were limited to an average of 17 per night between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time to cut down on noise.

That is still 17 too many for airport expansion opponents who want it to be quiet while they sleep.

Lufthansa Cargo Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said in August that Lufthansa could give up its fleet of air cargo planes if night flights were banned in Frankfurt.

Lufthansa said when court proceedings began in June it alone would require an average of 23 flights a night by 2020 for passenger and cargo flights. Requirements by tour operators such as Thomas Cook's Condor would come on top of that.

Hesse has until Jan. 4 to appeal against a state administrative court decision raising questions about the 17 proposed night flights.


----------



## hkskyline

*Spain goes after its highly paid air traffic controllers during a recession *
5 February 2010

MADRID (AP) - Spain's government says it is using emergency legislation to rein in its air traffic controllers, who earn up to euro900,000 ($1.2 million) a year in a country suffering a recession and nearly 20 percent unemployment.

The controllers are technically civil servants, but they signed an agreement in 1999 giving them autonomy and control over their salaries.

Development Minister Jose Blanco said the new law will return the sector to Spain's public airport authority, AENA.

Blanco said the high annual salaries -- an average of euro375,000 ($513,400) a year -- defeat the government's goal of cutting costs.

He said the emergency legislation became active Friday with the king's signature, and he predicted parliament would support the measure.


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## hkskyline

*Helicopter to the Airport*

*American Airlines vies for premium flyers with free helicopter rides to Tokyo airport *
4 February 2010

TOKYO (AP) - American Airlines has a new proposition for premium travelers in Japan: Fly with us, and we'll give you a free helicopter ride to and from the airport.

Launched Thursday, the deal intensifies the battle for the highly lucrative business and first-class market in Japan. It also comes as the carrier fights to keep its foothold in the country, with rival Delta Air Lines attempting to lure Japan Airlines away from American's oneworld alliance.

At stake are JAL's lucrative Asian routes, a big revenue stream, more power to help shape overseas customer options and ticket prices and the potential to one day fly aircraft and passengers on JAL's routes.

American and its oneworld alliance partners, including Japan Airlines, currently have about 35 percent of U.S.-Japan market share. That would drop to 6 percent if JAL leaves oneworld and dilute American's revenue from the region.

The latest promotion is available to trans-Pacific travelers booking nonstop, full-fare business or first class tickets through American's Japan-based Web site. American flies direct from Narita International Airport to Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Taking off from a heliport in central Tokyo, eligible passengers can reach Narita in about 30 minutes, compared to 60 to 90 minutes by train or bus. Rides are operated by American's partner in the campaign, Mori Building City Air Services Co.

"At American Airlines, we are constantly working to provide customers with greater comfort and convenience," said Wes Stockstill, American's Pacific regional director for marketing and strategy.

Rival All Nippon Airways is offering a similar, though more limited, service for its highest-paying customers through March 31. ANA is giving first class passengers traveling roundtrip from North America a complimentary helicopter ride into Tokyo.

American's deal runs through Dec. 15, according to its Web site.


----------



## jemurillo0705

^^ crisis doesn`t exist any more


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## hkskyline

Well .. premium passengers only .. that market should still be weak so all the perks need to go out to them to keep them flying!


----------



## hkskyline

*Czech association calls for law making it crime to use laser pointers to blind pilots *
3 February 2010

PRAGUE (AP) - A Czech airline pilots group has called on Parliament to enact a law making it illegal to use laser pointers to blind pilots.

The Czech Airline Pilots Association says at least seven passenger planes were targeted by laser pointers last year at Prague's international airport as they were landing or taking off.

Pilots representative Karel Mundel said Wednesday in a statement that such attacks pose a serious security risk because it could cause flash blindness and threaten pilots' ability to control planes or seriously damage their eyes.

The pilots said Czech authorities should enact a law against laser misuse like other countries, including Britain, Germany and the U.S.


----------



## simcard

what if there is bad weather, i would be scared to get on a helicopter during snowy hurricane


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## hkskyline

simcard said:


> what if there is bad weather, i would be scared to get on a helicopter during snowy hurricane


I doubt they'll be running in those weather conditions!


----------



## abbypan

Here comes a real case! :lol:



> "way fat" director Kevin Smith was booted from a Southwest Airlines flight because of his size, according to his own breathless minute-by-minute tweets.
> 
> Smith, the millionaire director and writer of Clerks and Zack and Miri Make a Porno was thrown off the US budget airline's Boeing 737 late Saturday night in Oakland, California, because the captain deemed him a "flight risk," Smith tweeted. The incident was first reported by TMZ overnight.


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## simcard

^^ is Southwest airlines no gonna get sued ?


----------



## hkskyline

*Kevin Smith fuels row over 'fat' plane passengers *
15 February 2010

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Film director Kevin Smith has reignited a heated debate about airlines' treatment of overweight passengers after being thrown off a flight for being too large to fit in one seat.

An angry tirade posted on his Twitter page about the way he was treated by Southwest Airlines last weekend has fueled a wave of protests from some angry passengers while other travelers have stood by the airline's decision.

"If you look like me, you may be ejected from Southwest Air," wrote Smith, posting a photograph of himself on the plane, puffing out his cheeks.

Smith, director of the new Bruce Willis movie "Cop Out" as well as "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," said a Southwest Airlines pilot ejected him off a flight from Oakland to Burbank, California because the pilot believed Smith didn't fit properly into just one seat and was a "safety risk."

"I'm way fat... But I'm not THERE just yet," he wrote.

Smith said he had actually booked and paid for two seats on a later flight but moved to an earlier flight as a standby passenger that only had one seat available.

His posting prompted a barrage of angry responses from other disgruntled customers, adding to an ongoing debate over the treatment of overweight customers by airlines and whether they should have to pay for two seats.

Air France found itself at the center of this heated debate last month after it was misreported that the airline was planning an extra charge for passengers unable to fit into a single seat. Air France has, since 2005, offered overweight passengers the option to buy a second seat at a 25 percent discount.

Southwest Airlines says its policy requires travelers to be able to fit safely and comfortably in one seat and be able to lower their armrests or buy a second seat.

United Airlines also has this policy and both airlines have a policy that overweight passengers can claim a refund on the second seat if the plane is not full. These policies were introduced after complaints from neighboring passengers.

But after a barrage of angry comments from Smith and other passengers, Southwest Airlines apologized to Smith by phone, on its own Twitter account and in a statement on its website.

The airline said it was unusual for it to be so public in handling such matters but decided this case was different because so many people were involved.

"We would like to echo our Tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you," said the airline.

The airline said it put Smith on a later flight and gave him a $100 voucher for his inconvenience.

But not all of the comments supported Smith. Other people sided with the airline.

"Being heavy is not something to be proud about. I wish more companies would not tolerate the lifestyle of fatness!" read one comment on Smith's Twitter account.

Crisis management consultant David Margulies from the Marguiles Communications Group questioned whether the airline was being too polite by apologizing to Smith when its policy was both fair and reasonable.

He said too many companies backed down from reasonable policies because they are scared of negative publicity, in this case especially after Smith's online anger.

"Southwest has taken a very reasonable and fair approach to dealing with the issue of overweight customers and should be applauded for their actions," Margulies said in a statement.

"This is the time that customers and employees should take to the Internet in defense of the company."


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## mhays

Southwest is right. The director is showing that "independent" doesn't mean "not an asshole."


----------



## minneapolis-uptown

mwg12a said:


> Oh my Gosh, that man isn't just fat he is also super tall.


hes not super tall, hes sitting on the armrest:lol:


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## AltinD

^^ True, but still he's taller then the other people around.


----------



## hkskyline

*Women-Only Lavatories*

*Women only: Japan airline to have female toilets *

TOKYO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Women flying Japan's All Nippon Airways will have a toilet all to themselves from next month, with the airline designating one restroom on most international routes as female-only.

The airline said in a statement it was responding to "numerous requests for this service", adding that the toilet would be located in the rear of the plane and be available to women passengers from all classes.

An airline official told Kyodo news agency that ANA decided to designate women-only lavatories based on a 2007 online survey in which 90 percent of the women polled said they found the idea attractive.

The official also said women do not like using shared toilets as men sometimes leave the seat up. She said demand for women-only toilets was especially high among passengers taking long flights.

Men would be allowed to use the lavatory only in emergencies or when there were very few female passengers on the flight, the ANA statement said.

South Korea's Korean Air has been offering similar facilities and ANA rival Japan Airlines designates lavatories for priority use by women, the ANA official told Kyodo.

Toilet etiquette appears to be an important part of ANA's policy -- the airline had previously asked passengers to use the lavatories before they board flights so as to reduce the overall weight of the plane, which would ultimately be better for the environment as it would mean less fuel usage.


----------



## Tunasa

Hem, can we have Men-only lavatories too? I don't like to have to pull the seat up.


----------



## Dimethyltryptamine

I think V-Australia do this too?


----------



## hkskyline

*Families of Russian air crash victims lose appeals*
25 February 2010

BERN, Switzerland (AP) - A Swiss court has rejected most appeals to increase compensation payments for relatives of Russian victims of a 2002 airline crash.

News agency DAPD reports that the Federal Administrative Court dismissed appeals by 121 Russians who lost family members when a Bashkirian Airlines plane collided with a DHL cargo jet over southern Germany, killing 71 people.

DAPD reported Thursday that four appeals for higher compensation were granted.

The rulings can be appealed to Switzerland's highest court.

Four employees of Swiss air traffic control company Skyguide were found guilty of negligent homicide in the crash in 2007.

The only air traffic controller on duty at the time of the crash was stabbed to death in 2004 by a Russian who had lost his wife and children.


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## GlasgowMan

Will they be offering a Men-only lavatory too? If not, its just a matter of time till someone sues them for discrimination.


----------



## hkskyline

GlasgowMan said:


> Will they be offering a Men-only lavatory too? If not, its just a matter of time till someone sues them for discrimination.


They can probably pack 2 urinals into one unit!


----------



## Iggis

Would you like to piss touching hand of other guy ?  Haha..


----------



## hkskyline

*Flyers with cat allergies are disabled, agency rules; 'People Can Die' *
Canwest News Service
26 February 2010

Small pets could soon be banished from passenger cabins in Canada after the government agency overseeing consumer complaints ruled yesterday that some customers suffering from a cat allergy are disabled and must be accommodated.

The Canadian Transportation Agency ruled that the three complainants are in effect persons with disabilities because the pet policies at Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd. -- allowing cats in aircraft cabins -- impact on their ability to fly.

However, the agency stopped short of telling the airlines to change their policies or to bar cats or other small pets from aircraft cabins. Instead, the agency will now determine "appropriate accommodation" for the allergic passengers.

"Should the agency find that an obstacle exists, it will assess whether the obstacle is undue," according to the newly released decision.

The tribunal did not say how long it will take to determine "next steps."

Initially, "for reasons of efficiency and in the public interest," the agency is seeking an agreement from the airlines and the complainants to expand the scope of its investigation to include a review of policies related to small dogs, as well as cats.

Spokesmen for WestJet and Air Canada yesterday said the airlines will submit briefs to the agency after reviewing the decision.

One of the complainants, Dr. David Spence of London, is already clear on how he wants the matter resolved.

" The issue here is that people can die from an asthmatic attack, so it's not reasonable to allow people to bring their little kitty cat on the plane just because they think it's nice," Dr. Spence, a neurologist and director of the stroke prevention research centre at the Robarts Research Institute, said yesterday.

His position has the weight of the Canadian Medical Association Journal behind him.

Earlier this month, the Journal published a strongly worded editorial arguing airlines passengers with pet allergies should not be forced to share the cabin with cats and other small pets, saying they have the right to travel without placing their health at risk.

All airlines are required by federal regulation to allow service animals, such as guide dogs, to travel in passenger cabins, but regular pets such as cats are not afforded the same treatment.

In the case of Air Canada, the airline kicked cats and other small pets out of the passenger cabin in September 2006, a decision upheld by the agency in response to a consumer complaint. But Air Canada then reversed its position after facing a barrage of criticism from pet owners, who had the option to travel with their small pets on West-Jet flights.

Like Air Canada, the Calgary-based airline allows up to four small dogs, cats, birds or rabbits to travel in the passenger cabin on every flight.


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## GlasgowMan

Iggis said:


> Would you like to piss touching hand of other guy ?  Haha..


What about holding each others pisser? :lol:


----------



## Iggis

*GlasgowMan*, if they would make a lavatory for MALES only with urinals, seems like it will be too intime ) 

Well, if both dont mind, ofcoz they can hold anything they want


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## southwestforests

Wait a minute, what happened to the decades of hue and cry to be treated the same as men?
So, now someone is _demanding_ "separate but equal" huh.
Fascinating.
Hypocritical?

Yeah, well, us guys when we have to do that thing which don't work real well when standing up have to put seat down just the same.


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## siamu maharaj

And why not male-only lavatories may I ask? This is absurd.


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## minneapolis-uptown

I piss on your seat in protest to not having a male only lavatory!


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## MikeOnt

this is good. less traveling stank!


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## hkskyline

*Safety experts: Air traffic control incidents point to complacency, signal wider problems *
4 March 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - For the third time in seven months, the judgment of those who operate the nation's air traffic control system has been called into question and concerns have been raised that complacency may be causing controllers and their supervisors to bend rules.

While major air crashes have declined sharply over the last decade, thanks largely to improved technology, aviation safety experts say they are seeing signs that vigilance may have eroded.

The latest incident was reported this week: A controller twice brought a child to work at the control tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one of the nation's busiest airports, and allowed the child to radio instructions to pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended the controller and his supervisor pending an investigation of the incident last month.

"This is a stunning example of a lack of professionalism, not following the rules, not using commonsense," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a Senate committee Thursday.

The FAA has declined to identify the controller, but a person with knowledge of the situation identified him Thursday as Glenn Duffy, a 20 year veteran of the job with experience at several of the big air hubs that serve New York. The person spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the case. In the late 1990s, Duffy was a frequent critic of the FAA while serving as the union representative for controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The problems with safety and vigilance extends to airline pilots as well. In several accidents in recent years -- the crash of a regional airliner in upstate New York a year ago that killed 50 people is one example -- pilots broke a cardinal safety rule prohibiting nonessential conversation during landing approaches.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said he couldn't understand what the controller was thinking.

"You would think he would know better," said Bloomberg, a trained pilot. "It was certainly inappropriate."

Other recent incidents:

--In October, controllers in Minneapolis handed off responsibility for a Northwest Airlines jet without alerting the next controller that they had been unable to make radio contact with the plane. Supervisors also failed to follow procedures for alerting a national security communications network to the problem. As a result, the Airbus A320 carrying 144 passengers was out of radio contact for 69 minutes before the security network was alerted. Rules put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are supposed to trigger an alert when a plane can't be raised by radio for 10 minutes.

The larger issue at play in the incident, however, was the conduct of the cockpit crew on the Northwest plane, who flew more than 100 miles past their destination. The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the flying licenses of two pilots, who are now appealing to have them reinstated.

--Last August, an air traffic controller at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey who handed off a private plane to controllers at a neighboring airport failed to correct the plane's pilot when he read back the wrong radio frequency. Controllers at both airports later tried unsuccessfully to reach the pilot. The plane collided moments later with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River. Three people in the plane and six in the helicopter were killed. The Teterboro controller was chitchatting on the phone with a female friend until seconds before the collision. The controller's supervisor had left the airport to run a personal errand.

The incidents suggest a casualness about rules that undermines safety, said Carol Carmody, a former National Transportation Safety Board member and former FAA official.

Even more serious is that the controllers in the Teterboro and Kennedy incidents appear to have felt free to break rules, which suggests supervisors tolerated such lapses, said Michael Barr, who teaches aviation safety at the University of Southern California.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the incidents were "isolated occurrences" and not indicative of a broader safety problem.

The FAA is implementing a new program that encourages air traffic controllers to report safety problems, including their own mistakes, so that the agency can spot trends and act to prevent future problems, Brown said. To encourage reporting, controllers aren't punished for errors they identify.

The agency has had a similar program for pilots for nearly a decade.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, in speeches and congressional testimony, has called on pilots and air traffic controllers to create a professional atmosphere in cockpits and radar facilities and not to tolerate rule-breaking by colleagues.

The NTSB is concerned enough about the situation that it has scheduled a forum this spring on pilot and air traffic controller professionalism.

In a statement responding to the Kennedy incident, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association -- the union that represents controllers -- said it doesn't "condone this type of behavior in any way."

But Mary Schiavo, a former Transportation Department inspector general who has filed a lawsuit against the FAA on behalf of the families of five Italian tourists killed in the Hudson River collision, said there needs to be a strong message sent from the top. She suggested Babbitt and LaHood call "an all-hands-on-deck meeting and make sure air traffic controllers know it's every rule every time."

------

Associated Press writer David B. Caruso in New York City contributed to this report.


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## hkskyline

*NTSB Revises 'Most Wanted' List*
22 February 2010
Air Safety Week

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revised its 'Most Wanted' safety list, calling for improved oversight of airline pilot proficiency.

The safety recommendation follows recent Safety Board hearings into the Colgan Air crash in February 2009 near Buffalo, NY. During those hearings, airline executives testified they were unaware that the pilot had failed several check rides before he was hired at Colgan.

The Safety Board reviewed its list of Most Wanted safety recommendations. The 2010 list was developed in 1990 to focus attention on safety improvements the Board believes will have the greatest impact on transportation safety.

The NTSB said oversight of pilot proficiency is lacking. This new issue area added by the Safety Board contains two 2005 recommendations calling on the FAA to require airlines to obtain histories of flight check failures by pilot applicants and to require special training programs for pilots who have demonstrated performance deficiencies.

A second addition to the 'Most Wanted" list involves image recorders. Although cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) and flight data recorders (FDRs) record sounds and relatively comprehensive airplane data during an emergency, they do not show the critical cockpit environment leading up to the emergency. The Safety Board has requested image recorders for large transport category aircraft and for smaller aircraft that do not otherwise have recording devices.

The NTSB believes more can be done to beef up the safety record of the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) industry. The Board has issued a series of recommendations aimed at improving the safety of this vital service to the public. It noted that the FAA will issue a proposed rule that will address some of these concerns.

Improving runway safety remains a priority for the air safety advisory agency, noting that the deadliest accident in aviation history was a runway collision in 1977.

Runway accidents and incidents continue to occur, including a fatal regional jet accident in Kentucky in 2006 and an incident last year where an airliner landed on a taxiway in Atlanta.

The NTSB has a series of recommendations aimed at preventing such occurrences, including requiring moving map displays in the cockpit, giving immediate warnings to the cockpit of impending incursions, and requiring landing distance assessments with an adequate safety margin for every landing.

Another area of concern includes the need to reduce dangers to aircraft flying in icing conditions. The NTSB continues to believe that the FAA has failed to make adequate progress in this area.

Finally, federal regulations require Part 121 and Scheduled Part 135 operators to provide pilots with crew resource management training. The NTSB has investigated a number of Part 135 on-demand operators where such training was not provided, and errors by the crew led to accidents. The FAA has proposed to require a form of CRM training for these carriers.


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## GlasgowMan

*Man Sues Airline For Not Looking At His ********

*Man Sues Airline For Not Looking At His ********

A man recently filed suit against Canadian airline Air Transat because the flight attendants refused to give proper medical attention... to his *******.

According to the suit, the plaintiff was flying from Montreal to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when he went to the bathroom to check on a discomfort in his groin area, only to see spots of blood.

The passenger asked two different flight attendants — first a female and then a male — to get a closer look at his business to determine the exact nature of the spotting. Not surprisingly, both attendants passed on the opportunity and offered him some sanitary towels instead.

He then asked to see a doctor and the attendants told him they would contact a doctor if his condition worsened. 

The passenger made his way to the hospital in Mexico and was diagnosed as having ruptured a vein in the area near his *******. It took three stitches to stop the bleeding.

In the suit filed against both the airline and the staff on that particular flight, the plaintiff charged that they failed to provide appropriate medical assistance and sought monetary damages.

However, the judge in the case found no merit in the suit and not only dismissed it outright, but ordered the plaintiff to pay the airline's court costs. 

"It was not incumbent upon a flight attendant to conduct the medical examination of a passenger, a measure reserved for the medical profession," wrote the judge in her decision. "Nothing in the facts proves that that the situation was dangerous or worrisome to the point of requiring the immediate attention of a doctor."

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/man-sues-airline-for-not-looking-at-his-*******.html


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## 1772

Good call by the judge. 
The passenger should get a good beating.


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## Cosmin

I literally got coffee all over my keyboard upon reading the title.:rofl:

Dude... if your ball sack is dripping I'm guessing you should be the first to have a clue as to what the problem is. In any case, don't go around asking people to look at your treasure chest, unless they're an MD.

I'm glad he didn't try to get into the cockpit with his balls in his hands...:shifty:


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## siamu maharaj

To be fair I'll be scared like shit if my balls start bleeding. But in that case, if I'm in an airplane, I'd ask the stewardess to ask over the PA if there's a doctor on the plane, and then ask the doctor if he can please check what the problem is.


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## simcard

maybee it was the change in air pressure inside the cabin that made the man bleed, so yeah airline is at fault :jk:

funny story, and i say the judge made the right decision


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## hkskyline

I expected the ending to be much different if it was an American case.


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## hkskyline

*Airport runways still too short, transport agency warns Ottawa Recommendations to extend safety areas ignored, board says*
17 March 2010
The Globe and Mail

OTTAWA -- Major runways at Canadian airports are still too short – increasing the risk of planes overshooting the runway like the Air France jet that crashed and burned five years ago at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, the Transportation Safety Board is warning.

In a blast against government inaction, the independent federal body said its recommendation for the creation of 300-metre safety areas at the end of major runways has been ignored by Ottawa and the country's big airports.

Even worse, the board said, the government is only consulting the aviation industry on the addition of a 150-metre safety area, or half of the length determined to be necessary after the 2005 Air France crash in Toronto.

In an interview, Transportation Safety Board chair Wendy Tadros said the process is “taking too long” seeing as how planes that overshoot runways represent one of the biggest problems facing the aviation industry.

“Somewhere in the world, about once a month, a large aircraft will run off the end of a runway in bad weather. It's a persistent problem,” Ms. Tadros said.

She said that while Canadian airports remain relatively safe, U.S. airports are moving more quickly to add the buffer zones. “In the United States, they are moving toward the recommended practice from the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] of 300 metres,” she said.

Asked whether the high cost of the additional safety areas is causing the delays, Ms. Tadros refused to answer. “For us, it's an issue of safety,” she said.

The TSB made its recommendation for a 300-metre safety zone (or an equivalent “arrestor bed” – crushable concrete that can stop an aircraft – where there is not enough space) after a two-year probe into an Air France flight that overshot the runway at Pearson during a torrential rainstorm. None of the 309 people on board died in the crash, but pictures of the plane in flames left no doubt as to the extent of the potential catastrophe that had been avoided.

The Harper government announced consultations on the matter in early 2008, but it has yet to take action. As it stands, the government is in discussions with the aviation community through a joint government-industry body called the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council.

Captain Barry Wiszniowski, chair of the Air Canada Pilots Association's safety division, said the lessons from the Air France crash have not been applied, at Pearson or elsewhere.

“Nothing's changed,” he said in an interview.

Liberal MP Joe Volpe said the government is to blame for the inaction, adding that Conservative ministers “agree with everything then don't do anything about it.”

But Transport Minister John Baird defended Ottawa's handling of the file, saying there is “more work to be done.”

“Our airports meet currently all the international standards,” Mr. Baird told reporters. “Some of these changes don't happen overnight but, like I say, we welcome the work [of the TSB].”

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority said that it meets all federal standards and will comply if any changes are mandated. GTAA spokesman Scott Armstrong added that safety trumps costs when it comes to runways.

“If there is something that needs to be done, we will look to do it cost-effectively. But cost certainly isn't a deciding factor when it comes to a safety concern,” he said.

The TSB added that despite its recent recommendations, airline pilots still often lack the necessary information about landing conditions during bad weather, including the presence of ice, snow or slush on runways.

“Our investigations show the information available may not always be current, and current information may not have been transmitted to the pilots in a timely basis,” said TSB board member Kathy Fox.

The TSB's comments on airline safety came as part of a “watch list” of nine transportation problems facing Canadians, including the lack of emergency preparations on ferries and dangerous railway crossings.

“We know from hard experience, if persistent problems are not addressed, there will be another accident,” Ms. Tadros said.

******

Watch list of problems

The Transportation Safety Board has released a “watch list” of problems facing Canada's transportation system, saying the following issues require urgent action from government and industry:

• The risk of passenger trains colliding with vehicles in busy rail corridors remains too high;

• There are too many deadly accidents involving fishing vessels;

• Large passenger ferries are ill-prepared for emergencies;

• The risk of collisions involving aircraft and vehicles on the ground at Canadian airports could be brought down with appropriate equipment;

• In bad weather, airline pilots sometimes lack timely information about runway surface conditions;

• There are not enough appropriate and resistant data recorders on some types of ships, aircraft and trains.


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## GlasgowMan

*Snoozing Air Canada passenger wakes up in hangar*

*Snoozing Air Canada passenger wakes up in hangar*
_April 2010 _

A British law professor is slamming Air Canada after the airline left him asleep on a plane for 90 minutes after it landed — and he woke up in a hangar at Vancouver International Airport.

He says he’s not satisfied with the airline’s explanation that the flight attendant was dealing with several wheelchair passengers and didn’t check the rest of the cabin.

“It’s absolute craziness,” said 31-year-old Kris Lines, head of sports law at Staffordshire University.

“The last thing I remember was taking off from Calgary. I knew I was safely on board and there was no further destinations and it was all good.

“Somebody would wake me up at the end.”

What he didn’t expect was to be woken by a mechanic after the Air Canada Jazz plane was towed into a hangar at YVR.

The incident happened on March 6, when Lines was fast asleep near the back of Air Canada Flight No. 8229 from Calgary. He said he was slumped against the window with a bright-red jacket on the seat beside him.

“I’m a heavy sleeper, so I drank Coca-Cola on the transatlantic leg to help stay awake,” said Lines, who spoke to The Province from his home in England. “I hadn’t been drinking alcohol.”

Lines was coming to Vancouver to speak at a sports conference and visit a colleague in Kamloops.

He flew to Calgary from London’s Heathrow Airport and had a two-hour stopover before continuing to Vancouver. Lines left home at 5:30 a.m. and his final flight was due into Vancouver at 6:42 p.m.

“I’d been up for about 24 hours,” he explained.

Lines said that, when the Vancouver mechanic woke him, he was disoriented and in a rush to grab his bags and jacket and get off the plane.

“He said, ‘Don’t worry. You should have got off an hour-and-a-half ago,’ ” added Lines.

“They took me off the plane down the steps into a hangar, took me into a room, photocopied my boarding pass and said, ‘This sort of thing shouldn’t be happening. Somebody’s neck’s going to be on the line for this.’ ”

Lines said he sent an email of complaint to Air Canada.

“If I’d been a vulnerable passenger, a young girl or elderly, it could have been a lot worse,” he added.

“The other implication is that if I was a terrorist, then I’ve got an hour-and-a-half after the plane’s landed, all by myself, in a secure area on a plane.”

Lines said he was unhappy with Air Canada’s response.

“I suppose the moral is, next time I fly to Canada, I’ve got to wear something a bit more reflective or glow-in-the-dark so someone can see me.”

Lines received an email from MaryAnn Morgan, in Air Canada’s customer-relations department.

“Although there was no excuse for the incident that occurred, it appears the flight attendant on this occasion was dealing with several wheelchair passengers and co-ordinating their departure from the aircraft,” Morgan wrote.

“Although the flight attendant advises he did look back into the aircraft to check for any passengers still on board, he did not walk through the aircraft cabin as he was engaged with handling the passengers in wheelchairs requiring assistance.

“I can assure you that no previous incident of this nature has occurred and that this matter has been thoroughly reviewed with the crew member concerned and other crews operating similar aircraft to ensure an incident of this type does not happen again.”

Morgan offered Lines a “one-time saving” of 20 per cent on up to four tickets “as a gesture of goodwill.”

“Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you on this occasion,” she added.

Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman Debra Williams also apologized, saying the airline operates about 800 flights a day and “this was an isolated incident.”

“It is standard operating procedure for inflight personnel to check the aircraft after a flight for passengers and any belongings that may have been left on board,” she said.


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## Indictable

lol


----------



## GlasgowMan

Indictable said:


> lol


Pretty much sums up my thoughts on the whole thing, to be honest. haha!


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## philvia

i wish i could sleep like that on an airplane


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## hkskyline

Nobody cleaned the plane after service?


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## FM 2258

Funny story...haha.


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## hkskyline

*Planes, trains or automobile? The answer may surprise you*
7 April 2010
The Globe and Mail

With carbon-emissions concerns and massive recalls, car travel has been taking a beating. Transit is faster, cleaner and cheaper within Canada's major cities, and to get between many of the business centres in our nation of geographic excess, driving would take days.

Not surprisingly, business travellers often opt to fly. How else to explain Air Canada's 10 flights a day, each way, between Ottawa and Montreal – a distance of only 190 kilometres?

Or Porter's 17 week-day flights between Montreal and Toronto.

Or the 26 daily flights Air Canada and WestJet offer between Calgary and Edmonton. With an average of about half an hour into and out of each airport, plus the recommended hour waiting at the airport before your plane departs, that 51-minute flight becomes a three-hour trip.

But with air travel both time consuming and environmentally unfriendly, and with train fares relatively high, it may actually make more sense for business travellers to hit the road when venturing from one business hub to another.

Consider the Calgary-Edmonton route (for which there is no train service): The cost to fly return is just under $300 (including fees and taxes); or you could drive the 300 kilometres in about three hours, with travel expenses of about $190. (I worked this out using the Canadian Automobile Association's recommended gas, depreciation and maintenance costs of 32.1 cents a kilometre.)

If you fly, you still need to get around once you land, either by taxi or rental car (which costs at least $40 a day, plus gas, insurance if you need it and mileage if you cover lengthy distances).

But for many business travellers, it's about time, not money.

Jeff Walker, the CAA's vice-president of public affairs, says the car-convenience threshold for Central and Western Canada is about 4 1/2 hours of drive time. But in Atlantic Canada, where flights are less frequent and train service is often not an option, even a much longer trip may make better sense in a car.

Via Rail officially considers its main competition in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor to be cars, not airlines. “You can leave when you're ready and you can return when you're ready,” Via spokeswoman Catherine Kaloutsky says, “whereas if you're flying or taking the train, your schedule has to align with your departure times.”

However, she points out you can work on the train, that service is frequent in the Central Canadian corridor (six trains a day between Ottawa and Montreal and four between Montreal and Quebec City) and that, unlike with highways and airports, bad weather has only closed the railway lines once in the past 15 years.

Train travel has become increasingly important overseas: Just last week, all air service was permanently grounded between Zhengzhou and Xian, two Chinese cities recently linked by high-speed rail. Air travel between other closely paired cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, and Frankfurt and Munich, has similarly withered over the past decade.

Of course, a one-way business seat on Via from Ottawa to Montreal is about $115; the average car-travel cost is $60.

And factoring in the carbon cost? You'll always come out ahead on a train, and air travel beats only cars for short hauls when the planes are full.

Travelling by car will always be cheaper, it can be surprisingly fast (unless you're doing business on a long weekend) and, unlike on a plane, you can be on your Bluetooth the whole way.

But the clincher may be the one thing you'll never get on a plane or a train: a never-ending parade of roadside fast food.


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## Davodavo

^^ +1

:lol: lmao


----------



## xzibit31

lol...nice one. 

although i would not get mad for not being woken up, i would have asked the airline of they could give me free passes on my future flights and not a measly 20% discount on up to 4 future flights.


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## Kubajzo

I would at least have one more addition to my collection of travel stories.:lol:


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## don diego 2000

Crazy story! :nuts: Very funny! :lol:


----------



## Arkdriver

opportunist...


----------



## AltinD

This reminded me of a radio interview with the head of Dubai Taxi corporation. The radio host (a Canadian guy, mind you) asked what was the most bizarre thing that had happened to thousands of taxis they operate, and he said: - *Once a guy called and said he had forgot the sleeping grandma in the taxi when they disembarked *... :rofl:


----------



## GlasgowMan

*Space alien bangs on airplane door demanding cockpit access*

*Space alien bangs on airplane door demanding cockpit access*

Every time someone goes cuckoo on a plane, they manage to come up with a new way to amuse me. 

Today's story involves a passenger on a Delta Connection flight from Helena to Sale Lake City who got up out of his seat, and started banging on the cockpit door demanding to be allowed to fly the plane. 

According to flight attendants, the 32 year old Las Vegas native claimed to be a space alien, and I can only assume he wanted to fly the plane back to his home planet. 

As is customary in these cases, the plane made an emergency landing (at Idaho Falls airport), where local authorities were able to remove the alien, presumably to perform scientific research on him. 

Thankfully for passengers, the delay was fairly minor, and nobody was hurt. Flightaware.com has a log posted of the delay and diversion. 

Authorities did not release any more specifics about the "alien", but I'm guessing it wouldn't be too presumptuous to assume alcohol was (once again) involved.


http://www.gadling.com/2010/05/04/space-alien-bangs-on-airplane-door-demanding-cockpit-access/


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## killerk

^^ Pilots are looking for every dumb reason to land in the middle of flights these days!!!


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## pwalker

killerk said:


> ^^ Pilots are looking for every dumb reason to land in the middle of flights these days!!!


Not sure I understand your comment. There was a disturbance on a flight. Why would any pilot want to disrupt his/her flight? 

BTW, this flight landed in Idaho Falls (about midway between the orgination/destination) and the culprit was taken into custody. It was completely the right move. 

Unfortunately, small airports like Helena (EDIT: the passenger and flight originated in Great Falls), but the point being that smaller airports may have less resources to spot problem passengers, and this could be an increasing problem.)


----------



## Kubajzo

pwalker said:


> Not sure I understand your comment. There was a disturbance on a flight. Why would any pilot want to disrupt his/her flight?
> 
> BTW, this flight landed in Idaho Falls (about midway between the orgination/destination) and the culprit was taken into custody. It was completely the right move.
> 
> Unfortunately, small airports like Helena probably do not have the resources to intercept problem passengers. This will become an increasing issue with airport security in coming years.


Why does nothing interesting ever happens on any my flights? hno: The most interesting thing that happened to me was a hysterical american lady which I and the half of the crew tried to calm down during turbulences near the coast line of Canada heading for JFK.


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## killerk

pwalker said:


> Not sure I understand your comment. There was a disturbance on a flight. Why would any pilot want to disrupt his/her flight?
> 
> BTW, this flight landed in Idaho Falls (about midway between the orgination/destination) and the culprit was taken into custody. It was completely the right move.
> 
> Unfortunately, small airports like Helena probably do not have the resources to intercept problem passengers. This will become an increasing issue with airport security in coming years.


he was just mad or horribly drunk, not a criminal threatening to blow up the plane!!! they could have just restrained him and continued with the flight!!


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## pwalker

killerk said:


> he was just mad or horribly drunk, not a criminal threatening to blow up the plane!!! they could have just restrained him and continued with the flight!!


I agree. Try and restrain him, but remember many of these regional aircraft have two pilots and just one flight attendant. Not much of a staff to handle a situation like this. If restraint efforts are unsuccessful, then there is no choice. Land quickly.


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## simcard

lol, the alien should be grateful he was not beaten up by passengers given the current situation in airlinies.


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## pwalker

Here is what happened to the alien. 

http://www.localnews8.com/news/23532267/detail.html


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## abbypan

The alien was sentenced one year in jail.



pwalker said:


> Here is what happened to the alien.
> 
> http://www.localnews8.com/news/23532267/detail.html


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## pwalker

abbypan said:


> The alien was sentenced one year in jail.


Yes, but suspended and will get probation instead.


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## hkskyline

*Pilot fatigue an issue, union says; 'Canada not meeting standards': Guidelines out of date, Ottawa told*
28 April 2010
Canwest News Service

Canada is in violation of new international standards to combat pilot fatigue in the cockpit, the country's largest pilot union told parliamentarians yesterday.

Paul Strachan, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association, said Transport Canada's outdated flight and duty time regulations put Canada offside internationally because they don't take into account the latest research on why flying overnight is harder on the body than daytime flying.

The new requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Montreal-based United Nations civil aviation agency, came into effect in November, requiring member states, including Canada, to manage pilot fatigue based on best practices and scientific knowledge about flying and the circadian rhythm.

Canada's regulations, written in 1965 and updated in 1996, permit pilots to fly 14 hours in a 24-hour period, with specific guidelines for rest periods in between. Unlike other countries, the federal rules in Canada do not distinguish between daytime and overnight flights.

"Currently, we are not compliant with the ICAO stipulations," Strachan told MPs on the House of Commons transport committee probing aviation safety in Canada.

"The data is there, the science is there," he said of the physical toll of overnight flights. To emphasize his point, Strachan directed MPs to research showing the effects on a pilot of flying fatigued are similar to those of flying under the influence of alcohol.

"But although there are very strict laws worldwide to prevent pilots from flying under the influence of alcohol, Canada has no science-based regulations to prevent pilot fatigue, as mandated by ICAO."

In a statement issued yesterday, Transport Canada said it has "strict safety regulations for flight time and rest periods for flight crews" and these are "compliant with the principles laid out in ICAO's updated standards."

The department has committed itself to launching a review of its pilot- fatigue policies this summer under the auspices of the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council.

Transport Canada expects this process to take at least two years.

Strachan told MPs this approach resembled "body-bag safety policy" development because of an anticipated drawn-out process, during which there could be another fatigue-related accident.

"It's like you hit the ball and it takes you a couple of years to get to first base," Strachan said.

Air Canada pilots already have negotiated flight and duty time rules into their contract to reflect the latest findings on pilot fatigue and the circadian rhythm, but smaller airlines follow the Transport Canada regulations.

"There should be one level of safety," testified Barry Wisznioswki, chairman of the union's technical and safety division.


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## hkskyline

*Airport set to ban 'red-eye' flights*
26 June 2010
Shanghai Daily

EARLY morning flights to and from the Hongqiao International Airport could be grounded after a rise in complaints from nearby residents about the noise.

The city's construction and transport commission is in talks with the civil aviation authorities, requesting a ban on flights between midnight and 6am.

Shen Xiaosu, the commission's deputy director, said the ban could come into effect when the next flight season begins on October 28.

Delayed flights -- those originally due to take off or land before midnight -- would still be allowed.

Airline officials said an end to red-eye flights, so called because of the fatigue involved in overnight travel, would have limited impact on the airlines, which don't operate international flights in the early hours.

People close to the airport on the west side of the city have been complaining about additional noise since a new terminal and second runway went into use in March.

The runways now allow 45 landings and departures an hour, compared to the previous 33, said Shanghai Airport Authority, the airport operator.

The new runway has a navigation system for night flying, it said.

A spokesman with the Civil Aviation Administration Bureau of East China, the regional aviation supervisor, declined to comment, saying he had not been informed about the controversy.

East China Air Traffic Management Bureau, the air routes controller, said it would comply with the new schedule if the rule was enacted.

Efforts were made to shorten the airport's landing zone and thus keep noise to a bearable range, but residents still complained.

Before the runway was completed, the airport authority said noise over 85 decibels would be "limited within the airport field instead of nearby residential areas."

Zhang Wu'an, a spokesman for Shanghai-based Spring Airlines, said just four of its domestic flights landed between 12am and 6am.

"The impact will be little for us if the Hongqiao airport cancels red-eye flights, and I think the airport will carry out supporting measures to coordinate the change," he said.

An official with China Eastern Airlines said it didn't run early morning flights at Hongqiao and a ban wouldn't affect its operations.


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## Shezan

tatun said:


> I can not sympathise with all these noise complainers..The airport was there before they moved in, they enclose on the airport, then they complain that it is noisy..*They KNEW it was there when they moved in*, what an arrogance...


I'm totally agree with your point.


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## hkskyline

Could flight paths and use of flight paths change over time, so residents who were not supposed to be affected by the movements when they moved in could suddenly be right below descending planes a few years later?


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## hkskyline

*Body remains found on wheels of plane in Riyadh*
10 July 2010

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - Workers at Riyadh airport found the remains of a body on the tyres of a plane which arrived from Beirut early on Saturday, an airport source in Beirut said.

The source said some passengers on the Saudi Arabian airline Nas Air flight had reported seeing a man with a backpack running towards the plane shortly before it took off from Beirut.

They told the pilot what they had seen, the source said, but the flight continued to Saudi Arabia and the body was only discovered after the plane had landed and been inspected.

Saudi and Lebanese officials were trying to establish the identity of the dead person, the source said.


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## hkskyline

*Recent near-collisions between airliners, other aircraft raise alarms, bring FAA safety push*
8 July 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - Alarmed by a spate of near-collisions involving airliners, the government is trying to find out why air traffic controllers and pilots are making so many dangerous errors.

In recent months, there have been at least a half-dozen incidents in which airliners came close to colliding with other planes or helicopters -- including in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Burbank, Calif., and Anchorage, Alaska. In some cases, pilots made last-second changes in direction after cockpit alarms went off warning of an impending crash.

"This spring we had several close calls that got everybody's attention, and I think that's the thing that really keyed us into taking at look at some of the risks, try to identify what we're missing," Robert Tarter, vice president of Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Safety-Air Traffic Organization, told employees in a conference call kicking off the new safety effort.

Just last week, a United Airlines flight waiting to land at Reagan National Airport near Washington came within less than a mile of a Gulfstream business jet that was climbing after taking off from another nearby airport. The United pilot can be heard on an air traffic control recording saying to his controller, "That was close," according to Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a passenger on the United flight who has listened to the recording.

The FAA has also seen a sharp spike in incidents in which planes violated minimum separation distances, a cornerstone of air traffic safety. Generally, planes are required to keep a distance laterally of about 6 miles at high altitudes and nearly 3.5 miles when approaching airports. Planes can be closer during landings.

The rate for the most egregious violations of FAA separation standards rose to 3.28 per million flight operations in the nine months ending June 30, up from 2.44 in the full year ending Sept. 30, 2009. Flight operations include takeoffs, landings and when planes pass from the control of one radar center to another. It's the job of air traffic controllers to keep planes separated.

FAA has also been receiving about 250 to 300 reports a week under new a program that encourages controllers to disclose their mistakes. In exchange, the agency promises not to use the information to punish employees. Instead, the reports are used to spot trends. The program is modeled on a similar program for pilots.

In response to these warning signs, FAA is convening a summit of employees and management, as well as other safety experts, in Washington on Aug. 17. The event will mark the third time in less than four years the agency has hosted a special meeting to address urgent safety problems. In 2007, FAA held a summit in response to concern about planes coming too close together on runways. Last year, the agency called together airlines and pilots unions in response to revelations about the training, pay, experience and work schedules of pilots at regional airlines following a crash near Buffalo, N.Y., that killed 50 people.

Officials are asking every air traffic controller, as well as other employees involved in air traffic operations, to tell them before the meeting what are the biggest safety problems they see. FAA officials are also fanning out to major airlines for meetings with their chief pilots. They want to stress the importance of pilots using the correct terminology when talking to air traffic controllers to avoid confusion, and that they shouldn't skip routine but important radio contacts with controllers.

By this fall, FAA officials hope to restart a program that gives controllers a chance to ride in cockpit jumpseats so that they can experience air traffic operations from a pilot's perspective. The program was discontinued after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when the government cracked down on access to airline cockpits.

Although FAA has a history of rocky relationships with its unions, the new safety push is backed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

"We see the errors also," Dale Wright, NATCA's safety director, said in the conference call last Thursday.

NATCA spokesman Doug Church said the union believes "we can help the FAA identify and address safety concerns in the system. ... We appreciate the level of collaboration that's now happening with the FAA on this."

The recent incidents have also spotlighted long-standing concerns about the experience level of the controller work force. Many of today's controllers were hired in 1981 after President Ronald Reagan fired striking controllers, and they are now retiring. FAA has hired 7,000 controllers in the past five years, but union officials say the rate of washouts has been high. They have complained that training waves of inexperienced controllers while trying to handle traffic at the nation's busiest radar facilities endangers safety.

Major airline crashes have dropped dramatically over the past decade due in large part to advances in safety equipment in cockpits, such as the collision warning systems. However, one consequence has been that it's easy for controllers and pilots to lose their edge, said former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo.

"People come to rely on the equipment and the collision warning systems, and that's bad," Schiavo said.


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## hkskyline

*Qantas hangs up on in-flight calls*
2 August 2010
The West Australian

Qantas has poured cold water on the prospect of passengers using mobile phones on its planes in the near future.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority last week gave the green light for mobiles to be used during flights, but a Qantas spokesman said the reliability of the equipment required was still of concern.

Before mobiles can be used, airlines must install a pico-cell base station on each plane so that mobiles do not send out powerful signals searching for ground stations that has been proven by British authorities to interfere with aircraft navigation systems.

Much debate has surrounded the use of mobiles on planes.

In 2003, the British Civil Aviation Authority published its finding of a comprehensive study using avionics equipment and mobiles in a range of frequency bands.

It found a range of anomalies at interference levels above 30 volts/metre, a level that can be produced by a mobile operating at maximum power and located 30cm from the equipment or wiring harnesses in cabin sidewalls.

The types of anomalies include interference with landing and navigation instruments.

The British study also found 35 incidents between 1996 and 2002 where mobile phones were factors in false warnings of unsafe conditions, such as cargo smoke alarms.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has reported 100 incidents in the past 10 years relating to interference from mobile phones and personal electronic devices that it found was at the root of 35 per cent of passenger behaviour incidents.

Professor Andrew Monk, from the University of York in Britain, conducted a survey on the use of mobiles and found that bystanders rated mobile conversations as dramatically more noticeable, intrusive and annoying than conversations conducted face- to-face.

The study found that while volume was an issue, hearing only half a conversation was also a major irritant.

A study commissioned by the US Association of Flight Attendants found that 63 per cent opposed the lifting of mobile phone restrictions on commercial planes and 70 per cent wanted separate non-phone seating sections if the mobile phone ban was lifted.


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## hkskyline

*Pets on holiday: flying luggage, pampered guests*

NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Airlines may charge a small fortune to transport animals in noisy cargo holds, but pets vacationing with their owners are finding that when they deplane, there's a room with a treat waiting for them.

"It costs $200 one-way to transport your pet as checked baggage," said Genevieve Shaw Brown, senior editor at Travelocity. "On the other hand, there are plenty of hotels that are pet friendly"

Sixty-one percent of pet owners traveled with their furry friends last year, according to a survey of 1,200 U.S. travelers by the travel website TripAdvisor.

Fourteen percent said they thought bringing their pet was more cost effective than boarding them in a kennel, according to Brooke Ferencsik, of TripAdvisor, who has taken his two Labrador retrievers on many road trips throughout New England.

Pet-friendly means more than throwing the dog a bone.

"Some hotels have pet sitting and pet walking services, grooming and even pet massage," Ferencsik said. "But that doesn't mean they stay for free."

He said pet surcharges can run from $25 to $100 a night.

Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, a nationwide chain of 50 boutique hotels, prides itself on extending hospitality to all companion creatures, great and small.

"We've had penguins at the Alexis hotel in Seattle, Washington, a kangaroo at the Monaco in Denver, Colorado, and a pot-bellied pig at the Muse in New York City," said COO Niki Leondakis.

"We stock the room with welcome treats. We will babysit behind the front desk," she said. "Non-human guests are greeted by a director of pet relations -- usually the general manager's dog."

Leondakis said pains are taken to keep the tails of their non-pet-owning guests wagging as well.

"We have a deep clean methodology. We never, ever get complaints. We've sort of got this down."

Only one percent of TripAdvisor respondents with pets cited air travel as the most pet-friendly form of mass transportation. Nevertheless 15 percent brought their pawed pals onto a plane last year.

"It's best to avoid flying with pets," Ferencsik said. "Extreme temperatures, noise, air pressure that changes. It's especially tough for elderly or stressed pets."

Alysa Binder and her husband were so stressed when the size of their Jack Russell Zoey consigned her to the cargo hold that they founded Pet Airways, a pets-only fleet of Beechcraft 1900 planes rebuilt so all cosseted critters can fly in climate-controlled main cabin luxury.

"We can take up to 50 pets on each flight," said Binder. "There is always a pet attendant on board. It's mostly cats and dogs. The smallest was a hermit crab."

Pet Airways started out serving five U.S. cities but has expanded to nine.

"We consider pets family members or children. We want them to be safe, cared for and loved," Binder said. "We are booked."

Ferencsik says if you're traveling with a pet, make sure you plan ahead.

"Research a kennel in advance in case of emergency, always have them wear I.D.s, and keep them leashed in a strange place," she explained.

But if you've chosen to vacation creatureless, only to find yourself longing for your beloved dog, cat, or pot-bellied pig, Leondakis can provide small animal solace.

"For people who leave their pets at home, we will send a goldfish to the room," she said, adding they call the service Guppy Love.


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## hkskyline

*Pilots complain about laser pointers sold on NJ boardwalk*
18 August 2010

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) - Pilots have filed 10 complaints this summer about laser beams directed at their aircraft as they approached Atlantic City International Airport.

Police in nearby Ocean City say their boardwalk was identified as the location of seven incidents.

Laser pointers are sold on the boardwalk.

While it's legal to buy them, it is against the law to point them at aircraft because they can distract or temporarily blind pilots.

Ocean City Police Chief Chad Callahan has asked merchants not to sell high-power laser pointers.

Wes Kazmarck of the Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association says while merchants are disappointed, they understand and many stores have complied with the chief's request.

------

Information from: The Press of Atlantic City, http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com


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## hkskyline

*ANALYSIS-U.S. inflight cell phone use faces uphill battle *

CHICAGO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - A battle is brewing in the court of public opinion and in Congress over whether U.S. airplane passengers should be allowed to use cell phones in flight as many foreign airlines now permit but which critics say is unsafe and annoying.

Advocates of in-flight cell phone hope to overturn bans that they say are outdated, unfair and do nothing to promote safety in the skies.

Their opponents, however, argue that radio signals from cell phones could disrupt key airplane functions. They are also quick to note that the incessant yapping of loud and inconsiderate cell phone users would make flights unbearable for flyers who prefer quiet.

Some lawmakers want to ban cell phone use in U.S. air space permanently. But at least one travelers' rights group sees a day when the United States and U.S. airlines will follow examples set in Europe and other places where cell phone calls are permitted on flights.

"The point is it works in the international market," said Carl Biersack, executive director of Inflight Passenger Communications Coalition.

"It doesn't need a legislative ban. It needs the regulators to do their thing," Biersack said. "It's a market that I think Americans want."

Two government agencies have banned the use of cell phones on U.S. commercial flights.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says cell phones and other portable electronic devices may give off radio signals that can affect aircraft communications, navigation and flight control. The risk is higher when the signals are in large quantities and for long durations, the FAA says.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned inflight cell phone use in 1991 to avoid interference with ground networks.

Meanwhile, a group of legislators, including Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has included a provision in the House-passed FAA reauthorization bill that would prohibit cell phone use on planes by anyone other than flight crews or law enforcement personnel.

The provision is not included in the Senate version and prospects are remote that Congress will pass legislation this year authorizing permanent funding for FAA programs.

The Air Transport Association, which represents U.S. airlines, has says that if allowed by the FAA, it would be a carrier-by-carrier decision whether to allow passengers to talk on cell phones in flight. This stance is almost identical to the one taken by the International Air Transport Association.

POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARDS

"There are still unknowns about the radio signals that portable electronic devices and cell phones give off," the FAA said in a 2009 statement.

The FAA allows passengers to turn on most portable electronic devices -- excluding cell phones -- once the plane reaches 10,000 feet. At that altitude, it is the airline's decision whether to allow the use of devices that are not specifically restricted.

But critics of the ban say that cell phones pose no safety risk to airplanes.

"I don't think anyone has said it's unsafe. They have not been asked to say it is safe," said Biersack.

The FAA has not specifically said cell phones are dangerous to planes. But Boeing Co, the world's second-largest commercial airplane maker, recommends "prohibiting the use of devices that intentionally transmit electromagnetic signals, such as cell phones, during all phases of flight."

Several governments, including the European Union, have OKd inflight cell phone use in their air space.

The EU approved the practice in 2008, and several carriers including Ryanair Holdings Plc and bmi, which is part of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, have tested or installed the instruments that make cell phone calls possible from planes.

YAKETY YAK

Some experts say U.S. cell phone bans have more to do with ensuring quiet, peaceful flights than they do with safety.

Terry Trippler, a travel expert at rulestoknow.com, said that unfettered cell phone use during flights would be a major nuisance to passengers who prefer quiet.

"If it were brought to a vote, it would be defeated. Cell phones would be banned permanently on airplanes," he said. "The airline is one place I think they'll draw the line."

Some airlines now give passengers access to electronic communication during flights without allowing phone calls.

AMR Corp's American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc offer Internet access via Aircell's Gogo service, which some see as a quiet alternative to cell phone chatter.

But Biersack says it is still unfair to ban cell phones based on their potential to annoy. He noted that inflight calls would be infrequent and brief if only because of the high cost. Furthermore, airlines could determine when phone calls would be permitted and in which rows, he said.

Finally, he noted that there are plenty of other legal annoyances -- like crying babies or barking dogs -- on flights, so there is no point in singling out this one.

"There's always going to be a rude person," he said. "But the rest of us live by the norms. We know what to do." (Reporting by Kyle Peterson, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)


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## hkskyline

*American Airlines says heat may be factor in 7 puppy deaths aboard Tulsa-to-Chicago flight *
18 August 2010

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Heat might have killed seven puppies that died in the cargo hold of an American Airlines jet this month.

American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said Tuesday that necropsies on the puppies were inconclusive but found that heat "may have been a factor."

The puppies died soon after the flight from Tulsa, Okla., landed in Chicago on Aug. 3. Cargo handlers in Chicago noticed they were lethargic and took them to a veterinarian's office.

Fagan said the flight complied with company policy that prohibits shipping animals when outside ground temperatures exceed 85 degrees.

The National Weather Service recorded 86 degrees in Tulsa while the plane, which was delayed from taking off for an hour, was still on the ground at 8 a.m. But American relies on temperatures reported by The Weather Channel's website, and Fagan said those readings "at loading, pushback, take-off and arrival" were within the 85-degree limit.

Fagan also said the puppies that died might have had other health problems because 17 other dogs survived the same flight. The seven who died were among 14 puppies put on the plane by a shipper that the airline declined to identify.

American declined to release the necropsy reports on the dead puppies. The airline said it carries more than 100,000 dogs a year.

The puppy deaths outraged animal-rights groups. The Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Legal Defense Fund called on government officials to investigate whether the airline violated federal rules on shipping animals. In 1994, the U.S. Agriculture Department fined Delta Air Lines $140,000 after 32 puppies suffocated in the cargo hold of a jetliner that was delayed for two hours.

The U.S. Transportation Department said last month that 122 dogs have died while being shipped on planes since May 2005, when airlines were first required to disclose the deaths. Animal-rights groups say the numbers vastly understate the problem because airlines only report pets that are killed or lost -- not animals shipped by breeders, as was the case on American.

Last week three U.S. senators asked the Transportation Department to require airlines to report all deaths of dogs and cats, including those shipped by breeders and handlers.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends that owners avoid shipping pets in the cargo hold. Most airlines, however, will only allow pets in the passenger cabin if they are small enough to fit in a carrier under a seat.


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## hkskyline

_Thanks for the heads up on the double post. Have amended to new content :_

*Laser aimed at pilots during landing
Second scare since weekend; bright light can damage vision, expert warns *
The Ottawa Citizen
19 August 2010

A blinding laser was aimed at the pilots of an airliner about to land at Ottawa airport late Tuesday, the second such scare since the weekend.

The descending Air Canada Airbus A319 from Vancouver was 7,000 feet over west Ottawa about 11:30 p.m. when a green laser beam illuminated the flight deck for about 10 seconds, according to a preliminary report filed with Transport Canada.

The pilots landed the 60-ton, 124-seat jet without incident. Air Canada alerted Nav Canada, which controls the country's civilian airspace.

Early Saturday, meanwhile, a Sikorsky S76 helicopter belonging to the Ornge transport medicine service was targeted as it was on a flight to The Ottawa Hospital.

Six nautical miles from the Civic campus heliport, a green laser beam originating from Constance Bay was aimed into the flight deck for "a few minutes," according the flight crew's report to Transport Canada.

A similar incident involving another Ornge helicopter occurred in the pre-dawn of July 6. The crew reported being flashed while flying over the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. They believe the beam originated from St. Laurent Shopping Centre.

Because the attacks occur at night, pilots are at risk of being distracted or temporarily losing their night vision, which can be especially dangerous during descents, landings and take-offs.

"He's depending on his night vision to see obstructions, to see the runway or the helipad," said Bob MacKay, of Canadian Helicopters Limited, which provides flight services for the Ornge fleet.

"A bright flash of laser light can destroy his night vision and his ability to see the cockpit instruments and, depending on the severity of it, it can cause longer-term damage to the eye."

That was the case last September when an air ambulance pilot was hit with a laser beam while flying about 2,000 feet over the Gatineau Hills. His eye suffered serious damage, grounding him for several weeks.

Lasers range in size and strength from small pointers for meetings and lectures, to military grade and astronomy lasers.

Transport Canada civil aviation reports show a total of five laser attacks in Ottawa for 2008 and 2009 and three so far this year. Penalties can be stiff, with a maximum up to $100,000 fine under the federal Aeronautics Act and up to five years in prison.

In June, an Edmonton-area man was convicted of shining a laser at an Edmonton police helicopter a year ago today. Alvin Bautista, 39, told a court he was outside trying trying to fix his son's toy laser when he pointed it at a cluster of trees several times, turning it on and off, and shaking it. He said he pointed it upward once.

The police pilot testified he was "bathed in a green light" that affected his ability to fly the aircraft.

A judge ruled Bautista did not exercise due diligence while he fiddled with the device. He is to be sentenced in September and faces a $5,000 fine.


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## AsianDragons

^^ double post :lol:


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## hkskyline

*LAX mechanic charged with immigrant smuggling*
13 September 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An elevator mechanic at Los Angeles International Airport was charged Friday with smuggling illegal immigrants into the country by helping them evade federal inspectors and ushering them into taxis outside a terminal.

Roberto Amaya Canchola, 53, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of making money off immigrant smuggling and three counts of helping passengers skirt immigration officers, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Canchola was arrested last month by federal immigration agents in a sting operation after officials noticed several passengers on the same Mexicana Airlines flight from Guanajuato state each week did not appear to be passing through customs or immigration screenings.

Immigration agents say they believe Canchola was using his airport security clearance to escort passengers out of the terminal without being inspected by authorities. The passengers had boarded the plane in Mexico with fake documents, according to ICE.

An attempt to reach Canchola, a North Hills resident, was not successful.

Robert Schoch, special agent in charge for ICE's office of investigations in Los Angeles, said agents have been working with airport officials since the probe began to tighten security at the international terminal.

He also said the investigation into the smuggling network was ongoing.

"It is a tremendous vulnerability if you think about criminals to the worst extent, terrorists, anybody who could be brought in surreptitiously into this country. So we acted very decisively," Schoch said.

Canchola is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 22.


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## hkskyline

*France arrests man for trying to dazzle pilots with laser *

PARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A man appeared in court on Tuesday accused of trying to dazzle pilots with a laser beam as they were landing at France's second-busiest airport Paris Orly, aviation authorities said.

"Several pilots complained and the man was arrested near the runway," a spokesman for the civil aviation authority said.

Airport security officials said three pilots, including crew of Air France and EasyJet flights, warned the control tower on Sunday, which alerted the police and the man was caught in the act.

A spokeswoman for Air France said its pilot was never in any difficulty but there had been a growing number of such incidents.


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## hkskyline

*Voice error blamed for 777 near-miss over London *

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - A small business jet narrowly missed colliding with a Boeing 777 carrying 232 people over the British capital this summer because of a verbal communication error, air accident investigators said on Thursday.

The jet came perilously close to flying into the path of a Turkish Airlines passenger plane after taking off from London City Airport, as the 777 began its descent into the city's larger Heathrow airport.

Describing the near-miss in late July as a "serious incident", the Air Accidents Investigation Board (AAIB) said the planes came within half a mile of each other.

The business jet, carrying two crew and one passenger, was flying only 100 feet (30 metres) to 200 feet below the descending airliner, the AAIB said.

Investigators said a communication error between the pilot of the smaller jet and air traffic controllers at London City Airport had caused it to stray into the 777's flight path. Controllers had given the business jet clearance to climb to 3,000 feet, but when the flight crew relayed back the instruction, as required, they mistakenly said 4,000 feet instead.

The voice error was not picked up by the tower and the Turkish flight had descended to the same altitude.

The AAIB said if the incident had happened during bad weather the only barrier to a potential mid-air collision would have been to use a collision-avoidance system on the airliner as the respective pilots would not have seen each other.

Investigators said the Turkish Airlines flight crew had not noticed the on-board collision-avoidance warnings, while the smaller jet was not fitted with the specialised equipment.


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## hkskyline

*THE SKY'S THE LIMIT*
21 October 2010
Bangkok Post

Inevitably, stress is always associated with any kind of job. But have you ever wondered what the most stressful occupation in the world is?

It's not being a cardiac surgeon, or a salesperson who has to hit unreasonable sales targets every month, or a customer service employee who deals with people who are demanding, rude and lousy.

Guess what? It's an air traffic controller.

"It's such a tense moment when we try to keep several aircraft apart from each other in order to prevent a crash in the sky or move all of them on the ground effectively and safely," said Phanom Tanheng, 39, a senior air traffic controller with Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (ART).

What does an air traffic controller actually do?

According to Phanom, the primary mission of an air traffic controller is to watch over aircraft in the airspace they are responsible for and then use their visual observations and radar to determine where each plane should take off and land.

Another important role is to communicate with pilots in order to direct and guide the aircraft.

To maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic, the controller must also keep pilots informed about the weather.

"It gets a bit nerve-racking when there is no space for pilots to land," said Kanungnit Chin-ugsorn, 41, an ART manager.

"Our job is to talk and explain the situation to pilots and direct them until a spot is available. It's not easy to meet each particular need.

"In my early days of work, I was quite scared. My heart was pounding with excitement and my hands were sweating when I was under pressure."

However, with experience and a well-planned approach, air traffic controllers can predict what will lie ahead so they're able to better handle situations.

Air traffic controllers don't work only with pilots. Instead, they typically team up with other controllers, engineers, managers and other airport staff.

"The amount of controllers needed can be different. It depends on the location and size of the airport. I, myself, now serve with the Area Control Centre, Tung Mahamek, with a team of over 200," Kanungnit said.

Phanom said that air traffic controllers are under constant pressure while on the job because they have to carry weighty responsibilities.

Their tasks also depend upon many variables including weather conditions, traffic volume and passengers. Also, they need to avoid frustration when working with radar and other communication equipment.

"It's much tougher to work with uncontrollable factors such as bad weather. We must keep our eyes on the jobs," said Kanungnit.

"Safety is our top priority," Phanom added, "On top of that, everything we do has to follow the aviation rules and regulations."

Highly specialised skills are a must

To perform such a demanding and challenging task, an air traffic controller needs to possess highly specialised skills, Phanom told mylife.

For one thing, they must be well organised and decisive. Excellent visual memory and a short-term memory are also second to none.

"We must focus on what pilots say exactly, what the flight number is, the altitude level and on which runway he wants to land. A mistake could result in hundreds of deaths," Phanom said.

"Importantly, we have to watch out for a possible mayday signal."

A mayday call is a distress signal in radio communication. It's specifically used when pilots are in a life-threatening emergency.

"The call is always given three times in a row - mayday, mayday, mayday," Phanom explained.

Communication skills and team spirit can also enhance the performance.

"Candidates must have good hearing skills and be able to speak English clearly enough to be understood over radios, intercoms and similar communication equipment," he said

To be able to effectively cope with stressful circumstances, air traffic controllers have to maintain both physical and psychological wellbeing. People with medical conditions such as heart disease or mental illness generally don't qualify.

"We are required to undergo rigorous medical and mental tests every year in order to ensure that we are still qualified to handle such worrying situations associated with the job," he explained.

How to become an air traffic controller

Becoming an air traffic controller entails quite a lengthy process. According to Phanom, to apply for the position, individuals need to hold a bachelor's degree in any field. Prior experience in air traffic control is not necessary.

He said that in Thailand, becoming an air traffic controller can be done in two different ways. One is by joining Aeronautical Radio of Thailand as a trainee controller. Once employed by the company, the trainee will be sent to the Civil Aviation Training Center of Thailand - the only air traffic academy in Thailand - to undergo theoretical and practical training.

This provides the trainee with the fundamental air control to standards required to hold an air traffic control licence. It takes about 10 months to complete different phases of training.

"The majority of training is done on the job with a highly-qualified instructor," Phanom said.

The training is rigid, Phanom said. A trainee will be assessed at each step of the process to ensure that he is an all-around controller.

The one who shows high potential for the position will be observed and inspected by the committee of the Civil Aviation Training Center of Thailand. Only after the trainee has passed an examination for all training stages will they obtain a licence.

"The length of training varies. It can be several years depending on the complexity of the sector," added Kanungnit, "Whenever an air traffic controller is promoted to a new unit or to start a new sector in a particular unit, he needs to undergo specific training."

Another route to becoming an air traffic controller is to join through the military. Military air traffic controllers are only responsible for military airspace and airbases, while civilian controllers maintain airspace for civilian traffic and civilian airports.

"I did my military service for the Royal Thai Navy," Phanom said. "I was granted a scholarship to pursue air traffic control. After that, I held an air traffic controller position in the military at U-tapao Pattaya International Airport."

Flexible working

Air traffic controllers are required to work rotating shifts including nights, weekends and public holidays. Phanom said that they are generally on shift for two hours then get a one hour break. They work eight hours a day two days on with two days off.

"This work pattern can help ensure that we are able to remain focused and effective," he said.

Stressful yet worthwhile

With such serious responsibilities, associated stress and the requirements for highly specialised skills, air traffic controllers are paid quite well.

Phanom said a junior controller trainee usually starts in their 20s with the monthly income of about 15,000 baht. And the rate can go up to 100,000 baht a month if they are promoted to a senior position.

"Very good employee benefits and flexible hours are also major advantages," said Kanungnit.

An air traffic controller's career is quite long, Phanom said. They can start working in their 20s and retire in their 50s.

"The mandatory retirement age is 60. But we can keep on working as long as we are healthy," he said.

Phanom said the job gives him a great sense of achievement and pride.

"I always feel a glow of pride when I'm able to manage difficult situations effectively. Every day is a new adventure. Two days are never the same," he said.

Women are allowed

Many people may believe men are best suited to be air traffic controllers. But Kanungnit disagrees. She said there are many female air traffic controllers these days and they are able to perform as effectively as males.

"Personally, I think we may be more careful and pay more attention to details so we sometimes deal better with situations. Our company values seniority. Managing male subordinates is not a problem for me," she said.


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## hkskyline

*Aircraft flying at 20,000ft is target of laser pen attack*
6 October 2010
The Herald

POLICE have launched an investigation after a laser pen was shone into the cockpit of a passenger jet flying at 20,000 feet over south west Scotland putting scores of lives at risk.

The pilot reported the incident, which he said had not affected his vision, to air traffic controllers at Prestwick in Ayrshire, who alerted police in Dumfries and Galloway.

Police have been concerned about an escalation of attacks across the country, which require darkness to have an impact, and can render pilots or drivers blinded for a short time.

The flight is understood to have been a Flybe service between Edinburgh and Birmingham which was travelling over Dumfries at around 10.30pm on September 24.

The Civil Aviation Authority said last night: “Some of these more powerful lasers are able to reach that kind of distance. It is very worrying. We have been concerned about it for two years now. They are becoming very affordable and more powerful.”

Aviation analyst Jim Ferguson said: “There would appear to be a number of different types and strengths of laser, some of which are understood to be banned from the UK.”

The CAA said in August there had also been 41 cases this year at Glasgow, one fewer than in 2008. One involved a Boeing 757 carrying 200 passengers as it prepared to land.

At Aberdeen Airport there have been four incidents, one more than last year, while another case was recorded at Prestwick. The CAA said there had been around 15 other incidents in Scotland this year, mainly against police helicopters.

The number of cases across the UK increased 25-fold to 737 last year compared to just 29 in 2007.

Dumfries and Galloway Police are “keeping an open mind” over any possible link between the latest incident and other local laser pen attacks. On Saturday, a motorist on the A75 on the outskirts of Dumfries had a laser light shone into his eyes from a bridge over the road.

The driver pulled into a lay-by to recover. Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have been in this area at around 10pm and saw anything suspicious.

And a 30-year-old taxi driver had to receive hospital treatment after a light was shone on him in Dumfries 10 days ago.

Police said the light had been pointed from a moving vehicle in front of the taxi. The driver has since had vision problems. Another motorist was also dazzled in a separate incident.

A police spokesman said: “Nobody was injured. It didn’t hit eyes or anything like that. But, of course, using these pens in this way is dangerous.

“We are keeping an open mind over a link to other incidents in Dumfries. It could be a copycat.”

Last month, an 18-year-old man was charged after a police helicopter was hit by a beam during the Pope’s visit to Glasgow.

And on September 16, migrant worker Radu Moldovan, 28, from Romania, was jailed for four months after he kept the beam of a £4 laser pen focused on the cockpit of a jet trying to land at RAF Leuchars in Fife, distracting the pilot and navigator. Cupar Sheriff Court heard only the skill of the pilot prevented a crash.

Flybe refused to comment on the incident last night. It said: “If and when Flybe property or staff was ever impacted by suspected criminal action of any sort, the airline would immediately report such incident to the relevant authority for investigation. Details of any such incident would not be discussed with, or disclosed to, any third party.”


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## hkskyline

*Pilot is affected by laser beam
Authorities issue warning about use*
24 September 2010
The Boston Globe

WARWICK, R.I. - Federal and local authorities are vowing to crack down on people who shine laser pointers at aircraft after a significant increase this year in the number of such cases, including one that left a pilot temporarily blinded last week as he landed a passenger plane here.

"It's no joke, no harmless prank; it endangers lives," Peter F. Neronha, US attorney for Rhode Island, said during a press conference yesterday morning at T.F. Green Airport to discuss the case and the surge in incidents in New England and around the country.

In the latest local case, Joseph Aquino, a 31-year-old Warwick man, allegedly pointed his high- powered laser pointer at the cockpit of a Continental Airlines passenger airplane landing at T.F. Green Airport, briefly blinding the pilot. The plane landed safely.

According to FBI statistics, about 1,000 incidents were reported nationwide in 2008; from January through August of this year, 1,700 incidents were reported.

In Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, there have been 66 incidents from January 2009 through last month.

"We've been responding to these on a regular basis," said Neronha. Locating suspects is difficult, he said, and pinpointing the origin of the flash requires quick response. He asked for the public's help in locating people suspected of committing the crime.

A bill passed in the US House and under consideration in the Senate would stiffen penalties for shining a laser at aircraft.

In another local case, a Northeastern University student was arrested in June after he allegedly pointed a laser at a State Police helicopter. Christopher Phaneuf, 20, was attending a backyard barbecue near Lawrence Municipal Airport when he allegedly shone the laser on the helicopter, which is based at that airport.

In 2007, a Medford man was charged after allegedly shining a laser into a State Police helicopter that was escorting a liquefied natural gas tanker into Boston Harbor. In 2008, someone shone a laser at a blimp about a quarter- mile west of Fenway Park during an American League Championship series game on Oct. 13, 2008, and this past March, someone beamed a laser at an American Airlines jet that was taxiing after landing at Logan Airport.

"The seriousness of these incidents cannot be overstated," said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Boston. "Most often lasers are pointed at aircraft during critical phases of flight while they are at low altitude or preparing to land or take off. Any brief distraction in the cockpit during this time can be catastrophic."

Authorities say the rise in the number of cases may be connected to the availability of cheap, high-powered laser pointers, intended primarily as an astronomy tool for pointing at stars and planets. Some of the devices cost as little as $20 to $30 and are capable of beaming up to 20,000 feet.

As for why anyone would shine a laser on an aircraft, Neronha said: "We all know in our lives that people do really stupid things. That's just the reality of a culture in which we live."

Aquino was allegedly standing on the shore of Oakland Beach about 10 p.m. on Sept. 15, about 4 miles from the airport, when he pointed his green-light laser pointer at a Continental airplane arriving from Newark. The beach is in line with the airport's final approach path.

Warwick police were able to find Aquino because he allegedly had been flashing his laser at a nearby boat earlier. The boat operator alerted police to that incident at about the same time the Continental pilot reported the incident to the FAA.

According to police, Aquino admitted to shining the laser at the plane and said that it was "a stupid thing to do." Authorities said they found the device, about the size of a felt marker, on him.

Aquino was charged Wednesday in federal court in Providence with interfering with an aircraft with reckless disregard for safety and attempting to interfere with an aircraft with reckless disregard for safety. On each count he faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release.

Thomas Walsh, a Delta Airlines pilot and a representative of the International Pilots Association, said a pilot does not have to look in the direction of a laser to be temporarily blinded; the light can be scattered throughout the cockpit by the window.

"Temporary blindness can last for a second or two to minutes," he said.

He said the threat from lasers to pilots dates back to the early 1990s, but no cases of accidents or crashes caused by laser flashes have been reported, he said.


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## hkskyline

*Govt to ban noisy and old planes at IGI from Oct 31*
18 October 2010
The Times of India

NEW DELHI: After night curfew on aircraft movement at IGI's newest runway, the capital is all set to boast of another first for an Indian airport to allow citizens to sleep in peace. The government has proposed to ban noisy old aircraft from operating in and out of IGI at night from October 31.

While a standard practice in western airports where they are completely shut at night and noisy planes banished at all times, this is the first time India is moving towards that direction by proposing it for Delhi.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) proposes to ban old planes that fall in chapter-II aircraft category from 10pm to 6am when winter schedule kicks in on October 31. This category includes aircraft like Boeing 737-200 classic and the Russian IL-76. In India, Alliance Air and Blue Dart use the B 737-200 as cargo aircraft. The night curfew at the new runway is also between 10pm and 6am.

Sources say the aviation regulatory authority recently met representatives from these airlines. While their logic was that the business model was based on using these planes as freighters at night, the DGCA has asked them to look for options. ''The West has already taken strong steps on noise pollution at airports and we also will have to make a start at some point. We propose to do so in Delhi as residents moved court and the CM also intervened. Airlines will initially be required to just keep off Delhi at night. A number of Indian and foreign airlines fly in old noisy planes and this can't go on unchecked,'' said sources, while adding it's just a matter of time before these actions are replicated in other Indian metros too.

Another reason why the DGCA did not act so far was that it would have hurt Alliance Air, a sister concern of the national airline. But now all Indian players have got modern fleet as the recent downturn showed oil prices can skyrocket anytime, so they have to phase out their old fuel guzzlers - not because of green concerns like emissions and noise - but for fuel efficiency.

Chapter-II aircraft like B737-200 classic have turbojets while new-gen planes have turofans. The difference in these two technologies is that turbofans are huge structures with the engine at the centre. So about 70% of air intake is pushed out while only 30% goes into the engine. When air flows out of these engines, the extremely high temperature and low pressure air emanating from the engine is invirtually 'insulated' by the cold air that is flowing out from both sides. This acts as a noise buffer. On the other hand, old turbojets saw almost entire air going inside the engine and coming out with a blast without any insulation.


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## diablo234

tatun said:


> I can not sympathise with all these noise complainers..The airport was there before they moved in, they enclose on the airport, then they complain that it is noisy..They KNEW it was there when they moved in, what an arrogance...


+100

If they hated airplane noise in the first place they should not have moved there.


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## hkskyline

*EU wants air passenger data for terrorism probes*

BRUSSELS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday that airlines provide EU governments with data about travellers flying in and out of the bloc, to help their efforts to combat terrorism and organised crime.

EU airlines already share passenger data with law enforcement officials in the United States, Canada and Australia, and the EU executive argued that pooling information in the 27-member bloc would make its use more efficient.

The proposal could run into opposition in the European Parliament, which has in the past opposed data-sharing agreements between the bloc and the United States on privacy grounds.

But the Commission said strong privacy clauses were included in the new rules.

"The proposal aims to establish common rules among EU member states on how to use passenger data ... in order to prevent and prosecute terrorism, while also guaranteeing high level of privacy protection," EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters.

Information stored by airlines in their reservation systems could include name, departure and arrival information, credit card numbers and address.

Under the Commission's proposal, no data leading to information about racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and religious beliefs could be shared.

Malmstrom said several EU governments already use passenger data in their law enforcement, citing Belgian data showing more than 90 percent of illegal drugs seized in 2009 resulted from investigations that relied in part on such information.

U.S. officials say information from airlines has been crucial in many counter-terrorism probes. It helped identify a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen who tried but failed to detonate a car bomb in New York's Times Square last year.

Investigators can also use the data to uncover travel patterns that can expose organised crime such as child-trafficking.


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## hkskyline

*Passenger plane, military jets in near miss-officials *

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - An American Airlines jetliner and two Air Force cargo jets flying together averted a possible collision last month over the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. safety investigators said on Friday.

Flight 951, a Boeing Co 777-200, headed southeast to Sao Paulo from New York's John F Kennedy airport, was 80 miles (129 km) into its Jan. 20 trip when warning systems alerted air controllers that it was heading in the direction of the C-17s flying northwest bound for New Jersey, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

Controllers handling the military flights received the same alerts and the converging planes were ordered to change course, coming about a mile from each other. Safety investigators are reviewing controller handling of the flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also reviewing the matter and said controllers at its busy New York center are taking another look at procedures, including guidelines for handling military planes flying in formation.


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## hkskyline

*Germany To Increase Safety Measures For Air Cargo - Report*
20 February 2011

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--The German government plans to increase safety measures for air cargo significantly and expects transport companies to come up for the additional costs, daily Die Welt said in an advanced report to be published Monday.

A spokesman for Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior is cited as saying that the government is looking into possibly introducing fees to finance the additional security measures.

Newspaper website: www.welt.de


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## hkskyline

*14-year-old boy charged with pointing lasers at jetliner headed to LAX, police helicopter*
18 February 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A 14-year-old boy has been charged with pointing a green laser at a jetliner headed to Los Angeles International Airport and at a police helicopter.

District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said Thursday that the boy, whose name has not been released, faces two felony counts. The Daily Breeze of Torrance says he is scheduled to be arraigned April 8.

Gibbons said the pilot of a Southwest Airlines flight from Salt Lake City reported being flashed by the laser about seven miles from the airport on Feb 8. An LAPD helicopter took to the sky to investigate the complaint, and the helicopter pilot also reported seeing the laser beam.

The Federal Aviation Administration says lasers can blind or distract pilots and damage eyesight.

------

Information from: Daily Breeze, http://www.dailybreeze.com


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## hkskyline

*House Oks Measure Criminalizing Use Of Lasers To Distract Pilots*
1 March 2011

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--House lawmakers voted unanimously to pass legislation making it a federal crime to point a laser at an aircraft or in its flight path.

In a voice vote, lawmakers agreed to criminalize the practice, with violators facing up to five years in prison.

The Senate passed a similar measure as part of a wider bill regarding federal regulation of the aviation industry last month. In order to be signed into law, the Senate would have to take up the House bill on a stand-alone basis.

The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Lungren (R., Calif.), is designed to crack down on a practice that pilots say threatens to impede their vision, particularly during takeoffs and landings.

No aircraft crashes have been reported due to people pointing lasers from the ground. But federal aviation regulators reported earlier this year that laser incidents involving all types of planes in the U.S. doubled, to 2,800 last year from the previous year.

The largest U.S. pilots union has pushed for legislation to criminalize the practice.


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## hkskyline

*FAA Chief Revises Air-Traffic Control Procedures, Orders Nationwide Review*
26 March 2011
16:53
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt said that he has implemented an "interim plan" affecting air-traffic control system procedures following an incident at Washington's Reagan National Airport.

In a statement posted Friday on the FAA's website, Babbitt also said he has ordered a nationwide review of the system.

Earlier this week, Babbitt suspended an air-traffic controller who dozed off while two jetliners landed at Reagan National without communicating with the airport tower.

"Effective immediately, we are instituting an interim plan to ensure we do not repeat another situation like the one at Reagan National Airport Wednesday morning," Babbitt said in the statement.

Babbitt said he has directed all radar controllers to contact air-traffic control towers at selected airports to confirm that there is a controller prepared to handle an incoming flight, adding that overnight staffing at those airports will be reviewed. He also said he has reminded controllers that "proper procedures dictate that they must offer pilots the option to divert to another airport if they do not make contact with the control tower."

The FAA chief said the nationwide system review is to "confirm the appropriate backup procedures and equipment are in place and in use."

Statement at http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=12578


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## hkskyline

*Report says more than a fifth of FAA's hires for air traffic control fail to finish training *
2 April 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than one in five of air traffic controllers hired by the Federal Aviation Administration in recent years washed out before finishing their training, said a report released Friday by a government watchdog.

The FAA has been underestimating the number of new hires who didn't finish their training because of flaws in the methodology the agency was using, the Transportation Department's inspector general said in a report posted online.

Using a different methodology, the inspector general said 22 percent of new controllers who should have completed their training last year didn't. In 2009, 21 percent failed to complete their training, and in 2008 it was 31 percent.

FAA had previously estimated a 9 percent attrition rate for new controllers in 2009.

Measuring the attrition rate of new hires and understanding what causes trainees to drop out is important to FAA right now. The agency is struggling to hire 11,000 controllers by 2019 to make up for a wave of retirements.

Controllers are required to retire by age 56. Many of today's controllers were hired in the wake of President Ronald Reagan's firing of striking controllers in 1981 and have begun reaching retirement age.

FAA currently employs about 15,700 controllers, said agency spokeswoman Laura Brown. The agency agrees with the inspector general's findings and has begun using the new methodology, she said.

Not everyone can be a controller. The agency gives potential controllers aptitude tests before they are hired.

FAA looks for people who are good at focusing their attention, multitasking and prioritizing, she said. A good sense of distance and the ability to visualize objects three-dimensionally is also prized.

"Historically there has been a relatively high rate of people who aren't able to bring all those skills together," Brown said. "You discover that along the way. That's why there's such an extensive training program."

The time it takes controllers to complete training varies, but FAA's goal is that they finish within two to three years depending upon the type of facility to which they are assigned, the report said.

FAA's controller workforce is under increased scrutiny following two high-profile suspensions of controllers over the past two weeks. Two airliners landed at Reagan National airport near Washington last week without the aid of a controller because the lone controller on duty overnight, a supervisor, had fallen asleep. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered two controllers be assigned to the Reagan airport tower at night and a review of overnight staffing at other airports is underway.

Earlier this week, FAA said another supervisor directing air traffic in central Florida created an incident in which a Southwest Airlines jet with 142 people on board came too close to a small plane, endangering both aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating both incidents.


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## hkskyline

*WSJ: FAA's Head Of Air-Traffic Control Resigns *
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
14 April 2011

The FAA's top air-traffic control official resigned Thursday in the wake of more than two weeks of unrelenting public criticism and controversy over incidents of government controllers falling asleep while on duty.

The sudden departure of Hank Krakowski, a former senior United Airlines safety official who until recently seemed to be in good standing with lawmakers and FAA chief Randy Babbitt, comes after a series of high-profile lapses by bleary-eyed controllers failing to contact or monitor planes as required. 

Capping several earlier agency moves to correct the problem, the latest move highlights broader budget and organizational issues facing the FAA as it struggles to run the nation's sprawling air-traffic system with limit budgets.

The resignation also raises questions about the direction of the FAA's proposed next-generation traffic control system, based on satellite technology rather than ground-based radars.

The FAA said Krakowski met with FAA Administrator Babbitt Thursday morning and submitted his resignation. He will be replaced on an interim basis by the FAA's top lawyer, David Grizzle.


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## hkskyline

*Many pilots exposed to fatigue 
Thousands of flights are at riskier hours *
23 May 2011
USA Today

Airlines operate thousands of flights each day that expose pilots to potentially dangerous fatigue, schedule data and the latest research on fatigue shows.

A USA TODAY review of airline schedules for May found an average of 2,600 flights a day or about 10% of all passenger airline departures from U.S. airports operate at times that make it hard for pilots to get normal sleep. That puts them at risk for reduced alertness or, in a worst case, nodding off on the job.

The flights operate at times that have been cited as contributing to accidents by the National Transportation Safety Board. The accident investigation board has cited fatigue in 15 airline accidents and incidents since 1993, with a total of 24 deaths.

The airline schedules that pose a higher risk of fatigue include early-morning departures, arrivals after midnight or flights during the middle of the night. Working at these times interrupts the brain's deep-seated need for sleep, experts say.

"Fatigue is not something you can ever will away," says Harvard Medical School sleep researcher Charles Czeisler. "We're trying to work at a time of day when the brain wants to go asleep."

Although the seven air-traffic controllers who nodded off or were unresponsive in recent months have dominated headlines, airline schedules demonstrate that the 24-hour world that pilots operate in is just as vulnerable to sleep deprivation.

It also highlights the depth of the problem as the Federal Aviation Administration prepares to release new restrictions before Aug. 1 on the hours that pilots can work.

Even though the U.S. airline industry is enjoying its safest period in history, Tom Balkin, chief of the Department of Behavioral Biology at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and chairman of the National Sleep Foundation, says interfering with normal sleep patterns increases the odds of accidents or errors. It makes it difficult for the brain to solve problems, he says.

Experts say there are ways to reduce the risks of fatigue.

Pilots who are rested before they begin a series of flights deal with fatigue much better than those who are already sleep-deprived, he says. Airlines can help by ensuring that pilots get adequate time for sleep between shifts.

On average this month, 2,019 of a scheduled 25,624 daily flights depart from U.S. airports in the hours before 7 a.m., according to data from OAG-The Official Airline Guide. An additional 612 are overnight flights or ones scheduled to land after midnight.

"We operate a large number of flights when the human body has a natural drive to be asleep," says Capt. Don Wykoff, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's flight and duty time committee.

The Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents large carriers, says the steadily declining accident rate demonstrates that its schedules are safe.

Airlines would welcome "scientifically validated and data driven counter-measures to prevent fatigue," it says in a statement.


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## hkskyline

*Man pleads guilty in LA to plane stowaway charge*
Associated Press
10 August 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man accused of breaching layers of airport security by using an expired boarding pass with someone else's name to get aboard a cross-country flight pleaded guilty Tuesday to a stowaway charge.

Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, 24, entered the plea in federal court and agreed to pay Virgin America for the cost of the flight from New York to Los Angeles.

Noibi faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 28.

Noibi was arrested on June 29 at Los Angeles International Airport after authorities determined he was using the expired boarding passes and presenting outdated student identification.

In response to a question from U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real, Noibi acknowledged that he had been under some kind of psychiatric care in 2010.

Deputy federal public defender Carl Gunn declined to answer reporters' questions about the psychiatric care and the outcome of the hearing.

While prosecutors did not find that terrorism applied in this case, the incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of screening procedures. Identity checks at airport security checkpoints were put into place as one of many new measures after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Investigators say Noibi boarded a flight at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 24 using someone else's expired boarding pass. The Virgin America crew didn't realize until mid-flight that an extra passenger was in a seat that was supposed to be empty.

An FBI agent interviewed Noibi upon arrival in Los Angeles but did not immediately arrest him.

An FBI affidavit said that several days later, Noibi was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport while trying to board a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta with another expired pass. Authorities say they found numerous expired boarding passes in his bag and Noibi was charged with being a stowaway on an aircraft.

Noibi told federal investigators that he was able to get through screening by presenting the expired boarding pass, University of Michigan student identification and a police report that his U.S. passport had been stolen. Noibi was enrolled at the Ann Arbor university between 2004 and 2006 as an engineering student but is not a current student.

Noibi acknowledged he did not pay for the Virgin America flight and said he had traveled to Los Angeles to recruit people for his software business, an affidavit said.

The Transportation Security Administration has said passengers are required to show a federal or state-issued photo ID to get through a checkpoint. Passengers who forget or lose their identification are allowed to fly if they provide information about their identity that can be substantiated. If cleared through that process, they can be subjected to additional screening.

Noibi has dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship but has lived most of his life in Africa.

Noibi's attorney has previously said his client was extremely embarrassed about the incident and that his family was a "little freaked out" by the attention the incident has received.


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## hkskyline

*Pilot fatigue cited in Air Canada mid-flight dive*
Passengers thrown from seats as Toronto-to-Zurich flight bucked wildly in January 2011
CBC News
Posted: Apr 16, 2012 11:11 AM ET 

A terrifying incident on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Zurich last year took place because a pilot abruptly pushed the Boeing 767 into a dive shortly after waking up from an approved nap, says a report released today by Canada's Transportation Safety Board.

The report details what happened on Air Canada Flight 878 several hours after it left Toronto for Zurich on Jan 13, 2011. The report also finds several factors, including pilot fatigue, contributed to the incident that sent seven passengers to hospital in Switzerland.

The disruption in the middle of the flight, at night over the Atlantic Ocean, was described by Air Canada at the time as severe turbulence.

Instead, the TSB report says the first officer, who had just woken up from a nap in the cockpit, initially mistook the planet Venus for a U.S. air force C-17 military plane in the vicinity, and later decreased altitude abruptly after being "confused" and believing they were on an "imminent collision course" with another aircraft. 

The captain counter-reacted by pulling the plane up. The moves shook the aircraft violently and caused several passengers not wearing their seatbelts in economy class to be thrown up in the air and then slammed into their seats and the aisles of the cabin.

Fourteen passengers and two crew members on board the flight suffered various injuries, and seven were sent to hospital after the plane touched down in Zurich.

Pilots are allowed to take "controlled rests" of up to 40 minutes in the cockpit to improve alertness during critical phases of flight, the TSB says. However, the flight attendant in charge must be alerted and instructed to call the flight deck at a specific time.

The TSB report into Flight 878 said the pilots did not inform the assigned flight attendant that the first officer was going to take a rest.

Flight quickly went from 'mellow' to chaotic'

The pilots had turned on the warning lights instructing passengers to fasten their seatbelts before the incident because of reports of turbulence in the area, the report said.

Louisa Pickering, a passenger on the flight, said the experience went from a "mellow, normal flight" to "chaotic" in an instant, as passengers, laptop computers and glasses were thrown into the air.

"I was sleeping and I was literally violently thrown out of my seat and slammed into the ceiling — I was in a window seat — so I hit the top of the ceiling and fell back to the ground," Pickering told CBC News in an interview from San Francisco.

"After that, it was just kind of chaotic."

As passengers around her screamed, Pickering said her initial thought was that the plane had hit a mountain or another aircraft.

"I thought we were going to crash, and I [felt] hopelessness because there's no way to contact people outside the flight to let them know what's happening," she said.

When the airplane stabilized, she said many passengers were either crying or appeared in shock as the cabin crew began assessing injuries.

"The woman behind me reached her hand through the seats and asked if I would hold her hand, and all I remember is everyone repeating the same questions: 'Are you OK? Are you OK? Are you OK?'"

'The plane just dropped'

Ashlyn O'Mara, who was also on the flight, was returning to her exchange program at the University of Geneva after spending the Christmas holiday at home in Toronto. She told CBC News she had settled in to watch a movie when "all of a sudden out of nowhere the plane just dropped, like free-fell, nose-dived."

"I’ve experienced strong turbulence, big time," she said. "This was out of nowhere, it was free-falling, like you are free-falling at Drop Zone at Canada’s Wonderland. Nose-dive, very strong force."

As soon as the plane levelled, O'Mara said one of the flight attendants shouted, "Seatbelts now! Seatbelts now!" over the aircraft's public address system.

"No one came on for an announcement and said, 'This is what happened, but everything's OK, or there might be some more turbulence up ahead,'" she said. "We didn't know if it was going to happen again, and we thought, 'Is this drop going to happen at any minute? Maybe in another hour?'"

Pickering said she remembers the flight attendants asking whether there were any doctors on board, but doesn't recall any of the crew mentioning what caused the disturbance.

"I don't remember any explanation," she said. "Basically, 'Put your seatbelts on,' and the lights went into an emergency sort of pattern where they were changing colour inside the cabin."

But Pickering also praised the flight attendants for their composure in the aftermath of the incident.

"There were two women on the flight that had sustained injuries as well, and they went above and beyond to help the passengers," she said.

Canada's pilot fatigue measures questioned

The report is expected to renew the debate over whether Canada's regulations governing pilot schedules do enough to prevent pilot fatigue.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told CBC News that the airline has already taken action to enhance safety in the wake of its preliminary findings, and would study the final report to determine whether additional measures can be brought in.

"We sincerely regret that some of our customers were injured and we have taken measures to prevent a reoccurrence of this type of event and improve safety overall," Fitzpatrick wrote in an email.

The Air Canada Pilots Association and other unions, representing almost 7,000 pilots, have been calling for Transport Canada to change flight and pilot scheduling regulations.

Under Canadian regulations, pilots can be on duty for 14 hours, or up to 17 hours if there are unforeseen circumstances.

Capt. Barry Wiszniowski, safety chairman of the Air Canada Pilots Association, told CBC News Network that his organization began collecting its own data on pilot fatigue several years ago as part of a public push to get the regulations changed to recognize scientific findings on fatigue.

"I think the problem is that he's sleeping in the cockpit in the first place," Wiszniowski said.

"In Canada, we have the worst rules in the planet. We are working with the regulator trying to move forward and bringing our regulations in line so they are based on the science of fatigue."

3rd pilot in cabin

The TSB report also revealed that a third Air Canada pilot was on board "dead-heading" to Zurich to serve as a relief pilot for the return flight, but was seated in a regular seat so he wouldn't be paid.

After the captain was informed of the injuries in the cabin, the third pilot was called in to sit on the flight deck to monitor the flight and assist as needed, the report said. The remainder of the flight was described as "uneventful."

In December, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued new rules aimed at preventing airline pilots from flying while dangerously fatigued.

U.S. airlines flying routes of similar duration to the Toronto-Zurich flight require three pilots on duty, Wiszniowski noted.

"I believe personally that safety trumps politics, commerce and competition, so if you're doing it on a cost-dollar value, that's one thing," he said. "But what more proof do we need that when a pilot operates in a fatigued state there's risk of an accident? And that’s what we have in this case.”

Air Canada's Fitzpatrick said the airline has rules for duty days and rest periods that are "more conservative than what Transport Canada requires," and also requires pilots who feel they are too tired to fly or otherwise not capable of flying safely to report this as part of a "non-punitive system."


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## hkskyline

*Suspected stowaway sneaks by Pearson security*
COLIN FREEZE
Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Apr. 17, 2012 1:00PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Apr. 17, 2012 10:58PM EDT
_Excerpt_

Authorities are investigating how a suspected stowaway snuck past Pearson International Airport’s security perimeter to board an international flight and allegedly hid inside a parked plane before being discovered by a dog team.

Officials call the alleged breach a “unique” and “alarming” event for Canada’s largest airport, which, like all North American airports, has implemented an array of invasive and expensive screening measures aimed at discovering whether passengers are stashing bombs in their water bottles, shoes or underwear.

The allegations also come as public-sector unions warn that the Conservative government’s job cuts to border guards and aviation screeners – including sniffer-dog teams – will jeopardize public safety at Canada’s airports and border crossings.

A man was arrested around 8:30 a.m. Monday inside a Copa Airlines 737 due to take off for Panama City an hour later.

Peel Regional Police have charged 33-year-old Trevor Kendall with mischief, breaking and entering into a plane, endangering the safety of the aircraft and obstructing police.

********************

Officials with Transport Canada and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority are investigating the alleged breach, which delayed the flight for more than four hours.

“This is something we take very seriously,” said Trish Krale, who works for the airport authority and called the allegations “unique.”

She said the man is suspected of getting onto the secure tarmac through the airport’s perimeter without passing through any terminal checkpoints.

Three years ago, Conservative cabinet minister John Baird was at the centre of a similar security breach.

Then Transport Minister, Mr. Baird stepped onto Pearson’s tarmac, having discovered an open point in the perimeter while touring the exterior of the facility under RCMP escort.

********************

After that 2009 security breach, Mr. Baird convened emergency meetings with GTAA officials, who assumed full responsibility and promised “immediate action” to plug the security gaps.

Mr. Baird admonished officials, saying they have to safeguard the entire airport perimeter, and not just “shake down” passengers in terminals.

“Look at the expense, time and energy we’ve put into shaking down passengers for their toothpaste and hair gel. I think we have to look at other priorities as well.”


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## hkskyline

*Flight to Caribbean diverted due to smoking family*
CBC News
Posted: Feb 2, 2013 3:17 PM AT 

A Sunwing flight from Halifax bound for the Dominican Republic was forced to land in Bermuda Friday night because three passengers refused to stop smoking on the plane, CBC News has learned.

The Bermuda police service said they were called to the airport around 9:55 p.m. local time to meet Sunwing flight 454, which was on its way to Punta Cana.

Police said they boarded the plane and arrested the three smokers.

"It appeared to be a father, a mother and a son. The parents appear to be in their 50s. The son, I believe, is around 22 or so," said acting Insp. Paul Simons.

Dave Shellington's wife was on the plane. He said she texted him to tell the story.

"They were smoking in the plane's washroom and when they came out they got into a little bit of an argument with the attendants. They couldn't say where they put their cigarette butts and that caused a bit of a commotion, I guess. From there it kind of escalated with the father, the mother and the son," said Shellington

He said his wife said there was a lot of screaming and swearing.

Simons said he couldn't confirm the family's nationality or if they had also been drinking, but said they were co-operative when they were removed from the plane by police.
Passengers en route from Halifax to the Dominican Republic wait in Bermuda.Passengers en route from Halifax to the Dominican Republic wait in Bermuda. (Courtesy of bernews.com)

They were taken to the police station and have since been released on bail.

The flight was grounded overnight and the crew and passengers were put up in a hotel.

"The flight was also grounded so that a Canadian-trained mechanic could inspect the aircraft for undetermined reasons," Simons said.

The flight was rescheduled to leave on Saturday.

The family has been ordered not to leave the island and their passports and travel documents have been seized by the Bermuda police.

They have not been officially charged.


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## hkskyline

*Air-Traffic Error Probes Cut as U.S. Close Calls Rise*
Mar 5, 2013 3:51 AM GMT+0800
Bloomberg

U.S. aviation regulators don’t have enough investigators to examine close calls in the skies, which have increased more than 50 percent since 2009, according to a report by the Transportation Department’s Inspector General.

The Federal Aviation Administration has reduced the number of employees reviewing these safety cases even as air-traffic errors that bring planes too close together have jumped, and as new technology is expected to uncover more such incidents, the report found.

“With the implementation of FAA’s new procedures, the number of personnel investigating losses of separation has been substantially reduced,” the agency said in the report.

The report is the latest to examine the surge in errors that let planes get too close, also known as a “loss of separation.” Those errors rose 53 percent in fiscal 2010 compared with 2009, to 1,887 from 1,234. There were 1,895 controller errors in 2011.

The FAA has maintained that most of the rise is due to improved reporting and not an actual increase in the risks of mid-air or runway collisions. The agency in recent years has started allowing controllers to self-report errors without fear of punishment, a program airlines have used for decades to identify safety issues.

The report by Assistant Inspector General Jeffrey Guzzetti found that at least some of the increase is due to an actual rise in the number of incidents.

‘Significant Challenges’

The report was released as the FAA prepares to close as many as 238 airport towers and require its 15,000 controllers to take furlough days because of automatic cuts triggered March 1 when lawmakers failed to reach a budget deal. The cuts could force airports in Chicago and Atlanta to close runways and will cause flight delays, according to the agency.

In January 2012, the FAA consolidated error investigations into three offices across the country with 16 people to do the reviews, according to the report. Previously, at least one person in each of the 300 air-traffic control facilities in the U.S. was assigned to review error reports.

The FAA faces “significant challenges” as a result of that decision, according to the report. Investigators in centralized locations may not understand each air-traffic facility’s local practices, making reviews more difficult, it said.

Automatic Tracking

The FAA is also expecting an additional jump in error reports as a new automated system goes online across the country. The system automatically tracks errors in radar rooms covering flights near airports, where such incidents were previously reported manually.

The agency plans to hire additional investigators, according to the report.

The new error-monitoring system will improve the agency’s ability to spot safety trends and respond, it said in an e-mail statement on the report.

“Validation and analysis have greatly enhanced the agency’s ability to identify and prioritize risk, then mitigate it through the most effective means available,” the FAA said in the statement.

The statement didn’t address whether the error investigators will be subject to furloughs imposed on FAA employees. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has said the furloughs won’t compromise safety.

Safety Measure

The FAA’s system of tracking errors and encouraging employees to report issues has improved safety, Doug Church, spokesman for the Washington-based National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, said in an e-mail. FAA cuts could undermine that, Church said.

“These budget cuts may stymie the efforts of air-traffic controllers and the FAA to move safety reporting systems forward with updated technologies and procedures,” Church said.

Allowing two planes to get too close together is a key safety measure of the air-traffic system and draws attention when incidents come to light.

On July 31, a miscommunication caused a controller at Washington’s Reagan National Airport to clear two regional jets to take off toward an arriving flight.

The Inspector General’s report also found evidence that more errors are occurring than the FAA has reported.

Many incidents that controllers voluntarily disclose aren’t included in the agency’s totals because of confidentiality rules, the report found.

Unreported Errors

The Inspector General also discovered that 157 incidents in Charlotte, North Carolina, weren’t included in FAA totals.

In August 2011, 157 planes took off and landed on a runway at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport while a disabled commercial aircraft intruded into the runway’s safety zone, according to the report.

Senior FAA officials decided not to count the incidents because they concluded that safety wasn’t compromised, according to the report.

The errors that were counted in 2011 represented an increase of less than 1 percent. If the 157 incidents in Charlotte had been included, the increase would have been 9 percent.

“Until FAA takes action to determine the true magnitude of operational errors, assess their potential safety impacts, identify their root causes, and align adequate staffing for oversight, the risk of separation losses will remain a safety concern,” the report said.


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## 1772

*MISC | Will the US change it's visa rules for stopover passengers?*

Today the US demands visas for people going through the US, but not having the US as a final destionation. 

A friends of mine was going from the Netherlands to Mexiko and had to have a visa because she had a stopover in Newark. They asked her a bunch of questions and stuff; even though she wasn't going to the US. 

Shouldn't the US change this? It has to kill alot of business when people try to avoid US airports. 
I'd think if there was no visa requirements, more people would go through the US and the airports would have more usage = bringing in more $$.


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## hkskyline

They don't care. Homeland security comes first.


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## diablo234

1772 said:


> Today the US demands visas for people going through the US, but not having the US as a final destionation.
> 
> A friends of mine was going from the Netherlands to Mexiko and had to have a visa because she had a stopover in Newark. They asked her a bunch of questions and stuff; even though she wasn't going to the US.
> 
> Shouldn't the US change this? It has to kill alot of business when people try to avoid US airports.
> I'd think if there was no visa requirements, more people would go through the US and the airports would have more usage = bringing in more $$.


Was your friend a citizen of the Netherlands or Mexico? 

If it was the former then she would only need to have a passport as the Netherlands is covered under the Visa Waiver Program.

Visa Waiver Program

Anyways US airports are not really built to accommodate international transit passengers unlike European/Canadian airports, and it would probably be very cost prohibitive since you would have to rebuild the terminals themselves, which not make much economic sense given that most passengers are probably destined for the US anyways.


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## 1772

diablo234 said:


> Was your friend a citizen of the Netherlands or Mexico?
> 
> If it was the former then she would only need to have a passport as the Netherlands is covered under the Visa Waiver Program.
> 
> Visa Waiver Program
> 
> Anyways US airports are not really built to accommodate international transit passengers unlike European/Canadian airports, and it would probably be very cost prohibitive since you would have to rebuild the terminals themselves, which not make much economic sense given that most passengers are probably destined for the US anyways.


Swedish. 

I don't get that; what would be the difference between me going from Duluth to Tampa via Atlanta than me going from London to Rio via Atlanta?


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## diablo234

1772 said:


> Swedish.
> 
> I don't get that; what would be the difference between me going from Duluth to Tampa via Atlanta than me going from London to Rio via Atlanta?


Well Sweden is also covered under the Visa Waiver Program so she would have only been required to present a passport at most.

Anyways even if you are just hypothetically changing planes in the US from one international flight to another you are still considered to be entering the US, so it is different than someone who is traveling domestically where they can just walk to their gate. This is to make sure that no one is trying to illegally sneak into the US or is trying to smuggle contraband goods into the country, which would be a huge problem if everyone (ie domestic/international passengers) were intermingling in the same space. Even in European airports such as Frankfurt which deal with a lot of international transit passengers, people have to pass a secondary inspection for this purpose alone.


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## Gil

Several airlines are aware of the American visa requirements and are looking at other ways to serve their customers. For some it means providing routes that by-pass the US, for others it means building as broad a network as possible, either to serve those markets directly or to provide connecting services for those who cannot.


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## hkskyline

*Aviation supply chain faces mounting strain as demand picks up *
_Excerpt_
Oct 15, 2021

LAS VEGAS/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Global shipping and supply chain disruptions are making it harder for corporate planemakers and suppliers to meet resurgent demand for parts, according to industry executives and analysts.

Disruptions, which are also hitting commercial aviation, are beginning to drive up costs and risk slowing down the aerospace industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With private aviation traffic surpassing 2019 levels this year, some corporate planemakers and suppliers at a flagship business jet show in Las Vegas this week flagged warning signs about supply chain and labor hiccups.

More : Aviation supply chain faces mounting strain as demand picks up


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## sponge_bob

The US has taken spectrum deregulation too far and some 5g spectrum will interfere severely with Aviation safety. This came up before with GPS interference around 10 years ago and they learnt nothing. 









Boeing and Airbus warn US over 5G safety concerns


The world's two biggest plane makers say the technology could have a negative impact on the aviation industry.



www.bbc.com


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## sponge_bob

Safe to say...we now have a Big 3 Airshows and Dubai is now up there with Farnborough and Le Bourget in the global industry. 



https://aviationscoop.com/dubai-airshow-2021-reports-a-50-increase/35025/amp/


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## hkskyline

* Delta asks DOJ to put unruly passengers on no-fly list *
_Excerpt_
Feb 6, 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — Any person convicted of a disruption on board a flight should be added to the national “no fly” list, Delta Air Lines told the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a letter to the Justice Department Attorney General Merrick Garland dated Thursday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said there should be “zero tolerance” for any behavior that affects flight safety. Bastian noted that while such incidents of bad behavior represent a small fraction of overall flights on Delta, the rate of incidents on the airline has increased nearly 100% since 2019.

“This action will help prevent future incidents and serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions on commercial aircraft,” Bastian wrote in the letter furnished to The Associated Press by Delta Air Lines.

More : Delta asks DOJ to put unruly passengers on no-fly list


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## hkskyline

*Alaska's Anchorage Airport says airlines contacting it about capacity amid Ukraine crisis* 

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Alaska’s Anchorage Airport said on Thursday it is starting to receive inquiries from airlines about capacity and available services in the event international routes are affected during the Ukraine crisis.

The airport was a popular refuelling hub for long-haul flights during the Cold War, when Western airlines were unable to access Russian airspace on routes from Europe to Asia. 

Source : Alaska's Anchorage Airport says airlines contacting it about capacity amid Ukraine crisis


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## cuartango

What do you guys think?


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## hkskyline

* Siberian ‘Detour’ Forces Airlines to Retrace Cold War Era Routes *
Bloomberg _Excerpt_
Mar 12, 2022 

Global airlines are going to great lengths to avoid Russian airspace but few to the extent of Finnair Oyj, the flag carrier of Finland. It’s flying thousands of miles around its northern neighbor, retracing routes abandoned decades ago at the end of the Cold War.

The economic burden of those end-runs is measured in additional jet fuel burn, extended duty times, and the potential for more crews being required on some longer flights. Airlines may face additional maintenance costs for heavier use of their long-haul jets and some new overflight fees from countries they may not have traversed previously. And, of course, there’s the extra time customers will spend in transit.

The diversions also are blowing a big hole in airlines’ commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

More : Bloomberg - Are you a robot?


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## hkskyline

* Saudi Arabia to open its airspace for all air carriers -statement *
Reuters _Excerpt_ 

CAIRO, July 15 (Reuters) - The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said late on Thursday that Saudi Arabia decided to open the Kingdom's airspace for all air carriers that meet the requirements of "the authority for overflying."

More : Saudi Arabia to open its airspace for all air carriers -statement


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## hkskyline

* Emirates says air travel must tough out disruption until 2023 *
Reuters _Excerpt_ 

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 18 (Reuters) - The president of Dubai’s Emirates, which has clashed with London’s Heathrow over enforced capacity cuts, said on Monday that a badly disrupted air travel industry would return to equilibrium in 2023 and must “tough it out” until then.

Tim Clark, speaking at an event at the Farnborough Airshow, criticised Heathrow managers for failing to anticipate the travel rebound until it was too late. Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More : Emirates says air travel must tough out disruption until 2023


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## hkskyline

* European Travel Crunch Stems From 1.2 Million-Worker Shortfall *
Bloomberg _Excerpt_
July 20, 2022

The staffing crunch that’s triggered transport chaos this summer adds up to a shortage of 1.2 million workers across the European Union, according the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Travel agencies are among businesses most in need of employees, with a 30% shortfall, the WTTC said in a statement Wednesday, citing its latest analysis of the sector. The Air transport and accommodation segments have about one in five positions unfilled.

More : Bloomberg - Are you a robot?


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## hkskyline

* Nigeria releases $265 mln for outstanding airline ticket sales *
Reuters _Excerpt_
Aug 26, 2022

Nigeria’s Central Bank released $265 million to airlines to settle outstanding ticket sales, it said in a statement on Friday.

Airlines have said they have millions trapped in Africa’s most populous nation due to an inability to access the foreign exchange repatriate funds.

Dubai’s Emirates has said it will suspend its service to Nigeria from next month, and other carriers have reportedly cut back their capacity to the country due the difficulties in repatriating funds.

More : UPDATE 1-Nigeria releases $265 mln for outstanding airline ticket sales


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## sponge_bob

This can happen to _any airport in western Europe_ with 1-2m passengers a year and an over reliance on Wizz and/or Ryanair to make those numbers. Unless they have PSO traffic. 









Doncaster Sheffield Airport to close despite financial lifeline offer


Doncaster Sheffield Airport owner Peel says the wind-down will begin on 31 October.



www.bbc.com





There are another few zombies in the northern part of England like Tyne Tees, Carlisle and Blackpool and only Manchester Liverpool Leeds and Newcastle appear viable today. One of the London Airports, Southend, no longer seems viable either.


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## hkskyline

* US to require more rest between shifts for flight attendants *
AP _Excerpt_
Oct 4, 2022

Airlines will be required to give flight attendants at least 10 hours off duty between shifts, one more hour than currently, under a rule announced Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said that the extra hour of rest would contribute to safety.

The rule goes into effect in 30 days, and airlines have up to 90 days to comply.

More : US to require more rest between shifts for flight attendants


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## hkskyline

* UN nations reach long-term aviation climate goal *
_Excerpt_

MONTREAL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A United Nations body agreed on Friday to a long-term aspirational goal for aviation of net zero emissions by 2050, despite challenges from China and Russia, as countries aligned overwhelmingly with airlines amid pressure to curb pollution from flights.

The decision, described as a "compromise" by several European countries who wanted a more ambitious target, was met with applause by members at the 193-nation International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) assembly, held every three years.

China, backed by Russia and Eritrea, questioned the feasibility of the goal without more evidence, and argued developed countries must provide financial support to developing nations who are still growing their aviation markets.

More : UN nations reach long-term aviation climate goal


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## sponge_bob

We are seeing big big pay awards to retain flying staff in US Regionals this year, which might well result in pilots moving there for what is now decent money and a reduction of the US pilot shortage by creating one elsewhere. 


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1580268986037522432


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## hkskyline

* Africa's airline industry to return to profit in 2024, IATA official says*
_Excerpt_ 

CAPE TOWN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Africa's airline industry could return to profit at the end of 2024, although the southern African region is lagging compared to the rest of the continent, a senior IATA official said on Friday.

Kamil Alawadhi, IATA's Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, said southern Africa was lagging behind in the recovery due to market access and connectivity issues.

"IATA's current outlook sees the global loss reduced to $9.7 billion for 2022 and a return to industry-wide profit in 2023. Africa is on track to follow by the end of 2024," Alawadhi told delegates at the Airlines Association of Southern Africa annual general assembly.

More : UPDATE 2-Africa's airline industry to return to profit in 2024, IATA official says


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## hkskyline

* Got space in your luggage? Air travellers get paid to carry parcels *
CBC _Excerpt_
Oct 25, 2022

If you're only taking carry-on luggage the next time you fly, Shelvie Fernan wants to talk. She'll buy your checked-baggage capacity — and pay you up to $1,400 for it.

Fernan is the CEO and co-founder of Fly and Fetch, an Edmonton-based startup that has its eye on being the next big shared-economy firm to disrupt a traditional business sector, similar to what Uber did to the transportation industry.

Fernan is targeting air mail.

"Me and my team are hacking international shipping by hiring travellers to transport packages for us rather than using air cargo," said Fernan, who has been purchasing airline passengers' unused checked luggage to carry parcels to far off places since 2019.

By doing so, Fernan can offer overseas shipping cheaper than traditional couriers, which she says is an important service to Filipino Canadians like herself who frequently send items to and from the Philippines.

More : https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/air-travellers-paid-to-carry-packages-1.6616893


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## hkskyline

* Airlines Push for Lone Pilot Flights to Cut Costs Despite Safety Fears *
Bloomberg _Excerpt_
Nov 20, 2022

Airlines and regulators are pushing to have just one pilot in the cockpit of passenger jets instead of two. It would lower costs and ease pressure from crew shortages, but placing such responsibility on a single person at the controls is unsettling for some. 

Over 40 countries including Germany, the UK and New Zealand have asked the United Nations body that sets aviation standards to help make single-pilot flights a safe reality. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has also been working with planemakers to determine how solo flights would operate and preparing rules to oversee them. EASA said such services could start in 2027.

The plan doesn’t sit well with pilots. It’s a hard sell for passengers, too. 

More : Airlines Push for Lone Pilot Flights to Cut Costs Despite Safety Fears


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