Ah. You've gotta love the alternative communities. This gem from the San Francisco Chronicle Of sex toys, weapons and airplanes - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/steinberg/detail?entry_id=43569 Now for those in the know, a whip is hardly a weapon. But as of course it's metal, the TSA in Seattle has a field day (TSA and Seattle and me don't go together... I sympathise … [Read more...]
787 Update – Can we fix it? Yes we can… eventually!
(I started typing this - then work got in the way. And Drink). It seems Boeing has hired Bob the builder to sort a fix to ZA001 - the first flying frame. And the good news is they've found where and how to fix it. The bad news is it's in the back end of beyond. As usual, Jon at FlightBloggerat has the full technical breakdown, but to sum up a few points: Slippage. … [Read more...]
Breaking news – OpenSkies to suspend AMS-JFK
Well don't say I didn't see this coming an mile off when I posted http://www.ghettoife.com/2009/07/psst-wanna-buy-airline.htmlOpenSkies have now confirmed that Amsterdam to New York JFK is suspended from 16th August.Passengers are being rerouted via London on LHR-JFK Club World services.A quick and nimble move according to the press release. I'd say more like the slow end of … [Read more...]
IFE News – It’s been busy…
Ok- a quick roundup in the world of In Flight Entertainment (yes - on topic for this blog for once!) US Airways signs with GoGo for Wireless connectivity - Leapfrogs United. Yes - my favourite airline has leapfrogged United and has decided to plump for GoGo wireless, and will be installing it in A321 aircraft. With a 50 aircraft deployed currently and an additional 15, … [Read more...]
UK Goverment gets a clue – All Change on the GWML!
Ok - a slight deviation from the norm - I'm going to talk about those things that go on wheels and snake across the country side and cities - Trains and Railways (I promise not to make a habit of this). Something that has been on is the lack of continuing Electrification of the Railways in this country. Where Diesel powered trains are all well and good, the perceived … [Read more...]
Kip Hawley on why Mascara and Lipstick are treated differenty
As some may know, I'm not a fan of Kip Hawley when he ran the TSA. Actually. Scrub that. I wasn't a fan of Kip Hawleys TSA full of stop (something about wrecking my luggage, damaging equipment inside the luggage and not ringing me back after 2 kindly worded emails) So I found this gem today on Youtube. So if it's solid - it won't destroy an aircraft, yet if its … [Read more...]
Analysis: The Boeing 747-8 Series – Win or Fail?
Believe it or not, people are still interested in Quad Engined jets still. But why? A few reasons : No ETOPS requirement. ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) of extending twin engine aircraft that at points during the journey are greater than a 60 minutes' flying time from an diversion point with one engine inoperative. There are different … [Read more...]
Another Day, Another O’Liar Rant. Someone change the channel please?
So its making it's way around the nets about Ryanair reducing its flights in and out of Stansted (STN) by 40%, and actual flights by 30% - or in real numbers - 4 less B737-800's. 4. Big whoop. Of course. O'Liar doesn't want to highlight this. Instead, he chooses to bitch about BAA (form a queue - there's a lot of us who wish to moan about the Shopping mall with Airbridges … [Read more...]
Cricket – It CAN be intresting when it’s tied to Air fares…
Leather ball on wood. Nothing like the sound of it. Actually, it bores the hell out of me (that it can be painful if you miss the ball, and it lands somewhere else, but that's another blog entirely.) However, BA and Qantas decided in the spirit of "The Ashes" (an age old Cricket Series between England and the Australians) to have a little fun with this to drive sales, … [Read more...]
Psst? Wanna buy an Airline?
It seems that one of the great experiments is heading to fall flat on its face shortly, with the (majority) sale of BA's OpenSkies operation. Picture - BA Openskies is an airline set-up to take advantage of the "Open Skies" agreement between the USA and Europe (and originally to take on SilverJet and MaxJet), so BA set up this "side" airline with a different set-up to … [Read more...]