Economy Class & Beyond

UK Immigration: Queues still long

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I think we all remember (with a shuder) the waiting time that London Heathrow and other UK ports of entry suffered earlier this year. Well it seem that Heathrow entry is slowly heading towards the magical 45 minutes for those who are non-EU residents. Although some have witnessed longer queues than that. And of course the politicians are arguing. as usual. Queues at … [Read more...]

Farnborough 2012 Day 2 – News Roundup

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Day Two of the Farnborough 2012 has flow - so let's see what big news has hit The big headline of the day goes to Cathay Pacific who have signed for 26 of the re-versioned Airbus A350-1000 - with Cathay ordering 10 on top of the original 16 A350-1000's ordered.  This makes Cathay Pacific the largest planned operator of the A350-1000 which will fly up to 8,400nm with the … [Read more...]

2000 Posts – A restrospective and a note of thanks

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On the 20th May 2009, I started up a little blog on Blogger called GettoIFE. Then I realised I spelt it wrong and put the 'H' in, to make it GhettoIFE.com. I thought it'd be useful to put some of my travel thoughts down, give an outlet to those thoughts, mix in my bad sense of humour and sarcasm, whilst covering some points of travel that aren't covered through the … [Read more...]

Wizz Air takes the Wizz – to charge for “Large Hand luggage items”

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Yes, you read that right. Wizz Air is copying that wonderful customer service lead airline "Spirit Airlines"  and going to conduct a trial on the London Luton to  Katowice route. If you're carrying a "small" carry on (sized to 42x32x25cm), you'll get it aboard for nothing. Those with larger carry on items will be paying €10 for bags up to 55x40x20cm. Both carry on sizes will … [Read more...]

Farnborough Day 1 Roundup

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As the first day of Farnborough 2012 draws to a close, lets take a look at what has been creating headlines today: Top of the bill goes to Steven Udvar-Hazy's Air Lease who have placed an a firm order for 60 Boeing 737 Max 8 and 15 Boeing 737 Max 9s with  "reconfirmation rights" for 25 more. Expect those to be leased to airlines quickly when they arrive... Airbus … [Read more...]

Delta to introduce Boeing 717’s into their fleet

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It seems that a deal has been hammered out over the 717's with Delta and Boeing, Southwest Airlines. The agreement is for 88 Boeing 717-200's to be leased from Boeing Capital or subleased from Southwest Airlines, with 3 aircraft a month to be delivered from August 2013. The year-on-year delivery plan looks something like this: 16 to be transferred in 2013 36 to be … [Read more...]

Virgin Atlantic eyes Moscow

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It seems that Virgin Atlantic appears to be dusting itself off after the failed BMI takeover bid, with an announcement today that Virgin Atlantic is intending to build a short-haul and medium hub out of it's London Heathrow base. To do this, Virgin Atlantic is going to need the slots that were surrendered by British Airways/IAG. Traffic between London and Moscow is … [Read more...]

Airplane Art – United Airlines Boeing 747-400

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It's Sunday again, and it's time for some more Airplane Art. This week, resting in the autumn sunshine of a Californian afternoon is a United Airlines Boeing 747-400 at the United Maintenance pad at Los Angeles International Airport, with the plane painted in classic Blue and White Tulip colours (shot in late 2009 before the invasion of the Continental Globe). The … [Read more...]

Safety Video Saturday – Qantas “Olympic/Paralympic” Safety Video

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It's Saturday again, so it's time to stow that tray table, put your seat in the upright position and pay attention to the following safety video. This week's video is presented by Qantas featuring the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams as the countdown continues to the London 2012 Games. It's good to see Qantas getting in the swing of things as the days before … [Read more...]

Malaysia Airlines preview their 2nd A380 at Farnborough – Farnborough flying line-up…

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The 2nd A380 that Malaysia Airlines will be receiving will have a diversion to Farnborough next week as it forms part of the flying display line-up there. Now we're aware of the configuration of the plane (8F, 66C, 70Y (upper), 350Y lower) and you would had thought "Why not install some Premium Economy Seating" Malaysia Airlines decided against it, going for for more two … [Read more...]