Patrick Smith "Ask the Pilot" at Boston Travel Show
Feb 10, 2012, 6:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Boston
Posts: 467
Patrick Smith "Ask the Pilot" at Boston Travel Show
For those of you in the Boston area, Salon.com's world-famous ASK THE PILOT host, Patrick Smith (that's me), will appearing this Sunday, February 12th, at 12:15 p.m. at the Boston Globe Travel Show at the Seaport World Trade Center.
I'll take questions from the audience, and will be interviewed by Alex Beam, the long-time Boston Globe columnist.
There will be a meet-and-greet sort of thing afterward. (I accept cash, checks and gift certificates, plus canned goods and other non-perishables.)
Hope to see some of you from the FT community.
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Most recently in my ASK THE PILOT column.....
An old-timey, classic Q&A
Q: We were flying from San Juan to New York on a 757. Taxiing out, the plane's air conditioning malfunctioned and the cabin temperature became very hot. After several minutes of troubleshooting, the problem could not be fixed. The captain explained that although it was permissible to continue on with the broken AC, a whole new flight plan was required, including an altered routing that would add over 45 minutes flying time -- in turn requiring us to take on more fuel. Why on earth would a broken air conditioner mandate a whole new flight plan and a longer routing?
Q: I was once on a flight from Chicago to Atlanta and we had to make an emergency landing Nashville due to something that made it necessary to fly only as high as 10,000 ft. Due to such a low altitude, we were told, we would burn too much gas and could not reach Atlanta nonstop. Were they telling us the truth and how serious was the situation?
Q :My mother was on a flight that couldn’t take off because an engine wouldn't start.. They were towed back to the gate and had to have the engine started with the help of an external cart of some sort.. Could you explain what causes an engine to fail to start, how the external is used, and why it’s safe to fly in this condition?
Q: I was on a Southwest flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon. We were at 35,000 feet and the air was very choppy. The captain came on and apologized. He told us that although it was much smoother at 37,000 feet, we were "too heavy" to climb that high and would have to ride out the bumps for a while. Really? Why would another 2,000 feet make that much difference?
Q: I routinely fly from Los Angeles to Beijing on United. It's an all-daylight flight over Alaska and Russia. How can I find the approximate route the Air China flight takes on the same route? I;m flying them later in the month and would like to know what I'll be seeing below.
The answers are HERE:
http://life.salon.com/2012/02/08/cur...now/singleton/
Entry is free.
Since 2002, ASK THE PILOT has been the Web's most trenchant and insightful source for all things air travel.
I'll take questions from the audience, and will be interviewed by Alex Beam, the long-time Boston Globe columnist.
There will be a meet-and-greet sort of thing afterward. (I accept cash, checks and gift certificates, plus canned goods and other non-perishables.)
Hope to see some of you from the FT community.
--------
Most recently in my ASK THE PILOT column.....
An old-timey, classic Q&A
Q: We were flying from San Juan to New York on a 757. Taxiing out, the plane's air conditioning malfunctioned and the cabin temperature became very hot. After several minutes of troubleshooting, the problem could not be fixed. The captain explained that although it was permissible to continue on with the broken AC, a whole new flight plan was required, including an altered routing that would add over 45 minutes flying time -- in turn requiring us to take on more fuel. Why on earth would a broken air conditioner mandate a whole new flight plan and a longer routing?
Q: I was once on a flight from Chicago to Atlanta and we had to make an emergency landing Nashville due to something that made it necessary to fly only as high as 10,000 ft. Due to such a low altitude, we were told, we would burn too much gas and could not reach Atlanta nonstop. Were they telling us the truth and how serious was the situation?
Q :My mother was on a flight that couldn’t take off because an engine wouldn't start.. They were towed back to the gate and had to have the engine started with the help of an external cart of some sort.. Could you explain what causes an engine to fail to start, how the external is used, and why it’s safe to fly in this condition?
Q: I was on a Southwest flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon. We were at 35,000 feet and the air was very choppy. The captain came on and apologized. He told us that although it was much smoother at 37,000 feet, we were "too heavy" to climb that high and would have to ride out the bumps for a while. Really? Why would another 2,000 feet make that much difference?
Q: I routinely fly from Los Angeles to Beijing on United. It's an all-daylight flight over Alaska and Russia. How can I find the approximate route the Air China flight takes on the same route? I;m flying them later in the month and would like to know what I'll be seeing below.
The answers are HERE:
http://life.salon.com/2012/02/08/cur...now/singleton/
Entry is free.
Since 2002, ASK THE PILOT has been the Web's most trenchant and insightful source for all things air travel.
Feb 13, 2012, 6:43 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC, USA
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Posts: 1,012
I didn't go to your part of the event, but the whole expo was a massive bore. The level of douche-ness (including even a floating money grab contest like you would see at a carnival), to the low-level of knowledge that most of the booths had about their particular region (The answer to my question at the main booth for China of "What would be a good 'hidden secret' or lesser known place to visit that would be really interesting to see in China?" The answer: "Oh, the Great Wall is amazing!" Gee, thanks!
I've been to a similar show previously in Chicago (the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show), and the Boston one doesn't hold a candle to them. I suspect it's because this one is sponsored by the Globe/NYT.
Very, very lame. At least we got in for free. We will never attend again.
By the way, entry is not free. It cost $10/person. Thankfully I found codes online that allowed us to get free tickets.
I've been to a similar show previously in Chicago (the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show), and the Boston one doesn't hold a candle to them. I suspect it's because this one is sponsored by the Globe/NYT.
Very, very lame. At least we got in for free. We will never attend again.
By the way, entry is not free. It cost $10/person. Thankfully I found codes online that allowed us to get free tickets.
Last edited by scotty00; Feb 13, 2012 at 6:48 am