There’s a funny story in the paper today: My husband has been traveling overseas on business at least once a month for the past few years. His passport became so heavily stamped that he was forced to apply for a passport with extra visa pages.
It’s report card time. The results of two annual studies on airline satisfaction – Consumer Reports and J.D. Power – have been released this week. It’s not like our experienced FlyerTalk community doesn’t have its own research and opinions, but let’s take a look.
But let me ask you this: is price the ultimate determiner of what airline most people fly? Let’s assume comparable safety records and forget loyalty programs. (FlyerTalk forget loyalty programs? Brian Cohen is now dialing my number.)
Sinan Unur was one of 31 passengers and three crew on US Airways Express Flight 4560, a Dash 8-100 turboprop operated by Piedmont Airlines that belly landed at Newark International. So what’s the takeaway Sinan: “It renewed my confidence in aviation.”
Tablets. Smartphones. eReaders. Laptops. The debate about using electronic devices on aircraft is back in the news. But there isn’t any new data. The reports circle the minefield without ever crossing the perimeter.
Southwest Airlines, the largest domestic carrier in the U.S. and the only consistently profitable airline, is in the news this week. Boeing and Southwest Airlines are launching the 737 MAX 7, the third sibling of the 737 MAX family.
I ought to spare us both 385 words and suggest you go straight to the YouTube video of Commander Chris Hadfield and his acoustic guitar on the International Space Station (ISS). The stars up there are going to look different.
If I could do it all over, I’d do it with a bad limp. During summer breaks in college I worked as a tour guide driving a Bombardier snowmobile at the Columbia Icefields in Banff National Park. Minimum wage and tips is what I got. And you know the difference between a Canadian and a canoe – a canoe tips.
“Use common sense when traveling,” said Laurie Simmons, a retired cop who spent 20 years with the Australian Federal Police and now volunteers with the ‘Tourist Police’ in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Suicides, bar brawls and road accidents are what he specializes in.
True to his word after losing a bet to AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, yesterday worked as a ‘trolley dolly’ on AirAsia’s inaugural Perth to Kuala Lumpur flight.
