FlyerTalk’s 2014 Aviation Quiz

2014 was a big year for the aviation industry. Frequent flyers got a whole new set of rules. Battles lines were drawn in the war over reclining seatbacks and Southeast Asian airlines saw enough tragedy to last a lifetime. Forget the headlines, FlyerTalk’s 2014 Aviation Quiz will test even the most obsessed flyers.

 

Question 1. When US Airways and American Airlines complete the merger of these two legacy carriers in the coming months, the new airline will be the largest in the world but US Airways will cease to exist. Which of the following airlines did not merge with US Airways to create the airline that will itself soon disappear?

A) Lake Central Airlines

B) Mohawk Airlines

C) Pacific Southwest Airlines

D) Ozark Airlines

E) Piedmont Airlines

Answer

D) Ozark Airlines. Regional airlines Lake Central and Mohawk merged with Allegheny Airlines which later became US Air. US Air merged Pacific Southwest Airlines and Piedmont Airlines before changing its name to US Airways and merging with America West Airline in 2005. Ozark Airlines was purchased by TWA in 1986.

 

Question 2. When CNN rented a flight simulator for its round-the-clock coverage of missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, flight instructor Mitchell Casado became an overnight celebrity, but soon after CNN’s cameras left, Casado found himself unemployed. What reason did uFly, the owner of the flight simulator company, give for firing Casado?

A) Cursed on air

B) Failed a drug test

C) Was not a licensed pilot

D) Was a sloppy dresser

E) Arrested for DUI

Answer

D) Was a sloppy dresser. Claudio Teixeira, Casado’s employer at uFly told AP that the flight simulator instructor’s shabby dress led directly to his dismissal. “Even though I let him be on TV he shamed us Canadians and shamed my company with the way he was dressing like he was 15 years old,” said Teixeira. “People were complaining that it wasn’t professional at all … If you go to any plane you don’t see them in shorts and sandals.”

 

Question 3. A plaque at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) became the inspiration for a summer music festival and subsequent documentary. Which aviation legend is honored on the memorial at the airport?

A) Weir Cook

B) Amelia Earhart

C) Clifford Ball

D) Charles Lindbergh

E) Howard Hughes

Answer

C) Clifford Ball. The plaque at PIT memorializes aviation industry pioneer and developer of the city’s first airfield, Clifford Ball, as “a beacon of light in the world of flight.” Ball’s 85-year-old, single-engine canvas Waco 9 biplane, The Miss Pittsburgh, is suspended above the security line at the airport. The Miss Pittsburgh was one of three planes that carried passengers willing to sit on top of airmail bags from Pittsburgh to Cleveland for $20.

 

Question 4. Which anti-merger airline executive, said: “Airlines merge when they have run out of alternatives. The bankers and the lawyers talk about the synergies that they don’t have to make facts. We don’t believe in mergers” to attendees of the Airline Distribution conference in 2007?

A) Doug Parker

B) Gary C. Kelly

C) Jeff Smisek

D) Richard Branson

E) Dave Barger

Answer

C) Jeff Smisek. Then CEO of Continental Airlines, Smisek’s words came barely three years before he ushered in what would at the time be the largest airline merger in the history of the industry, eventually taking the helm of a merged United and Continental Airline.

 

Question 5. Consolidation has been the trend in the airline industry since deregulation became law in the 1970s, but in the 1930s, aircraft manufacturer Boeing had to give up the thriving airline it owned because of antitrust concerns. What was the name of the airline owned by Boeing?

A) Trans World Airlines

B) United Airlines

C) American Airlines

D) Alaska Airlines

E) Pan American World Airways

Answer

B) United Airlines. Antitrust legislation passed in the wake of The Great Depression forced Boeing to divest the airline business and focus on the manufacturing. The airline Boeing sold off went on to become one of the largest in world.

 

Question 6. The flight path to the 34th busiest airport in the world offers a panoramic view of which former Olympic host city?

A) Barcelona

B) Los Angeles

C) Atlanta

D) Seoul

E) Sydney

Answer

A) Barcelona. El Prat International Airport (BCN) is the second-busiest airport in Spain and the base of Spain’s second-largest airline, Vueling Airlines.

 

Question 7. NFL teams spend half of their season visiting opponents’ stadiums. In 2014, one football team flew thousands more miles traveling to away games than any other team in the league. Which city does this team call home?

A) Seattle

B) Dallas

C) San Diego

D) Oakland

E) Miami

Answer

D) Oakland. The Oakland Raiders logged more than 36,000 air miles for away games this NFL season. The team’s frequent flyer status was helped by a trip to London which logged almost as many miles as the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled during the entire length of the season. The second most-traveled team in the league, the Seattle Seahawks, flew nearly 10,000 miles less than the Raiders over the course of the season. Of course, Seattle didn’t have the benefit of a mileage run to London.

 

Question 8. Two of the most famous emergency landings in commercial aviation history were accomplished after jetliners lost power in flight. Captain Chesley Sullenberger famously landed his Airbus 320 in the Hudson River after the plane was disabled following a bird strike. Captain Robert Pearson, the inspiration for book Freefall by William Hoffer, managed to land his Boeing 767 on a racetrack after the plane ran out of fuel midair. Other than being hailed as heroes, what did both these pilots have in common?

A) Both were active Air Force Reservists

B) Both were volunteer firemen

C) Both were avid glider pilots

D) Both were within one year of mandatory retirement

E) Both were former astronauts

Answer

C) Avid glider pilots. Both Captain Sullenberger and Captain Pearson were experienced and certified glider pilots.

 

Question 9. The Pan Am building was a Manhattan landmark and the headquarters of the storied airline during its glory days. For a time, the carrier even offered helicopter shuttles from its midtown offices to JFK. After the airline went under, the Pan Am moniker was replaced. What is the Pan Am building known as today?

A) Citibank Building

B) Comcast Building

C) Helmsley Building

D) General Electric Building

E) Met Life Building

Answer

E) Met Life. Met Life already owned the building by the time Pan Am moved out, but waited for the airline’s demise to rename the building. The Met Life building is still among the 50 tallest buildings in the U.S.

 

Question 10. In 2014, the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked U.S. airlines among the worst in customer satisfaction. Which of these industries received even lower marks than the airlines for customer satisfaction?

A) U.S. Postal Service

B) Internet service providers

C) Health insurance

D) Cellular telephones

E) Household appliances

Answer

B) Internet Service Providers. Yes, as consumers, we are happier with insurance companies, the post office, cell phone providers and the companies who make cheap toasters than we are with the airlines, but we find companies like Comcast and Verizon marginally more frustrating.

 

Question 11. In October, three Denver teenagers skipped school and flew to Germany on their way to join ISIS fighters in Syria. What is the youngest age a child could be allowed onboard an overseas flight from the U.S. without parental permission?

A) 12

B) 13

C) 16

D) 17

E) 18

Answer

A) 12. The Department of Transportation does not regulate the age that children can fly unaccompanied and warns, “At age 15 most airlines will allow a child to fly alone on domestic flights without any unaccompanied-minor procedures. Some airlines permit this for kids as young as 12. When a child has reached this minimum age for traveling alone without unaccompanied-minor procedures, the airline does not require evidence of parental permission to travel alone. If the child has a passport, he or she can even travel internationally.”

 

Question 12. Amtrak Acela high-speed service between Boston, Philadelphia and Washington is fast, but the train is still not as fast as flying. Exactly how much faster is it to fly gate-to-gate from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) than to take the train platform-to-platform from Philadelphia to New York City?

A) 70 minutes faster

B) 38 minutes faster

C) 20 minutes faster

D) 15 minutes faster

E) Less than 15 minutes faster

Answer

C) 20 minutes. The fastest Amtrak train takes one hour ten minutes to get from Philadelphia 30th Street Station to New York Penn Station. Gate-to-gate, the fastest scheduled flight from PHL to LGA takes no less than 50 minutes.

 

Question 13. Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) is home to a U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, a major FAA research facility, and the Federal Air Marshal training base, but the airport is home to only one regularly scheduled commercial airline. What is the only Airline to serve Atlantic City?

A) United Airlines

B) American Airlines

C) Southwest Airlines

D) Spirit Airlines

E) Frontier Airlines

Answer

D) Spirit Airlines. When United announced plans to abandon ACY after only seven months, Spirit Airlines became the only airline to offer regularly scheduled flights to the beleaguered gambling resort city.

 

Question 14. Arguments over sovereign borders can lead to interesting engineering and infrastructure decisions by rival nations. Which disputed territory has an airport with major highway running across its runway?

A) Gibraltar

B) Cuba

C) Hans Island

D) Dokdo

E) Cyprus

Answer

A) Gibraltar. Cars crossing the runway at Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) on Winston Churchill Avenue sensibly yield to commercial aircraft traffic before entering Spain from the British possession of Gibraltar. Political wrangling and brinkmanship between the two countries have delayed plans to dig a tunnel to keep passenger cars off the runway.

 

Question 15. Thirty-seven years ago, two Boeing 747s collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (TFN) on the island of Tenerife. What incomplete radio transmission contributed to the most deadly airplane accident in aviation history?

A) “Okay”

B) “Starboard”

C) “Port”

D) “Abort”

E) “Meter”

Answer

A) “Okay” Had the full transmission from the tower “Okay, stand by for takeoff, I will call you,” been received completely by the captain of a KLM flight at Los Rodeos Airport on the island of Tenerife, the worst airplane disaster in history might have been avoided.

 

Question 16. Rocking chairs at airport terminals delight both young and old, and the trend of offering this simple amenity to weary flyers is spreading around the globe. According to the New York Times, which U.S. airport pioneered this cozy tradition?

A) Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)

B) Newark International (EWR)

C) Miami International (MIA)

D) George Bush Intercontinental (IAH)

E) Philadelphia International (PHL)

Answer

A) Charlotte Douglas International (CLT). The first airport rocking chairs were part of a photography exhibit about traditional southern front porches. The soothing amenity became an instant hit with flyers and now handmade rocking chairs can be found at airports from Philadelphia to Finland.

 

Question 17. According to the American Hearing Research Foundation, the engine noise inside a passenger plane can reach up to 115 decibels during takeoffs and landings. Which of these sounds is louder than the potential noise in the cabin of a commercial airliner?

A) Jack hammer

B) Sand blasting

C) Train whistle

D) Shotgun blast

E) Car horn

Answer

D) Shotgun blast.The noise from a jack hammer (95 dB), sand blasting (115 dB), a train whistle (90 dB) or a car horn (110 dB) fail to exceed the potential noise inside an airplane. A shotgun blast at close range (165 dB) is slightly more damaging to the ears, however.

 

Question 18. According to United Airlines CFO John Rainey, how much money does every $1 decrease in the cost of oil add to the airline’s bottom-line?

A) $10,000

B) $100,000

C) $1 million

D) $12 million

E) $100 million

Answer

E) $100 million. Rainey notes that fuel costs represents a third of the airline’s operating costs.

 

[Photo: iStock]