It's been a tough couple of decades for the airline industry, but things are finally looking up, thanks to a "special panel" created by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The AP reports that Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood said Thursday that the panel will come up with a plan to fix the industry, which has suffered billions of dollars in losses amid slackened demand, fluctuating oil prices, and cutthroat competition. ]]>
We’ve seen our share of airline delays due to weather, mechanical delays, and even wacky passengers. However, there aren’t too many delays caused by furry critters. Well, that’s exactly what passengers of an Air India flight had to deal with as they were stuck to wait things out for about 11 hours.
Apparently a flight with over 200 passengers from Amritsar, India was supposed to head out to London over the weekend. Early on Saturday morning passengers spotted a rat on the plane, and then the rest of the day was spent searching for the little stowaway. After all, it definitely didn’t go through security. ]]>
We’ve all been there, and we certainly have done our share of complaining about them: the dreaded delayed airplane. For the most part it has just become one of the many fun features that are now part of the travel experience. However, there are some researchers trying to crack the code behind these inconveniences, and the smartypants scientists feel that a little math might help everyone out. If academics can help aircraft land on time and leave on schedule, we just might head back to school.
Computer scientists at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland have created a system to use runways efficiently to reduce delays and to conserve fuel use. Their plan uses the size of aircraft, fuel efficiency of the plane, and number of passengers aboard to figure out the most effective way to move the birds around the airport. Their new math also looks at the amount of suitcases on the planes to ensure baggage handling delays are kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of preventing baggage loss—too bad. ]]>
I don't know why, but I've always liked the word tarmac. Before I even knew what it meant, I knew it was something important, a place where powerful people went and big things happened. Maybe it was from snippets of the TV news I'd overhear about presidents being greeted on the tarmac, or my airline pilot father making conversation with his friends about a recent flight, but I was sure that a tarmac was far more exciting than my suburban backyard. When I finally figured out that tarmac referred to the runways, aprons, and ramp areas of airports, it lost none of its allure. Sure, the golden age of flight is over, but big things still happen in airports, journeys begin and end. And for some reason, the word tarmac perfectly describes the big, flat open space that serves as as a mini-purgatory for fliers, whether coming or going. ]]>
If you've been waiting to pull the trigger on a flight this summer in the hope that ticket prices will soften even further, it's time to commit. Airfares are about as low as they're going to go, according to the guy from FareCompare.com, which keeps an eye on these kinds of things. In an interesting AP item, CEO Rick Seaney said that airfares have begun to creep up by $10 to $20 in recent days, and will likely continue to firm as oil prices rise and the summer travel season begins in earnest over the Independence Day holiday. The bottom line: buy your tickets now if you want a super-cheap vacation this summer. Do it. ]]>
You know times are tough in the airline industry when this is what passes for good news these days: passenger traffic on U.S. airlines fell in April, 2009, but its rate of decline wasn't as steep as it was in March, raising hopes for a recovery later this year. As the AP points out, however, slowing the free-fall has come at a cost to the carriers, who have been forced to slash ticket prices to maintain cash flow and keep their airplanes full. United reported that its April traffic was more than 10% lower than it was last year, while Delta and American also reported declines. ]]>
We've got to hand it to comedian Louis C.K. for perfectly summing up our profound ability to dismiss a century of innovation in air travel as our birthright. In this amusing clip from the Conan O'Brien show, he riffs on the guy who complains when the in-flight internet service goes out, even though he just learned it existed ten seconds earlier, and the inevitable "worst day of my life" stories that people share when they've been on a cross-country flight that was delayed by an hour. He certainly has a point: not long ago people risked life and limb to travel long distances, and now we get steamed because the seat doesn't recline enough and we can't get a pillow. It's funny, but it also ignores the other side of the issue, which is that the airlines are as much a beneficiary of the technological advances as we are, and it's the duty of the consumer to demand that service be held to the highest attainable standard. So maybe it's not so ridiculous to whine about extra fees and declining service. The system relies on both sides pushing as hard as they can. All the same, it still amazes me when I get in an airplane somewhere cold and get out a few hours later where the weather is hot. I can't help it, it's just an amazing thing.
[Video: The Economist]
Related Stories
· Louis CK Defends Air Travel [The Economist]
· Louis C.K. [Official Site]
· Comedy Coverage [Jaunted]]]>