We've heard of high school exchange students or even swapping a teacher or two, but this is the first time we've known of a flight attendant exchange program. The ultra-glamorous flight attendants of Korean Air are about to be involved in an exchange program with their counterparts from China Southern Airlines.
Basically, the Korean Air gang has promised to help the China Southern crew learn the ropes; attendants from both airlines will work together on Korean Air routes between South Korea and China. The exchange bit happens when some Korean Air attendants turn up on China Southern flights, with the express purpose to "provide the most attentive service to the Korean passengers".
With the Beijing Olympics around the corner, Korean Air is keen to impress the large Chinese market, although the airline may not be too successful if they give the most attentive service to the Korean passengers. All we want to know is which flight attendants need to trade places to get us the most attentive service.
Waiting for a deal on plane tickets to China for the 2008 Summer Olympics? Don't wait too long. One year away from the Games, the Chinese government announced plans to cut flights at its busiest airports, and it will not be registering any new airlines until 2010.
China's airspace situation sounds a lot like ours: Massive ground delays and a larger passenger load have made several airports--including Beijing, the world's ninth busiest--experience a dramatic drop in quality of service this year. Rather than redirect flights, the country's aviation authority is asking national carriers like China Southern and Air China to cut some 300 flights from their rosters. (International flights aren't affected... Yet.)
Better to address the problem head on than cover it up, we suppose.
While other entrepreneurs/smugglers might try attaching crocodiles to their bodies on long flights, a Kenyan guy this week took a somehow more normal attitude to smuggling. On a flight leaving from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the main hub of China Southern Airlines, he was stopped at the security counter because he was wearing such a thick suit on a hot day.
When he opened his jacket, security officers didn't find crocs or even chameloens, they just found lots of clothes. The guy had decided that the clothing he wanted to resell in Kenya would be too pricey in excess baggage, so he'd decided to wear it: more than 100 pieces of men's and women's clothing. We definitely don't want the layer closest to the armpits.
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by amandak
