Jaunted

Bad Ideas / Airline Safety / Lasers / FAA / LGA / Crimes / → All Tags

Aiming a Laser at an Airplane is Not Cool. In Fact, It's Dangerous.

In 2005 there were 283 US incidents in which pilots coming in for landings had lasers aimed at their eyes. By 2010 the number had risen to 2,836 incidents per year. By October of this year we had already had 2,795 reports, which means we're easily going to clear the 2010 figure.

Another six incidents were reported at LGA just last weekend. The laser strikes were done with the relatively new and significantly more powerful green-color lasers, which are extra-dangerous. The FAA, suffice it to say, has declared itself to be unamused.

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Politics Travel / Travel Politics / Spirit Airlines / Airline News / Airline Industry / Political Travel / Congress / FAA / Airfare Sales / LCCs / → All Tags

Spirit Airlines Celebrates FAA Shutdown, Wants Congress to Eliminate Taxes or Something

On Monday we flagged for you the unofficial airfare tax holiday that the United States is currently "enjoying," courtesy of Washington DC being the most insanely dysfunctional place on the planet.

Without getting into too many details: House Republicans told Senate Democrats that they would only fund the FAA if three powerful Senate Democrats gave up on something called the Essential Air Service, which is a program that sends a bunch of money to (ironically) totally inessential rural airports in those Senators' states. Everyone from liberal journalists to travel bloggers agree that the subsidies are totally unjustifiable, so this was partly an attempt to embarrass the Democrats. The Republicans basically said "there's no way you guys are shameless enough to hold up FAA funding just to keep sending obviously wasteful pork to tiny airports in your states," to which the Democrats responded "actually, we're exactly that shameless." And that's why there are no airfare taxes right now, because FAA doesn't have enough money to collect money.

The sad thing is that we don't have the space to dwell on that insanity, because of course Spirit Airlines looked at both sides of the political aisle and said "you want to see shameless... we'll show you shameless."

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Airline News / Airlines / FAA / Airfare Sales / Political Travel / Congress / → All Tags

Save Some Money on Airfares Since Congress Can't Get Its Act Together

The government’s general ineptitude might just be your ticket to cheaper airfare, but you’ve got to act quickly. Due to the budget battle over the FAA in Washington, DC it seems that certain airfare and travel taxes are now optional—and that means that you might be able to save a few bucks on your next airfare purchase.

The unofficial “sale” started over the weekend, but it seems a few airlines still might be passing along the savings. Initially there were several airlines where you could save a few bucks—including United and Delta—but at this point it looks like Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, and Frontier might be the only ones left. Other carriers—we’re looking at you American and US Airways—bumped their fares to make up the difference right from the beginning, so in reality they’re just charging for the tax as part of their fare and pocketing it.

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Airline Safety / Airline News / Pilots / FAA / Flight Attendants / → All Tags

Pilots and Flight Attendants May Have to Study Harder to Pass FAA Tests

Uncle Sam is pretty good about ensuring that pilots have plenty of training before they’re allowed to fly us all around the globe. However, there’s really no such thing as too much training, so that’s why we’re glad the Federal Aviation Administration is thinking about adding even more tests, quizzes, and exams to the nation’s pilot training. It won’t just be for pilots either, as even the flight attendants are going to need to study hard to pass these new tougher tests.

Apparently the new changes are going to be the biggest update in like a couple of decades, as the FAA wants more flight crews to actually demonstrate their skills and abilities during potential issues and problems. That means a lot more time in the flight simulator for the pilots, as well as increased rides down the emergency exit slides for flight attendants.

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Airline Safety / Airline News / JetBlue / Airlines / FAA / New Routes / → All Tags

Better Flight Tracking and a New Caribbean Route In the Works at JetBlue

For quite some time there’s been talk about the Federal Aviation Administration—or since we know them so wel,l the FAA—starting up some kind of newfangled fancy pants way to track planes in and around the country. Well it seems that they’re slowly moving forward with some of these satellite based tracking plans, and JetBlue is going to be one of the first airlines to help them out.

As many as 35 of their Airbus A320 aircraft will be getting the new technology at some point in 2012, and this will allow air traffic controllers to pretty much see where the planes are all the time and in real time.

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Mexico Travel / Airline News / Airlines / FAA / AeroMexico / Mexicana / Travel News / Volaris / → All Tags

Mexico's Air Safety Rating is Once Again Top Notch

Not too long ago the Federal Aviation Administration wasn’t totally cool with Mexico’s less than stringent stance on the country’s air travel safety. Spring Break was in jeopardy, as nervous parents might warn against flights aboard Mexicana or AeroMexico, but it appears that college kids are now ready to hit the beach without a care in the world...like usual.

US Aviation officials last week gave the all-clear to raise Mexico’s aviation safety rating back up to the top level, as things have improved south of the border. It sounds like whatever they weren’t doing before they’re doing now as the FAA feels Mexico is following all of the international air safety rules.

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Airline Safety / Delta / MSP / FAA / Airline News / Airports / Airport News / Winter Travel / → All Tags

Delta Plane Gets Lost in Snow, Ice Skates Off Runway

It was nothing as dramatic as that airplane that split into three parts in Colombia, but a Delta flight decided to challenge a blizzard at MSP last Friday, and the blizzard kind of won. The pilots landed in the thick snow, they got a little disoriented while taxiing, and the airplane ended up skidding off the runway, lurching sideways, and getting stuck in the grass.

What might have been a pretty dramatic incident a few years years ago subsequently ended with the airplane being towed to the gate, and everybody disembarking with no injuries.

We mention these incidents both because they're airline news and because we never tire of reminding people how safe and routine flying has become. American civil aviation continues to post simply ungodly safety numbers, while internationally 2009 was the second safest year ever.

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The FAA is Thinking about Cracking Down on Airplanes Past Their Prime

With all the bad news about brand new airplanes it might be a wise move to stick with flying some of the older, proven birds. That’s a good idea—as long as the planes aren’t too old—so that’s why the FAA has begun to look into planes that are past their prime. Concerned with things like metal fatigue and other old age issues the FAA is seeking to set some limits on a plane’s longevity.

In addition to their countless directives and other safety paperwork, the agency is now looking to create a specific number of take-offs and landings per airplane. They’re thinking that a specific amount of flight hours would limit the risk to passenger and crew safety, and once a plane hits that magic mark it would be taken out of service. However, it does sound like they’re leaving some loopholes open just in case an airline wants to request an extension—we’re looking at you Delta with some of those older than dirt DC-9s.

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Gulp. After UPS Crash, FAA Focusing on Lithium Battery Safety

Back in September, a UPS plane caught fire and crashed in Dubai, tragically killing two American pilots. The FAA has spent the last month investigating and, while they're not certain of anything, they're pointing a suspicious finger at the cargo of lithium batteries that the airplane was carrying in its cargo hold. In response, the safety organization is suggesting that airlines move future lithium battery packages to the area reserved for so-called Class C cargo, which is safer and more fire resistant. They're also proposing more stringent regulations for customers to identify shipments of the batteries.

Apparently lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries are vulnerable to something called "thermal runaway." Once they heat up past a certain point they can release their energy, heating up more, which causes them to release more energy, until something explodes. If there are a lot of batteries in the same place and even just one explodes, the resulting fire can heat up the rest of the batteries past their own tipping points. That scenario plays out about how you'd expect, which is what the FAA suspects may happened on the UPS flight.

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Mexico Travel / Airline News / Airlines / FAA / AeroMexico / Mexicana / Travel News / → All Tags

The FAA Downgrades Mexico's Air Safety Rating: What It Means for Travelers

It’s a little too early to start planning spring break just yet, as college coeds haven’t even reported back to the dorms for the fall. However, there’s something that will concern them a little more than this year’s textbook bill. The FAA isn’t cool with Mexico’s airline safety ability, and the agency has downgraded their air safety rating to the level usually enjoyed by third-world countries.

This doesn’t mean that your dreams of delicious tacos in the streets of Mexico City and beer funnels in Cancun are ruined forever, but it does mean that Uncle Sam is slightly concerned about your safety while flying aboard Mexican airlines. Flights will continue, but AeroMexico and Mexicana won’t be getting any new routes to the United States anytime soon. Also, US airlines will stop allowing codeshares on flights operated by Mexican airlines. That means Delta can’t sell AeroMexico flights as their own, and the same goes with American Airlines partnering up with Mexicana.

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Wedding Travel / Political Travel / FAA / No-Fly Zone / New York Travel / → All Tags

The FAA's Wedding Present to Chelsea Clinton: A No-Fly Zone over Rhinebeck

Donald Trump might not be able to get the FAA to declare a no-fly zone over his Florida mansion, but maybe that's because the FAA is busy giving such honors to the little town of Rhinebeck, New York, where Chelsea Clinton will marry Marc Mezvinsky.

There will be no news helicopters or spy planes over the area as "flights below 2,000 feet for the area surrounding the estate on the Hudson River where Ms. Clinton is to be married" are prohibited.

You can thank the Secret Service for this, as the FAA is working under their recommendation for security. Nobody has been interested in Chelsea Clinton for over a decade, so the protection isn't so much for her as for her parents, the former president and current Secretary of State. But with no flights allowed in the area, can we then assume that the most illustrious guests won't be able to arrive by helicopter?

[Photo: Rex/GulfNews]

Pilots / FAA / Airline News / Airlines / Travel News / → All Tags

The FAA Clears 'Prozac-Pilots' To Fly Airplanes

We may have popped a few pills to help make some flights a little more enjoyable, but thankfully this hasn’t been an option for pilots. However, the FAA has recently thought things over a little more, and they are about to change some long-standing rules regarding pilots and pharmaceuticals.

As of this week pilots who have been diagnosed with mild to moderate depression will be cleared to fly even if they are taking antidepressants. They will need to prove that they’ve had treatment for at least 12 months and that all is going well. The government is also launching an antidepressant amnesty program where pilots who have been taking drugs against regulations can come clean. Again, they’ll need to show that they have been successfully treated for a year.

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