Tag: Pilots

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It's Game Over for One Guy's Real-Life 'Catch Me If You Can' Adventure

Where: Italy
September 24, 2012 at 9:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

You’d think that with heightened security around the globe that it would be somewhat tricky just to stroll aboard an airplane dressed up like a pilot. Well we guess it’s not that challenging to do so, as it looks like someone just got away with an act straight out of Catch Me If You Can.

Over the weekend, a man in a pilot's uniform was arrested while innocently sipping coffee at Italy's Turin Airport. His not-so-innocent previous adventures included riding up front in the cockpit jumpseat of an Air Dolomiti flight, after passing as a legitimate pilot to both security screeners and apparently the cabin crew. Forged identity cards and a snazzy uniform were a couple of his keys to success, but after a run-in with local law enforcement it appears that the party is over.

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American Airlines Goes All-in with iPads for Pilots

September 19, 2012 at 9:38 AM | by | Comments (0)


These are United pilots, but you get the idea

We might have missed something, but we’re pretty sure American Airlines was low on cash and filed for bankruptcy not too long ago. That hasn't stopped them from spending, as they’ve ordered a whole bunch of new planes and even have been giving away trips to meet Michael Bublé.

Their latest purchase? iPads! Other carriers have been pretty quick to adopt the iPad, but now it looks like American Airlines is ready to jump right into the tablet world. The plan is for pilots to shelf all the traditional paper-based materials, as it’s now going to all be on the company-issued iPad.

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The Flight Crew Halloween Costume That Just Won't Go Away

September 17, 2012 at 7:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

Remember Halloween 2010? Boy, do we. You see, that was the year that the Steven Slater-JetBlue incident resulted in "Disgruntled Airline Employee" becoming the new "Postal Worker Gone Postal" hot Halloween costume.

Amusingly, the conviction behind Slater's decision still inspires some to dress up as him, since costume dealers continue to peddle the look. For example, the $39.99 ensemble re-interprets events with a faux pilot uniform (Slater was actually a flight attendant) and two frothy bier mugs (we'd like to see him go down the emergency slide with those).

Here's the full, hilarious description:

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Today's the Day: Virgin America Crew Don Their New Banana Republic Duds

August 8, 2012 at 11:35 AM | by | Comments (0)


We love it when airlines get new uniforms. Like, love love it and we're not even flight crew, so we can only imagine the elation at Virgin America as their employees don the new Banana Republic-designed uniforms.

Today is the very first day for the fresh outfits, which incorporate such flash as silk scarves, red trenches and red stripes on pilots' epaulets. If you're flying soon on Virgin America, now you know exactly what to say to quickly get on their good side—compliment them on the new uniforms!

If you're not flying Virgin America soon, there's still a way to watch as the crew gets comfortable with styling the slicker duds; VX crew is encouraged to submit "selfies" (self-shot photos) to Pinterest and Instagram of themselves sporting the new gear.

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'Sully' Sullenberger Can't Stop, Won't Stop

August 7, 2012 at 5:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

Living in New York and talking about travel as much as we do, it's inevitable that the "Miracle on the Hudson" come up in conversation. Heck, we ran down the river on a blistery January day just to glimpse the thing. Still, everyone seems to have one question now: "what's Sully up to?"

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, for those who've been living under a very heavy rock the last few years, was the captain of US Airways flight 1549 who successfully executed a water landing on the Hudson River with no loss of life, after bird strikes took out the Airbus A320's engines. He went on to fly again, but not for long. Sully retired just over a year later, in 2010, and went on to do a whole number of things (indeed, Wikipedia has a whole section just on his post-Miracle events and awards).

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Photos and Video: Up, Up and Over Wisconsin in a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor Airplane

August 1, 2012 at 1:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

It has always been said that the state of Ohio is the "birthplace of aviation" (it also happens to the birthplace of your intrepid editor. Coincidence? I think not). Still, head some 40 minutes north of the state line and up into Michigan, and you'll hit a town that serves as the birthplace of the automotive industry.

It's Dearborn, MI, the international home of the Ford Motor Company and former location of Ford Airport, site of many firsts: first U.S. airport hotel, first concrete runway, first U.S. scheduled passenger service, first contracted airmail service, first radio control for a commercial flight and first U.S. passenger terminal. Though the airfield is no more, the planes that earned their wings on it are, somewhat miraculously, still flying.

Around 18 of the 199 Ford Tri-Motors originally produced still have the sun glinting off their corrugated metal wings, the wind through their three radial engines. And two of these 18 were present at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012, offering rides for $80 per person this past weekend. You know we had to.

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Jaunted at Oshkosh: Inside One Crazy Day at 'Aviation's Greatest Celebration'

July 30, 2012 at 11:33 AM | by | Comments (0)

Oshkosh, Wisconsin's Wittman Regional Airport has no regularly scheduled flights. And yet it manages to rack up over 90,000 landings every year. It has no impressive passenger terminal. And yet it counts visitors in the millions. What OSH does have, you see, is EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, a massive aviation celebration that swamps the tiny town for one week every summer.

At 8am this past Saturday we landed right in the thick of things, arriving on one of Southwest Airlines' newest, shiniest Boeing 737-700s after a quickie flight up from Chicago-Midway International. Here we could type a slew of fawning adjectives to describe our day (not even a full day!) spent zipping from the expansive cockpits of military transports to reclining in the slim leather seats of private props, but luckily a simple word—a word we maybe whispered and shouted a thousand times at OSH—sums it up: awesome.

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The Day We Burst Into Tears at Washington-Dulles Airport

Where: 1 Saarinen Circle [map], Sterling, VA, United States, 20166
July 18, 2012 at 12:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

Ever just started crying in an airport? Until this week, we'd have answered "no"—and even this week, it wasn't anything to do with our flight.

No, it was the sheer power of the blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt currently on display at Washington Dulles, and in particular this block, "Sewn with love by the flight attendants of Continental Airlines."

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Virgin America's Awesome Fifth Anniversary Present to Itself: NEW UNIFORMS!

July 12, 2012 at 8:54 AM | by | Comments (2)

Fact: when airline crew walk through an airport in uniform, they turn heads.

Fact: when Virgin airline crew walk through almost anywhere in uniform, they turn heads.

Now, as modern as the slim white blouse/black skirt look is on Virgin America, they're under pressure to keep that freshness alive as they celebrate their 5th Anniversary this year. And, let's be honest, they were a bit plain. Poor male in-flight crew were all black, head to toe! That's why, come August 8, Virgin America flight crew will hit the (tarmac) runway in all new uniforms designed on the (fashion) runway with Banana Republic. Not to mention that they'll also offer special edition collab products for sale to passengers as well.

Everyone from guest services to pilots will be re-suited in looks that break away from "the sea of navy blue that we have in the airline industry." Spoiler alert: RED TRENCHCOATS.

Designer crew togs are definitely a first for Banana Republic. Though they admit to having been approached to design airline uniforms in the past, this is the only time they've felt it ideal as a "marriage of the brands." Or, Banana's Creative Director Simon Kneen puts it, "Virgin America came along and we couldn't say no."

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Six Million Pieces and Three People: Inside the Boeing 747-8i's Redesigned Cockpit

June 5, 2012 at 10:57 AM | by | Comments (0)

New airplane alert! On Friday, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet made history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

So yes, the world's first Boeing 747-8i is up and flying and, while it's fun to celebrate all the new seats and passenger-side comforts, real appreciation for the new aircraft must include understanding that most of the major improvements came for the technical, operational end of the jumbo.

This is a plane made up of over 6 million pieces, all controlled by a few men sitting up front, switches and buttons beneath their fingertips...fingertips that know the geography of the cockpit by heart. Welcome to the Boeing 747-8i's flight deck....where the magic happens.

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iPads in the Cockpit: Apple's Slick Video Shows Off United's New Toys

Where: Santiago, Chile
April 5, 2012 at 1:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

This has truly been the week for tablet hype. You can't do business without them, can't educate without them and apparently can't even watch tv without them.

While flying certainly can still be done without an iPad, the little gadget is seriously making life easier for the thousands of pilots already given them to aid in navigation and flight planning. We know that American Airlines and British Airways are passing out the pads, but it's United who has partnered up with Apple to show exactly how the whole aviation + mobile tech thing works.

The beautiful video:

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RNP: Three Little Letters That Mean Big Things for Modern, Eco-Friendly Flying

Where: Lima, Peru
March 20, 2012 at 3:32 PM | by | Comments (0)

"Terrain challenged" isn't exactly what you want to hear about the airport where your flight will be landing, but thanks to technology (thanks, technology!), it's now a cause for excitement rather than worry. Add this acronym to your travel vocabulary: RNP, or "Required Navigation Performance."

RNP is the hip, new navigation system that uses satellites and 3D calculations to devise the best route into an airport. Alaska Airlines, Southwest, Qantas and a couple others are old hats at using RNP by now, but LAN only made the switch in February to using the technology for the entire flight.

The lucky inaugural RNP route: Cusco-Lima, Peru. Though passengers onboard were more concerned with taking snapshots of the dramatic Andean scenery out the window, the pilots up front were enjoying 30.5 km shorter flying distance, 6.3 fewer minutes in the air, 644 kg less CO2 released into the air and 67.5 gallons of fuel saved—and that's just on a single flight!

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