Airplanes were turned around, ferries were stopped and everyone was seeing red in Sydney, Australia.
Strong winds and a severe draught caused Sydney to experience the worst dust storm since the 1940s, experts say.
The latest setback for Boeing Co. in the company’s effort to roll out their long-anticipated 787 jetliner has hit: they’ve yet again had to delay their first test flight of the new aircraft. The company says they need to reinforce certain areas of the plane – so, to be honest, waiting does seem like the best plan. However, shockingly, Boeing stocks dropped over 4 dollars midday. This is the latest knock to the company that has been struggling through the recession.
The 787 is built for fuel efficiency and is said to be the next generation of aircraft. It was originally supposed to be launched in 2007. Read more…
In-flight food is notoriously bad, and for the most part airlines have given up trying to feed their passengers. However, transatlantic flights are a different matter – you really do need to eat. Fortunately, Lufthansa has announced a partnership with Ritz Carlton chefs to provide fine-quality meals on their transatlantic flights.
It is very difficult to reproduce restaurant quality meals on a flight because some elements must be prepared as early as 24-hours in advance. With new equipment in their kitchens, Lufthansa plans to bring such dishes as butternut squash risotto cakes with porcini mushroom sauce and Parmesan-crusted halibut to flying food-lovers. Read more…
In a case of life imitating art (if you can call that Sam Jackson flick “art”), a Qantas flight was grounded when four snakes traveling in the cargo hold escaped and could not be found. The snakes had been stored in a “appropriate case,” and it is unclear how they escaped. However, the plane was subsequently taken out of service and fumigated to prevent future incident (it was verified beforehand that the snakes were not an endangered species). Read more…
In what is being called an “Easter miracle,” a plane was landed safely by a passenger after the pilot died mid-flight. Air traffic controllers instructed the man, who was flying with his wife and teenage daughters, on how to land the plane. Read more…
Ryanair, an Irish no-frills airline, has decided that bathrooms are an option some people can go without. They are considering making customers pay to use toilets aboard their planes. The company’s boss, Michael O’Leary, claims he doesn’t “think there’s anybody in history gone on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound,” he said - so asking for a pound to pee is therefore no big deal. Read more…
A report has just come to light that says a flight attendant (who had a commercial pilot’s license) helped to land a plane after the co-pilot had a nervous breakdown on board. The Air Canada flight from Toronto’s Pearson Airport was heading to London on 28 January, when the incident occurred. The report commended the flight’s crew on their handling of the situation. Read more…
Keep this in mind if you’re traveling to New York anytime soon: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York is prepared to make serious cuts to its service, which could result in more crowded trains, reduced service and layoffs. Fare hikes are also a possibility, to help deal with an estimated $1.2 billion budgetary deficit. Read more…
The train can be a great way to travel - you can just sit back, relax, have a drink and watch the scenery pass by. Sometimes, the train ride can be a trip in itself. Here’s a list of some of the best train trips in North America:
Empire Builder: Glacier National Park
Copper Canyon Train: Mexico
Coast Starlight: The American West Coast
Princess Rail Tours: Alaska
Canyonlands: The American Southwest
Rocky Mountaineer: Canada
Adirondack: New York City to Montreal
Downeaster: The American Northeast
Skunk Train: California
Crescent Train: New York City to New Orleans
Here’s another reason to work while on vacation…
According to Reuters:
CHICAGO (Reuters) - AMR Corp’s American Airlines began offering Internet access on long-haul domestic flights on Wednesday, making American the first U.S. airline to offer full in-flight broadband.
The world’s largest airline said its passengers on Boeing 767-200 aircraft can pay $12.95 for Internet access on nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami.
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