Erotic Airway's Beech H-18S
Joining the mile-high club has never been easier. Formed in 2006, Erotic Airways is the brain-child of pilot Craig Justo and is based in Brisbane, Australia. They fly a twin-engine Beech H-18S and offer 45 and 60 minute flights. For about $725.00 USD you get a nice hour-long flight, first class bedding with “sensuous satin”, a little bubbly, and a complimentary “safe sex” package.
Once you land, you will get an official Mile High Sexperience Certificate, to frame and mount on your wall (you know, for when the family comes to visit).
The website is interesting, although not quite safe for work. Check it out or check out an interview on YouTube (safe for work) showing the plane and bed.
Although this airline experience might not be for everyone, it might be a unique experience for some. I couldn’t imagine the operation growing too much more than what it is now and not sure how something like this in the US would be received.
Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767-300 (N589HA) at Kahului Airport on Maui
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents the pilots of Hawaiian Airlines, started “informational picketing” today at the interisland terminal of the Honolulu International Airport. Earlier in the month the ALPA opened up a “strategic preparedness center,” near the airport to help coordinate phones and picketing, if no deal can be reached with the airline. This follows two years of unsuccessful talks between the two sides, that seems it might lead to the pilot’s going on strike.
The ALPA stated, “while progress was made, Hawaiian management still insists that any salary increases over 1%, or other contract gains, be paid for by pilots making offsetting concessions elsewhere in the contract. Based on the airline’s outstanding financial performance and the record bonuses management received last year, this lack of substantial movement has forced the pilots to call for a strike authorization vote.”
They have a valid point with profit changes. The current contract was negotiated in 2005 before Hawaiian emerged from bankruptcy and now the airline is making a profit. However, the airline business has volatile ups and downs. One quarter an airline can be in the black, making profit, the next, deep in the red and talking about bankruptcy. If an airline is going to protect itself for the bad times, then yes, it means there will be surplus in the good times.
The ALPA is seeking a 17% salary increase over four years, plus a 2.5% addition to the pension plan for pilots less than 50 years of age. The ALPA states the airline is offering only a 1% increase each year for four years, with possible additional increases in exchange for concessions in other areas.
Hawaiian Airlines’ CEO, Mark Dunkerley, states that the union is “mischaracterizing” the airlines offer and that a strike is not “imminent.” Dunkerley points out that the airline has offered its pilots a 20% increase over six years with profit sharing, for the ability to modify their bidding rules for new routes, allowing the airline to become more competitive.
The back and forth bickering sounds like a typical contract standstill. There are still quite a few steps before the pilots could strike. The union members need to authorize a strike and the government would also need to give the go ahead. Sadly, the people that lose out the most are the passengers, especially those that might be looking for a nice, much needed vacation to Hawaii.
Image: CruisAir
American Airlines Boeing 757
Last Friday, American Airlines flight 414 from San Diego, CA to Dallas, TX made an emergency landing at LAX after passengers reported hearing odd noises and seeing pieces of the right wing falling off. The emergency was declared after the aircraft had already reached 29,000 feet.
The Boeing 757 safely landed at LAX. The ground crew found that lamination on the wing had come off. The 194 passengers aboard were placed on another flight and no injuries were reported.
Image: AV8NLVR
Click on the image to watch the video
In honor of Republic getting their paws (heh) on Frontier Airlines, I thought this video would be good for this weekend. It won a local Emmy award for one of their commercials. Head on over to Airline Biz Blog which posted the award winning commercial and also a collection of their animal tail ads.
The ads announce that now all Frontier Airline flights have leather, new(er) planes, and DirectTV…wonder if soon Midwest can advertise the same!
Rak Airways Boeing 757
Rake Airways was the main airline for Ras Al Khaimah, part of the United Arab Emirates. It started operations in February 2006 with “an ambitious expansion program,” as their website states. However, if you go to their
homepage, you will notice there is not a site.The airline halted all operations in May 2009.