The days when the airline would help you light up.
The Gadling is reporting that entrepreneur Alexander Schoppmann is hoping to start a smoking-only airline. Schoppmann is currently looking for capital to start Smintair (which stands for Smoker’s International Airways).
The new airline is not looking to cater to the average working Joe, but to people with some extra cash. The airline will only have First and Business class. The airline is planning to have two Boeing 747’s flying from Europe to Japan. The concept is to have no seats on the upper deck and for it to be a lounge. New ventilation systems would be installed on the aircraft allowing for better fresh air recirculation on the smoke-filled flights. Schoppmann is hoping to have the airline up and running by next summer.
Can this concept work? Maybe. There is a much larger smoking population in Germany and Japan than in the US. Also, with the economic crunch a lot of companies are cutting out their business jets and this might provide a cheaper alternative. It would be like an exclusive country club in the air and probably big business deals could take place in mid-flight. It will be interesting to see if Smintair will ever take off — other sites were reporting the first flight was supposed to be December 2007, so we will have to wait and see!
Image: theage.com.au
- AmSafe’s aviation airbag
Most of the major airline crashes in the last year have ended in no survivors. When an aircraft drops out of the sky or has a huge catastrophe, no safety feature would prevent fatalities. However, there are many crash scenarios where some additional safety features could help to save lives.
When an accident happens on the ground (while taxiing, take off, landing, etc), in most cases passengers survive. However, in some cases, the cabins can be overcome by fire or smoke before passengers can escape.
Most aircraft today have “16g” seats. This means the seat has to be able to withstand 16 times the force of gravity (16 times the force of gravity is about equal to going from 30mph to 0mph instantly). Creating a seat to withstand more than 16g’s wouldn’t make sense, since any force greater than that would not be survivable.
Newer seats are not the only measures in place to keep passengers safe. Taking a page from the auto industry, some airlines have added airbags to seats and other surfaces. To make sure the airbags would not go off due to turbulence or a rough landing, the sensor only looks at the axis the plane is traveling for sudden stops, much like in an automobile. The goal is like that of stronger seats – get passengers out of a wrecked aircraft. ’œYou’re going to be conscious. You’re going to have the opportunity to survive,’ said Bill Hagan, president of AmSafe, which makes the airbags.
Airbags are currently installed in First and Business class seats where they are too far from the seat in front to offer protection. They are also starting to be seen on bulkhead, exit, lavatory, and galley rows.
USAToday asks – do all these extra safety features mean extra weight, and therefore more costs to the passenger? It possibly could, but wouldn’t it be worth the costs? Airlines often upgrade their safety equipment and sometimes the costs are handed down the customer. I know I would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to better the chance of my survival and of those around me if I were to be put in a disastrous airline situation.
Garuda Indonesia, Airbus A330, PK-GPA departing JFK, New York, USA. Sept 2007
After a series of accidents, the European Union (EU) banned all flights based in Indonesia in June 2007. Garuda Airlines, Airfast Indonesia, Mandala Airlines and Premiair were all taken off the ban list recently and will have the right to fly in EU airspace. The European Commission, who removed the ban, stated “significant improvements and accomplishments of the Indonesian civil aviation authority are recognized in the area of safety”.
EU Transport Commissioner, Antonio Tajani is hoping this (and the recent Yemenia Airlines crash) will renew the debate with having international blacklist of airlines felt to be unsafe.
With airlines from the around the world having different safety regulations, having some formal and easy way to rate the safest and least-safe airlines would be beneficial, but maybe not possible. Who would police the list? Who would determine the criteria? Could one country or organization step up to create a list that the flying public could reference when choosing an airline?
Image: Tom Turner
Two British Airway's Boing 777s
It is not often when a group of people can come together, see the big picture, and be willing to take a cut in pay to potentially save a company. The British Airline Pilots Association voted 94% to cut their salaries by 2.6% and save the company about $42million per year. No one wants to have their salary cut, but 800 other staff members already agreed to work for free and thousands more took additional pay cuts. The pilots can see the writing on the wall and realize it might be better to sacrifice short-term, to save the company in the long-term.
Image: CS Chaulk
A Delta B757 at Salt Lake City
It is common practice for airlines to “bump” passengers from an oversold flight. Airlines will overbook the flight knowing that statistically not everyone shows up. But when everyone does show up, airlines are required to properly compensate those who are bumped. The common practice is to seek volunteers to take a later flight and bribe them with free flights, hotels, etc. Airlines must also submit in writing a bumped passenger’s rights.
Between January and July of 2008, Delta Airlines didn’t ask for volunteers, compensate properly, or offer rights to bumped passengers. The Consumerist lays out what rights a passenger is entitled to if bumped. Some of the interesting involuntary bump details:
* If the airline can get you an equivalent flight in an hour, no compensation.
* If the airline can find alternative transportation that will get you to your destination 1-2hours after your original time, they have to pay equivalent to your one-way ticket.
* If you can’t get to your destination 1-2hours after your original time, the airline has to pay 200% of your fare.
* Even with the other compensations, you get to keep your original ticket. You can get a refund for it or use it on a future flight.
Luckily I’ve never been bumped from a flight, but could see the sheer frustration someone would have with being bumped when they paid full price. It seems only fair that if airlines are going to gamble on passengers showing up, they need to pay up when they lose the bet.
Update: You have to read FlyingWithFishes legendary tale of the triple bump!
Image: ashergrey