Back in May I blogged about a new start up airline, Since then I have been following stories related to the airline and the same thoughts kept creeping in my mind, ’œIs this airline real? Will it ever fly?’
The airline was supposed to take flight on July 13th, but Jaunted and CrankyFlier think it might not be happening, and I have to agree. When trying to book a flight a message shows ’œFlight not available on selected date. See grid below for available flight dates.’ And now on the front page it shows, ’œError A system error has occurred. Please check back to the website shortly’
Both Jaunted and Crankyflier tried to call and ask what is happening and Cranky gave up after 10min (I don’t blame him), but Jaunted got through after 11min. JetAmerica said, ’œThere is a problem with our server. It is only booking flights for August and September. IT says all should be fixed by end of the day tomorrow’, which is today. When asked if they were still on for a first flight in July, they said, ’œAs far as I know, yeah.’ Of course the person on the other end of the line was most likely a customer service representative, but you would think they would be more confident in the airlines first flight!
I might eat my words, but I am guessing the airline won’t fly on July 13th and it might never fly at all.
UPDATE: Brett over at CrankyFlier got forwarded an email sent out from JetAmerica. It states they are delaying their first flight to August 14th due to “landing slot issues.” Read the entire letter here.
A McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 of American Airlines takes off from LAX.
Terry Williams, an American Airlines flight attendant, is suing Boeing after having a mist spray on her from the ventilation system from an MD-82 (Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas, which built the MD-82) aircraft. Williams states she has been suffering from chronic pain, tremors, migraines and vision issues.
Williams and her attorney allege that the ventilation system on the aircraft is faulty and the air is heavily contaminated. Her attorney said, “We believe the hazard is preventable. Sensors and filters are available. It’s up to the aircraft manufacturers to put them on.”
Boeing’s spokesperson Bernard Choi responded, “We believe that the air in airplane cabins is safe.”
This is not the first suit of it’s kind against Boeing. About seven years ago, flight attendants sued Boeing over hazardous air conditions, but the jury found Boeing not liable.
Picture of actual aircraft (A310 70-ADJ) taken in 2002
I assume by reading this blog you probably have heard about the tragic crash of Yemenia Airways flight 627. If not you can read about the latest information here.
Although this incident is terrible, there is at least a bit of positivity one can pull out of this (well almost two, the black boxes were found). One 14 year old girl (some are reporting 13) was found in the water…alive.
She doesn’t have any recollection of what happened and says she, “didn’t feel a thing.” Just found herself in the water surrounded by darkness. She was found by rescuers after hanging onto debris for 13 hours. She is currently recovering and came out with just cuts to her face and a fractured collar-bone.
There is a lot of grumbling (and some good jokes out there) dealing with riding on a modern airliner is like being in a cattle car. Airlines are looking to cut costs and bring in profits at the expense of passenger comfort.
Ryanair normally steals the spot light for crazy ideas, but Spring Airlines takes the cake on this one. They are looking at cutting out seats and putting barstool type seats. It would allow for 40% more passengers and cut costs by 20%.
Spring Airlines gets the first ever MORE CRAZY THAN RYANAIR award for coming up with an idea even crazier than one from Ryanair.
If you haven’t seen it already, Southwest has one awesome rapping flight attendent. He got to show his skills again to celebrate Southwest’s new service to LaGuaria airport.
There is a lot of grumbling (and some good jokes out there) dealing with riding on a modern airliner is like being in a cattle car. Airlines are looking to cut costs and bring in profits at the expense of passenger comfort.