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.
Mark and his wife on an AirTran Boeing 737's wing.
I wrote about Mark being on AirTran for 30 days near the begining of the his journey and wanted to catch up with him at the end of his long journey. He was able to connect while over Ohio to answer some questions I had for him:
TheAirlineBlog.com: Where are you right now (“in an airplane won’t cut it” 🙂 )? Mark Malkoff: I’M IN THE AIR USING GOGO WIFI HEADING TO CANTON, OHIO FOR A TAILGATING PARTY ON THE TARMAC. I’M HANGING WITH THE PRO FOOTBALL HOF AND HOF LEGEND ANTHONY MUNOZ.
TAB:What is your favorite picture taken during this whole experience ? MM: I REALLY, REALLY LIKE THE PHOTOS OF MY WIFE AND I HAVING OUR ANNIVERSARY DINNER ON THE WING OF A PLANE. AIRTRAN SET IT UP AND CATERED THE MEAL. IT WAS QUITE INCREDIBLE.
TAB: Tell me a little bit about the person sitting next to you right now. MM: THE PERSON CURRENTLY SITTING NEXT TO ME IS MY CAMERA PERSON. HE MOST LIKELY SMELLS BETTER BECAUSE HE GETS TO SLEEP IN A HOTEL A NIGHT THAT HAS A SHOWER WHERE AS I SLEEP ALONE ON THE PLANE AND HAVE TO USE BABYWIPES IN THE AIRPLANE BATHROOM.
TAB: Who is the most interesting person you have met on this experience? MM: IT WAS FUN SITTING NEXT TO FOOTBALL HOF LEGEND FRANCO HARRIS ON A FLIGHT TO PITTSBURGH. I LATER FOUND OUT THEY HAVE A STATUE OF HIM IN THE PITTSBURGH AIRPORT. WE TALKED THE ENTIRE FLIGHT AND HE EVEN TAPED A VIDEO WITH ME. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS ARE ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK TO. THE STORIES THEY HAVE ARE ENDLESSLY ENTERTAINING.
TAB: What is the most interesting conversation you have had? MM: FOR ME PERSONALLY IT WAS TALKING TO THE PILOTS ONE ON ONE. THEY REALLY BROKE DOWN MY FEAR OF FLYING INTO TERMS THAT HAVE FOR THE MOST PART CURED MY ANXIETY. MY MAIN ISSUE WAS TURBULENCE. ALL OF THEM SAID THE SAME KIND OF THING, “IT’S LIKE BEING IN AN OCEAN AND GOING OVER A WAKE. IT’S LIKE DRIVING OVER GRAVEL.” SO WHENEVER TURBULENCE HITS I DON’T LIKE IT, BUT I’M ABLE TO TOLERATE IT.
TAB: Do you prefer the Boeing 737 or the Boeing 717? MM: I LIKE THE 737.
TAB: Will you ever eat pretzels ever again? MM: I’VE CONSUMED MY WEIGHT IN PRETZELS. I THINK I MIGHT TAKE A FEW YEARS OFF FROM EATING THEM.
TAB: At this point do you have the SkyMall magazine memorized? Off the top of your head describe the Litter Robot (no cheating). MM: I HAVE ALMOST THE ENTIRE SKYMALL CATALOG MEMORIZED. THE LITTER ROBOT I’M FAIRLY CERTAIN IS WHAT I REFER TO AS THE CAT SPACESHIP. IT WAS DEVELOPED BY NASA TO SEND CATS INTO SPACE WHERE THEY CAN NAP IN ZERO GRAVITY.
TAB: What is your favorite airline related joke? MM: IT’S A BAD JOKE BUT MY DAD HAS BEEN TELLING PEOPLE THAT MY CAREER IS “TAKING OFF”.
TAB: This is not your first stunt like this; you lived in Ikea, lived in a Boeing, what’s next? MM: NEXT IS A THIRTY DAY PROJECT WHERE I SLEEP IN A BED IN MY APARTMENT. I’M GUESSING IT WON’T BE AS INTERESTING.
Pretty amazing journey Mark has had over the last 30 days.
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.