Boeing 757 VQ-BCn special livery "Northern lights"
Yakutia Airlines is based in Yakutsk Russia and was founded in 2002. It has fleet of about 40, made up of mostly Russian built aircraft. This one shown in the photo is one of three Boeing 757’s currently being leased from Icelandair.
Three videos that teach you Wi-Fi do's and don'ts
A while back I was able to fly to Baltimore and be a part of AirTran’s wifi unveiling. I was excited to see the new technology first hand, but was disappointed when my AirTran flight back to Seattle didn’t have WiFi. Well, now there is no more wondering! 100% of AirTran’s planes now have WiFi. The beauty of all aircraft on a single airline having WiFi, is you no longer have to wonder. You know by flying on AirTran or Virgin American you will be able to enjoy WiFi.
To assist with folks getting use to having the internet in close proximity of other people, AirTran has created a website to teach you about Internetiquette (awesome word). It has three funny videos and an online brochure. Bonus points for anyone who can take a picture while looking at these on an AirTran flight!
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.
TWA Boeing 707 during better days!
Ryanair is well known for making it onto this blog for having crazy ideas on how to cut costs, increase fees, and turn the airline pricing system on its head. I even started giving out “More Crazy Than Ryanair Awards’ to showcase moves that would make even Ryanair proud.
All of the complaints passengers seem to have about airlines having less room, having crazy fees, charging for food, or lacking customer service seem to go out the window when it comes to paying for a flight. While booking most flights, passengers will have a choice of which carrier to fly. Passengers have an option to pay more for additional room or choose an airline that might provide food or even a movie. At the actual moment of whipping out the credit card, it seems a lot of people stop caring about the amenities their flight will have and more about the bottom line.
Airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet, and Spring Airlines started out with the initial concept that Southwest Airlines started so long ago (common fleet, low prices, unique cost-cutting approaches). However, these budget airline have taken the concept to the next level and it seems to work (Ryanair just posted 18% ridership gain for June 2009 compared to June 2008).
I am sure airlines in America will sooner or later try some of the crazier ideas that have worked in Europe and might be working in Asia soon. Are Americans as open to saving more money no matter what the sacrifice? It seemed they were when Southwest came around, but how much of a cut are people willing to make before it goes too far?
Image: Peter Diego