Lufthansa, Singapore Air, Emirates and Qantas Airbus A380s sit in Toulouse. CLICK FOR LARGER.
Photo was taken by A380_TLS, who also has a lot of other great photos from Airbus in Toulouse. Hat tip to Jon Ostrower for pointing this out.
Browsing Tag: Qantas
That is one styl'n Boeing 737-800 with a mustache.Photo by Qantas.
For some reason, it seems that November is connected closely with men growing facial hair. A few years back the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia started promoting Movember with men growing mustaches to support prostate cancer research. Think of it as a pink ribbon to support breast cancer, but involving hair.
Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce is a survivor of prostate cancer and obviously the company has a special motivation for this. ’œAs a survivor of prostate cancer, I am passionate about bringing greater awareness to men who are most at risk,” Joyce stated in a press release.
A 737 is not the only Qantas property to get the hairy treatment. A giant moustache has also been installed on the exterior of Sydney Qantas Domestic Airport, Terminal 3.
This terminal grows better facial hair than I do. Photo by Qantas.
One Dreamlifter and two Airbus A380's sharing a hangar. (click for larger)
Oh yes! Now this is totally amazing airplane eye candy of the largest scale. One Boeing 747 Dreamlifter (N780BA) parked between not just one, but two Airbus A380’s inside Lufthansa Technik’s Fankfurt hangar. A big tip of the hat to Jon Ostrower on his blog FlightBlogger for sharing this amazing photo (check his blog for more information on the airplanes).
QantasLink Boeing 717-200 (VH-NXH)
Oh please! Are the airlines to blame for everything now-a-days? Well it sure seems passenger Jean Barnard thinks so, since she sued Qantas for, “physical and mental suffering, medical expenses and loss of income,” because a three year old passenger screamed into her ear on a QantasLink flight from Alice Springs to Darwin.
Don’t get me wrong, the hearing loss seems real. Barnard had to be taken off the plane and taken to the hospital for permanent ear damage. There is some question if she had previous hearing damage, but getting the blood-curdling scream into her ear, surely didn’t help.
However, how can this be seen as Qantas’ fault? In court, Qantas argued that they are not responsible for a child’s actions and, “Flight attendants cannot predict when children aboard an aircraft are about to scream. There is no evidence that the child was screaming in the terminal, or on board the aircraft prior to the particular scream which allegedly caused the damage.”
Qantas must have felt her argument or the idea of bad press was too great and (confidentially) settled with Barnard out of court. That is too bad, since I feel that Barnard was more out to make a few bucks than to really change how an airline operates. Other than putting a muzzle on every child, what could Qantas have done? If Barnard was walking on the street and a child did the same thing, what would she have done then? Sued the city that owns the street?
Thanks Chris S!
Source: Mail Online Image: Zach Liepa
Slim and light don't describe the Airbus A380, but sure do describe Qantas' carbon fiber seats on their A380.
The Airbus A380 is the largest commercial airline in the sky today. It is massive. When you think about this plane you don’t think about “light.” However there is something light about the seats on Qantas Airbus A380’s…they have carbon fiber.
What’s carbon fiber you ask? (if you don’t ask, skip this paragraph) In easy terms it is woven fiber material that is stronger and lighter than metals used in other airline seats. For a more complex answer, read this. While the carbon fiber on the seats is what got my attention about the Qantas’ seats, there are plenty of other cool things going on.
About a year ago, Mary Kirby, via her Runway Girl Blog, talked about the 2009 Australian International Design Award of the Year for their seats. Not only because of the high-tech materials used, but also the way the seats recline. Like a high-end movie theater, the bottom part of the seat moves forward when one reclines, taking away less room from the person behind you.
Qantas told me, ’œThe carbon fibre backshell on the Qantas A380 Economy seats is exclusive to Qantas and provides a unique natural element and visually stunning appearance. The material was selected for sleek design appeal and aircraft weight benefits.’
These carbon seats might be exclusive now, but I am sure we will be seeing seats like these on future flights. As carbon fiber gets cheaper and airlines are looking to cut costs and green house emissions I imagine more carbon fiber will be used. And as Kirby shows, you might be seeing this seat on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner as well.
Thanks Dan for pointing this out!
Image: Jalopnik