Tag: Airplanes
Closed Captioning, Please
One of the greatest innovations in air travel is in-flight entertainment, especially individual screens on the seatback in front of you. Getting absorbed in something on television can make the time pass quickly.
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Fill Your Heart with Ireland
Whether it's the people, the craic (fun) or the coasts, travelers always find something to love about the island of Ireland. What fills your heart?
The Paris Air Show
There is a lot going on in the world of travel this week. If I could choose to be anywhere, it would be The Paris Air Show. The business being done always puts a buzz in the air of any trade show. I can only imagine the energy surrounding a show attended by the industry leaders of aviation. Yesterday, it was announced that Airbus and Boeing signed more than $26 billion in orders to kick off the show -- not too bad of a start! My colleagues have attended the show in the past and say how amazing it is in all its grandeur and elegance, something the French do well. Images on the website capture many of the aircrafts on display. High on my list of must-see's would be Boeing's new 747-8 aircraft. I saw some of the first prototypes on the factory floor when I had the privilege of visiting the Boeing factory, a must-see for any aviation fan. The 747 is my favorite. The new technology put into this aircraft will be sure to satisfy the many fliers who love this special plane. Check out some images of the aircraft in flight: 747-8 slideshow. This year I will check the news and photos online. Perhaps next year I will make the trip to the Paris Le Bourget and see the excitement myself! -- Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
Emergencies on Flights
This weekend I took a flight to Los Angeles and chose a Delta itinerary that took me via Salt Lake City. On board the first leg, PHL–Salt Lake, we were cruising along, and I decided to take a little bathroom break. Suddenly, there was an announcement over the intercom asking for a doctor, as there was a medical emergency. Flight attendants were running with concerned looks on their faces back and forth, and I was trying to get out of the bathroom door by the cockpit. The head flight attendant was on the phone with the Captain to call about a possible diversion to Detroit. The woman had passed out, and there seemed to be some concern that she was not breathing. Her husband was slapping her face to revive her (or maybe it was just payback?) — anyway, the slapping seemed to work. The woman was revived and given oxygen. It turns out her husband was a doctor; I wonder what school covers the wife-slapping class? : ) I was on a flight many years ago when a trip to LAX was diverted — well, actually returned to Newark. A very pregnant flight attendant was having some issues; they had to turn the plane around, again, near Detroit and back to Newark. The plane circled the airport dumping fuel before we landed, and the flight attendant was taken off. When we departed from Newark for the first time, the woman next to me was fast asleep, and never woke until we landed after the diversion back to Newark. She awoke and looked at me and said, "Are we in Los Angeles?" I said, "No, Newark," and everybody laughed. Anyway, these things happen, and I have heard all sorts of stories, including one about a man who died on an international flight to the U.S. (airline name to be withheld), and the Marketing Director of the airline was put in charge of returning the deceased's belongings to the widow (who flew over to claim the body), including $30,000(US) in cash. Good thing we travel now with defibulators— they do get used! — Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO
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Have a Seat
Aviointeriors, the Italian aircraft seat manufacturer, recently unveiled the new SkyRider seat at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas trade show. This seat, also called a stand-up seat, a bicycle seat and a saddle seat, has been talked about for a long time.