Aerofreaks

Annual Airline Quality Rating report was released on Monday, 2nd April, 2007. It shows there is rise in number of delayed and canceled flights, lost luggage, bumped passengers and other problems that have fueled growing customer dissatisfaction with flying.

The research is sponsored by the Aviation Institute at University of Nebraska at Omaha and Wichita State University and was based on Transportation Department statistics.

Hawaiin, JetBlue and AirTran were among the top three on the 18-airline list, while Atlantic Southeast, American Eagle and Comair were the bottom three.

Hawaiian had the best baggage handling performance and Atlantic Southeast the worst.

Overall, on-time arrival for all airlines from 2006 to 2005 was down whereas mishandled baggage rates increased for the same time period.

The survey’s overall rating for airlines shows a decline in quality and it is not a surprise to many travelers.

Source: MSNBC

In November, six Muslim clerics (imams) were removed from United Flight 300 after being accused of suspicious behavior. They are threatening to sue the passengers who were aboard and have filed the civil rights lawsuit against the airline and their fellow passengers.

The complaint is filed in Minnesota federal court and seeks an undisclosed amount of money for punitive and compensatory damages.

Ahmed Shqeirat, Mohamed Ibrahim, Didmar Faja, Omar Shahin, Mahmoud Sulaiman, and Marwan Sadeddin were the six men and were returning home from a conference of Islamic clerics in Minneapolis.

Praying and chanting in Arabic, asking for the seat belt extenders in the plane were the reasons why the passengers suspected the imams.

After the passengers complained of the suspicious behavior of the imams the plane was cleared for a security sweep, nothing was found and the jet took off without the imams.

It is said that such lawsuits could discourage travelers from speaking up when they see something unusual.

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Source: MSNBC

Allegiant Air flight made a successful landing in the clouds of spark and smoke at the Orlando Sanford International Airport in the United States after circling for nearly an hour when a hydraulic problem occurred in the front nose gear and the gear failed to descend.

There were some sparks and lot of smoke but no flames. The plane was carrying 157 passengers. All evacuated the plane by slides. No serious casualties are reported.

Source: smh

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton has accused LAX airport workers of stealing items from her baggage. The items included cartons of cigarettes, watches and jewelry. Singer Keyshia Cole is another victim.

A group of screeners at the airport is the prime suspect and the City Attorney’s Office is anticipated to file theft charges against 10 airport employees and a transient.

According to the Los Angeles Times, eight of the accused workers have been dismissed from their jobs.

The US Transportation Security Administration fully supported the investigating team.

Source: USA Today

With the aim to prevent fraudulent passport application, a detail plan was published on March 20, which says that First-time passport applicants aged over 16 will have to face the compulsory interviews at one of 69 centres around the country in which 200 personal questions will be asked.

The interviews will last between 10 and 20 minutes and will be conducted in a friendly and non-threatening manner. The questions designed to establish a social footprint of who they are would be asked.

Starting in Newport, Belfast, Peterborough and Glasgow, the interviews will be extended across the country to cover some 600,000 people in the first 12 months.

The cost of passport has been pushed up with the new checks and the addition of the biometric data. It is now £66 and will rise to over £90 when the ID card is added.

From next year, anyone applying for a passport will have his or her details added to the ID database. From 2009, everyone applying for a passport, either their first or a renewal will need to attend one of these centres to have their fingerprints taken.

Limited validity passports can be issued without the interview only in genuine emergencies.

Source: Telegraph

Airbus A380, the world’s largest civilian airliner will make first flight to North America today taking off from Germany’s Frankfurt and France’s Toulouse.

The A380 will be the biggest passenger plane in the skies, with a wingspan of almost 262 feet, nearly the size of a football field. Moreover, the height of the double-deck super jumbo jet is more than 79 feet, equivalent to an eight-story building.

There will be 550 people onboard, including 4 pilots, 4 Airbus crew members, 23 Lufthansa cabin crew and 519 passengers, mostly Airbus and Lufthansa employees. The flight will operate as a commercial one, with full dining and entertainment services and will provide new levels of in-flight comfort to passengers.

The A380 burns about one gallon of gas per passenger every 80 miles and can fly some 8,000 nautical miles.

On March 20, Lufthansa and Airbus will operate a demonstration flight to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport before returning to New York and then to Frankfurt.

It will head back to Hong Kong and before continuing its journey to Dulles International Airport on March 25, with a final stop at Lufthansa’s Munich hub March 28 to complete the series of optimization flights.

Lufthansa’s goal is to match the A380’s turnaround time from landing to takeoff with that of much smaller long-haul jets already in operation.

Source: MSNBC

A late-winter storm with dicey mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain in the Northeast cities slowed travelers and tied up airlines once again. Big US airlines and their affiliates canceled more than 2,000 flights. Operations at United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Southwest Airlines were also affected by the storm.

Snow, sleet and heavy rain disrupted operations along the Atlantic coast and major cancellations were reported in Philadelphia and Boston.

Jet Blue canceled 400 of 550 scheduled flights on Friday and 28 on Saturday.

Delta Airlines canceled 600 flights, most in New York area and the US Airway Group Inc. said it canceled more than 1,000 flights much of it feeder service from New England.

The airline’s troubles hit just as it was recovering from a Valentine Day’s storm that brought more than 1,000 cancellations and affected more than 100,000 passengers, including a number of passengers stranded on planes at Kennedy Airport for up to 10 1/2 hours.

Airlines waived fees and offered passengers affected by storm-related cancellations options for rebooking and future travel.

Source: nzherald

Incheon International Airport-the largest airport in South Korea and one of the largest in Asia has been named as World’s Best Airport for the world’s best customer service.

Switzerland’s Zurich in Europe is at the top and the North American regional table was topped by Dallas Fort Worth.

An annual survey was conducted by Global Traveler magazine with its 14,000 readers via post-mails, faxes, e-mails and its website and Incheon took the top spot.

Among competitors for the prize were Singapore Changi Airport, Heathrow Airport of the United Kingdom, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Hong Kong International Airport.

Hongkong, Kaula Lampur and Singapore (three other Asian Hubs) ranked second, third and fourth.

Well maintenance, clean terminal buildings, comfortable waiting areas, hassle-free passage through terminal and friendly staff are the main assets of these airports.

Source: The Age

If you make more than one short-haul flight in a year, you will now have to pay higher rate of aviation tax.

David Cameron plans for tax on air travels. The experts are of view that the tax would effect those 400,000 voters who own a second homes abroad and on an average make three visits per year to their properties. They’ll be hit twice by the proposed tax. Those people who go to visit families living in abroad will also be affected.

Mr. Cameron said that the reason for levying this tax was that he wanted a “greener Earth as well as greener skies”, to protect the environment and the endangered species.

It is said that the money gained from air tax would be spent on tax breaks for families.

We will soon come to know how hard Tory plan will hit the people.

Source: Telegraph

If you are planning a tour by air, you need not be worried about your luggage now as there are several personal porters to help you out; assuring that your luggage will come out secure.

In Asia Pacific region, Personal Porters is the first operation of its kind and offers an alternative for people willing to pay to have their luggage sent separately to their flights.

It picks up your luggage from your home or your office and delivers to the destination of your choice be it a hotel, office or residence.

If you use the service you may be away from your luggage for three to four days, but you need not worry about potentially having your bags misplaced and you can get through airports without dragging your luggage.

Another advantage is that you don’t have to wait around at the luggage carousel upon arrival which will save your time and this service will suit your pocket too.

The Personal Porter service can be booked online and you can pick your preferred pick-up time and delivery date.

So, don’t be bothered about your luggage have a wonderful journey.

Source: Theage