Let's be honest, these outrage generating headlines are getting a little old. Of course no one is condoning bad behavior, most especially anything violent. But put into context it's not exactly a huge problem. They (TSA) say the average is 12 "inflight disturbances" per 1 million pax screened, so seeing as around 2 million people are flying per day that comes out to 24 per day. The FAA handles roughly 45,000 flights a day, so that puts the disturbances at around 1 per 1875 flights. And a large percentage of the disturbances are "mostly peaceful" refusals to wear a mask. Of course anyone reacting violently should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but let's also not get carried away and try to push a narrative that airline travel is unsafe or that these incidents qualify as an "epidemic".

(Written on 2021年 07月 21日)(Permalink)

I time travel every time I go to work. Flying the 737 instantly transports you to the 1960s!

(Written on 2021年 07月 21日)(Permalink)

Please go back on your medication.

(Written on 2021年 07月 14日)(Permalink)

I call BS. In fact a quote from the article contradicts the headline: "The pilot did not declare an emergency and chose to return to Varadero, a decision made by the pilot and Air Transat control center ''because the company has access to maintenance staff at this airport,'' the charter airline said in a statement Monday." The article says the crew asked to land at Ft Lauderdale, but was directed to Miami because customs would be open. In any case, it is incumbent upon the crew to be direct and concise and use international (ICAO) terminology when dealing with ATC, particularly in a foreign country. Far be it from me to criticize that crew, but if I lost a piece of the rudder and had potential control issues I would definitely declare a Mayday Mayday Mayday and tell ATC where I was going, not ask.

(Written on 2021年 07月 11日)(Permalink)

I have no sympathy for anyone making hijacking threats. That said haven't we all wanted to punch a baby at some point?!

(Written on 2021年 07月 10日)(Permalink)

While I am not supporting the actions of the "kids" in this story, I don't buy for one second that the flight was canceled because of them. There is a link to the original story which provides more (unconfirmed) details. It says there was a 2 hour delay on the plane for maintenance, during which some students removed their masks. Then all passengers were removed in order to change planes, at which point the group was told they were not allowed to re-board because of their actions. The ensuing delay lasted "a few hours" while they changed crews, after which they were told they would be allowed to board, however at this point the flight was postponed to the following day due to crew duty issues. There is no way the airline would hold an entire plane hostage because a few people weren't wearing their masks. They would be asked to leave, and if they refused the authorities would be called. This article clearly implies that the group of miscreants was directly responsible for the delay,

(Written on 2021年 07月 10日)(Permalink)

It's usually someone who is late for a flight and panics. And when people panic they do stupid things because they aren't thinking. Or they could just be stupid in general...

(Written on 2021年 07月 07日)(Permalink)

So I assume you and your crystal ball predicted a rapid resumption of air travel that within a few short months has exceeded pre-pandemic levels (over the holiday weekend anyway)? And while I agree that blaming weather alone is an oversimplification, it is still a major factor. Reroutes and ground stops wreak havoc on airline schedules, and because they're already stretched thin on staffing and support they can't recover from the disruption(s) in a timely manner.

(Written on 2021年 07月 07日)(Permalink)

COVID infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are down over 90% from this time last year. The vaccines have so far proven to be effective against the spooky “delta” variant. The data shows that almost without exception the only ones getting infected and requiring treatment are the unvaccinated. I’d say it’s well past time to lose the mask and let people live their own lives. People act like removing mask mandates means banning people from wearing masks. Obviously anyone who feels the need can continue to mask up, let people make their own damn choice.

(Written on 2021年 07月 03日)(Permalink)

There's an old saying in the airline world: hire till you furlough and furlough till you hire. I believe they (AA) did keep some pilots on "zero time" lines where they had no scheduled flying so no pay, but could pick up trips from open time in lieu of being furloughed. But I think all the airlines severely underestimated how quickly people would return to flying and were caught unprepared, which I guess is better than the reverse.

(Written on 2021年 06月 29日)(Permalink)