Anthony Toth has recreated a first-class Pan Am cabin in his garage.
posted by armage on Oct 26, 2009 - 49 comments

"Cathay Pacific has apologized for embarrassing a customer whose anguish after missing her flight was captured on video by an airline employee and posted on the Internet..."
posted by hermitosis on Mar 5, 2009 - 124 comments

Known as Black Box in the UK, Survival in the Sky was a four-episode 1996 series about commercial aviation accidents and the investigation of their causes. (Two additional episodes were filmed in 1998.) Not currently available on DVD, five of the six episodes are available in their entirety on YouTube (links within). [more inside]
posted by maxwelton on Jan 17, 2009 - 12 comments

Mark takes us on the A380 (warning: image heavy) from Dubai to New York with meticulous photographic detail. For $7300 you can fly the A380 with access to amenities like showers and a full-service bar, and stroll down to see the plebs in steerage. Arguably the last time a flying hotel was tried in earnest was the post-WWII Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a staple of Pacific routes until jet-powered 707s appeared on the scene.
posted by crapmatic on Nov 20, 2008 - 90 comments

Boeing 777 assembled in 4:13 (SLYT)
posted by backseatpilot on May 1, 2008 - 47 comments

Professional Pilots Rumor Network is not recommended reading if you care to fly again. For example, you will discover that what was was initially described by the FAA as a "vibration in the No. 2 engine" was actually uncontained engine failure. Passengers who were on the flight could have told you that. Am I editorializing to say that I'm amazed that this forum is public?
posted by spock on Nov 27, 2007 - 45 comments

On Nov 22, 1968, exactly 39 years ago, on a reasonably clear, uneventful day, a new JAL DC-8 descended toward the SFO airport. The landing was so well executed that no one was hurt when the pilot landed the plane into the San Francisco Bay, several miles from the airport. What explanation did 15 year veteran pilot Captain Kohei Asoh give for his botched landing? It was so unusual (especially in this day and age), so refreshingly honest, that it came to be known as the Asoh Defense. Amazingly, the plane was recovered, refurbished, and was in service for another 35 years.
posted by eye of newt on Nov 22, 2007 - 50 comments

Remember when air travel was viewed as glamorous and exciting? Of course you don't. So check out this collection of vintage flight attendant photos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
posted by brain_drain on Nov 13, 2007 - 37 comments

Airline Branding Weblog. Can you say "Awesome"?
posted by riffola on Oct 19, 2007 - 24 comments

Abandoned plane wrecks of the north. The Arctic North is a cruel environment for men and machine; for planes it is no different. The weather creates all sorts of hazards, the terrain offers its own variety of opportunities for disaster. (Warning: extreme comic sans.)
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on Sep 13, 2007 - 12 comments

Airway Robbery. Another summer, another disaster for British Airways. The company has just received the largest fine ever issued by Britain’s competition agency (nearly £270m / $547m) for price fixing on fuel surcharges. BA admitted to colluding with rival airline Virgin Atlantic (who won immunity in the UK) on at least six occasions. The allegations are thought to be linked to the resignation of commercial director Martin George and communications chief Iain Burns. Although BA said fuel surcharges were "a legitimate way of recovering costs", in May 2007 it put aside £350 million for legal fees and fines. Criminal proceedings against individuals in both countries are a distinct possibility.
posted by chuckdarwin on Aug 1, 2007 - 19 comments

FlightMemory.com You must remember this: Passengers can wax nostalgic about flights they made and missed. Launched in Germany last year, this free site made its English-language debut last month.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on May 14, 2007 - 6 comments

This simple hack actually only crashes the in-flight entertainment system (perhaps this one?), but that's already enough to cause concern with the kind of people who comment anonymously on a blog for "security executives."

I'm certain that this vulnerability (like this vulnerability) will be taken seriously.
posted by jdfalk on Feb 11, 2007 - 44 comments

What is it with airlines and tee-shirts? Australian carrier Qantas is now getting in on the action with a passenger refused a flight because the airline deemed his shirt to be offensive. This is similar to another case. Previously mentioned.
posted by mattoxic on Jan 21, 2007 - 64 comments

WhichBudget.com: a site that helps you find a low cost airline flight for your destination
posted by champthom on Nov 20, 2006 - 40 comments

Airsafe.com: more air crash information than you'll ever hope you need. Celebrity Air Crashes Cases. Airlines without Fatal Events. Fatal Events by Airline. How hard is it to fly a 757 or a 767? How to File a Complaint About Your Airline Service.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on Oct 10, 2006 - 9 comments

Kissing is terrorist behavior now? From the article: 'Shortly after takeoff, Varnier nodded off, leaning his head on Tsikhiseli. A stewardess came over to their row. “The purser wants you to stop that,” she said...The captain told Tsikhiseli that if they didn’t stop arguing with the crew he would divert the plane.'
posted by Poagao on Sep 20, 2006 - 166 comments

Raed Jarrar was coming home from Jordan wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "We will not be silent" in Arabic script and English. Other JetBlue passengers who could not read the Arabic were "offended" and she was apprehended by security and asked to replace it. She also had her seat changed to the back of the plane. Variations on T-shirt airline censorship have happened before, but, taken to extremes, the fear of foreign language has spawned some unpleasant nights. Where is the line drawn? And where is the path to multicultural reconciliation?
posted by ed on Aug 21, 2006 - 70 comments

Pilot's eye view of a three day trip [Youtube]. A pilot at American Airlines made this video of his three-day trip from Boston to Paris and back so his young daughter could see where he worked. It's all shot from the pilot's perspective so there's plenty of eye candy for the aviation and gadget geeks. On his day off, fly4fun catches a cruise on a Bateux-Mouches river boat, sees the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and grabs a few pints in Parisian pubs (including the expat bar, Le Mazet, where the last official sighting of Jim Morrison took place). It's all edited with iMovie and set to U2's Vertigo. [more inside]
posted by junesix on Feb 9, 2006 - 46 comments

Enplaned Even if you don't care a whit about the airline inductry, this is a great example of how to blog a topic well. [via Joel on Software]
posted by cillit bang on Feb 2, 2006 - 12 comments

[NewsFilter] Landing Gear Redux: Another airliner with stuck landing gear--this time a Nike corporate jet--may be forced to make an emergency landing, like that JetBlue airliner back in September. Story developing.
posted by fandango_matt on Nov 21, 2005 - 36 comments

Introducing alphaOne Airways: Probably the world's first budget airline with a Geocities website.

The brainchild of British teenager Martin Halstead, alphaOne will offer twice-daily shuttle flights between Oxford and Cambridge - that's only 70 miles as the crow flies.

Is Martin a pimply megalomaniac, the next Richard Branson, or just another harmless flight sim fanatic? No doubt Stelios is on the case...
posted by runkelfinker on Apr 15, 2005 - 9 comments

Like misbehaving teenagers, Jetsgo passengers find themselves grounded indefinitely. As it turns out you can't both operate on razor-thin margins AND spend millions upon millions in expensive marketing campaigns. Who'd have thunk it?
posted by clevershark on Mar 11, 2005 - 23 comments

Upstart travel sites challenge the big three Catering to skinflints who can't be bothered to check multiple sites for the best fares, travel aggregator sites like Mobissimo, CheapFlights, Qixo, or Sidestep allow you to search Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity with a single query, as well as bargain airlines like JetBlue and Southwest, which aren't covered by the big three. (note: Sidestep requires a download, and only works on Windows; the others are all just regular websites.) But maybe you'd be best off just heading straight to an obscure Belgian travel site.
posted by yankeefog on Dec 13, 2004 - 13 comments

Thank God for Airport Security. Can you believe this?
posted by ZenMasterThis on Sep 10, 2003 - 24 comments

A Boeing 727 went missing from Angola on May 25. Some people made immediate, predictable noises about "terrorists", despite the fact that things are a lot less settled in Africa (from a paperwork and regulatory point of view). It was spotted with a new paint job on June 28 in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. But, now it's gone again and nobody knows where it is.
posted by Irontom on Aug 6, 2003 - 8 comments

Last week a Honolulu circuit court judge ordered an injunction against Mainline Airlines LLC, after discovering that the low-fare-to-Hawaii airline was not registered with the FAA. On further investigation, a college student has been accused of claiming ownership of Mainline, despite it having no planes, crew, FAA registration, or for that matter anything other that a web site. At least Frank Abagnale used a real airline to commit fraud...
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Jun 13, 2003 - 5 comments

Hooters Air Inc. With all of the discussion about airlines going bankrupt and our economy in jeopardy, some people are surely thinking ahead. If it'll be 'Hooters Girls' flight attendants, it's too early," Cattell said. But she didn't dismiss the idea.
posted by aaronchristy on Aug 15, 2002 - 16 comments

US Airways Bankrupt. It had to happen to one of the big airlines eventually, what with 9/11 and the hesitancy to fly following. But on top of everything else financially as of late... it just deepens that already sick feeling. Who's next?
posted by dopamine on Aug 11, 2002 - 17 comments

you worry me This American Airlines pilot hits the nail on the head for me! Thus far the Muslim voices I hear in America--and they are precious few--always seem to get half way through condemniong this or that and then insert a "BUT" or "HOWEVER." This guy asks for a simple, straight-forward response.
posted by Postroad on Jul 3, 2002 - 105 comments

Ever wonder if the airplane food sucks everywhere? Find out at Airplane Meals, or add to this vastly underrepresented body of knowledge by sending him a pic of your next mile-high snack.
posted by Su on May 20, 2002 - 12 comments

"Writer William Langewiesche, a pilot in his own right, explains why a jet packed with 217 passengers plunged 33,000 feet into the Atlantic Ocean in the dead of night--and why it took so long for the U.S. and Egyptian governments to issue an explanation. Using black-box transcripts and radar records, Langewiesche meticulously reconstructs the last minutes of the so-called suicide flight. In a feat of storytelling, he reveals the nasty combination of politics and culture clashes that delayed the official investigation."
posted by semmi on May 3, 2002 - 25 comments

Air Canada bans Salman Rushdie because "the extra security required for him to fly could mean long delays for other passengers." Extra security? You mean it isn't at maximum already?
posted by laz-e-boy on Mar 18, 2002 - 5 comments

This is fascism.
posted by magullo on Nov 16, 2001 - 86 comments

Arab-Americans kicked off NWA flight. Three Arab-Americans from Utah have been kicked off a flight from Minneapolis because the other passengers refused to fly with them.
posted by kittyb on Sep 21, 2001 - 73 comments

Mark Hurst of Creatvie Good and GoodExperience noticed a video billboard near Times Square that was showing Windows errors around new years day. Here's a picture and a closeup. He brings up a good point: If an airline can't troubleshoot a billboard, how well can they keep their planes running?
posted by mathowie on Jan 21, 2000 - 0 comments

Now this is something you don't see everyday. There's this small Canadian airline that has an interesting legal disclaimer you see right before you start ordering a ticket. Scroll down to the paragraph that starts 'PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS' which includes some compassionate nuggets like 'The WestJet® Web Site is not designed for use by persons with special needs.' What a warm, caring bunch of folks, eh?
posted by mathowie on Jan 8, 2000 - 0 comments