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

After the first time I flew on an upgraded ticket, I wondered why some airline didn't just make slightly more expensive tickets on a plane filled with fewer, roomier seats for those that crave comfort (basically, all business class). Well, it looks like someone has at Eos Airlines. The seating arrangements look fantastic, going from roomy seat area to flat bed to double table with two seats (for a coworker), with privacy and aisle access for all. Unfortunately "slightly more expensive" is pretty high at $5k for NYC to London, though that's cheaper than major airlines. Business Week has the full story on this new venture.
posted by mathowie on Nov 12, 2005 - 47 comments

Chapters in the Sky --- a rich collection of autobiographical aviation storytelling by Paul Niquette. Complete with glossary for non-pilots/enthusiasts. Highlights: two crashes in one day, the flight school riding on the success of Paul's FAA checkride, commuting over LA.
posted by tss on Nov 24, 2004 - 7 comments

Russian Plane Crashes, Another Missing.
posted by johnnydark on Aug 24, 2004 - 41 comments

Patrick "Ask a Pilot" Smith opines on "Terror in the Skies, Again?" Smith: I, for one, fully admit that certain acts of airborne crime and treachery may indeed open the channels to a debate on civil liberties. Pray tell, what happened? Gunfight at 37,000 feet? Valiant passengers wrestle a grenade from a suicidal operative? Hero pilots beat back a cockpit takeover? Well, no. As a matter of fact, nothing happened. Turns out the Syrians are part of a musical ensemble hired to play at a hotel. The men talk to one another. They glance around. They pee. That's it? That's it.
posted by skallas on Jul 20, 2004 - 68 comments

Flight crew beat up passenger: Drunken passengers often give air crews trouble, but Russia's leading airline today reported an 'unprecedented' reversal: a passenger was assaulted by intoxicated flight attendants. (via failure)
posted by fizz-ed on Jul 20, 2004 - 11 comments

The Hundred Dollar Hamburger. A pilot's guide to fly-in restaurants.
posted by gottabefunky on Feb 5, 2004 - 16 comments

Flying Cloud flies for the last time On Wednesday, August 6, the last Boeing 307 Stratoliner landed at Dulles [WaPo; may require registration]. [more] [more] [more] This was the plane that ditched off Seattle in March, 2002 after being fully restored. Now, re-restored, it has arrived at its final destination, the Smithsonian's new Hazy Center. Dry eyes were a rare commodity.
posted by SealWyf on Aug 7, 2003 - 9 comments

Mile High Dating: combining Internet dating with unlimited free flights is allowing America West employees to become jet setting bachelors (anyone can do it, but according to the story it's mostly men taking advantage of this combination). It costs them next to nothing for a weekend trip (if everything works out) but seems amazingly romantic to the women. [more inside]
posted by Irontom on Jul 9, 2003 - 15 comments

The horror,the horror. Everybody seems to be an expert on airline travel. Whether it's security issues or the dynamics of flight. There seems to be plenty of places to get it off your chest. With the industry in a nosedive will the survivors have to lift their game. Or just cut more corners to enhance the bottom line. Love those 5 hour on the runway to nowhere tales. Um as long as it's not me.
posted by johnny7 on Apr 20, 2003 - 4 comments

The thought of Concorde services ending saddens me ( possibly because 101 sits less than half a mile from my doorstep). It [with it' s clone Concordeski] was the only supersonic passenger jet to even make it to prototype status. Considering things like it's massive fuel consumption, should we ditch the beast, find something else or go back to subsonics?
posted by twine42 on Feb 26, 2003 - 16 comments

Coffee, tea or should we feel your pregnant wife's breasts? Well, like most of you I've read many personal accounts of the change in air travel since 9/11. But this one packs a major wallop, well written, infuriating and containing one of the best concluding sentences . . . ever. ( via Blogdex )
posted by jeremias on Dec 22, 2002 - 138 comments

Man and his family booted off airplane after asking if pilots were sober. Hans von Schweinitz, on his way to go fishing in Canada, asked one of the flight crew whether the pilots had taken a sobriety test. They hadn't. A blood alcohol test kit was sent for. Two and a half hours later, with the plane sitting there on the tarmac, the pilots were found to be clean. Then they ordered von Schweinitz and his family to get off the plane, while the other passengers cheered.
posted by RylandDotNet on Jul 16, 2002 - 43 comments

"From a couple of miles up, all trace of humanity has vanished." "Air travel requires an escape from gravity, an escape from distance, and ultimately an escape from our bodies." Courtesy of loudpaper.
posted by protocool on Jun 3, 2002 - 2 comments

Questioning the myth of plastic knives and boxcutters. "This fictoid serves to divert public attentions from the responsibility, and legal liability, of the government and airlines to prevent major weapons — such as guns, bombs, chemical sprays and hunting knives [all of which were mentioned in flight attendant and passenger cell phone calls] from being carried aboard airplanes. If such illegal devices had been smuggled aboard the planes, the liability could amount to billions of dollars. If, on the other hand, it could be disseminated that the hijackers had only used plastic knives, such as those provided by the airlines for meals, or box cutters, which were allowed on planes, neither the airlines, the screeners at the airport, or the FAA, which regulates the safety of airports, could be held legally responsible."
posted by fotzepolitic on May 31, 2002 - 7 comments

Man dies before boarding an airplane? Or did he die in midflight? "Authorities disagree on whether Walsh, who had a history of heart- and kidney-related health problems, died midflight or before he boarded the plane." What really gets me is: how could he get on the airplane if he was already dead? Wouldn't the people helping him onto the plane notice?
posted by Kevin Sanders on Mar 18, 2002 - 13 comments

Attempted hijack of United Airlines flight to Argentina...
A passenger was seized by cabin crew today as he attempted to enter the cockpit on an American Airlines flight from the US to Argentina today...
I don't think this is anything al-Quaida related, but I thought it was worth the post.
posted by tomcosgrave on Feb 7, 2002 - 12 comments

The Solution?...Fly Naked
So you can sneak a bomb in your shoe. The only solution is to fly naked. You can't bring anything on board; it all has to be shipped separately on cargo jet. There has to be an air marshall on every flight -- no in plain clothes (because nobody's in clothes) but sitting in front of the cockpit, heavily armed and ready. It's getting that ridiculous. What can we do?
posted by riley370 on Dec 28, 2001 - 23 comments

Your tax dollars at work? Apparently the FAA is paying $50 a click to make sure that Americans are well informed passengers. What ever happened to Public Service Announcements? Anyone want to buy a $200 screwdriver?
posted by shoepal on Dec 18, 2001 - 11 comments

Air travel used to be prestigious and considered quite safe, but no more. It seems like it's just one thing after another this past year for the industry. How much of a beating can such a cash-flow intensive business take? What's your feeling about flying these days?
posted by holycola on Dec 9, 2001 - 27 comments

Culture clash. A pilot's investigation of the crash of EgyptAir 990, and the cultural reverberations of a seemingly straightforward airplane crash. Truth as political expediency.
posted by semmi on Nov 28, 2001 - 3 comments

This information is somewhat discomforting. I always imagined that there would be instances of people bringing something that could be considered on an airplane but I did not think that there would be this many.
posted by Stretch on Nov 5, 2001 - 8 comments

The Concorde Flies Again After an overhaul of the supersonic jet's safety features (after the July 25 crash near Paris), British Airways' Concorde undertook it's first trans-Atlantic flight to New York. British Airways has also set up a Concorde's Return To Service mini-site...
posted by tpl1212 on Oct 22, 2001 - 6 comments

Hijacked Plane Said to Land in New Delhi. NYTimes article -- you know the deal. CNN and Salon both confirm.
posted by brand-gnu on Oct 3, 2001 - 34 comments

the passengers on our planes should have the right to bear arms Is this guy, a former pilot, suggesting that we have a constitutional right to carry weapons aboard planes so we can defend ourselves? Is an uzzi ok or a bayonet?
posted by Postroad on Sep 22, 2001 - 28 comments

The Rocket Man says: "I know I wouldn't get on an American airline unless it had an armed guard." Despite everything, I think it's going to be a long long time before that happens---could airlines really afford that?
posted by adrober on Sep 15, 2001 - 24 comments

Fear of flying? New security measures are being discussed. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says, "These terrorist acts are designed to steal the confidence of Americans. We will restore that confidence."
posted by prozaction on Sep 12, 2001 - 9 comments

Those darn airmen in their flying contraptions... Interested in hearing other's opinions on this. If I have an airplane should I be able to fly wherever I want to, or should property owners be able to erect an invisible fence 40,000 feet high around their property to keep airplane owners away? Also, if I can keep people with noisy airplanes from flying close to my house, can I also outlaw people with noisy motorcyles from riding on country roads near my home?
posted by fluxcreative on Jul 9, 2001 - 28 comments

This airline review site that I just discovered may be useful if you plan to go on a long air journey sometime soon and would like to try a new carrier.
posted by jammer on Feb 22, 2001 - 2 comments

HP employee sucked out of plane when door opens during flight. In the great Metafilter tradition of schädenfreude.
posted by dhartung on Dec 15, 2000 - 37 comments

For the Do-it-yourselfer who's already done it all.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Sep 17, 2000 - 10 comments

Naked Co-Pilot Caused Crash? Is this why it's called a cockpit?
posted by Outlawyr on Aug 11, 2000 - 3 comments

I was astounded, but maybe I'm just naive. According to a Beyond 2000 article, low oxygen content in aircraft cabins, which contributes to the majority of air travel woes, is mostly due to penny-pinching. Great, skimping on air! What's next? ... umm ... ahhh ... Oh gee, I have nothing worse to compare it to!
posted by quirked on Aug 4, 2000 - 24 comments

The Last Refuge... invaded... Yes, I have a cell phone. Yes, I use it. But, I turn if off any place it would be rude to be having a full-voiced conversation, because I hate it when people make or take a call in those situations. I'd always sort of enjoyed the fact that the airlines claim they'll screw up navigation systems; whether they do or not, it means I don't have to listen to a dozen suits around me trying to out-do each other a-wheelin' and a-dealin and a-squealin' up and down the aisles. Guess I won't be flying Virgin Atlantic again any time soon...
posted by m.polo on Jul 6, 2000 - 17 comments