Trivia 2015 (miscellaneous news)

[airazurxtror]

British Airways is to cut the hand baggage allowance for customers on its flights, the airline has announced.
The maximum size of main carry-on bags will remain unchanged, but smaller second bags such as handbags will be capped at 40x30x15cm.
It said there had been "an increase in customers travelling with hand baggage that exceeds their allowance" in recent months.
Currently, passengers can board flights carrying one bag of up to 56x45x25cm, weighing up to 23kg, plus another bag up to 45x36x20cm.

[airazurxtror]

Bmi Regional and Loganair are joining forces to create a new regional airline group.

They will now operate under a new holding company, Airline Investments Limited (AIL), which has taken control of Bmi Regional. It will be run by CEO Peter Simpson.

The company will have 46 aircraft, carrying around 1.5 million passengers a year with an estimated turnover of £200 million. It will employ 960 people, flying 47 routes across 10 countries.

Both Bmi and Loganair will continue to operate as a “distinct business and brand”.

[Boeing767copilot]

Finally, they wake up right now

Lufthansa launches “restaurant service” in long-haul business class

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines_press_r ... in-august/
http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/l ... cea-in-bus

[Boeing767copilot]

BMI Regional becomes part of new airlines group

Read more: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/BMI-Reg ... story.html

[Squelsh]

Facebook’s solar-powered internet plane looks like a stealth bomber

Facebook's plans to become a flying internet service provider for the developing world are coming to fruition. The company today introduced Aquila, a high-flying, long-endurance plane that will bring basic internet access to the developing world. A working model of the plane is now ready for testing, Facebook said.

Facebook's shallow, V-shaped plane has the wingspan of a Boeing 737. But even fully loaded down with communications gear, Aquila only weighs between 880 to 1,000 lbs — about a third the weight of a Prius. "When deployed, it will be able to circle a remote region for up to 90 days, beaming connectivity down to people from an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 [feet]," the company said in a blog post. This means the planes will be flying at an altitude above commercial aircraft, and even above the weather.

(..)

The plane is built from two layers of lightweight carbon fiber material that sandwich a layer of foam. The planes are intended to stay afloat for three months at a time — presently the record for an aircraft staying afloat is two weeks — which is why the entire outside shell will be covered in solar panels. During the day, when they are fully charged, the planes will fly at an altitude of 90,000 feet. But at night, in order to conserve power, they'll float down to about 60,000 feet, going back up again the following day. This ensures a constant connection to the internet, because they do not need to come down to be charged.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/30/90749 ... rnet-plane

[airazurxtror]

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have joined American Airlines, Delta and United in pledging not to carry big-game trophies on flights, in the wake of the killing of the famous Zimbabwean lion Cecil.

[sn26567]

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have joined American Airlines, Delta and United in pledging not to carry big-game trophies on flights, in the wake of the killing of the famous Zimbabwean lion Cecil.

I guess that the Minnesota dentist wanted to take home the head of Cecil as a trophy. Does anyone know on which airline(s) he flew home?

It was certainly not with KLM which has a ban on hunting trophies since 1998.

[sn26567]

With passengers becoming fatter, Boeing has reduced the range of its aircraft. Here is the table with the new ranges, compared to the prior ones:



Source: Aviation Week. Full table only available to subscribers.

[airazurxtror]

Speaking of weight :
- the weight of the luggage is stricly limited and a kilo too much can be expensive
- the weight of the passengers is not limited and a passenger weighing, say, 30 kg more than another will pay exactly the same price
It's not fair !

[sn26567]

AIR FRANCE IFE DATA DISPLAY INCONSISTENCY

Air France is working with software suppliers for its interactive maps integrated into the IFE systems (InFlight Entertainment). Some of these maps present a data display inconsistency depending on the zoom and the earth's rotation angle. Air France wishes to emphasize that this anomaly is in no way the result of a deliberate choice. The company is making every effort to correct this situation as soon as possible via its provider.

[airazurxtror]

Following a long career in aerospace journalism, Pierre Sparaco died on August 3, aged 75.
Late last year Pierre Sparaco was diagnosed with leukemia and then underwent cancer treatments. He died in hospital on August 3, in Aix-en-Provence. He was 75.
His career in aviation journalism began in 1961, one year before the official launch of the Concorde program and early enough to be able to follow many of the other key developments in European aerospace: the early moves into large jet transports.
Born in Belgium, he spent most of his life in Paris. During his career, he won widespread acclaim for his coverage of pan-European projects and his acknowledgment of the contributions of all the partners, be they from France, the U.K., Germany or Spain.

http://aviationweek.com/commercial-avia ... re-sparaco

He was mainly a fervent supporter of the legacy airlines - Sabena, for instance - less so of the LCC.

[sn26567]

Following a long career in aerospace journalism, Pierre Sparaco died on August 3, aged 75.

For many years, he was the aviation journalist of La Libre Belgique. I liked very much his articles showing a deep knowledge of aviation.

[jan_olieslagers]

With passengers becoming fatter,

Is this a known and documented fact? If so, does it apply globally? Any regional variations?

[SN539]

(

Speaking of weight :
- the weight of the luggage is stricly limited and a kilo too much can be expensive
- the weight of the passengers is not limited and a passenger weighing, say, 30 kg more than another will pay exactly the same price
It's not fair !

Let me hope you're joking and you don't realy think what you writed ...

[airazurxtror]

Some African countries that allow hunting have criticised a decision by a number of international airlines to ban the transport of parts of animals killed in hunts.

“The decision by Delta Air Lines to enforce a blanket ban fails to distinguish between the trade in and transportation of legally acquired wildlife specimens, and the illegal exploitation and trade in wildlife specimens,” the South Africa environment ministry said in a statement.
South Africa says that if hunters cannot take their trophies home, a hunting industry worth nearly $500m (£323m) a year will suffer, affecting job creation and community development.

Neighbouring Namibia warned that a ban by airlines on trophy transportation will hurt its economy and conservation efforts that rely on revenue from hunters.
In Namibia, more than 80 registered Namibian wildlife conservancies depend largely on funding from trophy hunting, according to the Namibia Press Agency.

“If conservancy members have no income, they will abandon their role in protecting the country’s natural resources,” Shifeta said. “These anti-trophy hunting campaigns are very serious as many countries are joining the chorus now. It will also be uphill for the hunter if trophies are not to be shipped.”

The bans come amid outrage over the killing in Zimbabwe of Cecil – a well-known lion – by American dentist Walter Palmer.

[sean1982]

I really dont understand this whole outcry and the subsequent knee-jerk reaction from the airlines. In africa childeren are starving from hunger and thirst every day and nobody cares but that probably makes less spectacular headlines for the tabloids then a decapitated lion

[airazurxtror]

Lufthansa starting 25 october 2015 will begin service on Franfurt – Luxembourg route, offering 4 daily operations, on board CRJ900 and Embraer E190 aircraft. Lufthansa currently operates Munich – Luxembourg service up to 2 daily.
http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... -oct-2015/

[Passenger]

About that ban by Delta (and other airlines) on hunting tropies:

The lion that caused this ban - “Cecil the lion” – was lured out of a national park with bait, he was then shot with a crossbow, ran away and suffered for 40 more hours (with an arrow is his belly) untill a gunshot made an end to his life. And only then, the hunters discovered the lion had a gps tracking device around his neck - he was indeed tracked for an Oxford University program. This goes well beyond the limits of animal cruelty ànd the claim that hunters always make: “we kill af first shot, or we don’t shoot”.

Altough the hunting business is a multi million dollar business, it won’t solve the famine in Africa because the major part of the hunting fee goes to the hunting organizer and to the land owner. General tourism and normal safaris generate much more revenu for the locals, and they do so without killing animals for fun. Example: these safari lodges owned by Richard Branson: http://ulusaba.com/en/ulusaba and http://ulusaba.com/en/mahali-mzuri.

[airazurxtror]

Luxair Luxembourg Airlines will operate four daily flights to Munich, against three today, and will no longer serve the Frankfurt destination as of this winter.

These changes in Luxair’s program are the result of the recent decision by Lufthansa to rescind its trade agreements with Luxair on these two routes. Luxair has chosen to continue to serve Munich and to abandon the Frankfurt route, which is used primarily to carry passengers to and from other destinations.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines_press_r ... frankfurt/

[b-west]

I really dont understand this whole outcry and the subsequent knee-jerk reaction from the airlines. In africa childeren are starving from hunger and thirst every day and nobody cares but that probably makes less spectacular headlines for the tabloids then a decapitated lion

Erm. I really don't see the link between the two. Apart that they're both in "Africa", a huge and diverse continent... you'll find btw that in almost all parts of Africa children aren't starving of thirst and hunger any longer. In a lot of parts of Africa however, poaching and illegal trade in animal parts is a big problem.