Aviation – Page 16 – Take off with Natarajan

Here’s the difference between a nonstop and direct flight…

September 15, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Direct flights still make stops.

You know you don’t want a layover, but did you know there’s a difference between nonstop and direct flights? No? Well you should if you want your nonstop flight to actually be nonstop.

If you want to get where you’re going as fast as possible, book a nonstop flight.

These flights take off at your departure city and land at your destination without any stops. However, these are usually also the most expensive flights.

Direct flights, despite the name, will also take you from your departure city to your destination, but will make a stop elsewhere in between.

Some people might get off the flight during this stop, others may get on, but a direct flight does not count as a connecting one as it will have you staying put on the plane. Direct flights, unless otherwise specified, will not have you leaving the plane, unless a plane change is required, though this will usually be noted somewhere, so check the fine print. These flights will be cheaper than nonstop flights, though usually still more expensive than connecting ones.

Despite having a stop, direct flights are called “direct” because their flight numbers do not change (even if the plane does). Connecting flights will always have two (or more) different flight numbers. Think of direct flights as buses: they still take you from A to B without huge detours, but will have an extra stop on the way. Occasionally direct flights will even have more than one stop, so always be sure to check before booking a direct flight. These kinds of flights can also be referred to as “through” flights, especially if they involve a plane change.

Another thing to know about direct flights is that frequent flier mileage is often based on the direct flight’s numbers, not the specific legs of the flight. In other words, you may not earn the extra miles flown.

Travel search engines rank nonstop flights highest, followed by direct flights over connecting flights, as those are viewed as more convenient for passengers since you don’t have to move. Airlines have direct, or through flights, to appear higher up in searches, as the single flight number makes those flights appear to be a direct, or even nonstop, thus competing with better flights.

So next time you’re looking to book a flight, make sure to pay attention to the flight details.

Source…www.businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Out-Of-This-World’ Photos Sent by Mangalyaan That Made Us Say WOW! ….

September 12, 2015September 12, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Ever since it began its mission in space, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft has been clicking some stupendous images, opening a window into outer space so all of us can enjoy the view. Here’s how the craft has kept us entertained and spellbound with witty comments and incredible photos.

India’s very own Mangalyaan, which has been orbiting Mars since about a year now, keeps sending some really amazing shots from out there. And people at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), being as gracious as they have always been, keep releasing those pictures, so all of us can get a piece of the breathtaking wonder.

All the pictures are taken by the Mars Orbiter with its Mars Color Camera (MCC). Each image is magnificent in itself, and gives us the privilege of watching something which is literally out of this world, and situated millions of kilometres away – it’s nothing but incredible that we can view them in such high resolution from the comfort of our couches. All thanks to MOM.

Here are few marvels from ISRO’s photo bank that literally took our breath away: –

Taken just a few days after launch, this one shows India. What a view! –

First image of the Earth by MCC of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft taken on Nov 19, 2013

Looks like an image out of a science fiction novel, doesn’t it?

Source….www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

British Airways Burning Plane….

September 12, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Smoke billows out from a plane that caught fire in Las Vegas | ASSOCIATED PRESS

British airways passengers have been ridiculed for walking away from a burning plane, with many people holding their carry-on suitcases, handbags and other items. One passenger was even spotted carrying a pair of thongs.

The London-bound plane was evacuated on the runway in Las Vegas. All 157 passengers escaped with only 14 being treated for minor injuries.

But social media quickly erupted into harsh criticism, as photos surfaced of passengers leaving the plane, clutching their belongings. Hundreds of people used Twitter to accuse the passengers of putting other lives at risk, and valuing their possessions more than their own lives.

British Airways policy is that passengers leave hand luggage behind in the event of an emergency.

The FAA in the US (Federal Aviation Administration), which sets the rules for flying, clearly advises passengers to always leave carry-on items where you left them — under the seat or in the overhead locker.

‘Retrieving personal items may impede the safe evacuation of passengers,’ states FAA guidance.

Lachlan Burnet, from Wendy Wu Tours, catches more than 50 planes a year. He told The Huffington Post Australia it doesn’t matter how many times people watch the flight safety instructions, in the event of an actual emergency, human behaviour is unpredictable.

“There’s a good reason why ladies are asked to remove high heels before attempting to slide down the plane’s evacuation slide, yet some of these British Airways passengers risked lives by sliding down the slide grasping luggage. If they’d damaged the slide, they’d put other passengers lives at risk,” Burnet said.

“I always keep valuables in my pockets: passport, keys, mobile, ID. That way if you’re in an emergency you can escape quickly, rest assured you have what you need to survive with your basic valuables. Your cabin bag can easily be replaced.”

According to experts, you have just 90 seconds to get off a plane once it’s on fire. FAA surveys have shown that passengers greatly underestimate how quickly a fire can spread and destroy an airplane, with many people bizarrely thinking they have about half an hour to get off a burning plane.

But the reality is that you’ve got one and a half minutes before flames burn through the plane’s fuselage and destroy everything.

Source….www.huffingtonpost.com.au

Natarajan

International Space Station Transits the Sun….

September 9, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

This composite image made from five frames shows the International Space Station, with a crew of nine onboard, in silhouette as it transits the sun at roughly 5 miles per second, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015, Shenandoah National Park, Front Royal, VA. Onboard are; NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren: Russian Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko, Oleg Kononenko, Sergey Volkov, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, Danish Astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Kazakhstan Cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Source…..www.nasa .gov

Natarajan

India’s Successful Missile Testing Site, Wheeler Island Will Now Become Abdul Kalam Island …

September 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Wheeler Island, which is considered the most advanced missile testing site in India, will be renamed after Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. For the man who was fondly called the “Missile Man”, this seems like a fitting tribute.

It has been over a month since we lost our beloved Missile Man, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. And every now and then, we keep finding different ways to pay tribute to him and to keep him alive in our memories.

This time it is the Odisha government which has paid an extra ordinary tribute to Dr. Kalam, by naming the Wheeler Island after him.

Photo: www.abdulkalam.com

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made an announcement about the decision on Monday. He said that the move will inspire youngsters to work passionately and dedicatedly in the field of science. The 2km long and 390 acres big island will now be known as Abdul Kalam Island. The island is located off the coast of Odisha and is approximately 150km from Bhubaneswar.

This is a fitting tribute to the great man since the island is considered to be the country’s most advanced missile testing site.

Wheeler Island was named after an English commandant, Lieutenant Wheeler and has been used to test many successful missiles of India including Akash Missiles, Agni Missiles, Astra Missile, BrahMos, Nirbhay, Prahaar Missile, Prithvi Missiles, Shaurya Missile, Advanced Air Defence (AAD), and Prithvi Air Defence.

Here are a few of them:

Akash Missile Launch from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Wheeler Island

Advanced Air Defence Launch

Shaurya Missile Launch

All pics: Wikipedia

Source….Shreya Pareek…..www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

Image of the Day… Mars’ Early Atmosphere…Image Credit NASA

September 3, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

This view combines information from two instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to map color-coded composition over the shape of the ground in a small portion of the Nili Fossae plains region of Mars’ northern hemisphere.

This site is part of the largest known carbonate-rich deposit on Mars. In the color coding used for this map, green indicates a carbonate-rich composition, brown indicates olivine-rich sands, and purple indicates basaltic composition.

Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on early Mars reacted with surface rocks to form carbonate, thinning the atmosphere by sequestering the carbon in the rocks.

An analysis of the amount of carbon contained in Nili Fossae plains estimated the total at no more than twice the amount of carbon in the modern atmosphere of Mars, which is mostly carbon dioxide. That is much more than in all other known carbonate on Mars, but far short of enough to explain how Mars could have had a thick enough atmosphere to keep surface water from freezing during a period when rivers were cutting extensive valley networks on the Red Planet. Other possible explanations for the change from an era with rivers to dry modern Mars are being investigated.

This image covers an area approximately 1.4 miles (2.3 kilometers) wide. A scale bar indicates 500 meters (1,640 feet). The full extent of the carbonate-containing deposit in the region is at least as large as Delaware and perhaps as large as Arizona.

The color coding is from data acquired by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), in observation FRT0000C968 made on Sept. 19, 2008. The base map showing land shapes is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. It is one product from HiRISE observation ESP_010351_2020, made July 20, 2013. Other products from that observation are online at http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_032728_2020.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been using CRISM, HiRISE and four other instruments to investigate Mars since 2006. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, led the work to build the CRISM instrument and operates CRISM in coordination with an international team of researchers from universities, government and the private sector. HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/Univ. of Arizona

Source…www.nasa.gov

Natarajan

Image of the Day… ” Good Night From Space…”

September 3, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Earth’s thin atmosphere stands out against the blackness of space in this photo shared on Aug. 31, 2015, by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on board the International Space Station. The station’s solar panels can be seen in darkness at the right of the image.

Kelly, in the midst of a year-long stay on the orbital outpost, shared the photo in a tweet: “Day 157. At the end of the day, #sunrise will come again. Good night from @space_station! #YearInSpace.”

Source…..www.nasa.gov.

Natarajan

World’s worst airlines named in Skytrax rankings…..

August 27, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

North Korea’s Koryo Air has been named the world’s worst airline again for the fourth year running by Skytrax, which holds the annual World Airline Awards. It is the only airline listed by Skytrax to receive a lowly one-star rating out of a possible five, due to its Soviet-era planes, rudimentary safety belts, and questionable safety.

Koryo Air has been named the world’s worst airline again for the fourth year running by Skytrax, which holds the annual World Airline Awards for best airline in the world.

It is the only airline listed by Skytrax to receive a lowly one-star rating out of a possible five, due to its Soviet-era planes, rudimentary safety belts, and questionable safety.

The next worst airlines, according to the Skytrax rating system, are those given two stars out of five. There are 21 airlines in this category, which Skytrax says indicates “a lower quality performance, below the industry quality average across many of the rating sectors.”

Ryanair is one of these.

Two star-rated airlines (in alphabetical order)

Bahamasair – Bahamas

Passengers saeem to agree with Skytrax here – the customer reviews on the same website give the airline an average 2/10.

“A two-star airline rating,” Skytrax’ website states, “normally signifies poorer or inconsistent standards of product and front-line staff service for the cabin service and the home-base airport environment.”

Biman Bangladesh – Bangladesh

Customer rating: 5/10

“Checking in was totally disorganised.”

Bulgaria Air – Bulgaria

Customer rating: 6/10

“It seemed that the best I could get from them [the crew] was ignorance”.

China United Airlines – China

Customer rating: 8/10 (from only two reviews)

“China United is the only airline that uses Beijing Nanyuan a former military airport in the South of Beijing. Check-in was quick easy but the check-in area is noisy and dilapidated. Toilets at the airport weren’t great.”

Cubana Airlines – Cuba

Customer rating: 4/10

“So many things went wrong with this flight but the customer service or lack of was ridiculous.”

Iran Air – Iran

Customer rating: 5/10

“IranAir does not serve any alcohol but that’s part of the current Iran experience I guess.”

Lion Air – Indonesia

Customer rating: 4/10

“Once seated another passenger showed me his boarding pass that was the same seat as mine.”

Mahan Air – Iran

Customer rating: 7/10 – shortly to be moving out of the two-star catgory perhaps?

“I always select Mahan for my Dubai – Tehran trips. It’s a budget airline but the food service and staff hospitality are on par with any top airlines of the world.”

Nepal Airlines – Nepal

Customer rating: 5/10 (from only two reviews)

“New plane but limited legroom between seats.”

Onur Air – Turkey

Customer rating: 5/10

“The seat was very uncomfortable. Water was not free, they charge 3 Euros for a small bottle.”

Pegasus Airlines – Turkey

Customer rating: 5/10

“I had four flights booked on Pegasus for business and vacation and the four of these flights were delayed – not by a few minutes, at least an hour or hour and a half.”

Rossiya Airlines – Russia

Customer rating: 5/10

“Meal service is the worst in the air.”

Ryanair – Ireland

Customer rating: 5/10

“In Dublin, when I approached the desk to say that we had our boarding passes on a laptop, the customer service worker starting yelling at us. “How am I supposed to stamp your boarding pass if it’s on a device?””

SmartWings – Czech Republic

Customer rating: 5/10

“Flight was on time (sic), but that was the first and last good thing about it. Flight staff was rude, there is almost no service, you get 1 glass of water or cheap soda and one distasteful sandwich, seats were not comfortable and plane looked old.”

Spirit Airlines – USA

Customer rating: 3/10

“Everything negative everyone has said about Spirit is true. Spirit ruined my trip with unnecessary stress and anxiety.”

Sudan Airways – Sudan

Customer rating: 1/10 (from only one review)

“Aircraft very scruffy inside and needed some real attention and cleaning.”

Syrianair – Syria

Customer rating: 2/10

“The cabin staff on the way out smoked behind the curtain and when my husband challenged them about this they actually offered him a cigarette.”

Tajik Air – Tajikistan

Customer rating: 0/10 (from only four reviews)

“The whole plane was as smelly – in brief the worst of all airlines.”

Turkmenistan Airlines – Turkmenistan

Customer rating: 4/10

“Worst airline and customer service I’ve seen miserable staff who don’t smile.”

Ukraine Int’l Airlines – Ukraine

Customer rating: 5/10

“Long drive (again no air-conditioning) to the airplane. It was a very old 737-500, with signs in Portuguese and Russian.”

Yemenia – Yemen

Customer rating: 4/10

“Seats standard economy not too clean though and interior showed serious signs of wear.”

Source…..www.traveller.com.au

Natarajan

What flight attendants want you to stop doing….

August 26, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The galley isn’t for yoga. Picture: PassengerShaming.com Source: Facebook

SURE, it’s uncomfortable being jammed into an airline seat the width of a pizza box (if you’re lucky) for hours on end, listening to the shriek of babies and engaging in elbow wars with your seat-mate while you try to shove down food that tastes like feet.

But that’s the reality of flying these days, you didn’t score that $199 flight without making some sacrifices.

So just remember that for you it’s a temporary descent into hell. But for the flight attendants helping you out, it’s their everyday reality.

Perhaps you wonder how to make their job a bit less painful? Here’s a list of the things that flight attendants really wish passengers would stop doing.

• Leaving rubbish in the pocket on the back of the seat

“We walk up and down the aisle throughout the flight with a trash bag to collect trash.” — Abbie Unger, flight attendant, author and founder of the Flight Attendant Career Connection.

Nappies, socks and rubbish. Picture: PassengerShaming.com Source: Facebook

• Taking ages to decide what you want to drink. And having bad timing

“You’ve seen me walking down the aisle with the drink cart for 20 minutes already.” — Facebook user Corinne Spring from the Flight Attendant Career Connection.

• “There is nothing more irritating than when a passenger comes straight onto the plane and asks for a soft drink. I’m like, ‘Seriously?’” — Nick Stracener, a flight attendant with American.

• Being a space hog

“My head literally just exploded. #TheSenseofEntitlement.” — Shawn Kathleen, who runs the blog PassengerShaming said of the below photo showing items such as heels and a hat taking up precious overhead space.

Got enough room? Picture: PassengerShaming.com Source: Facebook

• Poking or grabbing me

“Please don’t touch, poke, or tug on a flight attendant. You could say ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir’. You can say ‘miss,’ ‘excuse me,’ ‘pardon me’ — or just wait until I make eye contact with you. But please don’t touch my rear end again!” — Abbie Unger.

• Blocking the aisle

“Attention all passengers: Stop. Doing. This.” — Shawn Kathleen said of the photo below showing passengers sharing earphones across the aisle.

Please be considerate. Picture: PassengerShaming.com Source: Facebook

• Making yourself at home, including clipping your nails and walking to the bathroom barefoot

“It’s just so gross. And people in first class are even worse — they think it’s their house.” — Nick Stracener.

“We are always reminding people to put their shoes on because the wetness on the floor is not water.” — Sydney Pearl, author and creator of the website Diary of a Pissed Off Flight Attendant.

Eww. Picture: PassengerShaming.com Source: Facebook

• Using the toilet when the plane is about to land — or meals are being served

“My main pet peeve is when people get on the plane and immediately go to the bathroom all the way in the back.” — an anonymous flight attendant told theNYPost.

• Hanging out in or near the galley

“I came out of the galley and she scared the crap out of me!!” — Shawn Kathleen said on spotting the woman in the photo below in such a strange place, and position.

What’s she doing there? Picture: PassengerShaming.com Source: Facebook

Source….www.news.com.au

Natarajan

NASA Scientist Turns Mars Rover Selfie Into Art….

August 24, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

A ‘selfie’ taken by NASA’s Curiosity Rover has become such a hit that it inspired one of the scientists on the team that created the camera taking the selfie to turn into an artwork.

NASA shared the picture on its Facebook page. It’s titled Le Petit Rover – a reference to French writer-aviator’s book Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince, a book about a planet-hopping ‘prince’ who falls to Earth from an asteroid.

Photo Credit: Facebook/NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover

The original image is a low-angle self-portrait of the Mars Rover, which shows the vehicle above the “Buckskin” rock target in the “Marias Pass” area of lower Mount Sharp.

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The artwork inspired by the original selfie has almost 3,000 likes so far.

Source….www.ndtv.com

Natarajan