Aviation

Air Travel Myths and Mysteries….

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Myths and mysteries of an Air Travel…

From the safest seat on a plane to why some airlines don’t include row 13 and what really happens to your waste, we reveal the truth about air travel, with some help from flight deal website Skyscanner.com.

Is it safe to drink the water on planes?

Some planes have unwanted stowaways in their water supply, including bacteria that could make you sick, according to tests by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2009. The water didn’t meet safety standards in one out of every seven planes tested, with bacteria associated with human faeces like coliform and E. coli found. Bacteria can grow in the plane’s water tanks and hoses, as the water is pumped on board through hoses that are difficult to clean. Best to be cautious on this!

Do you really get drunk quicker while in the skies?

Not true, according to studies. Dr. Bhushan Kapur from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine said passengers’ blood alcohol level doesn’t increase in the air. However, people do tend to drink more in a shorter time frame in the skies, which can leave them more impaired. So where does the misconception come from? The onboard effects of hypoxia – less oxygenated conditions due to the low-pressure environment and high altitude – can cause passengers to experience symptoms similar to intoxication.

What happens to your waste?

Airlines are not allowed to dump their waste tanks in mid-flight, however leaks can occur. Numerous “blue ice” (frozen sewage material treated by a liquid disinfectant that freezes at high altitude) impacts have been recorded, including some where it has fallen through the roofs of people’s homes.
For example, one UK couple were reportedly sitting in their garden when blue ice hit the roof of their house before landing on their heads. It gave off a “particularly pungent whiff of urine” as if thawed.

Do flight attendants have to be a certain weight?

There are no strict rules according to waistlines, but cabin crew must have “weight in proportion to height”. They must be able to sit in the jump seat without an extended seat belt and fit through the emergency exit window. The acceptable height is approximately 160-185 centimetres.

What happens when the pilot goes to the toilet?

Ever wondered why the seatbelt sign randomly lights up during a flight? Well forget turbulence, it may be that the pilot has made a sneaky trip to the toilet. A cabin crew member will guard the flight deck door while the pilot makes the trip to the lavatory.

Can lightning cause a plane crash?

Passenger planes are inevitable targets for lightning, which strikes a commercial plane on average once a year. However, lightning hasn’t downed a passenger plane since 1967. Planes have to pass numerous lightning certification tests. The outer skin of most planes is mainly aluminium – a good conductor of electricity. The current flows through the skin from the point of impact to another extremity point, commonly the tail.

Why do airlines leave out row 13?

Some airlines remove row 13 from their planes so not to spook superstitious flyers, including Air France, Emirates, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa and Ryanair. Lufthansa also flies minus a 17th row as it’s regarded as unlucky in Italy and Brazil.

Do lavatories have to be fitted with an ashtray, despite ban on smoking?

Smoking on planes has been banned for nearly 15 years, but all planes worldwide must have ashtrays to ensure flight safety. Why? A discarded cigarette sparked a plane crash in 1973, so the rule was adopted in case a passenger gave in to their cravings on a flight.

Can you get high from the emergency masks?

Contrary to what Brad Pitt’s character in Fight Club may think, the oxygen from the emergency masks won’t get you high. It’s actually a loss of oxygen that makes you feel this way, so that’s why airlines provide the masks in case the cabin pressure suddenly drops.

Can your mobile phone cause a plane crash?

The jury’s still out on this issue, but airlines are erring on the side of caution. Current regulations give crew the power to ban the use of any device that could threaten the safety of an aircraft. Experts say that electromagnetic waves emitted by mobiles can interfere with a plane’s electronics and cause a crash, concerns that were outlined in an investigation by the New York Times last year.

Which seats are the safest?

It’s true – the safest seat should you be involved in a mid-air disaster is the emergency exit, according to researchers from the University of Greenwich commissioned by the US Civil Aviation Authority, who looked at the accounts of 2000 survivors in 105 air accidents around the world. A seat up to five rows from an exit offers a greater chance of escaping if there’s a fire. There’s only a “marginal” difference as to whether the seat is on the aisle or not. It also found passengers at the front of the plane had a 65 per cent chance of escape, while those at the rear had only a 53 per cent chance.

Why does food taste different on a plane?

It’s not just your imagination – food really does taste different in the skies. Firstly, the atmosphere inside the cabin dries out the nose and then the change in air pressure numbs approximately a third of the taste buds. This explains why airlines tend to add a lot of salt and spice to food.

source::::news.com.au
Natarajan

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/greatest-air-travel-myths-exposed/story-e6frfq80-1226463922963#ixzz2LE9jLXei

Take Off in the Miniature Airport !!!

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Miniature airport           This is unbelievable !!!!
 
 
This must have required as much planning as the real thing.  
 
Amazing. I love the take offs!
 
 
It is hard to believe that all these Aircraft operations are ‘dummy” ….It is so realistic that you feel as if you are
sitting in control tower and watching aircraft movements and vehicle movements  on the dotted lines!!!!
Natarajan
source::::input from a friend of mine…

” Strange ” Plane at Melbourne Airport !!!!

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The new 'plane' at Melbourne Airport is the centrepiece of a state-of-the-art training facility dubbed the Learning Academy Hot Fire Training Ground.The new ‘plane’ at Melbourne Airport is the centrepiece of a state-of-the-art training facility dubbed the Learning Academy Hot Fire Training Ground.

If you’ve visited Melbourne Airport in the past few months and wondered why an enormous, rust-coloured plane is sitting outside on the tarmac, wonder no more.

It’s not an art installation. It’s a full-sized mock-up aircraft fuselage that from mid-March will be laid with gaslines and set alight – like a giant barbecue – for use in aviation rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) training.

The structure – which is the centrepiece of a state-of-the-art training facility dubbed the Learning Academy Hot Fire Training Ground – will be quite the spectacle when alight and probably quite disturbing for those unaware that it isn’t an actual plane. A spokesman for Airservices Australia, however (the government-owned corporation that provides ARFF services at 21 of Australia’s airports), said passengers “shouldn’t be alarmed by smoke or flames from the training facility.”

Although this isn't the first aircraft mock-up that's been used for training purposes in Australia, Airservices said it's certainly the largest in the southern hemisphere, and possibly the world.Although this isn’t the first aircraft mock-up that’s been used for training purposes in Australia, Airservices said it’s certainly the largest in the southern hemisphere, and possibly the world.

“Airservices will take into account fire bans and existing wind conditions during the testing of the hot-fire training facility,” he said.

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Although this isn’t the first aircraft mock-up that’s been used for training purposes in Australia, Airservices said it’s certainly the largest in the southern hemisphere, and possibly the world. At over 56 metres long, 10 metres high and 29 metres wide, it’s almost three times the length of existing aircraft mock-ups currently in use in Australia.

The structure is basically a mash-up of replicated sections of aircraft including the Airbus A380, Boeing 767 and DC10 aircraft, to train crews in fighting fires on different types of aircrafts and to allow multiple training scenarios to happen at the same time. It is the first time Airservices has developed a mock-up that includes the A380.

“This facility now gives us the ability to train firefighters in responding to the largest aircraft that will land in Australian airports,” the Airservices Australia spokesman said.

Depending on training requirements, the aircraft mock-up can also be lit at different levels, creating wheel fires, engine fires or complete aircraft fuselage fires. The centre of the aircraft will also have drums filled with fuel to replicate fires inside a plane.

Although it won’t be used to train cabin crew as it isn’t equipped with escape slides, the interior is set up like a real aircraft, complete with seating and overhead compartments.

Unfortunately for those who have been admiring the rustic burnt orange hue of the structure as they fly into Melbourne Airport, the plane will be turning black once it starts burning.

source:::::brisbane times.com

Natarajan

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/firing-up-strange-plane-appears-at-melbourne-airport-20130204-2dtsf.html#ixzz2Jwp4bXBE

A Palace In the Sky !!!!!

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Earlier this year, Dealbook revealed that billionaire Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud was spending some $500 million on a fully customized A380 from Airbus, the most expensive private jet ever.
Now The Daily Mail has found out some jaw-dropping details about the plane, which the prince ordered more than three years ago.
Remember — the A380 is normally used as a commercial airliner, and can hold 800 passengers. But here’s what Prince Alwaleed has reportedly tricked out the triple-decker jet with instead:
A parking spot for his Rolls-Royce
Five suites with king-sized beds and ensuite bathrooms with showers
First-class “sleepers” for an additional 20 guests
A steam room for spa treatments and a marble-finished Turkish bath
A boardroom with holographic displays
A prayer area “in which computer-generated mats move to point towards Mecca”
A “concert hall” with a baby grand piano and seating for 10
A spiral staircase connecting all three floors
The average price for an A380 is $389 million, according to Airbus. But the prince’s plane, with its lavish customizations, is expected to cost upwards of $500 million.
He’s expected to take delivery of the plane in 2013.
Prince Alwaleed is worth an estimated $18 Billion.

source::::businessinsider.com
Natarajan
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/prince-alwaleeds-tricked-out-a380-jet-2012-12#ixzz2FsvWrgzy

Richard Branson to Serve as Stewardess of Air Asia !!!!!

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British billionaire Richard Branson will finally wear a red skirt and serve as a stewardess on Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia in May after losing a Grand Prix bet with the founder of the airline.

Virgin boss Branson and AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes had agreed in 2010 that whichever of their teams (then Virgin and Lotus) finished lower in the constructors’ championship in their debut season, the losing owner would serve on the other’s airline.

Branson lost as Lotus finished 10th and Virgin 12th, but the trip was postponed in early 2011 after he injured himself while skiing.

Fernandes said Branson had contacted him to honour his bet.

‘He will be an Airasia stewardess in May on Airasia. 2 years late but main point he hasn’t forgotten,’ Fernandes tweeted.

Fernandes had previously said that Branson would strut down the aisle to offer coffee, tea or other food and beverages to guests on a special 13-hour Kuala Lumpur to London flight.

The tickets for the flight would be auctioned off for charity.

source:::::Bigpond NEWS….Australia
Natarajan

New Generation of AirShip ….Aeroscraft !!!!!

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Lighter-than-air craft rise again

A behind the scenes look at the project to build a radical new airship that could soon criscross our skies.

If you like the idea of cruising on a ship in laid-back luxury, but prefer the speed and convenience of air travel, there may soon be a solution. Drawing their inspiration from the airships of yesteryear, a new generation of airship-like vehicles could soon be making their way across our skies.

In a hangar outside Tustin in California, engineers are preparing one of the most radical designs for testing.  The Aeroscraft, as it is known, is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak and has been made possible by advances in materials and computer control systems.

“We are resurrecting [the airship] with new composite fabric structures, that are stronger, lighter, more versatile” says Fred Edworthy, of Aeros, the company building the lighter-than-air vehicle.

The airship in the hangar is being built to test various key components of a design that could one day contain a hotel, casino or spa. However, the company believes one of its biggest markets could be transporting freight from hard-to-reach locations or, for example, carrying wind turbine blades. Currently blades are as large as they can be to be transported on a truck.

“It’s a new era for logistics in cargo. Transport is our first aim for these craft,” says Edworthy.  “It’s impossible to get into some of the resource rich areas of the world. Ecologically, you can’t do it. Areas of the far north, or the Amazon are good examples.”

Planes need large runways, and helicopters can only carry limited loads. But the Aeroscraft can take-off and land vertically using turbofans that can swivel to provide lift and move the craft forward.

Rising up

The whole process of loading and unloading, as well as getting off the ground and keeping the ship aloft is helped by an ingenious system held within the frame of the ship.

“The biggest advancement is our buoyancy management system that allows the vehicle to operate autonomously – without the hundreds of people that you saw grabbing the Zeppelin type airships,” says Edworthy.

The system gets around a major drawback of traditional airships which have difficulty controlling lift, and need ballasts to reach the correct altitude, and ropes and docking stations are needed on the ground to stop a vessel floating off.

Instead, the Aeroscraft uses large bags, or bladders, inside a rigid structure. When the pilot wants to descend, the vehicle needs to be heavier, so the helium in the main body of the craft is compressed and put into storage chambers. That creates a relative vacuum inside the body, which draws air from the outside. Air is heavier than helium, so the vehicle sinks. To rise again, the stored helium is released back into the body of the aircraft, pushing the air out of the bags and replacing the volume it filled with lightweight helium.

“We can control the buoyancy, and allow ourselves to come to the ground and land vertically as well as take off vertically,” says Edworthy.  That is the biggest advancement over the last 100 years.”

The whole process is controlled from a cockpit, which is also designed to be retractable to allow the craft to be as aerodynamic as possible. During flight it can be moved inside the vehicle, and the pilots will have “virtual” views on screens. The whole assembly is lowered below the airship body for landing or when visibility is needed.

The craft is also designed to be as simple to fly as possible. Fibre-optics around the aircraft link touch screens in the cockpit with actuators and controls in the engines or on the control surfaces.

“We moved from the typical aircraft paradigm where we have pedals, to a 6 degree of freedom joystick,” says Munir Jojo-Verge, aerospace control flight engineer for the firm.  “You can control the vehicle with one hand – roll, pitch, yaw. This is a huge step.”

Ease of control will be critical when the firms’ next generation craft, which are twice the size of the test vehicle under construction, are built.

Assuming they pass their flight tests, which will begin later this year, the big question is whether anyone will choose to fly in them. For all of their cutting edge design and elegance, they will still only travel at about quarter of the speed of a passenger jet.

“It will be slower than a 747 [plane] at approximately 110 knots (approx 200km/h) cruising speed,” admits Edworthy. “But it would be the event of ‘getting there’ rather than how quickly you get there.”

source:::::bbc.com ………….

Natarajan

 

 

Electric Passenger Plane…. in Flightpath 2050!!!!!!

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 SOURCE::::BUSINESSINSIDER.COM …..  Amazing information….looks like a  story now…but it could be a reality oneday!!!!..
 Natarajan

How A Futuristic Electric Passenger Plane Could Transform Aviation Forever

 

If the aviation industry is going to meet the formidable fuel-efficiency goals laid out in the European Commission’s “Flightpath 2050,” a lot of progress needs to be made. 

The successful test flight of PC-Aero’s single seat Elektra One in 2011 proved that electric power is a potential solution.

But a concept presented by research institution Bauhaus Luftfahrt at this week’s ILA Berlin Air Show makes that vision of air travel more relevant, efficient, and downright cool.

The recently unveiled Ce-Liner is a fully electric commercial passenger plane that would carry nearly 200 travelers between continents and over oceans. To develop it, Bauhaus Luftfahrt is using a variety of new technologies.

The distinctive “C-wing” improves aerodynamic efficiency and makes the goal of powering transatlantic flights with electricity more viable. The research institution predicts that batteryto allow a flight range of nearly 700 miles. That will jump to 1,000 miles by 2035, and to 1,600 miles by 2040.

In addition to emissions-free flight (provided the electricity is produced from renewable resources), the Ce-Liner will have a half hour airport turnaround time, easily reversible motors for better speed control, and seat design that gives passengers more room when the plane is not full.

More importantly, electric flight could transform aviation. Airlines, no longer hostage to rising oil prices, would be freed from the need to pack flights and reduce service to produce profits. Electricity would actually make air travel pleasant, especially since there’s no headache-inducing jet engine noise.

To find out just how Bauhaus Luftfahrt plans to get the Ce-Liner built and into the skies in the next few decades, we spoke with Dr. Askin T. Isikveren, the head of the research institution’s Visionary Aircraft Concepts program.

Here’s what he told us.

Q: How does the C-Wing impact flight in terms of aerodynamics and efficiency?

A: The C-Wing concept, originated by [Ilan] Kroo of Stanford University and [John H.] McMasters of Boeing/University of Washington, focuses on reducing a significant amount of the drag attributed to aircraft lift – much in the same way winglets reduce drag on commercial transports and business jets. The difference here is we combine the traditional horizontal tail (usually a separate smaller wing at the back-end of the aircraft) with the main wing in such a manner that it can further enhance the benefits given by winglets. Think of it as a “winglet-let”. Our predictions indicate a total drag reduction of up to 11 percent compared to projected improvements in conventional, separate wing-horizontal tail designs.

Q: What makes the Ce-Liner’s motors capable of producing enough power for a large aircraft?

A: We utilise so-called High Temperature Super-conducting electric motors. These are very much in the experimental phase – currently a good measure of test-rig laboratory work is being performed in the US. These motors are well suited to aerospace application because they are expected to exhibit very good power-to-weight ratios. The Silent Advanced Fans utilising Electrical power (SAFE) propulsion devices of the Ce-Liner need a total of around 59,800 hp in order to take off.

By shrouding the SAFE fan blades, we project very quiet levels of community and cabin noise and yet still produce a high level of efficiency for the aircraft during operation. One additional benefit of utilising electric motors for propulsion is to generate reverse thrust (slow down the aircraft during, for example, landing) simply changing the direction of rotation achieves this. Today, kerosene-based engines require dedicated equipment for such a function, which increases weight and cost.

Q: What other design differences are there between the Ce-Liner and current, conventional passenger jets?

A: Bauhaus has also focused on the cabin. We propose a centre-fuselage boarding and de-boarding. Our novel Sideward Foldable Seat allows passengers to board and de-board quickly. In addition, when the cabin is not full (average US DOT numbers indicate cabins are not 100 percent full), by having the Sideward Foldable Seats collapsed when passengers do not require them, the cabin will have a feeling of more space in its surroundings, therefore affording more comfort.

To make sure the aircraft is ready for departure from the gate within 30 minutes, we have designed specially modified industry-standard LD-3 cargo containers (called Charge Carrying Containers, or 3Cs) to house the advanced lithium ion batteries. In this way, the aircraft can be turned around quickly without having to wait for them to be recharged (which takes up to two hours) – the procedure will be to load and unload these 3Cs when the aircraft is at the gate.

 

bauhaus luftfahrt ce-liner electric plane

Bauhaus-Luftfahrt

 

Q: What is the most difficult design challenge facing the Ce-Liner?

A: The most difficult challenge is to reduce the weight of the Universally-Electric Systems Architecture necessary for the Ce-Liner. Although we at BHL have set relatively aggressive weight targets for the electrical system components, the aircraft still ends up being heavier than, say, a future aircraft that operates with kerosene alone. This tends to penalise the performance of the aircraft, e.g. diminish range capability.

By communicating the outcomes of our research work, we look towards collaborating with the wider academic community and industry to assist us in addressing this problem. It should be highlighted that our investigations have shown, even with this high weight penalty, the Universally-Electric Systems Architecture alone produces up to 10 percent better vehicle efficiency compared to future kerosene based designs. Such an outcome is due to the inherently more efficient components and sub-systems associated with electrical based solutions. This is good news when one considers the potential when utilising energy, whatever it might be, for future applications in aerospace.

Q: How much is the design and construction of the Ce-Liner expected to cost?

A: We have not as yet conducted a full product development cost prediction for Ce-Liner. Seeing that many of the component technologies that constitute the Universally-Electric Systems Architecture are in the experimental phase nowadays, the target we have set is moderately higher than the cost one normally associates with advanced, kerosene-based narrow-body aircraft.

Q: What is the estimated sale price?

A: Our market value and subsequent aircraft list price modeling does not capture the effect of how zero-emissions capability would influence price. This is currently too difficult to predict. Based on a method generally accepted by the aviation community using range capability, passenger accommodation, and other cabin and performance attributes, we have projected a list price of $39.6 million.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com

7 Innovations in Air Travel….

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SOURCE:::::BBC TRAVEL SITE…  writeup by Sean O ‘Neill….

Natarajan

 

 

Seven innovations in air travel

London's Gatwick airport is experimenting with iris scanning gates.

London’s Gatwick airport is experimenting with iris scanning gates. (AOPTIX)

Between 5 and 7 September hundreds of representatives from airlines and airports around the world will visit Vancouver for the 2012 Future Travel Experience, an annual conference that showcases the latest technologies for making air travel easier.

Getting ahead of the event, I checked in with major airports and airlines to find out about some of the previously presented travel tech innovations that they’ve been testing this year.

Do-it-yourself boarding at gates
On 27 June, Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport opened a third terminal for domestic and international flights. At all 14 of the terminal’s gates – whereJetBlue is the primary airline — there are self-boarding stations where passengers scan their boarding passes to open the automated clearance gates and board planes on their own.

Other airlines are eyeing the same technology as a replacement for gates overseen by personnel. Last year, Lufthansa installed similar gates at its three hubs in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich.

Never lose another piece of luggage
McCarran’s third terminal has also put in place a high-tech baggage-handling system, where airport workers attach a tag embedded with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip to each checked bag. The RFID chip broadcasts a unique signal, similar to a radio transmitter.

The RFID tags can be scanned more easily and quickly than tags with bar codes, helping crews correctly route bags and find misplaced ones. The airport has installed 55 sensors at the airport to track a bag at every stop, from conveyor belt to carousel. It is the first US airport to embrace the technology, though some non-US airports, such as in Lisbon and Milan, and airlines like Qantas, have experimented with RFID tags.

Instant upgrades while queueing for your flight
This autumn, budget carrier Easyjet will be testing “Halo” devices — tablet computers that are connected wirelessly to the airline’s reservations system and enable the airline crew to walk among passengers in the terminal and process simple transactions without being confined to their podium’s desktop computers. These transactions could include upgrades, such as priority boarding or more legroom, and the airline is testing the technology at airports in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel, Edinburgh and Geneva.

Tag your own bag
This summer Alaska Airlines became the first US airline to install machines that allow passengers to tag their own bags. After a successful trial at Redmond Airport, in Oregon, the machines were put into use at the airline’s hub, Seattle–Tacoma International, in Washington.

While the machines are standard practice outside of the US, automated baggage checking is a new process for Americans. Passengers use an airport kiosk to print out a bag tag, put the tag on the luggage and then hand the bag to an agent to put on the conveyor belt. While technically giving the traveller more work, the automated procedure gives frequent fliers a chance to avoid becoming mired in queues behind inexperienced travellers while checking luggage.

Alaska Airlines plans to add the machines this year to airports in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Monterey and San Diego, California. Other airlines are also investigating the technology. American Airlines is debuting the self-tagging kiosks slowly over the next two years, with airport devices already operational in Austin, Texas, and being added to New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Facial scans
London’s Heathrow Airport needed a security solution for its joint departure area, where passengers leaving on domestic and international flights both wait before being summoned to their gates. The airport worried that an international passenger might swap boarding passes with someone in the lounge and sneak onto a domestic flight, therefore evading an immigration check.

So starting in September, passengers at Heathrow’s terminals one and five (which cover many, but not all, international flights), will have his or her face scanned for identification upon entering and leaving the departure area.

For example, to go to a gate to catch a flight, passengers will step up to an automatic gate and wave their barcoded boarding pass over a scanner. Then, an infrared light will flash across each flier’s face, taking about five seconds on average to identify a person — even a twitchy one — from up to 3ft away.

The machine will match the images of the passenger’s face with the images in the database, recorded when the passenger passed through an earlier set of automated gates to enter the departure area. If the identity match is successful, the automated doors will open

But facial scanning can also be used to achieve other efficiencies. If successful, airports may use facial scanners to supplement other methods of verifying a passenger’s identity, such as to detect who has permission to enter a first class lounge.

Next-generation iris scans for identification
Meanwhile, London’s Gatwick Airport has been experimenting with iris scanning to solve the same problem. Its south terminal’s departure area is also a joint lounge where domestic and international passengers mix, so it has outfitted the entrances and exits to the lounge with 34 AOptix InSight VM iris recognition devices, which can record the unique patterns formed on the irises in a passenger’s eyes, which the airport stores temporarily as a form of identification. Similar to what Heathrow does with face scans, passengers must be scanned to go in and come out of the departure lounge.

Old iris scanners required passengers to stand still to work, which often caused delays and errors. AOptix claims its next-generation machines at Gatwick are much faster and can quickly scan a person at a distance, even a restless person standing up to 6ft away. It takes around eight seconds to record the pattern for both eyes on a passenger’s first scan and about two seconds in subsequent scans to recognise them later.

Turn your mobile phone into a boarding pass
About 15% of Android phones, or about one million new ones sold every day on average, now contain near-field communication (NFC) chips, which can emit a short-range signal that transmits data even when a device is off.  These chips turn a phone into a payment tool, similar to the cards that subway commuters use to open turnstiles in Hong Kong and London, and these chips also allow phones to be used as a replacement for a barcode-based boarding pass.

The iPhone does not yet have an NFC-enabled chip, though the next edition, being unveiled this autumn, might.

This summer Japan Airlines began installing NFC equipment at its major hubs in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Okinawa, becoming the first airline globally to enable smart phones with NFC chips to act as boarding passes for passengers flying domestically, relieving travellers of the need to fumble with an airline app or the relevant email to find the barcode currently used on mobile boarding passes. Of course, if your gate, airport or airline hasn’t yet installed NFC sensors, you’ll still need to rely on the old barcode boarding pass system.

The technology is being closely considered by other airlines, which are eager to use NFC chips to store frequent flier account numbers, which could enable the device holders to access private lounges.

Most prominently, SAS Airlines has, since March, been inviting the 50,000 members of its EuroBonus frequent flier program to use NFC-enabled readers at its gates at airports in Scandinavia for flights within the region. Frequent fliers whose phones are not yet NFC-enabled can instead receive stickers that contain the NFC chips to attach to their phones for the same benefit.

Other airports testing NFC technology include France’s Toulouse-Blagnac airport and several Australian airport gates run by Qantas. Forty of the 50 largest airlines say they will experiment with NFC technology in the next two years, according to a January 2012 survey by SITA, or Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques.

Sean O‘Neill is the travel tech columnist for BBC Travel. 

Laughter the Best Medicine…..Airline jokes !!!!

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SOURCE::::: NET JOKES ON AVIATION

Natarajan

I DESERVE A FIRST CLASS SEAT…..

A blonde gets on an airplane and sits down in the first class section of the plane. The stewardess rushes over to her and tells her she must move to coach because she doesn’t have a first class ticket. The blonde replies, “I’m blonde, I’m smart, I have a good job, and I’m staying in first class until we reach Jamaica.”

The disgusted stewardess gets the head stewardess who asks the blonde to leave. The blonde yet again repeats “I’m blonde, I’m smart, I have a good job and I’m staying in first class until we reach Jamaica.” The head stewardesses doesn’t even know what to do at this point because they still have to get the rest of the passengers seated to take off; the blode is causing a problem with boarding now, so the stewardess gets the copilot.

The copilot goes up to the blonde and whispers in her ear. She immediately gets up and goes to her seat in the coach section. The head stewardess asks the copilot in amazement what he said to get her to move to her correct seat. The copilot replies, “I told her the front half of the airplane wasn’t going to Jamaica.”

FLYING WITHOUT A PARACHUTE…..

A man jumps out of an airplane with a parachute on his back. As he’s falling, he realizes hiss chute is broken. He doesn’t know anything about parachutes, but as the earth rapidly approaches, he realizes his options are limited; he takes off the parachute and tries to fix it himself on the way down. The wind is ripping past his face, he’s dropping like a rock, and at 5000 feet, another man goes shooting up past him. In desperation, the man with the chute looks up and yells, “Hey do you know anything about parachutes?!”

The guy flying up looks down and yells, “No, do you know anything about gas stoves?!”

ARE BLIND PILOTS FLYING???!!!!!

One day at a busy airport, the passengers on a commercial airliner are seated waiting for the pilot to show up so they can get under way.

The pilot and copilot finally appear in the rear of the plane and begin walking up to the cockpit through the center aisle. Both appear to be blind; the pilot is using a white cane, bumping into passengers right and left as he stumbles down the aisle. The copilot is using a guide dog. Both have their eyes covered with sunglasses.

At first, the passengers do not react thinking that it must be some sort of practical joke. After a few minutes though, the engines start revving, and the airplane begins moving down the runway.

The passengers look at each other with some uneasiness. They start whispering among themselves and look desperately to the stewardesses for reassurance.

Yet, the plane starts accelerating rapidly, and people begin panicking. Some passengers are praying, and as the plane gets closer and closer to the end of the runway, the voices are becoming more and more hysterical.

When the plane has less than twenty feet of runway left, there is a sudden change in the pitch of the shouts as everyone screams at once. At the very last moment, the plane lifts off and is airborne.

Up in the cockpit, the copilot breathes a sigh of relief and tells the pilot: “You know, one of these days the passengers aren’t going to scream, and we aren’t going to know when to take off!”

CIVIL AVIATION IN INDIA….LOSING AUTHORITY

Natarajan2 Comments

SOURCE:::::ARTICLE BY SAGNNIK DUTTA IN” FRONTLINE “….

A THOUGHT PROVOKING ARTICLE ON THE MODERNISATION AND PRIVATISATION POLICY OF OUR GOVT….. IS THE POLICY ADOPTED BY GOVT. IN PUBLIC INTEREST ???….QUESTION REMAINS UNANSWERED….PL READ FURTHER .

Natarajan

The Airports Authority of India becomes another victim of the government’s obsession with “modernisation” and privatisation.

Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Privatisation has made the airport one of the costliest in the world.
In a major embarrassment to the government and the private developers of Delhi’s international airport, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently slammed the airport regulator for allowing an exorbitant 346 per cent increase in the user development fees (UDF) to be levied on passengers.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the association in Beijing on June 10, the IATA’s Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Tyler, criticised the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) for failing to protect the “public interest” and for making Delhi airport among the most expensive airports in the world. The criticism of the government regulator in an international forum raises concerns about the extent to which privatisation and restructuring of airports serve the public interest. The IATA’s admonition also raises serious concerns about the flip side of the “modernisation” and “restructuring” of airports.

Another significant concern that remains unaddressed as we approach the discourse of modernisation is the plight of the workers of the government entity, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is still engaged in significant operations in developing about 60 non-metro airports along with the mega projects in Delhi and Chennai. The trajectory of privatisation, especially in the case of the Delhi airport, points to the undue haste in paving the way for the success of private players, often at the cost of the employees of the existing government entity. Even if one goes by the logic of introducing competition as a method of improving services in a free market economy, a level playing field should be provided to the public sector.

However, the pace of airport privatisation in the last six years has been carried out without giving due consideration to the problems of workers of the government entity. All parliamentary standing committees constituted for the purpose have recommended that AAI workers’ concerns be taken care of following the modernisation exercise, but critical issues remain unaddressed. The latest in a series of decisions that might bleed the public sector unit is the proposal to carve out a separate Air Navigation Services unit from the existing company.

An agreement, termed the Operations, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA), was signed in 2006 between the AAI management and the Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL), led by the GMR Group, whereby the project of designing, developing, constructing and managing the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi was assigned to DIAL. The AAI leased the premises of the airport to DIAL for a period of 60 years at an annual lease rent of Rs.100.

A parliamentary standing committee headed by Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, was formed to look into the workers’ issues. The committee, in its report in 2008, said that the AAI employees should not be put through any hardships owing to the changing decisions of the government. The Airports Authority of India Employees Union (AAIEU), in a lawsuit filed in the Delhi High Court in 2008, challenged several clauses of the OMDA as being harmful to the interests of AAI employees.

A Comptroller and Auditor General report tabled in Parliament in August 2011 pointed out that the AAI had incurred a loss of at least Rs.100 crore on account of the faulty implementation of the OMDA.

Speaking to Frontline, S.R. Santhanam, all-India president of the AAIEU, explained, “The case questioned some of the clauses of the OMDA as they were found to be discriminatory towards the employees of Airports Authority of India.” He also questioned the need to concede space to private players when in 2010 the government itself had conferred miniratna status to the AAI.

The union challenged three specific provisions of the agreement. The OMDA stated (Article 6.1.2) that general employees were to be retained at the airport for the duration of the “Operation Support Period” of three years from the effective date. At the end of the operation support period, employees would be free to choose between the private player and the AAI. However, as per Article 6.1.7 of the OMDA, the ones who continued with the AAI were to be deployed at establishments other than the IGI Airport. Article 6.2 of the OMDA states that DIAL shall have the right to appoint the senior management and, on the expiry period of the transition phase, no employees of the AAI will remain at the senior management level of the IGI Airport. The union found these clauses discriminatory towards the cause of workers. The matter is pending with the Delhi High Court.

In an official e-mail response to Frontline’s queries, DIAL said: “The said writ is pending for adjudication before the Delhi High Court and on the last date of hearing, i.e., March 22, 2012, the matter was adjourned on the request of AAI for filing the Report of the National Productive Council. The next date of hearing in the matter is September 13, 2012.”

Development fee

Employees of the AAI allege that the airport development fee (ADF) that is charged currently by the private developer at the Delhi airport is not shared with the AAI. Given the fact that the AAI continues to be a 26 per cent shareholder in the Delhi airport and is entitled to 45.99 per cent of the total revenue earned at the airport, the employees feel that the government entity should be entitled to its share of the fee. The ADF has been charged by the private developers since 2009 at the rate of Rs.200 per passenger for domestic flights and Rs.1,300 per passenger for international flights.

When contacted by Frontline, a source in GMR, however, said that the ADF was not a form of revenue but a viability gap funding necessary to meet the expenses incurred on expansion, construction and maintenance of infrastructure. The source said: “A total amount of about Rs.13,000 crore was required for developing infrastructure at the Delhi international airport, of which Rs.2,500 crore was raised through equity, Rs.5,500 crore through debt. Of the remaining Rs.5,000 crore, about Rs.1,500 crore was raised through land rental deposits by leasing out 45 acres [18 hectares] of land for a period of six years from 2006 onwards to private players for commercial purposes. The remaining Rs.3,500 crore was proposed to be raised through ADF to be implemented from 2009 onwards, which was approved by the AERA. Therefore, ADF is a form of viability gap funding and it is not a form of revenue for the company. Thus, it cannot be shared with the AAI. Also, ADF can be charged by the airport developer as per Section 22 of the amended Airports Authority of India Act, 2003.”

The DIAL e-mail said, “ADF is not an income of DIAL but a capital recovery. It is a pre-funding for capital expenditure. The amount received from ADF is used to create assets which will be used by them free of cost and at end of concession it will be transferred to AAI free of cost. Amount collected towards ADF goes to reduce Asset Base of the Airport Operator. This means lower charges for customer in perpetuity. There is no return being allowed on these assets to airport operator, nor is depreciation forming part of building block.”

Employees of the AAI, however, feel that the amendment in question was brought about purposely to facilitate additional charges to be imposed by private players. Santhanam said, “Even after the amendment of the Parliament Act and the insertion of Section 22A in the Act, the Authority is entitled to the ADF. The government routed the ADF to a private entity without giving it to the AAI, which was entitled to it.”

Section 22 of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994, allowed the AAI to charge fees or rent “for the landing, housing or parking of aircraft or for any other service or facility offered in connection with aircraft operations at any airport, heliport or airstrip”. The amendment in 2003 resulted in the insertion of Section 22A, which enabled the airport developer to levy additional charges for funding or financing the costs of upgradation, expansion or development at the airport at which the fee is collected. The ADF is proposed to be charged until February 2014 with the approval of the AERA.

The IATA’s criticism of the AERA has brought to the fore legitimate concerns about the burden of both the ADF and the UDF being passed on to passengers. The user development fee at the airport was determined by the AERA and conveyed to DIAL through a government notification in April 2012.

The UDF, which was initially proposed to be charged from April 2009 to March 2014, finally came into effect from 2012. The fee has begun to be charged from electronic bookings from May. Now a passenger will have to pay an amount in addition to the already existing ADF.

The IATA has said that with the new charges, the Delhi airport will become the most expensive in the world. DIAL, however, has justified the move. In an official statement to the IATA Director General, it said, “It is pertinent to highlight the fact that the airport charges of Indian airports were not increased during the last 10 years except by [a] nominal 10 per cent in 2009.” In a 44-page statement, DIAL further says that as per an analysis carried out by the United Kingdom-based aviation consultant Leigh Fisher, Delhi airport has the highest passenger charges only on the long-haul international segment, which constitutes only 10 per cent of the total volume of passengers at the airport.

Employees of the AAI also accuse the government of taking away the major revenue-earning airports of big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore and leaving the AAI with the task of modernising non-metro airports. A tripartite committee report was constituted in February 2006 comprising representatives of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the AAI and the AAI Employees Joint Forum. The committee, in its report submitted in 2009, observed that the AAI was undertaking development and modernisation of approximately 60 airports, including non-metro airports, besides mega projects in Chennai and Kolkata. The committee had also recommended that the existing airports be kept operational even if greenfield airports came up.

The closing down of commercial operations in 2008 at the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad following the establishment of Shamshabad airport hurt AAI employees. Santhanam said the Begumpet airport was making steady profits before commercial operations were closed down in 2008. “In fact, the airport showed a growth of 39.25 per cent in traffic revenue collection in the first eight months of 2008,” he said. The tripartite committee had recommended, for the benefit of the AAI, the reopening of commercial operations at the old airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, which is yet to happen.

Splitting the AAI

In another step towards the agenda of aggressive privatisation, there is a proposal to carve out a separate unit for air navigation services, which until now has been the sole responsibility of the AAI. Air navigation services include providing communication, navigation and surveillance facilities to aircraft in flight in a dedicated airspace. The AAI controls a large airspace of 9.5 million square kilometres, of which 5.9 million sq km is oceanic.

With the proposal to bifurcate the AAI to create a separate unit for air navigation services, the revenue earned through activities such as route-navigation facilities will no longer be available to the AAI. Route navigation facilities are services available to international aircraft when flying over a country’s airspace. The carriers pay a fee to the airport operator for landing and parking of aircraft at airports.

Sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that such a proposal was under consideration. Also, Section 12 of the AAI Act of 1994 says that “it shall be the duty of the Authority to provide air traffic service and air transport service at any airport and civil enclaves”. As per the 90th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, headed by Nilotpal Basu of the CPI(M), route navigation facility charges and terminal landing charges constitute more than 50 per cent of the total income from all aeronautical charges.

A series of policy decisions pushing for aggressive privatisation have been carried out in a manner whereby the functions and responsibilities of the AAI have been diminished in a gradual manner even while it is engaged in significant operations in modernising airports in several parts of the country apart from the metros. It is perhaps high time one questioned what larger public interest is served by such privatisation.