Three Words You Never Want To Hear : “Uncontained Engine Failure”

Yesterday morning an incident involving a Qantas Boeing 747-438 flying from San Francisco to Sydney caused Julie Johnsson, the Chicago Tribune’s aviation reporter, to Tweet “3 words you never want to hear: “uncontained engine failure” from her Twitter account. While the incident involving Qantas Flight 47 left the flight crew a number of options, including…

Reader Mail : What Are Some Funny & Odd Airport Codes?

Airport codes, every commercial airport has a three letter airport code … and this week’s reader mail, from Dane in Philadelphia, asks “I know with all the possible three letter airport code combinations there must be some funny or odd airport codes. Do you know of any that make passengers chuckle?” Well Dane … as…

Can Japan Airlines’ Layoffs and Shedding of Routes & Planes Be Good?

It is hard to pinpoint when Japan Airlines (JAL) started its downfall.  For more than fifty years JAL was the top airline in Japan and for a long time the top airline in Asia and one of the largest airlines in the world.  Even with competitor All Nippon Airways (ANA) being founded a year after…

Ryanair vs The Violin : Blame The Passenger Not The Airline

Everyday I read stories regarding passengers who are upset about carry on bags, checked bags, legroom, missing flights because they were late. Today was no different … except today this story was published by the BBC and it is virally traveling throughout Twitter, Ryanair tells girl to buy £190 plane seat for violin. According to…

Mexicana Says Goodbye With Its Future Up In The Air

Mexicana, formally known as Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, has a storied history. The airline founded in 1921 is not only the oldest operating airline in Mexico, but also the oldest airline in The Americas, one of the oldest airlines in the world to continue flying under its original name … and the oldest airline in…