Mulling our recent trip to Rhodes, part of the holiday for me used to be the flying bit. I love it. However I am getting sick of stuff that seems to happen on every flight. In no particular order.
1. Squaking kids.
2. People using the back of my seat to hoist themselves up as they go to the toilet.
3. People who get up as soon as the aircraft's airborne - despite being told not to until the seat belt light's gone off.
4. People that seem to hang around the toilets for the entire duration of the flight.
5. People who get up whilst the aircraft is still taxiing to the terminal, statistically must be when they are most at risk of being injured through a ground collision or falling over.
6. People exiting the aircraft, standing in the aisles - as they await jetway or stairs to be connected - what's the rush you're going to have to wait for your baggage just like the rest of us...
feel better now.
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Golden rule of flying, First off the plane, longest to wait for bags. :-)
As for standing up while the plane is taxiing, the RAF taught me that aircraft have very good brakes, if used in anger its best to be strapped in.
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Flying's too cheap, innit?
At one time, only people like the woman who sent that email could afford to fly.
Now, the recipient can also afford it.
Which is my sarky way of making a serious point.
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What was your last flight? Empire flying boat service?
Short haul is just like getting a bus these days
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Nothing's changed really PU. Its just that perceived irritation is directly proportional to the square of the age of the person so irritated. :-)
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I imagine the destination makes a difference. You could probably have had a worse experience.
Of course picking the right airline helps.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg
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I find its the same everywhere - Southern in the US are the best in recent memory....very laid back lot...
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It is not unknown for the cabin crew to tell the cockpit that people are standing up after landing. The pilot smacks the brakes on and a few idiots fall over and can't sue as they were in breach of instructions. There'shave a result! Ryanair is the only airline I have flown with where the crew interrupted the pre-flight briefing to tell the man in row 12 reading the Times to pay attention!
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You're just getting old. The simple problem with flying and even trains is they contain people. People are strange.
Only ever thrown three times though, as I hate flying, a two Boeing 737 700s and an Airbus 319.
I would rather go by a chu chu.
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I haven't 'flown' for 15 years, and I wont, until I gets me own plane,
Yes' we won the lottery yesterday! - only £10, but it's a start :O}
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Not really Rattle. People are not strange, they think they know better than the crew in charge of a £30 million aeroplane and putting them in their place, even if it is in a heap on the floor is a good thing, pour encourager les autres, as they say. Cross refer to the thread re dying if you don't wear your seat belt, it's the same area of stupidity although not usually so fatal
Last edited by: Meldrew on Thu 30 Jun 11 at 20:28
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The people who don't wear their aircraft seat belts all the time they are seated are usually the ones who have not experienced severe or even moderate turbulence.
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I've taken to wearing my belt for most of the flight for that very reason. They reckon that you increase by a factor of something (!) by taking the trouble to read the safety card and identifying your nearest exit.
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I was on a flight where people not strapped in hit the overhead lockers during sudden unannounced turbulence. A good enough hint for me.
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PU said:
>They reckon that you increase by a factor of something (!) by taking the trouble to
>read the safety card and identifying your nearest exit.
A study, by the NTSB I think, showed that being seated within 5 rows of an exit is probably the most important factor in surviving a bad landing if fire is involved. Choose your seats wisely if you're worried about safety.
ON said:
>I was on a flight where people not strapped in hit the overhead lockers during
>sudden unannounced turbulence.
Ditto. On one flight there were three flight crew and a number of passengers injured, including one with a serious spinal injury. I'm always buckled up.
Worst experience was a flight from Narita to Seattle when we had quite severe turbulence for over one hour. Having to hold down a freshly poured G&T to the armrest, unable to take a drink and watching the ice melt was very uncomfortable ;-)
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>> PU said:
>> >I was on a flight where people not strapped in hit the overhead lockers during
>> >sudden unannounced turbulence.
When I worked at British Airways, I had to replace a number of broken overhead Passenger Service Units, some of them covered in blood.
Ryan Air has fixed that problem tho, the seat pitch is so tight there is no way anyone is leaving seat without a lot of wriggling about.
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Worth reading the card, obviously. I have noticed that there is now a variation in the stowage of the life jackets. They are usually under the seats (I check!) but they are sometimes stowed up in the overhead space with the oxymasks, lights and a/c vents.
It may surprise some you, who are forced to take 5+ minutes to get off the aircraft once the doors are opened that it is a requirement for certification that the whole aircraft can be vacated in 3 minutes in an emergency. For an A380 with 450+ passengers this is a neat trick! It took 2 years of rehearsals to build up to the test. Link here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIaovi1JWyY
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>> It may surprise some you, who are forced to take 5+ minutes to get off
>> the aircraft once the doors are opened that it is a requirement for certification that
>> the whole aircraft can be vacated in 3 minutes in an emergency. For an A380
>> with 450+ passengers this is a neat trick! It took 2 years of rehearsals to
>> build up to the test. Link here
Meldrew - although the A380 is usually configured for between 450 and 550 seats this test was actually done with the maximum number of seats possible (all economy) - 850 plus the crew - 880 total IIRC. Also had to be performed with half the exits blocked
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Well yes, I wasn't sure of my facts and I didn't want to overstate the case! I think it may have been in the dark too but I am not sure about that either!
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I think you're right that footage is in the infra red.
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I'm with you Pug. Ruddy cattle market the lot of it.
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There was one guy in Rhodes airport (I think he was some sort of tour herder) - wearing a blue blazer, shirt, yellow tie, shorts, trainers (with those tiny sock things) - if that was my flight, I would have nicked a Honda 90 and ridden home and taken my chances on Greece being able to afford an European Arrest Warrant.
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I probably make about 20/25 flights a year, including connections, and muppet watching has become an onboard pastime. Wheels down, yep lets stand up immediately and the crew normally take a max of 10 secs to tell the idiots to remain in their seats. I hate people kicking the back of my seat, and the older I get, the shorter my fuse and I have no hesitation in making my feelings known.
The idiot on last Monday evenings Jet2 flight from Schipol who sat in my window seat. If you wanted a window seat, you should have asked at check in, so move!!
Rushing to get off. Great idea when you can see it is a transit BUS. The long thing with windows waiting outside on the left. First on, last off. Not too difficult to work out is it Sherlock.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 3 Jul 11 at 03:44
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We just can't do the flying thing any more, herded like cattle, assumed to be some sort of terrorist, can't do this can't take that, oh really well stuff it.
Other people best avoided anyway, quite happy in our own world ta.
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Don't forget those that applaud after touch-down!
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As I have said before the very worst aspect of flying is having the only vacant seat next to you and seeing a 22 stone lardy wobbling down the aisle.
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>> As I have said before the very worst aspect of flying is having the only
>> vacant seat next to you and seeing a 22 stone lardy wobbling down the aisle.
>>
The worse bit of flying is turning right at the front door.
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It's worth remembering that air fares have barely risen - in absolute, never mind relative terms - since the 1980s, despite the huge increase in fuel costs since then. This has made flying, and even long-haul flying, accessible to people who wouldn't have considered it 25 years ago and, since there's always been a subset of society that doesn't know how to share public spaces graciously - see also trains, buses, parks... - we now see more of that in the air. This isn't aimed at the 'Great Unwashed'; it's more that the feeling of being on your best behaviour that used to go with air travel has gone.
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Apparently this is happening with cruises now. Our friends go on a cruise at least twice a year and they have said that the company lets them upgrade for a small fee near the sailing date, then sell off the cheap cabins to the 'Social Security Mob' as she put it.
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When I am on holiday and flying cattle class I just tune out and get myself into automatic mode .
I book in early and spend most of the time on the way out in Gatwick logged on to the internet or reading a book or newspaper having a full English breakfast.
On the plane I use the MP3 player with noise suppression headphones which tune out the majority of the background noises...... it is particularly good to have the engine noise lessened and I drop off to sleep, usually after a couple of bottles of wine..
I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of booking in at Gatwick and the amount of legroom I had on my Monarch flights to and from Crete .
At Chania SWMBO and I were the very last to book in on the return flight having enjoyed and lingered long over a particularly nice lunch at a beachside taverna... as a result our suitcases were in the first ten on the conveyor in Gatwick.
Of course on business I just head for the business lounge ......
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>> see more of that in the air. This isn't aimed at the 'Great Unwashed'; it's
>> more that the feeling of being on your best behaviour that used to go with
>> air travel has gone.
Yup, Flying used to be special. A privilege, a life time experience. Now as I said up the thread, its a bus.
Long haul still has a certain buzz, big aircraft, free drinks, food? served. Best in flight meal we had was on Thai Airways, and I checked us in as Halal eaters! wouldn't dare do that now, wouldn't get through security.
Has anyone demanded Kosher on Emirates?
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No Z , .........but I did get seriously ratted on one return from Dubai where the plane was virtually empty and the hostesses outnumbered the passengers......I got talking with a man from the BBC and started into the wine ( free ). As we chatted the hostesses brought the meals and more wine , and afterwards brought more and it was free and so we chatted and drank ................
8 hours or so later at Gatwick SWMBO picked me up and poured me into the car having consumed 6 of those small bottles of Merlot , equivalent to 2 litres.
Suffice to say that I had quite a bad headache......
Emirates food and service is very good but for good service to the middle east and beyond I can recommend Qatar Airways.
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"We just can't do the flying thing any more, herded like cattle, assumed to be some sort of terrorist, can't do this can't take that, oh really well stuff it."
+1
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>>Other people best avoided anyway, quite happy in our own world ta<<
Could explain why some folk choose to live in a remote moorland cottage without mains water, gas, or drainage!
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The terrorism thing has gone too far - it's a nightmare, herding, frisking, x-raying and scanning the 99.999% innocent in search of an UBL wannabe - penalizing the innocent - there should be a fast track lane (I know that there are versions of this) where you're pre-screened (Bit like a CRB/Security clearance thing) where you pay a wedge and you can amble through with your bucket and spade and Beano without having to queue with shaven headed louts in football kit and trainer socks stinking of last night's booze and screaming annoying munchkins. :-)
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>>The terrorism thing has gone too far - it's a nightmare, herding, frisking, x-raying and scanning the 99.999% innocent in search of an UBL wannabe - penalizing the innocent - there should be a fast track lane (I know that there are versions of this) where you're pre-screened
>>
My son has used the " Join the club, get scanned and speed through" facility and says it is great.
Oh for the good old days - remember the BA domestic shuttle. If you were at the gate up to TEN minutes before depature ( and there were seats left) then you were on.
Many years ago I boarded a scheduled jet after it had left the stand. The ground staff had radioed the captain and he agreed to allow the steps top be put back and I got on much to some strange looks from the rest of the passengers.
Oh how things have changed.
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Very simple when I take over. Vote for me !
Do away with all this security nonsense at airports and go back to turn up and fly. Anyone blows up one of our planes we nuke their country immediately. Comprende?
Their call
:-)
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>> Very simple when I take over. Vote for me !
>>
>> Do away with all this security nonsense at airports and go back to turn up
>> and fly. Anyone blows up one of our planes we nuke their country immediately. Comprende?
>>
>> Their call
>>
>> :-)
>>
A minor technical drawback here, Humph, is that the people who blew up the London buses in 2007 were British...
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And they'll be made to suffer.
......
Mr Bridger will drive them
into the sea.
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...Could explain why some folk choose to live in a remote moorland cottage without mains water, gas, or drainage!...
But doesn't explain why the same folk cannot do without the internet.
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>>But doesn't explain why the same folk cannot do without the internet.<<
I did do without t'internet for 1 month due to moving house, 1 month could easily have become 2 months, 4 months,
6 months etc.,
Life goes on :)
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>> But doesn't explain why the same folk cannot do without the internet.
>>
>>
Are they the same people who have a phone permanently attached to their ear?
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>> It is not unknown for the cabin crew to tell the cockpit that people are
>> standing up after landing. The pilot smacks the brakes on and a few idiots fall
>> over and can't sue as they were in breach of instructions.
It is unknown. They dont do this at all. It would get the airline sued and the crew sacked.
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First in a airplane for eight years about six weeks ago now.My wife is disabled and we informed the travel agency that we needed help with a wheelchair.
We did get help and we where lucky to sit in front of the plane.We went on the plane first in the UK and on arrival in Tunysia left last which we didn't mind and got help again whith a wheelchair.
Pilot smacking the brakes on to hurt people doesn't make sense.
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It is unknown to you Zero. I posted the comment because I found it on serious aviation site and I would not have posted it if it had not happened, somewhere sometime. People standing up when they shoud be sat down with their seat belts fastened is what doesn't make sense!
Last edited by: Meldrew on Fri 1 Jul 11 at 09:33
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...It is unknown to you Zero...
There are all sorts of things that go on in every industry - particularly service industries - which you cannot know about unless you've worked in that industry for a few years.
How often do any of us wince when we see our trade portrayed in a television drama?
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>> ...It is unknown to you Zero...
>>
>> There are all sorts of things that go on in every industry - particularly service
>> industries - which you cannot know about unless you've worked in that industry for a
>> few years.
I started in the trade, I have friends in the trade, and I know all the tricks the cabin crew get up to, but deliberately throwing passengers around to the point they could be injured isn't one of them, its seriously career limiting.
If its on a serious aviation web site, its a fanciful boast.
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"I found it on serious aviation site and I would not have posted it if it had not happened, somewhere sometime."
In case you are not aware not everything on the web is true. Don't' tell anyone though its not common knowledge.
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_
Last edited by: Meldrew on Fri 1 Jul 11 at 13:35
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I know nothing about airplanes but if the pilot did this he is a nutcase.
So are the people standing up before the plane has landed.
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This is my father and grandfather preparing to board in 1926.
tinyurl.com/664xzon
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Bet they didn't have to queue for ages with all their worldly goods in a transparent bag and walk to the plane with no belt and shoes....
Smart picture...!
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>> Bet they didn't have to queue for ages with all their worldly goods in a
>> transparent bag and walk to the plane with no belt and shoes....
No, they traveled light, not quite sure if they would get there, or back.
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True enough.
Another factor in my most recent trip was a harder landing than I have experienced before, the 'plane came in with a steady breeze across the runway and was visibly side-slipping as we hit the runway (hard) - that sort of stuff doesn't faze me much based on the old maxim of any landing you walk away from is a good one. Seriously this security stuff is becoming a real bore now.
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I think pilots will tell you that they aim to put the plane down firmly in that sort of situation, to avoid the risk of the plane bouncing and being flipped over.
Or, to quote from the not-entirely-realistic (but very funny) Cabin Pressure,
Martin: You know what they say - a firm landing is a safe landing.
Carolyn: If that landing had been any safer we'd all be dead.
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Had a hard landing at Perth WA once, when the walkways were connected a cheerful aussie face peered round the door and announced
"G'Day, did you land or were you shot down?"
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Edit
That was of course after the cabin crewed walked through the plane squirting noxious insect sprays all over us"
I said to the trolley dolly "scuse me miss, I really don't think we can bring in anything more deadly than your native Fauna"
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>> Martin: You know what they say - a firm landing is a safe landing.
>>
>> Carolyn: If that landing had been any safer we'd all be dead.
>>
The RAF call it a positive landing. The crew are well unimpressed by gentle "are we down yet" efforts.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 1 Jul 11 at 17:17
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Agree regarding the security checks Pug.Why I had to take my belt off I dont know.
Alarm went off.Flying again in september after that back to car and ship or tunnel.
Stuff these checks.
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Its the buckle, sets of the metal detector
Seriously yes the checks are a pain, but you can help yourself
No belt, put all your coins and electronic devices and watch in your hand bagage ( I have a ruck sack), wear thin souled shoes (you dont get asked to take them off). If you check in a bag put all your liquids in that, if not its easy to prepare them before hand - we have special bottles and zip bag.
we were through gatwick security in 7 minutes last time out. If everyone was prepared it would make all our lives easier.
and finally - how to really get up the nose of the EasyJet girls at the gate. When you buy your papers and water and sarnies before you get on board, ask them to put them in the biggest carrier bag they have. The approach the gate, and their little eyes light up with delight and announce its "1 carry on bag only sir"
Block the queue of people getting on, unzip the ruck sack, stuff the sarnies water and papers in your ruck sack, and then thrust the empty carrier bag in her hand "there you go dear just one bag" "Oh and as you can see i wont be buying your 5 quid sarnies or your 4 quid max pack coffee"
heavy emphasis on the "dear" is most gratifying.
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>>heavy emphasis on the "dear" is most gratifying.
Try 'treacle' that seems to really get up their nose for some reason, so probably best to do it as you depart the 'plane.
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Cup cake - that baffles them in the US.
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I gave up on taking toiletries in a plastic bag when I was sent back to the end of the security queue because I had the "wrong" plastic bag. Mine was a freezer type bag of a sort I had used many times before but then they decided to insist upon a resealable bag. Apparently this was vital to the security of the aircraft.
I'm quite sure the security forces could link passport info to an individual's track record. Perhaps in my case they might correlate a lifetime of regular business air travel to a complete lack of my propensity to hijack or blow up aircraft or hide an incendiary device in my shoe. I've never done anything like that in the thousands of flights i've taken, nor have I ever had any criminal record so it might just occur to a casual observer that I'm highly unlikely to start now. Or is that too much like common sense?
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Fri 1 Jul 11 at 17:11
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Obviously a sleeper waiting for the signal.
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Common sense?, this is what happens when it gets thrown out the window.
tinyurl.com/3tcsw63
Another recent case iirc where a 6 year old girl was patted down.
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>>I've never done anything like that in the thousands of
>> flights iv'e taken, nor have I ever had any criminal record so it might just
>> occur to a casual observer that I'm highly unlikely to start now. Or is that
>> too much like common sense?
>>
Oh nooooo, you can't do that, it is positive discrimination, the airports (or whoever) would be sued to a standstill by the first person searched whether they were carrying a bomb or not.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 1 Jul 11 at 17:26
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I draw your attention to Richard Reid, AKA the shoe bomber
quote
"In July 2001, Reid flew to Israel, passing through the El Al airline's very tight security network, in what was possibly a test of his ability to pass through airport security screening anywhere."
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>> I draw your attention to Richard Reid, AKA the shoe bomber
>>
>> "In July 2001, Reid flew to Israel, passing through the El Al airline's very tight
>> security network, in what was possibly a test of his ability to pass through airport
>> security screening anywhere."
>>
SWMBO had a go at the bod doing checks out of the USA.
People wearing trainers were allowed to walk through but those with normal shoes were told to remove them."
"Which type of shoe has already been found a risk ?"
SWMBO cannot easily walk bare footed so problems!!! After talking to a thick security guy build the the proverbial she gave up.
It was impossible to get through to him that it should also be about confidence so seeing trainers given the walk through failed that.
I suspect it was crude screening for metal in the sole of shoes that was the problem.
One of the guys I worked with always carried a knife and it was never found. It looked like a Yale key but a blade hinged out of it.
Please do not tell as it might mean that in future all Yale keys are checked .
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For various reasons, missed connections and the such like I went through 5 different security screenings in the US - I had a small screwdriver in my carry-on. None of them found it. I would have surrendered it if found.
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I know about the buckle zero.;) Took the belt off trousers where dropping down,says to the bloke trying to put his grubby hands on me.Do you mind?Got to pull me pants up.Big fat bloke I felt like give hime a smack on the nose.
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Security at Schipol was at the gate, so very little inconvenience. And if you arrive at the airport early there is a large open air rooftop terrace which we used when our flight was delayed.
We are returning to Amsterdam for a long weekend August BH..our B & B has a lovely rooftop terrace, large fridge for our own beer & wine (decent supermarket Chablis @ 8euros a bottle) directly opposite the Rijksmuseum and easy transit tween the airport and city.
40 minutes on Jet2 is more than bearable and sub 3.5 hours door to door.
Cheap enough at £100 return, although DiL is struggling to find a sub £700 flight to SF from the UK in early August...not many years ago I was only paying half that!
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Seats to SF direct from LHR are limited.
She may need to book via a US hub connection.
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Thanks Zero..she's flying from oop North...I recommended KLM ex Leeds/Bfd via Schipol but that is expensive. US Airways are normally the cheapest from the NW, closely followed by United.
I had some real bargains with Bmi to Chicago, then on to Sacramento with United, but that route is now extinct.
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Continental fly Glasgow / Newark / almost anywhere in the US. Do they fly from the southern airports?
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>> Continental fly Glasgow / Newark / almost anywhere in the US. Do they fly from
>> the southern airports?
They certainly fly from Brum. Legacylad's local airpoprt though seems to be Leeds/Bradford. Apart from a seasonal (Xmas shopping) offer going to Newark with Jet2 it's only intercontinental service is to Islamabad with PIA.
Apart from the proximity to Manchester LBA's relatively short & technically challenging runway limits operator's options. The 787 dreamliner may change things though.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sat 2 Jul 11 at 09:04
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>> Apart from the proximity to Manchester LBA's relatively short & technically challenging runway limits operator's
>> options. The 787 dreamliner may change things though.
Aptly named, they are still dreaming about delivery dates.
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Initial delivery to ANA is meant to take place August - September according to Boeing.
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Its still being tested, and not yet FAA certified..
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People who clap when the plane lands.
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The Maltese are particularly bad for that.
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I'm going to start clapping every time the tube pulls into a station.
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Where did I read that graffiti ?
"******* didn't give me clap, she gave me a standing ovation"
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The awful Ryanair fanfare when the flight arrives (more or less) on time!
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>> People who clap when the plane lands.
Those who can't be bothered to read all a thread. ;>)
Thu 30 Jun 11 23:59
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I was meeting someone at MAN tonight and was reminded of this thread.
PU, you forgot to mention the Straw Hats !!
(",)
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Straw Hats !!!
I never wear a hat - save a Wynnster broad brim hat and only on holiday !
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Flying away on holiday - a rant. - Old Navy
