Michael O’Leary claims in this article in the Independent, that he’ll price luggage out of the hold.
He has a point, as if we want to get cheap reliable flights, then everybody should take the minimum they can get away with. But then I travel light!
I also think that people should pay more on a flight for their own excess baggage. Luckily, I’ve never had the non-pleasure of sitting next to a doughnut addict on a flight.
August 1, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
News, Transport/Travel | Flying, Ryanair |
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Years ago, I flew the Atlantic regularly on business, At the time, one of the planes regularly crossing the pond was the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10. There had been several disasters with the plane and reading the accident reports, I tried and usually succeeded in avoiding flying in the planes. Perhaps one had my name written on it. In fact, I think I only had two flights in a DC-10 and those were much later when C and I flew to Hong Kong to celebrate the selling of Metier to Lockheed. But there were plenty of 747s about so, it didn’t cause me any inconvenience.
I’m starting to feel the same way about the Dreamliner, as it just doesn’t seem to be an aircraft that is fully-debugged yet. Especially with the fire yesterday at Heathrow.
I certainly wouldn’t want to fly a Dreamliner, with an airline, that didn’t have the highest reputation for safety, airmanship and maintenance. But then I wouldn’t fly in any aircraft with some airlines.
July 13, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
News, Transport/Travel | Design, Flying, Heathrow Airport |
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I found this article entitled Ryanair Orders 175 Boeings, but CEO Wants More Seats, Less Baggage, whilst looking for an article about baggage.
It really does show how Boeing and Airbus are not providing airlines with what they want.
I wonder how long it will be before we are all weighed with our baggage before we go on an airliner. I wouldn’t object, but it would probably make flying just that little bit cheaper.
June 29, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Airbus, Airlines, Boeing, EasyJet, Flying, Ryanair |
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Easyjet are making their hand baggage rules tighter, with the maximum hand baggage size now 50 x 40 x 20 cm.
It won’t bother me, as my case is only 42 x 33 x 16 cm. And it handles a week’s holiday with ease!
It sounds to me like someone ought to make the Easycase.
June 29, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | EasyJet, Flying, Weight |
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I like proven technology, as often some of the things done fifty years or so ago, may not have been very good at the time, but somehow over time they have proved themselves to be reliable and economic.
The classioc is the Inter City 125 train, introduced as a stop-gap in 1976. But it is only one of a number of classic designs, that just never get replaced.
A personal old idea that affects me is Warfarin, which I take every day to thin my blood and stop myself having another stroke. There are more modern drugs, but I’ve heard cardilogists say that now is not the time to change, as we don’t know enough about the side effects of new drugs yet.
And that is the crux of the matter! When anything has been used for years, we have a vast knowledge base to make sure, that it doesn’t bite us or even worse.
So I was rather pleased to see this report that says the new Airbus A350 will use more traditional batteries than the Boeing 787. Before you use new technology in something as critical as an airliner, you must prove it as thoroughly as possible.
The problem with proving aircraft parts as compared to that of says cars, buses or trains, is that the aircraft leaves the ground and does other things land-based machines don’t.
I remember, my next door neighbour in London, when I was a child, a Mr. Gibbon, saying that if Ford wanted to test a new truck axle, they’d fit a few in trucks and give them to a contractor, who was known to break anything. If he couldn’t break any,then it was probably a better axle. But you can’t give aircraft to bad airlines and let them do the testing!
What worries me about these plane batteries, is how many other new ideas are incorporated, that haven’t been completely tested? Aviation is littered with mistakes, where new designs have failed.
On the other hand, look at this wing of the baby Airbus 319/320/321, on which I flew to Stockholm.
Airbus A320 Wing
Go back twenty years or so and the design of a wing would be similar, but you can see developments like the wing-tips, that make the wings more efficient, have now become commonplace.
June 16, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel, World | Airbus, Drugs, Flying, InterCity 125, Warfarin |
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I’m off tomorrow on the 11:30 British Airways flight to Stockholm. I’ve booked a hotel for the first two nights and then it’s home on the train by way of Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Brussels, although the route might change, as I want to visit places I’ve not seen before.
I will be travelling light, in fact some would think ultra light and everything will have to go in my Mandarina Duck case.
My Mandarina Duck Case
It fits under the seat in front on the plane, even on a low-space airline, and I carry it in my left hand.
I don’t take much technology with me.
- A Nikon CoolPix S8200
- A spare SD card in my wallet, as I always leave the one I’m using in my computer
- A simple Nokia phone
- A Samsung Tab 2 7 tablet computer
- Charging leads for camera, phone and tab. Why can’t they all have the same charger fitting?
- Three simple Bic pens, as buying single ones is often difficult.
- A small note book.
- My Coaguchek device for testing my INR
- My temperature and humidity meter.
My washbag contains the following.
- A battery electric toothbrush
- A small shoe-horn, courtesy of Agnes B. Where it came from, I don’t know, as neither C or myself bought shoes there. But it’s tiny, so it takes up little space.
- My European plug adapter, as I always lose them and this is the best place to keep it.
- A small pot of Vaseline
- 20% more drugs, than I’ll need for the duration of the holiday
I buy a deodorant and toothpaste in Boots after passing through security at the Airport. That way, I avoid the security game that the great and good insist we play.
Clothes are something like.
- Enough underpants and socks for the trip. usually that’s one per day, as if I run out or get some sort of lurgy, I can buy some more.
- One or two spare shirts, often still in the wrapping, as that way they don’t get so creased in transit.
- A jumper if required.
At this time of year, I generally don’t take a spare pair of trousers or shoes, but I might this time. If I need anything, I’ll buy them. After all, it’s not as if I’m going somewhere where good shops aren’t around.
If I do take a pair of shoes, I make sure I pack them with something like underpants or socks.
Other things I always take include.
- Four or five small packs of tissues.
- Plenty of Sudokus printed from The Times.
- Some EatNakd bars.
- Some reading, which being Sunday, will be the comics from the paper.
- A couple of small city guides for places I’m visiting
June 15, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Flying, Home Run From Stockholm, Stockholm |
3 Comments
It may be something that doesn’t affect many of us, but airport runways need to be rebuilt every so often.
This report on the BBC this morning about resurfacing the Southern Runway at Heathrow, shows how good project management helps difficult jobs to be done, with the least disturbance to anyone.
I liked the bit about using models to educate the workforce before the project was started.
Let’s hope the rest of the project goes as well as the eighty metres they did in the night of the report.
June 12, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Flying, Heathrow Airport, Project Management |
2 Comments
This article on the BBC web site, asking if Ryanair really is Europe’s most punctual airline provokes a few thoughts. The data is suspect on the headline question, but as Charles Babbage said, “Errors using inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all”, so there is probably a degree of truth in Ryanair’s posturing.
If I look at my recent flights to and from Majorca, Schipol, Budapest and Geneva on easyJet, none of these were late and you could argue that the return from Geneva was an hour or so early, as I exchanged waiting in a lonely airport for an earlier flight.
When I choose a flight, my criteria are based on a classic objective function, involving several factors.
The choice of airports is important, both at the London end and the destination. although, I’ve used it for years, I tend to avoid Stansted, for no better reason, than I can’t get a good meal before I fly. Gatwick is now very easy for me and I like the quickness of Southend. I think, I would only avoid Luton specifically on an outward journey, although, it would probably be acceptable on a return.
The flight time is important to me as well. If I have a chance, I’ll fly out at a time that is convenient for a relaxed journey to the airport and one that gets me to my destination at a time, where I can get to my hotel with ease.
I only ever these days, carry one small article of hand baggage, so a lot of the luggage conditions airlines apply don’t bother me. So long as my case-cum-briefcase fits under the seat in front, I don’t care.
I actually prefer choose-your-own-seat on getting on the plane, as it makes the boarding process quicker and I can wait until the last minute to get an aisle seat, hopefully next to a pretty young woman or intelligent-looking person, which will enable me to make a quick exit. How about a no-baggage except for a very small under-seat item, discount? After all, easyJet are warning there is not enough space in the overhead lockers.
But the thing I hate is airlines that have a bad attitude, that grates with my normally calm disposition. So I will not choose to fly Ryanair again, until they reform some of their aggressive attitudes. I don’t know whether they still play that awful landing fanfare, as it’s been some time since I experienced their hospitality.
I also value my safety, so their are certain airlines I would never fly.
Cost if only relevant, if it is just too much. Why get the flight for £50, when you fly to an airport miles from the city centre, when you are going to spend say a hundred or so a night on a decent hotel.
I’m intending to fly to Stockholm soon and come back by train. Applying my criteria what do I find.
Three airlines fly at a reasonable price to Stockholm, Ryanair, Norwegian Air and British Airways.
Ryanait get dropped, as they fly to some neck-end airport miles from Stockholm. A friend flew there recently and said it was a long journey.
So I have a choice of two airlines. I think I’ll try British Airways
May 26, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | EasyJet, Flying, Ryanair, Sweden |
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We don’t know the full details yet, with the British Airways Airbus 319, that had to turn back with engine problems, as reported here on on the BBC.
But it would appear that what needs to be done after this sort of problem, was carried out correctly and the plane landed safely.
Engine failures on take-off are one of the biggest night-mare for a pilot. I never had one, but when I put full power on to lift my Cessna 340A piston-engined twin off the runway, I was always a bit nervous and running the emergency procedures through my mind. When I did have a partial engine failure it was in a single-engined Piper Arrow, but luckily I was five thousand feet above the ground. The full story is here.
I was just about to book a flight to somewhere served by BA. Guess which airline I’ll be using!
people will try and make all sorts of conclusions about this incident at Heathrow. Some will say, that it shows, that one day an aircraft will crash on London. Others will say that if we move to an estuary airport, birdstrikes will be more common.
But now it would appear that two of the baby Airbuses have survived them, you could argue, that the technology is very much good enough. This was the other incident, where an Airbus landed on the Hudson River in New York.
May 24, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Transport/Travel | Flying, Heathrow Airport |
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This old chestnut keeps coming round and the London Assembly has produced a report, as is discussed in the Standard. Here’s the first few paragraphs.
The Government’s claim that the South-East faces an aviation capacity crisis was thrown into doubt today after an influential report suggested London has enough runways already.
The London Assembly study found the capital’s airports are currently underused with two — Luton and Stansted — having around half of their runway slots free.
Even Heathrow, at 99 per cent runway capacity, could fly an additional 20 million passengers a year if larger aircraft were used, it claimed.
To test their premise, that London has enough space, let’s look at Gatwick. Two years ago, I flew out of Gatwick to Greece. Read what I wrote in this blog. The last statement was.
Let’s face it, if I fly again, I’m not going out of Gatwick.
But in spite of that, I did use the airport to go to Budapest, where I had an excellent meal at Jamie’s Italian.
Gatwick seems to have improved immensely in the last couple of years, since the change of ownership, and it’s all been done by lots of small steps. The other thing that helps me is the direct link from Dalston Junction to Clapham Junction.
I’m going out to Geneva on the 17th and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes. On every trip, Gatwick seems to get better.
May 1, 2013
Posted by AnonW |
Food, Transport/Travel | Coeliac/Gluten-Free, Flying, Gatwick Airport, Trains |
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The Anonymous Widower 