Odds n Sods

[justapax]

Re: waving

I'm a few days late on this but I've been in hospital. If you ever saw Concorde flash its landing lights as it overflew Windsor Castle, it was because the late Queen Mother at a reception told a Concorde pilot that whenever she heard it fly overhead, she'd go outside and wave. From that day on Concorde always flashed its landing lights.

[cavuman1]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

"You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent"

"Brusha, brusha, brusha. Get the New Ipana—it's dandy for your teeth!"

"Mr. Decay Germ, stay away from me. I'm sick and tired of cavities. Go bother someone else now."

God knows I feel old!

- Ed

[justapax]

[Uplinker]

Originally Posted by justapax

Re: waving......... If you ever saw Concorde flash its landing lights as it overflew Windsor Castle, it was because the late Queen Mother at a reception told a Concorde pilot that whenever she heard it fly overhead, she'd go outside and wave. From that day on Concorde always flashed its landing lights.

I used to flash the landing lights to my young son if we were climbing out from Luton on a certain SID (standard departure) in the early evening.

That departure routed exactly down the road we lived on (about 15 miles west of Luton), so he could lean out of the window at the right time and see me flash the lights goodnight.

[BonnieLass]

It looks like I shall be having some flying fun next month...with a few firsts too.

Four flights on ATR 72's within 36 hours - MAN to BHD to SOU and back again to view and sign the paperwork for a new residence that happens to be off the end of runway 20 at SOU. Two weeks later, NCL to SOU one way aboard an ERJ 145 when I actually move into the new residence (belongings are going in the van).

Never flown in an ATR before or been to BHD or flown in an ERJ 145....so will be having lots of fun methinks

[PAXboy]

Currently, it seems, only a USA domestic problem.
I saw this clipped from The Economist, to which I am not subscribed. However, I found other references to the topic on line.

Anyone who flies has probably been mystified by the fares that airlines charge. Recently some in America have introduced another baffling trick: charging solo travellers more than couples. We’ve run the numbers to show which carriers are discriminating against singletons.

[USER0005]

Originally Posted by justapax

That's you out of the running for the job as new host on "MasterChef"!

[Helol]

Originally Posted by PAXboy

Currently, it seems, only a USA domestic problem.
I saw this clipped form The Economist, to which I am not subscribed. However, I found other references to the topic on line.

Honestly, as someone who travels alone, I get hammered for doing this, and so it seems it may find its way onto flight pricing too..... I hope not, but where there's money to be made, no-one ever missed a trick

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by Helol

Honestly, as someone who travels alone, I get hammered for doing this, and so it seems it may find its way onto flight pricing too..... I hope not, but where there's money to be made, no-one ever missed a trick

I travel solo too and the worst offenders by far are cruise lines who often charge anything upto 200% more than the standard fare for solo's

The flights I just booked with Emerald Aer Lingus and Loganair were not too bad when booked direct as I did, whereas the code sharer (in this case BA on all flights) and most consolidators were a little higher in cost.

If you have no choice but to use the airlines (or cruise lines) we have equally no choice but to pay their inflated fares despite the fact we take up less space on the plane (or cruise ship). It is totally wrong but I cannot see it changing anytime soon.

[S.o.S.]

This is a fun story:
British teenager boards wrong flight at Menorca airport and ends up in Italy

Boy, 15, became separated from his family, who were due to fly back to London Stansted, at island’s Mahon airport
The Guardian

A British teenager separated from his family at a busy Spanish airport on Monday boarded a flight to Italy instead of his return flight to London.

The 15-year-old was supposed to fly with Tui from Menorca to Stansted but disappeared in the island’s Mahon airport.

The boy’s parents raised the alarm and when police reviewed CCTV footage from the airport’s departures area they discovered that the boy had managed to board a flight to Milan Malpensa without a ticket.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by S.o.S.

This is a fun story:
British teenager boards wrong flight at Menorca airport and ends up in Italy

Boy, 15, became separated from his family, who were due to fly back to London Stansted, at island’s Mahon airport
The Guardian

I think I, like most PPRuNEr pax, was booking my own tickets around Europe (and sometimes a bit outside) just after 15. Kids are so coddled these days.

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by justapax

I think I, like most PPRuNEr pax, was booking my own tickets around Europe (and sometimes a bit outside) just after 15. Kids are so coddled these days.

Well, I was firmly attached to the family on foreign travels at 15 since it was parents who bought and paid for the tickets to go on family holidays.

I did not travel solo til after I was married and divorced (which was around age 28)

Not every teen is brought up with the ability or means to travel at will wherever/whenever they want to, and that does not mean that they are "coddled" nor is it a recent thing, it is more often a case of financial or family restraints or simply they do not wish to travel abroard til they are older and more mature (teens are not always mature enough in their thinking or actions to travel anywhere without a chaperone or three)

[BonnieLass]

What does it take to ban a person from travelling on every airline worldwide?

This "person" definitely deserves it

Drunk, entitled pax aboard Virgin flight jailed for making threats to life

There was I thinking those in first class actually knew how to behave.

No crewmembers deserve that sort of abuse, I don't care who you are, you just do not do that. I am amazed another pax didn't punch him. And when the aircraft landed in Lahore, nothing was done by the authorities which is unbelievable. Perhaps the threatened divert to Turkey should have happened as I doubt that the Turkish authorities would have been so welcoming towards him. His "target" for the abuse has worked for Virgin Atlantic for over 30 years and he really affected her badly. His sentence was far too lenient bearing in mind that he somehow knew exactly where the CC's lived and exactly which floor of the hotel in Lahore they would be staying, how he managed to get that information is anyone's guess but that alone makes him dangerous aboard any flight with any airline.

[PAXboy]

We start to travel solo at many different ages. In this case - the fault must be soley with the airport airline and the airline. Yes, the lad should have heard a PA about destination BUT he should not have been there in the first place.

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by PAXboy

We start to travel solo at many different ages. In this case - the fault must be soley with the airport airline and the airline. Yes, the lad should have heard a PA about destination BUT he should not have been there in the first place.

If the lad was with his family, then he is still the parent's responsibility at 15 to keep control of him and not allow him to go wandering off

The airline and airport are not his personal nanny, the fact he boarded the wrong aircraft and was seperated from the rest of his family then it is 100% down to a lack of parental control and responsibility.

Had he been travelling without family, then yes he is too immature to be allowed out on his own if he cannot read the destination boards or understand airport announcements.

[Null Orifice]

The fact that he was able to board the wrong flight (without a ticket!?) shows a serious lack of security mindedness at the boarding gate. There was a similar issue with two ladies who recently boarded the wrong aircraft and arrived in Menorca instead of Palma - in their case the seat numbers allocated for their intended flight happened to coincide with empty seats on the wrong flight.

Do airlines no longer do a head count before departure?

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by Null Orifice

The fact that he was able to board the wrong flight (without a ticket!?) shows a serious lack of security mindedness at the boarding gate. There was a similar issue with two ladies who recently boarded the wrong aircraft and arrived in Menorca instead of Palma - in their case the seat numbers allocated for their intended flight happened to coincide with empty seats on the wrong flight.

Do airlines no longer do a head count before departure?

Perhaps mum & dad gave him his boarding pass and passport to make him feel like a grown up (some parents do that, often misguidedly)

The gate scan should have picked it up by way of the incorrect barcode on the boarding pass and if there were empty seats, then it would be very easy for the lad to board without anyone becoming concerned

The other alternative scenario that no-one mentions is that perhaps he had a row with mum and dad and stomped off like a snotty nosed teen and thought he would show them up (definitely not unheard off for a teen tantrum)

Either way, the parents have ultimate parental control over their teenager, they should have noticed he was AWOL and rounded him back up....the fact that he managed to get past a gate scan and board the wrong plane is neither here nor there, the root of the problem is the parents and no-one else.

[Uplinker]

Well, I beg to differ.

Yes, the lad is ultimately under his parent's/guardians control and responsibility, but there might have been an argument, he might have gone to the loo, and children do get separated from their parents sometimes.

What bothers me far more is how was he able to get on the wrong flight - what happened to the security checks ?. At the gate, your passport and your ticket or QR code are scanned.

I can understand gate staff occasionally missing one passenger in many hundreds per flight, but surely the computer would have been programmed to flag up a big warning screen -"WARNING: Incorrect flight or ticket", when his ticket was scanned, which would alert the gate staff to make further checks.

It is very much the airport's and gate staff's responsibility, otherwise how are they ensuring that every passenger flies with their hold luggage ?

Airplane security and anti-terrorism 101.

[justapax]

It's not just the pax that get confused about which plane they're on. In the 1990s I was on a plane when the PA announced 'hello this is Captain Speaking and welcome aboard our light BA1234 to Hamburg' and the usual etc. Alarm and consternation. A couple of minutes Captain Speaking came on the PA to inform us that he was in fact flying us to Hanover.

[Andy_S]

Originally Posted by Uplinker

Yes, the lad is ultimately under his parent's/guardians control and responsibility, but there might have been an argument, he might have gone to the loo, and children do get separated from their parents sometimes.

All plausible.

One thing that I find slightly peculiar is that the lad actually attempted to board the aircraft on his own. I think if I had been that age and had become separated from my family I would simply have made my way to the gate (even if unknown to me it were the wrong gate) and waited until they turned up. I don't think I would ever have boarded the aircraft without knowing where the rest of my family were.