Portable Electronic Devices (PED) on board

Portable Electronic Devices (PED) is now allowed on board on European Flights.

Portable Electronic Devices (PED) include any kind of electronic device brought on board the aircraft by a passenger such as a tablet, a laptop, a smartphone, an e-reader or a MP3 player.

From the 26 September 2014 EASA has made it possible for airlines to allow passengers to use their PEDs throughout the flight, regardless of whether the device is transmitting or not, i.e. in ‘aeroplane mode’ or not.
It is now up to each airline to allow the use of PEDs or not.

In order to do this, the airlines will have to go through an assessment process, ensuring that the aircrafts are not affected in any way by the transmission of signals from the PEDs.

For safety reasons, EASA describes certain conditions for using such devices on board aircraft operated by European airlines. Based on these conditions, airlines may describe when PEDs can be used. In other words, airlines may be more restrictive than the EASA provisions are.

Because it is a decision of each airline, you may experience differences among airlines whether and when PEDs can be used. In addition, you may experience differences within one airline depending on the type of aircraft you are flying on.

As a passenger you should be aware of the following:

1. If you are unsure on the use of PEDs, you may check the airline’s website prior to the flight.
 
2.  Please remeber that the safety briefing provided by the airline crew is for your benefit. Please pay attention and listen carefully.
  
3. Airline crew may request at any time to switch-off all PEDs and to stow them.
  
4. Passengers must  follow the instructions given by the airline crew as safety is the responsibility of everyone on board the aircraft. Safety is everyone’s priority.

Source: EASA

Least expensive flights in India

GoEuro (www.goeuro.com), the online platform that compares and combine trips by train, bus and plane throughout Europe, has released its worldwide Transportation Price Index based on the train, bus and flight information for 51 countries across five continents.

The U.S. came in as the 22nd least expensive out of 51 countries ranked in the Global Transportation Price Index.

Taking into account factors including distance, scheduling and taxes, GoEuro compared the cheapest bus, train and flight connections between the two most populous cities in each of the countries, among other routes, and analyzed the data in the price index.

Countries were then rated according to average price per 100km for each type of transportation.

On average, in the U.S., flights costs $ 10.36 / 100km.
The most expensive country for transport overall is Switzerland, where flights cost $125.07/100km.
The cheapest country for transport overall is South Africa, where flights cost just $11.63/100km.

India came in as the 14th least expensive out of 51 countries ranked in the Global Transportation Price Index.

Finland tops the list with the most expensive flights with 107 Euro / 100 km.
India is the least expensive nation to fly in with an average cost of 8 Euro / 100 km.

On average, in India, flights cost $ 10.20 / 100km.

The cheapest country for transport overall is South Africa, where flights cost just $ 11.46 / 100km.

The cheapest countries for air travel are India ($ 10.20 / 10 0km), Malaysia ($ 11.26 / 100 km) and South Africa ($ 11.46 / 100 km), whilst the most expensive are Finland ($ 136.83 / 100 km), Switzerland ($ 123.20 / 100 km) and Lithuania ($ 114.99 / 100 km).

Air India New Star Alliance Member

Photo: Air India

Star Alliance welcomed Air India as the first Indian airline to join a global alliance in July 2014.

This makes connecting to, from and across India easier. Anyone who does business in India will appreciate that it is never done in one place.
A morning in Delhi airport illustrates flying is simply part of the daily commute.

With Air India being a member of Star Alliance, you can fly into one of the 12 international airports and connect to over 60 other destinations across India, making it easier for you to reach every business centre.

The biggest airport hub where Star Alliance connects nationally and internationally, is the brand new Terminal 2 in Mumbai.
This state-of-the-art airport with 188 check-in counters enables you to travel into and on from India’s financial and economical capital more comfortably.

All Star Alliance flights to Delhi operate via the same place:
Terminal 3, so you don’t have to change to another terminal between flights, which could cut down your connection times.

Star Alliance Member Airlines 2014

Adria Airways JP
Aegean Airlines A3
Air Canada AC
Air China CA
Air India AI
Air New Zealand NZ
ANA NH
Asiana Airlines OZ
Austrian OS
Avianca AV
Brussels Airlines SN
Copa Airlines CM
Croatia Airlines OU
EGYPTAIR MS
Ethiopian Airlines ET
EVA Air BR
LOT Polish Airlines LO
Lufthansa LH
Scandinavian Airlines SK
Shenzhen Airlines ZH
Singapore Airlines SQ
South African Airways SA
SWISS LX
TAP Portugal TP
THAI TG
Turkish Airlines TK
United UA

Source: Star Alliance

Air India New Star Alliance Member

The top 20 safest Airlines 2014

Photo: Air New Zealand

1. Air New Zealand, index: 0,007

2. Cathay Pacific Airways, 0,008

3. Finnair, 0,010

4. Emirates, 0,010

5. Eva Air, 0,010

6. British Airways, 0,011

7. Tap Portugal, 0,012

8. Etihad Airways, 0,012

9. Air Canada, 0,012

10. Qantas, 0,013

11. Qatar Airways, 0,013

12. All Nippon Airways, 0,015

13. Virgin Atlantic Airways, 0,015

14. Hainan Airlines, 0,015

15. Virgin Australia, 0,015

16. Jetblue Airlines, 0,015

17. KLM, 0,015

18. Lufthansa, 0,016

19. Shenzhen Airlines, 0,018

20. Easyjet, 0,018

Source: JACDEC.

Cathay Pacific Airways best Airline 2014

Photo: Cathay Pacific Airways

Photo: Cathay Pacific Airways

The Skytrax awards are based on a survey of 18.85 million airline passengers from around the world.
Passengers from more than 160 countries participated in the latest survey, which covered 245 airlines worldwide.

Cathay becomes the first airline to win the award four times, having previously taken the title in 2003, 2005 and 2009.

Garuda Indonesia took out the award for the best cabin crew, ahead of Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines won the award for best first class cabin, Qatar for best business class and Korea's Asiana for best economy class cabin.

Among budget airlines, AirAsia and offshoot AirAsia X took out the top two spots, with Jetstar ranked fourth best.

The awards are not without controversy.
Etihad Airways announced it would withdraw from the awards, citing unhappiness with Skytrax's rating system.


World's top 10 airlines

1. Cathay Pacific Airways

2. Qatar Airways

3. Singapore Airlines

4. Emirates

5. Turkish Airlines

6. ANA All Nippon Airways

7. Garuda Indonesia

8. Asiana Airlines

9. Etihad Airways

10. Lufthansa



Best inflight entertainment

1. Emirates

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Turkish Airlines

4. Qantas

5. Cathay Pacific Airways

6. Virgin Atlantic

7. Qatar Airways

8. Air New Zealand

9. Virgin Australia

10. Etihad Airways

Best cabin crew

1. Garuda Indonesia

2. Cathay Pacific

3. Singapore Airlines

4. Asiana Airlines

5. Malaysia Airlines

6. Qatar Airways

7. EVA Air

8. ANA All Nippon Airways

9. Thai Airways

10. Hainan Airlines


Source: worldairlineawards.com

Volcanic Eruption on Iceland 20140829

The Icelandic Meteorological office issuad a Warning this morning 2014.08.29 that a fissure eruption has started north of Dynjujökull.

Vedurstofa Islands, the Icelandic Meteorological office, also raised the Aviation colour code for the Bardarbunga Volcano from Orange to Red.

The Aviation colour code for the Askja Volcano has also been raised to Yellow.

An eruption started in Holuhraun north of Dyngjujökull at around 00:02. Seismic tremor was observed on all seismic stations and the web camera installed in the area by Mila has showed pictures of the eruption. It is a small fissure eruption and at 02:40 AM the activity appears to have decreased.

Soure: Icelandic Meteorological office

Police Called After In-Flight Fight

The Police were Called after Fliers Fight Over Seat Recline.

Airline passengers have come to expect the ability to recline their seat a few inches.
When one passenger was denied that last Sunday, it led to a heated argument and the unscheduled landing of their plane.

The incident led to that the plane had to be brought down just halfway to its destination.

The fight started on a United Airlines flight because one passenger was using the Knee Defender,
a $21.95 gadget that attaches to a passenger's tray table and prevents the person in front of them from reclining.

United Flight 1462 from Newark, New Jersey to Denver was diverted to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The plane then continued to Denver without the unruly passengers, arriving 1 hour and 38 minutes late.

The Federal Aviation Administration can impose a civil fine of up to $25,000 for passengers who are unruly. In this case, no arrest was made.

The fight started when the male passenger used the Knee Defender to stop the woman in front of him from reclining. A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him.

Source: AP / ABC News

New Volcano Threatens Europe

Millions of us was effected by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April 2010.
Ash spread across Europe and caused aviation authorities to close large areas of the European airspace for over six days. We were taken by surprice by the events, and we remember it with horror!

The International Air Transport Association IATA, estimated that airlines lost more than $1.7 billion in revenue during the crisis.

Since then, there has been “significant progress” in the European approach to volcanic ash eruptions, according to Eurocontrol. Aviation authority officials now say that it is highly unlikely that a new eruption will cause the same amount of problems.

The approach is more coordinated now and “recognizes that decisions to perform flights in airborne Volcanic Ash should be made by the airlines, based on the conclusions of their safety risk assessment.
A lot of research has been done since 2010.

New Volcano Threatens Europe

On August 18, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) raised the color code of the Bárðarbunga (Bardarbunga) volcano in central-southwest Iceland to orange. This is the second highest alert level, indicating that the volcano “shows heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption. The Bardarbunga volcano, last erupted in 1910.

The agency said its monitoring network had detected 2,600 earthquakes since the onset of an “earthquake swarm” in the Bárðarbunga caldera, an area of collapsed land, that started two days earlier.

Several of the seismic events measured larger than magnitude 3 on the Richter scale.
The activity is still going on. On 2014.08.20 the alert level was 4/5 on the scale.

A new eruption might not cauce the same disrution as in 2010, but it can still cause a lot of problems for the airlines.

Sources:
Aviation International News
Icelandic Meteorological Office
YLE

Do you want to sleep

Do you want to sleep

Perhaps this is the solution for all passengers that want to take a nap aboard.
Two Designstudents created "the b-tourist band" to make your trip more comfortable.