A Few Little Snaps & Tweaks...

Just a few snaps to share from various other flights, nothing too controversial, only things I found interesting out of the window. Mainly clouds, as some of you will know these are my favourite! Always different...


(Kind of just... gross...)


Thiis one was really pretty, flying away from the rising sun =)

I have made a few small tweaks to the blog, namely adding a few new blogs to the Airline Alliance, and fixing some out-of-date links to point to the new addresses for other blogs. I have also made a couple of posts to the Galley Curtain blog, so make sure if you're on the F&F list that you check it out if you haven't already. Have a cool slideshow of travels in there as well as some work gossip! =D



I'm currently on a few days of home reserve (yuck!) but at least it means I can get all those jobs like washing uniforms & vacuuming done. I also am updating my manuals for SEP next month, as well as doing to some research for a little idea that I am having. More on that later. Now, it's back to work for me!

Putting the 'Possible' in Impossible...

Well, the day has come that everyone said would never happen.

The crew of a modern commercial airliner has managed to succesfully ditch (land on water) the aircraft, with all on board surviving, no less.

(Picture by grego! on Flickr!)

US Airways Flight 1549 apparently hit a flock of geese shortly after takeoff and suffered a double flameout (engine failure). With nowhere to go, the pilots apparently decided to avoid the downtown area and attempt a ditching on the river.


A job well done by the pilots, cabin crew, ferry staff and bystanders in assisting, and of course from the early reports huge kudos to the passengers for remaining relatively calm and doing as directed in a very alarming situation!

You can see them here, standing on the wing awaiting rescue by boats which I've read were on the scene within two minutes- must have seemed a lifetime in that cold water!


The plane stayed afloat for a good 50 minutes, I always suspected that with the right conditions (and a bit of luck) that this could be achieved.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... pay attention to that safety briefing... this could well be what saves your life, as it has for these lucky passengers and crew of US Airways 1549.

Well done crew!

Things Some of You Passengers Do- That Can Kill

'Wow', you might think, reading that title, 'she's being a bit harsh isn't she?'

Well honestly, no. Because you may not know that some things which passengers regularly do can, in the right circumstances, kill.

What are those? You might ask. Well, here are just a few.

You get to the airport, rush around in the madness to find a parking space, and join the long check-in queue snaking its way around the terminal. The wait is long, the airport is crowded and by the time you get to the counter, you just want to get things over with as quickly as possible.

After checking your bags, you head to security. You didn't really hear the girl ask if you were caryying any dangerous goods with you, did you?? Of course you're not carrying dangerous goods! Why on earth would they think that?! You don't have any guns, or bombs, or any other nasties like that. What a silly question.

The bottle of peroxide that you use to dye your hair doesn't count, does it?? Your camping stuff, along with your stove, is packed safely in your checked bag. On the plane, you plan to freshen up with your portable cordless hair straightener. And at the resort, you know that you'll have a fantastic dive- along with your trusty diving torch.

What's so wrong about these innocent items?? They're things you can buy in any shop. Well yes they are. But they are also items which can be very dangerous to carry by air.

Let's start with the hair dye. Many hairdressers travel the country, and tote their own supplies to save on buying on arrival. BUT- peroxide is a corrosive.

We know what that means. They eat metal! What are aircraft made out of? Metal! Your diving torch, when out of water, can spontaneously ignite, and burn at temperatures which could cause SERIOUS damage to an aircraft, and not least of all, a pilot's worst nightmare... in-flight fire!


So, the next time you check in, take a careful look at this poster...

does anything you take with you on your trip fit into these categories?? If unsure, check with the airline agent. In most cases, personal toiletries and similar items come under the airline passenger Exemptions. You'll never get into trouble for checking, but you WILL get into trouble if you're caught carrying undeclared dangerous goods.

Potentially Deadly Passenger Beahviour #2

You settle into your seat aboard the Boeing 737. You're lucky, you managed to score a seat in the emergency exit row.

Great! Extra legroom. (Because we all know that's what those seats are for, right?)

You (hopefully) watch the safety demonstration, and as the flight attendants come through the cabin, checking that all is secure, you notice one kneel down to check something under your seat. After she passes, you feel down there with your hand, and you find a funny little toggle switch. A-ha! you think, so this is why your seat won't recline. Cool - you snap the switch (and then your seat) back into a comfortable postion ready for takeoff. Nothing wrong with that, right? The guy behind you has plenty of room, he's got an exit seat too!

Wrong. As the plane takes off, something doesn't seem right. Suddenly the plane stops- it's filling with smoke. You hear the crew yelling for you to get out. The passenger next to the window has it open and you're gone. You stand at a safe distance, and watch. That's funny, the exit behind yours has opened, but only two people have come out. Everyone is scrambling for the other side, or to jump into the row you just left, because they can't get out of the row behind yours- the guy behind you is unconscious, unable to get out of his seat. No one else comes through because your reclined seat has blocked that row!

So there was a reason your seat was locked, there was a reason it should have stayed that way.

It might not seem like much, but that small piece of plastic being in the wrong position, CAN kill. It's not for you to play with. There's a reason the flight attendant checks that it's locked before takeoff. It's not for you to play with.

In fact, it's safety equipment, and if caught, you could be charged with interfering with the safe operation of an aircraft. So leave the darn switch alone!!

Think about what you're doing on a plane, dear passengers, and if we ask you nicely to do something, please do it. Otherwise you might find out the wrong way the reason why we asked you in the first place!