Flying from China and onto the Arabian Sea (we came over from Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, Kunming, Nepal, Karachi, and into the Arabian Sea), the Airbus A330 comes close to the end of it's journey into it's final destination Abu Dhabi. Sunrises are always spectacular. Oblivious of the significance for earthlings, the sun rises on just another day above the skies at 39,000 feet.
Costing around US$222.5 million (€215 million) each, the Airbus A330-300 is one hell of a sexy machine. Etihad Airways has six of these beauties in their fleet, mainly operating on long haul routes out of their base Abu Dhabi. I had the pleasure of reviewing this flight from Shanghai Pudong to Abu Dhabi on board aircraft registered A6-AFB. A big thank you to the Captain and the Etihad Airways team for making this photo shoot happen!
Etihad Airways is a relatively brand new airline (established in 2003), and has one of the best cabin crew in the world from over 120 nationalities...and they have a kick-ass in-flight experience product too with all luxury comfortable seats, 5-star meals...give them a try next time! On the morning of the 6th of July 2013 just past 11.28am local time, a Boeing 777-200ER belonging to South Korea's Asiana Airlines (flight number OZ214) carrying 307 passengers and crew, crash landed while on approach onto San Francisco International Airport's Runway 28L. Whenever a plane crash happens, second guessing and pure rumors or any other speculation does no good and is of no value to anyone - even to professional journalists who work for Broadsheets - trust me on that one!. It can be extremely irritating (and distressing for passengers relatives), when people on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, PPRune, Airliners.net, Jetphotos.net and Fox News' etc. go about with their so called 'aviation experts', spewing historical events and their own takes on what could have gone wrong. I prefer to wait until either the wreckage is examined/investigation in complete or the NTSB is notified. It's one of the reasons that I don't turn on the TV at these times but rely on concrete factual information for journalists from informed media such as FT.com and the BBC. The weather was reported as very good; the latest METAR reported light wind, 10 miles (16 km) visibility, with no precipitation, and no forecast or reports of wind shear. The pilots performed a visual approach assisted by the runway's precision approach path indicator (PAPI). The landing gear and then the tail struck the seawall that projects into San Francisco Bay. Both engines and the tail section separated from the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted that the main landing gear, the first part of the aircraft to hit the seawall, "separated cleanly from [the] aircraft as designed". The vertical and both horizontal stabilizers fell on the runway before the threshold. The remainder of the fuselage and wings rotated (yawed) counter-clockwise 330 degrees as it slid westward. Video showed it pivoting about a wing and the nose while sharply inclined to the ground. It came to rest to the left of the runway, 2,400 feet (730 m) from the initial point of impact at the seawall. Out of the 291 passengers and 16 crew, sadly 3 passengers died, and 181 passengers suffered serious but non-fatal injuries. Out of the three who lost their lives, two were named as Ms. Ye Mengyuan and Ms. Wang Linjia, both Chinese nationals, and both 16-year-old middle school students from China's eastern Zhejiang province. They were seated at the rear of the plane and their bodies were found on the tarmac. The third passenger died of her injuries several days later at hospital. At the request of her immediate family, her name and the extent of her injuries were not published. Among the injured were three flight attendants who were thrown onto the runway while still strapped in their seats when the tail section broke off after striking the seawall short of the runway. Now, on that note a point about the photos of the crash and the relatives going around on Twitter etc. (especially the UK Daily Mail, and other tabloids), that can be so ridiculous. OK, photographers may have to get pics of the grieving families to keep their Editors happy ..BUT I don't want to OR have to look at them. It's just sick. RIP to those who have died. You can tell when the stupidity at The UK Daily Mail has reached new heights when they write false stories in order to get their readership high. The Editor has been trying to pretend that his rag is NOT a tabloid (heaven forbid) by spilling stories over the gutter in an effort to win a design competition at his local school. He should give up & just use the tabloid tricks that were developed by experts. The Boeing 777, like ALL American built aircraft (except the 787 Deamliner - now dubbed the 'nightmareliner' because of its high number of faults) is a very reliable and strong aircraft- the Boeing 777s are the aviation's equivalent of the John Deer Tractor, you can throw anything at them and not a single whisker in sight will damage them. This was the Boeing 777's first fatal accident, and second crash (previous: British Airways Flight 38 in 2008), and third hull loss since the Boeing 777 began operating commercially in 1995. It's a well known fact in the industry that around 95% of aircraft crashes happen 8 nautical miles either side of the airport below 3000 feet. 95% of aircraft fires happen in the first two hours. The fix is, when realizing it is uncontrollable, dive for the ground before the wing burns through. Record aloft is below 25 mins. Below is video animation showing the comparison between the actual flight path taken by flight OZ214 into San Francisco's Runway 28L, and what the correct flight path should have looked like. The video is a testament to a brilliantly-built aircraft; designed and modelled entirely on computers in the early 1990s. The video shows what happens if you can use the fuselage to dissipate the energy, then the landing gear and the engines shear off at extreme speed, as designed. Unlike steel, aluminium doesn't produce sparks like steel does. An experienced Airline pilot with over 28 years in the cockpit, who did not wish to be named, told me (I quote): 'It's long been the Airbus philosophy that "if the aircraft is not doing what you want (for ANY reason) disconnect the automatics and fly it manually at once". That works well in airlines where you have a wealth of basic Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flying skills to fall-back on. Sadly, with the death of general aviation around the world, there are many countries where pilots don't have that background. It's why Airbus has increased the endorsement program from 9 simulators to 13. Airbus now teaches people to fly each model visually with all systems working normally (especially after what happened with the Air France 447 crash). Who would have thought it would come to this? Many of us. Predicting that, one day, each pilot would have to pass a test of knowledge to survive. At Aviation Theory Centre in the early 90s I ran a series of lectures explaining that our books taught "To Pass The Test - Not Just The Exam". Sadly most theory centres just teach the syllabus and no more.' Another airline pilot gave me this account of an aircraft coming in too LOW into Dubai Airport a few days after the Asiana Airlines crash happened (I won't name the pilot who gave me this credible report): 'Blood ran cold today. 28 years of flying and never heard this from an APProach controller: APP: "XXXXX (an indian carrier) Are you too low? I have you at 800 feet!" [now, he usually transfers to TWR at about 5 miles (1500 feet) so there is no reason to be at that level on Approach.] XXXX: after long silence "XXXX going around" APP: "XXXX are you climbing? I still have you below radar lowest safe!" XXXX: " We are climbing through 1,500, can we make a visual circuit?" (this is how Gulf Air crashed an A320 and the clever controller decided to take it out of his hands...) APP: "Climb to 4000 feet and make left turn to 030." (Thereby saving the day, he never even answered the query for a visual approach.) How, you ask? Well the QNH was 994mb and 500 feet lower than the std of 1013. Setting the altimeter from high (1013) to a low number winds OFF altitude. Old Pilots say: "High to Low LOOKOUT below!" I bet the XXXX boys still had 1013mb set'. ' The below presentation, ('Children of Magenta'), provides a wealth of experience and advice for pilots of new-generation airliners (especially 787, A380, and A350). When in doubt: Disconnect automation, fall back on your flying skills and FLY THE AIRCRAFT. HOWEVER, the problem is: what if you a crew who have no experience in hand-flying aircraft, no raw flying experience to fall back-on (as those Asiana 214, and Air France 447 pilots)? One of my mates, an experienced Captain for Emirates, says: 'Always make sure YOU are flying the aeroplane, and that IT'S not flying you. Sadly, this brilliant instructor has passed away. He'd be rolling in his grave if he knew that there are thousands of pilots currently flying airliners who have never had such a background.'. Flying is not the same as it just to be back in the 1980s and even early 1990s- it's not as glamorous as it used to be...and even more importantly safety is plummeting these days. Did you know Singapore have fired ALL their expats since this accident at SFO? The week before this Asiana crash, a Singapore Airlines B777 did a go around on the same runway after doing the exact same thing…with a 777 full of passengers. That - in the 90s - would have been inconceivable!. When you have 300 passengers behind you, there is no room for failure, and it's dangerous to just depend on the Autopilot. No doubt, the Asiana Airlines crew were invited for a not-so polite chat over a tea session in Washington...no biscuits though. British Airways get their first Airbus A380-800- that's SIX years after Singapore Airlines became the first carrier to fly this SuperJumbo (inaugural flight was on the 25th of October 2007- and 9 airlines already operate this aircraft)....and so you wonder why the UK media reacts as if they've never seen this plane before....(the same thing will happen when/IF Virgin Atlantic Airways get their first A380 aircraft- Virgin was one of the first carriers to order the A380, and was originally due to take the model in 2006; but that's been pushed back to 2018).
On the 14th of June, the Airbus A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body), made it's maiden flight captained by Airbus Chief Test Pilot, Peter Chandler. The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of long-range, two-engined wide-body jet airliners. The A350 is the first Airbus aircraft with both the fuselage and the wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer. I am in China, and I just thought I'd share this link while I am here. When you watch this, preface it with the knowledge that an Airbus A330 flight test team were killed during a test flight in 1994. It looks like a normal airliner..but you can never tell until it flies successfully. Check out the video below. There are seven daily non-stop flights to Hong Kong from London (with Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific). The London to Hong Kong route (and vice-versa) is a highly lucrative one because it connects these two world financial centres, and the demand is high with all flights almost always fully booked. With each airline carrier in direct competition, it is no wonder that the products are all very tempting to try. For this flight, I decided to check out the relatively brand new First Class cabin of British Airways. There are fourteen private suites located in the nose cone of the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, each with a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) bed, a 15-inch (38 cm) wide entertainment screen, and in-seat power. British Airways operate the Boeing 747-400 aircraft on this route, and in November 2013 the airline will start using the brand new Airbus A380-800 for the Hong Kong route. While these photos just offer a glimpse of the new First Class cabin, please take a look at my flight experience from SEAT 1A on British Airways Boeing 747-400 here. On the 29th of April 2013, a National Air Cargo Boeing 747-400 freighter on behalf of US Mobility Command, registration N949CA performing cargo flight N8-102 from Bagram (Afghanistan) to Dubai Al Maktoum (United Arab Emirates) with 7 crew and cargo consisting of 5 military vehicles, crashed shortly after takeoff from Bagram Air Base's runway 03 at 15:30 local time, and erupted into flames near the end of the runway within the perimeter of the Air Base. All 7 crew died in the accident.
National Air Cargo confirmed their aircraft N949CA with 7 crew, 4 pilots, 2 mechanics and a load master - initial information had been 8 crew -crashed at Bagram. The airline later added, that the aircraft had been loaded with all cargo in Camp Bastion (Afghanistan, about 300nm southwest of Bagram), the cargo had been inspected at Camp Bastion, the aircraft subsequently positioned to Bagram for a refuelling stop with no difficulty, no cargo was added or removed, however, the cargo was again inspected before the aircraft departed for the leg to Dubai Al Maktoum. A horrifying dashcam video captured the full extent of the crash with the Boeing 747-400F appearing to take off normally as it gained altitude, and then plunging into the ground like a rock. It’s the kind of stuff you may see in a nightmare. The video went viral on the internet and elsewhere (except it was not shown by some respected media outlets). There was a time in history when such things were NOT shown by the media. At the time the news broke out of the crash I was in Detroit, (Michigan), home state to six of the crew members who died. Interestingly enough on that day I was on the phone to a very good friend of mine who personally knew the deceased Captain of that unfortunate flight. Captain Rajan, former of Pan-Am and a veteran Boeing 747-400 training Captain with Boeing, told me of his utter shock and disbelief that the video of the crash was freely available on the internet. It’s a sad change of the times indeed that with all the modern technology and social media there is nothing that cannot be sold by anyone (and they don’t have to be journalist in order to do so). In my opinion, such videos should not be on the internet or elsewhere as a mark of respect for the deceased. Yes, there are lots of unmentionable and horrific videos on the internet, however normally such things are not shown by the media. It’s not a Hollywood movie...it’s totally disrespectful to those who died to show that video (In my opinion). When passengers arrive or depart from London's two major international airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, they will notice that the aircraft models that are displayed as welcoming adverts are in fact not representative of any of the British airlines.
On the 30th of March 2007, a scale model of Concorde which had the pride of place at Heathrow Airport's entrance for 16 years was sadly removed, and replaced in 2008 with an Emirates Airlines A380 aircraft model. British Airways had decided not to renew the £1.5m annual rent to advertise on the roundabout at the gateway to the London airport. Instead, Emirates Airlines, the major carrier of the United Arab Emirates, poached the prime spot with a six-year deal to advertise on the site. Meanwhile at Gatwick Airport, Turkish Airlines have partnered with Eye and Gatwick Airport to suspend a scale model aeroplane inside the airport terminal. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, situated in Gatwick’s North Terminal check-in measures 6.1m in length with a wingspan of 5.1m. The 124kg structure created by Leading Models will be suspended from the check-in ceiling until August 2013. Back in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s the airport billboards at British Airports were thronged with national pride such as BOAC, British Caledonian (remember them?!), British Midland, Virgin and so on. With the change of the times, it's the Middle Eastern and Asian carriers who seem to have the money (China Southern Airlines have huge billboards outside Terminal 4 at Heathrow). So the question is if there any chance that we may ever see British carriers advertising their airlines at British airports? Captain. Syed Bin Abdul Aziz A Rahman (former of Malaysia Airlines) brings this beauty back from Abu Dhabi on a fine crisp winter's day at Heathrow. Etihad Airways operates three daily flights between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow.
Alitalia's 'Juliet Juliet' having some interesting problems at Beijing Capital Airport. The Italian First Officer lost his temper and started shouting at the ground staff from the window....'Hurry up guys!' (of course, he wasn't using such polite language)...in an era when time is money in the aviation industry there is seldom room for failure...so, therefore, next time you are delayed....there is no point blaming the pilot (he's on your side!)...
I have had a few people asking me the question: How do pilots and ATC communicate over Chinese airspace? The answer is: In aviation English (which I will give an example of at the end of this blog article). It is nothing new that most pilots operating on Chinese airlines cannot (with all due respect), speak good enough English (or none whatsoever in some cases). It would be true that the current and the future generation of Chinese pilots that are trained in Australia or the U.S.A. can converse in English, but those who are trained in China may not be able to converse in English (especially veteran pilots). The same goes for airline and military pilots from Japan, Korea, Russia, and other countries where English may not be widely used even as a second language. Having spoken to a few airline pilots from various international airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, British Airways, and Emirates, the problems come about when pilots whose first language is English are trying to work out what is going on when they listen to the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) transmissions over the airwaves. It certainly does not help if the local ATC and local pilots are communicating in Chinese rather than the international aviation language (i.e. English). Captain Bill Johnson, who flies the Boeing 777-300ER says though the problem is a global one, it can be more problematic over Chinese airspace because of the seriousness of the language issues. 'When we are flying over Chinese airspace, more times than one we have to repeat everything to make sure that the Chinese ATC and other aircraft in the immediate airspace can understand what we are saying,' said Captain Johnson who has over 20 years flying experience. ‘The main difference between flying over China or Russia, and other parts of the world is that the measurements used by Chinese and Russian ATC and pilots are in meters. The metric altitudes translate into feet, and most airlines give pilots a conversion table. The metric altitudes translate into feet, and most airlines give pilots a conversion table,’ said Captain Johnson. Captain Syed Abdul Aziz A. Rahman who flies the Airbus A340, told me that the Chinese and Russians have devised their own meters to feet conversion tables, which can be problematic if you have never flown into Russia or China. "Basically they have assumed that 300 meters = 1000 feet. Airlines have to then change it to their own specific standard operating procedure. The First Officer (or the Pilot not flying is most cases) reads the metric equivalent in feet which is then inputted into the FMS and altitude window by the Captain (or the Pilot who is flying) who also checks the ECAM ( Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor) screen for agreement on both sides. The procedure, which takes around 5 minutes, finishes by both pilots agreeing visually and verbally," said Captain Rahman, a veteran with over 22 years flying experience. The checking procedure at the end is so important because otherwise pilots can have problems when flying over international airspace. I fondly recall sitting in the jumpseat of a China Southern Airlines Boeing 757 from Guangzhou to Sanya where the captain hardly spoke a single word of English. He spoke some aviation language such as 'Standby', 'Affirmative', 'OK, China Southern 6748 climb to flight level 350'. But to my surprise some of the most important instructions were in Chinese, such as 'Cleared for take-off', 'Cleared to land', 'V1.....V2...Rotate' were all in Chinese! His English, with all due respect, was so limited that instead of telling me to wait he shouted aviation terms 'standby....standby!'. On that particular occasion even the First Officer could not communicate in normal English. Captain Sheetal Rajan, a senior training Captain on the Boeing 747-400 with the Boeing company and CEO of 'Air Safety Equipment', says that even though the minimum required international standard for English is IACO Level 4 (which is equivalent to Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)), he is still surprised that some pilots in places such as China and Russia tend to have a lower level of English than the international required standard. ‘I suppose they may just rely on using aviation English,’ says Captain Rajan. Because of the amount of traffic in the skies and the quick turnaround time needed at airports for take-offs and landings, the vast majority of ATC around the world speak quickly (a crude example is the ATC at London Heathrow where a plane lands or take-offs EVERY 50 seconds or so!). In busy airspaces such as India and China it is no exception. Even a one minute delay in the aviation industry can end up costing hundreds of dollars, so ATC are always under pressure to make sure that planes get from A to B as safely and quickly as possible. With this in mind most of the ATCs whose first language is not English (i.e. Indians, Chinese, Thai, Russians etc.) tend to speak quickly to the pilots. However to eliminate confusion they have to repeat it twice over so that the pilots can understand what they are going on about. Unless, of course, there is not that much traffic around so then ATC can speak as clearly and slowly as possible (which is rare around busy airports such as Shanghai Pudong, Beijing etc.). The skies over China can get ridiculously busy, and with the aviation industry seeing a fast growth in the country, it would only be time when Chinese pilots will need to start speaking fluent English. Examples of aviation language: Standby = please wait Retard = Its an autothrottle callout during flare to retard the thrust levers (normally you hear the FMS say this 3 times….’Retard, retard, retard’) Affirmative = OK,I understand Flight Level 350 = 35,000 feet (similarly Flight Level 360 = 36,000 feet and so on) Cleared for take-off/Cleared to land (easy to understand!) Climb Up/Descend (easy to understand!) Turn right heading 180 degrees/Turn left heading 180 degrees etc. Speed back to 170knots (or 180 knots etc.) The alphabet from A-Z is standard as with the police/fire/ambulance services (A= Alpha, B = Bravo, C= Charlie, D= Delta, E= Echo, F= Foxtrot, G= Golf, H= Hotel, I= India, J= Juliet, K= Kilo, L= Lima, M= Mike, N= November, O= Oscar, P= Papa, Q= Quebec, R= Romeo, S=Sierra, T=Tango, U=Uniform, V=Victor, W=Whiskey, X=X-ray, Y= Yankee, Z=Zulu !!) As we cruise from Dubai to Heathrow in the Emirates A380 aircraft, the afternoon Europe-bound fleet heads over the Turkish Peninsula with the sun's bright rays hitting straight at us. Once past Turkey, in Eastern European airspace, as we climb to 39,000 feet and start saving fuel, the Captain took some time to talk about the flight dynamics (you can just make out the Senior First Officer's hand on the left). The A380’s faster cruising speed, 0.85 Mach, is faster than most aircraft. (photos taken by James Nixon)
Even today, after 14 years, I feel very disappointed not to have had the chance to land at Hong Kong’s former International airport, known as Kai Tak Airport, which closed down in 1996. As a young child growing up in London, and who was so much into aeroplanes and flying, I always wanted to go aircraft spotting at Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong. For me it was a dream destination. Sadly I never got to see the place in action as I first came to Hong Kong in 2001. However, recently last year, I was fortunate enough to go and visit the site of the old airport, and see how much of the area has changed. Of course, since I was not there when the place was active, so I could only assume from historical photos and videos of what the place must have been like then. I had also arranged to meet up with Peter Chiu, the manager of the Regal Oriental Hotel, which is situated opposite the former airport- offering its guests panoramic views of the harbour and the former airport site. The hotel used to be a popular choice for airline crews. Kai Tak airport was well renowned worldwide for its dare devil final approach into the airport’s only runway, which stretched out 2 miles into Hong Kong Harbour. When the Kowloon City side of the runway was in use (used to be known as Runway 13, due to its heading of 130 degrees), aircraft on final approach used to commence their descent into Hong Kong over Macau, then head towards either the southern part of Lantau Island (the location for the current airport, Chep Lap Kok). The other route was to fly over Hong Kong Island, and make their way over Kowloon (going over Jordan and Hung Hom); and then at around 700 feet the planes used to aim for a checkerboard on one of the hills facing Kowloon (a navigation point consisting of a hill painted in a red and white chessboard pattern), and make a sharp 37 degree right hand turn over Kowloon city onto the final approach towards Runway 13. The runway was used as a venue for Celine Dion's January 25, 1999 concert on her “Let's Talk About Love” Tour. Between December 2003 and January 2004, the passenger terminal was demolished. Sitting in the restaurant on the top floor of the Regal Oriental Hotel one does get a feeling of what the place must have been like- buzzing with activity and noise all around. You could almost imagine the exciting for onlookers must have been like to watch a, say 747-400 fly right over the hotel and land on the runway in the distance. Peter told me that even those hotel guests who had no interest in planes, would come to the restaurant just to catch a glimpse of the airport site, and even more so at night because of the beautiful runway lights. Peter further explained to me that everything in the area of Kowloon City is just the same as it was when the airport was operational- everything, that is except, of course, the airport and the planes. The local government has built a Cricket pitch at the stop where the threshold to the runway used to be! While I was there taking photos, there was a cricket match being played by a local college team. I am sure some of the players must have been born after the airport closed. As one of the youngsters ran up at speed to bowl, it looked like a stark contrast that 14 years ago on the same piece of land many planes ran down the same way, but, alas, not to bowl, but to fly away around the world’s cities! Some of the runway and taxiway markings are still there, the road leading to the airport tunnel is still there, complete with the directional signpost saying: “Airport Tunnel”, but sadly there is no airport and the tunnel leads to a dead end; then there is that famous bridge which connected the airport terminal to the Kowloon City shopping mall- the bridge is still there, but it’s not connected to anything. Quite possibly the saddest part of it all is that the checker board is also still present on the hill overlooking Kowloon City. If you want to get to the old checkerboard, then its a bit tricky. You can first take the 'Kwan Tong' line to Lok Fu Station. When you get to Lok Fu Station, take the exit going towards Junction Road. Lok Fu Park is located on Junction Road, and is just a 2 minute walk from Lok Fu Station. To get to the Checkerboard take the first left hand turning at the entrance of the park, and carry on walking to the top of the first bend. At the first bend, turn right and climb up a small dry steep slope (right next to a fenced power station operated by CLP holdings). Just carry on walking all the way around (make sure you dont fall over the steep slopes!). Its about a 5 minute walk to get to the checkerboard itself. There are a few things to bear in mind: 1. It is strongly advised not to go at night time as there is no lighting in the park- especially at the Checkerboard, 2, Go with someone rather by yourself- dont want to get lost in a remote place as this, and 3. It is strongly advised to wear some trainers. The Hong Kong government’s plan to build a terminal for luxury liners, and a large shopping centre is well in progress. There are also quite a lot of new high rise property being built right around the harbour and the old runway. Like the old saying goes that all good things come to an end- and even though Kai Tak has come to an end, its legacy still continues for aviation enthusiasts around the world.
For around 30 minutes in the late afternoon of the 16th of November 2009, airspace around China's capital city, Beijing, was closed off to general civilian traffic. Beijing Capital Airport itself came to a standstill for around 20 of those minutes- there were no take-offs or landings EXCEPT for the EIGHT- I say again- EIGHT aircraft belonging to the entourage of the President of the United States of America who landed one after another on Runway 36R. President Obama's plane, Air Force One (a special Boeing 747-200) was the 3rd aircraft to land on Runway 36R. The aircraft vacated left on taxiway 'Whiskey 5', and then 'Mike 6', before turning around on taxiway 'Zulu 3' towards the VIP parking bays (stands 710 to 714). The VIP terminal and parking area for aircraft is quite a distance away from the main passenger terminals, and even media are not allowed to go without extra special permission. I took these photos from around 2 miles away (from Terminal 3!), and it'll probably be the closest I'll ever get to Air Force One. While the aircraft are on the ground, they are manned by hundreds of staff from the Chinese and American national security guard 24 HOURS a day. The President's Air Force One parked neatly in between the two Air Force Two aircraft. President Obama had come over from Shanghai, where yesterday (Monday the 16th), he greeted a group of about 500 Chinese students at the Museum of Science and Technology. His trip to Beijing was to boost further the relationship with China, and to have dinner with President Hu Jintao. Both of the Presidents met in private off Tiananmen Square here on a freezing Tuesday morning to discuss issues like trade, climate change and further boosting positive relationships, in a session that signalled the central role of China on the world stage. Beijing was in a lockdown for most of the day. President Barack Obama also toured the Forbidden City in Beijing. I have decided to write this article in regards to me being inspired by my love for aviation and flying with airlines that have a less than glamorous reputation for their safety in the skies! Below are some of the major indicators that contribute to the making of an above average/decent airline company. It’s a sad fact that within a short space of around 60 years commercial passenger flights have seen their birth (around the 1940s), rise (1950s/60s), their heyday of flying (1970s/80s), and sadly their gradual demise to what has transformed a once luxurious way of travel to one where we are beginning to see airline tickets being sold for less than a pound sterling (excluding taxes!). Budget airlines are good for short haul travel where smaller aircraft can be used (such as the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737 Series) to full capacity and planes can be turned around within 30 minutes; but for medium to long haul travel (i.e. more than 4 hours flight time) there will always be a need for some sort of luxury because of the long distances and the other fuel costs involved. Although not the main ponint of discussion for this blog article, nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that IATA (International Air Transport Association), recently predicted the airline industry will make a snowballing loss of €11 billion by the end of 2009, a rapid increase from the projected €9 billion estimated earlier in the year. The full impact of these losses is yet to be felt despite over 65 airlines failing over the course of 12 months from December 2008. Safety When booking their flights, for most people, the cost is the number one factor which makes them choose their particular airline. Safety is probably at the back of everyone’s mind once they know which airline they are flying (depending on how old or new, good or bad the aircraft and its engines are!). It’s too deep a subject to get into so I am going to keep this brief. On the whole it is reasonably safer to fly than to cross a busy street. However in the following cases, safety can never be played around with:
In July 2009, the European Commission published a list of over 90 International Airline companies that are banned from flying into European Airspace and airports within the European Union. These include the national airlines of Congo, Angola (TAAG- only allowed to fly to Portugal), North Korea (Air Koryo), and Afghanistan (Ariana Afghan). The full list is available here. In-flight Meals Gone are the days when airline meals were something to look forward to when you fly. Nowadays almost all economy class In-flight meals are the same, which is why I try to fly Business Class most of the time - at least there is a proper choice available. One of the best In-flight meals website ever is www.airlinemeals.net where passengers could upload their meal photos and give a personal review of the food, the service and the flight in general. The website has been dormant since 2007, but you can still browse through the various world airlines listed. Surprisingly some of the best meals are served on some of the less well known airlines (like Syrian Air, Tunis Air and BWIA West Indian* as an example). * BWIA has been rebranded as "Caribbean Airlines". The sad thing about In-flight meals is that so much food gets wasted after a flight, that many airline companies are thinking of cutting down on giving away free meals. The only proper option left here is that passengers’ can purchase their desired in-flight meal. My idea is that there should be a special chain of “In-flight meal restaurants” located at all airport departure lounges around the world where passengers, who wish to do so, can purchase their desired In-flight meal and drink prior to boarding the aircraft. Once on the plane they can store their food; and eat it whenever they like without anyone telling them when to eat etc. The concept can be similar to MacDonald’s (just as an example), but of course I am not saying it should be a fast food chain (come on, it needs to be more healthy ad better tasting at least!)- rather the In-flight meal restaurant chain should just specialize in providing healthy and delicious In-flight meals to passengers. In actual fact this concept should be tried at one airport to start with, and if the concept works I believe in the long term it would be a very cost effective way to introduce In-flight meals to airlines. The downside of this idea is that the food labels will not be branded to any particular airline company, but it will be a one common global brand which will be on everyone’s lips. Aircraft type and seat If you know which aircraft you are flying in (usually it states this on the ticket or when you check in online), then from the website www.seatguru.com you can find out which seat is suitable to sit on for your particular flight. The best seats are usually next to the exit and away from the galley and toilets. The vast majority of new aircraft (like the Airbus A340-600, Airbus A380, Boeing B777-200LR and Boeing B777-300) have state of the art In-flight entertainment systems embedded to the back of every seat from where passengers can listen to music, watch movies, play games and even read the in-flight magazine on the screen! Yes, sadly some airlines are even phasing out the traditional hardcopy In-flight magazines to save weight costs. So even the In-flight magazines are becoming collector’s items now- quick! Get your last copy before it gets replaced by the on-screen version! Most passengers actually are not aware of what aircraft they fly in, and even if they were told of the aircraft type, I highly doubt that most would even know what the words A320, B747-400 etc. mean. People don’t care much, as long as they safely get from A to B. It’s like when you sit in a bus, a taxi, train or a boat; no one cares or notices who’s manufactured the machine- unless of course if you happened to be offered a “Mini” as a taxi when you expected it to be a BMW or something!. But when it comes to aircraft it is a different story- you have to approach it with an unusual line of angle. I suppose it’s because it’s a different way of travelling to what you are normally used to travelling on a daily basis. The professionalism of the Airline Crew A perfect example of how not to behave when flying a plane was displayed to the world recently by an Air India crew on a flight from Dubai to New Delhi where, according to media reports, the Pilots and Cabin Crew had a mid-air scuffle at 37,000 feet. Not something that you would want to see or hear about when you know that the two people who are responsible from taking you safely from A to B are too busy fighting with each other rather than flying! Other questions that people always wonder about are if the staff are generally friendly and professional. Do they serve the meals at the right time? Are the air hostesses polite when they speak to you? Is the Cabin Crew helpful if you cannot speak English? It’s easy to put aside the fact that being an Air Hostess is not an easy job either because you have to deal with various situations and different kinds of people from all cultures. In actual fact the job is sometimes too glamorized. If you feel you have a point to make about the airline you travelled on then feel free to voice your personal review on www.airlinequality.com, a site which rates airlines according to a five star category, with the best airline company getting five stars and the worst getting one star or no stars at all. The brand image The company’s brand image and its name are two of the essential core elements what attract the passengers to use the airline in the first place. When someone goes through the procedure of booking their flights, apart from the costs and the timings of their potential flight, the most crucial questions are “Which airline is it?” Now, if the answer happens to be one of the major global brand leaders in the airline industry, such as, say for example, British Airways, United Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates or any one of the other top airlines, then its highly likely there won’t be further questions coming out from people’s mouths. However, say if the airline company happens to be one of lesser known ones like, for example, Syrian Air, Mexicana, TAM Brazilian and others of a similar standing, then you are bound to get a barge of questions related to the company’s standing in the aviation industry. But then again you can have an excellent brand image but the rest of the package of the service is not worth mentioning- just a few examples are: American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, KLM (poor in-flight service), Air India (one can write a book on this one!) and Aeroflot (enough said already I think!). As mentioned at the beginning of this article, I personally fear that in the USA and across Europe, flying is no longer the luxury way of travelling; and globally, flying is not glamorous anymore because people treat it in a similar way to catching a bus or a taxi (if you fly on a private jet!). European and American flyers won’t have much choice of top branded airlines; instead the skies are going to be dominated by the likes of Easyjet, Ryanair, Flybe, and other low cost airlines. The mainstream market for aviation is in the Middle East (Esp. Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways) and Asia (Esp. Singapore Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Air China, China Eastern, Kingfisher, Malaysia Airlines, Jet Airways and Cathay Pacific). I have just provided a few key indicators that may determine the quality of an airline. Of course, just like any other product, you cannot judge what the quality of an airline company is like until you try it yourself. Let us conclude this blog by saying that a good airline is one where the passengers are well informed of any changes that may occur (such as a delay for example), and where they are in the full knowledge of being safe and comfortable from their point of origin to their destination.
London City Airport is a Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airport located in the east of London.
London City Airport’s runway designators ‘28’ and ‘10’ are the abbreviated magnetic runway headings of 280° and 100°. These headings are used to identify the direction in which the runway was being used. As the earth slowly orbits in a circular path, the direction from a fixed object, like the airport’s runway, to magnetic north is constantly moving. The direction of magnetic north decreases by approximately eight minutes of a degree every 12 months, therefore every seven and a half years it is altered by one degree. The amount of annual change depends on where in the world the fixed object is located. In the UK, there is a directional change moving west which causes the runway heading to decrease. This means that the magnetic heading of the airport’s runway has moved by almost 10°since being established in 1987. Consequently London City Airport’s runway designation was changed to 270° and 090°, abbreviated as ’27’ and ‘09’. A team of staff and contractors worked throughout the night to change the airport’s signage and paint markings. It's amazing how they manage to get all of this done overnight without any confusion or problems- the paperwork to change all the airport charts and the navigation charts can be mind-boggling. It may be at least 50 years before the runway designation needs to change again at London City Airport. Early afternoon arrival into Heathrow offers a lovely view of the city in glorious sunshine. All the landmarks in the Square Mile (right), Tower Bridge, and London Bridge (left) are visible. It took around 4 minutes to land at Heathrow's Runway 27L from this point, and it took about 2 hours to get back to home in South London!
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Get in Touch:LIFE MATTERSHere I share my thoughts
and experiences during my travels, and how some things have affected my life as an expat and world traveller. Travelling is about capturing that moment in life. Every word, view and opinion on this page is that of Navjot Singh - except where indicated. The most recent is at the top. Scroll down to read the archive. Or search using CTRL+F (COMMAND + F) and enter a keyword to search the page. Just some of the stories you never heard before. The NAVJOT-SINGH.COM web blog is separate to this web site....Click blog, which may not be visible in some countries due to local firewall restrictions, so in those cases this weblog may be read. The weblog also includes some of my press trip reports- most of which are not published on the official blog because of copyright issues. The weblog also contains articles that may be associated directly with a PR trip for a country, airline or a hotel. These are PR reviews done in relations with various companies. If you are an investor or a trend watcher then you may find this website useful as investing has a lot to do with personal observations and finding the ideal trend or next big thing. The average human on the street frequently knows far more about the state of the economy than politicians, university professors, subject matter experts, and financial analysts who seldom travel, or if they do so, only from one hotel to another hotel! The pulse and vibrancy of an economy is nowhere more visible than on a country's streets. All photos and words are © Navjot Singh unless stated. Photos taken by others or by agencies are appropriately copyrighted under the respective name. No photo or word/s may be taken without the prior written permission by the author (i.e. Navjot Singh). All Rights Reserved. Archives
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