News and notes from around the interweb:
- First look at the new Turkish Airlines lounge at Washington Dulles which is still under construction but should ultimately be open to Star Alliance Gold customers — even for United Gold elites and higher flying domestically.
- Beware the “corpse cupboard”: What happens when you die on an airplane
People who die on airplanes aren’t dead. Not legally, anyway.
In the unlikely event that a passenger expires mid-flight, he or she generally cannot be legally pronounced dead until a doctor or other local authority on the ground has had a chance to look. But the truth is, passengers do die on airplanes from time to time, leaving crew to deal with an unexpected and uncomfortable situation.
- 999 bonus Virgin America points when you book and fly the airline by September 30 (HT: Eric Goldner)
- My Fox Business segment with Melissa Francis talking about Delta’s IT meltdown and operational challenges Tuesday. (For my uncles, aunts and cousins who may be reading — I was also in the Wall Street Journal coverage of the incident.)
- This is how it’s done, people. El Al is making some minor adjustments to mileage-earning for flights. But those changes have been announced now and don’t go into effect until September 2017 (which necessarily means tickets that haven’t been purchased yet). (HT: David H.)
Change in Point Accrual for Economy Class Tickets on Flights as of September 1, 2017
On flights as of September 1, 2017, point accrual in K and V classes will be doubled.
Point accrual in W, B or Q class is in effect only for departures until August 31, 2017. - Watch this video of a man who missed his flight in Madrid — but managed to get onto the tarmac to chase after the plane. This happens more than you’d think, like last year with a United flight in Denver. (HT: One Mile at a Time)
I could have done without reading about how they handle people dying mid flight. That was somewhat of a brutal article to read.
A little over two years ago my sister and I were on a redeye TPE>SEA when a fellow business passenger passed on peacefully. The crew had a body bag for him, and put him back in his seat. Biz was at best half-full and the other passengers were offered to be re-seated. (We did not request re-seating…we were not adjacent and have worked in professions where we lost our ‘squick’ reactions at being near deceased persons.)
The subject line of this post could use an edit—lots of options!
With that said, once opened, the content is -as usual- good reading. Thanks Gary!
My friends who work for Delta, told me long ago (this was before the merger with NWA– and I don’t know if the policy has changed) , that NO ONE EVER DIES ON A DELTA FLIGHT. When I asked for an explanation, they said that even if someone apparently dies in flight, the crew is not supposed to have that person pronounced dead by a doctor, etc. They said that if a person dies in flight (i.e. pronounced dead in flight), then upon landing the plane is impounded for 24 hours for an investigation. That’s the last thing Delta wants, so the crew’s orders are that nobody dies in the air.
An Eyes-Closed screenshot…I like it!