A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Commentary
Category Archives for Commentary.
President Trump Grounds Boeing 737 MAXs in the US
I’ve just written that I believe the FAA was reasonable not to ground the Boeing 737 MAX, and that doing so brings along its own safety risks. I wrote that I hoped that new data would be what guides any shift in position.
Minutes after writing that, though, President Trump announced a grounding of the aircraft type. It’s not obvious that there’s been any actual new information which has become available since the FAA resisting doing so. The only meaningful news item has been Canada’s decision to ground the plane, also based on no new material information.
Government Wants to Ban Flights Between Amsterdam and Brussels
There’s a move afoot to end flights between Brussels and Amsterdam, because members of the Dutch government believe the flight is too short.
KLM currently runs 5 flights a day between the two cities.
Amsterdam and Brussels airports are about 125 miles apart if you’re driving, 98 miles by air.
New Companion Reward Ticket Benefit and an Argument Why Australia Isn’t Real
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Woman Asks Plane to Turn Around When She Realizes She Forgot Her Baby at the Airport
Saturday’s Saudia flight SV832 from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur turned back to the gate because a woman on board forgot her baby at the gate and insisted the plane return.
Since communications between a commercial airliner and the ground are available, it’s worth a listen to this exchange. The pilot asks, “May God be with us. Can we come back or what?”
Asking Crew to Move Their Bags and No More Free Takeaway Food at MIA
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
‘Luckiest Man Alive’ Arrived at the Gate Moments Too Late to Board Yesterday’s Doomed Ethiopian 737
There are untold human stories coming out of the loss of lives on that Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
One compelling story was told in the first person on Facebook — the passenger who was running just a few moments late and missed the flight while he watched the final passengers board and the door at the gate close in front of him. He declares it his lucky day, and indeed it was that, though of course luck probably had nothing to do with it — just a series of unrelated choices that put him in the position to make, or not make, his flight.
American’s Chicken Salad Lunch: New Worst Airline Meal Ever?
If you choose the salad, here’s a sample of the chicken as seen on American Airlines flight AA644, the 1 p.m. departure from Charlotte to Austin on Friday.
Perhaps this is the reason airline President Robert Isom says their caterers have “gotten a little bit lazy in terms of what they can provide us.” Unfortunately it doesn’t seem he’s done enough about it.
Europe Will Impose De Facto Visa Requirements on US Citizens Starting in 2021
Americans will be required to get an ‘ETIAS’ (European Travel Information and Authorization System) in order to travel to Europe, which is essentially what the US requires of Europeans (an ‘ESTA’). It’s advance permission to travel.
Of course the game of tit-for-tat is far from over. Two years ago the US Secretary of Homeland Security said he wanted to revisit allowing Europeans to travel to the US with ‘only’ an ESTA. By the way the number of people killed by terrorists who entered the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program is zero.
You Can Get Busted for Taking Inflight Photos and Winning $10,000 for Reading Terms & Conditions
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.