North Korea's Stealth Aircraft, a Wry Look at Flying Then vs. Now, and Alaska Shimmies Closer to American

News and notes from around the interweb:

Alaska Airlines is promoting a tighter relationship with American including Board Room member access to all American lounges and partnering with what used to be US Airways flights. ‘More codesharing’ in the future, too.
Really great review of Competitours (“the Amazing Race for Regular People”) that some View from the Wing readers went on this year.
North Korea’s stealth aircraft… from the 1940s
Ryanair becomes the first airline to carry 10 million international passengers in a month. Their load factor hit an amazing 95% (some may think they should be charging higher prices in the short run).
Flying: Then vs. Now (HT: Joe H.)
It’s a bad sign when a CFO is fired. It’s a very bad sign when a CFO bails on a company, leaves without an obviously better job to announce. When the CFO’s departure from an airline is announced two days before release of earnings…?
In a world where airlines try to one up each other with amazing safety videos especially Air New Zealand but even United and Air France, comes this fictional one that I really, really don’t know what to do with. (HT: baccarat_guy)

Patrick says:

August 6, 2015 at 6:37 am

Now THAT safety video rocks!
ctj says:

August 6, 2015 at 7:38 am

in the “flying then and now,” what type of plane is pictured under “no recorded successful landings”?

and it’s a pretty ominous comment to make about an aircraft that’s in the air.
mowogo says:

August 6, 2015 at 7:56 am

The safety video makes a lot more sense if you’ve seen the movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
nsx at FlyerTalk says:

August 6, 2015 at 8:18 am

@ctj, that looks like a DC-6, which was, I believe, the last popular piston engine aircraft for long-haul travel. The caption is sarcastic.
pointster says:

August 6, 2015 at 12:02 pm

Good that the chickens are coming home to roost at Republic. Not sure about the other carriers they work for, but their American codeshare flights are often a disappointment (if they happen at all.)

I’ll take a decades-old mad dog with an experienced, properly paid pilot over an E-whatever with the guy willing to do it for $12/hour. The mad dog will at least fly, mostly on-time, and with a full crew instead of just one frazzled FA trying to make the best of bad MBA decisions.
Will Tang says:

August 21, 2015 at 12:25 pm

Thanks for the shout out Gary! I definitely heard your name quite a bit throughout the trip. TONS of trip hackers on Competitours 2015. You’re very highly thought of 🙂
Gary Leff says:

August 21, 2015 at 12:35 pm

Thanks @Will!

North Korea’s Stealth Aircraft, a Wry Look at Flying Then vs. Now, and Alaska Shimmies Closer to American

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