Aviation Discussion

[yorkie]

Just a gentle reminder this thread is for aviation discussion.

From this point onwards, if anyone wishes to either go off on a tangent, or reply to someone else who has gone of on a tangent, you are very welcome to create a new thread in the appropriate section of the forum (if there isn't one already).

Many thanks in advance.

 

[flymo]

New airline Air Belgium to be launched.
A new airline Air Belgium is to launch services between Belgium and Hong Kong. The airline has existed on paper for the past two years and is now ready to start up for real. The new airline should create 600 jobs and will operate a total of 4 planes that it hopes will transport a total of 500,000 passengers a year.
However, it will need an aviation licence before it can do so.
With a launch capital of 20 million euro Air Belgium has a 10-year partnership contract with Charleroi (also known as “Brussels South”) Airport in Hainaut.
The launch of the airline should create 600 jobs, 360 at the airline its self and 240 elsewhere at the airport. A new terminal will be built and the runway extended by 700 metres to 3,200 metres............................

I've lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years and have met people from all over Europe. Dutch by the bucket load, French by the million, too many Germans to keep count of but not many Belgians. I know Cathay are starting Brussels soon and wish Air Belgium the best of luck but are there enough potential passengers between the two cities justifying a direct service. If they did Belgium - HK via, say, Bangkok it may have a better chance.
Cathay Pacific and its China network with Cathay Dragon would probably take most of any Belgium-HK passengers but good luck Air Belgium, you'll need it.

 

[CC 72100]

Mundane Ryanair 737-800 question incoming...

Just flew to Poland and back with Ryanair, both flights on time, no complaints, albeit very hard (considering what is available) landing at Bristol.

On the plane going over, life jackets were overhead, on the way back, they were under the seat. Planes otherwise seemed identical - both had winglets etc.?

So why is it different between the two planes?

 

[atillathehunn]

I've lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years and have met people from all over Europe. Dutch by the bucket load, French by the million, too many Germans to keep count of but not many Belgians. I know Cathay are starting Brussels soon and wish Air Belgium the best of luck but are there enough potential passengers between the two cities justifying a direct service. If they did Belgium - HK via, say, Bangkok it may have a better chance.
Cathay Pacific and its China network with Cathay Dragon would probably take most of any Belgium-HK passengers but good luck Air Belgium, you'll need it.

I agree with all of the above. But I would add another layer. This isn't a flight to Brussels it's a flight to Charleroi where no connections are available and it's a non alliance carrier.
To quote Private Frazer "doomed, Mr Mainwaring, doomed"

 

[theageofthetra]

Interesting article in the NYT re safety stats in general aviation in the US.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/opinion/The-Dangers-of-Private-Planes.html

 

[atillathehunn]

Interesting article in the NYT re safety stats in general aviation in the US.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/opinion/The-Dangers-of-Private-Planes.html

Precisely the reason I don't fly private. Well okay maybe not the only reason....

The closest I've come is various UN charter flights with work which are often semi private.

There are some very real concerns and highlight a glaring regulatory gap. Does anybody know much about GA here? Is there a similar gap? I'm staggered many don't require insurance.

 

[OwlMan]

Ryan Air are starting flights to Jordan this year.
Starting with a route to Paphos in Cyprus next month, Ryanair’s Amman operation will grow to 10 routes from October, as part of its winter schedule this year. Flights to the port city of Aqaba will commence in October with four routes, and will also operate for the winter period.
Ryanair will fly to Amman from Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Krakow, Milan, Paphos, Prague, Vilinius and Warsaw, with flights to Aqaba going from Athens, Cologne, Rome and Sofia. They hope to attract 500,000 passengers to travel to Jordan for holidays annually.
Will any of these be succesful?

 

[atillathehunn]

Great news!

Of course not all of this will survive/remain through time, but that's Ryanair: throw planes at it and what sticks, stays.

There are very few/no LCCs serving Jordan since easyJet pulled the plug. The sceptic in me says these might use the Amman Civil airport rather than Queen Alia.

There is a big Jordanian diaspora who would welcome these, and not to mention other nations who appreciate a slightly more liberal country for their holiday, while being easily able to keep halal etc. Go to downtown Amman, and the holiday resorts at the Dead Sea and the Red Sea and check out the number of Qatar, UAE, Egyptian Bahrainian, Saudi registered cars. Holiday makers previously heading from Europe to the gulf may now choose Jordan; just a bit conservative, but not so much to make fun impossible. Closer, too.

The weather is lovely, as not too hot as quite close to the sea.

Steeped in history, with Petra, Jerash, the Citadel and Roman ruins, not to mention the Rum desert.

So glad I booked a trip there for this week, I'm fondly reminiscing.

 

[fowler9]

Wow, I would love to visit Petra and various other places in the area. I will be interested to see if there is any way I can get there cheaper changing planes with Ryanair rather than using one of the traditional airlines.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Mundane Ryanair 737-800 question incoming...

Just flew to Poland and back with Ryanair, both flights on time, no complaints, albeit very hard (considering what is available) landing at Bristol.

On the plane going over, life jackets were overhead, on the way back, they were under the seat. Planes otherwise seemed identical - both had winglets etc.?

The ones with under the seat would be the older airframes - they had this specification on all new planes up till around 10 years ago before moving to them above your head to make it easier to clean and inspect the cabin in addition to giving greater storage room under seats.

 

[atillathehunn]

Wow, I would love to visit Petra and various other places in the area. I will be interested to see if there is any way I can get there cheaper changing planes with Ryanair rather than using one of the traditional airlines.

Absolutely encourage you to do so!

You can get to Israel via Wizz etc from eastern Europe fairly easily, and from there hop over the border (friendly crossing in the main).

I would also say that in the off season there are good deals. I booked 4 days in advance and go €300 return with Air France/Thalys from Brussels.

My better half (travelling there separately due to work commitments in different places at different times) got €250 return via Kiev.

 

[atillathehunn]

The ones with under the seat would be the older airframes - they had this specification on all new planes up till around 10 years ago before moving to them above your head to make it easier to clean and inspect the cabin in addition to giving greater storage room under seats.

Psychologically I prefer to have them above. Always afraid I won't be able to find it under the seat with all the rubbish under there, and with very little space between you and the seat in front.

 

[CC 72100]

The ones with under the seat would be the older airframes - they had this specification on all new planes up till around 10 years ago before moving to them above your head to make it easier to clean and inspect the cabin in addition to giving greater storage room under seats.

Thanks for that - have just checked on flightradar, and after a quick google, turns out my plane over was 9.9 years old, and the one on the way back (under seat) was 13 years old, which tallies with your explanation above.

Given their aggressive fleet renewal programme, 13 years old must be rather senior for a Ryanair jet?

 

[F Great Eastern]

The last few years there is only a small amount of renewal going on - most of the airframes delivered in the last few years have been for fleet expansion - they're now at approx 420 jets.

The oldest one is EI-DAC dating back to December 2002, there is approx 100 that are over 10 years old and the average age is approx 7 years.

The earliest examples of the EI-DA range have some more slight differences, in that the only yellow they had was on the back of the seats. Everything else that is normally yellow is white, including the luggage storage doors.

 

[fowler9]

Absolutely encourage you to do so!

You can get to Israel via Wizz etc from eastern Europe fairly easily, and from there hop over the border (friendly crossing in the main).

I would also say that in the off season there are good deals. I booked 4 days in advance and go €300 return with Air France/Thalys from Brussels.

My better half (travelling there separately due to work commitments in different places at different times) got €250 return via Kiev.

Cheers mate. It is a part of the world I have never been to but would love to.

 

[gsnedders]

Psychologically I prefer to have them above. Always afraid I won't be able to find it under the seat with all the rubbish under there, and with very little space between you and the seat in front.

The US1549 (the "Miracle on the Hudson") accident investigation report is interesting, when it comes to life vests:

Overall, 19 passengers physically attempted to obtain a life vest from under a seat, and 10 of these passengers reported difficulties retrieving it. Of those 10 passengers, only 3 were persistent enough to eventually obtain the life vest; the other 7 either retrieved a flotation seat cushion or abandoned the idea of retrieving flotation equipment altogether.

Note that aircraft not used for EOW ("extended over water") flights under FAA regulations are not required to have life vests and they are not included in every pre-flight safety briefing as a result; the aircraft in question was equipped for EOW flights, but the flight in question was not one: the pre-flight safety briefing should have included information on the location of the life vests (though without a demonstration of use) but this was forgotten by the crew.

 

[theageofthetra]

Ryan Air are starting flights to Jordan this year.
Starting with a route to Paphos in Cyprus next month, Ryanair’s Amman operation will grow to 10 routes from October, as part of its winter schedule this year. Flights to the port city of Aqaba will commence in October with four routes, and will also operate for the winter period.
Ryanair will fly to Amman from Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Krakow, Milan, Paphos, Prague, Vilinius and Warsaw, with flights to Aqaba going from Athens, Cologne, Rome and Sofia. They hope to attract 500,000 passengers to travel to Jordan for holidays annually.
Will any of these be succesful?

Flights to Aqaba give easy access to the Red sea and Jordans main tourist attractions- Petra, Wadi etc Though not a patch on the diving/snorkling at say Ras Mohammad on the Sinai its a good alternative until the security situation improves there.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

You can get to Israel via Wizz etc from eastern Europe fairly easily, and from there hop over the border (friendly crossing in the main).

For anyone not aware it is worth knowing that some countries in the Muslim world will not accept your passport for entry if there is any evidence of a previous visit to Israel. Not a problem for Jordan (or Dubai) but worth checking before considering this route if you have any thoughts about visiting such countries within the validity of your current passport.

 

[ModernRailways]

New Lufthansa livery, and new branding to be launched on the 7th February in Frankfurt. A picture of their plane in the new branding leaked so they've been using Twitter and Social media to combat it. They've gone for a dark blue theme this time, which for me just looks like your standard plane now. It still screams premium airline though which I think is good.

 

[YorkshireBear]

New Lufthansa livery, and new branding to be launched on the 7th February in Frankfurt. A picture of their plane in the new branding leaked so they've been using Twitter and Social media to combat it. They've gone for a dark blue theme this time, which for me just looks like your standard plane now. It still screams premium airline though which I think is good.

Looks nice to me, and agree it still says premium airline... BUT there seems to be a lot of criticism back home.

 

[atillathehunn]

For anyone not aware it is worth knowing that some countries in the Muslim world will not accept your passport for entry if there is any evidence of a previous visit to Israel. Not a problem for Jordan (or Dubai) but worth checking before considering this route if you have any thoughts about visiting such countries within the validity of your current passport.

However anyone who has been to Israel in the past few years will know they don't stamp your passport, they stamp a letter which you keep inside your passport for the duration. With their new system, I think actually it's a bit like Hong Kong - you don't even need the slip of paper. I haven't been in a year or so, so can't comment.

If you're European and have stamps from most Arab countries you will get a decent grilling for an hour, but then let in. I believe the only exception is Lebanon. In the past this has been a firm "no" but I'm very willing to stand corrected.

 

[atillathehunn]

Flights to Aqaba give easy access to the Red sea and Jordans main tourist attractions- Petra, Wadi etc Though not a patch on the diving/snorkling at say Ras Mohammad on the Sinai its a good alternative until the security situation improves there.

The snorkelling can still be pretty damn decent.

I would say, though, to travel into one airport and out of the other if possible. Amman is a good city, the area around it brimming with history.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Looks nice to me, and agree it still says premium airline... BUT there seems to be a lot of criticism back home.

I assume the removal of yellow is to distance themselves from a certain other blue and yellow airline which is anything but premium

Looks good though.

 

[atillathehunn]

New Lufthansa livery, and new branding to be launched on the 7th February in Frankfurt. A picture of their plane in the new branding leaked so they've been using Twitter and Social media to combat it. They've gone for a dark blue theme this time, which for me just looks like your standard plane now. It still screams premium airline though which I think is good.

Looks good. A bit similar to Titan, in a way, with the black swoop.

 

[fowler9]

For anyone not aware it is worth knowing that some countries in the Muslim world will not accept your passport for entry if there is any evidence of a previous visit to Israel. Not a problem for Jordan (or Dubai) but worth checking before considering this route if you have any thoughts about visiting such countries within the validity of your current passport.

My sister worked on an Israeli cruise ship for a very short length of length of time ( The attitude to safety was somewhat lax) and she had a separate stamped page to put in her passport which could be removed for countries not mad on Israel.

 

[CC 72100]

The last few years there is only a small amount of renewal going on - most of the airframes delivered in the last few years have been for fleet expansion - they're now at approx 420 jets.

The oldest one is EI-DAC dating back to December 2002, there is approx 100 that are over 10 years old and the average age is approx 7 years.

The earliest examples of the EI-DA range have some more slight differences, in that the only yellow they had was on the back of the seats. Everything else that is normally yellow is white, including the luggage storage doors.

Thanks for that.. slowly creeping up then, although probably still way behind other legacy carriers.

 

[ModernRailways]

Looks nice to me, and agree it still says premium airline... BUT there seems to be a lot of criticism back home.

There seems to be a lot of aviation enthusiasts who aren't happy with it. It could just be a simple 'I don't like change/old branding was fine'. Lufthansa is one of my favourite airlines to travel with, so as long as they keep the same level of service I'll be happy. It will be interesting however to see the full new branding, as long as it keeps the premium feel of the brand I think they'll be fine, and going by the plane it comes across as a more premium brand than the current branding.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

However anyone who has been to Israel in the past few years will know they don't stamp your passport, they stamp a letter which you keep inside your passport for the duration. With their new system, I think actually it's a bit like Hong Kong - you don't even need the slip of paper. I haven't been in a year or so, so can't comment

That doesn't actually solve the problem unfortunately. When crossing from Israel into Jordan (or Egypt) the officials on the other side of the border will almost certainly put their own stamp, which identifies the crossing point, into your passport. Vigilant officials in the "anti-Israeli" countries will spot these stamps and therefore deduce that you have actually been to Israel despite the lack of Israeli stamp.

If you're European and have stamps from most Arab countries you will get a decent grilling for an hour, but then let in. I believe the only exception is Lebanon. In the past this has been a firm "no" but I'm very willing to stand corrected.

Syria too. No surprise!

I assume the removal of yellow is to distance themselves from a certain other blue and yellow airline which is anything but premium

Looks good though.

Not just Ryanair. Thomas Cook Airlines also has prominent yellow branding and is on the verge of adopting the full Condor branding of its German sister. So Lufthansa's dropping of yellow from its branding looks well timed.

 

[gsnedders]

Not just Ryanair. Thomas Cook Airlines also has prominent yellow branding and is on the verge of adopting the full Condor branding of its German sister. So Lufthansa's dropping of yellow from its branding looks well timed.

Remember that Condor is part of the Lufthansa Group, though.

 

[atillathehunn]

That doesn't actually solve the problem unfortunately. When crossing from Israel into Jordan (or Egypt) the officials on the other side of the border will almost certainly put their own stamp, which identifies the crossing point, into your passport. Vigilant officials in the "anti-Israeli" countries will spot these stamps and therefore deduce that you have actually been to Israel despite the lack of Israeli stamp.



Syria too. No surprise!



Not just Ryanair. Thomas Cook Airlines also has prominent yellow branding and is on the verge of adopting the full Condor branding of its German sister. So Lufthansa's dropping of yellow from its branding looks well timed.

Yes valid. I crossed Israel Jordan via the northern crossing which is an innocuous name so it was fine. However i find a slightly damp finger will smudge the visa just about enough to get away with it.