Thread: Airline News

This flew over my house yesterday.

Spitfire MK16 Aircraft
Asking price: $0 | Closes: Fri, 28 MarVickers-Supermarine Spitfire is offered for sale.You have the opportunity to own one of WW11's most famous fighters. In the 15-years of front-line service was unequalled by any other Allied fighter Aircraft. All together 20,351 Spitfires were built,no fewer than 50 are flying in the world today.This Spitfire is not a composite nor a facsimile but is a genuine factory built aircraft with no equal in New Zealand today,with all original equipment as fitted by the factory in 1944.This aircraft is not currently flying.
Email:[email protected] POA.

When I was in very short pants I decorated the covers of all my schoolbooks with drawings of the Spitfire, cannons blazing and chasing the hun all over the sky.
I was named after my Uncle who had died over Germany, I convinced everybody that he was Spitfire Pilot, hoping I had inherited some of his heroic attributes, whereas he was a plain ordinary Bomber Navigator.
What a wonderful machine, a piece of British engineering genius.
You can have this one for sale at the estimated price of about 5 million.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...145100.htm?p=3

LA airport closed by toy grenade
Article from: Agence France-Presse
March 27, 2008 06:40am

A TERMINAL at Los Angeles International Airport was temporarily evacuated early today after luggage scanners detected a toy that looked like a grenade.

Terminal One was evacuated at 7.20am (1.20am Thursday AEDT) for about 40 minutes before security personnel determined the item at the centre of the alert was a toy, Los Angeles World Airports official Albert Rodriguez said.

Stormers 'slap' settles aggressive Qantas passenger

Article from: AAP

March 26, 2008 01:00pm

THE Stormers will be in enemy territory against the Western Force on Friday night, but the South African rugby team are heroes in the eyes of Qantas crew.

Smarting from a last-minute loss to the Blues in Auckland, the Stormers were flying from Sydney to Perth on Sunday when an alleged alcohol-affected passenger started causing trouble.

The cabin crew were having trouble calming the man, so they asked the Stormers' contingent whether they would try to ease his agitation.

After some initial success by defence coach Brendan Venter, the passenger piped up again - prompting three of the larger Stormers, including young prop Wicus Blaauw, to bring their presence to bear.

"The crew realised the Stormers are quite big,'' team manager Frikkie Erasmus said.

"So a few of the boys went back to deal with the guy.

"He became extremely aggressive and abusive. So that's when one of our number gave him a bit of a slap. That seemed to do the trick.

"When we landed in Perth the federal police boarded the plane and arrested the passenger and took statements from the players.

"The crew thanked us for helping out.''

Italians Shun Alitalia, Ignoring Berlusconi Plea for Patriotism


By Marco Bertacche




July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Lorenzo Schapira tries to avoid flying Italy's near-bankrupt flagship carrier, Alitalia SpA. The planes are run-down and the service is ``appalling,'' he says.

``The government should let Alitalia go bust,'' a 52-year- old who runs a disco and a sports club near Milan, said on board an Air One SpA flight home from Rome.

He's not alone. Travelers interviewed last week at Milan's Linate and Rome's Fiumicino airports said they'd given up on Alitalia and politicians should too. About three-quarters of Italians disapprove of the government's 300 million-euro ($473 million) bailout for the carrier, according to a June 5 online poll published by daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.

``Airlines go bankrupt all over the world,'' said Alessandro Rovere, who works in the computer industry in Milan. ``I don't see why Italy shouldn't do the same for Alitalia.''

State-controlled Alitalia posts losses of about 3 million euros a day. No buyer has surfaced for the carrier since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said during his election campaign in April that a ``huge'' number of buyers had answered his appeal to keep Alitalia in Italian hands.

It's ``a question not only of pride but of national security,'' he said April 9 on RAI state radio in Rome.

The emergency loan, the equivalent of more than 5 euros per taxpayer, is buying little more than three month's worth of oil.

``I hoped Berlusconi would stop pouring money into Alitalia,'' said Sara Chiappara, 33, a textbook editor for a Milan publisher. ``It's unbelievable. We've done our part for Alitalia. It's enough.''

`Last Chance'

Alitalia Chairman Aristide Police told shareholders on June 28 in Rome that the airline faces its ``last chance'' to avoid bankruptcy. The stock lost almost half of its value this year before it was suspended June 4 pending a sale.

The government has given Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy's second-biggest bank, until the end of July to come up with a plan to improve the airline's finances.

Former Chairman Maurizio Prato told labor unions the only thing that could save the airline was an ``exorcist'' after worker opposition to job cuts scuttled takeover talks with Air France-KLM Group in April.

Even Alitalia's largest labor union, Filt-Cgil, says the current bailout is useless without clear measures to boost market share and make money. Italy has injected about 3 billion euros into Alitalia in the past decade.

`Drop in Ocean'

``The emergency loan is like a drop in the ocean of Alitalia's losses without a relaunch plan,'' said Mauro Rossi, Filt-Cgil's national secretary. ``Alitalia has always been used and abused by politicians for electoral purposes.''

Airlines around the world are struggling to cope with oil prices above $140 a barrel. At least 24 airlines, including Silverjet Plc of the U.K., have failed this year. Carriers such as United Airlines and Ryanair Holdings Plc are cutting back capacity.

In Italy, consumers are abandoning Alitalia in spite of a new advertising slogan that tries to make using the carrier a patriotic act: ``Flying Alitalia Makes Italy Fly.''

``People think the company has no future,'' said Emanuele Marella, 37, a cheesemaker in Rome. He said he chose Air One because when he booked the night before he paid only 130 euros for a flight to Milan, compared with the 300 euros quoted by Alitalia. ``They need to act quickly.''

Rome-based Air One, owned by Italian entrepreneur Carlo Toto, controlled 37 percent of the Italian market in 2007.

`If or When'

Elio Lannutti, head of Italian consumer association Adusbef and an opposition-party senator, said people lack confidence in Alitalia.

You ``don't know if or when you'll get to your destination,'' he said. ``There are structural problems with the airline and you can't resolve them with national pride.''

Bookings at Alitalia dropped 20 percent when the talks with Air France-KLM failed. Traffic plunged 26 percent in April, according to the Association of European Airlines. Alitalia said the decline was worse than expected after taking into account flight reductions.

Alitalia has said that bookings have recovered, and that it was more punctual and canceled fewer flights than its bigger European rivals. Management has strived to ``guarantee, even in such a difficult context, the airline's operations and an improved service,'' Chairman Police said last week.

Yesterday, Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said the government would stand by Alitalia while seeking a buyer.

An ``important country like Italy can't do without a flagship carrier that can compete in international markets, safeguarding national interest, especially for a country where tourism is so important,'' he said.

Complaints about Alitalia often center on the company's aging aircraft, half of which are MD-80 jetliners, a model that hasn't been produced since 1999.

Self-Reclining Seats

An Alitalia official said the company wouldn't comment on its airplanes. The carrier said in 2006 that MD-80s are among the safest planes in the world. Other airlines, including Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA and SAS Group's Scandinavian Airlines, also fly them.

Alitalia's fleet, including regional and low-cost units, had an average age of 12.4 years at the end of 2007, compared with 8.8 years for Paris-based Air France.

``Last time I flew Alitalia for a flight to Berlin the plane was decrepit and seats reclined by themselves,'' Rita Perrone, a tax collector living in Brindisi, said as she prepared to board a flight operated by Air One.

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

Woman claims drink spiked on Jetstar flight

March 27, 2008 07:45pm

A WOMAN claims her drink was spiked on a Jetstar flight to Thailand.

Former flight attendant Anamaree Correia, 34, told the Seven Network she was on a flight from Sydney to Phuket when her bottle of water was spiked.

She passed out and later woke to find her dress soaked in urine, she said.

Ms Correia said she was sitting near three Australian soldiers on the flight.

Jetstar says it has not received a formal complaint from Ms Correia but will investigate the incident if one is made.

Ms Correia said she was sitting next to a soldier on the flight, with two of his mates in the seats in front.

"They were in the Australian Army based in Sydney," she told Seven.

She had a meal and a small glass of wine at the start of the flight, before going to the bathroom.

"(I) went off to the bathroom and left my water bottle, as everyone does, you don't think anything of it," she said.

She returned to her seat, drank the water and started to feel ill.

"I started feeling this really bizarre hot sensation start from the top of my head," she said.

"I was just completely paralysed and then I passed out."

Ms Correia said when she woke up, more than an hour later, she was dazed and her dress was soaked in urine.

"I was mortified, I was just devastated," she said.

"It was just a big power trip for them.

"This doesn't just happen in nightclubs, it can happen anywhere."

Ms Correia said the Jetstar cabin manager did not encourage her to get the authorities involved.

But Jetstar said Ms Correia was asked during the flight if she wanted to take the matter further and she declined.

A spokesman said the cabin crew's report for the flight recorded a passenger falling ill and being taken to a curtained crew area.

She was offered medical assistance during the flight and when it arrived in Thailand, he said.

"We've received nothing in respect to a formal complaint from the passenger," he said.

"If a complaint is brought forward we will look into the matter expeditiously."

Woman told to remove nipple ring before flight

March 28, 2008 08:00am

A WOMAN in the US says she was forced by airport security guards to remove her nipple rings with a pair of pliers before she could board a flight.

Mandi Hamlin, 37, is demanding a civil rights investigation, as well as an apology from federal security agents after being forced to remove a nipple ring before boarding a flight from Lubbock to Dallas in Texas.

During a press conference today, Ms Hamlin said she was scanned by a female Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent using a handheld detector that beeped when it passed in front of her chest.

Ms Hamlin told the agent she had nipple piercings. The female agent then called over her male colleagues, one of whom said she would have to remove the body piercings.

Ms Hamlin said she asked if she could display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent but several other male officers told her she could not board her flight until the jewellery was removed.

Curtain call

She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped nipple piercing but had trouble with the second, a ring.

“Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her,” Ms Hamlin's lawyer, Gloria Allred, told the director of the TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties.

Ms Allred, who also represents Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills, used a nipple ring on a mannequin at the press conference to show what happened.

“After nipple rings are inserted, the skin can often heal around the piercing, and the rings can be extremely difficult and painful to remove,” said Ms Allred.

Ms Hamlin said she heard the male security agents snickering as she took out the ring, before being scanned again and eventually allowed on the plane.

Ms Allred said Ms Hamlin had filed a complaint to the TSA's customer service manager at Lubbock airport, who said the screening was handled properly.

What the woman had in her nipples

The lawyer said Ms Hamlin was “publicly humiliated and has undergone an enormous amount of physical pain to have the nipple rings reinserted' because of scar tissue”.

“The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary,” said Ms Allred. “The last time that I checked a nipple was not a dangerous weapon.”

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesman Dwayne Baird said he had not heard of the incident.

Mr Baird said the TSA had no specific policy about body jewellery but if it was big enough to sound an alarm, the person wearing it would not be allowed to pass security until the alarm was investigated.

"I'd be really curious to know what this woman had in her nipples," Mr Baird said on CBS.

"Sometimes they have a chain between their nipples, or a chain between their nipples and their belly button. It would have to be made of heavy metal to be detected."

“I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone,” said Ms Hamlin.

“My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way.”

Ms Allred said the incident followed a similar claim by reality TV star Nicole Richie, who said she had her breasts inspected by security at an airport because of her nipple rings.

She doesn't look at all how I imagined...that's her on the right...

IF AIRLINES SOLD PAINT

If you are wondering how our airlines can go bankrupt read this...


Customer: Hi. How much is your paint?

Clerk: Well, sir, that all depends on quite a lot of things.

Customer: Can you give me a guess? Is there an average price?

Clerk: Our lowest price is $12 a gallon, and we have 60 different prices up to $200 a gallon.

Customer: What's the difference in the paint?

Clerk: Oh, there isn't any difference; it's all the same paint.

Customer: Well, then I'd like some of that $12 paint.

Clerk: When do you intend to use the paint?

Customer: I want to paint tomorrow. It's my day off.

Clerk: Sir, the paint for tomorrow is the $200 paint.

Customer: When would I have to paint to get the $12 paint?

Clerk: You would have to start very late at night in about 3 weeks. But you will have to agree to start painting before Friday of that week and continue painting until at least Sunday.

Customer: You've got to be *&%A#@* kidding!

Clerk: I'll check and see if we have any paint available.

Customer: You have shelves FULL of paint! I can see it! ...

Clerk: But it doesn't mean that we have paint available. We sell only a certain number of gallons on any given weekend. Oh, and by the way, the price per gallon just went to $16. We don't have any more $12 paint.

Customer: The price went up as we were talking?

Clerk: Yes, sir. We change the prices and rules hundreds of times a day, and since you haven't actually walked out of the store with your paint yet, we just decided to change. I suggest you purchase your paint as soon as possible. How many gallons do you want?

Customer: Well, maybe five gallons. Make that six, so I'll have enough.

Clerk: Oh no, sir, you can't do that. If you buy paint and don't use it there are penalties and possible confiscation of the paint you already have.

Customer: WHAT?

Clerk: We can sell enough paint to do your kitchen, bathroom, hall and north bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do the bedroom, you will lose your remaining gallons of paint.

Customer: What does it matter whether I use all the paint? I already paid you for it!

Clerk: We make plans based upon the idea that all our paint is used, every drop. If you don't, it causes us all sorts of problems.

Customer: This is crazy!! I suppose something terrible happens if I don't keep painting until after Saturday night!

Clerk: Oh yes! Every gallon you bought automatically becomes the $200 paint.

Customer: But what are all these, "Paint on sale from $10 a liter" signs?

Clerk: Well that's for our budget paint. It only comes in half-gallons. One $5 half-gallon will do half a room. The second half-gallon to complete the room is $20. None of the cans have labels, some are empty and there are no refunds, even on the empty cans.

Customer: To hell with this! I'll buy what I need somewhere else!

Clerk: I don't think so, sir. You may be able to buy paint for your bathroom and bedrooms, and your kitchen and dining room from someone else, but you won't be able to paint your connecting hall and stairway from anyone but us and I should point out, sir, that if you paint in only one direction, it will be $300 a gallon.

Customer: I thought your most expensive paint was $200!

Clerk: That's if you paint around the room to the point at which you started. A hallway is different.

Customer: And if I buy $200 paint for the hall, but only paint in one direction, you'll confiscate the remaining paint.

Clerk: No, we'll charge you an extra use fee plus the difference on your next gallon of paint. But I believe you're getting it now, sir.

Customer: You're insane!

Clerk: Thanks for Painting with XXX.

excellent analogy Memock...they would read it of course and think "WTF are they on about..."