We’ve been really enjoying this history kick we’ve been on of late. So, newsflash…July 31st, 1986….
The Associated Press reports that Newark-based People Express will eliminate service to eight cities and change its pricing structure and policies, as well as lese eight 727-200 aircraft to another airline. It was the largest reduction in service thus far for the then five-year old carrier.
Image via Wikipedia In today’s issue of the New York Times Traveler, the Wrights finally took their record-breaking flight. It met the extended deadline set for tests by the War Department, which will be paying the Wrights $25,000 for their plane. The Wright flyer hit an incredible speed of forty-two miles per hour, making the…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife We previously reported that Republic Airways had put down a bid to buy out Frontier Airlines. Today, another airline put down a bid, Southwest Airlines. Southwest announced it was preparing a bid to compete with the Republic bid, which had been given tentative approval. If it is successful, Southwest…
A followup to yesterday’s New York Times Traveler story on Orville Wright’s historic flight. Today’s paper reports, under the banner headline of Spain is Facing Outbreak of Civil War, it reports that Wright failed to fly, and got three days more, which explains the historical note that the flight took place July 30th. The entire…
On July 29th, 2006, the Flight Wisdom Blog launched. When we launched, we thought the blog would be a small part of a larger site. We still have that dream, but maintaining everything and doing all the other things we have to do does force us to prioritize. Two years ago this week, on July…
Image via Wikipedia New York City has implemented a program to buy one-way airline tickets for homeless families to leave the city. More than 550 families have left the city since 2007. The program requires a relative elsewhere willing to take them in. A travel agency is employed to book the tickets and there are…
We get a real kick out of the New York Times Traveler, which offers news from the paper from 100 years ago today. We’ve been reveling in the misadventures of that wacky President Taft. On July 28th, 1909, the top news story was, U.S. Senator Arrested in Racial Assault. But below that was an aviation…
Image via Wikipedia On July 27th, 1949, the first flight of the prototype De Havilland Comet ushered in a new era of commercial aviation. The Comet entered service with BOAC on May 2nd, 1952, when it launched the first commercial jet service with scheduled flights to South Africa. The Comet was about 50% faster than…
Image by caribb via Flickr Charleston International Airport is having some major repair work done on its 7000 foot runway, which last received major repairs forty years ago. The airport will be closed from 12AM to 6AM till August 9th. The work has been going on since June 9th, and the airlines were well aware…
Image via Wikipedia We love inflight wi-fi. We haven’t had the chance to experience it of late, but we have tentatively planned to try it out on a transcontinental flight last month. But, the following should help those flying, including ourselves, for the rest of the summer of 2009. Gogo is offering 50% off on…
On July 25th, 2000, a Concorde, operated as Air France flight 4590, en route from Paris to New York crashed after takeoff from Paris, killing all onboard. (NYCAviation keeps reminding us of things like this). The crash was caused by a strip of metal that fell from a Continental DC-10 heading to Houston, which punctured…
Image via Wikipedia Republic Airways is a holding company that owns Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America. They fly under contact for various airlines, including American, Continental, Delta, United, US Airways, Midwest, and Mokulele Airlines. As a contractor, Republic has just flown the planes, leaving routes, marketing, sales and ground operations to its other…
Image via Wikipedia Today in the Sky reports that despite prayers and hopes, JetAmerica might not be dead. While the carrier, which operated no planes and thus existed only on paper, folded on Friday, the chairman of the nonexistent airline wants to return this fall, basing service out of Melbourne, Florida, one of its previously…
Image via Wikipedia About two weeks ago, The Department of Transportation fined Delta Air Lines $375,000 for failing to follow the proper procedures for bumping passengers from flights. The problem is that most people don’t know what their rights are, and Delta failed to ensure they did, which is to their advantage. Did you know…
Image via Wikipedia Earlier, NYCAviation, who earlier in the week reminded us of other anniversaries, reminded us that on July 19th, 1989, United Flight 232 made a crash landing in Sioux City, Iowa, after a loss of all hydraulic controls. 296 Passengers were on board the flight from Denver to Chicago when one of the…
For those of us who love the airline industry, sometimes we wish to show our interest by buying airline-related merchandise. For those of you with children, who wouldn’t be tempted to send their youngster to school with an airplane bookbag(seen left)? “This completely custom backpack features an airplane shape, US Airway colors and logos, with…
Image by mattbatt0 via Flickr Jaunted reports that JetAmerica, the fly-by-night airline is apparently not going to fly at all. The airline, which did not actually fly its own planes and never really existed, has ceased to exist. Fortunately, as a public charter airline, all monies are held in trust for passengers. “We are reluctantly…
Image via Wikipedia The following appears courtesy of NYCAviation. Some days are just historically significant. 1933: Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica disappears mysteriously after a successful crossing of the Atlantic. 1944: Napalm incendiary bombs are used for the first time in war, dropped by American P-38 fighters on a fuel depot in France. 1975: An American…
[caption id="attachment_1408" align="alignleft" width="256" caption="NTSB Interior Shot"][/caption] Earlier in the week, we reported on Southwest Airlines 2294, which made an emergency landing in Charleston, WV with a hole in the fuselage(pictured left). The NTSB continues to investigate. The section was removed from the aircraft and examined in the NTSB Materials Laboratory. The damage left a…
We enjoyed Dave Carroll’s unique approach to speaking out against customer service. Apparently we were not alone in this. It seems a lot of people did. It struck a chord with Westjet, the Canadian discount airline, which invited Dave not only to jam with them, but to fly with them next time. While we were…
Image via Wikipedia [caption id="attachment_1397" align="alignleft" width="138" caption="The Last Timetable issued by Southwest Airlines 6/28/09"][/caption] Southwest announced the end of the paper timetable. The current timetable(pictured left), effective June 28th, the first one featuring LaGuardia, will be the airline’s last timetable. Like many people, we have collected and hoarded timetables as a snapshot of the…
Throughout last evening, those of you visiting the blog may have seen some changes happening. For the first time since our launch on July 26th, 2006, we have a new theme. We promised some changes, and this is the first one. The new theme, which we had been field testing at Transit Wisdom. We’ve simplified…
[caption id="attachment_1329" align="alignnone" width="384" caption="Hole in Southwest 2294 - 7/13/09 (AP Photo/The Charleston Gazette, Chris Dorst) "][/caption] We’ve had mixed feelings in the past about reporting on airline incidents. We were tempted to take the high road and say nothing until the NTSB issued a report, which is months later. We decided that since it…
Southwest Flight 2294 made a safe landing at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after a hole appeared in the fuselage of the aircraft, causing the plane to decompress. The flight, heading from Nashville to Baltimore, diverted to Yeager after the hole appeared in the ceiling of the cabin. No one appears to have been…
Image by Eric Bégin via Flickr We haven’t said anything about the JetAmerica situation, and we think the title says it all. JetAmerica began taking bookings in May. At the time, the Cranky Flier commented, “Something tells me that the chance of this working is very, very slim. And that’s being kind.” We can’t say…