Wannabe Pilot Forces AA Diversion
American Flight 1175 on Sunday from Los Angeles to Washington/National was forced to divert to Kansas City due to an unruly passenger who tried to break into the cockpit and open an emergency door.
The passenger, who it is assumed normally flies Spirit, was unsuccessful at both attempts as opening a pressurized emergency exit while a plane is in-flight is basically impossible… and breaking through the locked cockpit door isn’t terribly easy either. The passenger was eventually subdued after a flight attendant whacked him on the head with a coffee pot. The pot went right back into use for the beverage service. Most passengers did not report any noticeable change in the flavor or drinkability of AA’s on-board coffee with some reporting it actually had improved.
After diverting to Kansas City, FBI agents boarded the plane, catered it with burnt ends from Arthur Bryant’s, and took the passenger into custody. The flight eventually made it’s way to DC, landing about five hours late at 11:29 p.m. The coffee pot was taken as evidence by local DC police to investigate complaints about undrinkable coffee on all AA flights. The airline had no comment.
BA Turns to Office Staff to Serve as Flight Attendants
British Airways is looking for pilots and office staff willing to work as flight attendants for about 10 weeks as the carrier scrambles to fill staff shortages and combat a growing clash with its cabin crew union. BA once tried this scheme a decade ago in an attempt to break the union, and the two have been fighting since.
The airline is pushing the program as a chance to “meet new people in the business” and “travel to a wide range of destinations” while getting an insight into “what it is really like for our crew to do their job,” which is a wildly glass half-full view of the offer. Most pilots are declining the job in solidarity with the cabin crew – but also because working in the back comes with a host of problems that can be ignored when the cockpit door is shut.
BA is looking to add as many as 3,000 new flight attendants ahead of the summer and is offering current staff £300 referral bonuses for friends and family hired as cabin crew and is giving new hires flight privileges immediately at hiring, rather than being forced to wait six months.
Bonza Plans 25 Route Bonanza
Australian LCC Bonza will launch with 25 routes to 16 domestic destinations when it begins service later in 2022 with bases at Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) and Melbourne.
The carrier will be the first new domestic carrier in Australia since Tiger Airways roared onto the scene 14 years ago. It doesn’t plan to challenge Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia on traditional business routes, instead taking the first line out of every new airline’s playbook, declaring it will operate to underserved locations.
It will fly to mostly tourist destinations including Albury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Gladstone, Mackay, Mildura, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Toowoomba Wellcamp, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast – some of those are actually real places.
The carrier will operate the B737 MAX when it begins flying, with delivery of its first aircraft this May. That plane is then expected to return to the desert late next year when the airline inevitably files for bankruptcy and will end up being scooped up on the cheap by Allegiant in 2025.
- Aer Lingus will resume serving Miami with 3x-weekly service on October 21.
- Air France will resume daily flights between Paris/Orly and New York/JFK on March 27.
- Air India cabin crew have been banned from duty-free shopping because they’ve been delaying flights to do so.
- Ariana Afghan Airlines has its eyes on a B737 aircraft formerly operated by Belavia.
- British Airways is increasing surcharges on long-haul premium class bookings departing the UK.
- Cathay Pacific is being sued by the Hong Kong government over the island’s current COVID-19 outbreak.
- China Airlines extended its maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik for six years.
- Condor‘s 2022 summer schedule will include 12 destinations in the United States and four in Canada.
- Delta told the SEC that 10% of its customers purchase their flights using SkyMiles.
- Finnair had a €48.62 million aid package from the Finnish government approved by the EU, but payment is pending the inevitable Ryanair lawsuit.
- Jazeera Airways confirmed its order for 28 new A320neo aircraft.
- KLM is temporarily halting service to Ukraine.
- Korean will fly its first B737 MAX this March.
- Ryanair is being asked to refund two customers who claim they were flown by the airline to the wrong country. Ryanair says the airline did not pay its “country confirmation fee,” and therefore was subject to arrival in whatever country Ryanair damn well pleased.
- Silver completed its capital raise of $50 million.
It was love at first flight.