Windowless Airplane? I Still Say No Thanks
The advent of airplanes one day becoming windowless has again been mentioned since I first wrote this article on the topic back on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 — and my opinion is still unchanged.
Eliminating windows aboard airplanes can reduce the weight of the aircraft — which could translate into less fuel consumption — while simultaneously increasing its strength by eliminating weaknesses in the structure of the fuselage and resulting in airplanes possibly flying at faster speeds. Windows could be replaced with plastic display screens as one of several solutions.
However…
Overhead Light On During Overnight Flights
For many passengers, the opportunity to get some modicum of rest is while seated aboard an airplane during an overnight flight — and if those passengers are able to sleep despite conditions which are typically less than favorable, all the better…
…but when a person seated nearby decides to turn on the overhead light…
Was Pilot Justified for Demanding Conversing Passengers to Shut Up?
Imagine you and your colleague are seated in the premium class cabin on a flight which departed at approximately 10:30 in the evening — but was not a “red-eye” flight — and you are both engaged in a conversation with each other when a uniformed pilot sitting in a seat adjacent to you repeatedly tells you to shut up.
At the conclusion of the boarding process, a pilot in full uniform sat in one of the…
Brushing Teeth in an Airplane Lavatory
During a recent flight to Europe, I sat in my seat and noticed the line forming around the lavatory, as is usually the manner after the members of the flight crew remove the empty trays, wrappers, cups, and assorted food scraps from the tray tables of each passenger seated in the economy class cabin aboard the airplane.
Each person who used the lavatory consumed a few minutes before leaving so that the next person in line may use it.
One of the people who stood in this line was…
The One Benefit of a Window Seat With No Window
My preference for a window seat has been mentioned in many articles here at The Gate primarily because I can enjoy the view of outside the aircraft — even if it only offers clouds, ocean and sky; and whether the view is during the day or night…
…but I have the occasional bad luck of being seated in what is called a “window seat” — even though no window is next to it. Rather…
The Filthy Poop of Diaper Changes During Flights
Imagine that you are seated in the first class cabin with your companion aboard an airplane across the aisle from a mother and her child. The aircraft sits at the gate prior to departure when that all too familiar odor fills the air.
After taking off from the runway, the fasten seat belt light is deactivated. That is when the mother changes the diaper of her child on the seat itself — and none of the members of the flight crew intervened.
When…
Should People Who Cannot Lift Their Luggage Not Travel?
“My mother once got on a flight a few weeks after an abdominal operation. She wouldn’t have flown at all except that my brother was seriously ill and she wanted to be with him. She had a small carry on that she could carry but her operation meant she couldn’t have lifted her arms above her shoulders so she couldn’t lift her bag into the overhead. She asked three people to help her. The first one blanked her, the second one demanded to know why she couldn’t do it herself (she didn’t reply because her hysterectomy is none of anyone else’s business) and the third one used a profanity. By this point it was causing a blockage in the aisle and the FA starting yelling down the plane at her. My mother was visibly upset when she got off the flight.”
That experience was…
A Wider Seat or More Amenities: Which Would You Rather Have On Your Flight?
The new width for a seat in the economy class cabin of an Airbus A380 aircraft operated by Emirates Airline was expected to be 17.2 inches — down from approximately 18 inches, but supposedly still slightly wider than the 17-inch seat found in economy class cabins of Boeing 777 aircraft — as…
Disgusting. How NOT to Use the Touch Screen for In-Flight Entertainment
I wish the title of this article was click bait. I truly do…
…but when I first saw this photograph of how the touch screen of the in-flight entertainment system was used aboard an airplane, I must say that I was stunned — but not completely surprised.
When a female passenger in a neighboring seat in…
The Glory of a Glory: What is a Glory — and Have You Seen One?
“After hundreds of flights over the last couple of years, I snapped this out of the window as we descended to LHR from Düsseldorf this morning- something I’ve never seen before. I thought it was a circular rainbow and I had been lucky to get the shadow of the aircraft in the middle, but it turns out it’s a ‘Glory’”, FlyerTalk member Row9 posted. “So frequent travellers, how common is it?”
The definition of a glory is…
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