Security alert causes police to evacuate parts of Frankfurt Airport.

Federal police in Germany launched a major operation at Frankfurt Airport today, leading to parts of the airport being evacuated after a French family of four got passed a security check after testing positive for explosives.  A police spokesperson said one of them had not fully completed security checks and blamed an error by a security officer.

During the incident, the police stopped boarding and evacuated the security areas A and Z in terminal one, leading to many flight cancellations and disruptions, around 7000 Lufthansa passengers have been affected. The airline has said it has reserved 2000 hotel rooms for this evening as a precaution.

Wizz Air to open 11 new routes

Further evidence of Wizz Air's claim to be one of Europe's fastest growing airlines was presented yesterday when the airline announced it was opening another eleven routes.

Wizz Air is already the largest low cost carrier in Central Europe and is increasing its route network right across Europe with these new 11 routes that are due to start towards the end of October this year. with fares starting at just €9.99 

During 2018 Wizz Air has so far added more than 125 new routes - including these latest 11 new routes and over 700 additional weekly flights on existing services across its extensive and diversified network that already includes more than 140 destinations in 44 countries.

Here are the new routes.

WestJet to head to Terrace

The people of Terrace, British Columbia, Canada will be getting a new twice-weekly air service from Calgary, thanks to the Canadian airline WestJet.  The carrier announced today that it would serve Terrace with the new non-stop flights from 4th September this year that will be operated under the WestJet Encore brand with Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

"WestJet is pleased to offer additional city-pair connections to and from Terrace with this new, twice-weekly service to the Skeena Valley," said Brian Znotins, WestJet Vice-President Network Planning, Alliances and Corporate Development. "Given the critical importance of transportation in creating and supporting economic development, this additional service will benefit the economy and the community as a whole."

Read on for more about Terrace, BC.

Oslo - Dubai service for Norwegian

The super popular low-cost airline with class, Norwegian is adding another destination to its portfolio, this time adding a route to Dubai from Oslo.

The new route is scheduled to start on 28th October using a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and is poised to fly every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  According to Norwegian, the service will depart Oslo at 2300 and land in Dubai at 0900 the following morning.  The flight back to Oslo departs at 1020 arriving 1520 with fares starting around €101 /  £89 one way. 

More airlines for Aeroplan

Aimia Inc. the company behind  Aeroplan Miles, has announced today that two new airlines have entered into new preferred partnership arrangements with Aeroplan with effect from July 2020 when Air Canada leaves the programme.

The two new additions, following fresh on the heels of the Billy Bishop based Porter are Air Transat, Canada's number one holiday airline and the low-cost-carrier that operates almost 200 weekly domestic flights, Flair. 

Aeroplan will become Flair's loyalty programme, therefore Aeroplan Members will be able to both earn Aeroplan Miles when booking flights on Flair routes and redeem for flights at fixed-rate fares.  "At Flair we provide affordable flight options for Canadians. Our arrangement with Aeroplan helps further that commitment," said Jim Scott, CEO Flair Airlines. "Our passengers will now be rewarded for their loyalty with the ability to earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles for flights. This partnership strengthens our value proposition, giving more people the ability to fly to their preferred destination."

WestJet head to Terrace........

The people of Terrace, British Columbia, Canada will be getting a new twice-weekly air service from Calgary, thanks to the Canadian airline WestJet.  The carrier announced today that it would serve Terrace with the new non-stop flights from 4th September this year that will be operated under the WestJet Encore brand with Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

"WestJet is pleased to offer additional city-pair connections to and from Terrace with this new, twice-weekly service to the Skeena Valley," said Brian Znotins, WestJet Vice-President Network Planning, Alliances and Corporate Development. "Given the critical importance of transportation in creating and supporting economic development, this additional service will benefit the economy and the community as a whole."

Read on for more about Terrace, BC.

1.7 million people took a Volaris flight in July

The ultra-low-cost airline serving Mexico, the United States and Central America, Volaris has issued its report into its July 2018 and year-to-date preliminary traffic results this week.

The airline demonstrated its expansion programme during July, announcing 11 domestic routes from Tijuana, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Bajio. Additionally, Volaris announced three international routes, two from Bajio to Sacramento and San Jose, California and one from Guadalajara to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Aeromexico's July figures

Aeromexico reported its July 2018 operational results this week, which showed the carrier recorded a record load of more than 2.8 million passengers in July, that's a 6.5 percent increase on the same period last year. The airline also advised that international passenger numbers increased by 5.7 percent, and a greater increase was seen in domestic travel which increased by 7.1 percent.

Aeromexico's July load factor was 88.3 percent, compared to July 2017,  demand, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs), increased by 6.3 percent, year-on-year. Aeromexico's capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), increased by 5.9percent year-on-year.

Saudia halts Toronto flights after diplomatic spat.

The national airline of Saudi Arabia, Saudia has confirmed it has now suspended flights to and from Toronto, Canada following a series of measures the Saudi Kingdom instigated this week as the diplomatic tensions between the two nations intensify.

The Saudi's have frozen new trade and investments with Canada after the Canadian government in Ottawa urged Riyadh to free arrested civil rights activists. The kingdom also recalled its ambassador to Canada as well as telling the Canadian ambassador to leave the country within 24 hours.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “Canada will always stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world, and women’s rights are human rights.”  Currently, the trading relationship between the two nations is worth nearly $4 billion a year and the new diplomatic tensions put in jeopardy a  $13 billion defence contract.

Allegiant results

The Las Vegas based ultra-low-cost carrier, Allegiant reported preliminary passenger traffic results for July 201 today.

The airline carried 1,514,996 passengers during July, an increase of over 14 percent on the same period last year and the airline operated 12.9 percent more flights with a load factor around 88 percent. 

Law firm files claims against Aeromexico for crash on 31st July

The investigation may only be days old, not all the facts are known yet, no results are known, no blame has been attributed, but that hasn't stopped

Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio from filing six lawsuits on behalf of 11 passengers on Aeromexico Flight AM2431.

The aircraft crashed immediately after take-off om Durango Mexico on a flight heading for Mexico City during a heavy storm on 31st July 2018. Corboy & Demetrio Co-founder Thomas A. Demetrio said "All of the people on this flight have the right to know exactly what caused the plane to crash.  A plane just doesn't drop from the sky because it's raining hard." 

Corboy & Demetrio have a long history for taking legal actions against airlines and aviation companies, they advise on their site they represented Dr David Dao, whose mistreatment by an airline captured the attention of the world.  It also says on the website "you should not act or rely upon any information contained on this site".

Air Austral using Hi Fly's A380

As previously reported, Air Austral is going to be wet-leasing Hi Fly's super Airbus A380 during the months of August and September.  Air Austral will be deploying the double-decker on its route between Paris Charles De Gaulle and St. Denis de la Reunion.  Between 24th August and 08th September, the aircraft will operate the route three times a week.

The flight is scheduled to depart Paris CDG at 1700 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to arrive Reunion 0600 the next morning.  On the way back the flight departs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 2340 and landing back in Paris at 0855 the following morning,

Hi Fly's Airbus A380 has already operated flights for Thomas Cook Scandinavia and is currently flying between London Gatwick and New York JFK for Norwegian.  It is also understood that Norwegian have been in talks with Hi Fly to again wet-lease the A380 for part of the winter period from October onwards. 

Fireball explosion new Bologna airport.

A massive explosion took place on the motorway next to Bologna Airport today, sending flames and plumes of thick black smoke skywards.

It is being reported locally tha a petrol tanker had collided with another vehicle and there have been some injuries reported.  Police have confirmed they have closed off the motorway where the crash happened as well as parts of the surrounding area in Borgo Panigale.

Bologna International Airport confirmed that the airport was continuing to operate as normal with no disruption to flights at the present time. 

Air Wisconsin seeking pilots

Air Wisconsin fly exclusively as United Express throughout the Midwest and Eastern half of the US using a fleet of 50 seat CRJ200 aircraft.

The airline currently operates some 350 flights a day to more than 70 cities with 65 aircraft and they are expanding. The little airline with a long history is opening a new crew base at  Columbia Metro Airport in Columbia, South Carolina. The new base opens in October which means the company is looking for new staff to join its growing number of flyers.   

First Officers can earn around $57,000 with bonuses as well as the best health benefits in the industry and the carrier says fast upgrades are also possible, in as little as 12 months! Air Wisconsin has set up some pilot interview dates in Washington and Chicago - details below. The airline also has a number of other positions available at the new base including cabin crew.

More new routes from Korean Air

Korean Air has confirmed that further route network expansion will see the airline start new flights to Zagreb and to Boston.    

The airline will be serving the jewel of Croatia's Adriatic coast, Zagreb from the 1st September this year and will operate the route three times a week. The flights will depart Seoul Incheon at 1105 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays., arriving in Zagreb at 1545.  The return flight departs Croatia at 1720 to land back in Seoul the following morning at 1130 local time.  The service is scheduled for Airbus A330-200 and takes between 11 hours and 10 minutes and 11 hours and 40 minutes depending on direction and weather conditions. 

Boston will become Korean Air's 11th destination in the USA and this new route will start on 12 April next year.  The airline advises they will operate the route initially five times a week, however, this may increase if there is sufficient demand. The schedule for the new flight to Boston's Logan Airport will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The flight to Boston leaves at a convenient 0930 to arrive Boston 1030 while the flight back to Korea departs the US city at 1330 to land back at Korean Air's home base at 1650 the following day.

The airline has scheduled its new Boeing 787-9's for the route that features six First Class sleeper suites, 18 Prestige business class sleeper suites, and 245 seats in economy class.

The new Boston flight works in tandem with the new Minneapolis/St. Paul-Seoul service that Delta is launching in 2019, which form part of the expansion of the two carriers joint venture launched back in May that opens up more onward destinations for the two airlines. 

Record high passenger figures and high load factors in July for Norwegian

The World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline and Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline, Norwegian released its latest figures this morning.  The carrier that has recently taken a short-term lease of Hi Fly's A380 double-decker, reported a new passenger record in July - it flew almost 3.8 million people in a single month. Up a massive 13 percent from the same month last year. It also reported an astonishingly high load factor of  93 percent.

Norwegian carries 5.8 million UK passengers each year from London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Manchester Airports to 50 destinations worldwide

3,796,283 folk chose to travel with Norweigan during July,  “We are very pleased that an increasing number of passengers in Europe, USA, South America, The Middle East and Asia choose Norwegian for their travels. It is also satisfactory that even with a strong capacity growth our load factor is high. Our capacity growth is still high, but it is not increasing as rapidly as in previous months, which is in line with our strategy. We have been through a long period of strong growth and going forward we will reap what we have sown for the benefit of our customers, staff and shareholders,” said CEO Bjørn Kjos of Norwegian.

The airline also had a good record on not cancelling flights as it reported operating 99.2 percent of the scheduled flights in July. However, proving a cause for concern is the on-time performance, the airline advises that only 67.9 percent departed on time during the month. Although it should be noted that the on-time performance for July was influenced rather heavily by widespread air traffic control strikes in Europe. 

More cancellations for strike hit Royal Air Maroc

The pilot discontent ar Royal Air Maroc continues into another week, with no end in sight. The airline has cancelled more than 100 flights since the industrial action first began last month.  On Sunday they cancelled nine flights and so far today a similar number have been terminated due to the action over pay, conditions, retirement terms and days off.

Here is the current list of flights cancelled for Monday 6th August. 

Royal Air Maroc Cancellations for Monday 6th August

Flight	From	To	Status of disrupted flights on August 6
AT724	Casablanca	Strasbourg	Canceled*
AT725	Strasbourg	Casablanca	Canceled*
AT982	Casablanca	Lisbon	Canceled*
AT983	Lisnon	Casablanca	Canceled*
AT760	Casablanca	Paris	Canceled*
AT761	Paris	Casablanca	Canceled*
AT400	Marrakech	Casablanca	Canceled*
AT992	Casablanca	Madrid	Canceled*
AT993	Madrid	Casablanca	Canceled*

Previous posts on this subject -

Royal Air Maroc has been expansion plans

Royal Air Maroc cancel more flights 

 

Air New Zealand to increase Hawkes Bay service

Air New Zealand have confirmed they will be adding an additional boost to business in Hawkes Bay with some additional services this summer period.  The airline says the new service will be flown by one of the airline's 50-seat Q300 aircraft and has a scheduled departure time from Auckland at 5:50pm. The aircraft will spend the night in Hawke's Bay / Napier Airport and fly back to Auckland at 7:15am in the morning.

Air New Zealand Regional Affairs Manager Ian Collier says the additional flights between Hawke's Bay and Auckland come in response to growing demand from business travellers.  "It's great to be able to meet the needs of businesses, with the additional flights offering those travelling from Hawke's Bay the option of three services to Auckland before 8:30am and customers heading to Hawke's Bay three flight options after 5pm." The new schedule makes it even easier for workers and tourists alike to get out of Auckland for the weekend with a flight early evening on Friday and back early Monday morning. 

The additions to Air New Zealand's Hawke's Bay-Auckland schedule from 28 October 2018 are as follows:

China Eastern to launch Gatwick flight

China Eastern Airlines confirmed recently that it will launch a service to London Gatwick from Shanghai Pu Dong this coming December.  The airline says the route will be operated three times a week, with flights scheduled for Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The airline will deploy an Airbus A330-200 to the route which will start flying from 7th December. 

The Gatwick route is in addition to the Shanghai Pu Dong – London Heathrow service it has scheduled with a Boeing 777 aircraft. 

Historic Junkers JU-52 crashes in Switzerland killing all onboard

A World War Two vintage aircraft has crashed in Switzerland killing twenty people according to the local police.

The aircraft was a Junkers JU-52, registration HB-HOT, of JU-Air and was carrying 17 passengers and 3 crew members on a special sightseeing pleasure flight when it crashed on Saturday afternoon. JU-Air said it was deeply saddened by the news of the crash and thinks of the passengers, the crew and families and friends of the victims at this time. The local police have set up a special helpline for relatives of those on the flight. JU-Air confirmed that it had suspended all its other flights until further notice.

During a press briefing on Sunday, the police advised that the aircraft came down on a mountainside about 2,540m (8,333 ft) above sea level. Passengers enjoying the special sightseeing pleasure flight in the historic aircraft were aged between 42 and 84 years old and that relatives or next of kin for all but one of the victims had been contacted.

The Canadian's Swoop in for US Services

The WestJet ultra-low-cost carrier subsidiary, Swoop has unveiled its plans to head south for the winter. With a fanfare and a flourish, the no-frills airline confirmed its winter schedule includes flights to five key US cities and offered fares for as low as $99 CAD including taxes and fees!

From October this year to 27th April next year the airline plans to operate scheduled flights between Edmonton and Las Vegas and Mesa. Plus from Hamilton, it will fly to Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa Bay and Abbotsford will also get a US-bound service to the capital of gambling, the bright lights of Las Vegas.

"Our immediate success in Canada shows us travellers want more Swoop,” said Steven Greenway, President of Swoop. “Canadians have been waiting for ultra-low-cost fares into the U.S. for years and we are proud to be the airline to make it happen. There has been a lot of interest in our plans for the remaining three aircraft we receive this year and revealing this schedule today is a proud moment for the whole Swoop team.”

“Our immediate success in Canada

 shows us travellers want more Swoop”

Royal Air Maroc has big expansion plans but only if it survives strike action.

The national airline of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc has unveiled some big plans for 2019 including long-haul flights to Miami, increased capacity to London and a whole host of other improvements to its schedules. But, only if it can end the pilot's strike that is currently seeing around 10 flights a day getting cancelled.

The industrial action has been going on since the 19th July and shows no signs of ending any time soon. Negotiations between the unhappy pilots and the airline's management have so far proved fruitless and, according to the pilots, very hostile. The Royal Air Maroc pilots are striking for better pay and are also seeking better employment conditions, including fair treatment, health coverage, enhanced retirement terms and to have an equal amount of days off as their European counterparts each month. The government-owned airline seems completely entrenched and according to local media reports, highly unlikely to bow to the demands of the striking flight crew.

The strikes, which the airline calls 'social tensions' has been estimated to be costing the company approximately 20 million Dirhams, that's around £1.6 million per day and has seen as many as 20,000 people disrupted. The airline has warned the negative impact of the 'social tension's' could have serious implications, not only on the airline's future development but also for its very survival. 

British Airways proud sponsors of Brighton Pride

British Airways was out and proud celebrating diversity and inclusion at one of the UK's largest pride events on Saturday in the seaside city of Brighton.

The airline is sponsoring the Pride parade and festival in support of the LGBT+ community, with employees from across the airline joining in the celebrations and manning the company's float.

It's estimated that over 300,000 people have descended upon the city for the fantastic festival of colour with much singing, dancing and smiling as The Pride Community Parade made its way from the seafront up to Preston Park where the spectacle continues throughout the afternoon and into the early evening.

Norwegian uses Hi Fly's A380 for LGW to JFK until 12 August

For a limited time, the worlds best low-cost long-haul airline, Norwegian is wet leasing Hi Fly's super double-decker Airbus A380 superjumbo for flights between London Gatwick and New York.

The airline is using the A380 on flights DI7015 which departs Gatwick at 1705 landing in New York's JFK airport at 2005 local time.  The return, flight DI7016  departs JFK at 2300 and comes back into Gatwick at 1100 the next morning. The A380 is replacing a 787 Dreamliner on the flight between now and 12 August. 

Whilst this is only a limited period, sources tell us that Norwegian has been in talks with Hi Fly to wet lease the worlds first second-hand A380 on a longer-term basis after the A380 completes its prebooked work for Air Austral. 

Passengers that had booked a premium ticket to New York, thinking they were going to be on a Dreamliner will, I'm sure be pleasantly surprised by the additional space, luxury and comfort of the replacement. Hi Fly has kept the same seating and configuration of the aircraft's previous operator - Singapore Airlines.  

Have you got proof your son is disabled? Jet2 staff ask mother of disabled 10 year old son.

Jack Johnson at the airport photo from the Johnson family

British holiday airline Jet2 demanded a 10-year-old disabled boy prove he was actually disabled before he was allowed to board a flight home from a holiday in Croatia.

Jack Johnson was said to be "humiliated" by the incident at Split Airport after his mother was asked to prove his disability when an administrative error by the airline put his flight in jeopardy, says his mother.  Alex Johnson said she was "appalled" by the treatment on Tuesday by Jet2 staff.

Jack, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was "mortified" by the situation and felt their family holiday was "ruined" when they tried to check in on their return flight home to Leeds-Bradford Airport.

Jet and food truck collide at Newark Liberty International Airport

An investigation is underway in New York into why a United Airlines Express jet was pushed back into the side of a food service truck, so hard that it knocked the vehicle onto its side.

The incident happened around 11.40am today at Newark's Liberty Airport when the aircraft was being pushed back by a tug. The driver of the food service truck was taken to hospital with minor injuries to her arm, none of the 47 passengers on the aircraft were said to have been injured. 

The FAA is investigating the collision that occurred near gate 26 at Terminal A at Liberty International Airport. The aircraft, Embraer ERJ145 of ExpressJet operating under the United Express brand, sustained damage to the tail area and had been operating flight UA4080 to Richmond, Virginia.

Smartwings 737 overshoots runway in Czech Republic

A Smartwings Boeing 737-800, registration N624XA, overran the runway whilst landing at Pardubice in the Czech Republic on 1st August

The aircraft was performing a flight from Heraklion, Greece for Travel Service and overran the runway at relatively slow speeds for approximately 20 metres.  All 120 passengers vacated the aircraft via steps that were brought to the aircraft.

According to local media, there were no reports of any injuries and the aircraft was said to have been undamaged by its runway excursion. Following safety checks, on the 2nd the aircraft resumed its normal flying schedules.

One of the passengers on the flight posted the following video to youtube of the landing

Jet Airways 737-800 aborts takeoff following obstruction on runway.

The lucky 142 passengers on a Jet Airways flight to Mumbai from Riyadh had a lucky escape when the Boeing 737-800 they were on skidded off the runway in a dramatic aborted take off today.

The pilot of the modern jet spotted an object or obstruction on the tarmac of the runway and decided to abort the takeoff, breaking hardand had to run off the paved surface.The passengers and crew all evacuated the aircraft via the emergency slides and there are no reports of any casualties. “All 142 guests and seven crew members aboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft were safely evacuated with no injuries,” a spokesperson for Jet Airways said.  

Jet Airways said it was working on alternative arrangements for passengers affected by flight 9W523's runway excursion. “A predominant number of guests from the 142 have either returned to their residences or have been accommodated in hotels. Our local team is offering complete support to 41 guests, who together with the airline’s crew members, are currently in the airport lounge, as they await recovery of their travel documents,” the spokesperson said earlier.

It is more bad news for Jet Airways which is struggling with financial difficulties and recently approached pilots and staff with proposed pay cuts and denied reports that it only had enough cash to operate for the next sixty days. 

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Thomas Cook Airlines and Air Europa deal

Thomas Cook Group Airline has agreed on an interline deal with Spanish airline, Air Europa, which will enable its passengers to book 14 new destinations on the Spanish mainland.

Thomas Cook Airlines and sister airline Condor will now be able to offer connecting flights via Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza and Las Palmas to destinations such as Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela and Seville.  "This cooperation expands our range of services,” says Christoph Debus, Chief Airlines Officer of Thomas Cook Group Airline. “With Air Europa we have a strong partner that allows us to offer our customers new holiday destinations on the Spanish mainland. Furthermore, our guests can take advantage of new flight connections between the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. If, for example, a direct flight to Lanzarote is no longer available, the chosen holiday destination can still be booked at the preferred time via a connecting flight from Las Palmas."

The year of discontent for Ryanair staff

The low-fare high-fee carrier Ryanair is hardly ever out of the headlines this year, mostly because of the way it treats its staff, who have, by and large, said enough is enough and instigated industrial action in the fight for better pay or conditions or both.

Unusually for an airline, the strikes are not localised to just one base in one country, the discontent of Ryanair staff is spread to nearly ten countries and more are on the way. Ryanair currently operates from around 86 bases spread over 37 countries and flew approximately 130 million people last year alone, making it one of Europe's largest airlines. The company agreed to recognise a limited number of unions in some countries in December in an effort to appease angry staff, yet just recognising some unions in some locations hasn't made relations any better. Indeed, many in the industry have said that since the airline recognised unions, it has become even more bullish and bullying towards its staff, citing examples of threatening hundreds with redundancy if they strike, issuing preliminary notices for redundancy on Irish staff, moving aircraft and jobs to Poland, publishing misleading information about staff pay, media briefing against unions and union leaders and staff  representatives, threatened some head office staff with pay freezes if they support strike action by colleagues.

Here is a brief timeline of some of the more recent industrial action by Ryanair staff.

More Flair in the air as the Canadian low-cost airline announces new route

Toronto is in the sights for the Canadian low-fare airline, Flair.  The airline has confirmed today that it will feature a new service between Toronto and Winnipeg in its new winter schedule from 28th October this year to 28th April next year.

The daily service from Toronto to Winnipeg, with connections to Calgary and Vancouver, is in an addition to the current daily service from Toronto to Edmonton which connects to Kelowna and Vancouver.  Calgary will also have new direct, daily service to Abbotsford. 

Victoria and Halifax remain summer seasonal routes as planned, services there will conclude on October 27th, but worry not, they are scheduled to return in the spring of 2019.

Atlas Air reports strong performance over 2018's second quarter.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings announced strong second-quarter 2018 business growth this week and also and raised its outlook for full-year 2018, which it says has been driven by market strength and increased customer demand.

“Our volumes and revenue grew to new records in the second quarter, and while reported results were impacted by warrant accounting, our adjusted income and adjusted EBITDA were sharply higher,” said President and Chief Executive Officer William J. Flynn.

Atlas Air Worldwide is a leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services. Aas a group it operates the world’s largest fleet of 747 freighter aircraft as well as providing customers with a broad array of Boeing 747, 777, 767, 757 and 737 aircraft for domestic, regional and international cargo and passenger operations.

Lego for a safety video.....

Photo Britannia Airways  

I can clearly remember watching my first pre-flight safety briefing on my first commercial flight, this was way back in the days when the only mobile, was a thing hanging above a baby's cot and social networking was going to the local park to play on the swings with your mates!

Of course, back in those days, the safety briefing I was watching was a manual one done by two cabin crew on a Britannia Airways Boeing 737-200. I was transfixed by them pointing out the exits, telling me a lifejacket was under my seat and so on. It was for me then and to a certain lesser extent these days the true start of the plane journey, the doors are closed and the aircraft is usually on the move around the taxiways heading towards the runway. It's like you know you're really on your was because the crew are doing the safety briefing.  Over the years I've seen so many briefings, by so many crew members, done in different styles, in different languages and of course on a multitude of different aircraft types. 

Lego of my hand and watch the safety video - photo Turkish Airlines

Over recent times, the trend has been to move towards a video presentation for the safety briefings, which we're told, attract more attention from the seated passengers than a member of the crew standing at the front doing funny things with oxygen masks and pretend blowing into a lifejacket top up tube. Some of these videos have been serious, straight-faced and to the point, while others have been amusing, funny, others have included famous sportsmen and women. A number have also included those famous faces from both the big and small screen top tell us the do's the don't's on the flight we're about to embark on.  However, the latest of such safety briefings comes from a toy I had back in the days of my first flight! Although it does look a little different these days,  it has even spawned a number of highly successful movies! 

We're talking Lego and the latest safety briefing video from Turkish Airlines.