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How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-merrett-1509278">Craig Merrett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/clarkson-university-4276">Clarkson University</a></em></p> <p>Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/wright-brothers">invention of the airplane</a> allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared with weeks of travel by boat and train.</p> <p>Understanding precisely why airplanes fly is an ongoing challenge for <a href="https://www.clarkson.edu/people/craig-merrett">aerospace engineers, like me</a>, who study and design airplanes, rockets, satellites, helicopters and space capsules.</p> <p>Our job is to make sure that flying through the air or in space is safe and reliable, by using tools and ideas from science and mathematics, like computer simulations and experiments.</p> <p>Because of that work, flying in an airplane is <a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/is-flying-safer-than-driving/">the safest way to travel</a> – safer than cars, buses, trains or boats. But although aerospace engineers design aircraft that are stunningly sophisticated, you might be surprised to learn there are still some details about the physics of flight that we don’t fully understand.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A diagram of an airplane that shows the four forces of flight." /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">The forces of weight, thrust, drag and lift act on a plane to keep it aloft and moving.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/airplane-cruise-balanced-forces/">NASA</a></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>May the force(s) be with you</h2> <p>There are <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/stem-content/four-forces-of-flight/#:%7E">four forces</a> that aerospace engineers consider when designing an airplane: weight, thrust, drag and lift. Engineers use these forces to help design the shape of the airplane, the size of the wings, and figure out how many passengers the airplane can carry.</p> <p>For example, when an airplane takes off, the thrust must be greater than the drag, and the lift must be greater than the weight. If you watch an airplane take off, you’ll see the wings change shape using flaps from the back of the wings. The flaps help make more lift, but they also make more drag, so a powerful engine is necessary to create more thrust.</p> <p>When the airplane is high enough and is cruising to your destination, lift needs to balance the weight, and the thrust needs to balance the drag. So the pilot pulls the flaps in and can set the engine to produce less power.</p> <p>That said, let’s define what force means. According to <a href="https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/4079abf0-7a4b-4f49-80ad-c69cd06a80f9/newtons-second-law-of-motion/">Newton’s Second Law</a>, a force is a mass multiplied by an acceleration, or F = ma.</p> <p>A force that everyone encounters every day is <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/#:%7E">the force of gravity</a>, which keeps us on the ground. When you get weighed at the doctor’s office, they’re actually measuring the amount of force that your body applies to the scale. When your weight is given in pounds, that is a measure of force.</p> <p>While an airplane is flying, gravity is pulling the airplane down. That force is the weight of the airplane.</p> <p>But its engines push the airplane forward because they create <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-thrust/">a force called thrust</a>. The engines pull in air, which has mass, and quickly push that air out of the back of the engine – so there’s a mass multiplied by an acceleration.</p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wh3fJRdjo">Newton’s Third Law</a>, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. When the air rushes out the back of the engines, there is a reaction force that pushes the airplane forward – that’s called thrust.</p> <p>As the airplane flies through the air, the shape of the airplane pushes air out of the way. Again, by Newton’s Third Law, this air pushes back, <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-drag/#:%7E">which leads to drag</a>.</p> <p>You can experience something similar to drag when swimming. Paddle through a pool, and your arms and feet provide thrust. Stop paddling, and you will keep moving forward because you have mass, but you will slow down. The reason that you slow down is that the water is pushing back on you – that’s drag.</p> <h2>Understanding lift</h2> <p><a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-lift/">Lift</a> is more complicated than the other forces of weight, thrust and drag. It’s created by the wings of an airplane, and the shape of the wing is critical; that shape is <a href="https://howthingsfly.si.edu/media/airfoil#:%7E">known as an airfoil</a>. Basically it means the top and bottom of the wing are curved, although the shapes of the curves can be different from each other.</p> <p>As air flows around the airfoil, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO75jDwGCdQ">it creates pressure</a> – a force spread out over a large area. Lower pressure is created on the top of the airfoil compared to the pressure on the bottom. Or to look at it another way, air travels faster over the top of the airfoil than beneath.</p> <p>Understanding why the pressure and speeds are different on the top and the bottom is <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/lift-and-copjpg">critical to understand lift</a>. By improving our understanding of lift, engineers can design more fuel-efficient airplanes and give passengers more comfortable flights.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A diagram that shows how the airfoil of a plane works." /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Note the airfoil, which is a specific wing shape that helps keep a plane in the air.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/how-airplanes-fly-royalty-free-illustration/1401215523?phrase=airfoil+diagram&adppopup=true">Dimitrios Karamitros/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>The conundrum</h2> <p>The reason why air moves at different speeds around an airfoil remains mysterious, and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/no-one-can-explain-why-planes-stay-in-the-air/">scientists are still investigating</a> this question.</p> <p>Aerospace engineers have measured these pressures on a wing in both wind tunnel experiments and during flight. We can create models of different wings to predict if they will fly well. We can also change lift by changing a wing’s shape to create airplanes that fly for long distances or fly very fast.</p> <p>Even though we still don’t fully know why lift happens, aerospace engineers work with mathematical equations that recreate the different speeds on the top and bottom of the airfoil. Those equations describe a process <a href="https://howthingsfly.si.edu/media/circulation-theory-lift">known as circulation</a>.</p> <p>Circulation provides aerospace engineers with a way to model what happens around a wing even if we do not completely understand why it happens. In other words, through the use of math and science, we are able to build airplanes that are safe and efficient, even if we don’t completely understand the process behind why it works.</p> <p>Ultimately, if aerospace engineers can figure out why the air flows at different speeds depending on which side of the wing it’s on, we can design airplanes that use less fuel and pollute less.</p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-merrett-1509278"><em>Craig Merrett</em></a><em>, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/clarkson-university-4276">Clarkson University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-airplanes-fly-an-aerospace-engineer-explains-the-physics-of-flight-222847">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Travel Tips

Readers Respond: When was the first time you flew on an airplane and what was it like?

<p dir="ltr">One of life’s beauties is that we all have different memories and experiences, especially when it comes to travelling.</p> <p dir="ltr">Some people began travelling when they were young, others when they were teenagers or adults.</p> <p dir="ltr">So it got us thinking to ask our audience to share their first time on a plane and what it was like.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out some of your responses below. </p> <p dir="ltr">Billie Martin - I was 13 and had a nun praying with her beads the whole time next to me, didn't give me much confidence!</p> <p dir="ltr">Jenny McCarthy - It was a Saturday in March 1960, Sydney to Brisbane. Age 8. Very exciting! We were moving from Sydney to Brisbane. I remember it so clearly.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jan Nice - My first plane adventure was flying from Brisbane to Sydney. Many years ago and I was so scared!</p> <p dir="ltr">Maureen Phillips - 1964 from Auckland to Sydney. Loved it. My sister and I got to meet the Captain in the cockpit! We were dressed to the nines, which was how people travelled in those days, and couldn't believe the heat when we arrived.</p> <p dir="ltr">Liz Steve Moyle - Scotland to Australia as an 11 year old. I thought it was a bloody long way in 1965.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jennifer Bradley - I was nine, going to our new town with my Dad. I had remained with my grandparents to finish the school year. It was noisy, my ears hurt and halfway there I began to vomit and kept it up all the way. </p> <p dir="ltr">Bryan Whelan - 1966 flew to NZ for a working holiday. Was amazing, and whilst there I learned to fly light aircraft to a solo stage. Now that was scary being solo the first time!</p> <p dir="ltr">Janelle Adams - I was training to be a flight attendant… luckily I loved it.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lenore Heskey - I was 40. Flew to Bali then Hong Kong, I was very nervous initially but love flying now. </p> <p dir="ltr">Doreen Tompsett - 1963 flying from England to Australia. I was 12 years old and had my head in a bag all the blooming way. So sick. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Why there is a tiny hole in your airplane window

<p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p>Next time you fly in the window seat, take a closer look and you might spot a tiny hole in the glass pane.</p> <p>But don’t panic – not only is that normal, but without them, there could be huge problems on-board, <em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/17277588/plane-window-holes-explained-secret/">The Sun</a></em> reports.</p> <p>The strange design helps the aircraft to withstand the changing air pressure outside.</p> <p>Even though it may look like there’s a hole, the small gap doesn’t go through the entire pane.</p> <p>Each window is made up of three different acrylic layers, and it’s only the middle one that contains the breather hole.</p> <p>The small gap helps to regulate the high pressure environment on the plane, making the experience far more comfortable for passengers.</p> <p>Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker previously revealed: “The outer two cabin windows are designed to contain this difference in pressure between the cabin and the sky.</p> <p>“Both the middle and the outer panes are strong enough to withstand the difference on their own, but under normal circumstances it’s the outer pane that bears this pressure — thanks to the breather hole.”</p> <p>As well as being vital for passenger safety, the breather hole has another important function.</p> <p>The small gap allows moisture to escape the aircraft, preventing fog from forming on the window</p> <p>It isn’t the only strange thing you might spot on planes.</p> <p>Keen-eyed passengers may notice tiny black triangles on the walls of their plane.</p> <p>These indicate the position from which the wings can best be seen by staff from inside the aircraft.</p> <p>They can then quickly check the position of the flaps or slats if required from the appropriate window.</p> <p>There are also tiny yellow hooks on the wings which help staff evacuations over the wing and are used to secure and tether life rafts to the plane.</p> <p>Passengers walk across the wing using ropes attached to the hooks in emergencies.</p>

Domestic Travel

Blue-sky thinking: net-zero aviation is more than a flight of fantasy

<p>As international air travel rebounds after COVID-19 restrictions, greenhouse gas emissions from aviation are expected to rise dramatically – and with it, scrutiny of the industry’s environmental credentials.</p> <p>Aviation emissions have almost <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2253626-aviations-contribution-to-global-warming-has-doubled-since-2000/">doubled since 2000</a> and in 2018 reached <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation">one billion tonnes</a>. Climate Action Tracker rates the industry’s climate performance as <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/sectors/aviation/">critically insufficient</a>.</p> <p>As the climate change threat rapidly worsens, can aviation make the transition to a low-carbon future – and perhaps even reach net-zero emissions? The significant technological and energy disruption on the horizon for the industry suggests such a future is possible.</p> <p>But significant challenges remain. Achieving a net-zero aviation sector will require a huge collaborative effort from industry and government – and consumers can also play their part.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nW6J989UBhA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <h2>Build back better</h2> <p>The aviation sector’s progress in cutting emissions has been disappointing to date. For example, in February last year, <a href="https://theconversation.com/major-airlines-say-theyre-acting-on-climate-change-our-research-reveals-how-little-theyve-achieved-127800">research</a> on the world’s largest 58 airlines found even the best-performing ones were not doing anywhere near enough to cut emissions.</p> <p>Most recently, at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, the industry merely reasserted a commitment to a plan known as the <a href="https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/CORSIA/Pages/default.aspx">Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation</a>.</p> <p>The scheme relies on carbon offsetting, which essentially pays another actor to reduce emissions on its behalf at lowest cost, and doesn’t lead to absolute emissions reduction in aviation. The scheme also encourages alternative cleaner fuels, but the level of emissions reduction between fuels varies considerably.</p> <p>Governments have generally failed to provide strong leadership to help the aviation sector to reduce emissions. This in part is because pollution from international aviation is not counted in the emissions ledger of any country, leaving little incentive for governments to act. Aviation is also a complex policy space to navigate, involving multiple actors around the world. However, COVID-19 has significantly jolted the aviation and travel sector, presenting an opportunity to build back better – and differently.</p> <p>Griffith University recently held a <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/institute-tourism/our-research/rethinking-aviation/aviation-reimagined-2021?fbclid=IwAR3Hd8xLJkEWMaHae8sho1MiSfV6TzbPbf30vo2fbJ0CHMg-xdvywNCmZbU">webinar series</a> on decarbonising aviation, involving industry, academic and government experts. The sessions explored the most promising policy and practical developments for net-zero aviation, as well as the most significant hurdles.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437570/original/file-20211214-25-1rc1cnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="passengers queue at airport" /> <span class="caption">COVID-19 has significantly jolted the aviation sector.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven Senne/AP</span></span></p> <h2>Nations soaring ahead</h2> <p>Some governments are leading the way in driving change in the aviation industry. For example, as a result of <a href="https://www.government.se/495f60/contentassets/883ae8e123bc4e42aa8d59296ebe0478/the-swedish-climate-policy-framework.pdf">government policy</a> to make Sweden climate-neutral by 2045, the Swedish aviation industry developed a <a href="https://fossilfrittsverige.se/en/roadmap/the-aviation-industry/#:%7E:text=The%20strategic%20objective%20for%202030,line%20with%20the%20Government%27s%20goals">roadmap</a> for fossil-free domestic flights by 2030, and for all flights originating from Sweden to be fossil-free by 2045.</p> <p>Achieving fossil-free flights requires replacing jet fuel with alternatives such as sustainable fuels or electric and hydrogen propulsion.</p> <p>The European Union plans to <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_3662">end current tax exemptions</a> for jet fuel and introduce measures to <a href="https://www.eurocontrol.int/article/eus-fit-55-package-what-does-it-mean-aviation">accelerate</a> the uptake of sustainable fuels.</p> <p>The United Kingdom is finalising its strategy for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/achieving-net-zero-aviation-by-2050">net-zero aviation</a> by 2050 and a public body known as UK Research and Innovation is <a href="https://www.ukri.org/our-work/our-main-funds/industrial-strategy-challenge-fund/future-of-mobility/future-flight-challenge/">supporting</a> the development of new aviation technologies, including hybrid-electric regional aircraft.</p> <p>Australia lacks a strategic framework or emissions reduction targets to help transition the aviation industry. The <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/emerging-aviation-technologies/drones/eatp">Emerging Aviation Technology Program</a> seeks to reduce carbon emissions, among other goals. However, it appears to have a strong focus on freight-carrying drones and <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/7-urban-air-mobility-companies-watch">urban air vehicles</a>, rather than fixed wing aircraft.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437569/original/file-20211214-13-lsswi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="plane taking off" /> <span class="caption">Some governments are leading the way in driving change in the aviation industry.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zhao Xiaojun/AP</span></span></p> <h2>Building tomorrow’s aircraft</h2> <p>Low-emissions aircraft technology has developed substantially in the last five years. Advancements include electric and hybrid aircraft (powered by hydrogen or a battery) – such as that being developed by <a href="https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/zero-emission/hydrogen/zeroe">Airbus</a>, <a href="https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/accel.aspx">Rolls Royce</a> and <a href="https://www.zeroavia.com/">Zero Avia</a> – as well as <a href="https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2021-07-14-Boeing-and-SkyNRG-Partner-to-Scale-Sustainable-Aviation-Fuels-Globally">sustainable aviation fuels</a>.</p> <p>Each of these technologies can reduce carbon emissions, but only battery and hydrogen electric options significantly reduce non-CO₂ climate impacts such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), soot particles, oxidised sulphur species, and water vapour.</p> <p>For electric aircraft to be net-zero emissions, they must be powered by renewable energy sources. As well as being better for the planet, electric and hydrogen aircraft are likely to have <a href="https://www.zeroavia.com/">lower</a> energy and maintenance <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electric-aviation-could-be-closer-than-you-think/">costs</a> than conventional aircraft.</p> <p>This decade, we expect a rapid emergence of electric and hybrid aircraft for short-haul, commuter, air taxi, helicopter and general flights. Increased use of sustainable aviation fuel is also likely.</p> <p>Although electric planes are flying, commercial operations are not expected until at least 2023 as the aircraft must undergo rigorous testing, safety and certification.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437571/original/file-20211214-23-1clsep1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A solar powered aircraft prototype flies in mountainous terrain" /> <span class="caption">Electric planes exist, but the route to commercialisation is long. Pictured: a solar powered aircraft prototype flies near the France-Italy border.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laurent Gillieron/EPA</span></span></p> <h2>Overcoming turbulence</h2> <p>Despite real efforts by some industry leaders and governments towards making aviation a net-zero industry, significant strategic and practical challenges remain. Conversion to the commercial mainstream is not happening quickly enough.</p> <p>To help decarbonise aviation in Australia, industry and government should develop a clear strategy for emissions reduction with interim targets for 2030 and 2040. This would keep the industry competitive and on track for net-zero emissions by 2050.</p> <p>Strategic attention and action is also needed to:</p> <ul> <li> <p>advance aircraft and fuel innovation and development</p> </li> <li> <p>update regulatory and certification processes for new types of aircraft</p> </li> <li> <p>enhance production and deployment of new aviation fuels and technologies</p> </li> <li> <p>reduce fuel demand through efficiencies in route and air traffic management</p> </li> <li> <p>create “greener” airport operations and infrastructure</p> </li> <li> <p>build capability with pilots and aerospace engineers.</p> </li> </ul> <p>The emissions created by flights and itineraries can <a href="https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/variation-aviation-emissions-itinerary-jul2021-1.pdf">vary substantially</a>. Consumers can do their part by opting for the lowest-impact option, and offsetting the emissions their flight creates via a <a href="https://theconversation.com/flying-home-for-christmas-carbon-offsets-are-important-but-they-wont-fix-plane-pollution-89148">credible program</a>. Consumers can also choose to fly only with airlines and operators that have committed to net-zero emissions.</p> <p>Net-zero aviation need not remain a flight of fantasy, but to make it a reality, emissions reduction must be at the heart of aviation’s pandemic bounce-back.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171940/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-rachel-whittlesea-1280917">Emma Rachel Whittlesea</a>, Senior Research Fellow, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tim-ryley-1253269">Tim Ryley</a>, Professor and Head of Griffith Aviation, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/blue-sky-thinking-net-zero-aviation-is-more-than-a-flight-of-fantasy-171940">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Passengers boarding airplanes: We're doing it wrong

<p>‘Tis the season for airplane travel. We may be looking forward to getting where we’re going, but most aspects of the travel itself are merely endured. There’s stressful security, the madding crowd and the scrum at boarding, where people and their myriad belongings clog the gate area, standing between you and your departure.</p> <p>But take heart: there are scientifically proven ways to improve the boarding process or at least speed it up so that it can be over and done with more quickly.</p> <h2>What’s going wrong now</h2> <p>Currently, it feels like you could have walked to your destination by the time you’ve waited through boarding calls for all the various levels of travelers, from elite down to the dregs of refundable coach. Moreover, once you scan your pass and enter the jetway, you find it’s packed with all those who were crammed up around the ticket scanner a few minutes before – affectionately called “gate lice.”</p> <p>One big contributor to this logjam is the common airline policy to charge for checked baggage, leading passengers to bring aboard more, and more fully packed, luggage. All these carry-ons take time to stow. The fuller the plane becomes, the longer it takes to put the luggage away – like a not-very-fun version of Tetris.</p> <p>Another cause is the boarding process itself: the way and order that passengers are asked to board.</p> <p>You might assume the fastest way to load a plane is from the back to the front, so that no passenger needs to pass anyone in the aisle or hop over anyone in their row. This logic forms the basis of standard boarding procedures. But what would really happen if you boarded in precisely this way? The passengers would rush into the cabin, proceed toward the back – and come to a screeching halt as the first one or two passengers stow their luggage. The first 30 passengers (the back five rows) would take up nearly the entire length of the cabin. The rest of the line has simply moved from the airport gate into the jetway or cabin – and it moves no faster.</p> <h2>The leap from serial to parallel</h2> <p>The problem is that boarding from the back to the front is a serial process: only one action at a time is completed. It’s like deleting a page of text just using the delete key instead of selecting the entire page. In this case, only one passenger at a time is seated. The aisle in the airplane isn’t used effectively.</p> <p>A more efficient way to board would have only as many passengers in the airplane as can put their luggage away without interfering with each other. Those passengers should also be ordered so as to eliminate the need to pass by anyone either in the aisle or in the rows. In other words, it is better to make passenger boarding a parallel process where multiple actions occur simultaneously, instead of a serial process.</p> <h2>An optimum method</h2> <p>Virtually all scientific or industrial fields have optimization problems: finding the best way to complete different tasks. A classic example is the “traveling salesman” problem: what’s the shortest route that connects a number of cities?</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SC5CX8drAtU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span class="caption">The “traveling salesman” is another mathematical problem that can be solved using the same optimization routine.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65384/original/image-20141124-19618-9kjeel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65384/original/image-20141124-19618-9kjeel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Seating map showing the order that passengers board using the Steffen method.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason Steffen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></p> <p>The same optimization routine that can solve the traveling salesman problem can be applied to airplane boarding. Drawing from its results, I’ve <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2008.03.003">proposed</a> an optimum boarding method. In this approach, often called the Steffen method, adjacent passengers in line will be seated two rows apart from each other. The first wave of passengers would be, in order, 30A, 28A, 26A, 24A, and so on, starting from the back. (For a typical airplane there would be 12 such waves, one for each seat in a row and for odd and even rows.)</p> <p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2011.10.003">In field tests</a>, this method has outperformed all others. In a test with 72 passengers it was nearly twice as fast as boarding back-to-front or in rotating blocks of rows, methods commonly used in the industry. It was 20-30% faster than more optimized boarding methods such as random boarding, when people get on without regard to where their assigned seats are. It also beat boarding windows-middle-aisle. My method even outperformed the industry gold standard of open seating, used by Southwest airlines. That’s when passengers don’t have assigned seats at all.</p> <h2>Can we make the switch?</h2> <p>So, why isn’t this optimum method of airplane boarding being adopted by any carrier in the industry? One significant reason may be the challenge of its implementation – lining passengers up in such a rigid order. While this obstacle may not be insurmountable, the question itself overlooks one of the primary benefits of the Steffen method: it allows an airline to measure how much room there is for improvement and identifies where that improvement is to be found.</p> <p>A head-to-head comparison between an existing strategy and the Steffen method (incorporating all of the different elite and special-needs passengers) might show that a 30% reduction in boarding time is possible. Then, the powers-that-be can weigh the cost of changing to a more efficient, yet still practical process – one that more effectively uses the aisle – against the benefit of recovering only a portion of that potential savings. Those are the kinds of numbers that decisions can be based upon – and it eliminates the common, but utterly useless, defense of “there’s always room for improvement.”</p> <p>Cold comfort on your flight this week, perhaps. Maybe spend some of your time standing in line spreading the word that a better way is possible.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33615/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Written by <span>Jason Steffen, Research Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University</span>. Republished with permission of </em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/passengers-boarding-airplanes-were-doing-it-wrong-33615" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>. </em></p>

International Travel

How airplane crash investigations work

<p>The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash/index.html">fatal crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302</a> has resulted in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/canada-grounds-boeing-737-max-8-leaving-us-as-last-major-user-of-plane/2019/03/13/25ac2414-459d-11e9-90f0-0ccfeec87a61_story.html">worldwide grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft</a>. Investigators are probing the crash and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/report-on-airline-crash-that-killed-189-people-draws-few-conclusions/2018/11/27/a07b833c-f274-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html">another like it that occurred less than five months earlier</a> in Indonesia.</p> <p>As an experienced airline pilot, aircraft accident investigator and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I0IMxAkAAAAJ&hl=en">professor of aviation</a>, I know that such major crash investigations are an enormous effort often involving many countries’ governments and input from dozens of industry partners. The inquiries can take months of painstaking work. They often yield important insights that improve flight safety for everyone long into the future. Here’s how an investigation generally goes.</p> <p><strong>A massive collaboration</strong></p> <p>The accident investigation process is laid out by the standards and recommended practices in an international agreement called <a href="https://store.icao.int/index.php/annexes/13-aircraft-accident-and-incident-investigation.html">Annex 13</a> of the <a href="https://www.icao.int/publications/pages/doc7300.aspx">Convention on International Civil Aviation</a>. That document outlines the <a href="https://www.icao.int/safety/airnavigation/aig/pages/documents.aspx">process of gathering and analyzing information</a> and drawing conclusions – including determining the causes of a crash and making safety recommendations.</p> <p>The government of the country where the crash occurred takes the lead in the investigation. Also involved are investigators from the countries where the aircraft is registered, where the airline’s headquarters is, where the aircraft designer is based and where the aircraft was assembled. Countries where the engines or other major aircraft components were designed and assembled and those with citizens killed or seriously injured in the crash may also take part in the investigations.</p> <p>The Ethiopian Airlines crash is under investigation by Ethiopian authorities, with the assistance of members of the U.S. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/10/ethiopian-airlines-flight-302-no-survivors-in-crash-of-boeing-737.html">National Transportation Safety Board</a>. Other countries – including Kenya, France, Canada, China, Italy and the U.K., which all <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/world/africa/ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash-victims.html">lost several citizens in the crash</a> – may ask to be part of the process.</p> <p>Ethiopian investigators can seek technical advice not only from participating countries’ representatives, such as the NTSB, but also from the companies that made the plane and its engines – in this case, Boeing and CFM international, respectively.</p> <p><strong>From emergency to inquiry</strong></p> <p>At the beginning of the inquiry, the investigator-in-charge, usually an investigator from the lead country’s aviation safety board, coordinates with local first responders to determine what hazards may be present at the crash site, and ensures safe access for investigators to visit the wreckage. Dangerous debris could include hazardous cargo, flammable or toxic materials and gases, sharp or heavy objects and pressurized equipment. Human remains or blood from injured victims may also pose dangers of disease, meaning investigators must protect themselves against viruses, bacteria or parasites.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process/pages/default.aspx">investigators on the scene</a> take photos and videos of the wreckage and collect as much physical evidence as they can. They also conduct interviews with eyewitnesses and draw charts showing the debris field and any indications of how the aircraft hit the ground, such as the angle of impact, the distribution of debris and other details.</p> <p>If parts of aircraft can be salvaged, they can be moved to a secure facility such as a hangar for wreckage reassembling. This can assist in determining missing or damaged components, and gaining a fuller idea of what happened.</p> <p>Investigators also collect all the documents related the plane, its crew and its recent flights for forensic analysis.</p> <p>An early priority is locating the crucial evidence in what are often called the plane’s “black boxes.” There are two kinds. The flight data recorders keep track of flight parameters such altitude, heading, instrument readings, power settings and flight control inputs. The cockpit voice recorders store all communications with the aircraft, including from air traffic controllers, and record any conversations among cockpit occupants and other audible cockpit sounds for the two hours leading up to the crash. All that information lets analysts reconstruct, and even create video simulations of, the last moments of the plane’s flight.</p> <p>If either of those devices is damaged, authorities may ask the aircraft’s manufacturer to verify the salvaged data. Ethiopian investigators have asked for foreign help to analyze the black-box data. They originally asked Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, but that agency said it <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane-germany/germany-says-will-not-analyse-ethiopian-airlines-black-box-idUSKCN1QU2HG">didn’t have the technical know-how</a> either. France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, one of the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane/ethiopian-crash-black-boxes-arrive-in-paris-for-analysis-idUSKCN1QV0UF">most experienced crash investigation agencies</a> in the world, is handling them instead.</p> <p>In the early stages of an investigation, there are a lot of people working on different aspects of the inquiry all at once. As the preliminary lead accident investigator for the <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Helicopter-Crash-at-Adukrom-117151">Ghanaian MI-17 helicopter crash</a> in Adukrom, Ghana, in January 2007, I had to coordinate the securing of the crash site and do field interviews of witnesses while charting the debris and recovering the “black box” for further analysis.</p> <p><strong>Technical groups assemble</strong></p> <p>Other teams look at technical aspects that might have contributed in any way to the crash. They look at air traffic control activity and instructions, weather, human performance issues like crew experience and training, maintenance records, emergency response, safety equipment, aircraft performance and subsystems.</p> <p>They may disassemble the crashed plane’s engines or other components and use flight simulators to attempt to experience what the pilots were dealing with. Analysts even study the metals used to make components to see how they should perform – to later compare that information with what actually happened during the crash.</p> <p>A team also interviews any survivors, rescue personnel and subject-matter experts. Forensic teams and medical examiners will analyze victims’ remains to identify them for family members and to examine the injuries they suffered, and test for any drugs, alcohol or even carbon monoxide in their bodies that might have impaired their judgment or performance.</p> <p>In some cases, especially high-profile crashes, investigators will hold public hearings, at which they gather more evidence and make public some of what they have found. This helps assure the public that the process is open and transparent, and is not covering up the responsibility of any guilty party.</p> <p><strong>Findings and conclusions</strong></p> <p>After they rigorously analyze all the data, devise, test and evaluate different hypotheses for what could have happened, the investigative team must determine causes and contributing factors. The goal is to identify anything – acts someone did (or didn’t) do, properties of a materials, gusts of wind, and so on – that had any role in the crash.</p> <p>The report should include both immediate causes – such as active failures of pilots or maintenance crew – and underlying reasons, like insufficient training or pressure to rush through a task.</p> <p>Within 30 days after the crash, the investigation team must release a preliminary report to the <a href="https://www.icao.int/">International Civil Aviation Organization</a>, the U.N.-related global agency overseeing commercial air travel. A final report is normally expected to follow before a year has passed. In cases where a <a href="http://www.mh370.gov.my/en/">final report can’t be issued</a> on that timeline, the team should release an <a href="http://www.mh370.gov.my/en/442-4th-interim-statement-mh370-safety-investigation-8-march-2018">interim report on each anniversary</a> of the event, detailing the progress so far.</p> <p><strong>Improving safety</strong></p> <p>At any point during the investigation, investigators can recommend any preventative action that it has identified as necessary to improve flight safety. In the wake of the Lion Air crash, Boeing was reportedly working on <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-to-make-key-change-in-max-cockpit-software-11552413489">a fix to a software system</a>, but it didn’t get released before the Ethiopian Airlines crash.</p> <p>The final report, including all the safety recommendations, is released by the country that conducted the investigation to the public and is aimed at improving aviation safety and not to apportion blame.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113602/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Written by <span>Daniel Kwasi Adjekum, Assistant Professor of Aviation, University of North Dakota</span>. Republished with permission of </em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-airplane-crash-investigations-work-according-to-an-aviation-safety-expert-113602" target="_blank"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>. </em></p>

International Travel

Cracks found on older Boeing 737 planes during inspections

<p><span>Boeing is facing yet another safety issue after structural cracks were found in 38 of its 737 NG airplanes around the world.</span></p> <p><span>The inspections ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) discovered that out of the 810 jets that had been examined, 38 had cracks in a “pickle fork”, or the part that attaches the plane’s body to the wing structure. This amounted to about 5 per cent of the planes inspected.</span></p> <p><span>Boeing and airline officials said the planes will be grounded for repairs.</span></p> <p><span>So far, two airlines have disclosed that they have jets that need to be grounded. Southwest Airlines announced on Wednesday that it had grounded two of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/10/business/boeing-737-ng-grounding/index.html">the 700-plus NG jets in its fleet</a> due to the cracking issue, while Brazilian carrier Gol Linhas Aereas confirmed it took 11 out of its 115 planes out of service. </span></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-boeing-airplanes/boeing-says-cracks-found-on-38-of-810-737-ng-jets-inspected-globally-idUSKBN1WP2BD">Last week</a>, the FAA ordered airlines to inspect their 737 NG fleets after Boeing alerted the agency about structural cracks. Aircrafts that have made at least 30,000 flights must be inspected within seven days, while planes between 22,600 and 29,999 cycles are to be inspected after 1,000 flights.</span></p> <p><span>Today, about 6,800 of the 737 NG jets are in service around the world. </span></p> <p><span>The report came as Boeing continues its effort to seek approval for the 737 Max to fly again. All 737 Max jets have been grounded since March following fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia, which killed 346 crew and passengers.</span></p>

International Travel

World War II-era plane crash kills seven

<p>At least seven people were killed in the World War II-era plane crash at a Connecticut airport on Wednesday, officials said.</p> <p>The four-engine, propeller-driven Boeing B-17 bomber was carrying 13 people on board when it struggled to get into air after take-off and crash-landed at Hartford’s Bradley International Airport, bursting into flames.</p> <p>Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella said the remaining six people suffered severe injuries, and <a rel="noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2019/10/02/7-confirmed-dead-in-connecticut-wwii-era-plane-crash-number-may-rise/" target="_blank">the death toll could rise</a>.</p> <p>The 75-year-old restored aircraft is owned by the Collings Foundation, an education group that hosts historical re-enactments, authorities said. It was among the <a rel="noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/world-war-ii-plane-crash-connecticut/index.html" target="_blank">13,000 B-17 bombers produced ahead of and during World War II</a>, and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bradley-airport-plane-crash-boeing-b-17-flying-fortress-crashes-connecticut-today-7-killed-live-updates-2019-10-02/" target="_blank">one of the 18 left in the US</a>.</p> <p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were on that flight, and we will be forever grateful to the heroic efforts of the first responders at Bradley,” Collings Foundation said in a statement.</p> <p>“The Collings Foundation flight team is fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash of the B-17 Flying Fortress and will comment further when details become known.”</p> <p>Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said, “These are husbands and wives and brothers and sisters and children and all part of our Connecticut family. And we feel our hearts are broken for you right now.”</p>

Travel Trouble

The scary reason why you should put your phone on airplane mode when flying

<p>Before take-off, flight attendants advise travellers to either turn off their mobile phones or to activate the airplane mode setting.</p> <p>Airplane mode is designed for safety whilst on the flight as well as helping passengers avoid heavy roaming charges.</p> <p>Depending on the mobile device and the plane the passenger is on, the device could automatically connect to the airplane’s antenna and collect roaming fees when not on airplane mode, reports <em>The Sun</em>.</p> <p>This is due to settings on the mobile phone which automatically connect to roaming networks that are available on the plane.</p> <p>A passenger found this out the hard way after revealing to the <em>The Irish Times</em> that he had left his mobile phone on in the overhead compartment without turning it on airplane mode and ended up racking up a fine of AU$409. He received the bill a few weeks later from his provider AT&T.</p> <p>The company said the passenger’s phone connected to the plane’s antenna and used data that was “outside an unlimited international roaming plan,” which resulted in the extra fees.</p> <p>Although this isn’t the case in all circumstances, the airline confirmed the situation, stating that the passenger’s device “may connect to the in-flight roaming network” without connecting to the fee-paying Wi-Fi network.</p> <p>The money is directly billed to the service provider, which is what happened in this case.</p> <p>This is not only possible on airplanes, but also at sea, where extra fees can be accumulated while travelling across the ocean.</p> <p>In 2016 British man Mark Stokes received a $590 bill from UK telco O2 after his phone’s data was roaming while he was aboard a ferry travelling between England and France.</p> <p>Surprisingly, Stokes incurred the extra charges even though he had paid for a “bolt-on” package to be able to use his phone as normal while travelling.</p> <p>According to the BBC, Stokes was a victim of his phone automatically connecting to the ferry’s own mobile network, which works via satellite.</p> <p>The satellite network is not included in the usual mobile networks, meaning that normal phone tariffs aren’t included and therefore, that is how the charges were accumulated.</p> <p>So, keep these tips in mind when travelling, to avoid being caught out with outrageous roaming mobile phone charges while travelling.</p>

Travel Tips

Woman's "disgusting" find in airplane food

<p>A woman nearly “threw up” after she discovered mould in her airplane food.</p> <p>Jamie Lunde was travelling with United Airlines from Denver to Los Angeles when she ordered a US$10 (AU$14.45) tapas box on the flight as a snack.</p> <p>After taking a few bites off the hummus, she found that the food item was covered with mould.</p> <p>“I started eating it before I completely removed the foil on top. Almost threw up when I saw the mold!” Lunde wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of the tainted dip.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByjPGfHgaNC/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByjPGfHgaNC/" target="_blank">I purchased this Tapas box last night on United flight 1613. I started eating it before i completely removed the foil on top. Almost threw up when I saw the mold! When I brought it to their attention they took my card to refund me, did not take away the molded hummus and find out today they charged me twice!! #unitedairlines #unitedsucks #mold #hummus #tapas #foodpoisoning #airplanefood #passengershaming #shamefull</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tjlunde123/" target="_blank"> Jamie Lunde</a> (@tjlunde123) on Jun 10, 2019 at 6:11pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The passenger shared that the cabin crew failed to take the food away and refund her.</p> <p>“When I brought it to their attention they took my card to refund me, did not take away the molded hummus and find out today they charged me twice!!”</p> <p>The pack of hummus was included in the tapas box alongside almonds, bread sticks, bruschetta, dark chocolate, crackers and olives.</p> <p>Instagram users expressed disgust over the finding. </p> <p>“Flying is a joke these days,” one commented.</p> <p>“That is terrible!!! #unitedairlines fix this,” another added.</p> <p>“Disgusting,” someone else wrote.</p> <p>A United Airlines spokesperson told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9279021/passenger-mouldy-flight-houmous-snack/" target="_blank"><em>The Sun</em></a>: “We are sorry to hear that on this occasion the food product was not up to our usual high standard.</p> <p>“We have reached out to the customer directly to apologise and will review this matter with our catering supplier.”</p>

Travel Trouble

Are stand-up airplane seats the way of the future?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Italian seat manufacturer Aviointeriors’ have ruffled a few feathers with their new idea of standing seats on airplanes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The seats can be seen in the tweet below.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/The734?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#The734</a> today, we're talking about these new "standing" airline seats. I think most of us try to book the cheapest airline ticket, but would you ever pay to fly like this? Imagine it was $50 round trip to Ft. Myers - would you bite? <a href="https://t.co/1E2SXnTDrE">pic.twitter.com/1E2SXnTDrE</a></p> — Matt Brickman (@Matt_Brickman) <a href="https://twitter.com/Matt_Brickman/status/1113415339235336194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">3 April 2019</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many were quick to point out safety concerns with the seats, asking about what would be available for elderly, the disabled and for children. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another person inquired about what would happen to them, as they are 2 metres tall in height.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In shoes, I’m 6’6” (2m) and coach crushes my knees. Will my neck be above the so-called back rest? Will my head hit the ceiling?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the designers were quick to point out their intentions with the seats.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The message is, we do not want to put thousands of people in the cabin, we want to offer a multi-class configuration, which is nowadays impossible if you want to reach the maximum load of passengers," engineering advisor at Aviointeriors Gaetano Perugini explained to </span><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/standing-up-airplane-seat-testing/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CNN Travel</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"So that means that in the same cabin, you will have standard economy, premium economy or business class and ultra-basic economy -- which is an innovation for the airline and the passenger," Perugini continued. "This is the true reason for the Skyrider."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Perugini also admitted that the experience could be uncomfortable for some passengers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I will be honest, I don't think that somebody is happy to stay eight or ten hours in this configuration," he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"In the short haul, if you want to save money [...] you can hold this -- not fully comfortable position -- for a couple of hours. I think the majority of the people will accept this on a couple of hours flight, a three-hour flight."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Would you travel in these seats? Let us know in the comments.</span></p>

Travel Trouble

7 hidden features on airplanes you had no idea existed

<div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even">Keep an eye out for these on your next flight.</div> <div class="field-item even"></div> <div class="field-item even"><strong>1. The magic button for extra room</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Did you manage to snag an aisle seat? Not only can you get up without crawling over people, but you can make your seat extra roomy at the push of a button, thanks to one of the coolest secret airplane features. Reach under the armrest closest to the aisle and feel around near the hinge. You should find a button, which will instantly let you swing the armrest up when you push it, according to<span> </span><em>Travel + Leisure</em>. Once it’s in line with your seat back, it won’t dig into your side anymore, and you can move your legs around without hitting anything.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>2. The hidden handrail</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>We’re willing to bet you hate it when people aggressively grab your seat on the way to the bathroom. Once it’s your turn to make your way down the aisle, though, you realise you have no choice but to follow suit – or do you? Flight attendants don’t just touch the ceiling for fun when they walk; the bottom of the overhead compartment has a scalloped area that gives better grip when walking down a moving airplane, according to<span> </span><em>Condé Nast Traveler</em>. Next time you need to get up, reach to the ceiling for balance.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>3. Secret sleeping area</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>A long-haul flight is hard enough on passengers, but imagine being a pilot or flight attendant trying to make it through a 14-hour workday. It’s an exhausting job, so some planes, like Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner planes, have secret passageways that let staff get some decent shut-eye, according to<span> </span><em>Insider</em>. A locked door near the front of the plane or a door posing as an overhead bin hides the entrance to a set of beds, kept private with thick curtains.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>4. Hooks on the wings</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>If you peek out the window to an Airbus plane’s wing, you can spot yellow bumps with holes in the middle on an otherwise smooth, white surface. If there’s an emergency water landing, the wings would be very slippery for passengers trying to get to the inflatable slide that would have deployed. To help travellers get off without falling, the easy-to-miss airplane features let cabin crew slip a rope through one hook and fasten it to the next, according to pilot “Captain” Joe. Passengers could hold on to the rope while on the plane to make it away from the plane safely.<span> </span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>5. Triangle above window</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Scan the wall of your plane; above four windows, you’ll see a black triangle. Each one lines up with the edge of the airplane’s wing, according to pilot “Captain” Joe. If a flight attendant needs to check the airplane’s slats or flaps – the moving parts on a wing – they’ll know exactly where to go for the best view. If you’re getting motion sick on a plane, you might want to see if you can move to a seat between the triangles. The wings are the plane’s centre of gravity, so sitting between them would give you the smoothest ride.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>6. Holes in the windows</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Look closely at an airplane window and you’ll spot something weird: a little hole in the bottom. Take an even closer look and you’ll realise that unlike other windows, this one is made of three panes, and the hole is in the middle one. The quirk is there to protect against the pressure drop of flying high into the atmosphere, according to<span> </span><em>Slate</em>. As a plane ascends, the pressure outside drops massively, but the cabin is designed to stay at a comfortable pressure. That leaves a big difference in pressure inside and outside of the plane. The outside window takes on most of that pressure, and the hole in the middle one helps balance the pressure difference. The inner window is just to protect the middle one. </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-title field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"><strong>7. Hidden handcuffs</strong></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>If passengers are getting unruly, flight attendants have the right to restrain them. In the US, they might use typical cop-style cuffs, but most will use plastic restraints similar to zip ties, according to<span> </span><em>Express</em>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p><em>Written by <span>Marissa Laliberte</span>. This article first appeared in </em><span><a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/flights/7-hidden-features-airplanes-you-had-no-idea-existed"><em>Reader’s Digest</em></a><em>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </em><a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN87V"><em>here’s our best subscription offer.</em></a></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /></p>

International Travel

Plane seat etiquette: Who gets the armrest?

<p><span>When it comes to plane etiquette, the unspoken rules and courtesies can be quite confusing. With narrowing seats and <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-tips/the-new-rules-that-could-make-flying-better-for-everyone/">shrinking legroom</a> in airplanes, the issue of personal space has become more contentious among passengers. </span></p> <p><span>One of the common sources of <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/domestic-travel/why-you-shouldnt-let-air-rage-get-the-better-of-you/">air rage</a> cases between cabin mates is the armrest. In 2017, a man and a woman <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/offbeat/airplane-fight-armrest-video">reportedly</a> got into a screaming match in a Monarch Airlines flight from London to Malaga over an armrest between the aisle and middle seats. Last year, a woman posted a video on Twitter of her seatmate on an American Airlines flight who was allegedly "making an active scene" over their arms touching. The video went viral with more than 453,000 views.</span></p> <p><span>So, who should have the right to the armrest? While there are no hard and fast rules, there are some customs that many deem fairer than others. </span></p> <p><span>Most experts believe the middle seat should have both armrests. "The person seated at the window seat has their own armrest and wall, along with the person seated in the aisle seat – they also have a little more leg room," Zarife Hardy, director of the Australian School of Etiquette told <a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/2018/05/03/10/22/is-the-middle-seat-passenger-entitled-to-the-armrests-on-a-plane"><em>9Honey Travel</em></a>. </span></p> <p><span>"So, the person or people seated in the middle generally get the armrests first … However, let's keep it fair and just wait to see how it casually and politely happens."</span></p> <p><span>Flight attendant Jacqueline Marie shared the sentiment. "I one hundred percent believe the middle seat has the right to both armrests," she told <a href="https://thepointsguy.com/guide/jetiquette-who-gets-the-middle-seat-armrests/"><em>The Points Guy</em></a>. </span></p> <p><span>"I view the armrests as boundary lines but, shockingly, as a flight attendant I have never been asked to fix a dispute regarding seat space. But you know the sad thing? I honestly feel like many of those who get stuck in the middle just hope for a peaceful flight and they avoid confrontation, even if it means they will not be as comfortable."</span></p> <p><span>According to Christopher Elliott, journalist and co-founder of advocacy group Travelers United, the armrests are still a shared space – but the middle seat should have priority. </span></p> <p><span>"If you're sitting in a window or aisle seat, the middle seat passenger gets to put his arms down first," he wrote on the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/whose-armrest-is-it-anyway-the-unspoken-etiquette-of-airline-bus-and-train-travel/2017/02/22/13704fbc-f461-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.c1abbdf6c270"><em>Washington Post</em></a>. "If there's room left over, great. If not, it belongs to the middle seat passenger."</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">When I decided to take a picture & video to document the incident, I deplaned, picked up my bag, and boarded the shuttle. While I'm on the shuttle, this woman LIED that I assaulted her and the <a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanAir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmericanAir</a> flight attendant called the cops to remove me from the shuttle bus. <a href="https://t.co/czMyxkQVQ7">pic.twitter.com/czMyxkQVQ7</a></p> — The High Priestess of Black Joy (@AmberJPhillips) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmberJPhillips/status/989729546810241024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote> <p><span>But what about situations like the woman on the American Airlines flight faced, when we feel like a seatmate has invaded our space?</span></p> <p><span>Gary Leff, co-founder of <a href="https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2016/08/26/someone-invading-space-plane/"><em>InsideFlyer.com</em></a> suggested to observe the situation. If there is another empty seat in the cabin, you can ask a flight attendant discreetly if you can move – however, this scenario is unlikely to happen on a crowded flight.</span></p> <p><span>"If your seatmate could easily take up less space, try to start a polite conversation and mention that you’d appreciate some of the armrest," said Leff. </span></p> <p><span>However, if they unwillingly take up more space due to their body size, Leff suggested there is not much that you can do.</span></p> <p><span>"The only time to enlist the help of the flight attendant is as a last resort. A flight attendant isn't going to stay by your seat through the flight to monitor your seatmate's behaviour. But if the person is clearly abusive, getting it on record with the crew can be a prophylactic measure."</span></p> <p><span>Have you ever dealt with armrest problems on the plane? Let us know in the comments below.</span></p>

International Travel

The 10 cleanest airlines in the world revealed

<p>Planes, as many of us know, are not the most sanitary of places.</p> <p>As disgusting as it is to admit, a bunch of people sitting in a stuffy seat day in and day out, wiping their greasy palms all over the arm rests and in-flight screen entertainment can make an environment seriously dirty.</p> <p>While it can be worrying, rest assured that there are some pretty fantastic airlines out there who you can rely on for a clean flight.</p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.worldairlineawards.com/" target="_blank"><em>Skytrax’s World Airline Awards</em> </a>has announced the cleanest carriers of 2018 after passenger’s rated various airlines by the “standard and quality of cleanliness of their aircraft cabin.”</p> <p>The cleanliness of tables, carpet, panels, washrooms, cabin panels and seats were all factors considered in the results.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see the world’s cleanest airlines.</p> <p>Have you ever flown with any of these airlines? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Travel Tips

The rise of the whiny air passenger

<p>Decades ago, airline travel was considered a glamorous and exciting mode of transport, reserved for the rich and elite.</p> <p>Yet while air travel has become more democratic and affordable, industry research shows that people increasingly <a href="https://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/press-releases/press-2014/press-release-travel-2014">dislike air travel</a>.</p> <p>A 2015 <a href="https://www.iata.org/publications/Documents/Highlights%202015-Global-Passenger-Survey-Final.pdf">survey by the International Air Transport Association</a> (IATA) found people were prepared to queue no more than 10 minutes through security. More than half wanted to wait no more than 1-3 minutes to drop off their luggage. But the real dissatisfaction began once passengers were onboard, with in-flight service and seat size topping the list of complaints.</p> <p>What is the source of this dissatisfaction? The belief that air passengers simply don’t realise how good they have it is growing - and not just among <a href="http://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2015/09/29/wall-street-analyst-warns-of-growing-passenger-entitlement/">industry advocates</a>, where one would expect it, but also from <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2011-01-20/airline-deregulation-revisitedbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice">industry share analysts</a> and some economists.</p> <p>Since the worldwide deregulation of airlines began four decades ago, the inflation-adjusted cost of air travel has fallen dramatically. Now anyone can afford travel to their favourite destination, whenever they want.</p> <p>Why, then, are consumers such sourpusses? Lower prices have created much more demand for air travel, leading to congestion and more delays - by-product of the industry’s success. Then there are those hated security procedures, another source of delays. Again, that is outside airline control.</p> <p>The main driver of consumer complaint is misperception. Taking a leaf from <a href="https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138800236">behavioural economics</a>, air travel for most people is infrequent enough that most people don’t realise the true extent of the fall in cost. Computer prices, for example, have fallen dramatically over the past 40 years and people buy computers enough to notice and appreciate that. Similar price falls have occurred in air travel, but are less noticed because such travel is generally not as frequent as computer upgrades.</p> <p>Loss of “perks” like meals is much more noticeable and memorable, something behavioural economists refer to as <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investors-dont-let-human-quirks-and-emotions-get-the-better-of-you/article27495032/">‘salience’</a>.</p> <p>So should we pity the poor airline, hemmed in by fierce competition on the one side and ungrateful consumers on the other? Not so fast. For one thing, the price of air travel should be adjusted for quality of service. Consider computers again. Not only have their prices fallen but they deliver much more than their 1980s predecessors.</p> <p>But passengers not only have lost free meals or toiletry kits. They also now get <a href="http://ntrsctn.com/irl/2015/09/theres-a-serious-petition-for-airlines-to-stop-shrinking-seats">increasingly less</a> legroom, narrower seats, less reclining seat pitch, and less service generally at the gate and on the plane.</p> <p>Airline vendors continually pitch prototype products, such as seats where one does <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/10/travel/standing-cabin-plane-study/">not fully sit down</a>, and airlines continually test policies, like charging for <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Green/paying-pee-airlines-critics-call-ryanairs-fee-inhumane/story?id=10355139">toilet use on-board</a>, that most human beings would find unpleasant at best. If people were indeed just like cargo, unit price for distance covered would be a complete metric. But of course they’re not cargo.</p> <p>Airlines are increasingly using <a href="http://skift.com/2015/12/07/no-frills-fares-to-expand-to-american-and-united-airlines/">‘unbundled’ pricing</a>. Passengers used to pay one price for everything: travel, meals, baggage allowances, in-flight entertainment etc. Now almost all carriers charge separately for everything. Airline capacity is tightening and companies have more pricing power.</p> <p>Airlines are also using “big data” collected through booking systems for dynamic pricing (or yield/revenue) allowing them to get maximum revenue from each individual passenger by charging the highest price that passenger is willing to pay, or to induce travellers to fill seats that would otherwise go empty.</p> <p>Airline analysts claim all this is good for the consumer. Big data by definition equals more information which equals more transparency. Unbundled pricing eliminates “cross-subsidy” of one consumer by another: why should someone with only a carry-on bag, pay the same fare as someone with a full set of checked luggage?</p> <p>Once more this is a one-sided view. Unbundled pricing is especially disliked by consumers because it is complex, easy to game by the service provider, and often leading to unpredictable pricing at the gate. Most people have been charged an excess baggage fee at the gate, something they were likely not planning on and almost impossible to challenge before embarking.</p> <p>Consumers like to know what they will be paying but unbundled pricing often turns into “probabilistic” pricing where people pay a certain price only if they don’t cross certain lines. As for “big data” airlines have much more access to its power than consumers do.</p> <p>We cannot blame profit-making companies to want to squeeze as much out of the consumer as they can subject to competitive pressures. Passengers are still flying and travel demand is growing, showing that despite service quality declines, they’re still willing to fly and at unit distance prices that are still historically low.</p> <p>But it hardly seems fair that the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/flying-travel-frustration-airlines-customer-service/404986/">consumer should like it</a>.</p> <p><em>Written by <span>Cameron Gordon, Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, Centre for Research and Action in Public Health (CeRAPH), University of Canberra</span>. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-whiny-air-passenger-51567"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>. </em><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51567/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p>

International Travel

Why we can’t help eating airplane food

<p>There's good reason why we can't help but wolf down the <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/2017/03/gordon-ramsay-reveals-the-one-thing-he-will-never-eat/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">calorific plane food we'd normally turn our noses up at</span></strong></a>, new research shows.</p> <p>In his new book <em>Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating</em>, UK professor Charles Spence says that while meals served at altitude typically taste terrible, they're often more desirable than meals at ground level.</p> <p>The lower air pressure in the cabin, dry air and loud engine noise all dull our ability to taste and smell food and drink, he told <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/the-startling-number-of-calories-consumed-on-the-average-flight/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a></strong></span>.<br /> <br /> "Therefore the food we consume needs 20-30 per cent more sugar and salt to make it taste like it would on the ground."</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-tips/2017/05/foods-you-should-not-eat-on-a-plane/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">boredom we experience on planes</span></strong></a> and the in-flight entertainment we engross ourselves in to relieve it make matters worse, he said.</p> <p>"With nothing else to do, food becomes an appealing distraction. And when it is being offered for free it will be even harder to resist."</p> <p>If we're enjoying a film or TV show, we're even more likely to shovel down copious quantities of unhealthy food, Spence said.</p> <p>The average Briton consumes nearly twice the recommended daily intake of calories between their check-in at the airport and their arrival at their destination, he noted.</p> <p>A greasy meal and pint or two at the airport would certainly contribute but Spence, a lecturer at Oxford University, said plane food is the main culprit behind the sky-high calorie intake.</p> <p>Some airlines have introduced <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/why-people-crave-tomato-juice-when-flying/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">healthier methods of making their meals more palatable</span></strong></a>, such as serving dishes that trigger our unami taste buds, like curries.</p> <p>However, most resort to loading the food with lashings of salt and sugar, he said.</p> <p><strong>Air NZ chefs well aware more salt and sugar are needed</strong><br /> <br /> An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the culinary team plans the airline's menus with the knowledge that our tastebuds change at 30,000ft in mind.<br /> <br /> "For instance, we know that our sweet and salty senses are significantly weakened at altitude so our onboard cuisine is seasoned accordingly."</p> <p>The airline was unable to supply nutritional information on its inflight meals, such as the overall calorie count or amount of salt or sugar.</p> <p>The spokesperson explained that meals are prepared by qualified chefs in more than 20 kitchens around the world using local, seasonal produce and specialty ingredients.</p> <p>Nutritionist and author Claire Turnbull said airlines often feel compelled to offer the kind of bland, unhealthy food they believe will appeal to the masses.</p> <p>She agreed that airlines typically add excess salt and sugar to food "to activate our tastebuds" and have a fondness for serving foods such as ice cream, which is easy to store.</p> <p>"Until everyone says we want it to change, it won't change," she said. "And it may not because everyone loves ice cream!"</p> <p>Indeed, Turnbull believes that our attitude toward food may be more of a problem than the food itself.</p> <p>"There's the whole "buffet syndrome" that leads people to overindulge when there's a lot of food on offer - especially when it's free. But there is a cost. You will feel rubbish afterward and if you do it all the time you will be bigger."</p> <p>That many of us are brought up to believe that we shouldn't waste food is also part of the problem, she said.</p> <p>"If you grow up in an environment where there's not a lot of money, you can feel guilty for not eating everything you're given. We all make about 200 subconscious decisions about food each day influenced by things like how we feel about wasting food. There's a lot going on in there so if someone pops up and says "would you like a Magnum?" we're likely to say yes."</p> <p>Turnbull admits that on her frequent long-haul flights to the UK she has to find ways to distract herself from eating everything that is put down in front of her.</p> <p>"Meal times become the structure of your flight because there's nothing else to do. And if you don't know when your next meal is going to be or whether you're going to like it, it's tempting to eat as much as you can while you can. But you often do like it."</p> <p>Her tactics for avoiding overeating on flights include having a large, nutritious meal before leaving the house, bringing along some unsalted nuts to snack on and drinking plenty of water.</p> <p>People can lose up to 1.5 litres of water on planes, which can cause headaches, she said.</p> <p>"The reality is that it's a challenging situation. The best things you can do are to eat well beforehand, prepare healthy snacks and drink loads of water. Because you're losing so much water onboard, you probably won't need to get up to use the loo as often as you might think!"</p> <p><em>Written by Lorna Thornber. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

Can flying make you sick?

<p>The idea of aircraft as flying germ incubators where every surface is crawling with nasties, where you're breathing air that has just come from the lungs of the guy coughing and sneezing in the row behind is deeply troubling for some flyers, but is it really as bad as all that?</p> <p>Why do we stress about travelling on planes when most of us think nothing of commuting on a tram, bus or train?</p> <p>Leaving aside air-travel related conditions such as motion sickness, jet lag, dehydration and deep vein thrombosis, and focusing on sickness resulting from bacterial or viral infections, what are the hazards that can result in you spending your entire holiday lying in a hotel room with frequent bathroom visits, or worse?</p> <p>Air quality is one issue. Unlike that commuter ride, you're trapped inside a sealed metal canister.</p> <p>The thought of breathing air that might be contaminated with airborne viruses worries some passengers, but the air you breathe in an aircraft cabin is scrubbed clean.</p> <p>What you're breathing is a mixture of fresh and recirculated air. The fresh air supply comes from the compressor stage of the jet engines. After it's cooled in air conditioning units it passes through a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, which takes out all but a tiny fraction of airborne particulates, bacteria and viruses.</p> <p>This air is then ducted into the cabin via vents, louvres and those over-seat eyeball sockets. The air swirls around in the cabin until it exits via the lower fuselage where about half is vented overboard, The remainder is mixed with a fresh incoming supply from the compressors, passed through the HEPA filter again and recirculated.</p> <p>It's also fast. Cabin air in a modern jet aircraft is completely refreshed every two to three minutes, much quicker than in a typical office, classroom or hospital, and way more frequently than in a bus or train carriage. Getting sick from an airborne pathogen is about the least of your inflight medical worries.</p> <p>There are a couple of other major points of difference between an aircraft cabin and the train or bus carriage we might use every day. We're not likely to eat on our commuter ride, nor are we going to use a toilet since there probably isn't one.</p> <p>Aircraft toilets are where hygiene takes a holiday. On a long flight each toilet on an aircraft might see individual visits numbered in the hundreds. Aircraft toilets are typically small, they might be moving around in air turbulence and this limits the ability of passengers to deal with their waste in a thoroughly hygienic manner.</p> <p>Also, sinks are tiny, and the water supply more a sprinkle than a gush, making it difficult to wash your hands effectively. Even medical doctors as a whole are not great at hand hygiene, much worse than nurses according to the Medical Journal of Australia, so what hope for the rest of us?</p> <p>If the previous passenger was infected with norovirus, a virulent, highly infectious pathogen that can cause violent eruptions at both ends and if they failed to wash their hands thoroughly, just pushing the release mechanism on the toilet door might be enough to bring you undone.</p> <p>It's important to keep yourself well hydrated, and that makes toilet visits inevitable on a long flight but you're usually better off visiting the airport toilets close to flight time rather than those on the aircraft. On the same issue, shoes are the correct footwear for toilet visits, barefoot or socks only is a really bad idea. You wouldn't wade into a public toilet barefoot, and the same applies on an aircraft.</p> <p>Water from the aircraft tank is not guaranteed pure since there is a chance that the tank has been refilled at an airport where the water supply is not fit for human consumption. That's the reason there is a warning against drinking the water that comes from the tap inside the aircraft toilet. Tea and coffee served on board might be made using this water, and brewed at a temperature lower than the 75 degrees required to eliminate E.coli, that feisty gastrointestinal gremlin.</p> <p>Stick to drinks from cans and bottles. If you're worried about the sugar content, or the alcohol, soda water is a zero calorie substitute, and you might want to specify no ice.</p> <p>Eating on aircraft carries its own set of risks, not just from the overcooked veggies but from the bacteria and viruses that you might introduce via your mouth.</p> <p>Rhinovirus, the most common virus responsible for colds, as well as the 200-plus other strains of virus that cause colds, can survive for many hours in an aircraft environment.</p> <p>Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium spread by contact and which can cause sores or boils, or more serious complications if it gets into the bloodstream, the lungs or the urinary tract. MRSA can survive for a week in an aircraft environment.</p> <p>E. coli can live for four days. Passengers carrying these bacteria and viruses might have been occupying the seat you're now sitting in, using your remote control for the video screen and eating from the same tray table that you've just flopped open. Even in passing they might grab armrests or seat backs, and that opens the possibility of transmitting whatever it is they're carrying.</p> <p>In order for MRSA, norovirus or any other pathogen to become active and start gnawing at your organism it has to get from your hands or via some other contaminated vector into your mouth. This is most likely to happen when you're eating or drinking, and this is where you can introduce a circuit breaker. The solution is to use a hand sanitiser gel with at least 60 per cent alcohol.</p> <p>Some of the more diligent flyers advocate swabbing your tray table, your armrest and anything else you touch with antiseptic wipes. While that will help keep you safe it also creates a problem. The antibacterial agents triclosan and triclocarban commonly used in these wipes and also in antibacterial soaps are the ones that result in beefier bacteria, the antibiotic resistant superbugs. In the long term these products are doing us more harm than good.</p> <p>An alcohol-based gel is a much better solution if you want to keep your hands absolutely clean, and your travel plans intact.</p> <p>Did you realise this was why flying can make you sick?</p> <p><em>Written Michael Gebicki. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

Why airplanes have wing tips

<p>In a clever marketing move, Qantas has added its logo to airplane winglets, so that every time a passenger snaps a photo from the window, the flying kangaroo will be within frame.</p> <p>But these wing tips have a much more important function than to look good in photos.</p> <p>Winglets, or wing tips, are there to reduce something called vortex drag, Qantas explains in a new blog post.</p> <p>"When an aircraft is flying, air flowing over the top and bottom of the wing creates a long spiral (or, vortex) that forms behind the tip of the wings.</p> <p>"Even though these spirals look pretty impressive, the drag they create isn't ideal.</p> <p>"Drag places additional resistance on an aircraft, which means we need to use more power and burn more fuel to counteract it."</p> <p>By adding winglets, which have only been introduced in recent times, they reduce the amount of air "swirling around at the end of the wing" and reduce the drag.</p> <p>Not only that, but the winglets give the airplane greater stability, leading to a smoother take-off.</p> <p>Savvy planespotters can even identify an airplane by the shape of the winglet.</p> <p>"All of our Boeing 737s have blended winglets which curve up from the end of the wing. Our colleagues over at Jetstar operate similar-sized but Airbus manufactured aircraft called A320s whose winglets are called sharklets," the airline said.</p> <p>"On our A330 and A380 aircraft the wingtip is triangular in shape while on our Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners (the first of which arrives this year) the entire wing is curved up into what is known as a raked wing tip."</p> <p>First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</p>

Travel Tips

The odd reason airplane windows are round

<p>Round windows are as synonymous with air travel as peanuts, turbulence and the in-flight safety demonstration. But have you ever wondered why they’re round?</p> <p>Well, there’s a good reason why this is the case. As a recent article in <a href="http://www.travelandleisure.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Travel + Leisure</span></strong></a> explains, early models of airplanes featured designs with square and rectangular windows, not dissimilar to what you’d expect to see in a home or automobile.</p> <p>In the 1950s, as the commercial jetliner started to rise to popularity and prominence, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140414-crashes-that-changed-plane-design/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">two tragic incidents</span></strong></a> would change the face of aviation design forever.</p> <p>The incidents, in which two planes fell apart mid-air, were examined strenuously by scientists and it was found that the cause was square windows. The sharp corners created natural weak spots, concentrating the stress that was further weakened by the pressure in the air, and at high altitudes this spelt absolute disaster.</p> <p>Curved windowpanes distribute this stress evenly, reducing the likelihood of cracks or breaks occurring. They’re also stronger and more resistant to deformations, allowing them to survive the extreme pressure differences on a flight.</p> <p>So there you have it. Did you realise why plane windows were round?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong> </p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2017/01/passengers-should-be-weighed-for-flights-according-to-fellow-flyers/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Passengers should be weighed for flights, according to fellow flyers</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2017/01/snake-on-a-plane-grounds-emirates-flight/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Snake on a plane grounds Emirates flight</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2017/01/why-passengers-always-board-planes-from-the-left-side/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Why passengers always board planes from the left side</strong></em></span></a></p>

Travel Tips

Bad airplane behaviours that annoys travellers most

<p>What's more annoying when you're on a plane: someone kicking your seat, a screaming child or bad smells? From in-flight yoga to armrest hoggers, there are a lot of things that can frustrate us on flights.</p> <p>However, the number one pet peeve among flyers has been revealed: rear-seat kicking.</p> <p>For the third year in a row, persistent seat kickers have been blasted in an annual survey by travel company Expedia.</p> <p>Sixty-four per cent of travellers say that kicking is the biggest annoyance while inconsiderate parents who let their children run wild came in second with 59 per cent. </p> <p>The survey of 1000 US passengers also found that sitting next to smelly people – be it body odour or strong perfume – also ranked high in the list of irritations.</p> <p>Meanwhile, 35 per cent of people grumbled about passengers who recline their seats fully, with 37 per cent of travellers saying they would ban reclining seats if they had the choice.</p> <p>"The Airplane Etiquette study shows that small acts of decorum can go a long way," John Morrey, vice president and general manager for Expedia.com said.</p> <p>"After all, as it relates to flights, we are quite literally all in this together."</p> <p><strong>Onboard etiquette violators</strong></p> <p>1. The Rear Seat Kicker (cited by 64 per cent of respondents)<br /> 2. Inattentive Parents (59 per cent)<br /> 3. The Aromatic Passenger (55 per cent)<br /> 4. The Audio Insensitive (49 per cent)<br /> 5. The Boozer (49 per cent)<br /> 6. Chatty Cathy (40 per cent)<br /> 7. The Queue Jumper (35 per cent)<br /> 8. Seat-Back Guy (35 per cent)<br /> 9. The Armrest Hog (34 per cent)<br /> 10. Pungent Foodies (30 per cent)<br /> 11. The Undresser (28 per cent)<br /> 12. The Amorous (28 per cent)<br /> 13. The Mad Bladder (22 per cent)<br /> 14. The Single and Ready to Mingle (18 per cent)</p> <p>What’s your biggest pet peeve on a plane? Share in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2017/01/passengers-should-be-weighed-for-flights-according-to-fellow-flyers/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Passengers should be weighed for flights, according to fellow flyers</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2017/01/snake-on-a-plane-grounds-emirates-flight/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Snake on a plane grounds Emirates flight</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2017/01/why-passengers-always-board-planes-from-the-left-side/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Why passengers always board planes from the left side</strong></em></span></a></p>

Travel Tips

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The rise of the whiny air passenger

Why we can’t help eating airplane food

Can flying make you sick?

Why airplanes have wing tips

The odd reason airplane windows are round

Bad airplane behaviours that annoys travellers most