We had a few hours between flights but the time went by fast enough.

“He s heard all their excuses and chased all their gooses” and after a year they didn’t pay. Over 3 million views and counting! A great song.

Southwest Airlines Co. inspected about 200 planes overnight after a football-sized hole opened up in the passenger cabin of a jet in flight, forcing an emergency landing in West Virginia.
From the Globe and Mail

This reminds me of my most recent travels.

When I was leaving Calgary a week and a bit ago to return to Kuwait our departure was delayed because the plane was hit by lightning on the landing. The British Airways pilot came into the departure lounge and fully explained the process being followed. He noted that he didn’t want to stay on the plane because due to an unrelated problem the on the ground air conditioning wasn’t working so it was too hot on the plane so he would stick around if there were any questions or concerns from the passengers.

He said that because the plane was hit by lighting they have to inspect the plane to find out where it was hit and what if any damage was done. I thought that planes were hit by lighting all the time and didn’t know it was such a big deal. That is what they have been saying about the Air France flight that was lost over the Atlantic recently.

Then about 45 minutes later he said they found the hole. It was a pencil sized hole near the rear of the plane. And he said now they had to give the news to the head office in London and possibly even a photo to London and maybe even have to consult with Boeing to get the OK to fly.

Oh and he said don’t worry he wouldn’t get on the plan if it wasn’t safe.

So about another hour later the news came back that the hole was in an unpressurized area of the plane and wasn’t a concern. So we were good to go.

On the plane I was lucky to seat in an exit row. This often means you will be face to face with the flight attendant. She was very helpful in all ways. The service was very good. I told her that the delay would be no problem for her and she said well they don’t get overtime anymore. Part of cost cutting these days.

I have been flying BA from Kuwait to Canada and was wondering why I have so few points.

I fly so called discounted flights — as everyone does if paying themselves. Normal people don’t fly full fare economy or other expensive fares which cost at least double the price. My fare is 460 KWD (1855 CAD) now as it is summer season and when I went to Canada in March in low season it was 315 KWD (1270 CAD). The airlines take advantage of the busy seasons by raising fares — as if we can change the dates of summer school holidays to get cheaper flights.

Bottom line, you only get 25% of the mileage when not flying on an expensive fare.

Each round trip from Kuwait to Calgary earns 3626 miles. And it would cost me 80,000 miles to get a free ticket to Calgary. So after 22 round trips I could get a free flight. Therefore, if I fly a couple flights a year in 11 years I can fly for free once!

And so much for getting enough points for access to lounges etc. You get exactly zero of what they call tier points towards getting status to access lounges etc. unless you are flying an expensive fare.

American Airlines is a partner with BA but I had a quick look and I think they are just as un-generous with their pseudo-reward program for frequent fliers.

Not much of a reward for loyalty. The only plus for BA is they have a much better bag policy than Lufthansa and others. They allow two bags up to 23 kg each and one carry on plus a laptop bag. Oh and don’t go a kilo over in Calgary on the luggage, they will make you reduce the weight of the bag.

And their food in economy is better than I recall from Lufthansa or Air Canada.

Oh and have you ever seen an airline commercial showing the people sardined into economy class. No only businessmen or families in First or Business. How often can families fly business?

End of my venting now.

I’ve always said that you never see an airline commercial on TV showing the coach section!

What’s interesting is that the seat squeeze means discount airlines now offer more generous seat-pitch then their competitors. You get at least 34 inches of space in each row of a JetBlue A320, including the seat (the seat pitch, in industry parlance). At Southwest, seat pitch is 32-33 inches in 737s. But at American, United, Delta, Continental and others, seat-pitch is standardizing down at 31 inches in domestic coac

From The Consumerist

British Museum – Shah ‘Abbas.

Via The Travel Photographer

Both flights were BA so the transfer was via the new Heathrow Terminal 5. However, I was not overly impressed by the terminal. It is a bit of a maze of escalators getting off the plane so you need to take care of where you are headed. Then there was a short train ride from the B & C part of the terminal to the main A section of the terminal. Once arriving in A there was a 15 minute wait for the security. This was annoying. It seems like they designed the layout of the terminal before security became such an issue. So lining up with the crowd was organized but very congested. This was when the terminal was not very busy. In peak times it could be a mess, with a long line down the hallway. So if you go via T5 lookout.

Well on the way back to Kuwait I’ve got a 9 hour stopover, so I’ll probably just go into London for a few hours to do something.

At least in the waiting area there are many shops including a Pret a Manger which is in most of the Heathrow terminals. Their sandwiches are very good. Whole wheat and even with bacon if you crave such a flavour after coming out of the Middle East.

The flight London to Calgary was smooth. It left an hour late due to some cargo mixup but the flying time was an hour less. We had amazing views of Greenland. I’ve never seen it like that. The snow, huge glaciers, mountain valleys and cliffs descending to the frozen water.

And finally we arrived in Calgary after holding for about 20 minutes for a landing spot. Arrival through customs was fast and then it was out to the parking lot in the -12 degree weather.

2) Please control your children. Do not allow kids to kick the seat in front of them.

I had the kid behind me bumping for most of the flight to Kuwait. I asked him once to stop, but he’s just a kid (about 12 years old and not slim).

The rest of the points are from:
Flying With Fish: The “Jetiquette” Card : Passenger Etiquette Revisited

Then it is time to fly into Kuwait.

Apparently the last week it has been sunny in Kuwait and it is only today that it is dusty.

We didn’t dock at a gateway, we had to board a bus to the terminal. Same in Dubai, as there is so much construction going on.