The Flight Detective, Author at TravelUpdate

Ryanair roast Irish Government travel policy in this job ad on LinkedIn

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 19, 2020 | Airlines, News | 0

The Irish Government has a so called green list of countries for the pandemic. These are ones you can travel to without having to quarantine upon return. Since the original green list was published, it has been updated just once. Countries were removed and others were added recently and it still features very few countries. This has not helped to add anything to air travel to and from Ireland, which remains far below other European countries. An Irish Government Job? Ryanair tend to advertise their job postings on LinkedIn as many businesses do. Swinging by the site, I discovered...

Can anyone guess how old the Aer Lingus reservations computer system is?

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 19, 2020 | Airlines, Technology | 0

Computers are used in all aspects of our lives today, and we all carry one around with us in the form of a mobile phone. Airlines use them too and the Aer Lingus reservations computer system is called ASTRAL. Aviation people have long mentioned in passing that ASTRAL is an older system, however I was unaware of how old until recently. Make your best guess and read on to see if you got it right. Old Tech – But It Works You might not know it, but the airline industry still relies on a lot of old technology on...

British Airways First Class seats getting privacy doors from October

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 18, 2020 | Airlines, News | 0

About a year and a half ago, British Airways announced a new business class seat called the Club Suite. These feature privacy doors, giving the airline an up to date and on trend product offering. First class, which does not have any kind of door, was not updated at the same time. Depending on your perspective, you could argue the Club Suite is better than first class. Not having tried the new business class seat, I couldn’t say which one is better, but I daresay first class comes out ahead. Privacy Doors Come To First Class Head For Points...

Would you go on a flight to nowhere, as airlines are now doing?

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 17, 2020 | Airlines | 2

People seem to really miss flying. So much so that some airlines have cottoned on to this fact and are very successfully selling passengers a flight to nowhere. This is exactly what it says. You leave your local airport, fly around, and land right back where you started. Sounds pretty good to me, and here’s why. A Flight To Nowhere Australia’s Qantas offered a flight to nowhere, on board one of their Boeing 787 Dreamliners. All of the seats sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale. The plane isn’t just going out over the ocean and back...

Playing the waiting game with my Qatar Airways flights to Sydney

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 14, 2020 | Airlines | 10

I think it’s time for people to start placing bets on when and if I will get home to Sydney as I’m now playing the waiting game. After finally getting agreement from my employer, I switched my flight dates with Qatar Airways and everything was fine. Until the final segment from Auckland to Sydney on LATAM was cancelled. This means the entire trip is all confirmed except the last piece. Perhaps I should canoe across the Tasman Sea? What Is Happening? Qatar Airways are not selling tickets to Australia between now and 17 December. You can happily purchase tickets...

Does anyone remember the Soviet Tupolev Tu-124?

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 13, 2020 | Airlines | 6

The Tupolev Tu-124 was a short-range twin jet airliner that first flew on 29 March 1960. Powered by two Soloviev D-20P turbofan engines, it is a smaller derivative of the Tupolev Tu-104, designed to seat up to 44 passengers on domestic services. Aeroflot put the aircraft into service from 2 October 1962 and two other airlines bought it new, East Germany’s Interflug and Czechoslovakia’s CSA. It could fly as far as 2,100 kilometres (1,300 miles) with maximum fuel and a 3,000 kilogram payload. Tupolev Tu-124 Video Following on from the last video about the de Havilland Dragon Rapide, this...

The Tiger Gang and the Hijackers – children’s books aren’t like this anymore!

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 12, 2020 | Airlines | 0

Children’s books have always been full of adventure, as far back as Enid Blyton with her Famous Five, Secret Seven and Adventure books. By the time the 1970s rolled around, some books were quite topical, like The Tiger Gang and the Hijackers. The author, Dafne Bidwell, seems to have had an adventurous life herself. She was born in England, grew up in Ireland, joined the British Secret Service (MI6) and operated in Asia, lived in Malaysia and finally settled in Australia. The Tiger Gang And The Hijackers What is the book about? Well, the back cover blurb puts it...

Why did British charter airlines number all the seats sequentially?

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 11, 2020 | Airlines | 2

While doing some research, I stumbled across an interesting fact. Back in the 1970s, British charter airlines would number all the seats sequentially from one onwards. If you flew on something like a Dan-Air Comet 4 for example, you would experience this. This is different to the accepted practice we are used to, where seats are designated by numbers and letters. You find your row number and your seat is one of the letters. British Charter Airlines Seat Maps For starters, apparently British charter airlines originally had no assigned seating. The letter below painstakingly points out that seats are...

Flights are cheap on British Airways right now, but should you book?

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 10, 2020 | Airlines | 4

Airline pricing right now is pretty remarkable. Flights are cheap for travel well into 2021, which is extremely tempting. The only problem is, should you go ahead and book considering the current restrictions? It’s a bit of a conundrum, but with a bit of research, you should be able to make an informed decision. I would be of the view to book now, lock in the pricing and worry later and here’s why. Which Flights Are Cheap? British Airways have some extremely good fares at the moment. Heading from Dublin to London? Well, you can get that for €60...

What is flying during the pandemic really like in Europe?

Posted by The Flight Detective | Sep 9, 2020 | Airlines, Commentary | 2

Flying during the pandemic is something that people are not doing as readily as before. A combination of government travel restrictions, fear, government advice and changes to people’s personal circumstances means jumping on a plane is less common right now. I recently completed four flights in Europe, travelling on three airlines through four airports. Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of flying right now. Flying During The Pandemic – The Good Travelling with hand baggage and getting your boarding pass on your phone is encouraged to reduce human interaction. What is also great is...