Benvenuto a a bordo del nostro volo AZ 501 da Bucarest a Roma

Ok people. Next flight at the end of this month. I bought the ticket to Warsaw where I’ll be living almost 6 months. Multiple destinations, 2 stop-overs in Italy, at deparure and at return and a very great fare from Alitalia. No low-cost, but probably the most un-serious European airline …when it’s about canceling flights because of different strikes.
Hope there will not be any …in the days I’m traveling.

New cathegory in this blog

I made a new cathegory in this blog. For those of you that are interested just in “Airlines and Aircrafts” …

The “superjumbo” it’s flying

The superjumbo Airbus A380 made its first appearance in Germany, drawing 150,000 spectators to watch it take to the air in the northern city of Hamburg. The plane is able to carry on board till 840 passengers … depending on it’s seat confoguration.

(AFP)

(AP)

Romanians took film prizes in Copenhagen

Best Film:
LIVE AND BECOME
Directors: Radu Mihaileanu
Country: France/Israel

Best Actor:
IOAN FISCUTEANU
Film: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Country: Rumania

Best Script:
RADU MIHAILEANU
Film: Live and Become
Country: France /Israel

Grand Prix du Jury:
THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU
Directors: Cristi Puiu
Country: Rumania

Delays … on low cost flights to Romania

Almost 270 passengers were delayed this weekend at their arrival on Bucharest Baneasa International Airport.
It is about the flight 8I 2600 of Italian home-based company Myair from Venice to Bucharest. The time timebale was 06.45 (departure from Venice – Italian time) and 09.40 (arrival in Bucharest – Romanian time). All 142 passengers arrived finally in Romania at 22.00 in the same day. This is not the first incident of Myair. A similar delayed had a flight on the route Bucharest-Milan in May 2005. Myair is ussing just Airbus A320 aircrafts.
Blue Air flight JOR108, from Barcelona Reus to Bucharest had a 30 hours delayed after a bird got in one of the engines at the landing on Barcelona Airpot. The 128 passengers had to spend one night at the hotel (paid by Blue Air) while the plane was being repaired. The passengers were asked to arrive in the airport on the next morning for a departure around 8am. They had to spend 12 hours in the airport till the plane got Spanish Civil Aviation Authority’s permission of flying. The plane arrived in Bucharest Saturday night.
This is not the first delay of a Blue Air plane. This is the first important problem of Blue Air from its launching in December 2004. There was some 2-5 hours delays caused by the bad weather on some international airports operated by the company or caused by a bomb threaten on Rome Ciampino airport (when the plane was redirected on Rome Fiumicino). Blue Air is ussing just Boeing 737 aircrafts.

Blue Air - launchings season

Ok ok… in the last three days, Blue Air announced new things. After launching the new flight to Madrid, now they are preparing for one to Bratislava (60 km away from Vienna). Probably the intention was to fly directly to Vienna, but for those that don’t know Vienna International Airport it’s the second expensive European airport, after Schiphol in Amsterdam. Taxes are around 100 euros. So, low cost tickets ask for low cost airport fees.

And also, Blue Air brought a third aircraft, a Boeing 737-300 with 136 passengers’ capacity. The aircraft is already flying over the Europeans skies, but for the moment it is not “branded”. The company intends to do this and they need help: design contest and you can win two free tickets on the company flights.

Its my birthday …

Even my birthday it is tomorrow, last night I had a kind of party with some friends. There should also Adela (she’s in the US) and George (in a small holiday). And of course my best friend Zack that couldn’t make it . Anyway, beers and some pizza will be in Naples around 25 September to celebrate my birthday.

Presents. Everything I’ve received were things I liked . Let’s see: an album with the planes of the World War II, a book by Bukowski - somebody said its a pervert book, a lamp - orange lamp, orange paper and orange envelops, and a Romanian traditional shirt for men. And stay too … coming up more in the next days
Anyway, thanks everybody for coming.

ps. sorry that the Italian rise didn’t went well. Next time I’ll be more careful.

Peruvian air crash

A Boeing 737-200 of TANS airliner, carrying 100 people crashed Tuesday near a jungle town while attempting an emergency landing in a storm, killing at least 37 people. The pilot tried to land in a marsh, but the impact split the aircraft in two, a regional official said. The Boeing 737 went down near the Pucallpa and it should be landing on that airport. Because of the strong wind the pilot said he will not be able to reach the airport. The plane crashed in two parts after the impact.

At this time (8:30 a.m. Romanian time) all 57 survivors are treated in the hospitals. There are 37 killed. on board was a young child (for the moment no press agency announced its age) and is one of the survivors.

This is the second crash in TANS history. On January 10, 2003 another Peruvian airliner of TANS carrying 46 people, including eight children, disappeared amid cloud-covered mountains in the Amazon jungle. Heavy rain hampered the search effort.

Queen of the week

This is the queen of the week. After three days of testing it its working perfectly and I declare it able to work … starting tomorrow.
Talking about work … my holiday it is over, I like it or not. No plane trips, no swim, no going to the beach. Starting tomorrow I’ll have to work hard to start and to finish two websites, to manage some projects and also I have to find the cheapest way to send in Poland two big packs with books and clothes.

Also I will have to search for plane tickets on line for Warsaw (via Italy). Probably two low cost companies: My air - Sky Europe or My air - Central Wings. Anyway … there are 4 weeks till my leaving and too many things to be done.

So… hard work:

Virus atack on the server

In the last 48 hours my website and my blog were down and it couldnt be view on line. There was a virus atack on the server that host both, my site and blog. Now the problem was solved and here I am back… to surf and to tell people what I see around (hopefuly not any plane crash - this summer plane crashes were enought for 10 years now on).

New flight Bucharest Baneasa (BBU) - Madrid Bajaras (MAD)

Starting November 2, low-cost airline Blue Air launch a new flight from Bucharest (Baneasa Airport) to Madrid. There are 2 flights every week.

Timetable
WEDNESDAY
BBU - MAD (12.55 - 16.05) - 4h10min
MAD - BBU ( 17.10 - 21.45) - 3h35min

SATURDAY
BBU - MAD (07.40 - 10.50) - 4h10min
MAD - BBU ( 11.25 - 16.00) - 3h35min.

A round trip price starts at 3.100.000 Lei (310 New Lei, almost 89 EURO) - I calculate this price choosing November 16 (departure date) and November 26 (coming back day). For the same dates … TAROM offer is: 12.600.000 Lei (1260 New Lei - almost 360 EURO).

Both fares include taxes:
Blue Air 49 EURO
TAROM 60 EURO

West Caribbean Airways - plane crash in Venezuela

A West Caribbean Airways (WCA) airplane crashed on August 16, 400km near Caracas (Venezuela). The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft was flying from Panama to the French Caribbean island of Martinique and came down after suffering engine problems. All 160 people on boar died.

Investigation started and till now all the facts show that there was just the technical problems. And not only of the crashed aircraft, but on other aircrafts too. There are many complains about the fly safety and other issues, complains comming from passengers that used WCA services. A CNN report said that the crashed aircraft was involved in two other incidents this year but was not checked more than few hours.

You can read a full coverage reports on this theme on news.yahoo.com

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 - WCA

The MD-82 is part of the MD-80 line of planes, which has been in commercial service since October 1980. MD-80s were produced in Long Beach, California, until 1999. The MD stands for McDonnell Douglas, the company that produced the planes before it merged with Boeing in 1997.

Passenger capacity: 152 to 172
Maximum range: 2,052 nautical miles (3,798 kilometers)
Maximum takeoff weight: 149,500 pounds (67,812 kilograms)

Length: 147 feet, 8 inches (32.8 meters)
Wingspan: 107 feet, 8 inches (45.1 meters)
Tail height: 29 feet, 6 inches (9.05 meters)

Source: Boeing

Helios Airways - plane crash - 121 died (3)

Another incident happend on February 4th, when a Helios Airways Boeing 737 en route from Larnaca to London’s Luton Airport was struck by lightning as it was approaching Paphos Airport where it was scheduled to make a stopover to pick up more passengers. The aircraft was slightly damaged and unable to continue its journey to London.

Helios Airways also operate a flyght from Bucharest (Henri Coanda Airport) to Larnaca, Cyprus.

Helios Airways - plane crash - 121 died (2)

This is the news from Greek National television website (www.ert.gr):

It Crashed Near Grammatiko
Tragedy on Air
14 Aug 2005 12:02:00 (Last updated: 14 Aug 2005 15:21:10)

By Vivian Papastefanou

A Cypriot airliner with 115 passengers and a six-member crew on board crashed shortly after 12pm in an inaccessible area 2 kilometres off Grammatikos north-east of Athens. The plane, which was en route from Larnaca in Cyprus to Prague with a stopover at Athens, was to land at Athens international airport at 12:20 pm. As soon as Eleftherios Venizelos control tower lost contact with the plane, two Greek F16 fighter jets immediately took off and located the plane flying over the island of Kea. The pilots of the fighter jets kept calling the Cypriot plane, but there was no response. The F-16 pilots also said the co-pilot was not in the cockpit, and the pilot seemed unconscious. It was also made known that shortly after its takeoff the plane was experiencing air-conditioning problems. Rescue teams, ambulances and fire engines have rushed on the site. Earlier, the mayor of the town of Grammatikos told NET that there was a rekindling at the tragedy scene and that the strong gales prevent the putting out of the fire.

Violent Crash

As per flash evidence, the crash is due to mechanical failure, thus ruling out the likelihood of hijacking.

Cypriot Transport Minister confirmed that the plane had presented cabin pressure problems in the past and therefore it had stopped operating for quite some time.

The president of the committee that investigates plane crashes, Akrivos Tsolakis, said a failure in the air-conditioning system is highly probable and voiced his belief that the cabin might experience a sharp pressure loss.

The majority of the people on board were Greek-Cypriots, while the list with the names of passengers and crewmembers will be made public as soon as their relatives are informed. Public Order Ministry sources reported that 59 grown-ups and eight children were to get off at Athens airport, while 46 grown-ups and two children were heading for Prague.

Eyewitness Giannis Peppas, an Olympic Airways employee, told NET television that the crash was violent and its debris have been scattered everywhere and he deemed that there are no survivors

On his part, Marathonas Mayor Vagelis Mexis said that the authorities have been mobilised.

Helios Airways - plane crash - 121 died

A Boeing 737 with 115 passengers and 6 crew members crashed near Athens, with some minutes before landing on Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”. As a CNN.COM report says, the Greek gouvernment said there are no survivors.

Flight 552, flying from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague (with a stop-over in Athens)lost the connection with traffic control tower.

Here two links to CNN and BBC reports:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/08/14/greece.crash/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4150312.stm

Beautiful sunday!

I suppose that Sundays are those days when you are happy because you have nothing to do! Not my situation today. I have to write my article for my weekly IT column and to think at a design for a coffee shop website. Also I want to try to make the template for the website with the airlines … you know my passion for the planes, traveling and stuff like this. But, outside is cloudy and this makes me sleepy and I am feeling a bit bored.

Bucharest is cloudy

And the cat is bored too… she doesn’t want to play … But yesterday she was very playful. See he video bellow.

Video 1 (5.5M) Video 2 (5.3M) Video 3 (9M)

We don’t want on the ground!

Talking about cats… The cat that is one my flat mates experienced new “sensations” today trying to climb the shelf. She was so bored by the carpet. Here are some photos with the cat.

Today I have discovered Google Earth, software that allows you to see by satellite any region of the Erath. I tried to see much closed Bucharest, but the image was not very clear, so I’ve took just a panoramic view of our “lovely” capital. Athens was much clear and if you look closely you will be able to see the ancient ruins of the city.

Bucharest

Athens

Ciao Romania!

Aurel Vlaicu International Airport. It was almost midnight when Blue Air’s Boeing 737-300 landed. Even it took of from Rome with a delay of 15 minutes we arrived at Bucharest earlier than the official schedule (00:00). Nice flight, good landing.

I don’t like I am back at all but with all this it’s seems my holiday it’s over. Serious things to do now and I think I will start tomorrow by buying a public transport subscription.

I have one month and a half till my living for Poland. Till then I have some projects to finish – a book, my website and two other web sites. I have to go to take my visa, to buy a plane tickets, to book from now a plane ticket for Christmas holiday and to see if I can find a laptop at not a very high price (this will stop the era of using-other-people-laptop).

And also maybe I’ll start working at the airlines web site project.

This is all folks.

Flight delayed? Get free accommodation.

Even you are flying with traditional companies, even with low cost one there is the possibility to find out at a moment that your flight has been delayed or cancelled. And if it is evening or even night the problem is bigger. If the airport doesn’t have a hotel in the neighbourhood then the all you have to do is to put your luggage at the wall and then to lied down on the pavement. Be sure that you can feel when somebody will try to take your luggage – use them as a pillow.

This type of people is making a new category of travellers: AIRPORT SLEEPERS.

There is a website dedicated to them: www.sleepinginairports.net.
On this website I found out that the best airport in the world (sleeping and “living”) is Singapore Changi Airport. Its competitors are the airports from Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong, Auckland (New Zeeland) and Seoul Incheon (South Korea).

The worst airport is Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) … an airport in which one of our contributors witnessed 7 seven being killed in a gang shoot-out. In the same category are:

Boston
Why? Terrorists are strangely attracted to it, most seats have armrests, air-conditioning is bitterly cold even at times when it is not required, chapel locks up at night, lots of security announcements

Paris, Charles de Gaulle International Airport
Why? CDG is on the verge of becoming the worst airport simply because it is suppose to be a first class airport worthy of a first class city. Instead, even third world nations would reject it. The citizens of France are astonished and ashamed of its poor state. Reasons: dirty, ugly, rude staff, inconvenient, expensive food, plastic seating with armrests, steal benches, noise, mean security, high air-conditioning, homeless people, “What a dump”, dogs piss and shit on the floor

About Bucharest Otopeni Airport …. Uppppssss…. Sorry! About Bucharest “Henri Coanda” International Airport are different opinions:

Both floors have toilets which are pretty clean. There are armchairs with little tables attached to them. Heating is swithched on at 8pm so you won’t get cold. Cleaning happens at night so don’t be surprised if suddenly a noisy vacuumcleaner awakens you. (year: 2004)

… the seats on the airport have armrests, making it necessary to sleep on the floor. There is one other option. The seats have small tables attached to them so if they are re-arranged, the tables make (sort of) small plateaus on which you can sleep. The floor still is your best option though. The heating works and is turned quite high, so do not fear of being cold. (year: 2000)

Read them at : www.sleepinginairports.net/europe/bucharest.htm .

I will start a new project

Soon this blog will become an aviation-airline-travelers blog. It’s not good. So, I decided that it’s better to create a web site with news and information about airlines around the world. being a big project i will start with Europe. I will not say a date when I will offer some first pages but … it’s a project that I want to start as soon as possible.

« Previous Entries