Airline Passenger Found Dead After Jet Lands

A 78-year-old woman died onboard a flight to Salt Lake City, but no one noticed until after the plane landed.

The woman was traveling on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale last weekend. Because of fuel problems, the plane was diverted to Dallas, where it was on the ground for about two hours.

It wasn’t until the plane was on the ground in Salt Lake City and the woman didn’t get out of her seat that the flight crew and other passengers noticed the woman had passed away.

It’s not yet known what time during the trip the woman passed away.

An autopsy is being performed to determine time and cause of death.

Original Article

Airline Passenger Found Dead After Jet Lands

A 78-year-old woman died onboard a flight to Salt Lake City, but no one noticed until after the plane landed.

The woman was traveling on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale last weekend. Because of fuel problems, the plane was diverted to Dallas, where it was on the ground for about two hours.

It wasn’t until the plane was on the ground in Salt Lake City and the woman didn’t get out of her seat that the flight crew and other passengers noticed the woman had passed away.

It’s not yet known what time during the trip the woman passed away.

An autopsy is being performed to determine time and cause of death.

Original Article

Airline ratings helpful when choosing flight

ED PERKINS

A reader recently asked a deceptively simple question, “How can I find which is the best airline?” My short answer: “You can’t.” What makes an airline “best” for some may be of no interest to others. Even so, I can give you some hints as to how to figure out what’s best for you.

Clearly, safety is paramount. Fortunately, there are no significant differences in safety among airlines in the developed world.

Next for most travelers is a combination of price and schedule. To some, the best airline is the one offering the lowest fare; for others, it’s the one with the most convenient schedule.

When fares and schedules are equal, quality comes into play. Here are some ways to judge an airline’s quality.

Fewest problems

The annual Airline Quality Rating is a good measure of how well most of the airlines did in avoiding the troublesome hassles of air travel during the previous year. Numerical scores are a weighted composite of on-time arrivals, denied boardings (“bumped” travelers), mishandled baggage and complaints.

It is prepared by professors at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Wichita State University, and it is based purely on statistics, not subjective surveys. The most recent report indicates that, overall, the industry’s performance was worse in 2005 than in 2004.

The ranking of major U.S. airlines, starting with the best, is JetBlue, AirTran, Southwest, United, America West, Northwest, Continental, Alaska, American, Delta and US Airways.

But I have problems with the methodology. A mathematical approach based on problems tends to overstate the differences in the probability of completing your flight without severe problems.

Best service

Service is subjective, so it must be measured by surveys. And those surveys — often published by slick travel magazines — almost always rank Asian carriers on top.

Overall, those surveys are biased in favor of long-haul international airlines and against domestic U.S. carriers. Almost all airlines, including the U.S. lines, provide better service on long-haul international routes than they do on short-haul domestic routes.

Most comfortable seats

To me, the most important quality factor is the amount of seat space you get in coach or economy class. Fortunately, you can find some useful seating information online. The best known site is www.seatguru.com, which includes data for all major U.S. airlines and a handful of foreign lines. Two newer sites, www.lovemyseat-.com and www.seatexpert.com, include some airlines and features that SeatGuru doesn’t.

Overall favorite

For domestic coach travel, most surveys agree with me that Midwest Signature Service is No. 1 and that JetBlue is No. 2 (but only if you sit in Rows 11-25). Overseas, in economy, I rate Air New Zealand and EVA (Taiwan) on top.

Ed Perkins writes on consumer issues for Tribune Media Services.

eperkins@mind.net

Original Article 

Demand for airline pilots in India

Oklahoma state in the United States – home to hundreds of flying schools is seeing a rise in Indian applicants seeking pilot training.

The surge in application comes as India’s fastest growing airline industry is expected to face a shortage of 4000 pilots in the next ten years.

The desire to take advantage of India’s shortage of pilots is bringing students to flight school in America.

Puneet Nagi, a former second officer in the merchant navy for two years has made a mid-career shift and trains as a pilot.

“I always wanted to be a pilot but it was too expensive and it did not make sense then, that’s about 5 years ago but now the job market is good and I am making the most of the boom,” said the 26-year old trainee.

Training costs

Training in India costs between Rs 11-13 lakh and a similar program in the US costs about $ 33,000 or about Rs 15 lakh.

A commercial pilot license is issued in five months in the US and in India it takes a year.

Flight schools are currently looking at India as a serious market.

“When we look at the Indian market … we have incorporated all the DGCA requirements. They [applicants] only have to go back and take one exam,” said Frederico Rosendo, Admissions Officer with Riverside Flight School.

Those who train in the US choose to work there for a while only to repay loans they took to fund their training.

But students say job opportunities and the big money is only at home.

“There is a boom on in India and you want to be where the boom is,” says Nagi.

“Here [US] you have to start on a small airline but in India you can get an airline job and big aircraft.”

As the airline industry in the US is ailing, starting salaries for pilots in India is Rs 1.5 lakh a month.

Flight student Saurav Nagpal says, “if you spend Rs 15 lakh on the program that money could be recovered in the next few years”.

Visa hurdles

Getting your money back may be guaranteed but a visa to study in the US is not.

Since the 9/11 attacks, non-US citizens who apply to US flight schools have to undergo a security threat assessment, which includes finger printing at the sheriff’s office on arrival before one can have clearance to fly.

Many Indian parents wanted their child to be a doctor or an engineer – but making them into pilots seems to be the new Indian dream.

Original Article