#176992 - 26/08/2003 11:55
Air India
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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I am thinking of going to London at the end or September and am currently looking for airline deals. Air India has the lowest rate from NY at $374 roud trip (tax included). Now, I am not trying to bash Indians, but if anyone flew this airline would you fly it again? I ask because most of the Air India planes I see on runways look like they're in distress.
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-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#176993 - 26/08/2003 12:07
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Take consolation in the fact that they made it to the runway. 
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~ John
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#176994 - 26/08/2003 12:20
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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I am thinking of going to London at the end or September
Bring more $10 cameras!
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#176995 - 26/08/2003 13:28
Re: Air India
[Re: JBjorgen]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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OK, I'm scared now:
http://www.epinions.com/content_101914545796
People always throw up on AI. Most airlines will clean it. Air India (Happened all 3 times) does not even mop. They put newspaper OVER the vomit. The flight attendants seem content to do this, and they move their food carts over the newspaper/vomit, and people walk right over it. It smells so bad during the entire flight. This WILL happen to you. It seems paying 3 times as much for a normal airline is worth it.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#176996 - 26/08/2003 13:39
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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It seems paying 3 times as much for a normal airline is worth it.
Air Safety Online agrees with you. 4.89 fatal accidents per million = an "F" grade.
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#176997 - 26/08/2003 13:40
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Hmm... reading the other reviews, it seems they consider it a pro if they simply survive the flight. I'd stay clear!
Lets hope you don't need to use the toilet either!
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#176998 - 26/08/2003 14:42
Re: Air India
[Re: tonyc]
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addict
Registered: 24/07/2003
Posts: 500
Loc: Colorado, N.A.
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Wow. Check out the numbers for "Cubana." Think Castro flies commercial?
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-- DLF
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#176999 - 26/08/2003 14:50
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Also, the fact that two separate reviewers listed as a Pro that ``I didn't die'' can't be good.
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Bitt Faulk
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#177000 - 26/08/2003 14:57
Re: Air India
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Also, the fact that two separate reviewers listed as a Pro that ``I didn't die'' can't be good. Yes. That is definitely a bad sign. I was on Spirit Air in February and had similar feelings. The crew simply didn't give a shi t about anything. We were landing with tray tables down, seatbacks back, and flight attendants still roaming the aisles. The plane was pretty old and all of their equipment was cast-offs from other airlines (carts had Continental badging on them). I would probably fly them again though. The fare was very cheap and everyone working for them was extremely nice.
It seems Virgin Atlantic has a web fare on orbitz for $617 round trip. Seems like a better deal since I will not be fearing my life or being surrounded by human waste.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#177001 - 26/08/2003 14:59
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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And I'm told by an Englishman who flies Virgin all the time that they're a really great ariline.
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#177002 - 26/08/2003 15:07
Re: Air India
[Re: tfabris]
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addict
Registered: 24/07/2003
Posts: 500
Loc: Colorado, N.A.
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I've heard the same, specifically in comparison to British Air. And $617 doesn't actually sound bad, relatively speaking.
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-- DLF
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#177003 - 26/08/2003 17:09
Re: Air India
[Re: DLF]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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I've flown a lot on British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Virgin and they've all been excellent. I've had no troubles at all on any of them. Try to get one of the newer 747s though as it's much nicer and the seats are more comfortable.
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#177004 - 26/08/2003 18:11
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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member
Registered: 06/04/2000
Posts: 158
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Rob
I travel a lot in my job, and I would definitely put AI well ahead of, er, Baghdad Regional Air. I've been on worse (the time where a number of passengers demanded to be let off a Mandala Air flight after they'd had two attempts at taking off comes to mind), but I would definitely go out of my way to choose another carrier over AI.
Have you looked at maybe Air France or Lufthansa to go with a change in Paris/Frankfurt ? This can often be cheaper transatlantic, but of course there's an extra few hours for the transfer.
Regards
Mark
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#177005 - 26/08/2003 18:15
Re: Air India
[Re: MarkH]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Have you looked at maybe Air France or Lufthansa to go with a change in Paris/Frankfurt ? I will try that. I may also wait for some last minute deals. Air India is definitely out of contention now.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#177006 - 26/08/2003 18:37
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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Don't forget Icelandic Air either. The change is somewhat easier that Lufthansa - Reykjavik's airport only has about 8 gates, all right next to each other. Frankfurt has 2 terminals and they aren't the easiest to navigate either. I discovered this when I flew LHR <-> Boston via Frankfurt and had to change terminals.
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Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
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#177007 - 26/08/2003 18:59
Re: Air India
[Re: genixia]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Iceland air was one of the first I checked. Surprisingly, they are at least $1,300.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#177008 - 26/08/2003 20:07
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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Ouch. I guess you're not going to do that then!
_________________________
Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
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#177009 - 27/08/2003 01:31
Re: Air India
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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I had a really dodgy cup of tea on British Airways once (the flight was Athens to London, and the only "milk" was a small pot labelled only in Greek, which in retrospect was almost certainly cream of goat's milk, a popular coffee whitener in Greece). The US airlines I've been on (United, Delta, American) have always served really nice cups of tea.
Peter
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#177010 - 27/08/2003 01:41
Re: Air India
[Re: tonyc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Air Safety Online agrees with you.
Gotta love that dry terminology: "full loss equivalent events".
I guess they mean "deaths".
_________________________
-- roger
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#177011 - 27/08/2003 02:57
Re: Air India
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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And I'm told by an Englishman who flies Virgin all the time that they're a really great ariline.
That could have been me! the staff always seem to have a nice friendly approach and to be better motivated than say BA. A friend of mine was on one of their flights when Branson came round and had a chat to everybody.
In short for the price and the flying experience, I always try and get a Virgin flight.
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#177012 - 27/08/2003 05:54
Re: Air India
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Gotta love that dry terminology: "full loss equivalent events".
I guess they mean "deaths". You say potato...
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#177013 - 27/08/2003 06:55
Re: Air India
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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I'm always trying to keep up my Continental elite status, so I tend to fly them or their code-shares on other airlines. One time, on a trip to Poland, my return flight connected through London and I was on a Virgin Atlantic plane. Wow. It was really a superior experience, as much as any airline can be better than any other airline. I'd blown a ton of miles to upgrade myself with Continental, and that upgrade got me into Virgin's fancy lounge, where I had a very nice complementary omlette and orange juice for breakfast. If I'd gotten there earlier, I could have signed up for a complementary massage, but it seems the masseuse was all booked up. On the flight, the seats weren't anything particularly novel, but they'd make your food, to order, when you wanted it. Also, the safety video was a clever and entertaining animation, rather than the usual dry, boring safety dance. When's the last time you saw credits at the end of a safety video?
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#177014 - 27/08/2003 07:11
Re: Air India
[Re: DWallach]
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old hand
Registered: 20/07/1999
Posts: 1102
Loc: UK
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I've only flown with Virgin once, on a trip to/from Orlando, and I'd agree it was probably the nicest flight experience I've had to date.
pca
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Experience is what you get just after it would have helped...
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#177015 - 27/08/2003 08:35
Re: Air India
[Re: pca]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Agreed - Virgin and Quantas have really nice first class/business class deals.
Although for a slightly different experience - Royal Brunei are kind of fun. They bless every takeoff and the in flight screens show the direction of Mecca at all times. They don't serve alcohol, but provide a vast selection of foods and other drinks.
Grand fun. Probably not useful in the western hemisphere though.
_________________________
Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#177016 - 28/08/2003 05:22
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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My wife once flew Air India from London to NY. She will never do it again.
Stump up the extra $$ and fly BA. They seem to have some good offers at the moment (I just got back from NY - cost me £250)
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Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
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#177017 - 28/08/2003 05:25
Re: Air India
[Re: genixia]
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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Icelandic Air could be cheap as a new budget serivce has just started from Reykjavik to London Stansted
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#177018 - 28/08/2003 06:05
Re: Air India
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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I've been on a Virgin flight and Richard Branson came round and had a chat to everybody. I've got his autograph somewhere at home. It was flight to NY I believe and was pretty long but he talked to people most of the time.
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#177019 - 28/08/2003 06:08
Re: Air India
[Re: peter]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Yeah. They stock up the galley with supplies from your departure airport so you sometimes end up with bizarre brands.. When I flew from Greece with BA it was fine. Luckily I don't actually like tea (Yes, shocking that I'm English and don't like tea  ) and the food seemed okay. I still to this day can't quite work out what it was, tasted quite nice though.
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#177020 - 28/08/2003 06:25
Re: Air India
[Re: tman]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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I've been on a Virgin flight and Richard Branson came round and had a chat to everybody
That puts me in second place! -I only know someone, instead of being the person!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#177021 - 28/08/2003 06:49
Re: Air India
[Re: tman]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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Yeah. They stock up the galley with supplies from your departure airport so you sometimes end up with bizarre brands.
European countries produce some of the funniest sounding products, such as Spunk Chocolate, Fanny Biscuits, Wank Cake etc. (not real examples) There's a site with photos but I can't for the life of me find it right now.
Gareth
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#177022 - 28/08/2003 06:53
Re: Air India
[Re: g_attrill]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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I did find this while in Italy the other year:
/tn/117-1766_IMG.med.JPG)
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-- roger
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#177023 - 28/08/2003 08:45
Re: Air India
[Re: g_attrill]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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I've got a can of Pis beer somewhere
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#177024 - 28/08/2003 09:30
Re: Air India
[Re: robricc]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 02/06/2000
Posts: 1996
Loc: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Whatever airline you go with, here's an experience I wish you don't have. (Nope, I wasn't onboard - and am quite happy for that...)
/Michael
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/Michael
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#177025 - 28/08/2003 09:34
Re: Air India
[Re: mtempsch]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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here's an experience I wish you don't have
That looks expensive. I'd heard about that incident, but I didn't know the plane took that much damage.
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-- roger
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#177026 - 28/08/2003 10:49
Re: Air India
[Re: mtempsch]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Holy cow, is that from hail stones? How did the plane's engines manage to survive that? I would have figured there'd be nothing left of the compressor blades.
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#177027 - 28/08/2003 10:57
Re: Air India
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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How did the plane's engines manage to survive that?
I'm not sure about the specifics, but jet engines are required by the FAA to withstand hail ingestion.
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-- roger
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#177028 - 28/08/2003 11:06
Re: Air India
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 02/06/2000
Posts: 1996
Loc: Gothenburg, Sweden
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The turbine blades are made from a lot tougher stuff than the flimsy alumin(i)um the aircraft skin is made of. Probably special alloy steel vs alumin(i)um.
Edit.
Interesting charts of bird weight vs engine size requirements here.
/Michael
Edited by mtempsch (28/08/2003 11:10)
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/Michael
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#177029 - 28/08/2003 11:35
Re: Air India
[Re: mtempsch]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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I recommend Virgin too, i've only flown to the US twice, both times on Virgin and the experience was much nicer than the BA shuttles that I'm used to.
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#177030 - 29/08/2003 02:28
Re: Air India
[Re: andym]
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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BA European <> BA Transatlantic. They are totally different experiences.
As for a BA - Virgin comparison, BA give you 1 inch extra legroom in Economy, and they will upgrade you (if you ask and are a member of their frequent flyer program and they have room)
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Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
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#177031 - 29/08/2003 03:37
Re: Air India
[Re: furtive]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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BA give you 1 inch extra legroom in Economy If you search for a flight on http://www.ebookers.com you get a link at the bottom to "Airline Legroom Chart", which lists Virgin at 30in and BA at 31in. Several carriers, including American Airlines, Air New Zealand, and Lufthansa are listed at 34in.
Peter
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#177032 - 29/08/2003 06:27
Re: Air India
[Re: peter]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Several carriers, including American Airlines Not for long:
http://www.ticked.com/leocha/2003/claamp.htm
I've flown American a couple times during the "more legroom" campaign. It was pretty sweet.
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#177033 - 31/08/2003 08:17
Re: Air India
[Re: peter]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Lufthansa domestic (Europe) on the other hand.. by far the tightest seat pitch I've recently experienced, and that was in Business Class!
Very good service onboard, but man.. no leg room, and somewhat claustrophobic.
Cheers
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#177034 - 31/08/2003 08:24
Re: Air India
[Re: mtempsch]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Ouch (hail storm photos).
Now I understand the recent trend for airlines to paint their entire planes, instead of leaving lots of shiny aluminium showing as in days gone by (American Airlines notwithstanding).
Painting them hides the auto-body filler..
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