Hot happenings in the skies this week included an amazing take-off, and a bit of a mystery.
This weekly post is my ‘round tuit’. Included are stories which caught my eye and others which I couldn’t cover in-depth during the week, but thought Flight Chic readers would want to know about.
1. This week was Thanksgiving in the US. Those who were in Toulouse on Thursday were thankful to have a unique opportunity to watch history happen as the first A350-1000 enjoyed a flawless take-off.
I was heartbroken over a last-minute fail on my video of the take-off, but Alex Macheras and Rupa Haria each got a great shot.
She's in the skies! Congratulations @Airbus – we just witnessed the first ever take off of the #A350-1000 here in Toulouse. #A350FF ✈️ pic.twitter.com/dFesNjPZRH
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) November 24, 2016
And at least I got a whole video of the post-flight debriefing.
And the sun came out to celebrate.
Even the sun is smiling! #A350FF pic.twitter.com/0qddVgnS2L
— FlightChic | ✈️💺 (@designerjet) November 24, 2016
If you’re keen to read a little Danish, you can find my story about the A350-1000 on Standby.dk.
(I read, but don’t write in Danish and I’m very grateful for colleagues at Standby.dk for their translation.)
2. The extended Lufthansa pilots strike causes massive disruptions, but the airline did its best to keep customers informed and find alternatives.
Harry Hohmeister, Chief Officer Hub Management, apologizes to Lufthansa passengers: pic.twitter.com/ef3OaQ3pTt
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) November 26, 2016
Flight ops should proceed according to schedule on Sunday. Due to the strikes on the preceding days, there may still be a few cancellations.
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) November 26, 2016
Klaus Froese, CEO of Lufthansa's Hub Frankfurt and A320-Captain, on the upcoming strike pic.twitter.com/743PAKV8lQ
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) November 24, 2016
The special flight schedule for Friday is available now. Please, check the current status of your flight here: https://t.co/bxGfZx6A3v pic.twitter.com/1muy7OS3eS
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) November 24, 2016
LH has informed more than 150,000 passengers of the effects of the strike by SMS & e-mail. 3 ways to access information on your flight: pic.twitter.com/UGtufkaCs3
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) November 23, 2016
Lufthansa has called on the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit once more to look for a joint solution to the labour dispute. pic.twitter.com/xVqwSpJNc8
— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) November 23, 2016
3. Great article on the design process BA’s First Class suites.
Finding more about the design of @British_Airways First Class Suites https://t.co/V3vY9n0DVY #paxex #avgeek pic.twitter.com/EkyISlq12F
— Mrs. O Around the World (@mrsoaroundworld) November 25, 2016
4. Airlines embrace digital disruption.
As @airfrance's #HackathonAF takes off, here's how airlines are using #hackathons to sack the status quo: https://t.co/jpixprSeyj #AvGeek https://t.co/xlMyuA9kWj
— APEX (@theAPEXassoc) November 25, 2016
5. FAA shares its views on the ‘Uber-ization’ of aviation.
What about Uber for airplanes, drones, or even flying cars? Let's take a look: https://t.co/ij1Tva4cRR
— FAA Safety Briefing 🛩️🪂🚁 (@FAASafetyBrief) November 22, 2016
6. Finnair’s new A350 lay-out.
For reference, Finnair's original A350 config of 46 biz seats compares to Cathay fitting 38 – similar seat but larger home market & network https://t.co/rVVDYN8DSO
— Will Horton (@winglets747) November 20, 2016
7. Ryanair broke up with Momondo and things are just getting awkward with OTAs now.
We have ended our licence agreement with Momondo: https://t.co/DXKKrFgmgE. Book on https://t.co/cgLkPqmZBx pic.twitter.com/AKUCZqKb3E
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 23, 2016
Wow. Nope. This Ryanair v 'screen scrapers' thing isn't getting nasty at all. 😳🙈🙉🙊Via @tnooz https://t.co/AuXyJHyfj6
— FlightChic | ✈️💺 (@designerjet) November 24, 2016
8. Establishing a messaging standard for all airines to use is key to fewer lost bags. SITA is all over that.
9. In an interesting twist, Dubai’s ‘drone-hunter’ aircraft is itself a drone (UAV).
Unauthorized drone activity has caused problems for Dubai airport, so it's testing this "drone hunter" aircraft https://t.co/pFF9RXaqda pic.twitter.com/xwWeYDqtpI
— CNN (@CNN) November 13, 2016
10. A bit of mystery in the air. What’s your theory on Cooper?
#OnThisDay in 1971, "D. B. Cooper" stepped off a Boeing 727 into mystery. https://t.co/YEA7rYqdvJ pic.twitter.com/26SFQUk6N9
— HistoryLink.org (@HistoryLink) November 24, 2016