Last time, we showed you the many important but most often trivialized pieces of information that could save your life while you are on a plane trip (check here if you missed it). But since air travel is an inherently convoluted science, one article about these details isn’t enough.
Here are nine more facts lurking in the recesses of air navigation that will help you in one way or another on your next trip.
We always think airline companies dive in cash at the expense of its passengers shouldering pricey tickets and enormous fees. But this cannot be any really closer to the truth. Airline business is one of the top money-losing industries out there. Sir Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic, once famously said, ““If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.” His airline company has reportedly lost money consistently despite the many awards and praises from the consumers.
Most of the time, that flight of yours is overbooked. Airlines need to make sure there isn’t a single empty seat in the plane because someone got stuck in the traffic, overslept, or changed their minds. They only earn something once all the seats has been filed.
Flight attendants are probably one of the biggest victims of stereotypes. Gorgeous women in tight dresses whose function are limited only to looking pretty and pour the occasional whiskey. But behind those warm smiles is a repertoire of badass skills this side of 007.
They are trained to do CPR, use defibrillators, AED’s and epipens, initiate evacuation protocols, engage emergency landing procedures, guard the plane from intruders, and apply martial arts and self-defense techniques whenever necessary. So the next time you go sleazy on them, remember that they could go Batman on you.
You probably heard about the hulking passenger who tried to open an airplane’s back door in the middle of a flight to Seattle (he was restrained expectedly, because see item above). While the guy looked he like he spent a good amount of time training (for this momentous instance, probably) there’s no way he can open that door.
Because of the tremendous cabin pressure to balance the equally humungous pressure outside, you need to put more than 1,100 pounds of force per square-inch of the door to pry it open. That’s weight of a wild boar or a bull shark. Have you tried wrestling a wild boar before? No? Then you should let go of that door.
You’ve heard it a dozen times. The flight attendant rattling that you should keep the window open during the takeoff and landing despite you trying to get a nap by blocking the outside light. It is not done so that you can see how the pilot is so rad for slowly making a 100-ton hunk of metal leave the ground.
It is required so that the attendants and the passengers won’t miss any signs of trouble during these dangerous moments, say, if there’s fire or smoke on the wings, or there are bird strikes disrupting the engines, or Thor trying to get a free ride.
On the same note…
It was a long haul from L.A. to Sydney and the plane is descending five past ten in the evening. You are ready to take an Instagram-worthy selfie (“Sydney-bound! #blessed“) but the attendant instructed to turn down all lights during landing. What a bummer.
As with everything about air travel, there is a science for this. Keeping the lights dim during takeoff and landing makes your eyes well-adjusted to darkness in case of crashes. In these situations, cabin lights might not work, and eyes ready for a darkened environment can look for exit quicker than, say someone suddenly blinded by darkness.
Along with crying toddlers and guys trying to open doors inside the plane, getting your flight canceled or delayed is one of the few mishaps we never wanted to cross roads with. But staying in queue at the gate or ticket counter swinging your fists madly won’t really help much. Call the airline customer service hotline immediately to get you re-booked. There might be five empty seats on a different plane going to same destination and if you call as soon as possible, you can be transferred quickly. Just be prepared with information such as your record locator to get the transaction immediately done. Remember that you are not the only person doing this.
You might be comfy on your window seat with re-runs of Friends plugged on your ears, but your pet isn’t going through the same relief. Instead, animals are being stored in the cargo hold of commercial planes, where the noise can be too much to bear even for human ears and the temperature can shift uncontrollably. In 2012 alone, 29 pets perished, 26 were harmed, and one was lost in US commercial flights. Rethink before flying your pooch.
Yes you can turn that lever or push that button to “lock” the lavatory, but the cabin flight crew can always unlock that by accessing a hidden latch somewhere in the door (we cannot tell where) for safety reasons.
We sincerely hope you haven’t been in an airplane turbulence and will never be on one. You can imagine what it feels like. It’s like a Six Flag roller coaster, but with falling luggage, spilling coffees, and more barfing people on top of the sudden rise and drop of the ride.
But no matter how scary it is, there shouldn't be any fear, as progressing technology have already improved airplane designs and made them crash-proof during this tempest-induced inconvenience. It fact, turbulences are quite normal, and it’s been decades since the last airplane went down due to one. So while every passenger in the cabin are in the fit of panic during these trying times, for the pilots, it is just their usual Thursday annoyance. They got this.
We already discussed the five things you need to do before boarding your plane to make sure your travel is convenient and less of a hassle. And even by that is not complete, as air travel is littered with inaccurate information that considered many as life-saving truths. While trivial things that can have life and death consequences gets buried.
Here, we busted the myths and unearth the life-saving tips for your peace of mind and pleasure.
Contrary to what you believe, the scariest part of the plane travel is not when you are at the highest and the buildings below look like Lego blocks. It is in the few minutes when the plane is taking off and landing on the ground.
These are the moments when the plane is closest to the ground, requires the most maneuvering by the pilots, and most fatal accidents happen. It is in this window of time when you should be wary the most and follow the instructions. When the plane gets into the air, it is the computer that mostly does the job.
Bermuda Triangle is that region in the North Atlantic Ocean where many ships and airplanes have reportedly gone missing under still unknown circumstances (mostly attributed to paranormal and extraterrestrial causes). So it is only logical that airplanes completely avoid this area, right? Come on, we cannot let these aliens take more lives.
Well first, the missing reports are highly sensationalized and exaggerated. And second, planes never avoid this area unlike what you always hear. Aircrafts and ships have been passing the Bermuda Triangle for decades without much incidents. The 1,800-mile detour is not worth it.
Again, contrary to what you’ve heard, your iPad cannot actually remotely mess up the flight control (old school laptops in the past can, however). But these and other electronic devices should be kept or stored, not just turned off, during take-off and landing because they can fly around and act as deadly projectiles in case something happens during these dangerous moments. You don’t want to risk getting hit in the head by a 20-inch HP Pavilion Dragon darting in at 200 miles per hour, do you?
Before the 1990’s, people are allowed light up a puff during the flight, but it has stopped since then (it took them two decades before realizing secondhand smoke in an enclosed cylinder 20,000 feet from the ground is actually a health hazard), but ashtrays are still a legal requirement in airplane comfort rooms. If broken, the law mandates it to be replaced within 10 days.
But no, it’s so you could ignite a roll in secret. It is so the crew can have a place to put out the cigarette in case some hardhead decides to smoke. Putting them in trash bins could start the fire and throwing them in the toilet can cause clogging. So ashtrays are the way to go.
You are tired and only wants to catch a nap, but the attendant insists your seat should be on the most uncomfortable position possible to man: upright. Because, well, the plane is taking off.
Again, this goes to the most hazardous moments during the flight. In case things go wrong, an upright and locked seat will allow more space for people to get out on the shortest time possible. Also, a reclining and unlock seat can act as a catapult that can throw you forward during an accident, which is fatal. Getting slingshot in the air is fun during lake parties. Inside a plane? Not much.
If Carl the captain gets a braised beef with asparagus and tartar sauce from First Class, Mike, his co-pilot, needs to make do with the brisket chili and cheese from Business, no matter how likes the same meal as Carl. No, Mike isn’t under reprimand and being punished, it is a rule most airline will impose to avoid a case of food poisoning for both aviators (both is the operative word here).
They can only afford to have one pilot to be incapacitated, as the other can still manage to fly the plane and do an emergency landing. Both navigators going down will literally take the plane with them.
Lightning can burn forests, incinerate houses, and smolder Iron Man. But can they crash airplanes? Not really.
Decades of aviation technology have discovered ways to protect planes from Thor’s wrath by wrapping the jets with aluminum (or any other composite material) to conduct electricity and let it travel on the plane’s surface, while keeping the insides (read: people) insulated. The last time an aircraft crashed due to Zeus’ bolt was in 1967. These days, planes respond with an alarming "meh.”
No matter how drunk or bored you are and how fun it could be, NEVER point a laser to an airbcraft. It can be fatal for the passengers and it can land you in jail. We are not even discussing about the high-powered ones they use in NASA. We are talking about those pocket-sized novelty pointers lecturers and rave party goers prefer.
You see, planes use Plexiglass in their windows to maximize incoming light (helps a lot during night travel). The concentrated light from these miniscule pointers, no matter how weak they could look like, can become overly blinding and disorienting to pilots once it passes through the glass. Because of the dangers it could bring, FBI offers $10,000-rewards for information leading to laser-related arrests. Yes, you’ll be hunted down like a serial killer because you think pointing lasers to helicopters is cool.
What is the dirtiest part of your office table? That’s right. Your keyboard. And you are the only one using it. And you get to clean it regularly. Imagine something being used by hundreds upon hundreds of people from all over the world to place their food, things, and dirty napkins, with little maintenance. Yupp. You just environed the airplane tray.
The tray is a constant home to 2,155 germ colony–forming units per square inch, which probably involve E.coli, salmonella, and molds i.e. the usual suspects for food poisoning. Wipe the tray first with alcohol or sanitizing gel before using, and do not let it directly contact your food. Use a plate or mat instead.