1. Plan for your vacation a minimum of two weeks beforehand.

The more time you can spend preparing for your holiday the better, you have a lot of things to take account for. Airfare shopping, locating hotels at discounted rates, car rental arrangements and more can all be extremely time-consuming.

2. Go to the TSA travel assistant web site.

There is a tremendous amount of information that can be found on the site, it can be quite a shock to learn of all the restrictions that are in place if you have never heard of them before. So you have quite a bit more planning to do, that’s not a problem really. The site is very user friendly and you will have no trouble doing research there. You will find a list of prohibited items, what’s considered satisfactory documentation, in addition to info on travelers with disabilities and health conditions.

3. Plan to leave for the airport at least four hours before your departure time.

It never fails, you will always think of something else you need to do to have your mind at ease.

4. Know where the ticketing counter is located before you arrive.

If you are driving yourself to the airport, you want to park as close as you can to where you will be checking in. If you are being dropped off by a friend or taxi, you don’t want to be left somewhere on the other side of the terminal with all your baggage.

5. Keep important documentation and credit cards on you at all times.

These items should be in a purse or coat jacket, the idea is to never leave important items such as these somewhere that you are not.

6. Use curbside check-in if available.

Use this service If you are traveling domestically and if your airline has this service available. You can drive up to the curb, and drop off your baggage with a sky cap. The sky cap can also print your boarding passes without you making any lines.

7. Leave yourself plenty of time to check-in.

Check-in in at least two hours before a domestic flight and about three hours before an international flight. Lines can get surprisingly long, especially during the summer and school vacation breaks. A lot of passengers underestimate the size of these lines and figure they can do a little airport shopping and dinning beforehand.

8. Know the baggage weight limits and cost per bag.

Going over the weight limit on a bag is a nightmare scenario. There you are at the front of the line and all of a sudden you need to repack items from one bag to another to balance out the weight, or buy another bag altogether and put a dent in your wallet.

9. Leave yourself plenty of time to pass through security.

Boarding time for a flight is roughly forty-five minutes before the flight departure, you definitely want to be at the gate by boarding time. There is also the issue of waiting in lines to pass through security. These lines can be significant, at times taking a good twenty to forty minutes. Have your boarding passes, passports, and identification cards in hand as you reach the front of the line. This can help you go through the departures area in reasonably less time. If you have connecting flights, arrange for airport stop overs also.

10. Have the proper kinds of baby food.

You can’t carry fluids through airport security, this includes baby formula, even soft foods like yogurt you will discover. Bring powdered, pre-packaged formula in single feedings.

Natasha is a travel writer covering world wide travel destinations. Her specialty is budget travel, she can help you find domestic flights and cheap international flights for various destinations world wide.

Both planes shouldn’t be at Los Rodeos Airport. Their final destination was the Gran Canaria International Airpot, which has been closed after a terrorist bomb exploded in the terminal. After that incident, on March 27, 1977, the authorities decided to close to divert all the flights to the Tenerife North Airport. More than five large aircraft were diverted that day to the Tenerife North Airport, a regional an relatively small airport that could not easily accommodate such an amount of passengers.

Pan Am flight 1736 had taken off from the LA International Airport and it had a stop at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. 14 of the 380 passengers boarded from NY and the crew, consisting of 14 members, also changed here. The Boeing 747-121, with the N736PA registration, was the first 747 delivered to Pan Am.

KLM Flight 4805 was a charter flight for the Holland International Travel Group and it had taken off 4 hours before from the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The 747-260B Boeing, with the PH-BUF registration, had 235 passengers and 14 crew members. After landing at Tenerife, one local woman decided not to re-board the plane, leaving 234 passenger on board.

While both of the planes were at Los Rodeos Airport, the authorities reopened the Gran Canaria airport. The Pan Am was ready to take off, but due to the limited size of the airport, it did not manage to do this, since the KLM 747 decided to refuel. This was another decisive coincidence, since Pan Am had to wait for the KLM aircraft departure before taking off. The KLM captain decided to save time by fuelling at Tenerife, but all the new fuel added more weight, that slightly decreased the lift-off power and the accident escape ability.

When finished, the 747 KLM taxied to the runway, being aware that the Pan Am aircraft was back-taxiing behind them, on the same runway. Both of the planes had to back-taxi the whole runway, in order to make a 180 degree turn to put the aircraft in the take off position. During all this time the weather deteriorated and the low clouds limited the visibility to only 300 m (1,000 ft). The legal visibility range for a take off was 700 m (2,300 ft) back then.

The ATC instructed the Pan Am aricraft to back-taxi as well and eventually to exit the runway through the “third exit”. Based on the recordings, the Pan Am flight crew identified the first and the second exit but nobody knows if they have sighted the third one, since these taxiways were not clearly marked. Investigations conducted after the accident concluded that exiting through the third taxi-way would be practically impossible, due to the traffic congestion at the airport, that day.

The accident was caused by a communication misunderstanding. When lined up, the captain of the KLM aircraft spined-up the engines (advancing the throttles in order to check if the engines are operating properly) and the co-pilot, surprised, asked for the ATC clearance. The ATC gave a clearance that specified the route to be followed by the KLM plane after taking off. Still, there was no specific statement regarding the “take off clearance”. The captain started rolling for taking off, the co-pilot completed the read-back at the ATC by saying “we’re now at take off… we’re now, uh, taking off” (exact citation) and the Spanish controller replied “OK”, although this is a non-standard terminology.

Due to the fog, neither crew was able to see the other plane on the runway. Neither of the aircraft was seen from the control tower, as well. The Pan Am captain spotted the KLM’s taking off lights right when the 747 was approaching. The Pan Am applied full power and attempted a sharp left turn, but the KLM’s aircraft lower fuselage hit the upper right side of the Pan Am plane, at 140 knots (160 mph). The Pan Am was ripped apart and the KLM right engines crashed on the upper deck of the Pan Am. The KLM was briefly airborne, but then the captain lost control and crashed 150 m (500 ft) after the collision, sliding another 300 m on the runway.

234 passengers and 14 crew members in the KLM plane died and 326 passengers and 9 crew members from the Pan Am jet also were killed. The 56 passengers and 5 crew members of the Pan Am flight escaped by walking onto the left wing. The fire-fighters were initially unaware that there was another plane involved in the accident. Investigation that followed this tragedy concluded the fact that KLM’s captain was the main responsible for the accident, by deciding to take off without a clearance.

The authorities installed a ground radar at the Tenerife North Airport after the accident and in 1978, Tenerife’s second and larger airport was opened. The latter serves now as the main airport of the island, although the ex-Los Rodeos Airport is still functional, serving as a low-cost carrier destination. If you’re looking for cheap flights to Tenerife, it’s most likely to land at the Tenerife Nort Airport, but do not worry. The ATC new radars, the progress of the technology and the new rigorous training methods for the cockpit crews are now considerably improved, therefore the flight safety and respecting the ground procedure is not a question of option, but a “has to” for every aircraft. Studies revealed nowadays air travel is still the safest way to travel, the human errors are causing less fatal aircraft accidents than in the past and the number of air accidents is on a decreasing trend, both in America and Europe.

BA is taking three more Boeings 777 by early 2012, and the executives of the company are already proud to announce that the interior of the aircraft’s cabin has been completely modernised. The new in-flight entertainment system will also assure the customer satisfaction by providing 50% more choices on movies, television and music products, the representatives of BA say.

“It is the aircraft first to be fitted-out with our new ‘World Traveller’ and ‘World Traveller Plus’ cabins”, Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, says.

The 777 delivered to the UK carrier will also feature BA’s ‘First’ and ‘Club World’ interiors.

British Airways therefore becomes the third European carrier to operate 700-300ER, after Turkish Airlines and Air France-KLM. The twin-engine jet airliner is powered by a couple of General Electric 90-115B turbofans, currently the most powerful used engines in use. The range of this lovely aircraft is 7,930 nautical miles (14,690 km).

And here’s a “making of” video of the G-STBA:

Who says that this scene could not apply when washing an aircraft? Certainly not the Russians, an especially not the Russians from AviaNova, Moscow’s newest low-cost carrier. Here’s a commercial that stars some of the company’s actual flight attendants.

Enjoy it and if your planning a trip to Russia, keep an eye on those Russian stewardesses! You never know how they might surprise you.

Initially a Canadian project, when funding ran short, this oddity became a US military project during the 1950′s. Due to severe instability (the aircraft looked like a hubcap and unfortunately wobbled as one might as well) when flying higher than three feet above the ground, the project was cancelled in 1961.

2. H-4 Hercules (aka. The Spruce Goose)

Ah yes, you’ve probably heard of this one. Howard Hughes’s great plans for a massive transport plane to support the war effort during WWII resulted in the creation of the H-4 Hercules. With wings longer than a football field, this mammoth aircraft did manage to take flight with Hughes himself at the controls. But longevity was not in the Goose’s future, and the behemoth was promptly stashed away in a holding hanger to be kept in flight-ready status for years. After being passed along to several homes since then, she is still on display today at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

3. Martin-Marietta X-24

So we go from mega-plane to mini-aircraft. This funky little wingless aircraft was developed as a joint effort between the US Air Force and NASA during the 60′s and 70′s to test unpowered reentry from space. The aircraft utilized vertical fins for control during its flight. While it might not look like much, this little sucker managed to reach 1036 miles per hour, and had a maximum altitude of 71,400 feet. Just goes to show you that size doesn’t always mean much when it comes to aircraft.

4. AV- 8B Harrier II

With its vertical take off and landing capabilities, the Harrier is probably the best-known and recognizable aircraft on this list. Maybe not so weird looking and interesting in concept or design, the Harrier combines the vertical abilities that its predecessors in the Tailsitter family once sought, with the technological advancements to make their dreams a reality.

A combined effort between Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and British Aerospace, the Harrier AV-8B’s first flight was in November of 1981. As the ‘Most forward deployed tactical strike aircraft in combat,’ and with the capabilities to launch AGM-84 Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and AIM-7 Sparrow AAMs, this weird aircraft has the experience and firepower to back up it’s uncommon design.

5. Vought V-173 (aka. Flying Pancake)

Its nickname says it all. This propeller driven contraption with a wood and fabric frame, developed by Charles Zimmerman, was first flown on November 23, 1942. It never had much success though in the 131 hours of flight time it accumulated, and it now sits in the Smithsonian Institution’s Air Museum.

Elisa is a freelance travel writer for FrequentFlyerCreditCards.com.au where you can get airline loyalty reviews, read Australian airport guides and compare credit cards for frequent flyers.

In April, Lufthansa accused Emirates of trying to divert the airline traffic from the European country to the UAE. Lufthansa also suggested that offering more landing rights to the Emirates Airlines would mean a loss of German jobs to Dubai. Emirates argue that a bigger presence in Germany would imply more economic benefits for the country. Emirates is already supporting the German economy, since its recent order of Airbus 380 contributes directly and indirectly to tens of thousands of German workers.

Emirates accused Lufthansa of distributing the above-mentioned document not just to policy makers, but to media as well. As a reply, Dubai’s airline made its own anti-protectionist report, suggestively named: “Tearing Down the Other Wall”.

Is it already too much or the German restrictions imposed to an Arab airline might sound a bit too racist?

Source: The National.

Moreover, on the ground, four limousine buses of the same Korean Air will be skinned with different Starcraft II symbols, for the same period. Considering the fact that the planes will spend more time in the air than on the ground, this sounds like a better investment, doesn’t it?

“We’re pleased to be partnering with Korean Air, Korea’s leading airline, on this campaign. As we approach the global launch of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, this promotion represents a unique, large-scale opportunity to introduce the characters and style of the StarCraft universe to gamers throughout the world.”, says Paul Sams, COO at Blizzard Entertainment.

Here’s a making-of video for the newest livery in Korean Air’s fleet:

On an AirTran Airways flight from Milwaukee to Atlanta last week, Carley Helm and her two sisters were instructed by the airline personnel to get rid of the turtle before being allowed back on board. The sisters threw their animal in the trash and returned to their seats crying.

While the girls said they were told to throw away the turtle, AirTran employees said they offered the girls to fly later at no extra charge. “I asked, ‘What do you mean get rid of it?’ and they said throw it away,” Carley said.

Luckily the story had a happy ending and the girls took their pet back after two days.

Indeed,while EasyJet finally ended up paying 1, 5M Euros, Ryanair’s penalties could reach  €4,5M. Throughout the process, in order to lower its costs and fees, Ryanair has been using the same strategy as easyJet, which is to take advantage of the lower protection and charges of British Law/Irish law.It seems Ryanair’s streak of bad luck is not over. Ryanair is also under investigation regarding public subsidies, an Irish Times article reported just last week end. Gerry Byrne points tells the truth about the Ryanair business model, exposing just how Ryanair gets such important financial support from publics authorities.

In France, Air France has already filed a complaint against Ryanair, and it is now Lufthansa’s turn to express its discontent over the Lubeck public authorities having signed a new two-year agreement with the Irish airline. The amount of subsidies however has not been published. Ryanair is currently under investigation in relation to 7 airports over what Lufthansa calls “questionable subsidies”.

(source)