First of all I don’t want this thread confined to Fingallians. We may be the home of Irish aviation but others should express their thoughts too.
I’d like for people to rate their airport and airline experiences here but not to be waffling about bookings etc. It should be restricted to more aeronautical matters.
Anyway I had experience with two Aer Lingus pilots today. We had Captain Jimmy this morning (Bandage will remind me of his surname) and he was nervy and unconvincing throughout. He went so far as to express doubts over his ability to land the plane in a light fog which put less frequent travellers into an uneasy state.
By contrast Captain Ross Concannon was a model of professionalism on the journey home. He was efficient aerially and on the apron area, taking great care throughout but not at the expense of speed. Smooth and swift. A terrific performance and I’d have no hesitation in recommending him for one of the more prestigious routes.
A JetBlue flight to Las Vegas was forced to make an emergency landing after its captain suffered a breakdown and reportedly began screaming about terrorism before being subdued by passengers.
The unnamed pilot was said to have been kicked out of the cockpit by his crew around three hours after Flight 191 took off from New York’s John F Kennedy airport.
Witnesses said he became highly agitated and tried to access the cabin’s intercom system before coming into the cabin and trying to break to into a locked toilet.
An off-duty JetBlue pilot who was aboard the flight took the controls of the aircraft.
In a statement, Jet Blue said the plane was diverted due to a “a medical situation involving the captain”.
“Another captain, traveling off duty, entered the flight deck prior to landing at Amarillo and took over the duties of the ill crew member once on the ground,” the company said.
The FBI is investigating the incident but a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration said it seemed “more of a medical issue than a security issue”.
The best Airport to Fly into and out of is Farranfore.
The front door to the departure gate is about 50m and takes the grand total of 5 mins. You could comfortably rock in there 20mins before your flight is due to depart and never have to rush.
The smaller the airport, the better the experience these days. The massive hubs (Heathrow, CDG, Frankfurt) etc are painful. The one exception to this is Singapore.
The captain on Sunday’s Dublin to Glasgow International Aer Lingus flight was Jimmy Flanagan. What a bedwetter.
My most uncomfortable moment ever on an airplane was on a Dublin to Edinburgh Aer Lingus flight a few years ago. Rocko and I were boarding and one of the air hostesses told us there was traffic jam up along the aisle due to people storing luggage in the overhead cabins etc. The cockpit door was open so she kept the rest of the boarding passengers behind us standing on the steps outside the plane and asked myself and Rocko to move left into the edge of the cockpit until the jam in the aisle abated. At that stage the captain swung around on his chair and started shouting and roaring telling us it was a security breach and to get out of the cockpit immediately. Captain Barney O’Reilly - what a dick.
The smaller the airport, the better the experience these days. The massive hubs (Heathrow, CDG, Frankfurt) etc are painful. The one exception to this is Singapore.[/quote]Heathrow is a fucking dose alright. Stansted is now my airport of choice for London.
Newark is a fine and underrated gateway to NYC or a grand spot for a connecting flight. LAX is possibly the worst airport I have ever been in but then again I’ve only ever travelled in the developed world. I’m sure there are worse airports in darkest Africa.
London City Airport is a cracking airport to get through quickly if you can find a decent fare. It leaves you close to the centre too. Steep enough landing descent though and a take-off like a carrier which all adds to the craic.
+1 on Prestwick, an awful hole. Most of those Ryanair UK airports are awful places - East Midlands another that comes to mind along with Durham Tees Valley.
Abu Dhabi & Bangkok some of the nicer ones I’ve been in. Nicest was in Koh Samui where the baggage carousels are in open huts with straw roofs outside the main building.
I have found Birmingham, Manchester, Prestwick, Liverpool, Blackpool, London City, Edinburgh and Gatwick to be unremarkable airports to the point of being vaguely tolerable.
Waterford airport and Cork airport are grand little spots as well. T2 at DublIn has to be the grandest waste of cash ever perpetrated in this country. Two half empty terminals instead of one thriving one.