Your Weekend Aviation Reading

To me, one of the unfortunate ongoing side effects of 9/11 is what it’s done to the process of air travel. Part of that is people being afraid of anyone that doesn’t look like them, and there were two recent examples in the news. The first one was written by my friend Rochelle Riley, a columnist at the Detroit Free Press. She was on the final leg of a 17-hour flight from Qatar after attending a global journalism symposium. Her flight was delayed for 40 minutes after an allegedly drunk passenger took exception with another passenger sitting near him who appeared to be of Arab or Mexican descent.

In the second incident, a DJ of Eritrean heritage was flying home to London from Rome on an easyJet flight when the captain informed him he would have to leave the aircraft because ‘a fellow passenger has stated that she does not feel safe with you on board,' ” reported the Telegraph. Before even boarding the flight, he had been in the airport for more than 15 hours at the airport being questioned before being cleared to travel.

Photo by Benét J. Wilson

Back in June 2007, I got to spend a day at the Transportation Security Administration’s canine training facility at Lackland Air Force Base, which featured simulated airport terminals where the dogs trained. The Washington Post did a feature story on the new TSA Academy, located at a former Navy base in Brunswick, Georgia. Transportation Security Officers spend two weeks at the facility receiving intensive training before being sent back to their home airports.

Speaking of airports, Business Insider and NYC Aviation did a story about how U.S. airports are stepping up to upgrade their terminals. It highlighted the efforts of Chicago O’Hare, which is in the middle of a $15 billion capital investment plan that includes new runways, a new south tower and a new consolidated rental car and public parking facility; and Los Angeles International is in the middle of an $8.5 billion program that includes the new  the New Tom Bradley International Terminal, the renovation of Terminal 6 and airfield improvements designed to accommodate the Airbus A380.

Passengers want to be comfortable on the ground and in the air. Mashable writes about eight innovations that could make airplanes more comfortable through innovations including a self-cleaning toilet (yes, please); BYO entertainment via inflight wireless access; and adjustable economy seats.

Photo courtesy of Spirit Airlines

If anyone knows how to get a good airfare deal, it would be Ben Baldanza, the former CEO of ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines. In an interview with NPR, his tips included conventional wisdom like buying tickets in advance, traveling on a Tuesday or Wednesday and cut back on paying for extras like more legroom seats.

On the more luxurious end of the airline spectrum, good friend Gary Leff from the View From the Wing blog writes about a first class product that could rival Etihad's First Apartment. Designer Seymourpowell has come up with a new ‘First Spaces’ interior for the Airbus A380 that could rival the most revolutionary and luxurious first class seat in the skies, he wrote. The Etihad apartment features a separate seat and bench that folds out into a bed, while the First Spaces seat turns into a bed and offers an in-between lounging mode.

Photo by Benét J. Wilson

Last May, I got to try JetBlue’s first class Mint product on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City, which you can ready about here. A writer for the Pop Sugar website took her own flight from Boston to San Francisco and waxed poetic about the experience, here.

I’ve had the chance to work in all segments of the industry -- commercial, business and general aviation. They are all unique, with their own idiosyncrasies and industry leaders. Episode 2 of the Runway VC podcast is all about general aviation, with guests Dave Brody and Charlie Johnson. Brody is the founder and Chairman of new company XTI Aircraft and Johnson is the company’s CEO. They speak about the challenges of being a start-up in the aviation business and their experiences in the industry.

In February, I did an interview for AirwaysNews.com with David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue and Brazil’s Azul Airlines. His consortium also owns a 51 percent stake in TAP Air Portugal. During the interview, he spoke about what a great place Portugal was to visit and how Lisbon is an ideal airport hub for travel through Europe. And a writer for Mashable agrees, explaining why Portugal should be more than a side note on your itinerary for Spain. She starts her tour in Lisbon, and adds trips to Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Cascais, with the last stop being to the beach resort of Algrave.

I’m one of the founders of a private Facebook group that discusses the joys of first and business class travel. One fun thread is the things that people do to keep their elite status, which was also outlined in this New Yorker article. I confess I did a quick one day trip from DC to San Jose (including a rental car) to maintain my gold status on the old Continental Airlines. Other things people in the article did included buying tickets rather than using frequent flyer miles and doing mileage runs (see what I did?) and

We’ll end the week with an interesting question from a FlyerTalk post: Should Airline Employees Get to Fly First Class for Free? As someone who worked for two different airlines, I say 100 percent yes if the seats are open at take-off. Airline employees tend to be paid somewhat lower than those in other industries, so the chance to fly in the front of the plane is seen as a form of compensation. And let’s not forget that because of bankruptcies and mergers, many have endured multiple pay cuts and decimated pensions. So why not let them have the seats if the seats will be empty after the flight takes off?