"Paranoia, paranoia, everbody's coming to get me". These lyrics from Flagpole Sitta pretty much sum up the media and aviation. Swine flu is the latest thing to kick aviation when it's down. As if the global recession and last year's sky-high oil prices weren't enough..... and the media's loving it!
Remember Ebola? Remember SARS? Remember avian flu? All these things are still out there but the media got bored of them and therefore apparently they're no longer an issue. The same will happen to swine flu. It's worth bearing in mind that every year 36,000 people die in the US alone from the flu or flu-related illnesses. The WHO estimates that the global death rate from flu is somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 per annum. Does this stop people from flying on aircraft and visiting foreign countries? No, so why should this "H1N1" strain be any different really?
Spare a thought poor old Aeromexico, Mexicana and friends. A quick check of stock prices of airlines around the world reveals some alarming slumps over the past 7 days:
Air China -2.3%
Air France-KLM -3.9%
AMR Corp -8.5%
British Airways -10.9%
Cathay Pacific -3.3%
China Southern -9.8%
Copa -3.7%
Delta -21.5%
JetBlue -9.6%
Southwest -4.7%
UAL Corp -19.7%
US Airways -17.1%
Not pretty reading really. However, my greatest concern is where do US citizens go, now that Mexico is supposedly off-limits, when The Day After Tomorrow scenario happens?
30 April 2009
28 April 2009
"My Girlfriend", Air Canada
The missus and I are heading to Boston in July. Apparently 4th of July is a big deal - something about fireworks, independence, red-white-blue, Will Smith and aliens. I naturally went into travel agent mode and started searching for flights from Dublin to Boston, or DUB-BOS if you speak IATAish. After several days of visiting the same old sites it became abundantly clear that the best deal was with Air Canada at €430. If there's a lower fare that weekend in July I will run naked down O'Connell Street*
US Airways was the second cheapest option but they never entered the equation. Who wants to fly on a 757 through Philadelphia and with minimal service? Winglets and some paint does not transform a rabid pigeon into a bird flu-less swan. I once met a US Airways captain at Dublin Airport and he claimed to work for "Useless Airways", not exactly a ringing endoresement for his employer! That combined with their paint-peeling 767s at the time have always stuck with me. However, I hear they're good for dishing out frequent flier points. Nice work, Star Alliance.
Right, to get back on track, I told the other half and she wasn't impressed with the Air Canada option. I knew I had my work cut out. It seemed to be a choice of Aer Lingus or Aer Lingus as she likes to fly direct. This is despite the fact she always complains about Aer Lingus whenever she's onboard! Also, for the record Aer Lingus were charging a king's ransom of €640 and no king is worth that.
So I had to run things over in my head:
US Airways was the second cheapest option but they never entered the equation. Who wants to fly on a 757 through Philadelphia and with minimal service? Winglets and some paint does not transform a rabid pigeon into a bird flu-less swan. I once met a US Airways captain at Dublin Airport and he claimed to work for "Useless Airways", not exactly a ringing endoresement for his employer! That combined with their paint-peeling 767s at the time have always stuck with me. However, I hear they're good for dishing out frequent flier points. Nice work, Star Alliance.
Right, to get back on track, I told the other half and she wasn't impressed with the Air Canada option. I knew I had my work cut out. It seemed to be a choice of Aer Lingus or Aer Lingus as she likes to fly direct. This is despite the fact she always complains about Aer Lingus whenever she's onboard! Also, for the record Aer Lingus were charging a king's ransom of €640 and no king is worth that.
So I had to run things over in my head:
Advantages of Air Canada:
- bmi frequent flier points
- PTVs with AVOD
- waaaaaaay cheaper (thank you impending bankruptcy/global economic crisis!)
- free alcohol onboard
- my first flights on E175 and B767
- Toronto will be a new experience
Advantages of Aer Lingus:
- direct flights
- probably a newer aircraft
- Terminal E at BOS beats Terminal B
After highlighting the advantages of Air Canada (mainly the cost, I might add) she reluctantly conceded defeat. However, now any time we see Air Canada on our travels I have to put up with "oh there's your girlfriend, Air Canada" jibes. I would say "oh there's your boyfriend, Aer Lingus" in return but refuse to for two simple reasons:
- Aer Lingus are everywhere at DUB and I would get a strained throat
- I think if my wife is to have an affair she can do a lot better than Aer Lingus!
Anyway.... the Air Canada experience better go smoothlyl or I'll never hear the end of it! Cue "Don't Let Me Down" by the Beatles....
* In clothes. Due to health and safety reason acts of running may be limited to acts of walking or strutting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)