December 2011 Archives

Iberia must be grateful not to need the services of Samuel L Jackson after airport workers at Buenos Aires airport in Argentina discovered hundreds of poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles inside the baggage of a passenger trying to board a flight to Madrid.

They discovered 247 lizards, snakes, spiders and snails from Central and South America in the luggage of Karel Abelovsky, packed inside plastic containers and socks.

Had Abelovsky's wriggling luggage made it onto the flight, the boa constrictors, poisonous pit vipers, coral snakes, lizards and spiders could have escaped the cloth suitcase and attacked passengers.

A Czech citizen on his way to Prague via Madrid, Abelovsky is facing up to 10 years in prison.

IATA held its annual global media day yesterday in Geneva, its first under the leadership of former Cathay Pacific boss Tony Tyler. There has been a shfit in tone at IATA since long-time director general Giovanni Bisignani stepped down in the summer. Bisginani did much to transfrom IATA and in the process became known for "shouting politely" at governments, regulators and suppliers as he pressed airlines' case. But Tyler, evident in recent addresses to airports and regional airline bodies, is keen to stress the importance of co-operation.

"In the spirit of looking at the industry from a holistic perspective, you might have noticed that I have been emphasising the need for co-operation among industry players," he said in his opening address at the global media day. "I plan to keep up our good co-operation with the regional airline associations and to enhance our co-operation with those representing our partners in the value chain.

"This is not a new concept. Co-operation is behind the industry's superb record on safety and it is guiding our approach to climate change as well. I will certainly be a forceful advocate for airlines when that is needed - with our partners in the value chain and with governments."

You can read much more about the changing tone at IATA with this interview Airline Business did with the IATA director general during ALTA Airline Leaders forum last month. Read it here.

But for something less scientific, but a bit more colouful, judge the change in tone for yourself with these two word-clouds - one representing Tyler's speech to journalists yesterday and the other from Giovanni Bisignani to the same audience a year ago. Aptly enough, while co-operation may not be the biggest of the words, it is pretty much centre stage in Tyler's word-cloud - but absent (as far as I can tell) from the word-cloud of Bisignani's speech a year ago.

Tony Tyler speech: 7 December 2011

Giovanni Bisignani speech: 14 December 2010

The Brooklands Museum in Weybridge marked the 50th anniversary of its Vickers Vanguard on 3 December, with a reunion of the first and last Captains to fly the big turboprop.

Capt Jack Randell (pictured, above left) was in the BEA crew that delivered G-APEP "Superb" on the short hop from Vickers' Wisley airfield to the airline's "London Airport" (Heathrow) base on 13 December 1961 (see extract from Jack's log book, below). Thirty-five years later, after sterling service in the passenger role and later as a freighter with BEA, British Airways, Air Bridge Carriers and Hunting Cargo Airlines, Echo Papa was flown into its Brooklands birthplace by Capts Gary West (above right) and Peter Moore.

On 17 October 1996, West and Moore - who sadly passed away last year - positioned Echo Papa from Hunting Cargo's East Midlands base for a spectacular arrival on the remains of Brooklands' runway, which only had 600m (1,970ft) landing distance available. This was the last flight of a Vanguard anywhere in the world.

Reminiscing at the Brooklands reunion with fellow ex-Vanguard pilots about that impressive final landing, West joked: "We'd practised at East Midlands with the landing distance marked on the runway, but it still looked awfully short as we flew down the approach to Brooklands!" 
However it all went to plan and the aircraft was easily stopped in the distance available. "We were very light so we touched down at less than 100kt," added West.

Read the 1996 article from Flight International (above) about the Brooklands arrival here, and our jump-seat ride to Brussels in the last Vanguard  here.

For information on how you can visit Echo Papa and the museum's extensive collection of aircraft (including Concorde G-BBDG) and motor vehicles, go to Brooklandsmuseum.com