A cornucopia of news, opinion, views, facts and quirky bits that need to be talked about. Join our community and join in the conversation on all matters aviation. The blog includes our weekly round-up of the bits of European aviation you may otherwise have missed – That Was The Week That Was
The use of the ‘-gate’ suffix to discuss any scandal stems, of course, from Watergate, and the subsequent reactions, finally leading to an impeachment resolution – not that such a thing is even thinkable today – but, strictly, under its own terms, Watergate should properly be known as Watergate-gate. We need to urgently make people understand this, because now aviation has its very own water-gate, brought to you from the fun-loving family of the Chairman of Korean Airlines. First, there was nut-gate, as one daughter rampaged around the first class cabin complaining about the nuts on board. Presumably she excluded herself. Now, a younger sister has thrown a glass of water at an advertising agency executive – who has not been tempted? – and on Monday, Cho Hyun-min was suspended from work. Ms Cho works in marketing, so she will be pleased to note that the coverage spelt Korean Airlines correctly.
Getting publicity is a never-ending rat-race, and of late, European Parliament MEPs have been pawns in the game, used to pose-thinly veiled questions from vested interests. Ryanair, never short of vested interests enjoying taking a pot-shot (looking at you ECA) copped it again on Tuesday, with a pointed question about how they dared circumvent a strike from their Portuguese cabin crew over Easter by using – horror – staff and aircraft from other bases to honour their schedules. We await with interest the first question about the French railway workers, or the Air France staff that went out in sympathy with them, or the Lufthansa pilots that strike regularly, or…
If one of the things that distinguish humans from other animals is the ability to contemplate death, the Southwest incident on Wednesday reminded us of our humanity. Another feature might be our ability to acknowledge the skills and training of others, in this case the pilot, Tammy Jo Shults and the nearby passengers. The industry has also shown another of its great strengths; the FAA has already ordered inspections of all similar engines.
As tragic as Wednesday’s accident was, the work of the European Parliament must grind on, like the will of God, slowly, but extremely small. Finally, finally, on Thursday, the ECON Committee (which is responsible for competition) published the results of a workshop it had held on the topic of competition in air transport – yes the famous 868 debate – in January. January. You might think they were afraid of publishing the results: like, for instance, that slots are a huge barrier to entry and that the Gulf carriers are only at the development stage European carriers have previously had the benefit of. Is it any wonder its publication was delayed? Just as justice delayed is justice denied, competition analysis delayed is competition analysis denied. The highlight, though, was the Freudian observation that unlike the four Asian ‘tigers,’ the Gulf states are ‘not focusing on steal, ships and electronics’.
So finally to Turkey, where this year is Visit Troy year. Who knew? To help us know better, Turkish Airlines, Friday, launched a Trojan Horse on one of its A321s. A number of issues arise: first, aircraft are not easily adaptable to the shape of a horse; secondly, you have to hope that no-one gets a shock when people get out this time; and thirdly, given that this was a famous Greek victory it is admirable that the Turks honour it at all. Troy is a fabulous archaeological site and it is obviously part of the world’s patrimony. The Turks deserve nothing but praise for their ability to honour other States on their territory. Across the Dardanelles from Troy is another sacred site, Gallipoli Bay.
