Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Back in 2018 when our industry was riding high and airline profits were rolling in, I had briefly written about the invention of ‘standing berths’ on airplanes which would create an estimated 20% additional capacity on flights. I’ve always been told that innovation is a good thing and being innovative helps ‘gather no moss’. However, these days, innovation is almost always a race as to how lucrative will it turn out to be. Well, this idea is back with the recent news of the possible introduction of Skyrider 2.0 seats. These bicycle-style, padded seats allowing passengers to lean at an angle without completely sitting down, will increase passenger capacity by 20%, resulting in added revenue for the airlines. This seems to appeal to low-cost airlines and such a seating-type project could launch as early as next year. I’m tempted, for experience’s sake, to try this, but I feel it would be neither practical nor comfortable, even on a short-haul flight of up to 3 hours. I’d love to know what you think?
For a totally opposite experience on flights, here’s an old memory; a ‘believe-it-or-not’ scenario. In 1976, I was on Flight PA001, the then-famous PANAM Clipper service from London Heathrow to JFK New York. Flying in economy, I had an aisle seat, third from the window with an empty middle seat in the 3-4-3 seating configuration on the 747. Midway through the flight, my tiredness was catching up to me which made sleeping in the sitting position incredibly difficult. In those days there was generous leg room allowing me to lie down on the floor and stretch out! The lady occupying the window seat was indifferent to my snoozing position and in no time, I was fast asleep, only to be shaken awake by her, requesting I get up because it was time to disembark. I had slept right through the rest of the flight, the descent, the landing and the taxiing to the gate! I know, it’s simply not possible, right? As I joined the queue of passengers disembarking, the flight attendant quietly pulled me aside, asking me if I was well rested. She then divulged that the lady in the window seat kept requesting the crew let me be and that she would keep an eye on me. What a different world in those days, eh? From sleeping on the aircraft floor undisturbed to standing-only seats… baby, we’ve come a long way!
It’s these experiences that have made my life in travel so interesting, and here’s another memorable escapade. Africa and Asia being our predominant areas of expertise, we offered destination familiarization opportunities to our retail travel agent partners… I call them educationals. Over the decades I led many such groups to Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. At the end of one safari educational in Kenya, our last 2 days were in the famous Masai Mara Reserve. Due to other obligations, I had to catch a flight home a day earlier than the group and since the flight out of the reserve left at 11:00am, I had arranged a surprise bush breakfast followed by a game drive. While game viewing, our driver-guide would drop me off at the airstrip for my flight to Nairobi.
On route to the airstrip, we came across a fabulous sighting, a family of Cheetahs! But the mother with her 6 cute little cubs were in a precarious situation with predators and scavengers circling around. As we sat and witnessed nature at its best, the time just flew by, before I realised I had a plane to catch! Our driver said he could take me there and then bring the group back to the Cheetahs. As we arrived at the airstrip, the aircraft was already on the runway ready for take-off. The driver-guide immediately got on the jeep’s HF Radio trying to catch someone’s attention that I needed to get on board. In the meantime, the aircraft started to roll down the runway, so simultaneously we sped parallel to the aircraft trying to get the pilot’s attention (almost like seeing in a movie!). Fortunately, halfway through take-off, the pilot noticed us, and stopping, turned around and returned to the airport where I gratefully got on board. Yes, another believe-it-or-not incident for the books’
Until next time,
Firdosh
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