Tag: air

air travel – What is the name for the set of the outbound segment and inbound segment together?

I have a technical naming question.

Image I have this set of flights for a passegner flying from Paris to Thailand:

International Outbound:

- From Paris (France), Airport Charles De Gaulle (CDG)
- To Bangkok (Thailand), Airport Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
- 1 stop at Istambul (IST)

Domestic

- From the city (Bangkok/Thailand) (BKK)
- To the beaches of Phuket (Phuket/(Thailand) (HKT)
- No stops

International Inbound:

- From Phuket (Thailand), aiport Phuket (HKT)
- To Paris (France), Airport Charles De Gaulle (CDG)
- 2 stops, one at BKK, one at IST.

With all this, the terminology is:

Leg:

  • Any “piece” of flight: Each piece you takeoff and land.
  • For example the outbound flight has 2 legs, the second one being IST-BKK

Segment:

  • The set of legs that connect the origin to the destination.
  • For example when returning from Thailand to Paris, there’s one segment HKT-CDG which is made up of 3 legs.

Question

What is the “name” for the full set of segments in the tourism industry?

Ie: The same way { leg CDG-IST + leg IST-BKK } is named “segment”

what is the name for { segment CDG-BKK + segment BKK-HKT + segment HKT-CDG }?

MacBook Air restore

I restored my Mac to factory settings for the purpose of selling. I received the MacBook back and deleted the user profile because the buyer changed the password. Now I am in disk utility trying to restore to factory settings but I can’t.

air travel – EU261, cancelled connection and predating duty of care

Unfortunately you are almost certainly due nothing.

Under normal circumstances, you would be due an amount of between 250 and 600 Euro under the “compensation” section of EU261, however the airline will almost certainly claim that the cancellation was caused by “extraordinary circumstances”, which absolves them of paying compensation.

“Extraordinary circumstances” does NOT absolve them of the “right to care” provisions of the legislation. That section states :

Right to care

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered free of charge:
(a) meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time;
(b) hotel accommodation in cases
- where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, or
- where a stay additional to that intended by the passenger becomes necessary;

The problem in this circumstances is that no “stay” is necessary. If you agree to the earlier flight, then you will arrive at your destination (as far as BA is concerned) 1 day earlier than planned. It is not BA’s concern that you have a connecting flight the (now) following day – once they have delivered you to your destination (LHR) their commitment is completed.

If you had purchased the two tickets as a single itinerary, then you WOULD be due a hotel in London, as in this case the commitment of British Airlines would be to get you to your final destination, not just to London (this would be the case regardless of which airline the 2nd flight was book on, as long as the flights had been booked as a single ticket/PNR).

Despite no hotel or other compensation being due it would not hurt to at least ask for one. It is certainly possible that BA will provide you something as a customer service gesture, even though it’s not required by EU261.

(And before someone points it out, although the UK is no longer a member of the EU, part of the legislation around them exiting means that the legislation behind EU261 is still in effect and enforceable in the UK for a period of time)

air travel – When will commercial flights from Italy start again after the Covid-19 lockdown?

As @Arthur’sPass noted in the comments, around June 3rd:

Italy is taking a “calculated risk” as it moves to further ease its coronavirus lockdown measures, PM Giuseppe Conte has admitted.

He said “the contagion curve” could rise again, but the country could not afford to wait for a vaccine.

Mr Conte announced that travel to and from Italy, and between the country’s regions would be allowed from 3 June.

(source: BBC)

It could be a day earlier, as The Local mentions:

Alitalia said on Wednesday it would increase flights by 36 percent as Italy prepares to reopen all airports and welcome holidaymakers in June.

The troubled Italian airline, which is set to be nationalised, plans to resume flights between Rome and New York as well as certain flights to Spain, including from Rome to Madrid and Barcelona, from June 2nd.

What should I do if I can't call someone (who has an iPhone) using my MacBook Air?

My iPhone and laptop are in sync with each other and all other contacts seem to have the FaceTime audio and video icons except for just one specific person whom I can use FaceTime using my iPhone and not my Mac.

architecture – What is this building and where is it? Europe in 1944-45 by a U.S. Army Air Force soldier. France, Germany, Belgium, or Netherland?

What is this building and where is it? Taken in Europe in 1944-45 by a U.S. Army Air Force soldier 9th Air Force, 397th Bombardier Group, 599th Bomb Squadron. Could be in France north of Paris, Germany near Drucken or Monchen-Gladbach, Brussels Belgium, or Venlo Netherlands.I have two additional photos with a man standing on the stairs in a helmet and uniform, but I couldn’t figure out how to add those to this post. In those two photos more detail of the doors and building is visible. He was stationed at St. Quentin, France and at the end of the war in Venlo, Netherlands. I have searched all the towns he mentioned in his diary and have not found anything that looks like this building. I think it is a church, but it could be something else. I appreciate any help anyone can offer. If anyone can tell me how to add more photos, that would be great.Domed building with features that look like a church in the countryside)1

air travel – If denied into an EU country, passenger pays airline fees?

Someone said that the traveler is obligated to reimburse the airline for all cost incurred.

I know that they will make the passenger pay for the return ticket, but fees? I read that the airline’s fees can be up in the thousands, would the passenger have to pay for all of that?

air travel – Special meals on long-haul flights

I have requested countless times vegan/vegetarian meals on long-haul flights.

Normally they are pretty well organized and you won’t have to ask for the meal. My strategy is just to wait and if given the normal food, then I politely remind them I have a special arrangement. In hundred of flights, this has only happened maybe 1 or 2 times.

In most airlines, they deliver the special meals ahead of time and only then will they start delivering the normal menus. It is a rare ocurrence that the crew will make the effort of delivering your meal in sync with everyone else [Turkish Airlines however managed delivering in sync pretty well].

I will also add that often in the vegetarian menu, the desserts and breakfasts are far nicer than the alternatives, as they won’t give you that terrible egg substitute and you often get real fruit instead of the boring generic cakes. [and I prefer to know what I am eating rather than eating something I do not know how it was made ]

The experience may vary because often the service crew/crew does not understand the concept and nuances of vegetarianism, from ovo-lacto to strict vegetarianism. From my experience, in the UK and middle east airlines often they got it right as they frequently have Indian/Hindu customers.

Also from the voice of experience, the request has to be done at booking time. By check-in time, the logistics are already in motion and they won’t be able to cater to your preferences.

As @happybuddha correctly points out, it is always sensible to ask at check in/boarding time wether you have the meal in place or not. However, if there was a fault it will not always be corrected. The process is unreliable at best, depends on the willingness of the parties involved, and of a member of the crew taking the time to coordinate/fetch your meal from the service crew and carrying it by hand to the plane.

You may however have the luck of them having a extra veg meal by some other motive. Once I asked why I was not given my veg meal, and whilst I was told it was not in the system, I was asked if I would not mind having a hindu meal instead.

Be aware, when a plane is “upgraded” at the last minute, or there is a malfunction and there is a plane change, all bets are off. There is a strong possibility that they won’t have time to deal with the logistics and will just load a generic meal for x passengers.

If you miss a flight/connection, forget about your special meal. As I said before, at check-in time they won’t be able to change meals, even though they may say they will to try to keep you happy – in a small airport/company someone of the crew might be tasked to carry the meal, it already happened with me, but it was a courtesy and it is not a common occurrence. The meals are usually already in the plane, or already prepared to be loaded in the plane by that time. It seems pretty much a requirement in many airlines that any special meal has to be booked at least 48h in advance.

Even for non-vegetarians it may be worth looking at special meals – for instance Emirates Airlines and Turkish airlines have a wide choice, including several ethnic choices and sea food.

Please do note that in some short-haul flights, you might have hot meals as well if you buy the meal at booking time, like in Cebu Pacific or Cathay Pacific airlines. The price can be competitive compared to having a meal/snack at a restaurant/coffee shop in the airport, and it also can save you valuable time.

Air travel: are we entitled to compensation per flight?

Yes, assuming you have not been informed more than two weeks before the flight. Of the rights of air passengers:

Cancellation or denied boarding

If your flight is canceled, and they informed you less than 2 weeks
before the scheduled date or you are denied boarding, you have the right
to:

  • Transportation to your final destination using comparable alternative means of transportation; or
    • A refund for your ticket; or
    • Free transportation to your initial departure point if you have connecting flights; and
  • Financial compensation of EUR 250 to EUR 600 depending on the distance of your flight. If the carrier offers you an alternative
    flight, and arrives at its final destination with a delay of 2, 3 or 4
    hours depending on the duration of the flight, compensation may be
    reduced by 50% (see below).

In cases of change of route, you also have the right to receive care (drinks, meals,
communications) and, if necessary, hotel accommodation (included
transfer) depending on the length of the delay.

Please note that compensation is due anyway, even if the airline provides alternative transportation or refunds your ticket. The airline must also provide accommodation (see last sentence). As usual, you will likely have to raise your voice and probably post a written complaint to get something from an airline.