Airbus Celebrates 50 Years
Airlineratings reports Airbus has launched a global campaign celebrating the company’s 50 year anniversary, showcasing key moments of pioneering progress throughout the past five decades.
The campaign began by marking 50 years since the French Minister of Transport, Jean Chamant and the German Minister of Economic Affairs, Karl Schiller, signed an agreement at the 1969 Paris Air Show for the joint-development of the A300 aircraft, a first European twin-aisle twin-engine jet for medium-haul air travel.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus said: “Airbus’ story is one of ambition and progress and has been a showcase of European integration. Over five decades, we have brought together civil and defense aviation businesses from throughout the continent.
For 50 years, we have pioneered many firsts through our passion and innovation, transforming the industry and helping to move society forward. Airbus is a story of incredible men and women, a story of great achievements in the past and, above all, in the future.”
Swimmer Killed By Shark In Hawaii’s First Fatal Attack In 4 Years
Associated Press reports sharks can be dangerous, but a fatal shark attack is still a rarity. Over Memorial Day weekend, Hawaii saw its first shark death in four years when a man from California was attacked while swimming off the coast in Maui.
According to reporting by The Associated Press, Thomas Smiley, a 65-year-old man who was a frequent visitor to the islands, was attacked by a shark on Saturday in the waters of Maui’s Ka’anapali Beach Park area. Smiley was swimming approximately 60 yards off the shore when he was pulled under, according to witness testimony given to the Maui police.
A witness said that when rescuers pulled Smiley to the shore, he was missing a leg and died at the scene. Witness Allison Keller recounted the events to Hawaii News Now, “As we got closer, I saw some blood on his stomach and then I got looking a little bit more, and his wrist – it looked like the skin on his wrist was just torn off,” Keller said. “And then I got looking closer, and his entire left leg from his knee down was just missing.”
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and lifeguards searched for a shark, but were unsuccessful. The last fatal shark attack in Hawaii was in 2015, when a snorkeler off Maui was killed.
US Airlines Commit To UN Carbon Emissions Cap
Travelmole reports that even though the Trump administration pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, almost all US airlines have voluntarily agreed to follow its reduced carbon emissions guidelines. They will adhere to the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), limits on emissions which caps them at 2020 levels.
Compliancy is governed by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization. Airlines agreeing to the scheme include mainline carriers Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, and United Airlines. Regional carriers like Piedmont and Republic will also participate.
The US pull-out from the agreement was announced in 2017 and takes effect from 2020. Aviation is one of the biggest emitters of carbon and the CORSIA scheme is expected to be mandatory after 2027. ICAO will set an official emissions cap based on 2020 emissions data. The Paris agreement calls for ‘each country to determine, plan, and regularly report on the contribution that it undertakes to mitigate global warming.’
Disney Cruise Line Updates Navigator Mobile App To Ease Passenger Experience
Disney Cruise Line’s Navigator app has been updated to include new features, allowing more cruise planning to take place within the app itself. The Navigator app, which was mainly an organizational tool without any substantial action capabilities, will now allow cruisers to make payments, access online check-in and research and book all cruise activities, from dining reservations to spa services.
Booking capabilities will be enabled once a passenger is within 130 days of their cruise. All of the Navigator app’s previous features will continue to be available. These include the pre-sailing “Countdown to Your Cruise” clock as well as a list of character meet-and-greet times, activities, dinner menus and ship maps.
You can also still bookmark your favorites for easy reference and send free text messages to other people on the same ship via the app’s onboard chat feature. The app is free to download and available to cruisers on all four Disney ships. Before using your phone onboard, make sure to research your options to ensure maximum utility and minimal fees while cruising.
Americans Now Have Shorter Waits At British Airports
The UK now allows arriving US citizens to use ePassport gates for faster entry. At London airports last summer, international passengers waited in hours-long passport control lines to enter and exit the country. The lines were almost as bad as what foreign travelers must now endure at US airports.
Last fall, the UK government said it would open up ePassport readers at its ports of entry to citizens of several more countries, including the US and that change has taken effect, making for speedier entry at major airports. The service is free, no extra fees are required.
Previously, the ePassport gates were available only for UK and EU citizens. In addition to US citizens, the gates can now be used by citizens of Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and New Zealand, all considered to be low-risk nations. (That’s about 10 million travelers per year.)
The gates can be used by travelers age 18 and over who have a biometric or “chipped” passport (and travelers age 12 to 17 accompanying them). According to the U.K. government, “ePassport gates use facial recognition technology to compare the passenger’s face to the digital image recorded in their passport.
The system is monitored by Border Force officers and anyone rejected by the gates will be sent to an alternative channel to have their passport checked.” The gates are in use at 14 U.K. ports of entry including major airports as well as the Eurostar high-speed rail terminals at Paris and Brussels.
