Posts in the category "Safety":

On Monday, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey introduced a wide variety of customer service improvements at JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia airports, but it was AVA, the airport virtual assistant, that got all the attention.

In July, when the computerized avatars begin offering automated information at LaGuardia’s Central Terminal Building, at Newark’s Terminal B and at JFK’s Terminal 5, it will be the first time the hologram-like technology will be used at a North American airport.

Other improvements to be rolled out in the next 90 days include additional (live) customer care agents during peak travel times, an expanded effort to halt taxi hustling, the installation of additional power poles to charge electronic devices and cleaner restroom facilities.

Here are some more details from the plan:

At Newark Liberty, more than 100 chairs and more than 50 tables will be added to food courts in Terminals A and B, full-time restroom attendants will be on duty in Terminal A and additional quality control visits will be made to airport stores “to ensure customers are treated fairly.”

Newark, JFK, LaGuardia (and Stewart International Airport) are now included in the free FlySmart mobile app that offers real-time flight notifications for smart phones, terminal maps and basic listings for ground transportation and concessions.

The Port Authority is also starting a “We Listen” campaign to give travelers a chance to meet with airport management.

These short-term initiatives, the Port Authority points out, dovetail with the agency’s long-term efforts to improve the infrastructure at all three airports.

It all sounds promising. Except perhaps for those virtual assistants. In the promo “AVA” says she never takes a vacation, but when I arrived at Dubai International Airport recently, the representative meeting our group said the virtual assistants that were supposed to be on duty there hadn’t been working “for quite some time.”

Categories: Airports, Bathrooms, Power Outlets, Safety, Transportation
No Comments »

Security measures will be increased at Maho Beach on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in response to this video-gone-viral showing a woman being injured by jet blast from a JetBlue airplane.

The beach is just steps from Princess Juliana International Airport, where airplanes take off and land so low over the beach that the area has become a popular attraction for plane spotters and tourists. The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau even markets Maho Beach as a tourist attraction.

But despite posted signs warning that a blast from a jet’s engines can cause “extreme bodily harm and/or death,” thrill seekers often gather by the fence at the end of the runway and try to hold on through the jet blast of a departing plane.

You Tube videos show beachgoers seemingly enjoying being buffeted by airplane blowback, but in a video posted April 6 and viewed so far more than 4.7 million times, a woman is shown being blown from the fence and tumbling head first toward a concrete barrier.

In a statement released Thursday by Princess Juliana International Airport, officials say the woman’s injuries “were reportedly not debilitating,” but that in response to this and other incidents, heightened security measures at the airport and on the beach are now being considered.

“Incidents such as this unfortunate one emphasize the need for all our visitors to heed the clear warnings — about the dangers of jet blast — posted along the airport fence,” the statement said.

Measures currently in place include double fencing, warning signs, and brightly painted guardrails, the statement said, “all of which have been implemented in consultation with the government to deter dangerous activity.”

The airport also plans to work with the St. Maarten government on stricter enforcement of the warnings posted along the fence.

While it acknowledges the obvious attraction of planes landing so close to the beach and knows that this has added to the popularity of the destination, the airport said in the statement that “no amount of excitement or thrill can justify putting one’s life in danger.”

(My story Airport aims to stop thrill seekers at ‘blowback’ beach” first appeared on mnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

Categories: Safety
No Comments »

It’s been fun this week to learn about and, better yet, experience, the plush seats and top notch service offered to business and first class passengers on board Singapore Airlines’ new A380 service from JFK to Frankfurt and Singapore.

Demo of bed in First Class suite on Singapore AIrlines A380

But there’s also a serious side to these giant airplanes: safety.

That’s why I was so interested – and so attentive – on a tour of the Singapore Airlines Training Center.

A mock-up of the A380 is set up here and, on a tour of the facilities, we learned that not only is the drop from the door to the floor exactly the same height as it would be out in the ‘real ‘ world, but that every member of the Singapore Airline’s crew must return here each year for a training ‘check-up’ that includes deploying and going down these slides.

That way, if there’s an emergency, crew members “don’t think; they respond,” the trainer on duty told us.

I wondered what the famously polite Singapore Airlines crew members are taught to do in an emergency with a passenger who might balk at going down a slide.

“Those passengers would feel a gentle, but firm, push,” the trainer told us.

I would have liked to try out that evacuation slide, but thought twice about even asking to jump into the cold, choppy waves outside the water evacuation pod used for practice in the next room:

Noticing the heels and the outfits some members of our tour group were wearing, the trainer also offered some “dress for success” tips in case of a flying emergency: Thumbs up on loose slacks and low heels. Thumbs down on pantyhose, high heels and clothing apt to be flammable.

I’d heard those tips before – and mostly ignored them – but after getting a close look at these evacuation paths – and heights – I’m going shopping for new, safer, travel outfits.

Next up: Transforming flight attendant trainees into crew-worthy gems.

Note: I’m in Singapore as a guest of Singapore Airlines.

Categories: Air Travel, Airlines, Airplanes, Safety
No Comments »

I had the chance to visit the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark a few days ago and was surprised to see this coil of rope on display.

Andersen wrote Thumbelina, the Snow Queen, the Emperor’s New Clothes and more than 150 other fairy tales and stories. And while he loved to travel and is credited with that pithy “To travel is to live” quote, he also evidently harbored some serious fears about perishing in a fire while on the road.

Andersen’s solution?

He always traveled with this rope in case he needed a fire escape.

Crazy? Maybe. But it probably gave him some peace of mind.

And you? What do you always take along when you travel?

Categories: Museums, Safety
No Comments »

Buckle up, you dummy!

Airbags on airplanes have arrived and they’re not just a special perk for first-class passengers.

In fact, if you’ve been seated in a bulkhead row, near an exit-row door or in business- or first-class seats on newer planes, you may have already strapped on an airbag and not even noticed.

Unlike automobiles, airplane airbags aren’t built into the vehicle but added onto seatbelts in what looks like just some extra padding.

“Sometimes when I’m boarding a plane and see people looking around wondering why their seatbelt looks different, I stop and explain,” said Chris Muklevicz, vice president of sales and marketing for aviation restraints at AmSafe, the company that makes the only airbags certified for commercial aircraft. “But then passengers around them start asking why then don’t have them, too.”

In an interview earlier this week at the 2011 Aircraft Interiors Expo in Seattle, Muklevicz explained that seatbelts with airbags were developed as a cost-effective way for airlines to meet the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) requirement that, as of October 2009, all seats on new airplanes must be “16g” seats — able to withstand stresses and impacts of up to 16 times the force of gravity. The previous requirement was 9gs.

Most seats on new airplanes do meet the guidelines in part because they have seats in front of them that can add some cushioning in an accident. Bulkhead and front-row seats and those swanky pod-like units in some first- and business-class sections often don’t. The added protection offered by a $2,000 seatbelt airbag (versus the $50 traditional seatbelt) helps bring those seats up to code.

“Airlines could remove seats from those positions, but they don’t want to lose that potential revenue,” Muklevicz said.

The new seat code was put in place because tests and real-life incidents show passengers have a good chance of surviving an accident if seats aren’t first torn from the floor during a crash. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, more than 80 percent of commercial airline accidents are survivable because they occur on the ground or during take-off or landing when the aircraft is close to the ground and flying at relatively low speeds.

Muklevicz said the seatbelt airbags are designed to keep a passenger conscious after an impact. “If the passenger is conscious and it’s possible to get out of the plane, this can make a big difference in survival if there’s smoke and fire,” he said.

Right now, there are more than 70,000 airbag-equipped seatbelts in service. Half of those are on commercial airplanes and half are on general aviation aircraft. “Luckily, it hasn’t yet been tested in a real commercial aircraft crash,” Muklevicz told me, “but there are have plenty of reports of it saving lives on private aircraft.”

AmSafe's Chris Muklevicz with seatbelt airbag

(A slightly different version of this story first appeared on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin.)

Categories: FAA, Safety, Seating
No Comments »