Latest news with #flight
The Independent
a day ago
- Health
- The Independent
New website forecasts turbulence risk for nervous flyers
is a website that offers passengers information about potential turbulence levels for their flights, similar to what pilots use. The site uses data from NOAA and the Met Office to monitor and forecast turbulence, presenting it in an hour-by-hour graph indicating light, moderate, or strong turbulence. also provides interactive turbulence maps, tailwind/headwind predictions, crosswind data, and thunderstorm forecasts. In North America, Denver, Colorado, is identified as the most turbulent airport for approaches and descents, while Albuquerque to Denver is the most turbulent route. Turbulence is caused by warm air rising, mountains disrupting airflow, and pockets of air moving in different directions, but modern aircraft are designed to withstand it, and serious injuries are rare, according to FAA data.
The Independent
a day ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Worried about turbulence? The hack for discovering how bumpy your next flight will be
Turbulence is undoubtedly the scariest aspect of a flight for nervous fliers — with their fears compounded by not knowing how long it'll last or how severe it's going to get. But fortunately there's a hack to help with this, a tool that gives passengers-in-waiting almost as much information about turbulence levels for their upcoming flight as pilots receive. The feature is by website which monitors and predicts turbulence using the same sources pilots and airlines use to plan their flights — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the MetOffice. Fliers who believe in a "better the devil you know" approach to life simply input their upcoming departure and arrival airports, and flight numbers, into forecasting tool to see hour-by-hour turbulence levels for their trip, presented as a graph. This indicates whether turbulence will be light, moderate or strong along the expected route, along with a one-line summation of how bumpy things will get. The website describes "light" turbulence as "smooth flight conditions"; "moderate" as leading to "difficulty with walking and food services"; and "strong" as "passengers straining against seat belts". Further down the page, and viewers can see predicted tailwinds and headwinds, crosswinds at the expected take-off and landing runways, plus thunderstorm forecasts. The website also produces insightful interactive turbulence maps, with passengers able to plot their upcoming flight route and see any patches of turbulence their plane might pass through. In addition, produces lists of the airports and flight routes that are the worst for turbulence. In North America, the most turbulent airport for approaches and descents — take-offs and landings are affected by crosswinds, not turbulence — is Denver, Colorado, followed by Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. Salt Lake City, Jackson Hole Airport and Las Vegas also make the top 10, with Albuquerque to Denver ranked as the route with the highest average turbulence. Las Vegas to Reno and Las Vegas to Salt Lake City also make the top 10 most turbulent route table. Turbulence is caused by warm air rising through cooler air; mountains or manmade structures disrupting air flow, and pockets of air moving in different directions. It's completely normal and modern aircraft are designed to withstand more turbulence than you'll ever experience on a flight. According to data from America's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there have been only 184 serious turbulence injuries between 2009 and 2023, with 37 of those people passengers, the rest crew members. North America's 10 most turbulent airports Denver (17.29 EDR — eddy dissipation rate) Bozeman (17) Albuquerque (16.44) Salt Lake City (16.43) Jackson Hole Airport (16.14) Las Vegas (15.74) Vancouver (15.68) Reno (15.67) Seattle (15.49) Boise (15.40) North America's most turbulent routes Albuquerque — Denver (17.75 EDR) Denver — Jackson (17.45) Jackson — Salt Lake City (17.41) Denver — Salt Lake City (16.94) Bozeman — Denver (16.68) Ontario — San Diego (16.43) Boise — Salt Lake City (16.30) Bozeman — Salt Lake City (16.25) Las Vegas — Reno (16.06) Las Vegas — Salt Lake City (15.87)
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Travel + Leisure
a day ago
- Health
- Travel + Leisure
This Plane Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free
As a travel writer, I spend a lot of time on airplanes. Some of these flights are shorter, while others are hours long, or even take all night. Naturally, I've gotten quite used to finding small ways to make those often-uncomfortable flights a lot easier on my body and mind. For one, I try to get the aisle seat as often as possible on these trips, since I tend to get up often. Aisle seats have so many benefits: They make it easier to use the bathroom and disembark quickly, plus they're great for easing the closed-in, trapped feeling of being in a tight space. But these perks also come with a distinct set of potential discomforts you may not have in other seats. Sitting in the aisle seat means you'll also be asked to pop up and down more frequently to let your fellow passengers out—plus, there's no view, and the constant foot traffic of the aisle can be a pain. And, at the end of the day, you still have to deal with sitting in an uncomfortable seat. Over time and circumstance, though, I've discovered there are small changes to make and travel accessories I can add to my routine to create a more comfortable space in any seat on the plane. And, for me, one game-changer has been my Sojoy Gel Seat Cushion. While $54 may seem like a hefty sum of money, it's a small price to pay for adding an extra layer of comfort and cushioning to an uncomfortable airplane seat that often leaves me with an achy bottom. Flight after flight, I've arrived at my destination with my lower back in so much pain I could barely function navigating outside of the airport. The last thing I wanted to do was add yet another thing to my load when I fly, but since I've added this gel seat cushion to my arsenal, it's made all the difference in how I feel—both during the flight and when I arrive at my destination. As a larger girl, the memory foam cushion has helped absorb my body's weight, allowing me to maintain as much comfort as possible. The Sojoy Foldable Gel Seat Cushion is ergonomic and made with a gel-topped memory foam cushion that feels sturdy and strong—but despite that durability, it's also really easy to fold up and store between uses. An added benefit for me is that it's not limited to airplane seats. I never know when I'll be dealing with a hard or uncomfortable seat in a hotel room or cafe, and this has come in handy for those instances, as well. I've even been using it at home on my own desk chair, which after a decade of use, is weathered and pretty worn out. This lightweight and comfortable seat cushion is even approved by flight attendants. "I am a flight attendant and I use this when I am commuting to work,' wrote one shopper, giving it a five-star rating. 'It fits perfectly in my bag because it folds in half, or has a snap if you want to put it on your bag. It was my Christmas gift to myself and I use it all the time." According to the Amazon reviews, pilots—who also have to spend long hours sitting during flights—love it as well. 'A commercial pilot recommended this, and [the] dude is right,' shared one five-star reviewer. 'It's amazing. This is my companion for any flights or long road trip." Another five-star reviewer noted that it's "so comfortable," adding, "I bought one for my mom and one for me. I found out about it from a pilot who was sitting next to me on a recent flight and he swore by it." The Sojoy Foldable Gel Seat Cushion isn't the only thing I swear by for making flights more comfortable. Keep scrolling for more in-flight essentials I recommend packing before your next trip, starting at $10. Love a great deal? Sign up for our T+L Recommends newsletter and we'll send you our favorite travel products each week.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
United's CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer'
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Thursday the budget airline model is dead, adding that these 'crappy' models 'screw the customer.' Kirby's interview was on the same day, however, as the announcement of a partnership between United and JetBlue, which many consider to be a budget airline. All eyes have been on airlines recently as problems with antiquated air traffic control systems have led to mass delays and cancellations—particularly at Newark Liberty International Airport. But a silver lining for air travel customers this summer is that the cost to fly is likely to be 'the cheapest it's probably ever going to be in history,' United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in an interview at a Wall Street Journal conference this week. That's because so many customers have canceled their flights out of fear of further delays and cancellations that there will be more seats available. 'I don't really like that, but you ought to book,' Kirby said. 'This is short-term painful for us at Newark, but it's long-term better because the FAA is going to do what they do at JFK, LaGuardia, which is manage the number of flights to be equal to the capacity of the airport.' But just because United flights might be cheaper temporarily doesn't knock them down to a budget airline. In fact, Kirby during the same interview dissed low-cost airlines, calling them a 'crappy model' that was designed to 'screw the customer.' 'It was like, trick people, get them to buy, and get them to come, and then charge them a whole bunch of fees that they aren't expecting,' Kirby said. 'Their problem is they got big enough that they needed repeat customers. They don't get them.' The model 'is dead,' he added. But budget airlines don't see it that way. 'With the New Frontier, we offer a free carry-on bag, free changes, and free seat assignments in our economy product,' Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle told Fortune. 'He must be referring to other carriers.' Frontier is typically considered a budget airline, along with Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air, Ryanair, and Breeze Airways. Those airlines didn't respond to Fortune's request for comment in response to Kirby's allegations. Some consumers also consider JetBlue to be a budget airline, and coincidentally, Kirby's interview with WSJ happened to be on the same day United announced a partnership with JetBlue. The deal—called Blue Sky—allows passengers to earn and spend frequent flyer miles between the two airlines. It will also eventually let each carrier's elite frequent flyers to get reciprocal benefits and other business perks. The partnership is subject to regulatory review, but it could start as soon as this fall. And budget airlines are far from the only offenders when it comes to tacking on extra fees and charges. Consumer advocates have long criticized the 'unbundling' by which airlines, including United, have started charging to check bags, eat on the flight, and other amenities that used to be part of the ticket price. United Airlines didn't respond to Fortune's request for comment about whether Kirby's assertions about budget airlines conflicted with their JetBlue partnership. Kirby insisted during his WSJ interview, though, JetBlue isn't the typical budget airline model. 'JetBlue is not that at all,' Kirby said, calling the airline a poster child for customer satisfaction. He used the example of how JetBlue first put live televisions in its aircrafts. Kirby admittedly thought it was a gimmick at first, he said, but when he saw more than 20 people on his JetBlue flight watching TV, he changed his mind. He thought, 'holy cow, they got this right, and it was literally a turning point for me,' Kirby said. 'JetBlue is founded in trying to be a better airline for customers. The budget airlines were founded in trying to have the absolute bare bones lowest cost. They may both be startups, [but have] two polar-opposite business models.' This story was originally featured on
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- General
- Times of Oman
Oman Air flight to Bangkok turned around due to technical issue
Muscat: An Oman Air flight bound for Bangkok in Thailand, was turned around due to a technical glitch and landed in Muscat, the airline confirmed on Saturday. In a statement, the airline said, "Oman Air flight WY815, flying from Muscat to Bangkok on 31 May 2025, experienced a technical issue shortly after take-off and in accordance with safety and operational protocols, had to return to Muscat International Airport." The aircraft landed safely at Muscat without incident according to the airline. "Our guests were disembarked and taken back to the terminal. All guests were accommodated on a replacement flight shortly after. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused. As always, the safety of our guests and crew remains our top priority."
