10 airline secrets you may not have known
Every day in the world fly almost 25 thousands of aircraft. Millions of people use air transport, but not everyone knows what airlines are hiding from their customers. Often, passengers forget about their rights and even lose a few hundred dollars. But some problems can still be avoided.
ForumDaily made a list of 10 interesting facts, which carriers prefer not to talk about.
1. Why luggage is lost
Not all air passengers know why their baggage is lost along the way. And here are just some of the reasons that could lead to the disappearance of your suitcase:
— they decided to check your luggage additionally and, as a result, did not have time to load it onto the plane in time;
— one of the new employees loaded the suitcase into the wrong cart, and as a result it ended up in the wrong place;
- an airline employee mistakenly attached the wrong sticker to the luggage, or the passenger did not remove old stickers and tags from the luggage, which led to confusion. Therefore, it is very important to tear off stickers that have been previously used;
— the suitcase got stuck on the conveyor belt, or the equipment sent the bag in the wrong direction. This can happen during connecting flights;
— there was a malfunction in the baggage recognition system, or the tag was lost.
2. Why not smoke on board
It is believed that the smoking ban was introduced for such obvious reasons as the risk of fire and the harm from second-hand smoke. But the first reason raises some doubts, because previously smoking was allowed, and there were no fires because of it. In fact, the main reason for the ban is economic. The air in an airplane constantly circulates, passing through the filters, and soot and resins quickly lead to their wear. Accordingly, it is simply not profitable for airlines to frequently change special filters.
3. The airline is obliged to pay the passenger for the flight delay
Often we think that nothing can be done when our flight is heavily delayed or canceled. So it is, if the reason for this is the weather or the strike of the baggage loaders (without baggage, how can you fly?). But few people know that if the flight is delayed due to the fault of the airline, in certain cases, the passengers are entitled to monetary compensation.
“Indeed, few people know that in some cases, in the event of a long delay or cancellation of a flight, the airline is obliged to pay monetary compensation to air passengers. So, in the case of flights to/from/throughout Europe, if the flight is delayed for more than 3 hours or canceled due to the fault of the air carrier, the passenger is entitled to compensation in the amount of 250 to 600 euros. Moreover, the airline is obliged to pay even if a hotel and food voucher were provided. A little-known fact is that a passenger can exercise the right to receive this compensation on average within 5 years from the date of the flight,” says Elena Belokon, founder of Flightbucks, a company that helps airline passengers receive the monetary compensation due to them.
4. Why on board the aircraft can not use cell phones
It is unlikely that the phone is able to disable the aircraft. However, the signal can create noise. It can prevent pilots from hearing important information from an air traffic controller. However, the crew members themselves sometimes ignore this rule. There is one more reason.
“One of the main reasons for banning mobile phones is the fact that no one wants to listen to the conversations of 300 passengers at the same time. Even if the use of phones is allowed by the government of some countries, airlines will prohibit it because they will not be able to handle so many complaints from passengers. Even in the metro and on European trains, using a telephone is prohibited. Many people just want to close their eyes and relax during the flight,” explains Elena Belokon.
5. The armrests of the seats at the aisles and the portholes also rise
Many people are annoyed that the armrests of the aisles and the portholes are fixed. It turned out that they can be raised. To do this, press the small button at the base of the armrest, hidden in the recess below. But be prepared for the fact that the cabin crew will ask you to return the handle in place.
6. When is it better to buy tickets
Of course, many passengers want to buy cheap tickets, which is why they end so quickly. Experts say that you can save money on a flight on certain days by buying a ticket on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday.
“That's not entirely true. Ticket price is a whole science. Each airline has a whole department - it only deals with setting prices, which can change every day, or even every hour. It all depends on the day of the week, holidays, and what other airlines are doing. In fact, in order to maintain competition, all airlines that fly on the same route will have more or less the same prices,” says the company’s founder Flightbucks.
7. Locks do not protect baggage
Some passengers think that if they lock their suitcase on the lock, no one will open it. In fact, it will not prevent any employee of the airport with a pen or pencil to open your suitcase.
8. Captain can arrest you in flight
When the aircraft door closes, the captain of the aircraft is given unlimited authority. He can arrest a passenger, issue a fine, and even accept the last wish of a dying person.
Of course, he does not have the full legal right to arrest someone, but he can restrict your freedom on board the aircraft and transfer it to the authorities after landing. That is, the police will directly arrest you; however, on board you will be restricted in movement.
9. You can be transferred to business class after takeoff.
Flight attendants can transfer a person to a business class after the aircraft’s doors are closed. This happens not so often, but still, people who have paid for the economy, sometimes fly in business class. Most often, these are pregnant women, very tall passengers, and, probably, friends and acquaintances of flight attendants.
10. Pilots may fall asleep during flight
About 43% of pilots working in the UK, Norway and Sweden admitted that they fell asleep while operating a passenger plane, writes adme.ru. During long flights, one of the pilots is given time to rest, and then the co-pilot takes control. Be that as it may, the pilots participating in the survey admitted that they sometimes involuntarily fell asleep.
“To be honest, I’m not sure that pilots fall asleep at the controls. But they can definitely sleep through their flight: people! If your pilot or other crew member did not show up for work on time and the airline had to cancel or delay the flight until a new pilot was available, you would be entitled to monetary compensation. This reason, as well as the absence of the pilot due to illness, technical breakdown of the aircraft and many other circumstances that led to the delay of the flight, oblige the airlines to pay passengers,” said Elena Belokon.
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