Air Rage – Causes and Prevention

Air Rage – Causes and Prevention

Air rage is defined as ‘disruptive or unruly behavior exhibited by passengers and crew of an aircraft during a flight’. The reasons for this kind of behavior have often been assigned to excessive alcohol consumption, crowded or long flights that agitate passengers, problems with crew members or other psychological problems. Air rage can create an environment of tension in the air putting both the crew members and the passengers at risk.

According to aviation expert, Diana Fairechild recycled air on planes aids in spreading infections like flu and tuberculosis and minimal oxygen in the cabin can also lead to a higher level of temper tantrums and boisterous behavior among kids. There have been many reports of air rage resulting in unscheduled landings, jail time and penalties for passengers, career changes for flight attendants and even death of a passenger.

Business: Airline Alliances

TOPIC: AIRLINE ALLIANCES AND A CHANGED PASSENGER EXPERIENCE

LEVEL: easy

Read the introductory text below. Follow links to additional material.

Passenger experience as a concept has been a matter of great transformation over the last years. Both, airlines and airports have invested time and expertise into revamping interiors and procedures, introducing new technologies, going green, offering bonuses and frequent flier miles club memberships, forming alliances and expanding them, as well as reinventing the entire idea of aviation security in a way that is unnerving for many a traveler or human rights activist Read

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The Good Old B52: America’s Veteran Bomber

[audio:https://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/07goodoldb52.mp3|titles=The good old B52 Bomber]The Good Old B52: America’s Veteran Bomber

Despite more sophisticated aircrafts, the B52 jet powered strategic bomber has been in active service since 1955. While much of it is attributed to the USAF teams that have maintained the aircraft, the main reason has been superior performance at sub supersonic speeds and relatively low operating costs. The B52 is slated to be in active service until 2040, 85 years since its commissioning.

Even before the production of B-36 started, the requirement for a bomber with a larger operational radius and greater speed was issued. The B52 was primarily meant for deterrent missions during the cold war era and designed as a high-level nuclear bomber that could take on the Soviet Union. That however became difficult with the arrival of SAM missiles. That was when B52 took on the role of a low-level bomber.

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History of Aviation

[audio:https://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/09historyofaviation.mp3|titles=The History of Aviation]TOPIC: History of Aviation

GOAL: To learn about the origins of manned flight and its fascinating history

Level: Easy

Exercise #1: Read about the history of aviation and then proceed to Exercise #2

While many aviation professionals and enthusiasts recognize the beginnings of manned flight with the Wright Brothers or Santos Dumont, its origins really stretch well before those dates in aeronautical history. In fact, famous inventors such as Leonardo da Vinci, John Stringfellow and Lawrence Hargrave had conjured up ideas of how to get some of the strangest machines to fly long before the Wright brothers' famous first flight at Kitty Hawk.

The kite was the first form of an aircraft believed to have been first designed in the 5th century BC. Roger Bacon, an English monk, performed studies later on in the 13th century which gave him the idea that air could support a craft just like water supports boats. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci studied birds’ flight and later produced the airscrew and the parachute. The airscrew, leading to the propeller later on and the parachute were tremendously important contributions to aviation. He envisioned three different types of heavier-than-air craft; the helicopter, glider and ornithopter (a machine with mechanical wings which flaps to mimic a bird).

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Passengers with Special Needs

Flight Attendants

Passengers with special needs

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Revise or learn vocabulary surrounding passengers with special needs (level: difficult)
• Have fun!

While some passengers may think that flight attendants are standing by to top up drinks and bring more peanuts, you will no doubt be aware that the role of a flight attendant is that of a trained professional, onboard to ensure security and safety of passengers.  Passengers who identify as having special needs (that fall under the categories of special needs as defined by each airline) will require specific attention.

Why is it important?

Being able to attend to specially identified needs means

• An enhanced level of service
• Increased customer comfort and satisfaction
• Increased customer safety and wellbeing
• An accessible, non-discriminatory service

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Prepositions of Place/Location IN/ON/AT

TOPIC: Prepositions of Place/Location

GOAL: To learn about the proper use of prepositions of place/location

Exercise #1: Read about Prepositions of Place and then proceed to Exercise #2

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.

Even for the most advanced students, propositions can always use more practice. Many verbs are (usually) followed by certain prepositions. Some even entirely change the meaning of a verb by turning it into a phrasal verb.  Learners just have to memorize most prepositions, especially those that follow certain verbs (and even more so for those that create phrasal verbs). Some prepositions can be used interchangeably depending on the situation. This just adds more confusion for people learning English.

The good news is that prepositions of place, perhaps, are among the most consistent (that is, they have fewer exceptions). Prepositions of place are almost logical, if you can understand the preposition on its own.

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Religions and Cultural Sensitivity

Religions and Cultural Sensitivity

A separate and explicit training of different religions and cultures is an essential part of the overall training for all airport officials and crew members and the reason for this is quite apparent. Airline staff and crew come across people from various nationalities and cultures and each of these have their own unique practices and requirements.  While the Jews may need kosher meals, some Hindus may want completely vegetarian fare. And food is not the only sensitivity that we are talking about.

Educating the airline crews about different religions and cultures is imperative for them to have a better understanding of how specific religions and cultures function. The need for the same is evident from an incident with a US Airways flight in Minneapolis where six Muslim Imams were ejected by authorities because passengers and crew found their prayer rituals unnerving.

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Jet lag – Cause and Management

[audio:https://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/05jetlag.mp3|titles=Jet lag – Causes and Management]Jet lag – Cause and Management

Also called desynchronosis, jet lag is a medical condition that occurs as a result of air travel across countries in different time zones in a short period of time. This is different from air sickness which is nausea experienced by some people every time they travel by air.

Some of the common symptoms of jet lag include headache, fatigue, insomnia, disrupted sleep pattern, irritability and digestive trouble.

The body can tell the time of the day with the help of specific signals that are received by the senses. For example, the optic nerve in the eyes receives information about the amount of light or darkness outside and transmits this to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls various bodily functions like temperature, hunger, thirst and sleep as well.

Why it’s great to be a pilot

[audio:https://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/11greattobeapilot.mp3|titles=Why it’s great to be a pilot]TOPIC: Why it’s great to be a pilot

GOAL: To learn what are the benefits and rewards of being a pilot

Exercise #1: Read about why it’s great being a pilot and then proceed to Exercise #2

You can always spot a pilot…even when he/she is not on the airport property. It’s something about the way they carry themselves and they way they react to everything that has to do with flying. They are the ones that don’t complain about “airplane noise” and actually prefer to live close to an airport. Whenever an airplane flies overhead, all pilots will look up and try to identify the kind of aircraft…guaranteed. This I what truly makes aviators a breed apart from the rest of the population.

The ability to travel in a three-dimensional environment so totally different from our ground perspective is the main draw. Pilots enjoy the best view that any office building would never even come close to. The aviator works in another world and enjoys seeing our world from a completely different perspective. In this world, we have the opportunity to enjoy the planet in an environment that is mostly free from the signs of human interference.  There is something about flying through the clouds that detaches you from everything that is happening on the ground.

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Santos Dumont, Pioneer Aviator