Archive for the 'Whatsoever' Category
Flying with the “Dead Head” on Lufthansa 754
Yesterday I had a very inspiring flight with Lufthansa 754 from Frankfurt to Bangalore, because my seat-neighbour was a "dead head". What sounds grim to the uneducated ear (like mine was till yesterday as well), is a common expression in the aviation industry. It means that a flight attendant is on a flight (sometimes even in uniform) as a passenger, because this flight serves as a transportation flight to her next mission where he or she will be on duty. The reason yesterday was that there was no paying guest in the First Class, hence Lufthansa kept it empty, but therefore was coping with a surplus of flight attendants. Yet, for the return flight of the same crew which will leave tomorrow morning from Bangalore to Frankfurt on LH 755, there again the plane is fully loaded, hence the flight attendant is required.
Another thing I can assure: My "dead head"-neighbour was very much alive and very friendly, too. And as I always want to know it all, I poked her with tons of question which she patiently answered. How the crews constantly change and they have been trained to work together well in each and every constellation, but that for a longer trip of a few days team-spirit would kick in which would even make a difference for the better. So, it's basically like in any other profession.
What I really appreciated was her commitment which she had towards her company which was true and genuine, and not just a show to please me. And my own observation with Lufthansa's service overall is really positive, and especially it has improved over the last 10 years. In the vast majority, the crew expels a solid German charm which is perfectly fine: It's not subservient, good so, but I'd describe it as friendly, fast and efficient. As the service on board is improving, the gap to the service level on the ground (especially in Germany) is widening. What I have experienced there already from the check-in counter to the desk in the lounges was abysmal.
When I asked my neighbour what the two shittiest incidents were in her 10 years of flying, she mentioned two. The second-shittiest was a flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt when a passenger got a heart attack. Thanks to the defibrillator on board, a doctor who happened to be on board, managed to re-animate the person and recommended a safety-landing to bring the patient to intense care on the ground. The plane was already somewhere at the east coast of Canada and the nearest airport was prohibitive because of bad weather. An other, further airport seemed possible, the plane was in descend, the captain advised the crew that due to bad weather and a short runway that it should prepare for a "safe landing". The weather was that bad that in the final approach, however, the captain decided for a go-around with next destination Reykjavik in Island. At this point the patient who scratched the end of his days by a narrow margin started to argue with the crew.
Not what one might expect, that he was scared for his life and why the plane didn't land to get him to hospital. By contrary, he insisted he was fine, he needed to go to Frankfurt, because he would miss his connecting flight. Yet, the pilot clearly told him "no way", first because the doctor said differently and second, by now the plane had burnt so much fuel through the missed approach that it had to land for refuelling anyway. In Reykjavik all went fine, the ambulance took the patient and the plane could continue to Frankfurt within one hour.
Clearly number one of my neighbours bad events happened on October 7th, 2002 when a Boing 747 from Lufthansa in marginal weather conditions was set for approach to Mexico City airport. The crew on the flight deck got a warning from the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) about another plane which would intersect the course of their flight. Air Traffic Control (ATC) gave instruction NOT to climb what was exactly what TCAS commanded. As the planes got closer and closer, the pilots - according to their training - decided to ignore the ATC, follow the TCAS and pull up. My "dead head" sat on the left side of the plane looking out of the window when the Jumbo went into a steep climb, just at that moment the clouds cleared up for a moment and she saw the other plane, an Airbus from Mexicana Airlines, under-flying the Jumbo at 30 meters distance. Pretty shitty picture, isn't it. I found an online-source about the incident here.
The investigation found out 1.5 years later that it was the clear fault of Mexican Air Traffic Control and the pilots had saved the lives of their own 388 plus 120 people of the other plane through their disobedience. Interesting I found the smart way of my neighbour to cope with the incident: She wanted to come over it, deliberately requested the same flight again and for landing asked the captain to watch the landing from the jump-seat from the cockpit. After seeing how this landing could go smooth and safe, she managed to mentally tick it off once forever, and continue enjoying her work as she had always done.
Mega-T.I.I.: “10 cm Hitler”-Fireworks
Trust that this is a category leader in my collection of T.I.I. (=This is India). Check the pics out, they are no fake. It’s a product to purchase in a regular shop, especially for festivals like Diwali where whole India is being blown up in controlled micro-explosions. And yes, it’s called “Hitler”, and to not make a mistake who stands behind as the godfather of the name, here’s Hitler’s picture, too.
The backside is equally enlightening. It names the company “Standard Fireworks (P) Limited” in Sivakasi, a town south-west of Madura in the state Tamil Nadu. According to Wikipedia, Sivakasi is famous for its fireworks-factories, more than 300 in number. Given that dense competitive landscape, there seem to be no strings attached to differentiate oneself “creatively” from the rest of the pack.
After more than four years in India, I no longer get really flabbergasted by such encounters. My interpretation of this name-choice is that it is certainly an allegory of Hitler’s war machine and its penetrating power to be transferred to the fireworks. Yet, there is a small relief looking at the seal on the backside again: The exact name of the product is in fact “10 cm Hitler” which might inadvertently point to true size of the prick - before he gets blown up.
Happy Diwali from outside India
Too bad that I am missing this year's Diwali by a small, small margin. On Saturday I'll be in India, but that's two days too late. Diwali, the Festival of Light, is one of the most important Festivals in Hinduism "where the lights or lamps signify the uplighting of darkness and victory of good over the evil within."
At least thanks to E-Mail one is not entirely cut off from the scene although I would have much more preferred to celebrate the festival together with my Indian friends. For some small comfort this is the type of greeting cards that you get from your Indian business partners.
And that's a very nice one with Ganesha , the elephant god
Check out the top left and right corners and consider the cultural difference: For putting the symbol up in Germany as the "Hakenkreuz" you go to jail, putting it up in India with the "swastika" you go to heaven. At least, some kind of … :-)
Bangalore Oktoberfest 2007
Just came bak in my Lederhos'n, the traditional Bavarian dress which I took all the way from Munich to San Francisco to have it ready for today. And like last year, it was really fun. There is certainly not a lack of the bizarre and the trash-factor in this, especially when - contrary to Bavarian non-talk Oktoberfest-tradition, the India organizer started lauding and talking endlessly. So the Indian guy was full of praise for Erwin Huber, the Bavarian finance minister who became head of the ruling party CSU. To be precise: Mr. Huber was not here, but the speaker displayed a higher level of obedience than the members of the CSU themselves back home in Bavaria - and that is really quite an achievement ;-)
The funny part was when the original Bavarian band from Reisbach came in. Playing brass instruments, at first.
But later on the had their coming out that they were in fact a rock band in disguise, really playing the hard stuff well and making the crowd go pretty happy. Here a picture of my good friend Christian Karner any myself holding our mugs of - well - Indian Kingfisher beer.
Here are some more pics in the entire set.
1st Class T.I.I.: The guilty Cripple
It dawned on me today that there was still something from India when I was riding the S-Bahn in Munich and the voice announced: "Marienplatz, please disembark on the right side. Passengers with 'mobility impediment' disembark on the left side." I always get a grin on my face about these obviously overly-overly political correct expressions. And then I remembered: There was still something from India where things tend to be outspoken in a much more explicit way (but not in sex, to just make sure we are talking about the same thing.)
This little something was an advertisement which greets all passengers in Udaipur (Indian State of Rajasthan) when then walk from the Tarmac into the small terminal of the airport. Right above the counter for pre-paid taxis, here it is. One of the best T.I.I.'s ("This is India") I have ever some across. If you want big-size, click here.
Apart from the very unique design, the selection and allocation of graphical elements, the content is king. Please turn the attention first to the right side where this poor guy is crawling on the floor looking pretty miserable. Already the sub-title "before operation" reminds me of these commonly used weight-loss "before-after" pictures. And indeed on the right side there is "after operation". But the hammer comes in the alleged quotation of the person: "I was a burden on my family […,] I am now a source of support." Yep. As Winston Churchill used to say: "When you are going through hell, keep going." Haha. By the way, there are so many subtle messages hidden in this billboard. So note how the fellow is just in his underwear in stage one on the floor and how neat and presentable he looks "after operation".
Now let's turn our attention to the left where Diana Haiden is holding the hand of the young boy. (By the way, if you google the name, the correct spelling is "Diana Heyden"; but never mind.) Well, Diana Heyden is - as quoted beneath her 'testimonial' - "Miss Word". Wow. I didn't know that there was a "Miss Word". Could be something like an election for the best looking writer-chick. But no, you might have guessed already, it's JAFT (=just another f*** typo). For reference, here she is: Diana Heyden, Miss World of 1997. Olé, olé.
All in all, an advertisement which has been carefully crafted with all ingredients of successful and widely respected communication instruments. When I run (or should I better say "crawl") my next marketing campaign, this creative director is for sure on my team. High Five!
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Sunny Sunday
Hanging around in the office a bit to prepare the week to come. Will have to get a series of things done this week as on Tuesday (16th), I'll be traveling to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 Summit. The good thing for today: I am in my Lederhosen and about to depart for the last day of a phenomenal Oktoberfest 2007.
Airplane-Crash in Phuket
Yesterday the news broke about the crash of a MD-88 plane during landing at Phuket Airport (Thailand) in very bad weather. Since I have a pilot license myself (for smaller planes, though) each of these incidents sends me a little shiver down the spine. Not that was am scared of flying, but such incidents show us the limitations of both technology and what in aviation is called "the human factor". Especially when I feel a very special kind of responsibility in those flights where I take passengers on board. So far always everything went very smooth.
What I realize after such a crash when there are first fragments of information available, the the analysis starts gnawing on my mind. When it said yesterday that the pilot tried a go around I started to ask. Why did it fail? Was the pitch too high and the plane simply stalled. Did a wind-sheer get under one wing and turned the bank such that the other hit the runway? Did the engines fail to produce full thrust to initiate the safe climb?
From the latest information today, the plane had already one go-around. So it was on its second final approch, had a touch-down on the runway, started to climb again before crashing on the runway, breaking into two pieces and slipping off. The investigation is in full swing and will watch closely.
Today, however, our thoughts should be with those 88 who lost their lives and their families.
Introduction into a new Plane: Grob G 115
My postings have been lame in the last days; I had to finish off a project and decided to focus on nothing else. This morning, howeverI took a ride with flight instructor Gerhard Breu to get introduced into a new plane, the Grob G 115.
Although, Mr. Grob warned me, it still took me by surprise that the Grob is much more sensitive to handle than the Cessna 172 or 152 which I had been flying so far. Little movements on the yoke or the rudders immediately exert strong reaction on the plane. At first-take off, being used to pull the yoke in a notable way, the stall warning went off and I corrected by pushing the nose down. Nothing serious, but still an indication how to treat this “lady of the skies” with care and respect ;-)
With regard to the instrumentation, and very interesting from my usual (business interest) was the combined navigation and radio device Garmin GNS 430. What’s really cool is that the link at website offers an entire simulator for free where one can exercise the handling of the device for free, even by entering complete flight routings and the simulator would present the entire display in an interactive way. That is really smart from Garmin and I am sure that it’s a great driver for sales, as one can de-risk the purchase by pretty much trying out exactly what what you are going to buy.
Down under …
… with lots of work. So little to no postings for I guess another week as I involved in preparing an exciting venture. Bear with me and I assure to be back in full flesh soon :-)
Andhra Food: NUMBER ONE! :-)
One of my favorites in India is Andhra Style, a very diverse and spicy meal which is served on a banana leaf and when it all arrives, it looks like this:
Yesterday, we ate at “RR” on Bangalore’s Church Street, my other favorite is Nagarjuna on Residency Road. The best: It’s all you can eat, where the waiters come up with curries and rice and ask you over and over again if you really don’t want any more. Best-best is the price: Rs. 70/- which is around EUR 1.40 per meal.
Who wants to try to cook himself, here’s the recipe. Afterwards we went to Blue Bar in the Taj Westend Hotel which the barkeeper performing Tom Cruise-like in “Cocktail” a few tricks with burning bottles.
And tonight Aeorosmith is playing live in Bangalore with coming for an after-show to Blue Bar. I’m afraid I’ll pass on that one as I’m rushing off for an extended weekend to Kuala Lumpur :-)
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