National Aviation day is upon us! Time to celebrate everything that’s man-made that helps us lift up in the air (take that, gravity). So why not do it with a cheerful barrage of aviation facts? Here are the ones we deem most interesting.
- The law demands I include this fact: in 1987, American Airlines saved $40,000 by putting one less olive into salads served for first-class passengers.
- Speaking of luxury meals: Lufthansa buys over 10 tons of caviar a year, making it the largest single purchaser of fish-eggs.
- Boeing 747-8 may be the fastest commercial jet out there, clocking in at around 914km/h. Some private jet types, as well as such defunct beauties as the Concorde and Tu-144, may be faster, but odds of you ever flying one are slim-to-none.
- All of those airlines and planes out there carry out 200,000 flights per day. About 14,000-17,000 of them will be delayed flights.
- By 2023, the average plane age in the fleets of commercial airlines in Europe will be around 10 years. Compare this to 12.2 years for North America, 12.7 for Africa, 9.2 in Latin America, 7.2 in the Middle East 7.2 and 5.9 years in China.
- American Airlines claim that by exchanging paper pilot manuals for iPads they will save $1.2 million in fuel cost. The reason why you can’t use your phone or tablet without going on flight mode is still hotly debated online.
- Established in 1919, KLM is the oldest operating commercial airline. Qantas is the second oldest, having started in 1920. Air France would like to trace its history back to the Aeropostale of 1918.
- Ilya Muromets was supposed to be the first passenger plane, but the start of World War I meant that it was used as a bomber. Ironically enough, Farman F.60 Goliath, the most influential early airliner, was actually a converted bomber that arrived too late for World War I.
- Aviation is the second safest mode of transportation. Elevators and escalators are the safest way to travel (albeit not that far). Motorcycles are the deadliest. To put it into numbers, aviation racks up 0.07 deaths per 1 billion passenger miles. Motorcycles? 212.57.
- The first flight attendant was Heinrich Kubis from Germany, who had worked at some of Europe’s finest restaurants before starting his work on a Zeppelin craft. He also had the dubious fortune to be on the Hindenburg on the day of the disaster, though he escaped unharmed.
Of course, those are not all fun facts you can know about aviation. However, there exist some less-than-fun facts as well, like flight disruptions being a thing. Flight delays, cancellations and overbooking are all too frequent. However, it’s a fact that you can claim up to €600 in-flight compensation – and Skycop can help! File your claim with us and we’ll take care of the hard work while you enjoy the pleasures of aviation!
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The Fun Facts That You Won’t See In Other International Civil Aviation Day Listicles
9 facts about Ryanair that you should know
11 most outrageous things that airlines don’t want you to know