Interesting Facts about the Aviation Industry

• All International Airline Pilots speaks English.
  
  
• Flights longer than 8 hours require 3 pilots (1 captain and 2 first officers) to rotate flying duties. Flights longer than 12 hours require 4 pilots (1 captain and 3 first officers). They usually fly 3-4 hour shifts.
  
  
• Each airline pilot flying the aircraft, eats a different meal to minimize the risk of all pilots on board being ill.
  
  
• On average, pilots fly between 9 and 14 days a month
  
  
• All airlines have an agreement to let each others' travelling pilots occupy empty seats. If no seats are available, the travelling pilot can also occupy an extra seat in the cockpit that is usually empty.
  
  
• The main function of flight attendants are for the safety and security of their passengers, and passenger comfort is only secondary.
  
  
• The first female flight attendants in 1930 were required to weigh less than 115 pounds. In addition, they had to be nurses and unmarried.
  
  
• Flight attendants must not have any tattoos visible when a uniform is worn. These requirements are designed to give the airlines a positive representation.
  
  
• The normal ratio of Flight Attendants to passenger seats is one Flight Attendant for every 50 passenger seats.
  
  
• The height requirement for Flight Attendant is for safety reasons, making sure that all flight attendants can reach overhead safety equipment.
  
  
• The normal ratio of Lavatories to passengers is approximately one lavatory for every 50 passengers.
  
  
• An air traveler can lose approximately 1.5 liters of water in the body during a three-hour flight.
  
  
• The reason why the lights are turned out during takeoff and landing - Is for your eyes to adjust to lower levels of light. If there's an accident and they have to activate the emergency slides, studies have shown that you will be able to see better and therefore be able to evacuate more quickly and safely.
  
  
• The World's largest Airline in terms of Fleet Size is Delta Airlines (United States) with 744 aircraft and 121 aircraft on order as of March 2011.
  
  
• The largest passenger plane is the Airbus 380 - nearly 240 feet long, almost 80 feet high, and has a wingspan of more than 260 feet. The double-decker plane has a standard seating capacity of 555 passengers.
  
  
• The world's busiest airport in terms of passenger volume or the number of takeoffs and landings, is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States - with more than 88 million passengers shuffled through the Atlanta airport in 2009, with another 20 million in the first three months of 2010, and with aircraft take-off and landings approximately every 37 seconds.
  
  
• The Internet/On-Line check-in was first used by Alaskan Airlines in 1999.
  
  
• The world's Largest Airport is Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (as of 2011). By 2013 Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates is planned to be the largest airport in the world.
  
  
• The airport with the longest runway in the world is Qamdo Bangda Airport in the Peoples Republic of China with 5.50 kilometers in length (as of 2011).
  
  
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by removing 1 olive from each salad served in first class.
  
  
• In 2009, Southwest served 63.2 million cans of soda, juices, and water; 14.3 million alcoholic beverages; 14 million bags of pretzels; 90 million bags of peanuts; 17.7 million Select-A-Snacks; and 33.5 million other snacks.
  
  
• Singapore Airlines spends about $700 million on food every year and $16 million on wine alone. First class passengers consume 20,000 bottles of alcohol every month and Singapore Airlines is the second largest buyer of Dom Perignon champagne in the world.
  
  
• Cathay Pacific carries rice cookers, toasters, cappuccino makers and skillets on board their airplanes.
  
  
• KLM of Netherlands stands for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (meaning Royal Dutch Airlines).
  
  
• KLM is the worlds' oldest airline established in 1919.
  
  
• QUANTAS - Australia's national airline, originally stood for Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service.
  
  
• QUANTAS is the second world's oldest airline established in 1920.
  
  
• QUANTAS still has the world's best safety record with no crashes as of 2011.
  
  
• Virgin Atlantic lists catering as their third biggest expense, after fuel and maintenance.
  
  
• American Airlines spent about $425 million on food for domestic passengers in 2001.
  
  
• In one year, British Airways passengers consume:
  * 40.5 tons of chicken
  * 6 tons of caviar
  * 22 tons of smoked salmon
  * 557,507 boxes of chocolate
  * 90 thousand cases (9 liter cases) of sparkling wine.
  
  
• Abu Dhabi Airport Services once did a complete turn-around for a Boeing 777 in under 40 minutes, as opposed to a normal minimum of one hour. They unloaded passengers, cargo, mail, cleaned the aircraft, and loaded outbound passengers, cargo and mail in that short time.
  
  
• In 2001, Dubai Duty Free sold 1,570,214 cartons of cigarettes, 2,003,151 bottles of liquor, 2,909 kilograms of gold, 101,824 watches, 690,502 bottles of perfume, 52,119 mobile phones.
  
  
• In-flight catering is an $18 billion worldwide industry employing up to 200,000 people.
  
  

Reclaim America from Illegal Immigrants

Breathing Wine

The Original Angry Birds

Diabetic

A doctor received a call from an anxious patient. "I'm diabetic and I'm afraid I took too much insulin this morning," she said.

"Are you light-headed?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "I'm a blonde."

Emotional Extremes

Three aspiring psychiatrists from three universities were attending their first class on Emotional Extremes.

"Just to establish some parameters," said the professor to the student from Oxford University, "What is the opposite of joy?"

"Sadness" said the student. 

"And the opposite of depression?" he asked the young lady from Cambridge.

"Elation" she said.

"And you, sir," he said to the student from Dublin University, "How about the opposite of woe?"

The student replied, "I believe that would be giddy up."

How many women can a man marry?

A little boy was attending his first wedding.

After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?"

"Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he had an answer so quickly.

"How do you know that?"

"Easy," the little boy said.

"All you have to do is add it up, like the Priest said, 4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."

Lawyer Race

Two lawyers walking through the woods spotted a vicious looking bear.

The first lawyer immediately opened his briefcase, pulled out a pair of sneakers and started putting them on.

The second lawyer looked at him and said, "You're crazy! You'll never be able to outrun that bear!"

"I don't have to, " the first lawyer replied. "I only have to outrun you"

The Curse

An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a "Curse" he has been living with for the last 40 years.

The Wizard says, "Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that were used to put the curse on you."

The old man says without hesitation, "I now pronounce you man and wife."

It Takes Skill

How the Government Works

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two
people: one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people: one to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created the following positions: a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three
people: an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this operating for one year and we are $38,000 over budget. We must cutback overall cost."

So they laid off the night watchman.

Common Sense

American Constitution

The Founding Fathers were sitting around a table sometime in 1776, working on the constitution. It had been a long day.
 
"Whew! It's getting rather warm in here, isn't it? "
 
"Shall I open the window? "
 
"No, that's alright. I'll just take off my jacket, and roll up my sleeves. "
 
"Hey, that's a good idea. Why don't we include that in the constitution? "
 
"What? That we're allowed to take our jackets off and roll up our sleeves while at work? "
 
"Yeah, but that doesn't sound very smooth. How about, 'Everyone shall have the right to bare arms'"

Q: What is arguably one of the most costly things in the world?

A: A girl who is free for the evening.

Ballet

A mother took her six-year-old daughter to the famed Ballet de France.

This was the first time the little girl had ever seen a ballet and she watched wide-eyed as the ballerinas pranced around the stage on their toes. When the ballet was over, the mother asked her daughter if she had any questions.

"Yes, Mommy," the little girl replied. "Wouldn't it be easier if they just hired taller dancers?"

Bubba Wants to Get Married

Bubba was from the lower valley, and he decided he wanted to get married to his sweetheart.

So, while enjoying some grits and gravy for dinner one evening, Bubba brought up the subject with his Ma and Pa.

"Bubba, you can't get married yet," insisted Ma. "You're the baby of the family."

"But Ma," Bubba protested, "I just had my 38th birthday last week."

"We know that, Bubba," Pa chimed, "but your Ma and me think you should put off getting married until after you graduate  from high school."

Best Marksmen

One of the best marksmen in the FBI was passing through a small town.

Everywhere he saw evidence of the most amazing shooting. On trees, on walls, and on fences there were numerous bull's-eyes with the bullet hole in dead center.

The FBI man asked one of the townsmen if he could meet the person responsible for this wonderful marksmanship. The man turned out to be the village idiot.

"This is the best marksmanship I have ever seen," said the FBI man. "How in the world do you do it?"

"Nothing to it," said the idiot. "I shoot first and draw the circles afterward."