…lest they get any ideas. Come to think of it, UA and AA are ALREADY doing most of these things. No blankies and pillows on AA and no magazines (cuz they get stolen) on UA. Are the toilet restrictions next?
From the unlinkable South China Morning Post, 1 December 2006, Lai See Column:
AIRLINE FLUSH WITH IDEAS ON HOW TO LIGHTEN COSTS BURDEN
All right, enough of this flushing profits down the toilet. Go do it in the bushes! China Southern has calculated that it takes one litre of fuel to flush an airplane (toilet) at 30,000 feet, according to the Xinhua news agency. Which explains that really loud sucking noise airline toilets make. So, in order to save a few yuan, the airline is kindly requesting passengers to use the bathroom before they board. We dare not ask for extra peanuts.
A survey by the company’s logistics department found that filling the water tank only 60 percent will save the airline another 47 million yuan. It failed to mention by how much this step would shorten the bathroom queue.
Another easy weight loss trick is to toss the pillows and blankets, as each kilogram of such creature comforts uses 0.2 kg of fuel per hour. “This means the blankets and pillows on board the aircraft eat up 60 tonnes of fuel every day. If each seat is loaded with three 450-gram magazines, another 60 tonnes will be consumed,” explained Captain Liu Zhiyuan who flies regularly between Hangzhou and Beijing.
The last time we flew on China Southern it was near impossible to get the trolley dolly to hand over a second beer. Perhaps that was two expenses cut with one, er, flush.
And you know what’s truly disturbing? I can see UA and AA doing this! Except for the first class passengers and the flight crew of course…
Musings of a Food and Travel Addict