Because in-flight turbulence can occur with little warning, predicting whether a ride in the sky will be bumpy or smooth is not easy—in fact, the most dependable weather models won't hazard a forecast for more than a day or so into the future. However, historical data can teach us something about the conditions under which…
A medical emergency occurs in the skies about once every 600 flights, according to a study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The most common maladies are fainting, respiratory problems, heart trouble, and nausea or vomiting. The study found that it's rare for an in-flight emergency to end in death, but the…
I've been traveling for years, and in my unscientific opinion, the worst part of long flights isn't adjusting to the time difference. It's that they deprive you of sleep. Jet lag can be a bulldozer that flattens you for your first two days of vacation, wasting precious, hard-earned time. After cumulatively spending many weeks…
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby speaking in Chicago on June 5, 2019. Kamil Krzaczynski | Reuters United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on Monday sought to reassure customers about the carrier's safety after a series of flight problems in recent weeks. In one incident this month, a tire fell from one of the…