Remember the Days When Flying was Fun?

My father lives in Ontario, and in my younger years I used to fly out two or three times a year to visit.  As I grew up I never forgot the excitement that came with going to visit my dad- the flight to and from was almost as fun as the reason for the visit itself! 

So, unfortunately, it’s with a cold, cruel tone that I write this.  The irony is not at all lost on me, either, but that doesn’t make it any less unfortunate.

Paranoia Induces Overregulation

I believe that modern-day air travel is absolutely ridiculous, and this was made crystal-clear to me when a child that was sitting behind me asked to see the cockpit - something that I used to do regularly when I flew as a kid - and was denied by the flight attendant.  I can’t even completely explain the wonder and amazaement that I used to feel when I entered the cockpit, with it’s big windows displaying the horizon so triumphantly. 

Looking around, I used to wonder what every button, switch, and dial did.  It was a fantasy of mine to one day fly an airplane and find out.  In fact, one of my prevailing memories as a kid was a pilot explaining to me how their radar worked: “this is our radar, it tells us where other planes are.  Sometimes a plane will ‘ping’ us, and to show that we’re nice guys, we’ll ‘ping’ them right back.  It’s kind of like playing tag, except 40,000 feet in the air”. 

Now, you can’t even stand within three feet of the cockpit door during a commercial flight.  How… overzealous.

I Believe in Safety… To a Point

I never had a problem with flying, ever.  Now, there’s some irrational fear that exists within me that causes me to be anxious and leery before each flight that I make.  Given that I fly, on average, at least a dozen times per year this is obviously a feeling I really don’t want to experience.

Now, I can’t even take a bottle of water on an airplane thanks to a terrorist plot involving liquid explosives.  Of course, it’s no problem at all if I want to spend $3 mid-flight and purchase one.  I’m all for safety, but this seems to be a little over the top.  Realistically speaking, in nearly 100 years of flying we are now locked down to the point where something that was once a leisurly activity is now a chore- something that post people just shrug off and ignore until they get to their destination.

I want my freedoms back, as a consumer and as a Canadian.  I want to be able to enjoy flying in the same capacity that I used to.  Most importantly, I want flying to step down from its pedestal and come back down to earth.  There is no reason that we can’t be safe and secure without involving being padded down, stripped down, and humiliated before each and every flight.

The average person won’t have a problem finding reasons why the indsutry is in peril.  Why can’t the industry?

Heathrow Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) System

Electric transport seems to be the future. From President Obama’s $2.4 billion investment for the creation of an American electric car battery, to the huge demand from eco-warriors for electric cars, the world does seem to be moving towards an electric future. The latest enterprise to take the bait seems to be London’s Heathrow airport with the news that it plans to convert all of its inter-airport transportation system (i.e. the vehicles that take passengers to and from the plane from the terminal) to driverless electric cars, also known as a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system.

These driverless cars will take the form of electric ‘pods’ and will commute passengers in and around the terminal in under 5 minutes according to the airport operator, British Airport Authority. Some twenty-one of these cars are expected to be put into operation by early next year (2010) with over 400 after the initial roll-out. The £25 million ($45M) scheme is being hailed as a victory and is being billed as the first major PRT system to open up in the 21st century. The system itself will be running 24 hours a day, 7 days per week and will require no more human interaction than the passenger pressing a button to take them to their destination.

The pods themselves will be controlled by computer sensors which will manage the acceleration and braking of the cars; up to four commuters and their baggage will be able to fit into each vehicle.

“We believe that our PRT system can transform cities in the 21st century to provide the optimum form of environmentally friendly urban transport, relieving congestion and reducing emissions.”, Professor Martin Lowson, inventor of the PRT.

With Heathrow being the first airport to implement this service, it is unlikely that we will have to wait long for this concept to spread. The fact that we haven’t yet found a real, viable alternative to gas and diesel, only adds to the call to invest and use electricity and a power source for transport. Up to 400 of these ‘pods’ will be built and put into operation next year; with all the recent troubles Heathrow airport has had, it will be interesting to see if they become a success.