010 AMS - PaxEx, Virgin Galactic, aircraft Street View, US unions vs Nicole Kidman, SouthWest IFE

SHOW NOTES

I. News of the week

Virgin into space

• Flying Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic: Everything You Need to Know | Vanity Fair
• Space Adventures, Ltd. | Home

Human errors in the cockpit

• Fear in the Cockpit: The Differences Between the Plane Crash in Taipei and the Miracle on the Hudson

The growing pains of the South East Asia airline industry

• Fast-growing Asian aviation confronts safety challenges - US News
• Japan caps Thai air services amid safety concerns | Bangkok Post: news

The elusive MH370

• Inhabitants on Maldives island saw low-flying jet on morning MH370 went missing | Daily Mail Online

The Germanwings disaster

• EU Rebukes Germany for Airline Oversight Before Germanwings Crash - WSJ ($)
• Germanwings co-pilot was treated for suicidal tendencies | World news | The Guardian
• Lufthansa Finds Germanwings Co-Pilot’s 2009 Email on Depression - WSJ ($)
• Medical Privacy Rules Let Germanwings Co-Pilot Conceal Illness - Bloomberg Business
• Germanwings: Could hackers have crashed the doomed passenger plane rather than co-pilot Andreas Lubitz? - Mirror Online
• Germanwings plane crash video that reveals chaos in moments before disaster is a fake, insist investigators into French Alps tragedy - Europe - World - The Independent
• Andreas Lubitz told Lufthansa flight school of 'serious depressive episode' | World news | The Guardian

Allegiants pilots union disastrous letter

• APA Teamsters Local 1224
• Delta's Flight Attendants Drop Plans to Form Union – Skift

The unions don't like Nicole Kidman

• American flight attendants union tells Nicole Kidman not to endorse Etihad | The Star Telegram The Star Telegram

A foamy salute to Virgin Atlantic

• Inaugural Virgin Atlantic flight cancelled after firefighters spray plane with FOAM not water | Daily Mail Online

A shout out to Pieter Johnson and his Aviation Xtended

• Xtended | Aerospace Radio
• Pieter Johnson (@Nascothornet) | Twitter

II. Innovation news of the week

KLM transforms a plane into an AirBnB

• Airbnb & KLM join forces. Unique spaces now via klm.com
• Spacious Airplane Apartment in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
• Airbnb & KLM - The Airplane Apartment - YouTube

The sharing economy and travel

• The Sharing Economy Is On The Brink Of Disrupting Business Travel | TechCrunch
• The Queen of England Signs Airbnb-Friendly Law for London Rentals – Skift

Austrian becomes myAustrian in new livery

• Austrian Airlines Launches New Livery And New Brand Direction | DesignAir

British Airways' frequent flyer system hacked

• British Airways frequent-flyer accounts hacked | Business | The Guardian
• Frequent flyer miles stolen from American and United Airlines passengers

Priceline buys Rocketmiles

• Priceline Group CEO confirms Rocketmiles deal

Selling airline miles for bitcoins

• Bitcoin For Miles
• Turning Airline Miles Into Bitcoin? It's Possible as Alternative Currencies Edge Ahead – Skift

Alex tests SouthWest IFE

• WiFi Access - Southwest Airlines

Cathay looks into coffee

• Cathay Research Best Coffee To Serve Inflight | DesignAir
• Delta Air Lines Will Now Serve Starbucks Coffee On All Flights – Consumerist
• High-Flying Coffee: Airline Coffee on Major U.S. Air Carriers

Google Street View goes into aircrafts

• Google Street View Comes to Planes With SAS's Interactive Tours – Skift

How to take a good picture through an airplane window

• Alex Hunter on Twitter: "@danrubin Dan, any tips for how to take smartphone pics f...