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How do airlines buy their aircraft? They don’t buy them!

It's a recurring question among the general public when the media talk about the financial performance of airlines: how can an airline be valued at less than its fleet (which is the case for most of them!)? And the question...

Why is there a spiral painted on aircraft engines?

We sometimes answer questions from our readers, but this one comes...from a seatmate. The other day, as I was getting ready to board, I saw a little boy pointing at a plane through the bay window and asking his...

How much fuel does an airplane burn?

Whether you're an aviation enthusiast, or have the environment at the heart of your concerns, one subject many people talk about is aircraft fuel consumption. It's a subject that many people talk about, but don't have the data to...

Why shouldn’t you drink (too much) alcohol on a plane?

You've probably already been told not to drink too much alcohol in flight, and you may even have felt a little strange after drinking a small amount of alcohol, even though it seemed trivial compared to your habits on...

How does the autopilot work?

While everyone knows that pilots rely on an autopilot during flight, it's a subject that still intrigues many passengers, who wonder exactly what it does, how far it can go, and to what extent it takes charge of all...

Overbooking: what it is and how it works

You're on time, you've done everything right and yet...when you get to the airport you're told you can't board because there's no more seats. Thousands of travelers experience this problem every day, and it has a name: overbooking. Overbooking...

What happens when a plane has an engine failure?

One of air travelers' worst fears is engine failure! What happens if an engine breaks down or catches fire? How are pilots dealing with the situation? We'll try to explain it all here. Engine failure is highly unlikely Without going into...

How do airports live and fund themselves?

Like the rest of the travel sector, airports have suffered a lot from the crisis, and although they have been less talked about than airlines for the moment, their case will soon reach the top of the pile. Their...

Is it compulsory to watch the safety instructions when flying?

It may seem a far-fetched question, but some people ask themselves: do we have to watch safety instructions and demonstrations on a plane? Or, put another way, can you be punished if you don't? The precedent: a couple deplaned by...

Air pockets, turbulence: why are we shaken up in flight?

Nobody likes to be shaken up in transport, and on planes even less than elsewhere. Many things can make a flight chaotic, and the discomfort of the situation is compounded by the fear that something could go wrong in...