Australian meet? :p :p :p

I’ll be there in December. 😀

If I was ‘really’ drinkin’, I’d be drinking the Johnnie Blue, or I’d have had a few more.

Airplane: “These human cigarettes are very above average.”

Actually, you would be seated in front of the No. 2 engine (located at the back of the fuselage with the intake at the base of the tail), not underneath.

Maybe everyone on here knows this already, but I was just reading it this morning here in Canada. The new members ar TAP, South African Airways and Blue1 (I think I already knew about SAA).

I knew about S. African, but I had never even heard of Blue1, prior to the last Star Alliance thread. With them being affiliated with SAS, I guess it makes sense for them to join. TAP will bring the number of Ex-Qualiflyer airlines in Star to 3 with them joining, along with Austrian and LOT. Swiss could be the 4th, even though technically, they are independant of the original SwissAir, right?

Also, in a related article, and interview with Robert Milton, CEO of Air Canada, he stated at a Star Alliance convention in Singapore, that Air Canada’s focus is to become a world class international carrier like Emirates, Singapore and Cathay, and that these carriers are not dependant on domestic networks, though added that AC will never be low frills on the home front. There will be sleeper beds (better late than never) in business for long haul.

I’ve flown AC on a few occassions, and they do have pretty good service, although I don’t know what their business/first class product is like. They do need to become financially stable, however, before they can enter the ranks of CX, SQ, EK, and the like.

The A345 will enter service in a few weeks, and that the new route to India is proving highly success as are new South American routes. The hope is for Toronto to take some traffic away from Miami and Dallas for connections.

We’ve probably already talked about this before, but will the A345 open up new long-haul destinations for AC, or are they simply replacing 744’s or A343’s on certain routes?

Also, how about Amsterdam some time? BMI are offering flights at good times for just £60 return, so I’d like to give it a go…

I’ve mentioned on several occassions that I will be in Amsterdam Jul 22-24, which makes Friday the 23rd the date of choice. I leave early on the 24th, but I could also do anytime after 2 p.m.(my flight arrives @ 1:55) on the 22nd, as well. Peter has already stated that he can’t make it, as he has to work. Sandy and Allen, I believe, hinted at having a bit of interest, however the flights were relatively pricey on those days, if I’m correct. At any rate, I will be there for sure, if anybody wishes to join.

Greekdude1, the only thing that makes American Football “harder” than rugby in my opinion is the fact that you can take out people who dont have the ball (I believe you can block them or something).

I never said it was harder. Nor did I imply that there are no deaths in Rugby. I’m just saying that the type of game football is, requires padding and especially helmets, at the competitive level. At the school I teach at, we had a 16 year old kid die of head trauma, going head to head with another kid. And they were BOTH wearing helmets! Contrary to popular belief amonst non-Americans, it’s a physical sport, and 1-2 deaths occur ever year at the high-school, collegiate, and pro-levels combined due to a variety of freakish reasons. As I mentioned before, you take away the pads and helmets, this number will significantly multiply.

In rugby the rucks are extremely dangerous, and last season in a match between our school and its rivals one of my mates died due to a scrum (he is a hooker and both teams were pushing so hard his ribs just colapsed inswards). In rucks if many people saw what really goes on they would be pretty shocked (all the little tricks like stamping on the opposition with your nice big metal studs in rucks and ref’s cant see you do it)

I have no doubt how viscious scrums can be, again, I’ve been to Rugby matches while in Sydney. The same type of dirty $hit that occurs in scrums, can also happen at the bottom of piles where players in football are attempting to recover a fumble. As you mention, the refs can’t see everything. However, there are certain types of hits that occur in football, that NEVER occur in Rugby, and that’s just the nature of the game. Even with helmets, the number of concussions and post-concussion syndrome cases that occur is astronomical.