TIGHAR
Chatterbox => Extraneous exchanges => Topic started by: Monty Fowler on September 14, 2013, 10:15:59 AM
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Vaguely aviation-related, and the headline alone makes it worth the read -
Would you board flight 666 to HEL?
By DAVID MAC DOUGALL
Associated Press
HELSINKI (AP) -- Would you board flight 666 to HEL on Friday the 13th?
For superstitious travelers, that might be tempting fate. But Finnair passengers on AY666 to Helsinki - which has the 3 letter designation HEL - don't seem too bothered. Friday's flight is almost full.
"It has been quite a joke among the pilots" said veteran Finnair pilot Juha-Pekka Keidasto, who will fly the Airbus A320 from Copenhagen to Helsinki. "I'm not a superstitious man. It's only a coincidence for me."
The daily flight AY666 from Copenhagen to Helsinki falls on Friday the 13th twice in 2013. Friday the 13th is considered bad luck in many countries and the number 666 also has strong negative biblical associations.
Some airlines, like Scandinavian Airlines, take these fears seriously and don't have a row 13 on board. However, the negative connotations are a relatively new phenomenon for northern Europeans, and Finnair and other regional carriers like Norwegian and Estonian Air keep row 13.
"It's hopefully smooth skies" says Keidasto. "And if there's some passenger who is anxious about this 666 our cabin crew is always happy to help them."
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Cracked me up - thanks for sharing! Also got me checking flt #'s. Flight 711's for Las Vegas? Yep. https://www.google.com/search?q=flight+711+to+las+vegas&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#hl=en&q=flight+711+las+vegas