Air mail
The United States Postal Service has issued a set of commemorative stamps titled 'American Advances in Aviation', featuring 20 commercial and military aircraft of historical significance. The airline industry is represented by the twin-engine Boeing 247, which is recognised as having been the world's first modern airliner. First flown in 1933, it could carry only 10 passengers and one flight attendant, but was the first such plane to feature an air-conditioned cabin, retractable undercarriage and auto-pilot. Seventy-six B247s were built, mostly for Boeing Air transport, which later became United Airlines, although two ended up flying domestic routes in China. Despite its proudly advertised 'three miles a minute' performance, the New York to Los Angeles journey took 20 hours, with seven stopovers en route. The B247's refinements represented a major step forward for air travellers in terms of comfort and safety. Author and aviator Ernest K. Gann vividly described his time as an airline pilot aboard one of the B247's predecessors. 'The air is annoyingly potted with a multitude of minor vertical disturbances which sicken the passengers and keep us captive of our seat belts,' he wrote. 'We sweat in the cockpit, though much of the time we fly with the side windows open. The airplanes smell of hot oil and simmering aluminium, disinfectant, faeces, leather and puke ... the stewardesses, short-tempered and reeking of vomit, come forward as often as they can for what is a breath of comparatively fresh air.'
Orange crush
Britain's easyGroup, the parent company of easyJet and other similarly cut-price operations, recently opened its first easyHotel in London's South Kensington. To say the property is low on frills is something of an understatement, with rooms with windows available at a premium.
Originally the hotel was a guesthouse with 12 rooms; it now has 34 in the same space and is manned by one member of staff. Floor space starts at 60 square feet a room, and if you want to use the television you'll have to fork out #5 ($69) for the remote-control box to switch it on.
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