I have an old book here, entitled “On the highways of the sky”. Published in the 60’s in Hungary and translated from the original East-German edition, it did reflect the spirit of the times but for me at age 13 or 14 it was the most wonderful book ever. It talked about all the fascinating… Continue reading Relative secrets
Tag: Malev
Smooth cruise – The WizzAir experience
Editor’s note: This article dates from 2007. We are now an economic crisis later but the essence of the story is still the same. What is more, WizzAir, operating 30 aircraft, is still with us and hopefully will remain for a long time to come. WizzAir, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central… Continue reading Smooth cruise – The WizzAir experience
The tower with a soul… 12
From shared lunches to more restrictions As the years passed and we approached the tenth anniversary of being on the job, contact with other colleagues of my age group tapered off. Some of them went to other shifts or even other control units and this did not help of course. But on the few occasions… Continue reading The tower with a soul… 12
Hungarians buy themselves an airline – Has MALEV been saved?
It would be so nice being able to report here that the Hungarian government has finally found the magic bullet and their buying back of MALEV Hungarian Airlines was the first step in making the ailing company healthy again. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. It was politics that has given MALEV a… Continue reading Hungarians buy themselves an airline – Has MALEV been saved?
Should MALEV be saved?
Do you remember the term “flag-carrier”? This was usually applied to the airline of a country which was seen as the object of national pride. As recently as a decade ago, when new States came into being, no matter how small, one of their first acts had been to create a national airline (often followed… Continue reading Should MALEV be saved?
Same time, same place, same level…11
Animals seen from the tower – chicken in boxes Animals flown by air seemed to create all kinds of difficulties. Our local airline had a number of elderly turboprops, with a few years’ worth of flying time left in them, and these were converted for cargo duty. The catch was they had no big cargo… Continue reading Same time, same place, same level…11
Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
Istvan Bozsa – forever controller What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid? We lived near the airport and I was dreaming of becoming a pilot from very early on. I remember how we took the bike to ride all the way to the perimeter fence and watch the planes for hours… Continue reading Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
A venerable old lady – the Ilyushin IL-18
She was born at a time when glasnost and perestroika were still only words in the dictionary. A four-engine, turboprop transport that was noisy inside and out, was difficult to fly and needed an oil-well to keep her in the air. Yet she formed the backbone of East European air transport for more years than… Continue reading A venerable old lady – the Ilyushin IL-18
Anniversary – IL-18 HA-MOH crash at Budapest-Ferihegy airport
35 year anniversary on 15 January 2010 Some anniversaries are occasions for sadness and a moment’s silence. An aircraft crash is always sad, a huge loss for everyone involved. When HA-MOH flew into the ground in the early evening of 15 January 1975 only 9 crew members were on board and they all lost their… Continue reading Anniversary – IL-18 HA-MOH crash at Budapest-Ferihegy airport
Anniversary – First radar system deployed at Budapest-Ferihegy airport
50 year anniversary on 6 May 2009 Those who visit Budapest Ferihegy airport these days see a very different facility from what it had been in 1959. If arriving on one of the low fare carriers, you do pass through the original terminal (Terminal 1) but it has changed quite a bit even though an… Continue reading Anniversary – First radar system deployed at Budapest-Ferihegy airport