Monday, June 3, 2013

Book Review : Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections



Fascinating airline anecdotes and trivia

Having followed Patrick Smith's blog for quite a while, and I had to pick up Cockpit Confidential. It is a fascinating book if you enjoy air travel, especially if you happen to be a bit curious about the workings of airlines, airports and air crew.

Air travel fascinates many of us including seasoned road warriors like me. Even experiencing personal tragedy on an international flight has not diminished my fascination for flying, flights and airports. I had reached out to the Mr. Smith requesting a review and feedback on my experience and observations (ref:A Child Lost in Flight ). I was grateful for his candid and thoughtful response regarding in-flight incidents

The book follows a Q&A format where Patrick answers questions passengers are typically curious about. The book is grouped into logical topics and is interspersed with trivia. His narrative, anecdotes and responses to questions are easy to read, with very little airline jargon, a style familiar to readers of AskThePilot blog. The only section with some airline jargon - How to Speak Airline - is the one that attempts to demystify typical in-flight announcements.

Patrick weaves humor through the narrative. He concludes the section on three letter Airport codes warning readers "if ever you're traveling FUK-DAM-HEL, avoid speaking in acronyms while checking in." HEL Yah!

A must read for aviation enthusiasts.


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