Micheline Maynard, the aviation reporter for The New York Times, fielded questions from readers this past week, one of them asked her about her favorite stories.
Maynard wrote, “Oh, what a sweet question! My all time favorite has already been mentioned: the article I wrote about growing up as an airline child. To me. covering aviation is very personal. I feel like I’m doing my dad proud with every article.
“Here are a few other favorites.
“In 2008, when fuel prices sky rocketed, I talked to a number of airlines about their fuel saving measures. I learned that a gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds, and a gallon of jet fuel weighs 6.8 pounds.
“I also learned lot a year ago about bird strikes, in writing an article the day of the Miracle on the Hudson. Did you know that engine companies fire frozen turkeys at jet engines to test their resistance? (The engines’, not the birds’.)
“More recently, I spent a fascinating day just before Thanksgiving with United Airlines, visiting its operations center in Elk Grove, Ill., and walking all over O’Hare Airport. We went everywhere from the control tower to the weather desk. (As I always tell people, you can show me anything!)
“In May, I wrote a cover article for our Business Travel special section on the new reality of business travel. I loved the headline: ‘Miss Your Flight?’
“And I enjoyed researching an article on JetBlue and its new reality. It was fascinating to learn that Dave Barger, who is now Jet Blue’s chief executive (and a fellow Detroit Tigers fan) was among the travelers who were stuck during the Valentine’s Day meltdown.”
Read more here.
