Hong Kong was connected to two air disasters on two consecutive days in 1966. On the afternoon of March 4, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 left Kai Tak for Vancouver, via Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, where it crashed-landed in thick fog. Sixty-four of the 72 passengers and crew on board the Douglas DC-8 jet were killed.
The following day, according to Life magazine (March 18, 1966), passengers aboard BOAC Flight 911 bound for Hong Kong would have felt a “stab of apprehension” when they saw the “still-smouldering wreckage of the Canadian Pacific airliner which had crashed just 18 hours earlier”, as they taxied for take-off.
The Boeing 707 (registration G-APFE) took off and headed towards Mount Fuji. Somewhere over the sacred summit, the plane hit turbulence so severe that part of its tail detached, sending it into an uncontrollable dive. All 124 on board, including 90 Americans, were killed.
Only a month earlier, on February 4, an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 727 crashed into Tokyo Bay, killing all 133 on board. At the time, it was the worst-ever civil aviation crash involving a single plane, and its cause remains a mystery.
Although such horrors, and the planes that were involved, belong to another era of air travel, a Boeing 727 and a Boeing 707 made news in Iran this month. On January 13, Iran Aseman Airlines flew the last scheduled Boeing 727 passenger flight. The plane was 38 years old, and its landing at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport ended the 727’s almost 55 years of commercial passenger service.
A day later, a Saha Airlines Boeing 707 cargo plane crash-landed at Fath Air Base, in northern Iran, killing 15 of the 16 people on board. Saha had been the last operator of Boeing 707 civilian passenger flights, which ended only in 2013 – to the disappointment of aviation enthusiasts worldwide.
A search for “Saha 707” on YouTube will turn up several videos posted by those who travelled to Iran just for the thrill of being one of the 707’s last passengers.
Opening of Sheraton Manila marks welcome return of the brand
Although not actually called an airport hotel in its opening press release or on its website, the new 390-room hotel Sheraton Manila is “the first landmark seen upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3”, while “major roadways leading to Manila’s top business and cultural sites are just a few steps away”.
First announced in 2012, with a planned opening within two to three years, the new property is part of Resorts World Manila, and marks a long-awaited return to the city for the Sheraton brand, which managed the Century Park Sheraton, in Malate, from 1976 to 1996.
Tokyo’s new Manga Art Hotel promises comic capers
“An inspired and exciting night of manga” is promised at the Manga Art Hotel, which opens in the Kanda area of Tokyo next month. The 5,000 manga, or Japanese comic books, that will be shared with guests have been chosen for their artistic merit, and reviews will be provided in both Japanese and English. Some books will also be in English, and titles have been specially selected for male and female floors.
Reservations for the new capsule hotel should be available from the end of this month at mangaarthotel.com.
Deal of the week – four nights for the price of three at Alila resorts in Bali
A bonus fourth night is offered at four Alila resorts with Tiglion Travel’s three-night Bali package. The cheapest is Alila Manggis, which starts from HK$5,890 per person, twin share. Alila Ubud and Alila Seminyak are priced from HK$6,490 and HK$6,590, respectively, and Alila Uluwatu is offered from HK$12,990.
These bonus-night prices will be available from February 8 to March 31, and include flights with Cathay Pacific, airport transfers and daily breakfast. For more resort choices and reservations, go to tiglion.com and select Indonesia from the menu.
