The new smokers airline

[Gan]

German Entrepreneur's Glamour Airline: Nicotine Niche or Pipe Dream?


By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, July 25, 2007; A08



DUESSELDORF, Germany (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/germany.html?nav=el) -- At the international airport in this western German city, smokers are shunned. If you want to light up, you're restricted to a handful of bars in the terminal, or else stuck puffing on the dingy street outside.

Soon, however, tobacco lovers from around the world could be beating a path to Duesseldorf. A start-up airline based here plans to offer long-haul luxury flights -- to Asia (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Asia?tid=informline), at first -- that cater to smokers, countering a decades-long global trend that has made it impossible to enjoy a cigarette on most passenger flights.

The new airline is called, naturally, Smoker's International Airways, or Smintair for short. The founder is a local entrepreneur who promises a return to the days when air travel was considered glamorous, when stewardesses were happy to bring you a glass of scotch, and when smoking in the lavatory didn't risk criminal prosecution.

"Other airlines have lost every kind of sympathy for their passengers by leaps and bounds. They treat them like cattle," said Alexander W. Schoppmann, a former stockbroker who started Smintair. "What all of those carriers want these days is for you to stay in the seat, and you better bloody well stay there, and don't even ask for anything to eat or drink. You can't do anything."

On Smintair, according to Schoppmann, there will be plenty of room for passengers to indulge their vices, whether it's smoking, drinking or even small-stakes gambling. Fliers will be able to mingle at bars on the upper or lower deck of a Boeing 747 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Boeing+747?tid=informline), which will be reconfigured to be so roomy that there will be space for just 138 passengers, instead of the 400 or so typically seated by most carriers.

The only thing banned on Smintair will be cramped, cheap economy-class seats, Schoppmann said. Everyone will sit in either first or business class -- at round-trip fares to Japan (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/japan.html?nav=el) between $6,700 and $14,500 -- making Smintair the latest entry in a growing number of new airlines limiting themselves to high-end service.

When Schoppmann announced plans for his smokers' airline a year ago in Germany (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Germany?tid=informline), he was met with ridicule. Aviation analysts questioned whether his business plan was viable. Anti-smoking groups blasted him for spreading carcinogens in the skies.

But Smintair has gradually moved closer to reality. The airline has won approval for a coveted landing slot at Duesseldorf International Airport and has permission to fly to its first destination, Nagoya (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Nagoya?tid=informline) airport in central Japan.

Schoppmann said he expects to finalize the purchase of his first jumbo jet in the next few weeks from a South African Airways subsidiary. If all goes well, he said, Smoker's International Airways will make its maiden voyage early next year.

He hopes to acquire one or two more Boeing 747s by next summer, which would allow for daily flights between Germany and Japan, and possibly other routes.

Paradoxically, Schoppmann claims that the air on Smintair will be cleaner than on other carriers. He is planning to install an extra-strength air-conditioning system that will constantly pump in fresh air from outside, as opposed to the partly recirculated cabin air that wafts through most planes.

"People think the cabin will be full of smoke, which is bollocks," he said. "The air on Smintair will be more refreshing than on a normal flight. You will not even notice the smell of somebody smoking a cigarette or pipe in the next seat."

Not that there's anything inherently unhealthy about tobacco smoke, insists Schoppmann, who adds that he doesn't believe a word of the warning labels printed on tobacco products. He's already gotten into a public spat with the World Health Organization (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/World+Health+Organization?tid=informline), dismissing public health concerns over secondhand smoke as "the biggest scam of all times."

"I'm just another healthy smoker," said Schoppmann, who inhales about a pack a day. "I haven't seen a sick smoker in my life. The only thing I see are sick nonsmokers, and they are always sick with all sorts of crap."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072402355_pf.html

____________________________________________

Smokers of the world rejoice! Now you have your own airline to fly in without fear of lighting up.

Too bad the new 'heavy duty' air circulation system isnt designed to pump pure oxygen into the cabin...

:whistle:

[Celephais]

I can't wait for the thread we have when one of these crashes and the absolutely heartless comments said thread contains.

[Trouble]

I once took a flight from Saudi to Singapore on an airline that allowed smoking, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The air conditioning system literally sucked the smoke straight up. I don't remember if I could smell that 'cigarrette smell' though. I'm real sensitive with that now, I can smell someone smoking in the car in front of me in traffic.

[Gan]

If I have my window down I can smell someone smoking in the car in front of me. One day after leaving school I was behind a couple enjoying a nice after class roll of ganga in the car in front of me.

As for smokers habits. It always amuses me:

That smokers will hold the cigarette out of their car window while driving, and or exhale their smoke outside the car window.
That smokers will stand around outside without smoking, but break out a cigarette once they get into a car to go somewhere when a non-smoker is riding with them.
That smokers dont mind inhaling from a cigarette but hate it when the room/car/bar they're smoking in becomes too smokey.

[Jazuela]

As for smokers habits. It always amuses me:

That smokers will hold the cigarette out of their car window while driving, and or exhale their smoke outside the car window.
That smokers will stand around outside without smoking, but break out a cigarette once they get into a car to go somewhere when a non-smoker is riding with them.
That smokers dont mind inhaling from a cigarette but hate it when the room/car/bar they're smoking in becomes too smokey.

Item 1: Sometimes. It depends on how fast the car is moving. I don't hold the cigarette out the window when I'm driving fast, because I'm sensitive to the fact that wind-blown embers = fires on the side of the road. I don't smoke unless my window is open, so I see no point in blowing the smoke out. It'll get there without my aiming it. But the general idea, is that nicotine stains your car windows if you -don't- ventilate, and nic-smeared window stains make for very difficult cleaning, and visibility. The primary goal of driving is to get from point A to point B without killing anyone. Smoking isn't a goal of driving. But driving safely *even if you smoke* is.

Item 2: Nope. I don't smoke while my sister is in the car. She's asthmatic, and I respect her medical needs. If I want to smoke while I'm with her on any lengthy trip, I'll pull over and get out of the car. Usually we don't ride on lengthy trips so it's rarely an issue. But after an hour of driving, I get that urge.

Item 3: Totally makes sense if you're a smoker. You want the smoke, from YOUR cigarette, to go in through the mouth and out through the mouth. You don't want it in your eyes, or in your nose, especially when it's smoke that comes from someone else's cigarette, which may or may not smell/taste like yours. Those weird girly extra-long extra-thin brown-papered smokes smell and taste like dog shit. So no, I don't like smoke-filled rooms, even though I'm a smoker. I also ask for the "no smoking" section of restaurants when I'm dining in a place that offers the option, because I hate smoke in my nose while I'm trying to eat.

[Gan]

Item 1: Sometimes. It depends on how fast the car is moving. I don't hold the cigarette out the window when I'm driving fast, because I'm sensitive to the fact that wind-blown embers = fires on the side of the road. I don't smoke unless my window is open, so I see no point in blowing the smoke out. It'll get there without my aiming it. But the general idea, is that nicotine stains your car windows if you -don't- ventilate, and nic-smeared window stains make for very difficult cleaning, and visibility. The primary goal of driving is to get from point A to point B without killing anyone. Smoking isn't a goal of driving. But driving safely *even if you smoke* is.
Hate to break the news to you, but no matter what efforts you take, if you're a smoker that smokes in your car, you're going to get nicotine stains as well as that cigarette smell in your cloth interior. And the real reason why you dont hold your cigarette out of your window at fast speeds is so you dont blow embers back into your car/face/etc. ;) How many times have you thrown your cigarette butts out the window after you're finished? If you leave them in the car (ashtray) then you're defeating your stain efforts no?


Item 2: Nope. I don't smoke while my sister is in the car. She's asthmatic, and I respect her medical needs. If I want to smoke while I'm with her on any lengthy trip, I'll pull over and get out of the car. Usually we don't ride on lengthy trips so it's rarely an issue. But after an hour of driving, I get that urge.
You're sister's fortunate to have someone considerate of her needs. My parents were not so considerate until they started riding in MY car. And no, they dont smoke inside my house either. ;)


Item 3: Totally makes sense if you're a smoker. You want the smoke, from YOUR cigarette, to go in through the mouth and out through the mouth. You don't want it in your eyes, or in your nose, especially when it's smoke that comes from someone else's cigarette, which may or may not smell/taste like yours. Those weird girly extra-long extra-thin brown-papered smokes smell and taste like dog shit. So no, I don't like smoke-filled rooms, even though I'm a smoker. I also ask for the "no smoking" section of restaurants when I'm dining in a place that offers the option, because I hate smoke in my nose while I'm trying to eat.
What about the people who dont want to breathe your cigarette smoke. What about the people who dont want to breathe your second hand smoke thats not been filtered through your cigarette filter or lungs upon exhale? This just seems silly to have that kind of expectation of other smokers when the outcry from non-smokers is met with such resistance and disdain. Dont you think?

[Gan]

On the note of the new airlines... I can totally see a SNL skit on it.

Scene starts with you walking through the cabin door and being met by a boney leathery stewardess with yellow/brown teeth holding a cigarette akilter from her lips guiding passengers down the aisle, dropping ashes on folks as they pass by while she talks with a raspy voice.

You have to cut through the fog already forming at the top of the cabin as you make your way to your seat. Only to find that you're sitting next to two cigar smokers enjoying some nice havannas.

And for the upper deck casino passengers, you walk up the stairs to the sound of maringe drums and some dreadlock'd islander offers you a home grown roll of gange to help you with the experience 'man. You pass by the routlette table where old wheezing patrons smoking various styles and brands, even some with the plastic extendo tips a 'la cruella de'ville. And as you look to the back you see one of the co-pilots enjoying a nice game of craps with a scotch in hand, dice in the other.

And as the scene closes you get an outside shot of the plane flying through the sky with the fancy paintjob of the planebody being painted to look like a cigarette being smoked, half unsmoked, half ash.

[Trouble]

My A-1 most hated habit of smokers is how they don't take responsibility for their butts. People leave them everywhere or just toss em out the window if driving. My mom was the only person I ever knew who actually used her car's ashtray.

[Drew]

Dusseldorf airport would probably be a shock to a lot of Americans, you can't smoke anywhere, but they have smoking stations all over the airport which is just some sort of machine in the middle meant to suck in the smoke and thirty people standing within 10 feet of it smoking. These are just plopped down willy-nilly all over the terminal in open air with no walls or anything around them. You can definitely see a big cloud of smoke around that area.

[Skeeter]

I was thinking the same thing Drew. After flying into Frankfurt Main and then into Berlin I was amused by the smoking areas.

The rest of the free world is certainly a lot more relaxed than the US.

[Jorddyn]

What about the people who dont want to breathe your cigarette smoke. What about the people who dont want to breathe your second hand smoke thats not been filtered through your cigarette filter or lungs upon exhale? This just seems silly to have that kind of expectation of other smokers when the outcry from non-smokers is met with such resistance and disdain. Dont you think?

That's why I'm all for smoking allowed and no smoking establishments. Both will cater to the people who want to go there. Want to smoke? Well, then, go to a smoking establishment. Want to go to a no smoking establishment anyway? Don't bitch.

Ditto for the reverse.

The city I live in has a selection of both smoking and non-smoking bars and restaurants (my favorites being the two Mexican restaurants directly across the street from each other, owned by the same family, with the same menu, with the only difference being whether or not you can smoke). Seems to work for us.

Jorddyn, smoker

[Jorddyn]

Dusseldorf airport would probably be a shock to a lot of Americans, you can't smoke anywhere, but they have smoking stations all over the airport which is just some sort of machine in the middle meant to suck in the smoke and thirty people standing within 10 feet of it smoking. These are just plopped down willy-nilly all over the terminal in open air with no walls or anything around them. You can definitely see a big cloud of smoke around that area.

I flew through St. Louis 6 or 7 years ago, and they had something similar. I was a non-smoker last time I flew through (maybe 3 years ago), and don't remember if they had them or not.

Jorddyn

[Alfster]

That smokers will hold the cigarette out of their car window while driving, and or exhale their smoke outside the car window.
That smokers will stand around outside without smoking, but break out a cigarette once they get into a car to go somewhere when a non-smoker is riding with them.
That smokers dont mind inhaling from a cigarette but hate it when the room/car/bar they're smoking in becomes too smokey.

I too laugh at the first one. I'm a smoker and I enjoy the heater in the winter time and the air conditioning in the summer. I smoke with my window barely cracked in my truck.

This second one is a conspiracy theory. The only time I'll actively smoke around a non smoker is when they just flat out suck, or when they annoy me.

part three! When it gets reaaaaal thick, the shit burns my eyes :(

[Ilvane]

As long as they all stick together on one airline, no big deal. I just never want to sit on an airplane and have to smell like smoke getting off the plane.

I used to work in a hotel, and the smoking rooms always had that dusty smoky smell back when they used to allow that. Thankfully most places around here are all non-smoking.

My boyfriend volunteers to smoke outside since he smokes, because it just wouldn't be in my house. It's icky.

More power to them, really. If there is a business need for it, people will take it. We'll see what happens.

Angela

[Alfster]

I would totally actively smoke around Ilvane

[Skeeter]

flying to and from Germany to Asia being the key in this case. Asians smoke like nobodys business. I would put Germans at a close second based on what I've seen.

[Ilvane]

I bet you would..LOL

Angela

[Jorddyn]

As long as they all stick together on one airline, no big deal. I just never want to sit on an airplane and have to smell like smoke getting off the plane.


I'd love to have a child-free, carry-on free airline. I'm incredibly grump when I sit on a long flight and listen to an annoying child, whether it be screaming, throwing fits, running up and down the aisles, kicking seats, squealing at DVD cartoons, and whining, then have to wait a half hour while everyone and their mother unloads their two carryons per person from every conceivable overhead/underseat on the plane.

That's not to say that annoying children or carryon luggage are on par with smoking. I'm just throwing out what annoys me.

Jorddyn, curmudgeon

[Ilvane]

Oh god, I had a plane trip from LA to Boston with a whining child right in front of me.. I thought it was awful!

LOL, so yeah, can feel the pain on that one.

Angela

[grapedog]

thats sweet...now, if only i was in germany and had to go to Japan...i'd almost be up for that just for the novelty of it. I hope it succeeds.

Why should I show compassion for non-smokers, they don't show any for me. fuck em...

[Stanley Burrell]

I wonder if strict non-smoking laws apply if Sccccchhhhhhoppmann decides to enter a U.S. runway :puzzled:

[CrystalTears]

Earplugs. They're cheap.

[Gan]

Upgrade the ticket to first class, rarely do you have to deal with wild children up there.

[Jorddyn]

Earplugs. They're cheap.

The problem with blocking sound is that I typically like to interact with my traveling companion during a long and otherwise boring flight.

Though, I suppose we could go Helen-Keller style - earplugs, eye mask, and just sign into each other's hands.

Or, I could reiterate my wish for a child-free flight. Hell, I won't even go out to eat with my neice and nephew, much less sit on a plane with them for hours. They're poorly behaved, and I've been informed by my brother that he doesn't like me disciplining them. (I'm sorry, please, allow them to play monster, which entails running around the tables screaming, at the nice restaurant. My bad.)

We all have the things that drive us nuts. Putting unruly kids in uncomfortable situations that I'm forced to witness is mine. Well behaved kids? No problem - but it's kind of tough to tell them apart before the flight.

Jorddyn

[CrystalTears]

The problem with blocking sound is that I typically like to interact with my traveling companion during a long and otherwise boring flight.
And perhaps other people don't want to listen to your conversation. Children aren't the only people on planes who can be disruptive. (I'm not saying you're like that, just saying it is possible.)

[Gan]

Perhaps the earplugs could be for the person sitting next to Jorddyn.

[Alfster]

I'm a fucking chatter-box most of the time. Gets me into plenty of trouble, however, when I'm flying I don't say a word to anyone. I can never tell how loud I'm actually talking because the pressure fucks with my ears and I always think I'm yelling at the person next to me if I try to ask them to move so I can relieve the 7 beers I drank before I got on the flight.

My not talking has a bit to do with my severe fear of flying as well.

*edit - holy run on batman

[Daniel]

I just get blasted before a flight so I pass the fuck out.

[Snapp]

Though, I suppose we could go Helen-Keller style - earplugs, eye mask, and just sign into each other's hands.


:rofl:

As for the airline... hey, whatever works. If people don't like it, it won't be around too long.

[Jorddyn]

And perhaps other people don't want to listen to your conversation. Children aren't the only people on planes who can be disruptive. (I'm not saying you're like that, just saying it is possible.)

True. But, I have no problem with non-disruptive children, and I most often do not run up and down the aisles, scream, or kick the seat in front of me. Normal conversation? No problems.

Jorddyn

[Jorddyn]

Perhaps the earplugs could be for the person sitting next to Jorddyn.

No, that's what the eye mask is for. I'm told my voice can be quite soothing.

Jorddyn, only loud when it is appropriate

[Hulkein]

If I have my window down I can smell someone smoking in the car in front of me. One day after leaving school I was behind a couple enjoying a nice after class roll of ganga in the car in front of me.

As for smokers habits. It always amuses me:

That smokers will hold the cigarette out of their car window while driving, and or exhale their smoke outside the car window.
That smokers will stand around outside without smoking, but break out a cigarette once they get into a car to go somewhere when a non-smoker is riding with them.
That smokers dont mind inhaling from a cigarette but hate it when the room/car/bar they're smoking in becomes too smokey.

Being a former smoker I can tell you that the smoke coming off the cherry is a lot nastier than the smoke going through the filter and into your lungs. That explains why people hold cigarettes out the window and don't like a room to get too smoky (and I just learned that the word 'smoky' doesn't have an e. How about that)

[Drisco]

its like this

1. Light up with windows closed .
2. Open window.
3. Hold cig close to window.
4. Take a few drags.
5. Hold cig out window just enough so the end will blow away but not to close or will come back in.

repeat step 3-5 then throw cigarette out.

[Gan]

My flying routine is either book + headphones or laptop (movie/music/work) + headphones.

Rarely will I get into a conversation with a stranger sitting next to me. (unless she's drop dead gorgeous)

[Gan]

Being a former smoker I can tell you that the smoke coming off the cherry is a lot nastier than the smoke going through the filter and into your lungs. That explains why people hold cigarettes out the window and don't like a room to get too smoky (and I just learned that the word 'smoky' doesn't have an e. How about that)
Now you know how us non-smokers feel about sitting around someone with a lit cigarette. ;)

[Hulkein]

Now you know how us non-smokers feel about sitting around someone with a lit cigarette. ;)

Yup, it's terrible. Thankfully Philly banned smoking in bars.

[Jorddyn]

Yup, it's terrible. Thankfully Philly banned smoking in bars.


Too bad. Would have been a great opportunity for you to open one, and fill an apparently largely ignored market segment.

Jorddyn

[Alfster]

Meh. Don't know how this is around the rest of the country, but the smoke free bars around here are dead. No one goes to them because most everyone has friends who smoke that refuse to go to a non-smoking bar.

I personally prefer smoking bars.

[Jorddyn]

Meh. Don't know how this is around the rest of the country, but the smoke free bars around here are dead. No one goes to them because most everyone has friends who smoke that refuse to go to a non-smoking bar.

I personally prefer smoking bars.

In all honesty, we have more smoking than non-smoking bars. However, as time goes on, we get more and more non-smoking, and they seem to be doing a good business.

My point was that I think there's a place for smoking bars, and non-smoking bars. It doesn't seem right to completely remove smoking as an option.

Jorddyn

[Alfster]

I like the non-smoking bars that have a patio or other outdoor area that can meet both needs personally. Sucks balls when it's 30 below zero, but it's better than having to run outside without a beer to smoke on the street.