The novel concept was one of several ideas suggested by four-year-old Amber Winters, from Birmingham, the winner of the airline’s  #Nameourplane competition. Children between the ages of four and 11 were asked to suggest a name for Thomson’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, as well as ways the airline could improve its services for young passengers.

Her suggestions included a kids’ area with bean bags and a reading corner at the back of the aircraft.

The finalists from Thomson’s #Nameourplane competition who were also asked to suggest ways it could improve its services to better cater to children.

Amber, whose winning name for the aircraft was Pixie Dust, was joined by nine other finalists for an Ambassador Day event at Gatwick Airport, where they were given a chance to present all of their ideas to a panel of judges and a tour of the new Dreamliner by Thomson Airways pilot Stuart Gruber.

“All of our finalists had some fantastic ideas, so it was a really hard decision selecting our overall winner,” Mr Gruber said.

“We’re looking forward to trialling some of Amber’s suggestions on board the new aircraft,” he added.

Top 10 innovations kids want to see on a flight

More films and video game to choose from.

Unlimited chocolate and sweets.

Free toys.

Arts and crafts area.

A soft play area.

A slide inside the plane.

A football pitch.

Cabin crew in fancy dress.

A dress up/make-up room.

A skate park.

Source: Thomson Airways survey

Other ideas for ways to improve kids’ in-flight experience included more video game and film offerings as well as unlimited chocolate and sweets, suggested by more than 40 per cent of the children surveyed for the competition. The same amount wanted free toys on board, while around a quarter of them suggested both an arts and crafts area and a soft play area. One in 10 said they’d love to see the cabin crew in fancy dress during the flight.

Other ambitious suggestions included an on-board slide (suggested by 18 per cent), a football pitch (10 per cent) a dress-up/make-up play room (nine per cent) and a skate park (seven per cent).

The survey also revealed children’s biggest bugbears on a flight which included being stuck in their seat, being bored, and their ears hurting on the plane.

source: The Telegraph

Answer the questions.

1. What should be unlimited on-board?

2. What was the winning name for the aircraft?

3. What are children’s biggest bugbears on a flight?

4. How many finalists were there in the competition?

5. What should the cabin crew wear according to one in ten children?

Key

1. chocolate and sweets

2. Pixie Dust

3. being stuck in their seat, being bored, and their ears hurting on the plane

4. ten

5. fancy dress

Boy separated from family for 18 months due to fear of flying returns home after hypnosis

A schoolboy from Somerset who was stranded in Abu Dhabi for 18 months because he had a crippling fear of air travel had to be hypnotised back on a plane in order to return home. Twelve-year-old Joe Thompson landed at London Heathrow Airport four years after his family moved to the UAE when his father Tony, 62, was offered a managerial role at a private hospital.

They were due to fly back to Weston-Super-Mare in June 2012 when Tony’s contract ended but just four months before they planned to come back, Joe developed an acute fear of flying. When the youngster boarded a flight to Sri Lanka to attend a rugby tour with his father the fear came to light: he found that he could not face the journey. ‘We got on the plane but Joe became so traumatised, the crew said he had to get off,’ his father said as he explained that Joe was scrambling over the seats to get out. It was terrible. I had 40 other children with me who were all taking part in the tournament. I couldn’t leave them so I had to let Joe get off. I called my wife and she came and picked him up.’

The family then repeatedly tried to get Joe on a plane without any success, meaning that the father and son had to stay behind in the country while the boy’s mother went back to the UK to work. The duo rented apartments and stayed at friends’ houses in order to save money, until a breakthrough occurred a year and a half later. Joe’s aerophobia – which had baffled doctors because he had flown long-haul many times as a child – was soothed by hypnotist Russell Hemmings. ‘Russell was the best chance I had. He helped me out so much,’ Joe said. ‘He taught me so much and I’m so thankful.’

The family predict that they have spent the best part of £40,000 trying to cure their son’s fear which includes cancelled flight tickets and doctor bills.

source: www.metro.co.uk

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separated – elválasztott
due to – miatt
fear – félelem
to be stranded – ottmaradni vhol (úgy, hogy nem tud ejönni)
crippling – bénító
contract – szerződés
to board – járműre felszállni
to come to light – fény derül vmire
crew – személyzet
to scramble over – átmászni
tournament – bajnokság
repeatedly – ismételten
to stay behind – ott maradni
breakthrough – áttörés
aerophobia – repüléstől való félelem
baffled – értetlen
long-haul flight – hosszú repülőút
to sooth – enyhíteni
to include – beletartozni
cancelled – lemondott 

Match the words with the definition.

1.    fear
2.    to cancel
3.    repeatedly
4.    crew
5.    contract
6.    baffled

a) the people who work on an aircraft
b) official document you sign when you get a job
c) the feeling of being afraid
d) it happens again and again
e) the feeling of not understanding something
f) to decide not to use something

Answers: 1. c      2. f       3. d      4. a      5. b      6. e