Chapters Equestrian International Airlines
Five years had passed since Twilight became Equestria's new ruler. The land was bustling actively with friends being made 24/7. One day, she wrote a letter to Flurry Heart, and to the Young Six, asking that they meet with her in Canterlot. They boarded trains to the Capitol at once and were quick to meet her in the throne room. After taking a bow, Flurry Heart spoke to Twilight.
"What brings us to you today, Aunt Twilight?", she asked.
"Thank you for asking me, sweetie. If you could follow me down the hall to the conference room, that would be appreciated.", replied Twilight.
Everyone nodded and followed Twilight into another room. After getting seated, Twilight handed out several documents and began explaining the project she was giving them.
"As you know, many forms of public transportation exist all over Equus. Three examples are by train, boat, or pegasus chariot. I am tasking you with creating a new method of air travel, so that large groups of citizens can travel together. I need you to develop large passenger aircrafts and build ports for them to go to and depart from. This new form of transportation shall be called "Equestrian International Airlines". Are you seven up for this project?", explained Twilight.
"ABSOLUTELY!", cheered everyone at the same time.
"Excellent! You may start immediately. Report back to me once you have established a layout for how the new method will function, along with a design for the new aircraft.", said Twilight.
The seven friends took a bow and took a train to Ponyville to begin their work. Summer vacation had started the previous week, so the Young Six wouldn't be backed up with work at the Friendship School.
Equestrian International Airlines
As the construction began for the airports all around Equus, manufacturers began building prototypes for the planes. During the months it took for the airports to be constructed, the planes were tested and checked for any flaws. Much like any complex project, it took numerous adjustments, trials, and redesigns to get the planes in perfect working order. During the test, the Young Six wore oxygen masks at all times, only taking them off to test the on-board masks. They made sure the life vests and slides inflated properly, the bins closed securely, the emergency panels detached without problems, and that the cockpit controls functioned without short circuiting. The testing took months, but everything was soon ironed out.
Flurry Heart supervised the airport construction to make sure all of the terminals, concourses, storage spaces, ground vehicles, and gates were built according to their blueprints. Some of the airports were larger than others, so they had a monorail tram system integrated to take passengers to their respective concourses. Also, some of the airports had shorter runways. This was noted so that the pilots could inform the passengers for large accelerations on take-off and for slowing down very fast on landing. She also kept contact by radio with the Young Six during takeoff checks to make sure the landing gear was deployed and retracted smoothly.
After the construction was completed and the planes were in perfect working order; it was time to hire and train workers. Hundreds of applications were submitted from Equestria, Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, Seaquestria, the Changeling Kingdom, and the Dragon Lands. Every single applicant was accepted and they were assigned to various roles, depending on their species. Ponies worked in the terminals and concourses, and as flight attendants. Griffins, being expert flyers, were assigned as pilots. Yaks, due to their great strength, drove any vehicles that had to move large loads, such as the luggage trolleys and the trucks for restocking, fueling, and waste removal. They also drove the pushback tugs and helped to lift up the plane if a tire needed changing. Dragons were placed on the fire patrols. Changelings were stationed at the screening areas, and made up the other half of the patrol parties. Hippogriffs were flight attendants as well, along with assisting with evacuation, especially if the plane had to land on the water.
After many months of construction, testing, troubleshooting, and training; the airports were finally ready for business. Twilight gave them each a seal of approval and the doors were opened.
Equestrian International Airlines
The friends decided that the Friendship School's lecture hall would make a perfect setting for the decisions on how to lay out the new airline's functions and how to design the "planes" as they were going to be called. After a good night's rest, they were up bright and early to begin their discussions.
"There is the potential that the new airports will be very large. We cannot have passengers running all over the place to find their flight's departure point.", said Sandbar.
"I agree with Sandbar. We need to develop maps for the airports so passengers know where to find their waiting area.", said Ocellus.
"Safety should be maintained as well. Just as there are guards and security measures in place around the major cities, the new airports should include security screenings for the passengers as they are entering, along with regular patrols to watch for any disputes. That will make sure nothing illegal enters the airports and that no passengers are prevented from reaching their destination.", added Gallus.
"Gallus is right. However, some citizens have disabilities. To help them reach their plane as soon as possible, airport staff should be ready at a moment's notice to assist them.", said Silverstream.
"Not only that, but the staff will need to make sure that a passenger's belongings are put on the correct plane. In other words, their luggage needs to be labeled. That will raise the likelihood of passengers being able to retrieve what they've brought for their trip upon reaching their destination. However, that will not need to happen with every single piece of luggage. Passengers will be allowed to bring one small suitcase, called a "carry-on", and a "personal items bag", such as a backpack or purse, onto the plane with them. The tagged pieces of luggage will be referred to as "checked bags", meaning they will be opened and physically checked by the staff after they have been taken into the cargo holding area. That will happen before they are taken to be stored on the plane.", said Smolder.
"Having all of the planes depart from one single point in the airport would be unwise. That would delay flights badly. The new airports should have multiple areas from which to board the planes. Just as train stations have multiple platforms and seaports have multiple docks, the new airports should be split up into various wings. Each wing will have its own group of gates from which to get on the planes. Along with that, the airports need to have more than one runway for the planes to take off from and land on.", said Yona.
Flurry took note of everyone's claims. Using the information, she proceeded to write up a layout for how the airports would be constructed. The procedure would consist of several steps.
First, the travelers would check in and get their luggage tagged so the staff would know which plane it needed to be taken to. Next, the passenger would go through the security check to make sure they weren't trying to bring anything like weapons or dangerous substances onto the plane. That portion of the airport would be referred to as the "terminal".
The security check would involve a passenger placing their carry-on, personal items bag, footwear, and any other loose articles of clothing into bins on a conveyor belt to be taken through an x-ray machine. After placing their bags on the belt, the passenger would stand inside a special booth to have their body scanned for anything dangerous. This booth would work by having two vertical arms rotate around the passenger while bouncing radio waves off of their body and sending the data to a computer to be converted into an image. Two-legged citizens would be required to raise their arms up in order to match positioning stickers inside the booth. All of the passengers would need to stand perfectly centered in the booth for the scan to be done properly. To achieve this, marks would be on the booth's floor for them to stand on. Any passenger whose scan revealed anomalies would be asked to step aside to be patted down and checked with a metal detection wand.
Once the passengers had passed security, they would look at their flight's information on a large display screen in order to know which gate they needed to head for. Each group of gates would be called a "concourse". If a flight was leaving from gate B12, that meant the passenger would board the plane from gate 12 in concourse B. The passenger would be given a special document as well, which would give them permission to board the plane. As such, this document would be called a "boarding pass". The passenger's name, flight number, airline, departure point, destination, and gate number would be listed on it.
Just then, Flurry had her own idea for how the passengers could avoid being couped up on the plane at all times.
"Some passengers may need to travel long distances to reach their destination. If that is the case, they can't stay on the plane for the entire duration of their flight. They may need to stretch their legs and get a bite to eat.", she said.
"How would that work?", asked Sandbar in confusion.
"He's right. The plane can't stop flying in midair. That would be dangerous.", said Yona.
"It's actually quite simple. The longer flights will be broken up into pieces. While some passengers will be at their destination immediately, others will need to get off the plane at the next airport and move to another plane to continue their journey. They can rest during the time before their "connecting flight" as it shall be named. I am going to call this time period a "layover". Depending on where the passenger is going, they may have more than one layover, possibly two or three. Also, their luggage will be transferred to the connecting plane.", said Flurry.
"Thanks for clarifying that.", said Ocellus.
Now that the operation plans had been laid out, it was time to design how the planes would be built.
Equestrian International Airlines
The next day, Flurry and the Young Six began designing the planes that would be used for Equestrian International Airlines.
"We know that when someone's wings are lowered, it increases drag and slows them down. If we have portions of the wings extend, they can allow the plane to take off more smoothly, and slow down in order to land. The extended flaps will also help to slow down the plane after touching down so that it doesn't run into anything and cause a huge accident.", explained Smolder.
Ocellus agreed with Smolder and noted this in the drawings for the plane's wings.
"An aircraft of this size would be EXTREMELY heavy. The wheels for something this large would have to be HUMONGOUS and be able to support the weight of the plane itself, all of the luggage, the passengers, the crew, and everything installed inside the main body.", added Sandbar.
"If the wheels have to be that huge, they would be heavy as well. So, they would need a tremendous amount of pressure to deploy and retract.", said Yona.
Flurry agreed with what Sandbar and Yona had said, and she proceeded to write it in her notes on the wheels. Gallus was the next one to speak.
"Air pressure drops as you ascend higher into the sky. That makes it harder to breathe. We can't have that happening to passengers. To alleviate this issue, the plane's interior needs to be pressurized for safety. Also, there needs to be an automatic function to drop oxygen masks if the pressure fails. This will allow the passengers to breathe normally until the pressure can be stabilized.", he said as he drew up the plane's ductwork and air filtration.
"That's a good point, Gallus.", said Sandbar.
Then, Flurry brought up some ideas for emergency evacuation.
"Everyone should always be prepared for any emergency. So the planes will have evacuation measures installed. Inflating slides will be placed at the main door and several removable emergency exit panels. The wings will have emergency exit arrows painted on top so passengers know which way to go if they have to get out on top of the wings. Finally, life jackets will be stored in compartments underneath the seats in case the plane has to make its emergency landing on water.", she explained as she passed around a sketch of her ideas.
"That's a great plan, Flurry. Emergency actions are a must in any situation.", said Gallus.
Silverstream stepped in to bring up another piece of safety information.
"All of the passengers will have seatbelts. They must be worn during taxi, which is when the plane is rolling through the outskirts of the airport to reach the runway, takeoff, landing, and if the plane flies into any pockets of turbulence.", she said.
"Good idea.", said Flurry.
**
As Ocellus and Yona drew up the blueprints for the planes, they had a last-minute idea to have some of the planes made larger and split up in sections. These sections depended on what kind of ticket the passenger bought. The four sections ranged in price as well.
The cheapest section was called "Economy Class" and had the most basic seating. Seats were in rows of six with three on each side of the aisle. These were the rearmost seats and took up most of the plane's main cabin. Passengers flying in this class of seat were given decently portioned meals if flying large distances, and small snacks if only going a small distance.
The next section from the back was called "Premium Economy Class", which had slightly bigger seats and a higher comfort level. Meals in this seat class were similar to the Economy meals, but there were more choices to pick from. These seats were only in sets of four, with two on each side of the aisle.
Next up was "Business Class", which had much bigger seats than Premium Economy, and offered passengers a wider variety of in-flight meals than the last two classes combined. This class only had one seat on either side of the aisle.
Finally, there was "First Class", the most expensive seats. These were the absolute biggest passenger seats on the entire plane, and were closest to the cockpit and the plane's door. Similar to Business Class, these were in sets of two. Passengers in these seats were offered the fanciest meals and had their own attendant assigned to them for the flight's duration.
Both of the Economy classes were given hot and cold drinks along with their meals, but the cold drinks were constrained to a choice of either water or a variety of different fruit juices. Hot drinks included coffee and different flavors of tea. Business and First Class passengers were offered the same drinks. Business and First Class passengers were also offered champagne and fine wines at their discretion, but passengers had to pay for these drinks during the flight. All four seat classes were offered holiday drinks, such as apple cider in the autumn, and hot chocolate in winter.
**
Flurry agreed with the plans to have different classes of seats on the planes. Then she finished her plans for how luggage would be stored on the plane. She decided that the checked bags would be stowed in large compartments in the plane's belly. Carry-on bags would be placed in overhead compartments, and personal item bags would be at the passengers' feet. Between the overhead bins and the seats, there would be small panels for the passengers to access. These overhead panels contained adjustable air conditioning jets for passengers to keep cool, along with lights for reading in the dark. There were also indicator lights for when the passengers needed to have their seatbelts fastened. Lastly, there were switches with which the Economy passengers could alert the flight attendants if they needed anything. Passengers in the other three seat classes had access to handheld earpieces to verbally call the attendants.
At long last, everyone looked over their designs for the planes and the layout for the airports. They drew up final copies of the plane schematics and then boarded the Friendship Express to Canterlot that night. Their plan was to present Twilight with the plans the next morning.
Equestrian International Airlines
Reporting Back to Twilight
Everyone was ready the next day and they took a bow on the carpet upon entering the throne room.
"Good morning you all. I see you have documented your progress for Equestrian International Airlines. May I hear it?", inquired Twilight.
"Come with us please.", said Flurry Heart as she and the Young Six headed for the conference room.
Once seated at the table in the conference room, the Young Six took out the papers bearing their drawings and written layouts for the new airports, along with the blueprints for the planes. After everything was situated, Flurry took the floor to explain how the airport would function.
"The first part of the procedure will involve the passenger checking their luggage in. Airport staff will place a tag on the suitcase that the passenger has designated for inspection. This tag will indicate which plane the suitcase needs to be taken to. After this, the passengers will go through a security check. This procedure will consist of two steps. First, the passenger will place their smaller bags, known as the "carry-on" and the "personal items bag", in bins on a conveyor belt. The belt will run the bags through an x-ray machine to check for anything that could be dangerous. As the baggage is being x-rayed, the passengers will go one at a time into a full body scanner. This is a booth that they will stand in for a few seconds. As they stand still, two arms will rotate around them and bounce radio waves off their bodies. The waves will be sent back and converted into an image by a computer program. If any spots are flagged and highlighted with a yellow spot, the security officer will have them step aside to be checked more closely. If all goes well, the passengers will be on their way. This portion of the airport will be called the terminal.", she said.
"That sounds good so far for entry. How will the passengers know where their flight is leaving from?", asked Twilight.
Flurry motioned for Gallus to step up and talk about the next portion of the airports.
"After passing security, the passengers will go to what is called the concourse. There will be more than one of these at every airport. Each one is an individual group of gates from which to board the planes. To answer your question on how passengers know where to go, there will be display screens showing the flight numbers and the gate from which it is departing. The passenger will also have a slip of paper with them, called a boarding pass. This will have their name, flight number, destination, departure point, gate number, and airline name listed on it. I have a model of the boarding pass for a demonstration if I was flying from the Crystal Empire to Vanhoover and my flight was departing from Gate C14. The pass has the Crystal Empire as my departure point, Vanhoover as my destination, my name, my flight's number, Gate C14, and Equestrian International listed on it. Since C14 is the gate, that means the flight is departing from gate 14 in concourse C.", he explained.
"Very interesting. I see you have something called a layover in your notes. What does that mean?", said Twilight.
Ocellus took the floor to explain this topic.
"It was Flurry's idea to come up with layovers. Flights may be split up in pieces. The layover is a period of time in between flights where passengers can stretch their legs and get a bite to eat before they go to the gate for their connecting flight. This only applies to trips over long distances. This is to make sure the passengers are not couped up on the plane for the entire duration of their travel.", she said.
"Good idea, Flurry.", said Twilight.
"Thank you, Aunt Twilight.", said Flurry.
Twilight agreed greatly on having the plane's seating split up in different classes, because some liked to travel luxuriously. She was also very pleased with how intricately the plane's schematics had been drawn up.
"I like that you considered safety measures. Including the oxygen masks, life vests, removable panels and windows, arrows on the wings, and the inflating slides is a great plan.", she told everyone.
Then, Smolder stood up to mention some new airport vehicles and components that weren't in the notes.
"Planes can't fly unless they are refueled consistently, so refueling trucks will be built. Tractors will be hitched up to long trolleys to bring the luggage to the planes. There will also be wash vehicles in order to clean the planes' exteriors. Waste removal trucks will pump out any passengers' bodily waste from the plane's storage tank in between flights. There will also be fire vehicles in case of any fires. Catering trucks will restock the planes with food and drinks between flights, using a temperature-controlled scissor-lift trailer. Snowplows will be used to clear the runways in the winter, and de-icing trucks will spray on a hot fluid mixture to prevent crucial parts of the plane from freezing over. Finally, there will be a low-sitting truck that pulls up underneath the plane's nose and attaches to the front wheels when it is time to depart. This truck is going to be called a "pushback tug". Its purpose is to push the plane back from the gate so the pilots can keep the plane engines powered off for a few minutes before they taxi over to the runway.", she said.
"Great choices for ground vehicles. What else is there going to be?", asked Twilight.
"There will be tall towers at the airports from which technicians can monitor all of the planes arriving, departing, and in a certain radius. These will be called "control towers". At the gates, there will be mechanical fold-out bridges that extend towards and wrap over the fuselage for boarding and disembarking. Finally, there will be workers known as "marshallers". Their job is to guide the pilots as they are leaving the gates, or arriving at the gates. They will wear brightly colored vests and carry lighted wands with which to signal the pilots when they may move and when the plane has been secured after arrival.", added Silverstream.
"You seem to have the entire project covered in all areas. Airport construction will commence next week." said Twilight.
The group took a bow and they returned home. They would all be present for each new airport's grand opening.
Equestrian International Airlines
During the airports' construction; citizens all around the world were excited about getting to travel by air. The opening days saw many citizens coming to board flights. Among them were Celestia and Luna, who were coming to visit Twilight. The closest airport to Silver Shoals was in Manehattan, so they took a train there and got checked in. Security was very smooth and they got to their gate with plenty of time to spare.
Their flight had a layover in Vanhoover, so they had a great opportunity to see the land from several miles above the ground on their way. The view out the window was absolutely GORGEOUS. They had never been this high in the air for a trip. They had even been given first class seats for free, having been recognized as the retired princesses. After the beginning flight, one layover and one connecting flight, they had landed in Canterlot.
Twilight greeted them herself at the gate, and she asked them how the flights had gone. On the way to the palace, they told her how impressed they were with how their flights had gone. Twilight was pleased to hear this, and then she told them who she had placed in charge of the project. Flurry and the Young Six were waiting to hear about the flights after two weeks. Celestia and Luna congratulated them for designing the airports' functions so well, which they were thanked for greatly.
Two weeks after opening the airports, all of them had each seen at least 200 arrivals and departures combined. Flurry and the Young Six received many compliments on how well the flights went for different passengers for the next six years. During those years, the Young Six developed rescue vehicles for any time that a flight's passengers had gotten stranded and needed to be rescued. These vehicles were only needed once or twice, whenever a plane's engines stalled or the plane leaked fuel. Thankfully, no passengers were badly injured, since the planes were able to make their emergency landings fairly smoothly. After the proper adjustments were made to alleviate the problems, the flights were receiving far more reviews than when they first took off.
During the fifth and sixth years, a second project was launched towards exploring space. The rockets were a HUGE achievement and made exploration possible on the moon. Rock samples were brought back for study and a space station was soon constructed in orbit. The space station made it possible to examine how travel to other planets would be coordinated and carefully planned. After this project was completed, Twilight began planning a second project for space.