If you suddenly decide to find out how many
airline companies there are in the world, you might get thoroughly confused. Some sources state that the number is higher
than 5,000; others claim that there are about 800 commercial airlines. But whatever the truth is, that's still a
lot! And among all these numerous air carriers,
there’s a pretty unusual one: the thing is, it’s existed for 30 years but has never
had a single flight! From the very beginning, Baltia, a US airline
launched in 1989, had great ambitions. The carrier was planning to provide its passengers
with high-quality service in all three of the classes it was going to offer. But excellent service wasn't the only thing
the airline advertised to attract loyal customers. Baltia was supposed to operate the only non-stop
flight from JFK, New York, to Leningrad, a big city in the then-Soviet Union which is
now St. Petersburg. Getting permission from the DOT (the Department
of Transportation) is a long process. That's why it took Baltia almost two years
to reach this stage. But eventually, in 1991, with the permission
in its pocket, the air carrier was ready to start scheduled flights between JFK and Leningrad,
as well as Riga (Latvia), Minsk (Belarus), Kiev (Ukraine), and Tbilisi (Georgia). Meanwhile, the mass media was swarming with
news about the new airline company and its plans to buy a couple of new, and several
used, Boeing airplanes. But then, suddenly, all the articles about
Baltia stopped, as if the airline had never existed. And only recently did the air carrier reappear,
claiming that it still couldn't get the operational approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration! By the time Baltia seemingly returned out
of nowhere, it’d already been operating for more than 25 years! But it still hadn't transported a single passenger
or a mere package. Apparently, the airline has failed the FAA
evaluation seven times so far, and most of its failures have related to the deployment
of its evacuation slides. Desperate, the airline management even moved
its hub to Michigan, where it's easier to get the green light from the FAA than in New
York. And guess what? Even there, Baltia still failed its certification
tests. It also became apparent that, despite its
ambitious shopping plans, the company owned just one 37-year-old Boeing 747 aircraft. After being bought, the plane flew only once,
from Willow Run Airport to Oscoda, Michigan, where it was left at the maintenance facility
and never flew again. In 2016, the company had to take its only
airplane out of service after a hired expert honestly told the management that this aircraft
wasn't the best to launch the airline with. So, what do we have now? A 30-year-old carrier that’s listed as an
existing airline company but has no fleet, tons of debt, and plans as ambitious as they
were when the start-up was first launched. Baltia owners claim that they’re at the
final stage of the Air Carrier Certification process, even though their website doesn't
allow you to make any reservations. Well, we'll have to wait and see! And wait…and wait… As we’re waiting… wow this could be a
looong video -- how about the rest of the airlines that ARE functioning? Want to learn some cool aviation facts you
probably never knew? - If you've ever flown during a lightning
storm, you know how terrifying it looks, raging around you at the height of several thousand
feet. But no worries: modern airplanes are built
lightning-proof! What's more, even though airplanes get hit
by lightning much more often than you can imagine, there haven't been any crashes caused
by lightning since the 1960s. - When you enter a bathroom on board the plane
and lock it, it remains unlocked! (And isn't that a perfect setting for a nightmarishly
embarrassing situation?) The truth is that the design of a plane's
toilet door allows flight attendants to open it in case of an emergency. Also, thanks to this little trick, the cabin
crew can prevent passengers from using the bathrooms during the takeoff or landing. - When a flight takes more than 13 hours,
flight attendants can use special secret bedrooms to get rest and deal with exhaustion. Such bedrooms usually have about 5 to 10 beds
inside, and the crew gets there via a hidden staircase. -The Boeing 747 is one of the most famous
commercial airliners and is often called the Jumbo Jet or the Queen of the Skies. It was the very first wide body aircraft which
took its first flight on February 9, 1969. But the most amazing thing about this monster
of a plane is that it's made up of more than 6 million parts! And all these details can be easily controlled
by just a couple of pilots who are flipping switches and pushing buttons with their fingertips! - For a long time, I used to think that an
airplane's lifespan depends on its age. That's why it was a big surprise for me to
learn that, in fact, the length of an aircraft’s service depends on its pressurization cycles. In other words, every time a plane flies,
its fuselage experiences serious stress. As a result, sooner or later, the metal starts
to crack, and it may lead to a crash. That means that an airplane used on long-haul
flights may serve much longer than a plane that has several short flights a day. - Are you not only afraid of flying, but also
embarrassed by this fact? Relax, it turns out you’re not the only
one with this fear. Statistically, more than 80% of the world's
population is as terrified of flying as you are! Or at the very least, they don't feel particularly
happy when they have to climb inside a pressurized metal pipe with wings that will then take
them to a height of several thousand feet and hurl them through the air at over 500
miles per hour. And they serve drinks. You might need one. - What's the dirtiest place on a plane? Nope, not the bathroom! It's the tray table you open to enjoy your
fish or chicken. Such a table usually hosts more than 2,100
colony-forming bacteria, and that's only on one square inch of its surface! For comparison, a toilet flush button has
265 bacteria per square inch of space. Yuck! Next time, I'll probably use that wet wipe
they give me to clean the table rather than to wipe my mouth. - The largest airplane in the world is the
Antonov An-225: it weighs almost 600 tons! Compared to this leviathan, the 350-ton cargo
plane Boeing 747-8F looks like a baby sibling! - And how about this unsettling piece of information:
during a flight, pilots often fall asleep! But then, who's controlling the plane I'm
on? Maybe the co-pilot, maybe the autopilot, and
maybe no one! In 2017, the British Airline Pilot Association
interviewed 500 pilots, and 43% of them confessed that they did accidentally fall asleep while
flying a plane. On top of that, 31% of the questioned professionals
admitted that sometimes they had woken up from their nap to see their co-pilot slumbering
as well. - Now, it may sound scary, but a small number
of troubled people try to open the airplane's exterior door mid-flight. I can't imagine why they would want to do
something so pointless and obviously fatal, but luckily, it's impossible to open the doors
while the aircraft is in the air. And that's not because of complicated or super
strong locks, but because of the pressure difference inside the cabin and outside the
plane. So, unless you notice the Hulk boarding your
flight, you have nothing to worry about. And if the Hulk has the seat next to you,
then try not to make him mad. - Also, think twice before nestling into an
airplane blanket. The unpleasant truth is that most air carriers
wash these blankets just once a month. - Ever used that laser pointer that can drive
a cat mad? Well, you can play with that thing all you
want but never - and I mean never! - point that red dot at a plane. According to US law, if you do, chances are
you’ll spend the next 5 years in prison, taking a new look at your life. - What do you picture when you hear the term
"the black box"? Something black, right? However, the Flight Data Recorder (which is
another name of the black box) is bright orange! First, the particular heat-resistant paint
used for these recorders has an orange hue. Besides, this color makes it easier for rescuers
to locate the box after an accident. - Remember I told you about 6 million details
Boeing 747 consists of? Well, how about more than 140 miles of wiring
stuffed inside the jet? That's half the length of the Grand Canyon! Plus, the wiring alone weighs about 3,500
pounds! Okay your turn. Do you know any other curious facts about
airplanes? Let me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give
this video a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don't go taking off just
yet! We have over 2,000 cool videos for you to
check out. All you have to do is pick the left or right
video, click on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side of life!
