At some point during many flights, the captain will calmly announce that there could be some bumps ahead and so passengers must be seated with their seat belts on. The plane might seem to bobble or bounce a bit, but rarely does it turn into a serious threat to safety. That, however, is just what happened to an American Airlines flight last weekend, when 10 people were injured as the plane plowed through turbulence on its way to landing in Philadelphia. A rundown of statistics, recent incidents, and what pilots and airlines do to avoid hitting potholes in the sky. About 40 people a year are seriously injured by turbulence in the US, according to FAA figures from the last 10 years. The FAA counted 44 injuries last year, the most since more than 100 were hurt in 2009. But the official count is almost certainly too low. The NTSB requires airlines to report incidents that result in serious injury or death, and FAA uses those reports to tally the number of people hurt by turbulence. But airlines are not required to report injuries unless they require a 48-hour hospital stay or involve certain specific injuries such as major broken bones, burns or organ damage. Saturday's American Airlines flight to Philadelphia likely won't meet those standards — the injured people were released from the hospital within a few hours and didn't suffer the types of injuries that trigger a report to the federal safety board.<br/>
oneworld
A fresh vote has been ordered on raising the mandatory retirement age for Cathay Pacific Airways’ Hong Kong cabin crew, after concerns over vote manipulation marred the landmark ballot which began earlier this week. Following a long-running industrial campaign, the company and the Flight Attendants’ Union will seek a simple majority on the proposal to up the retirement age from 55 to 60, allowing both sides to finalise a deal. The limit was last raised in 2008 from 45. Cathay Dragon cabin crew still retire aged 45. It is being billed as the last chance for the 9,000-plus local workforce to make a decision. The ballot, which originally began on Tuesday, was halted after the union highlighted concerns that the online voting system could be tampered with to make it easy to vote multiple times. On Wednesday the airline ordered a new ballot to start later this week, with all previous votes annulled, in an effort to protect the integrity of the final result. “We are aware of some concerns regarding to the security of the survey [hyperlink],” an airline spokeswoman said. “Cabin crew who already cast their preference in the survey will be required to participate again when new link becomes available in the next few days.” Following the three-week vote, the result will be revealed around the end of the month. Cathay Pacific said the objective of the survey was to ascertain whether the majority of Hong Kong-based cabin crew wanted to see the retirement age raised.<br/>