Jimbo & the Jet Set

This is your captain speaking. We are currently cruising at an altitude of one floor. If you take a look out of the windows you'll see the stunning vista of Hilton Street, with a fleeting glimpse of the Rochdale Canal as we bank to the left. Our flight time today is approximately one hour, and we expect to touch down in Thursday Afternoon at around 1:30pm local time. The weather in Thursday Afternoon is currently grey and murky.........

Next Thursday is March's Last Thursday Club, when the theme will be 'Pains, Planes and Runways'. The speaker will be Callum Thomas - a Professor of Sustainable Aviation at the Manchester Metropolitan University, a Director of the Centre for Air Transport and the Environment and sustainability advisor to the Manchester Airport Group.

He has been an advisor to the UK Government, the European Commission, the World Economic Forum and the Airports Council International on aviation and environmental / sustainability issues. He was responsible for establishing and managing Manchester Airport's Bird Control Unit, its Environment Department and Community Relations Department, all UK firsts and all internationally acclaimed.

His particular expertise involves the sustainable development of the aviation industry, environmental constraints upon airport growth, the impact of airport operations on local communities, the control of aircraft noise, public consultation and community participation in airport development. He is also recognised for his expertise in bird hazard management.

Thomas is internationally known for his work in this field and has co-authored two books and over 50 scientific papers on aviation/environment issues. He is a visiting lecturer at a number of Universities (including the Technical University of Crete) and external examiner of aviation management courses at the Universities of Cranfield and Loughborough.

In 2006, the UK Government Secretary of State for Transport announced the award of Euro 7.5 million for the Centre for Air Transport and the Environment to lead a consortium of top UK Universities to work with industry and regulators to help deliver the sustainable development of UK aviation and establish formal links with similar initiatives in the USA and Europe. This, the single largest such award ever received by the Manchester Metropolitan University has confirmed the University as the UKs leading institution in this field.

Emergency exits are located through Groundwork's office, and should there be a change in pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling. Ladies, please remove your high heels before utilising the emergency escape routes, and we'd just like to remind everyone to extinguish all smoking materials and turn off digital devices prior to take-off. Have a safe, pleasant, carbon-neutral flight on Last Thursday Airways...........