In my family, you don’t talk politics, especially over a nice Christmas dinner. The ensuing argument, fists pounding on tables, and loud angry voices would definitely kill the Christmas spirit. (Did I mention we’re German?) But it seems such conversations are unavoidable of late in aviation. In one month’s time, we’ve seen the following: Yes to knives. Oops. No. Wait a minute. We...

Let’s face it. Airports can be stressful places, whether people are travelling for business or pleasure. Increased airport security, longer lines, more crowded airplanes and other factors continue to make travel by air increasingly more stressful. CPP, a UK company with 30 years’ experience helping customers manage the complexities of modern life, looked into the stresses associated with...

Or clean planes, for that matter. And don’t even mention unloading cargo and luggage. We posted an interesting news story yesterday about LAN Airlines suspending its flights in Argentina as the result of a contract dispute with its one-and-only ground handler, the state-run Intercargo. For one reason or another, we couldn’t get scenes from the old “Seinfeld” show out of our...

All over the country, airport managers I’ve spoken with have been re-checking their emergency plans in light of recent mass shootings. Active shooter scenarios have been added to many emergency drills at large airports in various parts of the country. But clearly the Boston Marathon bombings - with the specter of terrorism - have added an even greater sense of urgency in reviewing and...

On May 24, the birthday of Charles E. Taylor, the Wright Brothers first mechanic who sometimes is referred to as the “Father of Aircraft Maintenance,” we will once again celebrate Aircraft Maintenance Technician or AMT Day. Do you remember why you decided to choose aviation as a career? Were you influenced by certain people as you were growing up? Did you hang around at your local airport...

  According to the most recent tally, the number of names in the government’s primary classified counter-terrorism data base has increased 62% in the past 5 years, from 540,000 to 875,000.  That would be the "Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment" (TIDE) master database used by other agencies to create sub-catalogs of possible terrorists, including the infamous "no-fly" list. My...

A co-worker recently discovered an article (Molloy Associates, 1988) written about her brother-in-law on his Commitment to Excellence for outstanding contributions to the Commercial Finance and Leasing Industry. He commented that his commitment to excellence goes back to his origins. His father, a former Southwestern Bell telephone lineman, provided the necessary focus by teaching his son that...

True or False: You don’t have to charge at night. False: Most GSE chargers are “opportunity” chargers. This means that it’s safe to charge a battery for short periods of time, when there’s an opportunity. By plugging in periodically during the day, the state of charge of the battery remains relatively high and reduces or eliminates the need to get the battery to 100 percent at...

I don’t want to write this blog, but must.  I goofed badly on my last Ground Clutter column in Airport Business magazine. Toward the end of the column I mentioned a situation in Glynn County, Georgia. That’s not the problem.  The problem is that I thought—and wrote—that the activity took place at McKinnon Airport on St. Simons Island. Sadly, that was all wrong. The activity discussed...

You know, many times things are so obvious you can’t see the trees for the forest. Well, just the other day I caught a glimpse of Senator Jim Inhofe’s, (R-OK) proposed legislation for a Pilot’s Bill of Rights. OK, I said to myself, that’s a good idea and from what I read in the bill, I am for it. But, and you know what’s coming next, I have not heard or seen anything that relates to a...

Communication skills are often evaluated in companies and employees are often rated according to their personal skills. But what about companies? Lack of communication is at the top of the list of the twelve most common maintenance-related causes of errors, known as the Dirty Dozen, here are a few things to consider: Do you share business goals with your team members? Do you share...