Blog Archives
-
Let's Talk Politics
By Ronnie Garrett - Wednesday May 22, 2013In 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 changed our minds Once in awhile, governmental agencies adopt policies that are logical, based in fact and research, and meant to truly make a difference. This is not what happened here. In March, the FAA said it would allow knives with blades shorter than 2.36 inches, golf clubs, hockey sticks and more on planes. Then in April, like a... -
Airports are Going to the Dogs
By Agnes Huff - Wednesday May 22, 2013Let’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 airport travel and found some interesting things passengers worry about when travelling. Of the 2,005 people CPP surveyed, 42 per cent said airports make them feel stressed and close to one quarter (23%) find the prospect of getting on their flight anxiety inducing and stressful. The findings highlight that people tend to worry about a lot of... -
No Soup For You!
By Steve Smith - Tuesday May 21, 2013
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 heads. Back in 2010, Argentina’s government helped prop up another state-run business, in this case, Aerolinas Argentinas by passing a law that gave the ailing flag carrier priority to use all the country’s passenger bridges. That law changed a bit to allow carriers to use the bridges for up to two flights a day. That might work for foreign carriers... -
Boston Marathon Bombings Add Renewed Focus To Airport Emergency Plans
By John Goglia - Tuesday May 21, 2013
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 testing these plans. As I have urged in other postings, all operators on an airport – whether large, medium or small – need to have their own emergency plans and need to be familiar with their airport’s emergency plans. Of course, it is not enough to have a plan, you need to update and test it at regular intervals. A plan gathering dust on a... -
Celebrate AMT Day
By Ronald Donner - Thursday May 16, 2013On 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? Perhaps a relative worked in aviation or you attended airshows? For me I always had an interest in airplanes and my father operated a small service station with a one-stall garage. Given my early interest in all things mechanical and in aviation, it seemed only natural I would go to school and obtain my A&P. I always knew I would spend my life... -
The Rising TIDE Floods All Neighborhoods
By Art Kosatka - Wednesday May 15, 2013According 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 first thought upon reading that was: that’s a lot of terrorists in my neighborhood – I should check those facts: http://www.nctc.gov/docs/Tide_Fact_Sheet.pdf . Alas, it’s apparently true; they’re everywhere. That’s 184 new names every da y for five years. The US Census Bureau says there are 3,143 counties in the United States, which... -
Service Story: Profile of Excellence
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday May 15, 2013A 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 "whatever you do, just be the best". From those lessons, whether it was a game of golf, a $5,000 transaction or a $5 million transaction, he approached it with his best effort. People who worked with her brother-in-law over the years saw that more could be accomplished out of what seemed like less by "good old-fashioned hard work". In addition, he... -
The 800-Pound Gorilla In The Room …
By Steve Smith - Tuesday May 14, 2013Last week, a group of wheelchair attendants employed by PrimeFlight Aviation Services, asked the Occupational Health & Safety Administration to inspect working conditions at Philadelphia International Airport. The complaints, filed with OSHA’s Philadelphia regional office, allege violations of the federal Air Carrier Access Act and ask the Transportation Department to impose fines and order US Airways, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines to force PrimeFlight to correct the problems. Specifically, the workers allege that they do not receive training on how to help handicapped passengers, are exposed to blood and other bodily fluids without protection and are forced to use faulty equipment. Furthermore, the complaints contend that the... -
Soft Skills Have Hard Value
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday May 8, 2013Body builders and professional trainers understand the importance of and spend a lot of time building “core strength”. “Core” Training with regard to getting in shape is the balanced development of the deep and superficial muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body, especially the abdominals and muscles of the back. It is now common understanding among many of these physical fitness professionals that without core training, optimum development will not be reached. The same is true in training for business and professional development. What has traditionally been referred to as “soft skills” training and includes proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, personal... -
IATA Refines Its Ground Damage Database
By Steve Smith - Tuesday May 7, 2013We're attending this week’s IATA Ground Handling Conference in Vancouver, and ended the first day with a 90-minute workshop on the trade group’s refinements to its Ground Damage Database. “Airlines have collected data on accidents in many different buckets on their own,” said David Anderson, head of operational safety for British Airways and chairman of the GDDB. “It’s not a question of the quantity of the data, but the quality of the data.” The GDDB was originally launched in 2011 to act as a better funnel for the reasons and causes for aircraft damage. IATA spent time that same year to make sure the data was reported consistently so that it could be used to better measure the progress made against what is largely...
Sign Up
for FREE newsletters
Events
-
- 06/03/13 - 06/03/13
- Ultrasonic Testing Level 1 Course
-
Training, Lewistown, PA
-
- 06/03/13 - 06/06/13
- ACI-NA Marketing & Communications and JumpStart & Air Service Development Program
-
Conference/Expo, Atlanta, GA
-
- 06/04/13 - 06/05/13
- 2013 Small Airports Conference in conjunction with the JumpStart & Air Service Development Program
-
Conference/Expo, Atlanta, GA
-
- 06/05/13 - 06/06/13
- ITQI: Improving Training Provision Conference
-
Conference/Expo, London,
-
- 06/10/13 - 06/10/13
- Ultrasonic Testing Level 2 Training Course
-
Training, Lewistown, PA
