Blog Archives
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More Notes from Reno ...
- Thursday October 5, 2006... showing where some focus will be in the year ahead, as the industry reevaluates how the system is funded. Notably, FAA acting Associate Administrator for Airports Kate Lang, speaking on the business of airports, says, "Airports would like more control, and I hear your voice." Later this month, the DOT Inspector General’s office will release a study on how emergency monies were distributed and spent in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It could be revealing on setting priorities and mechanisms in the future. And, a session that included reps from the I.G.'s office and the Government Accountability Office indicate where their attention will be focused in the next year – barring, of course, additional... -
Stacking Dimes
- Thursday October 5, 2006I was in Appleton, Wisconsin yesterday visiting Miller Electric doing some research for an upcoming article on TIG welding. The folks at Miller had invited me to learn more about TIG welding aluminum and to get some hands-on practice with their equipment. The morning was spent learning the ins and outs of TIG welding. We discussed different machine setups, filler materials, shielding gases and welding techniques. Miller product manager Jim Brook described a good TIG weld as "stacking dimes." He explained that if one has good technique when welding with filler, the bead should resemble a stack of dimes evenly spaced going across the work surface -- consistent width and spacing. After lunch, I donned my auto-darkening helmet and safety... -
Grand Larceny
- Monday October 2, 2006In May 1999, my Airport Business column was written about renting a car in Boston, Taxachusetts. The fees and taxes added 49.55%—repeat, 49.55%—to the price of the rental car, and I was mad about it. Earlier this year, I included that column in my book, "Ground Clutter, The Book," and it made me mad all over again. Today, I reserved a rental car at Boston Logan Airport. Now I’m really mad. Today, folks, the taxes/fees added 57.7% to the price of the rental car. 57.7%. That is highway robbery. They should be ashamed. Hell, King George himself would have been ashamed. In 1999 and again today, $10 of that was for a "Convention Center Charge." They are charging me to pay for their convention center. (In 1999 the... -
At the ACI-NA Convention in Reno ...
- Wednesday September 27, 2006… the mood is upbeat. Airport officials are meeting here for the annual convention of the Airports Council International – North America. This is a meeting with some history – this group was meeting in Montreal in 2001 when the 9/11 attacks occurred. FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey, opening the conference, reiterated her calls for new funding mechanisms to support the agency and infrastructure improvements. Yet, she seems to be backtracking on just what new formula of taxes the Administration will propose as the industry engages in a reauthorization showdown that one official here terms "the funding battle of a generation." Top on ACI-NA's list in the funding discussion is the unleashing of passenger facility... -
Customer Service
- Tuesday September 26, 2006In addition to my editorial duties with AMT magazine, I have also taken over as editor for another magazine here at Cygnus -- Light Truck and SUV. This month I am working on a cover story on the team from Galpin Auto Sports (GAS). You may have heard of GAS. They do the MTV show Pimp my Ride. They bring a beat up car into the shop and do a total makeover on it. When it leaves, it usually has lots of customizations including new interior, entertainment system, engine and paint job.  During the inverview with GAS president Beau Boeckmann, I asked him what the secret of his success was. "Make sure you always put your customer first," he said. "If you work to make money, that money may not come. If you work to satisfy your... -
Here To Help Us
- Tuesday September 26, 2006According to The Wall Street Journal, health care costs for employers are rising twice as fast as wages/inflation. The average family premium is more than $11,000. I don't know abut you, but I can remember working for a lot less pay than that. People wonder why health care costs go up, and I've got a theory. Unlike most goods and services we buy, health care suppliers are not even close to operating in a free market. You reckon that could have anything to do with it? The very supply of physicians is greatly influenced by the guvmint providing the money to create interns or resident physicians. Even worse, in most places you cannot build a hospital — or even a major new piece of equipment for a current hospital... -
FOD in Space
- Thursday September 21, 2006Many of you saw the images this past week of a piece of space debris traveling in space near the space shuttle. The shuttle's return was delayed in order to inspect the vehicle to ensure the floating object was not a critical piece of the shuttle that had broken off. In the end, the shuttle got the OK to return to earth, but the piece of debris was never identified. As conscious as we are about foreign object debris (FOD) in aviation, I imagine that NASA would be ten-times more sensitive. So I find it funny that NASA could not rule out if the debris was a tool that had floated away from the shuttle bay. Is there no tool accountability in space? A few years ago I met an editor for a space magazine. He told me that there were... -
Good Goshamighty
- Monday September 18, 2006Boeing has flown the damndest aircraft you’ve ever seen from Taipei to Seattle. Called the Large Cargo Freighter (LCF), the airplane looks like somebody stuck a 747 into a giant hot dog bun. That’s logical enough since it’s an adaptation of the 747-400. It will be used to carry the wings of the new Boeing Dreamliner—expected out in 2008—from the Orient to the USA. Could anybody over 50 possibly look at this behemoth without thinking of the Guppy airplanes of yore? I doubt it. In fact, can anyone who ever saw a Guppy ever forget that unbelievable first impression? I can’t. The Guppy was largely the brainchild of John Conroy and Lee Mansdorf. An extensive modification of another Boeing, the 377... -
Surprise in the Family
- Tuesday September 12, 2006I am amazed. Wife (of 39 years) Gail is the last person I would have suspected. I hear my airline-pilot friends complain about passenger behavior (passengers won't listen, they won't behave, they don't know what they're doing). Usually, I have chalked it up to poor customer service. After all, why should we expect infrequent flyers to know the ropes? I may be forced to change my thinking. This morning (at 6:00, BTW) I took Wife Gail to the airport for her first airline flight since the foiled terrorist plot in London. Last night I suggested she check one bag with everything in it that she could possibly live without for a few hours. Now bear in mind that this is an intelligent woman. She keeps up. She reads. Also, she has... -
In a Week of 9/11 Memories ...
- Tuesday September 12, 2006… let me add one. It's 9/11/01 and we're in Montreal for the annual convention of Airports Council International – North America. In my hotel room, I tie my tie as I watch CNN; they're trying to explain why one of the World Trade Center buildings is burning. I'm ready to leave the hotel room and get to the convention but I can't get away from that image on the screen. As I go to turn off the TV, I watch as another plane hits Tower No. 2. My response (yelling to myself): "The bastards have finally done it!" All of us in industry (and government) knew airline-controlled passenger screening was a joke. The concept of using airplanes as weapons was not a new idea. The interesting thing for me was my immediate reaction when I saw...
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