Blog Archives
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Unthinkable
By Steve Smith - Tuesday April 10, 2012We've been reading much about last week's UTair crash in Siberia. Most of the recent headlines indicate investigators are blaming a failure to deice the plane before departure as the likely cause of the crash. The plane slammed into the ground shortly after taking off and killed 31 people. That possible failure for a procedure we'd think routine is bad enough. But we also picked up a report last week from a Russian news agency, Russica Izvetia Information, that featured an anonymous "air navigation official" saying that the deicing fluid could have been stolen and sold as car windshield deicer. The agency is a bona-fide news service and publishes a long-running newspaper that dates back to the beginnings of the Soviet era. ("Izvetia... -
Finally, Some Good News (We Think)
- Tuesday April 3, 2012Airlines provided customers with the best service in at least 22 years, according to the Airline Quality Rating study released yesterday. The rate of mishandled bags, for example, dropped to 3.35 per 1,000. AirTran had the best baggage handling rate – 1.63 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers – and American Eagle had the worst baggage handling rate – 7.32 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. The study measures three other major categories – on-time performance; involuntary denied boardings; and customer complaints – and found improvement across the board. The data, drawn from the U.S. Department of Transportation's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report, measures 15 carriers. Of this lot, 10 airlines improved, four declined and... -
Section 511
By Steve Smith - Monday March 26, 2012I should have known that lurking somewhere in a 145-page document entitled "FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement" would be a nugget of interesting news glossed over by most, but also little understood by even the aviation pros it is designed to assist. And, sure enough, there it is on page 97 – Section 511, "Pilot Program for Zero-Emissions Airport Vehicles." While most of the legislation that finally reauthorized the FAA earlier this year talks primarily about aircraft and airports, this section may be of great interest to the GSE community. Basically, Section 511 sounds like an added incentive to use federal funds for investing in electric GSE. Section 511 outlines a pilot program for the "acquisition and... -
It’s All New Product To Me
By Steve Smith - Tuesday March 20, 2012
Our recent Cygnus Aviation Expo in Las Vegas was my first trip to the trade show so from my perspective, most every product I saw at our more than 200 exhibitors was “new.” I hear this scuttlebutt about the GSE industry all the time – there’s nothing new. But how about “relatively new?” I had a list of almost 20 exhibitors that had something new to see – regardless of whether it was brand-new product or a new twist on the tried-and-true. I also saw plenty of decals placed in front of exhibitors that announced they were “new” to the show. I’m counting that in my tally, too. And while this was something else that wasn’t entirely new, our Demos-on-Demand had more exhibitors taking part this year and certainly... -
‘A Gathering Of The Tribe’
By Steve Smith - Tuesday March 13, 2012
Our headline is how one of our winners of this year’s Ground Support Leaders of the Year awards described the attendees of last week’s Cygnus Aviation Expo. I went up to shake hands with Bill Jacob after he won our Lifetime Achievement Award. “Back in the old days,” Bill told us during our packed Networking Party last Thursday, “the readers of your magazine used to consider this show to be ‘a gathering of the tribe.’ ” Bill no doubt has plenty of memories of getting together with the tribe. Our magazine has only been around for half of Bill’s career at Eastern Airlines and the United Parcel Service. He’s currently vice president of the UPS ground support division and oversees 32,000 pieces of GSE. He added his father... -
Making The Turn With SWA At LAS
By Steve Smith - Tuesday March 6, 2012
The "chili pepper" knows everything. We spent yesterday morning on the ramp outside the C2 gate at McCarran International Airport in the company of Rico Villalobos, ramp supervisor and 20-year veteran of Southwest Airlines ground handling operations. Villalobos, stout as a pushback, explained the printout he handed us that listed the morning's work. Toward the middle of the page was an icon that looked more like a chili pepper than the clipboard it was meant to be. "Everyone also calls it a chili pepper because it's 'hot,' " he explains. "Click on the icon and you can see how much luggage, for example, you can expect. Or, maybe, there's some freight to consider." And while Southwest is not considered to run a hub-and-spoke... -
See You Next Week In Vegas
By Steve Smith - Tuesday February 28, 2012All the “AviationPros” will be heading to Las Vegas next week for the Cygnus Aviation Expo , March 7-9. I’ll be glad to meet everyone I can so stop by our booth No. 408 for a visit. In the meantime, here’s a recap of some events presented for Ground Support Worldwide readers. Green GSE Seminars March 8 in the Exhibit Hall Theater Going Green At US Airways Express 1:30-2:30 p.m. US Airways Express/Piedmont Airlines has used electric GSE at many of its locations for years, in particular at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and the Philadelphia International Airport. In fact, electricity powers a major portion of its baggage tractors and belt loaders at these busy airports. The seminar promises to share... -
Everyday Stress And Sprain
By Steve Smith - Tuesday February 21, 2012We recently reported on www.AviationPros.com that a Southwest Airlines ramp worker died when the baggage tractor he was driving hit a passenger shuttle at Dulles International Airport. Then, just a week later, we posted news that a ramp worker at Washington State's Paine Field Airport got trapped under the wheels of a Boeing 787 as it was towed. When we think of ramp accidents, we tend to imagine the worst. However, at the same time we reported these two unfortunate accidents, we were also interviewing D. Bradley Keith, Aircraft Service International Group's director of health, safety, environmental and training, on two safety programs – a corporate program called ZIPP for "Zero Injury Philosophy + Process," as well as one of... -
Ground Support Leaders of the Year
By Steve Smith - Tuesday February 14, 2012We decided not to keep you in suspense this year. Here are our three Ground Support Leaders of the Year, which we will officially bestow at next month's Cygnus Aviation Expo : Lifetime Achievement : William "Bill" Jacob with the United Parcel Service Inc. This award recognizes a person who has demonstrated commitment to the industry through numerous years of dedicated service. Jacob has more than 40 years of GSE experience with Eastern Airlines and UPS. Jacob, Vice President of the UPS Ground Support Division, is directly responsible for almost 32,000 pieces of powered and nonpowered GSE. Team Leader : Gregory McDermott with the United States Coast Guard. This award recognizes an individual who has taken a leadership role with... -
Green GSE, Test Drives And Tire Kickin’ At CAE
By Steve Smith - Tuesday February 7, 2012
The Cygnus Aviation Expo , March 7-9, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, features plenty for all "AviationPros." Ground Support Worldwide , however, has created special events just for our readers. For example, we’ll be presenting three seminars on green GSE. All the seminars take place March 8 in the Exhibit Hall Theater: Going Green At US Airways Express 1:30-2:30 p.m. US Airways Express/Piedmont Airlines has used electric GSE at many of its locations for years, in particular at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and the Philadelphia International Airport. In fact, electricity powers a major portion of its baggage tractors and belt loaders at these busy airports. The seminar promises to share cost savings using...
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Events
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- 06/17/13 - 06/23/13
- Paris Air Show
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Conference/Expo, Paris,
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- 06/18/13 - 06/19/13
- Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings Training Program
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Training, Andover, KS
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- 06/19/13 - 06/20/13
- 2rd China Aerospace Propulsion Technology Summit
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Conference/Expo, Shenyang,
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- 06/24/13 - 06/24/13
- Ultrasonic Testing Level 2 Training Course
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Training, Houston, TX
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- 06/25/13 - 06/27/13
- SMART Terminal Asia 2013
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Conference/Expo, Jakarta,
