Blog Archives
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Ramp Rat, D.D.S.
By Steve Smith - Tuesday January 10, 2012With gas way past three dollars a gallon, my long-time Chicago dentist just didn't seem worth the 180-mile trip to my hometown to get my teeth scraped and polished every six months. So last month, I walked into the nearby office of Brian A. Hamann, D.D.S., to make an appointment. He asked me what I did for a living and when he found out he proudly identified himself as a former "ramp rat" for United Airlines. Last Friday, armed with a tape recorder, I interviewed him from the chair. Considering my state, I couldn't ask him too many questions, but I did manage to mumble and spit out a few. In his own words, here's how he related his experience at ORD: "This was in the late-1980s until the early-1990s. I worked out on the ramp for... -
You're Getting Very Sleepy
By Steve Smith - Tuesday January 3, 2012Before the end of last year, my AMT colleague Ronald Donner posted a blog about FAA's new regulations designed to prevent airline pilots flying while fatigued. The new rules increase pilots' rest periods and set limits on flying time. Ronald asked a great question in his original post: "What about aircraft mechanic duty time? We get fatigued just as pilots do." Ronald also emphasized that FAA admits that mechanic fatigue is a well-known contributing factor to human errors in aircraft maintenance. The same objection Ronald raised applies just as much to ground support crews. I've spent some time on the ramp and my first impression was just how close the quarters are among parked aircraft and the various GSE zooming around the ramp... -
Three Anniversaries
By Steve Smith - Tuesday December 27, 2011
Yesterday was the 52nd anniversary of my birth so it made me wonder what aviation-related events I might share with history. I found two. One celebrating an unusual baggage system and both from the Soviet era. 1980 – Aeroflot introduces the Ilyushin II-86. This was the USSR's first wide-body plane, but what draws my attention is the Soviet's "luggage at hand system." The Soviets needed the extra passenger capacity afforded the bigger plane, but the country's rulers also had to find a way around terminals meant for planes with smaller passenger loads. Build bigger airports? Too capitalistic! The Soviets put the burden on the passengers. The first idea was to store the luggage train-style inside the cabin. That was nixed since it... -
Cargo Opportunities At RFD
By Steve Smith - Tuesday December 20, 2011
We spent a cold night last Friday at the Chicago Rockford International Airport watching a 10-man ground crew from Integrated Airline Services spend 90 minutes unloading cargo from a Nippon Cargo Airlines’ 747-400F and transferring it to about eight semis parked right on the ramp and, then, moving what I was told was enough cargo for about another five trucks that waited at the plane’s final destination at JFK. We enjoyed the show so much we went back again for the 10 p.m. Sunday night performance. Cargo shipments have lagged in recent months at the airport, but RFD’s efforts to position itself as a quicker, cheaper cargo destination to ORD appear to be gaining some traction. Executives from Atlas Air, for example, paid a... -
‘Yes, But Other Than That … ’
By Steve Smith - Tuesday December 13, 2011If we're all in a gloomy mood as we close out one year and anxiously wait for another, there is certainly plenty to make us all pretty gloomy indeed at the moment. Read the latest IATA report? Maybe the biggest surprise over American Airlines' bankruptcy was that it took so long. The FAA chief resigns over a DUI. And the weekend before I wrote this, federal agents in New York actually broke up a drug-smuggling ring orchestrated by baggage handlers at JFK. But I've never been one to put too much faith in automatic progress and, rather, taken a hard-headed approach to the slings and arrows of the world. The most fundamental problems in life have to be managed and contained and can never be entirely eliminated. It also doesn't mean that... -
Competition At 540 MPH
By Steve Smith - Tuesday December 6, 2011Associated Press reporter Joshua Freed asks a simple question in a news report today: "Why's it so hard to make money running an airline? His answers make you wonder why anyone would even try: Planes are expensive: A Boeing 737 costs $80 million and leasing one comes to about $3.6 million a year. Oil prices are volatile : In its restructuring documents, American Airlines indicated its annual consumption of around 2.5 billion gallons of jet fuel will cost $17.25 million more this year. Specialized labor: Pilots, mechanics and other employees have very specialized jobs demanding higher salaries. Government regulations and union contracts limit the length of workers' shifts, often creating logistical challenges... -
American Airlines Joins A Long List
By Steve Smith - Tuesday November 29, 2011We all woke up to this morning's news announcing American Airlines' parent company was headed to federal court to restructure its operations under Chapter 11 protection. The reasons sound similar to why Delta; United; Continental; and US Airways all once sought bankruptcy protection – high labor costs associated with being a legacy airline. Parent AMR Corp. recently said labor-contract rules forced it to spend $600 million more annually than other airlines. Of course, high fuel costs and a long-sour economy didn't help matters either. AMR Eagle Holding Corp. also filed for bankruptcy today. The move will delay the spin-off of American Eagle, which looked all but certain to be completed by early next year. American was the only major... -
More On Dubai
By Steve Smith - Tuesday November 22, 2011The 2011 Dubai Air Show ended with record attendance of more than 56,000 and orders just north of $63 billion. Not bad, I figured after personally reading reports about the show for the first time. However, I learned a few new things over the weekend while watching a newscast on Al Jazeera English regarding the show's highlights that I thought I'd pass along. No one's arguing that $63 billion isn't an envious number, but what a drop since the 2007 show when orders topped $155 billion. Then again, what a jump since the 2009 show when orders dropped to $14 billion. But plane orders only tell you part of the story. No surprise, then, that the price of oil continues to be a dark cloud. Sure, a barrel of oil has topped $100 many times... -
One Big Deal
By Steve Smith - Tuesday November 15, 2011I don't know about you, but I started my day last Sunday reading the good news that Emirates airline had placed an $18 billion order with Boeing for 50 of the company's 777 jetliners – the largest commercial order by value in the American plane maker's 95-year history. Including options to buy 20 more 777s, the total is worth as much as $26 billion. The Dubai government-owned carrier made the purchase at the Dubai Air Show. According to Reuters, Emirates plans to lead the efforts by Gulf-based carriers to challenge European and Asian carriers to establish the region as a major East-West hub. That's not the only reading I did over the weekend concerning the Middle East, all of it underscoring the type of exuberance for the future... -
Nominate Your Winners
By Steve Smith - Tuesday November 8, 2011It’s time to send us your nominations for our Ground Support Worldwide Leaders of the Year Awards. We’ve narrowed the awards down to three: Lifetime Achievement Award : This award will go to a person who has demonstrated commitment to the industry through numerous years of dedicated service. Team Leader Award : This award will go to an individual who has taken a leadership role with personnel. Product/Service Award : New this year, this award celebrates the products, services and manufacturers making a difference in the industry. The awards will be presented to the winners during a Network Reception, which will also feature our popular truck giveaway, Thursday night, March 8, during next year’s Cygnus Aviation Expo in...
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