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  • New Jeans with Holes?
    - Thursday September 7, 2006
    I was with my son this past weekend doing some shopping for school clothes. He told us he wanted some new jeans for school. So off we went to the mall to go back to the store where he bought his last pairs of jeans. He likes the fit of that brand and doesn’t want to get any others at this point. So he went to the shelves and he picked out two pairs. He went to the dressing room to try them on. As we were checking out, I was amazed at the price of the jeans. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I find it even more amazing the condition of the jeans. They were worn, faded, and had holes in them. “Heckâ€, I told my wife, “Maybe I should rummage through my closet. I probably have a couple hundred bucks worth of jeans in...

  • What Are They Thinking?
    - Monday September 4, 2006
    Less than a month ago this BLOG reported amazement that the airlines were increasing capacity. We are more amazed today. I just bought a ticket roundtrip from Huntsville, AL—we are not a major hub and have no discount airline service—to fit my schedule, on a legacy carrier, for a grand total (including fees and taxes) of $258.19! I also got a quote from here to Boston and return for an all-up total of $296.60—again, to fit my schedule, on a legacy carrier. (I didn’t buy that one yet. I’m waiting on prices to go down!) Is there any hope for the airline industry? What is their competition? Not driving, that’s for sure. Gas alone on the Phoenix trip would be more than the airline ticket. Gas...

  • Black Sunday
    - Monday August 28, 2006
    The safest five-year period in U.S. airline history ended abruptly Sunday morning in Lexington, KY. By now we know the details and several of the theories. It seems to be fact that the Comair flight tried to take off on the wrong (short) runway. The experts are now working to figure out why, and how to make sure it never happens again. I spoke for the International Society of Air Safety Investigators—NTSB is a member—last year, and never met an aviation group that impressed me more. I trust these folks. Accident investigation is something we do well in this country. The truth will out, changes will be made, and airline travel—already the safest means of transportation in the history of the world—will become...

  • As the VLJ Moment Comes Upon Us …
    - Wednesday August 23, 2006
    … there is enthusiasm, and skepticism. This came through loud and clear during a recent week in Chicago and Oshkosh, WI. At the annual Oshkosh AirVenture show, put on by the Experimental Aircraft Association, the very light jets were the story. Eclipse received its temporary type certificate from FAA in a highly publicized moment, and Honda introduced its VLJ entry, the HondaJet. For the VLJ manufacturers, the orders are there; the financial backing is there. But what is the potential?  A number of companies foresee a network of air taxis around the country, utilizing VLJs. And, when it comes to VLJs, therein lies the real potential for the aircraft, say some. But when one considers the traditional model of business aircraft...

  • NWA Management Blunders Again
    - Monday August 21, 2006
    I just can't help myself. It's not that I have anything against Northwest Airlines, but sometimes a news item appears that just begs for comment. Case and point -- last week, Northwest management apologized for a handbook that was given to employees that were being forced out. (I believe forced out is more accurate than "let go." It's not like the employees wanted to go anywhere.) Anyway, the handbook contained an article titled "101 ways to save money" and included tips such as: Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash. Move to a less expensive place to live. Ask your doctor for samples of prescriptions. Use old newspapers for cat litter. Buy spare parts for your car at the junkyard. Search the...

  • The Hassle Factor
    - Monday August 21, 2006
    Last week I flew an 864-mile roundtrip on the airlines instead of driving. Wish I had driven. Location, location, and location are the major factors in real estate. For airline travel major factors are hassle, hassle, and hassle, particularly at ATL. Let it be noted that I think the airport management at ATL does a remarkable job of trying to do the impossible. The airport simply has too much traffic. They just opened a new runway (the original estimated cost was $1.2 billion—wonder what it really cost?). Near as I can tell, the new runway just allows them to make even more people miserable. My arrival gate was at the south end of T Concourse, my departure gate at the north end of D. In between were so many people it seemed to...

  • Charlie is in the Smithsonian!
    - Thursday August 17, 2006
    Last Friday, August 11, was a monumental day for aircraft maintenance professionals! Kenneth Mac Tiernan, an aircraft mechanic and director of the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Association (AMTA) organized a special unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Aerospace Center. Ken had led an effort to raise funds so that a bust of Charles Taylor, the first aircraft mechanic who designed and built the engine that powered the Wright brothers into history, could be presented to the Smithsonian museum. The bust was designed by Dayton artist Virginia Hess and has been placed in other prominent locations including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Charles Taylor Department of Aviation...

  • The Bogeyman Did It!
    - Monday August 14, 2006
    After a big story like last week’s foiled terrorist plot—which come first, the jokes or the conspiracy theories? I don’t know, but the conspiracy theories do come fast and furious. It’s hard to believe so many theories can come so fast from a plot that failed. The most believable might be the theory that the terrorists planned all along to get caught, because all they want is publicity. I could almost believe that one except for the realities of 9/11, et al. I have heard that it was a plot by Dick Cheney to further his oil interests, but nobody ever explained how that would work. Then others say Cheney was mad because Halliburton didn’t get a certain big contract recently. One pilot told...

  • Remove bras and boxers at the gate ...
    - Friday August 11, 2006
    … well, perhaps not yet. Consider: The 9/11 attackers brought packaging knives; we banned them. The shoe bomber wanted to light his shoes; we banned lighters. Now, it’s liquids. The question is – in James Bond-esque terms – what happens when the terrorists figure out how to create clothing that can be detonated? Is it unrealistic to think that if we can make plastics explode, and liquids, it’s only a matter of time until clothing can be woven with the right mix to facilitate bringing down an airliner?  The point is not that reacting to these threats is frivolous. It’s vital. But we have to come up with a new way of approaching the problem. It’s 2006, and we’re still trying to...

  • A Chaotic Travel Day
    - Thursday August 10, 2006
    New security procedures went into effect this morning. As I approached the counter of the convenience store near my hotel this morning, I couldn't believe how expensive the little bottle of eye drops in my hand was. But I needed it since I was leaving the hotel at 4:30 a.m. to go to La Guardia airport for a 7:00 flight to Washington, D.C. It was 4:15 as I waited in the hotel lobby for my ride. The lobby TV was tuned to CNN, and I noticed a headline that said "Terror Alert Raised." I listened for a few minutes as they reported that the alert level had been raised to red for international flights and orange for domestic flights. I sure was glad I was planning on arriving at the airport two hours early for my flight. As I approached the...