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Say It Ain't So, Joe
by Ralph Hood - Wednesday February 1, 2012As much as I fuss about the airlines, the worst news lately is that the guvmint is going to help passengers by telling the airlines what to include in the price of a ticket. Lord help us! You’ve heard/read about this. Some in guvmint think airlines should be required—forced might be a better word, methinks—to include baggage fees and taxes in every advertised/quoted ticket price and to hold all reservations for 24 hours, during which the customer can cancel free of charge.. Good goshamighty—doesn’t guvmint have enough to do, what with a bankrupt economy, tons of debt, and public hatred of Congress? And don’t the airlines have enough problems making a buck already, without more interference? Think of... -
Here Comes The Govmint — Again
- Wednesday January 18, 2012The Obama administration is pushing a $100 per-flight fee for all corporate and private turbine aircraft. They say such a fee will “raise $11 billion in the next ten years.” You reckon the guvmint will ever figure out that taking $1 from one group and giving it another group does not raise money? These user fees—aimed at general aviation--pop up on a regular basis, and—so far—they have been defeated on a regular basis. This time, you gotta wonder. This administration seems to love to take money away from successful people and corporations and to give it to those who aren’t successful yet feel that they are “entitled.” We are, according to one source, some $51 billion in debt. Rather than look for ways to... -
One Advantage Of A Free Country
by Ralph Hood - Wednesday January 4, 2012To read a column about one of the greatest differences between aviation in the U.S.A., and aviation in a less free country, just Google . (That worked this morning, but who knows how long it will stay there.) To be fair, I must point out that Ms. West is a conservative columnist in the Washington Times. However, I would write about this column if it originated in a left-wing rag. The column questions the “investigation” of the 2011 airplane crash of a Polish aircraft that killed all aboard, including Poland’s president and first lady. Ms. West raises many questions about the resultant investigation, and even wonders if this crash was intentionally caused, rather than accidental. For details, Google the column. This... -
USPS
by Ralph Hood - Wednesday December 21, 2011First—to follow up on last week’s Blog—Tri-Cities Regional Airport has indeed made the decision to go to an airport authority system. Second—and totally unconnected with the first item—this area of East Tennessee is a microcosm of the country. Towns north and south of here are putting up strong fights to keep the United States Postal Service (USPS) facilities open and operating in their area. I won’t bore you with the details, but believe me when I say they are fighting. Bear in mind that these people—like pretty much everybody else in the country—do want the guvmint to cut spending. Still, they are fighting like hell to make sure the cuts are not made IMBY—in my back yard. As I understand it, the... -
TRI-Cities To Change?
by Ralph Hood - Wednesday December 7, 2011
Just about a year ago, my column in Airport Business magazine reported on Tri-Cities Regional Airport, near Bristol, TN. The airport commission was studying the idea of switching to an airport authority system of management and ownership. The airport was then, and is now, owned by four cities and two counties. A commission, with members selected by the various owners, managed the airport, which was/is successful, operating without local taxpayer funds since 1966. But, there are advantages to an airport authority system of ownership, and the commission began to study this system in the early 2000s. This week, the local paper announced that major barriers to the idea had been overcome and that airport director Patrick Wilson...
