Comments on: Here Comes the Summer

By: David

David — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 05:46:34 +0000

Hey Patrick,

Can you clarify something, please? Every TV news report I see breathlessly reports that “1,300 flights were cancelled yesterday.” But they provide no context for that number. Is it 1,300 out of 13,000 flights–a 10% cancellation rate, or 1,300 out of 130,000 flights, a 1% cancellation rate? It’s like the meteorologist telling you that it’s “42 degrees outside” without specifying Celsius or Fahrenheit. Down jacket or swimming trunks?

How likely is it to affect the traveler if, due to storms or staffing, 1,300 flights are cancelled?

Thanks!

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 18 May 2022 19:31:49 +0000

Impossible to argue with any Husker Du, especially from either Zen Arcade or New Day Rising, but the Undertones’ thing is also pretty good.

By: Rod

Rod — Wed, 18 May 2022 15:49:17 +0000

Re the pandemic (& according to the media), the following happened, at least here in Europe: While ruthlessly furloughing &/or firing, airlines continued to dispatch near-empty planes all over the world. Why? To keep slots. Incredible but, they say, true.
They could instead have pooled their resources & flown far fewer, but fuller, flights. The money all concerned would’ve saved could’ve been used to pay salaries, with a *lot* left over. Indeed, they were receiving massive relief from governments (same in US).
This money could’ve been far better spent, seems to me.
Must say I wasn’t aware of the near-sacred status of slots or the authorities’ unwillingness to modify the system in a crisis.

By: David Bunin

David Bunin — Wed, 18 May 2022 15:15:02 +0000

On the radio here in North Texas this morning they were talking about how Love Field is back to pre-pandemic traffic levels in terms of total passengers, but the traffic mix is different than before. Leisure travelers outnumber historical norms, but business travel still lags. Since leisure travelers tend to be either first-time customers or only occasional participants in the airport ecosystem (and they tend to be families with kids) it can put a strain on both the TSA and the gate boarding operations. If that’s true, I would be interested to read an article on your true experiences in the system. Is the slant away from “expert” travelers to novices creating problems in the terminals?

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 18 May 2022 01:31:51 +0000

I might have said this before, but…there’s a pilot shortage?? And this time it’s for REAL?? D*mn, I was born about 30 years too early! Back when I had finally built up enough suitable flight time to apply for an airline job, the only “shortage” the airlines faced was the disappearance of all the ex-Air Force guys with 5,000+ hours of KC-135 and B-52 time. If you wanted to get a job with a regional, flying Beech 1900s or J-32s, you had to pay $10,000 – $15,000 to FlightSafety or some other training organization for your initial F/O training. You were essentially forfeiting your first year takehome pay. (And that didn’t include a type rating, just company-specific new-hire training). Having emptied my bank account for everything from Private through ATP/ME & CFI-I, I said “enough” and bowed out.

Best wishes to all the new hires in this brave new airline industry!

By: Don Beyer

Don Beyer — Tue, 17 May 2022 19:21:54 +0000

JetBlue wants Spirit for the pilots and planes. They will steadily drop Spirit flights and transition Spirit’s pilots and planes to JetBlue. The legacies could trade two regional flights for one mainline in many markets where there are several RJs per day. BOS-LGA for example. There are currently 16 hourly Delta/Republic flights on 70 seat RJs. They could use a 150 seat A320 or 737 every two hours. It’s not the answer but would make a dent. Or the legacies could operate all of the 60+ seat jets themselves leaving the 50 seat jets to the Regionals just as they did up to around 2000. They already own most of the 60+ seaters anyway.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Tue, 17 May 2022 16:14:19 +0000

Do the re-hired pilots regain their former position in the seniority, or do they have to start over?

By: Speed

Speed — Mon, 16 May 2022 20:31:53 +0000

Might be a good year to take a driving vacation.