Airlines Posts

ImagineAir Brings SATS to Life in Southeast
March 16, 2009

ImagineAir Brings SATS to Life in Southeast

In the spirit of my last post, Share Thumbs-Up Moments With Everyone, I just discovered a new air taxi company, ImagineAir, founded by two flight instructors who met at Georgia Tech. Based in Lawrenceville, just outside of Atlanta, ImagineAir made i…
Share Thumbs-Up Moments With Everyone
March 10, 2009

Share Thumbs-Up Moments With Everyone

If you haven’t heard, the Internet and blogs like JetWhine are killing print journalism. Slowly, community journalists, everyday people with an interest in their community, are becoming our primary source of news. If you doubt this, watch TV …
Wired Airspace: It’s all About NYC & Airlines
March 5, 2009

Wired Airspace: It’s all About NYC & Airlines

Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee this morning, but I’m not sure how to take an article in the current issue of Wired, “Air Repair: Key to Eliminating U.S. Flight Delays? Redesign the Sky Over New York City.” It reminds me o…
Seething About the Buffalo Crash
March 1, 2009

Seething About the Buffalo Crash

I don’t know what makes me more angry, the story in the Wall Street Journal that claims investigators are pointing the finger of blame at the pilots of the Dash 8 Q400 in the Buffalo crash a few weeks ago, or that from a pilot-training perspec…
EMS Helicopter Safety: First, Do No Harm
Feb. 25, 2009

EMS Helicopter Safety: First, Do No Harm

A confirmed rotorhead, I recently invested some unexpected free time looking into the NTSB’s public hearing on Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) Operations. I didn’t have the time to watch four days of video availabl…
Callback Choices: What Would You Do?
Feb. 8, 2009

Callback Choices: What Would You Do?

Like a lot of aviators, I like to read about the problems faced by other pilots to learn how they dealt with them, and to refresh my memory of lessons I’ve already learned. A number of aviation publications present these scenarios, but none be…
Northwest Becomes Delta: Part Two
Jan. 21, 2009

Northwest Becomes Delta: Part Two

Although the challenge arrived in a private e-mail a few minutes ago, one Jetwhine reader demanded in no uncertain terms that a simple video about the death of an old airline to strengthen another is only part of the tale. What about the companies t…
The new FAA: Will we?
Jan. 7, 2009

The new FAA: Will we?

It’s another frosty night in Chicago, but I stayed at work late to write because the issue of who will become the next FAA Administrator is really gnawing at me. Like the November election, this administrator choice is going to be an importan…
Finding Good News at OSH
Jan. 4, 2009

Finding Good News at OSH

Reveling in good news is how I always try to start the new year, but finding it in aviation has been a challenge in the relentless headwind of layoffs, furloughs, shutdowns, and bankruptcy filings. But I did find some, in my own backyard, at OSH, be…
Last Minute Aviation Stocking Stuffers
Dec. 23, 2008

Last Minute Aviation Stocking Stuffers

By Rob MarkIs there anything more stressful than knowing you want to buy your budding aviator something, but knowing full well that the economy has taken a toll on your pocketbook? Sure they might love anything you buy them now, but after Christmas…
Smart Swarming at Southwest Airlines
Dec. 18, 2008

Smart Swarming at Southwest Airlines

Anyone who has blogged for more than a week will tell you that new media writers don’t press keyboards because we crave the fame and fortune of a successful media empire like Jetwhine (ahem). Most of us have long ago learned to cope with those…
In Aviation, a Little Bad PR Goes a Long Way
Dec. 2, 2008

In Aviation, a Little Bad PR Goes a Long Way

I can only wonder what truly dumb move will be next from the folks running some of the U.S. auto makers now that both Ford and GM have decided to work together for the first time. No, I’m not talking about building an F-150 Tahoe-like vehicle,…
Aviation Reality in a Post-Peak World
Nov. 30, 2008

Aviation Reality in a Post-Peak World

Aviation has weathered a number of economic storms in its history, most notably the Great Depression and the collapse of the GA boom that followed World War II. How the industry met and survived past challenges unfortunately will not predict aviati…
One Airline’s Version of Social Media: Stop … I Want to Get Off
Nov. 24, 2008

One Airline’s Version of Social Media: Stop … I Want to Get Off

Most people will tell you I’m a fairly gregarious person. Even a few might tell you I talk way too much. I’m the guy that wants to introduce everyone to everyone else. But there is one place I absolutely clam up and simply shy away from …
Next-Gen Challenge: Selling Aviation
Nov. 19, 2008

Next-Gen Challenge: Selling Aviation

Cessna recently lifted the lid on its next generation flight training program. After military and airline training programs have proven the efficacy of scenario-based training for decades, Cessna is finally bringing it to general aviation. Working…
TSA Large Aircraft Comment Period Begins
Nov. 5, 2008

TSA Large Aircraft Comment Period Begins

By now, most aviators are aware of the TSA’s new focus on general aviation security now that they have slapped the airlines around enough over the past five or six years that is. I’ve always thought anything that is detrimental to any se…
Berlin Tempelhof Airport vs. Chicago’s Meigs Field
Oct. 31, 2008

Berlin Tempelhof Airport vs. Chicago’s Meigs Field

Airports come and go these days, but some closings become more personal than others. Living in Chicago, we had our own sad, yes even depressing moments when Mayor Daley hacked Meigs Field to death just to prove who was really in charge. Personally, …
When an Aviation Expert is Needed, Mr. Know-It-All Responds
Oct. 29, 2008

When an Aviation Expert is Needed, Mr. Know-It-All Responds

Hasn’t this just been an awful month or so, I mean what with the roller coaster ride of the economy, thousands of people loosing their jobs, not to mention the stress of trying to figure out who will lead the United States for the next four ye…
FAA Solves ATC Staffing Crisis
Oct. 21, 2008

FAA Solves ATC Staffing Crisis

It only took the agency a couple of years – actually about 10 I believe – but FAA has finally taken action on the problem of too many airplanes and two few air traffic controllers to keep them all apart. And before you ask, yes, the down…
August 3, 1981 – PATCO Strike Remembered
Aug. 3, 2008

August 3, 1981 – PATCO Strike Remembered

I remember the morning of August 3, 1981 vividly as I turned on the TV to find news stories of air traffic controller members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization-PATCO-marching with picket signs at the base of the tower at Chica…
BlogFest @ AirVenture: The Ideas Flowed
July 29, 2008

BlogFest @ AirVenture: The Ideas Flowed

From AirVenture 2008 – Five minutes before the blog session began at AirVenture yesterday, I was wondering if the whole thing had been such a good idea. There were five people in the room. Maybe it was too soon to talk social media.Then, as t…
On The Record: Making Aviation More Social
July 28, 2008

On The Record: Making Aviation More Social

From AirVenture 2008 – There’s nothing quite like meeting up with a bunch of pilot buddies on a Saturday morning for a great breakfast. The social aspect of flying, in fact, is one of the best ways for newer pilots to learn from more exp…
John Carr’s Gone Fishin’
July 22, 2008

John Carr’s Gone Fishin’

Anyone who follows the happenings of the FAA and air traffic control knows John Carr. He spent more than a couple of years at the helm of NATCA, the controller’s union, and was Pat Forrey’s predecessor. I had the pleasure of interviewing…
More AirVenture Blogging Buzz
July 22, 2008

More AirVenture Blogging Buzz

And just when you think almost no one notices anything you write comes a great article like this one from FlightGlobal’s Runway Girl, Mary Kirby.  She interviewed me a few days ago when she realized she wouldn’t be able to make it…