The Buzz Posts

One Cessna Skycatcher Please, Easy on the Soy
Dec. 10, 2007

One Cessna Skycatcher Please, Easy on the Soy

The most surprising aspect of Cessna’s decision to build its new model 162 Skycatcher in China is that anyone was at all surprised by the move. Now comes word that some people are shocked, shocked enough, in fact, that they might want their d…
Environmentally Friendly Airplane Takes Flight
Dec. 6, 2007

Environmentally Friendly Airplane Takes Flight

I hope the folks in airplane towns like Wichita, Seattle and Duluth are prepared for what looks to be quite a few sleepless nights now that the world’s first flying machine constructed totally from recyclable materials has flown. Built in a c…
They Once Called Airline Food Cuisine
Dec. 4, 2007

They Once Called Airline Food Cuisine

It may be difficult to imagine, but the airline industry was not always the focus of the intense scorn we see today. And as I dug a bit for this story, I found that those glory days of aviation – golden might be a stretch I think – were …
It’s Official: Columbia is Now a Cessna
Nov. 27, 2007

It’s Official: Columbia is Now a Cessna

Just when I thought I’d never again need to worry about remembering more model numbers Cessna tonight announced not only that it was the successful bidder in the Columbia bankruptcy case, but that it would rename those two new airplanes the Ce…
Think Airplanes and Turkeys
Nov. 22, 2007

Think Airplanes and Turkeys

I love offering my two cents on everything aviation here at Jetwhine. But every so often I also like to share a few stories about some of the cool people I’ve met along the way during my career.Since today is Thanksgiving and most everyone is…
Whose Side Was Past ALPA President Duane Woerth On?
Nov. 20, 2007

Whose Side Was Past ALPA President Duane Woerth On?

Some of you might recall a post from a few months back in which I expressed disdain that former ALPA president Duane Woerth had in a Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post, signed on to the same old tired airline/FAA line about what’s wro…
Union Picket Line Outsourcing; Are Pilots Next?
Nov. 16, 2007

Union Picket Line Outsourcing; Are Pilots Next?

There’s an interesting union story floating around that seemed worth sharing although it honestly made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Maybe some of you can add something to it.A story made the wires last night about a carpenterR…
Southwest Airlines Boarding; A Blast from the Past
Nov. 14, 2007

Southwest Airlines Boarding; A Blast from the Past

Southwest Airlines has again proven that running an airline – at least from a customer’s perspective – doesn’t need to simply fluctuate between chaos and more chaos.On the way back from the Blog World Expo conference in Las …
NTSB Looks at Pilot Fatigue; Not Soon Enough
Nov. 9, 2007

NTSB Looks at Pilot Fatigue; Not Soon Enough

The National Transportation Safety Board met Thursday to talk about an industry epidemic … pilot fatigue. It’s about time. The Air Line Pilots Association folks were nice enough to let me write an article about fatigue in their magazine …
News Flash … United Airlines Has a Good Idea!
Nov. 5, 2007

News Flash … United Airlines Has a Good Idea!

Jim Ott wrote an interesting article in last week’s Aviation Week and Space Technology called Surly Skies about … what else, airline travel.He said, “Any adaptation airlines make to counter the negatives of air travel seem to be u…
No Fooling Around on Singapore Airlines
Oct. 31, 2007

No Fooling Around on Singapore Airlines

I have to admit I never gave this a thought before I read the story in the Times Online.Singapore Airlines, the first carrier to operate the Airbus A380, seems to have gone to great lengths to be sure that no one on board the massive aircraft is u…
Bombardier Q400 Grounding: Could it Happen to Business Aviation?
Oct. 29, 2007

Bombardier Q400 Grounding: Could it Happen to Business Aviation?

I wonder how surprised the people at Bombardier actually were this weekend that SAS decided to permanently ground its fleet of 27 Q400 turboprops after a third landing gear accident in a month. The decision was announced Sunday as confidence in the …
Pilots … Want Jobs … Must Travel
Oct. 17, 2007

Pilots … Want Jobs … Must Travel

There’s pilot shortage brewing. It’s began churning on the regional airline side of the industry as pilots bail out of flying little airplanes – sorry, RJs are still big to me – headed for the majors who – so …
Labor Relations and Strikes
Oct. 15, 2007

Labor Relations and Strikes

I heard an interesting interview on NPR last week with Richard Hurd from Cornell University. He said the use of labor strikes across the U.S. has declined by 90 percent since the 1970s.When Hurd began to focus on the Reagan Era, I expected to hear …
Airline Pilots and the Rest of Us
Oct. 9, 2007

Airline Pilots and the Rest of Us

An airline pilot career has a few more thorns sticking out of it these days. Pay scales are down, duty days are longer, schedules stink and passengers are easily riled. But even with all that said, I still think it makes for a pretty incredible care…
Business Aviation Should be Afraid … Very Afraid
Oct. 4, 2007

Business Aviation Should be Afraid … Very Afraid

News last week from the White House that even George Bush has finally run out of excuses to avoid admitting the U.S. aviation system is in need of serious reform should actually not come as much of a shock.The Business Travel Coalition’s chai…
Can You Name the Mercury Seven Astronauts?
Oct. 1, 2007

Can You Name the Mercury Seven Astronauts?

Despite the private e-mail tongue lashing I took for my comments a few weeks back about the need to retire the Shuttle, I’m pretty fond of the concept of space flight. Even at my advanced age, I’d be at the Kennedy Space Center in a hear…
Follow a DayJet
Sept. 24, 2007

Follow a DayJet

If you click on this link, you’ll find yourself sitting smack dab in front of a FlightAware screen all tuned up to Day Jet’s online identity. This gives you the tools to follow all DayJet trips in near real time.Personally, I hope these…
An Airline Strike at the Beginning
Sept. 21, 2007

An Airline Strike at the Beginning

I wrote something here a few months back about the Air Line Pilots Association’s (ALPA) plan to start squeezing tighter on airline management as payback for the concessions pilots have delivered and how many airlines have failed to now re…
Aviation Scholarships; Just $39 Opens the Door
Sept. 13, 2007

Aviation Scholarships; Just $39 Opens the Door

One of the really annoying problems inherent in writing books like my recently published McGraw Hill volume – a Professional Pilot Career Guide – designed to answer every imaginable question about landing the best flying job since I knew…
PATCO Lives to Fight Again
Sept. 10, 2007

PATCO Lives to Fight Again

Most people counted PATCO out years ago. PATCO was the union that represented air traffic controllers during the infamous 1981 strike that cost 12,000 PATCO members their jobs.But PATCO never really disappeared. It just shrank to become a tiny inde…
Aviation Blogs … They’re Not Your Dad’s Newspaper
Sept. 7, 2007

Aviation Blogs … They’re Not Your Dad’s Newspaper

I was thinking about blogging as I tend to do these days with the first anniversary of Jetwhine approaching. What makes blogging valuable to those of us in the aviation industry is the direct link we offer between the writer and the reader, somethin…
Dear FAA Administrator … Have You Met Martha Stewart?
Sept. 5, 2007

Dear FAA Administrator … Have You Met Martha Stewart?

After the Koz Convention drew hundreds of political pundits to Chicago for a weekend’s blogging about the U.S. political climate last month, the Daily Koz, Markos Moulitsas’ blog of political intrigue and corruption, ran a piece about ou…
In Aviation, Every Day is Labor Day
Sept. 3, 2007

In Aviation, Every Day is Labor Day

Today is Labor Day here in the states, a national holiday devoted to the men and women on the front lines, people responsible for building the industrial infrastructure of the U.S. economy.                                                           L…