The Buzz Posts

Day 64; It’s not Kansas
Dec. 1, 2006

Day 64; It’s not Kansas

In the past few weeks, almost every aviation organization in the United States has asked the Brazilian government to let Joe LePore and Jan Paladino come home. The two U.S. pilots have been detained in Brazil for 64 days since the midair collision i…
It’s not all about the guys in Brazil
Nov. 27, 2006

It’s not all about the guys in Brazil

As I look back at nearly two months of captivity for the two Excelaire Legacy pilots in Brazil, I’m beginning to feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland when she said, “Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser.”  Certainly tha…
Joe and Jan are getting some attention on Day 57
Nov. 24, 2006

Joe and Jan are getting some attention on Day 57

Convincing the Fox Network News people to give me five minutes of air time this past Thanksgiving Day to talk about Jan and Joe was a good beginning. And for that, they have my thanks. While I do wish we’d focused a bit less on the accident a…
Few thoughts of Thanksgiving in Rio
Nov. 22, 2006

Few thoughts of Thanksgiving in Rio

As Day 56 dawns, Joe LePore and Jan Paladino are spending Thanksgiving in Brazil. The two have been under virtual house arrest since the late September mid-air collision between their Embraer Legacy jet and a Gol Airlines Boeing 737. While fully ad…
Day 52 and counting
Nov. 19, 2006

Day 52 and counting

This is the 52nd since the late September midair collision between a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy 600 in the skies over the Brazilian rain forest and quite honestly, I’m baffled.Like others, I’m obviously perplexed by h…
Are tougher times ahead for Eclipse?
Nov. 15, 2006

Are tougher times ahead for Eclipse?

An FAA spokesman in Oklahoma City just confirmed an item that had been floating around the Eclipse Aviation Critic blog … the Eclipse fleet is grounded until further notice.The recent Albuquerque news story that reported dozens of white tail …
Remember Airbus?
Nov. 15, 2006

Remember Airbus?

Those are the folks I used as an example of how the tides of an aviation business, especially a manufacturing one, can slide down the hill faster than you can say “Here’s your Type Certificate.” Airbus had seen the first order canc…
Bad Day in Toulouse
Nov. 7, 2006

Bad Day in Toulouse

If you’re new to this industry, you might not have a feel for just how quickly the pendulum of fortune in an aviation business can swing.  Look no further than Airbus for a glimpse of pandemonium.  For the past few months, the bad news seemed…
Aviation and Communications still don’t seem to work in the same sentence
Nov. 7, 2006

Aviation and Communications still don’t seem to work in the same sentence

The aviation industry has a history of some pretty repulsive communications efforts aimed at customers and employees, like charging an airline’s best clients the highest possible ticket prices when those customers needed them most … at t…
Blogging worries me
Oct. 30, 2006

Blogging worries me

If the key to writing about anything is to add to the body of knowledge in the world that attempts to persuade people to do or not do something, it would seem the critical element – other than laying down some insightful prose that is – …
Roll over Sam Gompers
Oct. 30, 2006

Roll over Sam Gompers

As the first president of the American Federation of Labor back in the late 1880’s, Sam Gompers understood not simply the need for labor groups to preserve a necessary cohesiveness for success, but he also clearly saw the line in the sand betw…
FAA Funding
Oct. 26, 2006

FAA Funding

Speaking to the Women in Aviation conference on Tuesday, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey repeated her agency’s call for a solid funding mechanism that more closely ties aviation system revenues to the cost of delivering services, in this case …