Geoff Fox: My Permanent Record
Back when I was in school teachers would always scare me with stories of how my exploits would end up in my permanent record. I believe this is it! – Geoff Fox
When JetBlue’s Airbus A320 landed with its nose gear perpendicular to its motion, I wondered if anyone would try and connect this incident with JetBlue’s maintanence, performed in El Salvador and primarily by mechanics not certified by the FAA.
JetBlue doesn’t even fly out of the US, except to get its planes repaired or maintained.
Today the story hit the Washington Post. I’ve attached their story to the link below.
I’m not as studious as Helaine when it comes to gas prices, but I look. Most are currently over $3 per gallon. The cost of actually producing a gallon of gasoline is tiny in comparison.
When I first began driving, I could fill up the tank of my 1960 VW Beetle for about 349¢ a gallon. A gas war, while I was in Florida, once took it down to 299¢ a gallon (and I heard it hit 249¢ a gallon for a very brief moment).
Why are gas prices expressed in tenths? It makes no sense.
First, no one actually buys by the gallon. We buy by price… “I’ll take $20 of regular,” or abstract measure… “fill ‘er up.”
The difference between 399¢ and 40¢ is .25%. Ramp up the price to $3 and that one tenth cent is .03% of the total.
Is anyone fooled? Does anyone care?
Some price quoting is nefarious. When an airline quotes you a one way fare… which they won’t sell you, I consider that lying. This is just ridiculous.
If thse tenths of a cent really entered into the price and weren’t just a sleazy appendage, it wouldn’t always end in a 9¢ which, of course, it does. Enough already.
Helaine and I are big supporters of Southwest Airlines’ frequent flier program, “Rapid Rewards.”
First, we like Southwest. The employees usually seem friendly and helpful The flight crews act as if they enjoy their job. This is uncommon in the airline industry.
Second, it is much easier to get a ticket. Most airlines make you accrue 25,000 ‘miles’… sometimes more in peak season. Southwest charges 18,500 for a free ticket.
Even more important, if there’s a seat on a plane, your voucher for a free flight is good! There are no restrictions other than a few dates (very few).
Now this is changing and I’m not happy.
Beginning February 10, 2006, all Awards issued will have no systemwide blackout dates and will be subject to seat restrictions. Restricting the number of seats for Awards helps us maintain our low-fare leadership and keeps the program lucrative for you.
Please plan ahead when making your flight reservations as certain holiday or peak travel periods will be in high demand and your desired flight may not be available for Award travel.
Here are a few more things you should know
* Awards issued before February 10, 2006 will have no seat restrictions, but are subject to published blackout dates.
* Awards issued on or after February 10, 2006 will have seat restrictions, but no systemwide blackout dates. Members need to be flexible when choosing times and dates to their destinations as certain holiday or peak travel periods will be in high demand and that makes booking Award travel difficult.
* Last-minute Award usage will still be allowed based on seat availability.
* Awards are still valid for 12 months.
* Receiving a Companion Pass still only requires 100 credits within in 12 months.
* Companion travel will still have no seat restrictions or blackout dates
When I read words like, “keeps the program lucrative for you,” I am tempted to count my fingers. This is not being done for me. This is not my choice of what would be.
Southwest didn’t ask – and I assume the reason is they already knew how I, and others, feel.
Here’s the most distasteful part of all of this. When an airline restricts capacity, no one is ever told how restrictive it is. There is no transparency. So, when Southwest says, “no systemwide blackout dates,” the words might be true, but with an incredibly large fudge factor added.
My first commercial flight was a trip from La Guardia Airport, New York to Boston’s Logan Airport. It was sometime late in 1967 and I was flying to my interview at Emerson College.
There are few things I remember about that day. I remember (after it was over) thinking the interview was worthless. I remember riding the “T” from the airport into the city, transferring to an underground trolley for the final stop in Back Bay.
I also remember flying the Eastern Airlines Shuttle. If you don’t remember it, click here for one of their classic print ads.
Back then the airline business was very different. It was heavily regulated, guaranteeing airlines a profit and little real competition. It was also very special. You didn’t get on an airliner unless you were well dressed.
There was no security as we know it – no magnetometers or guards. Anyone could walk into the terminal. At Kennedy Airport there were even outdoor terraces where you could watch the planes as they came in and out. A coin operated radio was available to listen to the tower.
The Eastern Shuttle was something very different. If you walked up and paid your fare, you were guaranteed a seat. If the plane was full, they’d just roll out another one and put you on board.
That first flight¹, I flew on a ‘student fare,’ which has half off. That also put me at the back of the line as far as boarding was concerned. As it turned out, the flight was full.
True to its word, Eastern brought out another plane. Though the one I missed was a jet, the ‘second section,’ as they called it, was a Lockheed Electra – a four engine turboprop.
This is a long time ago, nearly forty years, but I do have some vivid memories.
There were only 3 or 4 of us on this plane. I remember looking down as we flew over the Connecticut countryside thinking how slow we were going! I expected more. I stared out the window at those engines with their spinning propellers.
I remember very little about the interior of the plane, except there was a step about halfway down the cabin. It seemed strange at the time, and does today, that the cabin’s floor was not all at one level.
Oops – I almost forgot why I was writing this. It’s in Wednesday’s New York Times. The Shuttle, as I knew it, is no more.
Since the 1960’s, that promise had been made by a series of airlines operating the Northeast shuttles, from Eastern to Trump to USAir to Pan Am to Delta. But now, like china coffee cups, it has become part of airline history.
Starting yesterday, Delta Air Lines, the last airline to offer the promise, is flying just one shuttle an hour from La Guardia Airport to Boston and Washington and vice versa, no matter how many people show up and no matter how urgent their need to get to the nation’s capital or its capital of capitalism. The era of the “extra section,” as Delta called the jetliners that would be rolled out to accommodate overflow crowds, has ended.
Of course Eastern Airlines is gone. USAir, which runs what was the Eastern Shuttle stopped this policy a while ago. Delta, which runs what was Pan Am’s route, doesn’t have much choice. They’re all bleeding money.
The days of dressing up to fly are long gone. And now, the era of walking up to the counter and knowing there would be a seat for you is also gone.
I think I paid $16 each way back in 1967. A walk up tomorrow for Delta Shuttle would be $488 round trip. I wonder how much longer that will last? How much longer will it be before Delta, USAir or United disappear?
¹ – I had flown in a 2 seater from Flushing Airport before this much more sophisticated trip.
I’m writing this while flying just east of the North Carolina coast at 30,998 feet. I know that because I’m on Song, Delta’s airline within an airline.
Song is supposed to be an airline that can compete with the discount independents like Southwest and JetBlue. My round trip fare to Florida, $116.70¹ is certainly a bargain.
The plane itself is a pretty pedestrian Boeing 757. It is configured as a one class with 3+3 seating. The color scheme is blue and a muted light green. The flight attendants wear designer outfits from Kate Spade (or possibly her husband, I can’t remember).
The pre-flight briefing was done by a recorded voice. She was over the top sultry with an over the top script to read. I presume it’s part of Song’s positioning.
On the back of each seat is an LCD touch screen. Once the plane is in the air, the screen controls individual channels of entertainment (movies, live satellite TV, music, a trivia game or flight tracking).
I like the idea of live TV while flying. It works pretty well, though not perfectly. As we were taking off and the plane made some turns, we lost the signal. Every time an announcement is made or someone hits a call button, the TV audio stops.
People hit the call button more often than you’d think!
I like the idea of a TV, but the flight’s half over and I’m not watching. I’m playing the music trivia game – fighting it out with whoever’s in 15F.
The monitor itself is wider than a normal TV. The broadcasts that are seen are stretched to fit, so everyone looks a little heavier… a little dumpier. As someone who is on TV, this bothers me. It probably won’t bother you as much.
If my two checked bags are out on time, I’ll consider Song a success.
¹ – the $116.70 fare includes $25.54 in tax leaving $91.16 for the airline.
I am only writing this because I can. I pulled out my laptop at Bradley International Airport to see if there was any wireless Internet access. There is and it’s free. Wow!
I woke up at an hour my friend Kevin refers to as “Oh Dark Thirty.” Actually, it’s not as simple as that.
With my cold I’ve been sleeping an odd schedule and never soundly. Sunday was no exception. I felt a little woozy in the afternoon and laid down. Then I went to sleep again around 10:00 PM.
I didn’t sleep long. Even before I got out of bed, I was hacking away. I’m sure that quashed any sleep Helaine had planned. I finally moved downstairs and watched some TV.
We left the house around 5:00 AM – late enough to get a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. There was a coating of very light snow on the ground. It looked slippery, though the car never slipped.
In less than an hour I was at Bradley. I took the two bags inside and went to check in at Delta/Song. The counter is confusing and somewhat disorganized. Delta has moved some automated kiosks in, but they still need a human with every passenger to check ID and the like. The machine gave me an error message because I had already printed my boarding pass at home (500 free miles for that).
After check-in I carried my bags to security and waited in line to be screened myself. No problems, and I wore my sneakers! For some reason Helaine’s feet are always inspected.
I am early. I suppose it’s better than being late.
In front of me, at the next gate, another Delta plane awaits its departure. It’s bound for Orlando and the number on the front wheel door says “1404.” I am documenting this in case anyone from Delta is reading this.
The front of this plane, over the cockpit window, is scratched or scraped and a few large patches of paint are missing. This is not how you install confidence in your airline. And this is the end of the plane pointing right at the window. Everyone here in the waiting area can see it.
It is my understanding that any UPS truck involved in a fender bender or otherwise receiving body damage is pulled from the road until the truck is fixed. Think about it. when was the last time you saw anything but a clean and pristine UPS truck. Maybe Delta can take a lesson here.
My flight leaves at 7:30. This is my first trip with Song and I’m looking forward to the onbaord TV.
A few days ago, while pondering the Comair Christmas meltdown, I said:
I hit it right on the nose! Linked below is a story from today’s Cincinnati Post which details exactly what happened.
Comair says the computer system was due to be replaced. I wonder if the DOT inquiry will show it should have been replaced a while ago. How long was Comair operating close to the limits of their system? Was this problem predictable?
Good morning from seat 7F, cruising at 35,000 feet. I’m typing this aboard our non-stop Southwest flight to Las Vegas. Outside the plane, the Sun is shining. Puffy white clouds sit thousands of feet below. The ride is smooth.
As is customary on getaway day, we were up early. Very early. Outside, it was pouring. The Accuweather meteorologist on WCBS (they hide the fact that it’s Accuweather providing their forecasts since co-owned WINS has promoted Accuweather exclusivity for years) said there were thunderstorms and flooding in the area.
With a plethora of unused cell phone minutes, I transferred our home phone to my cell number. We’ll see how that works.
Instead of pulling the car out front, I loaded the bags in the garage. Farther to carry, but worth it to stay dry. If I needed to, I could have rearranging for more room, but with casual throws, the bags filled the rear of the Explorer.
It’s a holiday, so the traffic was light. Parking the car and the ride to the terminal were uneventful. Checking the bags was not.
We have locks on our bags. The locks are approved by the TSA and their employees are supposed to have master keys. The screener said he could get a key, but it would be easier if we’d unlock them and he’d see they were locked before hitting the log flume ride they take on their way to the plane.
As Helaine watched, they went through the X-Ray machine and then onto the belt without being relocked. By the time she told me, they were on their way downstairs – unlocked.
It’s not as if someone wants to steal my underwear, but there are some valuable items in there. It was out of the TSA’s control. If Southwest wanted to help, they could… and they did.
My hero is Jeanette, a counter agent at Southwest. She went downstairs and found my bags. And, when the lock wouldn’t work, she called the desk and asked me to help her on the phone.
There’s another reason to like Jeanette. This morning at 12:01 AM, I went on Southwest’s website to print boarding passes. Helaine and Steffie got into Group “A”. Because my ticket used a paper frequent flyer voucher, I couldn’t get a pass. When Jeanette saw our plight, she hand wrote a note on my boarding pass to let us go together.
Neither task was a big deal, but she did both with a smile, even though she was working at an ungodly hour on, what to most folks was, a holiday morning. She is part of the reason we have switched our allegiance to Southwest. There will be a note sent to Southwest commending her when we return.
The flight got off on time.
I like to sleep while flying, and did sleep a little, but this was a “Gus Souflas” flight. Gus is… or probably was a pilot for a major airline. One day, as my friend Howard flew coast-to-coast, Gus decided to note the crossing of every state boundary.
Today’s pilot was on the PA four or five times, always ending with the exact distance to Las Vegas.
From the air it’s astounding to see how much of the country looks empty. No disrespect to folks who live in the ‘great flyover’ but there does seem to be loads of unused space.
We flew south of Denver, over Colorado Springs. As we crossed the Rockies, there were still lots of snow covered peaks. No mountain was ‘capped’ with snow, like an idyllic picture of Mt. Fuji, but there were many veins of white.
We got to Las Vegas right on time. There’s construction in the baggage claim area and things were really jammed up. Thankfully, all our bags came – though the locks never were locked on one of the bags.
We went to Dollar to get our car. We had reserved a Dodge Intrepid, or similar. They were out of that class of car, so they said take a Pacifica – a car I’d never heard of, but turns out to be a six passenger, roomy cross between a van and SUV.
When we went to check out, the amount on our contract was different than what we were quoted. Unreal! It always happens. Is this a scam or what?
I had to go back to the office and work it out, which removes the advantage of being a Dollar Fast Lane member. But, things are now correct – and the car is nice.
My parents are seeing Mama Mia tonight at Mandalay Bay. The tickets were on Helaine’s name. So, we stopped there (and I double parked in what looked like a bus area) and she went to the box office. Then we stopped at Walgreen’s for a few cases of water.
I have never seen Las Vegas more crowded. It’s unreal. The sidewalks are jammed with people and Las Vegas Boulevard moved at a crawl. We turned in to the Mirage valet area and ended up in a long line of cars. Helaine got out while I made my way to the front of the line.
Helaine says nothing she asked for was here! Not a room near the elevator. Not two rooms nearby – one for us, one for Steffie and her friend Ali. Not a Strip view.
Still, the room is very nice. After all, it’s the Mirage – one of the most beautiful hotels in Las Vegas.
On the way to the room we ran into my folks and then my sister and brother-in-law. Only Cousin Michael, Melissa and Max are AWOL. I’m sure we’ll see them soon.
Meanwhile, a call to the Bell Desk says it will be at least 30 minutes until we get our bags! Helaine can’t wait. She’s showering. I’m writing.
More later from Fabulous Las Vegas.
I just heard that Alan King died. It’s a shame. It’s always a shame when someone dies.
Alan King is one of the many entertainers I have stolen from over the years. I don’t steal their jokes as much as I steal their style. Alan King always bit the hand that fed him.
As I remember, and this is a long time ago, King had a routine where he skewered Eastern Airlines (which, of course, he outlived). In the beginning of the routine he would say that he wasn’t going to mention the name of the airline, except it rhymes with “Eastern Airlines.”
My dad remembered the routine:
If the actual words to this routine are hidden somewhere on the Internet and you find them, please let me know.
Recently, he had become more know for a routine where he would read obituaries. They all ended the same way, “survived by his wife.” It was very funny.
When he’d appear on the Sullivan Show, you’d notice how well dressed he was – always in a vested three piece suit. He exuded the aura of success. That was part of his act. Lots of comedian’s were schlemiels. Not Alan King.
I seem to remember him in a Billy Crystal movie, playing Crystal’s father. I can’t think of any others, though they’ll come to me later. His movie career was inconsequential. He will be remembered for his stand-up comedy and his fearlessness in making fun of the powerful.
When I was a kid, I’d watch Million Dollar Movie on WOR-TV Channel 9. Million Dollar Movie (in an era when $1,000,000 was a big deal) played the same movie for a week, each and every day. When there was a good movie, I’d watch it as often as I could.
Every 4th of July they showed Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney. I’m sure if I saw it today, I’d remember much of the dialog.
One of the movies they played was “The High And The Mighty”, starring John Wayne as an airline pilot with a crippled plane flying just past the ‘point of no return’ between Hawaii and San Fransisco. Flight attendants are stewardesses, passengers – geese, and the former knows the name of each of the latter.
“The High and The Mighty” was my first airplane disaster movie. I was hooked. It was obvious the plane wouldn’t crash… and still it held my interest and it still holds my affection.
I love airplane disaster movies! This sets the stage for what I watched tonight on Encore Action, one of the many 2nd run movie channels included in our basic digital package.
Who could ever forget:
Director: MIKE ROBE 1997
Synopsis: A jumbo jet’s crew struggles to land safely after a severe midair collision.
Cast: ROBERT URICH, ANNETTE O’TOOLE, JOHN DELANCIE, STEPHEN MILLER, KEN POGUE, KEVIN MCNULTY, JIM BYRNES, BLU MANKUMA, TOM MCBEATH, GWYNYTH WALSH, LORRAINE LANDRY, CARRIE CAIN SPARKS, AARON JOSEPH, LOUVA MELOCHE, CODY SERPA, OSCAR GONCALVES, FRED KEATING, ROMAN PODHARA, ADDISON RIDGE, SHAYN SOLBERG
This is by far one of the most trite movies ever made. Every possible clich
