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The Terminal Podcast: Episode 037 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on February 13, 2016! Story one from the Christian Science Monitor - Aviation Industry Agrees To Set Carbon Limits. Aviation is about to get a lot more sustainable over the coming years. We talk about what the new agreement means and my take on why this is a good thing not only for the aviation industry, but for innovation in general. Story two is actually an update of two previous stories. Remember the company Aerion? From the Robb Report, FlexJet has placed 20 firm orders for Aerion's supersonic business jets. Looks like this company is getting off the ground, so to speak. Also, from the Wall Street Journal, Bob Fornaro the new CEO at Spirit Airlines has given his first interview. Spirit appears to be on the path to making some changes. Also, take a look at this article featuring an interview with Ben Baldanza, it's a good one. Story three from Bloomberg Business titled, American Tries Soothing Delayed Passengers With Free Snacks. I have direct experience with free snacks at the gate and while the idea is a good one, I think there is some tweaking that could be done to make it just a bit better. What stories caught your attention this week? Please share in the comments! Have a great week!

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 036 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on February 6, 2016! First story of the week coming out of my home airport, RNT.  This is technically a story from last week, but I decided to hold it over to this week’s show since I missed getting last week’s show out the door. Last week the MAX made its first flight off the Runway at Renton. This was a complete success, not only for The Boeing Company in getting their newest airplane off the ground, but also for the Renton Airport. Last week was lost to complete insanity as Airport staff and Boeing feverishly put the finishing touches on this event. And it was quite an event. We had somewhere around 2,000 Boeing factory employees migrate out to Taxiway Bravo on the east side of the Airport. They were led by members of the Sea Gals - the Seattle Seahawks cheerleaders - to the site. Some trivia, here. This event marked the first time the Sea Gals have been out on the Airport! Pretty cool. Also, it was the first time we had that many people out on the Airport for an event. In addition to the Boeing staff, we also had numerous Boeing invited VIPs out on the field to catch the departure. The planning was several months in the making. Figuring out where to put everybody, and the multitudinous details took a lot of time. I’m glad it flew on Friday - our contingency plans called for a day to day slide of the event should weather be a factor. And weather was something we were concerned about. I was fairly confident that we would have the required ceiling and visibility to green light the flight, but I was concerned with the winds. Renton is situated right on the southern shore of Lake Washington. For this flight in particular, Boeing was only comfortable departing to the north - so, over the Lake. Going south wasn’t an option for this flight. Renton, like so many other airports, has a dense urban environment to the south of the runway. Since they were ruling out using Runway 16, we were watching the winds. The day before winds were coming out of the south well above the 10 knots of tailwind that Boeing is comfortable with when making north departures. In essence, it could have been clear and a million, but wind coming from the wrong way would have scrubbed the flight. The field was busy that day. We not only had the first flight, but we also had several helicopters up and hovering in the vicinity, a T-33 chase plane that was supposed to par

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 035 Emily Geig is the communications coordinator at the Akron-Canton Airport (CAK). In this episode Emily details how Akron Canton Airport has been crushing social media in recent years, and how you can do the same thing. Here are some numbers from Akron Canton for perspective: Twitter = 12,000 followers Facebook = 77,000 fans Instagram = 1,700 followers Pinterest = 1,300 followers The point is not how big your numbers are, but how well you are able to reach your airport's customers. Social media is a great tool for creating conversation, and stickiness, with your customers. So, what is your social media strategy? Have you been on social media in the past, but can't remember the last time you posted any updates? Based on what I have seen, there are more of us doing it less-than-right, as opposed to better-than-average. But, all of that can change with a few bits of information and a clear plan. Are you ready to get started? On the show, Emily walks us through: What platforms are best for delivering what content; How to get started; The value of creating personas, or avatars, for your audience on any given channel; Clarity through strategy sheets; and Much more! Thanks to Emily for taking the time to contribute her expertise!   Show Links Akron Canton AirportAkron Canton Airport on TwitterAkron Canton Airport on FacebookAkron Canton Airport on InstagramAkron Canton Airport on PinterestThe Terminal Podcast - Episode 11 With Lisa Haas (topic: social media)   Have a great week!

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 034 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on January 23, 2016! And here are the Top 3 Aviation Stories of The Week Starting today with a story that initially I passed over, but then came back to. Something about it stuck in my mind and I maybe it is bothering you as well. This from ItemLive.com titled: “Lynn Man Among Five Charged In Airport Smuggling” So, here’s what happened. From the article: “Four ground operations crew members of JetBlue Airways and one Delta Air Lines customer service ramp agent were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the Transportation Security Administration.” This is at Boston Logan Airport. These five clowns completed 9 money laundering transactions worth $417,000 in this sting. The criminal complaint says that the men knew these cash was coming from drug proceeds and they intentionally were trying to move it past TSA without being detected. Smuggling isn’t really all that interesting of news, but this story got my attention. Couple of things to think about here. First, authorities were tipped to the scheme by a former coworker at the Airport. That is not that interesting in and of itself, but listen to this. From the Article: the witness is a foreign national with a prior felony drug conviction and has continued to cooperate with law enforcement in exchange for “consideration for favorable immigration status.” So, the person who ratted out this crew did so not because it was the right thing to do, but rather because he needed some immigration help. Unbelievable and not very heroic. No honor among thieves I suppose. Can’t you just see this guy doing the math in his head on this one. “Well, if I call out these guys over here, maybe I could get some help with my papers.” Just ridiculous in my opinion. The second thing that caught my eye on this story was the size of the operation. If you Google “airport smuggling” you will get a number of results. There’s always somebody out there who thinks they won’t get caught. And, likely, many of the instances of illicit activity go undetected. But, it seems that the vast majority of these are single individuals doing the work, not organized groups. Especially not large organized groups. It takes time to organize a group of like-minded folks. So, I wonder out loud how much has gone through Boston Logan ahead of this sting operation?

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 033 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on January 16, 2016! First story today from Gizmodo titled: “Boeing Wants To Turn The Interiors Of It’s Planes Into Giant Screens” I love the concept covered in this article. Imagine for a moment that you are at FL380 and you look up from your book, assuming we are still reading as a people when this technology comes out, to see the cabin rich with imagery. Blue skies and clouds fill the top of the tube you are flying in, maybe it’s the stars and a brilliant night’s sky. There are really no limits here to the type of experience a passenger could be exposed to on a flight with this technology. The article notes that: “A new concept video from Boeing’s product development division shows how lighting can do more than just add chiller vibes, according to Boeing’s Mike Sinnett. ‘Airlines could use these lighting enhancements on the walls and bulkheads to display information about the destination or to project scenes that get passengers thinking about where they’re going,’ he said. ‘The possibilities are endless about how this technology could be used.’ Folks, this technology is going to be part of what I see as a complete pivot in the travel experience that is coming in the years ahead. Here’s the thing. Passenger airlines are hard-pressed when it comes to product differentiation. All of them are offering essentially the same thing - a seat in the sky. So, if you’re an airline, how do you get people to choose you over your competition? How do you get them coming back to you over time? In answering that question, we have to be thinking about the passenger experience. It’s essential to cracking the nut. There's nothing airlines can really do about crowded and expensive airport parking. Not much can be done with the TSA lines. And airports are what they are. But, airlines can always do more to enhance their portion of the customer experience. Part of that experience, a very large part, is the ride itself. I think we can all agree there’s no getting around the fact that the ride means you’re going to be seated for a few hours. Thanks to physics and economics, the airplanes aren’t really getting any faster. So, knowing we have to endure the ride, how can we make that ride the best it can be? The article says that, “there’s no reason why airlines shouldn’t be using the ceilings of their cabins like this.

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 032 Gregg Maxwell joins me for a second time on the big show to talk about the changed flight paths down in Phoenix, Arizona. Gregg is the Aviation Noise Abatement Program Manager out at Philadelphia International Airport. If you haven't heard about what's going on, here is a little snippet from a Phoenix New Times article: People in Phoenix have been outraged ever since Sky Harbor Airport changed its flight paths in September 2014. No one from the FAA or the city's Aviation Department asked for public input, let alone announced that changes were coming. The FAA says it can't be blamed because the Aviation Department agreed to the new flight path designs, while the latter maintains it received the final plans only two weeks prior to implementation. No change goes unnoticed and it's no different in Phoenix.  For years, residents around Phoenix Sky Harbor were used to airplanes arriving and departing in a certain way. Whether the residents understood the lingo or not, they knew that the airplanes were "over there." Now, the flight paths have changed as a result of NextGen implementation and the airplanes are "over here." As with all change, some people are benefitting and others are not. Flight paths affect people's quality of life, their home values, and, in some cases, their sanity. Changes like these necessitate a robust public process, something that the residents of Phoenix were saying did not happen. Gregg and I wade into the deep end on this topic. In this show we cover: An overview of the current situation in Phoenix; The roles of the Airport, Airlines, and the FAA in flight procedures development and implementation; What has been the fallout since the flight paths have been changed; and much more! Thanks to Gregg for taking the time to contribute his expertise!   Show Links Phoenix Sky Harbor AirportFAA To Face NextGen Lawsuit In Phoenix - Aviation TodayNew Routes Mean More Noise For Some Homes Near Airports - Wall Street

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 031 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on January 9, 2016! Today we begin with an article out of Gizmag “NASA Technologies Could Save Airlines Roughly $250 Billion In Operational Costs.” So, NASA has just finished up with a six year program named the Environmentally Responsible Aviation project (ERA). This program began back in 2009 and the article notes that it received $400 million in federal government funding and another $250 million from industry partners like Pratt and Whitney and The Boeing Company. According to NASA’s site the “Project explores and documents the feasibility, benefits and technical risk of vehicle concepts and enabling technologies to reduce aviation’s impact on the environment.” Basically answering the question of how can we do what we are doing now in a more environmentally friendly way? Environmentally friendly meaning reductions in fuel burn, aircraft noise, and emissions. The project was broken up into two, 3 year phases. Phase 1 was assessing a wide spectrum of environmentally friendly aircraft technology. Phase 2 was real-world testing of the most promising of the technologies identified in Phase 1. Both phases are now complete and the results are in. NASA has indicated that the technology they were tinkering with could save the airlines billions of dollars between 2025 and 2050. But as I read into this story, this technology also promises other benefits. One, if these technologies are adopted there is the potential that aircraft operations will have a lesser effect on an Airport’s neighbors. Noise is not only due to the engines on an airplane, it also comes from the airplane’s movement through the air. Part of ERA’s research included looking at a quieter design of the flaps and landing gear to minimize this noise. Two, we are already seeing the effects of low fuel costs on ticket prices. Generally, ticket prices and fuel prices dance together. Low to lower and high to higher. Well, if technology is adopted that substantially minimizes fuel burn over time, the likely result will be moderated ticket prices over time. It could mean that the relationship between fuel costs and ticket prices are less pronounced if airlines can squeeze more miles out of every gallon. Better design and functionality of the engines plus better design of the airframe and its components equals cost savings over time. I am glad that we, as a nation, are invest

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 030 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on January 2, 2016! Some great stories from this week: First story today comes from Digital Trends. This is “Airbus’s Newest Planes Fight Jet Lag With LED Trickery And More Humidity” The airplane in question is the Airbus A350 XWB, it’s newest widebody. So, here’s the problem. The 350 is a long haul airplane - it’s meant to connect distant cities.  Some people, including me, are prone to feeling the effects of jet lag on flights that cross multiple time zones. Most of us have experienced or have at least heard about Jet Lag. This condition, also known as Desynchronosis, is a set of general symptoms that can include disturbed sleep, daytime fatigue, difficulty in concentrating, and mood disruptions. You are essentially messing with your circadian rhythm. Some of us feel these symptoms more than others, for sure. Having these symptoms means you are less than optimum for whatever it is you are doing at your far-flung destination. For people traveling for work, jet lag can be a real problem for productivity. For people traveling for vacation, there can be a general feeling that time is a wasting while your body catches. In any case, if you can minimize jet lag then you are ahead of the game. There are many ways the traveller can minimize jet lag ahead of their flight including altering her sleep schedule, staying hydrated, and, of course, via pharmacology. Supplements like melatonin, for instance, might help. But Airbus is offering with their 350 an additional way to beat jet lag and it has to do with altering our perceived environment. No, not by giving us PCP upon boarding, but rather by changing a couple of conditions in the cabin. The lighting for one, and the cabin humidity for another. With new LED lighting, Airbus says there are up to 16.7 million light settings to choose from. But really, we only need a few colors to mimic the natural light our bodies need to establish its circadian rhythm. The concept being that by using this light to change our bodies’ perception of time, jet lag is reduced. Now, couple that with improving the cabin humidity and you might be on to something. Cabin humidity at altitude is somewhere around 12 percent according to the internets. That is drier than the mojave desert (at least sometimes). RH outside of the airplane at altitude is less than 1 percent. Dry air and people don’t mix well. Fortu

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 029 Brad Van Dam the Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at AAAE joins me to discuss the white hot topic of Passenger Facility Charges, or PFCs, at Airports. The PFC is a relatively small fee that is attached to the sale of each airline ticket at most commercial service airports. PFCs are collected by the airlines and remitted to the Airport to fund infrastructure projects or finance Airport debt. The current PFC cap of $4.50 per flight leg with a max of $18 has been in place since 2001. During the FAA's most recent federal reauthorization, Airport organizations have been lobbying congress to have this cap raised. The argument for having the cap raised being that inflation has eaten away at the buying power of these collections over the past 15 years. The airlines are opposed to any increase of the PFC cap citing, among other issues, that additional fees will hurt ticket demand. Brad walks us through the PFC program including what it does, how it works, and why it's essential. Get up to speed on the PFC debate in this episode of The Terminal. Thanks to Brad for taking the time to contribute to the show!   Show Links Airline Reporter article I authored on Passenger Facility ChargesAmerican Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)AirportsUnitedAirports Council International - North America (ACI-NA)Airport and Airway Trust FundFAA ReauthorizationCanada's Aviation User FeesAirport Improvement Program (AIP)Air Traffic Control ReformAirlines 4 America - PFC TopicPassenge

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 028 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on December 26, 2015! Some great stories from this week: If you haven't seen the video, click on the link below to watch. SpaceX, run by billionaire Elon Musk, managed to land a rocket earlier this week. This is a big deal because, as the article points out, because being able to reuse these rockets will significantly bring down the cost of space flight. As space flight becomes cheaper, it will likely become more widely available. Rockets can cost $60 million to produce. If you use that one time and then discard it - or lose it in the Pacific Ocean, that's a high cost. The rocket fuel costs about $200,000. Reuse the rocket and you can cut space launch costs by $60 million. Assuming there are some costs for reconditioning and you can still save tens of millions. Story two out of Malaysia. Rayani Air began its air service earlier this week. Rayani is a bit different than other carriers in that this is an Islamic airline. According to the article, the airline is "offering flights that adhere to Islamic rules, including prayers, no serving of alcohol or meals with pork, and a strict dress code for Muslim female flight attendants." The article goes on to say: The idea for Rayani Air grew out of much-publicized complaints by conservative Muslims who believed that two major air disasters for the national Malaysia Airlines — Flight 370 that went missing in March 2014 and Flight 17 downed a few months later over Ukraine — were caused by Allah's wrath. Rayani Air is responding to the marketplace in Malaysia with their offering. Rayani notes that the airline is available to anyone who wants to fly regardless of their religion. Rayani is using Langkawi International Airport as their hub. And the last story today is about the concept of Last Class. Did you hear about this? Last class are the seats that are being talked about as being worse than coach. I personally don't think coach is that bad for the most part, but whatever. The idea is that the non-LCC airlines offer some low priced tickets to compete with the LCCs. Sounds simple enough. The "no-frills" ticket would essentially lack some of the shine that other tickets on the same airline might have. This might include unassigned seats, no exchanges, no refunds, or higher bag fees among other deletions. What stories caught your attention this week? Please share in the comments! Show Links

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 027 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on December 19, 2015! Some great stories from this week: Story one about the inaugural flight of the A350 this week from New York's John F Kennedy airport. Apparently the chartered A350 thought the 10,000' runway was a bit too short to get its payload of 36 passengers off the ground. It aborted the flight just seconds after starting the departure roll. But, this really isn't a bad thing. I would much rather have the plane auto abort a takeoff roll then proceed, potentially unsafely, down the runway. The cause of the incident is not known as of this writing, but it could be something as a human error in entering the data into the airplane's computer. Next story is from our good friends to the north. Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto is expected to surpass 40 million passengers in 2015 making it the busiest airport in all of Canada. Some interesting data from Toronto Pearson via Travel Daily News: Toronto Pearson's tremendous passenger growth has established the airport as a major economic engine for the region and for all of Canada: Last year, Toronto Pearson was the second-fastest growing airport in North America, growing at a rate of 6.8 per cent. It was second only to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport at seven per cent. It facilitates the equivalent of $35.4 billion to Ontario's annual GDP (5.6 per cent of the total GDP). The airport enables Canada's export economy, with 15 per cent ($31 billion) of the country's exports travelling through the airport before heading to international markets. It also allows local companies to compete at a global level and foster dynamic business relationships worldwide. It's a major job creator, with 40,000 employed at the airport and an additional 227,000 jobs created throughout the region by its operations. According to a report just released by the Neptis Foundation, the employment "mega zone" around Pearson is the second-largest employment area in the country, second only to downtown Toronto, and is larger than the central business districts of Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver. Toronto Pearson staking its claim as a global hub for passenger travel. The third story coming from our not-so-close friends to the south. The U.S. and Cuba have reached an agreement that lays the foundation fo

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 026 Brandon Guillot is back for a second appearance on the show and this time we are breaking down what you need to know before you give or unwrap that drone, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), for Christmas. Let's face it, times have changed and flying unmanned vehicles will now require a little forethought. It is tempting to treat these powerful devices as toys and send them skyward as high as they can go, but they can be a safety concern depending on where and how you are operate them. Get the information you need to be a responsible pilot. In this show we talk about: The different types of UAVs; Where the FAA is at with their regulations; What are the legal requirements to fly; and much more! Thanks to Brandon for taking the time to contribute to the show! Note - You'll hear a reference in the show about a drone operator who is flying near my airport in Renton, Washington. This guy has been doing it right by being in contact with us at the Airport and letting us know when he will be flying. And that is part of being a responsible operator.   Show Links Academy of Model Aeronautics - AMAKnow Before You FlyFAA FAQ on UAVsGlobal Hawk - Drone [BIG]DJI Phantom - Drone [MID]Blade - Drone [SMALL]   Happy Holidays to you!

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 025 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on December 12, 2015! Some great stories from this week: Story one from the Honda Aircraft Company this week. The HondaJet has earned its type rating clearing the path for the company to begin filling orders. Honda says there are over 100 orders thus far and they will begin production of the small corporate jet at a rate of 2-3 per month in 2016. You can't miss identify the HondaJet - it'll be the one with the engines mounted off the fuselage and above the wings. A beautiful airplane, the jet will seat 4-5 passengers depending on its customers' preferred configuration. At only $3.5 million, go get yours today! Second story is coming courtesy of the Boeing Company. Boeing rolled out its 737 MAX 8 jet earlier this week. A bit larger than the HondaJet, the MAX 8 is the next iteration on the widely popular 737 NG aircraft. The MAX is lighter, flies further, and flies quieter than its predecessor. New LEAP engines and the Boeing Sky Interior are a couple new additions to this aircraft. The "Spirit of Renton" as it's named calls Renton, Washington home for the time being. Expect it to be on the flight line shortly and departing on its maiden flight in the months to come. The first customer for that first MAX aircraft is Southwest Airlines. Southwest just announcing late on Friday that it will join several other airlines in banning hover boards on its airplanes. The problem with these devices - other than the deceptive marketing (no hovering!) - is that their lithium batteries pose a significant fire hazard. Fires and airplanes don't get along. The hottest holiday gift, as these devices are being hailed, now banned from Delta, United, American, Jet Blue, Alaska, and British Airways as of the writing of this article. Likely more airlines will follow suit. What stories caught your attention this week? Please share in the comments!   Show Links HondaJet Earns Type Certificate - AOPABoeing Debuts First 737 MAX 8 - Airports International.comAirlines Ban Hoverboards Over Fire Concerns - The Wall Street Journal

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 024 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on December 4, 2015! Some great stories from this week: We talked way back on Episode 13 about the Export-Import Bank and how it had lost it's authorization to loan foreign buyers any more money. This was a big deal because it could have put a damper on demand for big manufacturing goods coming from places like Boeing and GE. Places that contribute significantly to the overall aviation industry. The good news this week is the Bank will shortly be reopened. The Congress managed to put the amendment into a huge Transportation bill heading for the President's desk. Story 2 is a shocker talking about airlines padding flight times to improve on-time performance. I'm shocked! Actually, I'm not that shocked - in fact I don't really see anything wrong with this. The Airlines are telling you how long it is going to take to get from gate to gate. The times are going up because airports are congested, because we deal with weather, because of a number of factors. It doesn't matter what the flight time should be, only what it is. Whether they are on-time versus not on-time is almost irrelevant to my travel planning. Show me the boarding time and the arrival time and make sure that time is accurate. Thank you! We look to Alaska Airlines for story 3 this week. Alaska is joining other airlines with their latest "Premium Class" offering expected to be rolled out later this year. Passengers who elect this upgrade will get more legroom, priority boarding, and other goodies yet to be determined. I like options and I think this will be a good offering for people like me. While not much of a first-class guy myself, I could easily go for a solid mid-grade offering. What would you like to see Alaska add to their Premium Class? Leave a comment below and share with the rest of the class :) What stories caught your attention this week? Please share in the comments!   Show Links Congress Revives The Export-Import Bank As Business Establishment Wins Out Over Tea Party - US News And World Report

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 023 Mac Kern, the Vice President of Commercial Planning at Surf Air joins me to talk about this unique airline. Surf Air operates on a business model where members pay one flat-fee per month for unlimited air travel. Surf Air currently has 12 destinations - eleven of them in California and one in Nevada (Las Vegas). The fleet is composed exclusively of Pilatus PC-12 turboprops seating up to eight passengers. Expansion is on the horizon as Surf Air looks to not only increase its footprint, but also add capacity on high demand routes. This show is jam-packed with great information! We talk about: What problem Surf Air was looking to solve; How Surf Air goes about choosing destinations; The nuts and bolts about how this airline works; and Much more! Thanks to Mac for taking the time to contribute to the show!   Show Links (some of the references from this show) Surf Air   Have a great week!

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 022 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on November 28, 2015! Some great stories from this week: Only one continent, up until now, has not been served by a commercial style jetliner - Antarctica. No runway, no problem for the Boeing 757 operated by Loftleidir Icelandic and in cooperation with Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE) and Niche Aviation Solutions (NAS). ALE transports 400-500 people to Antarctica each year on adventure and recreation trips and wanted to experiment using the 757 to make the trip a bit more comfortable for their passengers. With the successful landing after several months of planning, they are one step closer to making this a reality. Story two comes from JetBlue who is looking to shake up how they bring on future pilots. We have all heard about the impending pilot shortage that is forthcoming. JetBlue is doing something about it. They are looking at a new ab-initio training that would take pilots from zero time to first officer over a number of years. Candidates would worm their way through a system designed to give them training time and simulator time in preparation for the role. Candidates would still be on the hook financially for their training expenses, but the training would be occurring under the supervision of JetBlue. The Air Line Pilots Association is opposed to the idea saying that "this is not an effective way to secure qualified aviators." But, the concept is promising and it's a model being used by other companies in other countries. The third story is not so much a story from this week, but from this week in history. Notorious skyjacker, DB Cooper, carried out his plan back on November 24, 1971. This is the only unsolved American hijacking and still remains a mystery. Did he survive the jump? What happened to all the money? Where is he now? This will probably remain an unsolved case, but sometimes it's just fun to speculate on this stuff. What stories caught your attention this week? Please share in the comments!   Show Links A Boeing 757 Landed On The Blue Ice Runway In Antarctica For The First Time - MashableJetBlue Wants To Hire Commercial Pilots, No Experience Necessary - Bloomberg

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 021 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on November 21, 2015! Some great stories from this week: Well, they're not quite making the jump to hyperspace yet, but Aerion is looking to take you past Mach 1 in their AS2 business jet set for delivery in 2021. The AS2 will carry 12 passengers and will travel at 1200 miles per hour - at least over China. Other countries have ruled out supersonic flight because it is simply too loud. The sonic boom associated with supersonic flight irritates those of us on the ground. The AS2 will retail for about $120 million almost twice as much as the Gulfstream G650, the aircraft the article compared the AS2 to. Both the G650 and the AS2 will both travel at 0.925 Mach though. I think of it like having a Ferrari but only once in a while being able to travel the Autobahn. The rest of the time you will be hanging back with the rest of us on the freeway. I don't know why United's coffee story has caught my attention. Perhaps it's because I have read three or four articles on it from around the web. It keeps popping up in my news feeds. So, Freshbrew is getting ousted at United in favor of IllyCaffe coffee. Blind taste tests, both on the ground and in the air, were held and Illycaffe was the winner. I'm glad they also tested the product in the air. The BBC did an article a little while back talking about how food tastes different at altitude. The combination of lower pressure and drier air affects how we interpret taste and smell. Essentially, stuff gets blander when flying. It's not the food, it's you! The new coffee is set to be served up in lounges and in the air as soon as next month. In other news, American has retooled their loyalty program, AAdvantage. American is changing the way you collect miles in their loyalty program. The big change is that now miles will accumulate based on dollars spent and not miles flown. Other changes include how many miles it takes to redeem flights. Some destinations will require less like Mexico the Caribbean and Central America, but Europe and Asia will require more. Changes are set to take place in mid 2016. So, stock up on those flier miles now while you still can!   Show Links The High Price Of High Speed: At $120m Each, Can Aerion Sell Enough Supersonic

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 020 Eric Mercado from Aviation Career Services joins us again to discuss best practices for getting that next job. We discuss cover letters, resumes, preparing for interviews, the use of thank you notes, and when to follow up. Basically, these are the essentials you should have down during your next application process. We also talk about what employers are looking for in your materials. This show will help you get that next job. Please join the conversation by adding a comment below. What has worked for you in the past? Thanks to Eric for taking the time to contribute his expertise!   Show Links (some of the references from this show) Aviation Career ServicesEric's last show on The Terminal - Episode 007   Have a great week!

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 019 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories for the week ending on November 14, 2015! Some great stories from this week: Lufthansa has been dealing with a strike from its cabin crew and pilots that have affected over half a million passengers in the last 7 days. Estimates are that these strikes have cost the airline over $108 million and caused the cancellation of 4700 flights. This is big for Lufthansa but their management is staying the course. Management wants changes to pensions - but nobody else does. Hey, none of us like to lose anything, right? In other "new aircraft" news (remember the C919 from last week?) Mitsubishi's MRJ took its maiden flight from Nagoya Airport this week. The MRJ is the Mitsubishi Regional Jet and will come in two different models - the 70 and the 90. Basically, about 90 seats or about 70 seats is how to think about it. Mitsubishi says they have over 400 orders already for the new regional jet and are expecting first deliver in the second quarter of 2017. Exciting! They will be competing with Embraer and with Bombardier in the "under 100 seat" market for regionals. Closer to home, Alaska Airlines has been rated #1 in fuel efficiency for the 5th year in a row! I am from the Seattle area and consider Alaska like the home team. Good for them! Not only does fuel efficiency mean a smaller carbon footprint and less resources used to accomplish the task, but it is also good for business. Airlines are about moving you and your stuff from here to there quickly. If you have two airlines competing head to head and one of them is more fuel efficient than the other, the fuel efficient airline wins. Every time. Profits are revenues minus expenses. Cut your expenses by stretching each gallon of Jet A and you compete more effectively. The rating comes from the International Council on Clean Transportation. They mention in their report that, "a stronger correlation between fuel efficiency and profitability was observed in 2014 than in 2013, despite a sharp fall in oil prices in the latter half of the year." The difference between Alaska and the last place airline, American, was 25% more fuel efficiency! What stories caught your attention? Please share in the comments!   Show Links (some of the references from this show) Lufthansa's Longest Strike Takes Its Toll - Financial Times

The Terminal Podcast: Episode 018 Serving up this week's Top 3 Aviation Stories! This week we take a look at the recently released C919 - China's take on the popular narrow body airliner. We also crunch the numbers that IATA put out for September's traffic counts, and we look at how United is turning those frowns into vouchers for free travel. What stories caught your attention? Please share in the comments!   Show Links (some of the references from this show) China's COMAC Rolls Out C919IATA Air Passenger Market Analysis - September 2015United Lets Employees Compensate Dissatisfied Customers With Vouchers For Flights   Make it a great day!