Outsourcing to China: Airlines?

by Iva Skoch on

This is an interesting piece of news. A small regional carrier based in Arizona, Mesa Air Group, has just signed a deal with privatized Chinese carrier Shenzhen Airlines, to create a joint venture called Beijing Airlines, to operate in China.

Mesa currently operates only within North America, primarily doing contract regional work for United, Delta, and USAir/America West, in 43 states, using 200 aircraft.

No jobs will be outsourced or off-shored. Quite the contrary, this marks the first time that a U.S. carrier has ventured into the Chinese domestic passenger market.

Beijing will start flights next year, with small aircraft, and hope to include routes to eleven cities rapidly. Part of the reason is their desire to have 20 planes operating before the Olympics in 2008.

Sir, You’ll Have to Check the Cheesecake

by Erik Olsen on

Ahh, our devoted TSA. Diligent and alert and always reasonable, we salute you. Yes, take a gander at this blog entry about the intense, thoughtful discussion that went on recently at an American airport over the question of whether a cheesecake constitutes gel or some other liquid.

One can imagine the deep philosophical questions that arose, the scientific thread of the debate. To wit: “isn’t a cheesecake is made of cheese? And cheese starts as milk, which is most definitely a liquid.” Or: “Under intense heat the cheesecake could in fact melt, turning it into a liquid-like substance, a substance that could clearly be missed with C-4, this making cheesecake extremely potentially dangerous.

Well, as you’ll read, saner heads prevailed. But at least we go int the new year knowing our government agencies are constantly hard at work keep you, me, us, safe. God bless them.

Fly Like a Bird

by Iva Skoch on

Flying makes you claustrophobic, you say? There is hope for you.

Yves Rossy, or jet-man, a Swiss ex-military pilot has been trying to revolutionize air travel for years and he has broken several world records. The guy has become the first human being to fly horizontally with wings and four jet engines attached. The height: 4000 meters (12,000 feet). The video looks amazing.

Watch out, this might be the Segway of air-travel. Hopefully, a little more successful.

Colorado Blizzard Gnarly for Travelers

by Erik Olsen on

I blogged earlier about the blizzard in Colorado with a particular glee. The glee comes from the fact that I’m headed off to go skiing soon, and, well, actually having some snow on the ground is going to help. But for some, especially those trying to make their way around Denver and other Colorado towns, man, things are tough. Take a look at this piece on what happening at the new Denver Airport. Wouldn’t want my plane to be routed through the Mile High City. No sir.

Baby Gets X-rayed at LAX

by Neil Woodburn on

Imagine working the x-ray machine at an airport and suddenly, after a long day of inspecting images of laptops, underwear, and toothbrushes, the telltale scan of a baby appears on the screen.

Yep, believe it or not, some woman placed her one-month old grandson on the conveyer belt and into the x-ray machine at LAX where he was exposed to low levels of radiation for several seconds before being pulled out. The grandmother, who spoke no English, was obviously confused as to what constitutes carry-on luggage and was later seen stuffing the baby into the overhead bin.

Actually, just kidding about the last part. I can joke because the baby was immediately rushed to the hospital where doctors determined that he was going to be okay; he did not receive enough radiation to do any damage.

In the meantime, TSA is investigating the situation and trying to figure out how a live baby could be placed on to the conveyor belt without being seen by screeners until until its skeleton showed up on the x-ray screen. Ugh!