Why Airlines Need Competition .
Jet Blue and Cape Air Present ERAU Pilots with Career Opportunities
In association with the College of Aviation, Jet Blue and Cape Air both paid Embry-Riddle a visit on Tuesday, Feb. 12 in the Davis Learning Center. Jet Blue and Cape Air Airlines put together a program specifically for students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and various other flight-oriented schools. The program is aimed at sophomores, juniors, seniors, and recent graduates.
The eight-year program is set up to give the student an experience that eventually leads to a career as a pilot for Jet Blue. The first year at Embry-Riddle is relegated to studies and simply going through the motions of a freshman student. The student's sophomore year is when they are supposed to apply for the opportunity to intern at Cape Air and Jet Blue. After they have been accepted, the student must finish the Aeronautical Science degree at Embry-Riddle and then become an acting flight instructor for Embry-Riddle. After acting as flight instructor, the participants then get to work as interns for Cape Air for two years. Once the participant has completed their internship with Cape Air Airlines, they are given a position with Jet Blue.
The program is designed to help accelerate the process of becoming a professional pilot and is called the Aviation University Gateway. While acting as an intern for Cape Air, the students will be immersed in the entire process of flying for a commercial airline by taking part in luggage loading, ticketing, and, of course, flying.
Financial aid is not given to those students taking part in this program by Jet Blue or by Cape Air, but their internships are paid and can be taken for credits. The maximum number of credits that could be taken from the internship with Cape Air is six credit hours. Cape Air is Massachusetts-based and, as the primary regional carrier that is partnering with Jet Blue, the majority of the internships would be available in the Northeastern region of the country.
Jet Blue and Cape Air Airlines are both highly interested in pilots, but anyone involved in any minors that are not directly associated with aviation are also in high demand to act as various other positions available within either company. Some of the examples of desired majors are business administration, aeronautical studies, and aviation safety, all of which prepare the participant to either further their career as a pilot or act as an asset to the company in one of its many other aspects of business. ***
------------------------------------------------------------------
by Justin Theilen
source: http://media.www.eraunews.com/media/storage/paper917/news/2008/02/25/News/Jet-Blue.And.Cape.Air.Present.Erau.Pilots.With.Career.Opportunities-3229514.shtml
===============================
American Airlines Would Rather Run Red Tape than Save Lives
It was on CNN this morning. A passenger on an American Airlines flight was twice refused oxygen by the flight attendent. The passenger compained “I can’t breath” and was heard to say “Don’t let me die”. The agitated passengers asked the flight attendant why she wasn’t doing anything.
When the flight attendant finally called the cockpit and asked what the procedure was, it was too late. Two nurses and a doctor who were aboard attempted to administer oxygen through a tank which had no oxygen in it. The second tank also failed. The defibrillator also failed. According the the medical experts, her cause of death was natural causes. The flight attendants laid her body on the floor of the first class and covered her with a blanket, as not to disturb the other passengers.
This upsets me greatly. Since when is it a choice, whether or not to save someone’s life? Why does it take more than one request for a flight attendant to take initiative to administer oxygen? Even if the tanks were empty, there is emergency oxygen aboard which can be applied.
The fact that the medical oxygen and the defibrillator were malfunctioning is only half the problem. The procedure is wrong. You don’t simply deny a passenger oxygen, simply because you don’t know what it is. Last time I checked, there is a phone to ask the pilot what to do. Frankly, the flight attendant should have administered CPR and done everything in her power to save the woman’s life. I don’t recall any procedure anywhere prohibiting saving a life.
I’m boycotting American Airlines until they make a public apology and admit that they are running a bureaucracy, and are not paying attention to the customer needs.
Jet Blue Part Duex anyone? ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------
source: http://davetherio.com/2008/02/25/american-airlines-would-rather-run-red-tape-than-save-lives/
==========================================
The Murder Of My New Computer
It was the nicest, neatest, new Apple laptop computer. I'd had it for just six days.
So I was treating my new computer with great care. I cradled it in my arms as though it were a six-day-old infant. Although I must admit I have never actually held an infant. Because I'm a klutz, I drop things – so much so that I have been forbidden by my family from holding my children and grandchildren until they reach puberty.
I was at security at the San Diego airport. I took off my shoes and put them into a tray. My jacket went into another tray. My beautiful new computer into a third tray, and I resisted the urge to wave goodbye to it as it rolled into the security machine. I went through security and waited on the other side of the machine and quickly put my computer into my carry-on bag and zipped it up. Suddenly there was a pleasant security man saying, "Is this yours? I have to look at it." With that he grabbed my bags and moved me to a table off to the side.
I hobbled after him, trying to put on one of my shoes.
He unzipped my carry-on on bag, ran his hand over my computer, and looked under and opened a small leather bag that I carry. He went through it and put it back. Then he went into my other bag and kept searching for something.
"Excuse me, what did she say she saw?" I asked, motioning to the operator of the X-ray machine.
"She says there's some green mass of liquid in your bags."
"Oh crap," I thought, "now he's going to find out I'm part of a ring that is smuggling Liquid Prell from San Diego to New York." Great maturity kept me from saying this out loud. Finally, after going through every item in my bag, the security officer was satisfied that I was not carrying any mysterious green liquid. He carefully zipped up my bag and said, "You're free to go."
I grabbed my bag in one hand and swung my carry-on over my shoulder when I heard this sickening crash. There, hitting the concrete floor, was my new computer.
"Oh, I didn't zip that one up," said the security guard. "Let me help you with that."
"My new computer," I moaned. The screen was a cobweb of cracks. It was dented and it was so out of line it couldn't be closed.
I looked at the security person and thought about all the airlines and the hell that traveling has turned into. Then I though of Gerald Finnerman and a column I wrote many years ago. Here it is: Lately, with every flight I take, Gerald Finnerman goes from being a wacko to being a national hero in my eyes.
Finnerman is the Connecticut investment banker who made airline history in 1995. He was catapulted right up there in the flight history books with pioneers like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart when, mid-flight, he took off his clothes, jumped up onto a United Airlines food service cart, and committed an unspeakable act.
I now realize that Mr. Finnerman was a martyr who sacrificed himself while striking a blow for the DAPM (Disgruntled Airline Passengers Movement). Perhaps, at the time, we all judged Mr. Finnerman a smidgen too harshly. Perhaps this shy, sensitive soul was the first to feel the airline passenger rage that we all now share. And, yes, you may conclude that the gallon of booze (vodka and prune juice, a most potent cocktail) he had imbibed before he boarded the ill-fated flight from South America caused him to act a trifle recklessly. Or, as we lovers of all things Latin might say, it might have caused Gerald Finnerman, for one brief moment, to embrace "La Vida Loca."
Finnerman was the first to lose his cool, but he will not be the last. Mark my words, airline passenger rage will be the catch phrase of this coming summer. We're on a collision course. On one side we have the airlines, which have dropped all pretense of giving their passengers even the most rudimentary service. On the other side we have passengers, who feel resentment at being charged a fortune to be lied to and abused. The prospect of being forced to sit for countless hours bent like a pretzel in a tiny seat with absolutely no leg room so that a fat and greedy airline CEO can meet his profit forecast is the stuff that revolutions are made of.
These days, the trouble starts before you even get on a plane. The other day I found myself traveling on an American Airlines flight to San Francisco. I arrived at Kennedy Airport at 7:15 a.m. for an 8 a.m. flight. My driver passed the American Airlines International Departures and Arrivals building and drove, for what seemed like a half a mile, to the American Airlines Domestic Flights building. At the time, he and I both shared the mistaken impression that San Francisco was in the United States.
So once inside the domestic terminal I checked myself in with a very cute woman named Patty, and then she told me that my gate was Gate 3 in the International Building, half a mile away. "But I'm flying to San Francisco, not Athens," I protested. Patty smiled and said, "They do that sometimes." Now the question is, if "they" do "that" sometimes, why couldn't "they" also put up a sign on the sidewalk at the departure level so that every one of the 300 passengers on that flight wouldn't have had to schlep for a half-mile just to get to a lousy gate that's in the wrong building?
Patty just smiled as she watched me hauling ass. Naturally, when I finally got to the gate huffing and puffing, the scene that greeted me was total chaos. Hundreds of people waiting to check in and muttering to themselves. Without a doubt, the surprise changeover from one terminal to another had caused a few hernias, frayed nerves, and an hour's delay. Once aloft, the food they served on my expensive flight to San Francisco was on par with the food that other people seeking the West Coast were forced to eat when they got trapped in the Donner Pass.
I felt sorry for the overworked, understaffed flight attendants. By the time we were flying over the middle of the country, they were cranky and surly and treating the passengers like a school bus filled with unruly demanding children. With the exception of Jet Blue, which is always a delightful flying experience, the minute I buy an airline ticket I realize I'm in for a day where I will be treated like a dog.
Millions of Americans will be flying off on vacations in the next few months. It's time they realized we're at war with the airlines. The minute you set foot in an airport you must assume you have been captured and are a prisoner of war. You owe your captors nothing more than your name, rank and serial number. You must expect your captors to lie to you at every turn.
When they "innocently" announce that your flight is delayed for 10 minutes, don't believe it. Take your cell phone and book yourself on another airline. Are they claiming they are serving a "delicious" meal on your flight? Save your life, carry a spare pastrami sandwich in your carry-on bag at all times. And, lastly, let those people who are in charge of the airline know that you are not a man or woman to be trifled with. Win instant respect. Wear a special button I've just designed that reads:
I HAVE
LESS CONTROL
THAN
GERALD
FINNERMAN
If you wish to comment on "Jerry's Ink," send your message to jerry@dfjp.com. ***
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Jerry Della Femina
http://www.indyeastend.com/Articles-i-2008-02-27-74484.113117_The_Murder_Of_My_New_Computer.html
The eight-year program is set up to give the student an experience that eventually leads to a career as a pilot for Jet Blue. The first year at Embry-Riddle is relegated to studies and simply going through the motions of a freshman student. The student's sophomore year is when they are supposed to apply for the opportunity to intern at Cape Air and Jet Blue. After they have been accepted, the student must finish the Aeronautical Science degree at Embry-Riddle and then become an acting flight instructor for Embry-Riddle. After acting as flight instructor, the participants then get to work as interns for Cape Air for two years. Once the participant has completed their internship with Cape Air Airlines, they are given a position with Jet Blue.
The program is designed to help accelerate the process of becoming a professional pilot and is called the Aviation University Gateway. While acting as an intern for Cape Air, the students will be immersed in the entire process of flying for a commercial airline by taking part in luggage loading, ticketing, and, of course, flying.
Financial aid is not given to those students taking part in this program by Jet Blue or by Cape Air, but their internships are paid and can be taken for credits. The maximum number of credits that could be taken from the internship with Cape Air is six credit hours. Cape Air is Massachusetts-based and, as the primary regional carrier that is partnering with Jet Blue, the majority of the internships would be available in the Northeastern region of the country.
Jet Blue and Cape Air Airlines are both highly interested in pilots, but anyone involved in any minors that are not directly associated with aviation are also in high demand to act as various other positions available within either company. Some of the examples of desired majors are business administration, aeronautical studies, and aviation safety, all of which prepare the participant to either further their career as a pilot or act as an asset to the company in one of its many other aspects of business. ***
------------------------------------------------------------------
by Justin Theilen
source: http://media.www.eraunews.com/media/storage/paper917/news/2008/02/25/News/Jet-Blue.And.Cape.Air.Present.Erau.Pilots.With.Career.Opportunities-3229514.shtml
===============================
American Airlines Would Rather Run Red Tape than Save Lives
It was on CNN this morning. A passenger on an American Airlines flight was twice refused oxygen by the flight attendent. The passenger compained “I can’t breath” and was heard to say “Don’t let me die”. The agitated passengers asked the flight attendant why she wasn’t doing anything.
When the flight attendant finally called the cockpit and asked what the procedure was, it was too late. Two nurses and a doctor who were aboard attempted to administer oxygen through a tank which had no oxygen in it. The second tank also failed. The defibrillator also failed. According the the medical experts, her cause of death was natural causes. The flight attendants laid her body on the floor of the first class and covered her with a blanket, as not to disturb the other passengers.
This upsets me greatly. Since when is it a choice, whether or not to save someone’s life? Why does it take more than one request for a flight attendant to take initiative to administer oxygen? Even if the tanks were empty, there is emergency oxygen aboard which can be applied.
The fact that the medical oxygen and the defibrillator were malfunctioning is only half the problem. The procedure is wrong. You don’t simply deny a passenger oxygen, simply because you don’t know what it is. Last time I checked, there is a phone to ask the pilot what to do. Frankly, the flight attendant should have administered CPR and done everything in her power to save the woman’s life. I don’t recall any procedure anywhere prohibiting saving a life.
I’m boycotting American Airlines until they make a public apology and admit that they are running a bureaucracy, and are not paying attention to the customer needs.
Jet Blue Part Duex anyone? ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------
source: http://davetherio.com/2008/02/25/american-airlines-would-rather-run-red-tape-than-save-lives/
==========================================
The Murder Of My New Computer
It was the nicest, neatest, new Apple laptop computer. I'd had it for just six days.
So I was treating my new computer with great care. I cradled it in my arms as though it were a six-day-old infant. Although I must admit I have never actually held an infant. Because I'm a klutz, I drop things – so much so that I have been forbidden by my family from holding my children and grandchildren until they reach puberty.
I was at security at the San Diego airport. I took off my shoes and put them into a tray. My jacket went into another tray. My beautiful new computer into a third tray, and I resisted the urge to wave goodbye to it as it rolled into the security machine. I went through security and waited on the other side of the machine and quickly put my computer into my carry-on bag and zipped it up. Suddenly there was a pleasant security man saying, "Is this yours? I have to look at it." With that he grabbed my bags and moved me to a table off to the side.
I hobbled after him, trying to put on one of my shoes.
He unzipped my carry-on on bag, ran his hand over my computer, and looked under and opened a small leather bag that I carry. He went through it and put it back. Then he went into my other bag and kept searching for something.
"Excuse me, what did she say she saw?" I asked, motioning to the operator of the X-ray machine.
"She says there's some green mass of liquid in your bags."
"Oh crap," I thought, "now he's going to find out I'm part of a ring that is smuggling Liquid Prell from San Diego to New York." Great maturity kept me from saying this out loud. Finally, after going through every item in my bag, the security officer was satisfied that I was not carrying any mysterious green liquid. He carefully zipped up my bag and said, "You're free to go."
I grabbed my bag in one hand and swung my carry-on over my shoulder when I heard this sickening crash. There, hitting the concrete floor, was my new computer.
"Oh, I didn't zip that one up," said the security guard. "Let me help you with that."
"My new computer," I moaned. The screen was a cobweb of cracks. It was dented and it was so out of line it couldn't be closed.
I looked at the security person and thought about all the airlines and the hell that traveling has turned into. Then I though of Gerald Finnerman and a column I wrote many years ago. Here it is: Lately, with every flight I take, Gerald Finnerman goes from being a wacko to being a national hero in my eyes.
Finnerman is the Connecticut investment banker who made airline history in 1995. He was catapulted right up there in the flight history books with pioneers like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart when, mid-flight, he took off his clothes, jumped up onto a United Airlines food service cart, and committed an unspeakable act.
I now realize that Mr. Finnerman was a martyr who sacrificed himself while striking a blow for the DAPM (Disgruntled Airline Passengers Movement). Perhaps, at the time, we all judged Mr. Finnerman a smidgen too harshly. Perhaps this shy, sensitive soul was the first to feel the airline passenger rage that we all now share. And, yes, you may conclude that the gallon of booze (vodka and prune juice, a most potent cocktail) he had imbibed before he boarded the ill-fated flight from South America caused him to act a trifle recklessly. Or, as we lovers of all things Latin might say, it might have caused Gerald Finnerman, for one brief moment, to embrace "La Vida Loca."
Finnerman was the first to lose his cool, but he will not be the last. Mark my words, airline passenger rage will be the catch phrase of this coming summer. We're on a collision course. On one side we have the airlines, which have dropped all pretense of giving their passengers even the most rudimentary service. On the other side we have passengers, who feel resentment at being charged a fortune to be lied to and abused. The prospect of being forced to sit for countless hours bent like a pretzel in a tiny seat with absolutely no leg room so that a fat and greedy airline CEO can meet his profit forecast is the stuff that revolutions are made of.
These days, the trouble starts before you even get on a plane. The other day I found myself traveling on an American Airlines flight to San Francisco. I arrived at Kennedy Airport at 7:15 a.m. for an 8 a.m. flight. My driver passed the American Airlines International Departures and Arrivals building and drove, for what seemed like a half a mile, to the American Airlines Domestic Flights building. At the time, he and I both shared the mistaken impression that San Francisco was in the United States.
So once inside the domestic terminal I checked myself in with a very cute woman named Patty, and then she told me that my gate was Gate 3 in the International Building, half a mile away. "But I'm flying to San Francisco, not Athens," I protested. Patty smiled and said, "They do that sometimes." Now the question is, if "they" do "that" sometimes, why couldn't "they" also put up a sign on the sidewalk at the departure level so that every one of the 300 passengers on that flight wouldn't have had to schlep for a half-mile just to get to a lousy gate that's in the wrong building?
Patty just smiled as she watched me hauling ass. Naturally, when I finally got to the gate huffing and puffing, the scene that greeted me was total chaos. Hundreds of people waiting to check in and muttering to themselves. Without a doubt, the surprise changeover from one terminal to another had caused a few hernias, frayed nerves, and an hour's delay. Once aloft, the food they served on my expensive flight to San Francisco was on par with the food that other people seeking the West Coast were forced to eat when they got trapped in the Donner Pass.
I felt sorry for the overworked, understaffed flight attendants. By the time we were flying over the middle of the country, they were cranky and surly and treating the passengers like a school bus filled with unruly demanding children. With the exception of Jet Blue, which is always a delightful flying experience, the minute I buy an airline ticket I realize I'm in for a day where I will be treated like a dog.
Millions of Americans will be flying off on vacations in the next few months. It's time they realized we're at war with the airlines. The minute you set foot in an airport you must assume you have been captured and are a prisoner of war. You owe your captors nothing more than your name, rank and serial number. You must expect your captors to lie to you at every turn.
When they "innocently" announce that your flight is delayed for 10 minutes, don't believe it. Take your cell phone and book yourself on another airline. Are they claiming they are serving a "delicious" meal on your flight? Save your life, carry a spare pastrami sandwich in your carry-on bag at all times. And, lastly, let those people who are in charge of the airline know that you are not a man or woman to be trifled with. Win instant respect. Wear a special button I've just designed that reads:
I HAVE
LESS CONTROL
THAN
GERALD
FINNERMAN
If you wish to comment on "Jerry's Ink," send your message to jerry@dfjp.com. ***
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Jerry Della Femina
http://www.indyeastend.com/Articles-i-2008-02-27-74484.113117_The_Murder_Of_My_New_Computer.html
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