Monthly Archives: June 2009

Yemen Airways Jet Crashes, Carrying 153 Passengers.

Posted on June 30, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Rescue teams have closely searched the Indian Ocean for survivors of the crash, and were able to have  have rescued a child alive. The plane that crashed is an Airbus A310. You can read the New York Times story here. 

European aircraft maker Airbus on Tuesday confirmed that Yemen Airways flight IY626 crashed near the Comoro Islands. It said the aircraft involved, an A310-300, was first delivered from the production line in 1990 and had been operated by Yemenia since October 1999. It had accumulated around 51,900 flight hours in some 17,300 flights and was powered by Pratt & Whitney engines PW4152. Airbus said no further detail was available at this point but that it had dispatched a team to the Comoro Islands. – Market Watch

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Midwest’s Hoeksema to Retire.

Posted on June 30, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Timothy Hoeksema, chairman, president and CEO of Midwest Airlines, announced that he would be retiring from his duties in a 4 to 6 week window. Hoeksema fought hard for Midwest, and was a pioneer in the “save the cookie” campaign used by Midwest to fend off AirTran Airways. Below is his letter:

To: All Midwest and Skyway Employees
Date: June 23, 2009
From: T.E. Hoeksema
Subject: Acquisition by Republic Airways

Republic Airways Holdings announced today it will acquire Midwest Airlines from TPG Capital. Midwest Air Group will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings, and Midwest Airlines will continue to operate as a branded carrier with its current route network.

This acquisition solidifies a more certain future for Midwest Airlines. This year marks our 25th year of service, and this announcement enables Midwest to write the next chapter in our history – building on our unique heritage of service and community commitment. Republic is a quality organization and a strategic airline partner that appreciates the bond Midwest has with its customers and communities. Republic can bring operational and cost efficiencies to Midwest that we as a stand-alone carrier could not leverage.

Under the new ownership, discussions regarding the renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements will continue with labor organizations representing Midwest pilots, currently in mediation, and Midwest flight attendants.

While many things such as our status as a branded airline and our network will remain the same, there are things that will be changing as part of this transaction. Due to the overlapping responsibilities of the senior leadership teams of Midwest and Republic, several senior-level executives, including me, will be leaving the organization.

Following this memo, you will receive a memo from Bryan Bedford, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Republic Airways. Bryan will participate in an employee meeting we are holding in Milwaukee today and will be a visible presence going forward as he continues to meet employees and get better acquainted with our airline.

Thank you.

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Death of Billy Mays – Plane Related?

Posted on June 29, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Billy Mays, the spokesmen for OxiClean, was found dead yesterday morning in his Florida home. Mays’s unmistaken voice and character on-screen made him one of the world’s most memorable, and favorite, TV salesmen. Mays, just 50 years old, was on-board US Airways flight 1241 from Philadelphia to Tampa on Saturday night. The aircraft’s nose landing-gear front tires blew, causing the nose of the airplane to strike the runway. The impact caused items in the overhead bins to shift out of the bins and onto the heads and laps of helpless passengers – Billy Mays was among them.

Billy was interviewed shortly after landing, “All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.”

So far, this believed to be the leading reason why Billy Mays has died. Interestingly enough, I recently wrote a post about a lawmaker who introduced a bill to limit the size of carry-on items for safety reasons. I disagreed with the law proposal, siding with airlines, but it is a news story such as this that impacts all of the viewpoints on the legislative proposal.

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Southwest Airlines Begins Flying to LaGuardia

Posted on June 28, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Southwest Airlines has begun to have flights in and out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport today. It is Southwest’s hopes that they will be able to pick up more business travels. A nice addition for New York travelers is that with Southwest coming to town airfares should begin to drop even more.

As of right now Southwest will be flying five times a day to Chicago’s Midway Airport and three times a day to Thurgood Marshall Baltimore/ Washington International Airport. With those two airports being main connections, Southwest fliers have one-stop flights into and out from New York City.

So that is the just of the news for Southwest’s new flight. However, we all know Southwest is just a little bit different. Gary Kelly, chairman and CEO of Southwest, got to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on June 18th, celebrating the 38th anniversary of Southwest’s first flight. Before he rang the opening bell, he was outside handing out muffins and coffee. What a good way to pick up a few business travelers.

Southwest also plans to clean up Queens Park and mentor students at a Queens middle school. “When we come to a city, we’re interested not just in offering our customer service and low fares at the airport, but we want to be involved,” Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said.

Southwest is always a little bit different. I think they find success in the Big Apple. Southwest also plans adding service to Boston Logan and Milwaukee in late summer/ early fall.

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