AirSpace

Cranky on the Web (May 20 – 24)

The Cranky Flier — Sat, 25 May 2013 10:45:12 GMT

Note: There will be no post on Monday, Memorial Day. I will return to the regular posting schedule on Tuesday. The Dreamliner returns: 5 things to know – CNN.com One of the many stories talking about the return of the 787. In general, I don’t Read More......(read more)

Topic of the Week: The Birds and Rats Have Won

The Cranky Flier — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

Delta travelers at JFK are waking up to a brand new airport experience today as Delta thankfully leaves Terminal 3 for good in favor of the new extension of Terminal 4 along with the existing operation in Terminal 2. This, of course, means the rats and Read More......(read more)

This is Not Your Father’s Frontier Airlines

The Cranky Flier — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:45:23 GMT

Frontier is in the middle of making huge changes to its business model, and that is not easy to do. Anytime you make a big shift, you anger those who liked the way things were before. Frontier is learning this firsthand right now as some Denver loyalists Read More......(read more)

Italy looking to develop MALE UAV

MikeAlphaTango — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:08:00 GMT

Italy is determined to proceed aggressively, with or without its traditional British and French partners, to develop a new armed, medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft, an effort that began in the black world.

Ryanair to Reggio Calabria?

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:17:00 GMT

Ryanair has meet some key persons of SOGAS Reggio Calabria airport managing company and the leader of Regione Calabria. The topic is to promote actions for landing Ryanair to Reggio Calabria with several domestic destinations like Bergamo, Bologna and Pisa.

Battle: Los Angeles

The Cranky Flier — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:45:11 GMT

I’m feeling pretty lucky to be living in Southern California these days. Oh sure, it’s the beautiful sunshine and all that, but it’s also about to become a nice little hub of cheap flights. I say that because airlines are starting to Read More......(read more)

Darwin opens Bolzano-Rome FCO.

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:10:00 GMT

Four daily is the new scheduled agreed with local authorities for opening the new route from Bolzano to Rome FCO with 50 seater Saab2000s.. The schedule will commence at end of June and progressively is increased until 4xdaily in the weekdays and 2xday in the weekends.

Meridiana quits Turin-Rome

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:09:00 GMT

With effect May 19 2013 the route Turin-Rome FCO is suspended.

Lufthansa will cease Bologna-Duesseldorf

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:06:00 GMT

Lufthansa will give up the route by end of summer timetable 2013.

Saudia reduces to Italy

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:04:00 GMT

Two routes to Italy are reduced with immediate effect, Jeddah-Milan Mxp-Madrid to 2xweek. Riyadh-Rome FCO fdrom 4xweek to 3xweek.

Meridiana lease B767/304ERs to Conviasa

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:01:00 GMT

Conviasa has wet leased a B767/304ERs from Air Italy until end of July 2013. It operates regular on Madrid-Caracas-Buenos Aires.

TwinJet opens Milan Malpensa-Toulouse

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:59:00 GMT

By Sept 9th 2013 TwinJet will add three times a day the route Milan Mxp-Toulouse with a 19 seater Beech1900Ds.

Air Nostrum reduce Bologna-Madrid

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:57:00 GMT

Twice daily only the next schedule of Bologna-Madrid with winter timetable 2013/14.

easyJet drops Milan/Venice to Toulouse

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:52:00 GMT

The route Milan Mxp-Toulouse is lowered from 4xweek to 2xweek by July 2013 and ceased by Oct 3rd 2013. The services to Venice are ceased with summer 2013 timetable.

Volotea lands to Turin

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:45:00 GMT

Two new rouytes has been presented from Turin, all domestics, Naples (4xweek) and Palermo (3xweek) by Sept 16 2013. 125 seater B717/200s will fly the routes. In winter, in November Naples continue to be on day 1357 and Plaermo only on day 15. Daily is scheduled over Christmass.

Darwin commence Milan Mxp-Cambridge

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:43:00 GMT

Four times a week on mo/we/fr/su from Cambridge new base to Milan Mxp by Sept 2 2013 with a 50 seater Saab2000s.

Vueling opens Florence-Ctania and cease Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Madrid

FlyBolognAirport — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:37:00 GMT

The winter season 2013/14 of Florence base will looks a new destination. Its domestic and is the first flight inside Italy for Vueling. New Florence-Catania will offer until nine flights a week. In the meantime they'll drop Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Madrid. Results on these routes, especially the Northern European ones are low then predicted.

JetBlue Demonstrates the Right Way to Increase Your Change Fee

The Cranky Flier — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:45:41 GMT

Just last month, United increased its change fee on domestic flights from $150 to $200 and I bashed the move. That, of course, didn’t prevent US Airways, Delta, and then American from following like sheep. Those increases left a bigger gap between Read More......(read more)

Cranky on the Web (May 13 – 17)

The Cranky Flier — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:45:11 GMT

In the Trenches: Setting Priorities – Intuit Small Business Blog There are a lot of projects I’d like to complete here at Cranky Concierge. But instead of trying to do them all, I need to pick one at a time and focus. United’s New Seats Read More......(read more)

Topic of the Week: United’s Channel 9

The Cranky Flier — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:45:04 GMT

United announced it would pull inflight entertainment off its A319s and A320s when it puts new seats on the airplanes. That means that Channel 9, the channel that lets you listen to cockpit communications, will disappear until they can find a way to stream Read More......(read more)

Who the F*&@ is Lion Air?

The Cranky Flier — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:45:59 GMT

You may have heard the name Lion Air before, but chances are you’ve never flown the airline, a low cost carrier based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Lion has been known for a few things over its decade-long history; some good and some bad. The bad? Naturally Read More......(read more)

Second of three M346 prototypes crashes

MikeAlphaTango — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:12:00 GMT

Alenia Aermacchi has lost its second of three pre-production prototypes of the M346 transonic trainer in a crash over the weekend. The lone pilot ejected safely and no one on the ground was hurt.

Virgin America Loses More Money, Puts All Efforts on Going Public

The Cranky Flier — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:45:21 GMT

After 6 years of big losses, it looks like the time is finally coming for Virgin America to start making money or just go away. The airline decided to announce both fourth quarter 2012 and first quarter 2013 results yesterday, and there were some bright Read More......(read more)

What it Means When Southwest Says It Has De-Hubbed Atlanta

The Cranky Flier — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:45:34 GMT

When Southwest bought AirTran way back in 2010, all eyes were on Atlanta to see what the airline would do there at AirTran’s homebase and biggest hub. What followed was months of shrinking, but now Southwest has moved on to phase two. It is de-hubbing Read More......(read more)

Crew Member on the Collings "Wings of Freedom Tour"

flyvertosset — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:55:00 GMT

At 6:30am the wake up call jars my mind and after a quick shower it is off to hotel breakfast. At 8:00am sharp the crew van leaves for Tacoma Narrows Airport, we are 15 members and the van is packed and quiet.

Arriving at the airport we check the planes and the perimeter fence and suddenly there is a crowd of excited people who are going on a 30 minute flight in either the B-17 or B-24. The B-17 is the most popular and will fly every day while the cousin B-24 could have a morning rest. We need a minimum of 6 passengers to make the flight pay for itself.

B-24G Liberator "Wichcraft", its landing being filmed by local TV.

After safety briefing the planes are loaded, the radials are fired up, and off they go with their load of people, loaded with cameras for this "Once in a Lifetime event" or for the few WW2 veterans who can still fly, a memory flight into the past. When the planes return we ready them for the many visitors who are going to see the inside of a WW2 bomber for the first time. The P-51C Mustang is parked on the side and is flying when somebody wants a ride and fly the two seat dual control fighter.

I am the Gatekeeper, the Meeter, the Greeter and the Talker on the Collings "Wings of Freedom Tour". I control the gate and collect the nominal fee we charge for people to see the planes up close and to walk through them. I stand at the gate and talk constantly to the steady stream of visitors. After a few hours I get a break ,as you get "potty brained" by repeating yourself 700 times in two hours.

Rear gun turret on B-24G

B-24G getting some TLC

The day flies and I am telling stories about our planes and aviation and everything else and at 4:30pm the crowds thins out and we do another 1-2-3 flights with the early evening crowd. When that is over, the planes are secured for the night and we head back to the hotel for a 10min refresh and then it is off to dinner where the talk is all about aviation.

The Bowser fueling the B-17G "Nine O Nine"

B-17G getting ready for an afternoon flight.

We fly between cities and depending on the boss and the people like media etc.that are invited to fly with us, it is either one or the other. I seem to alternate between the B-17 and B-24, which means I have quite a flew flights in each type.

Flying between Tacoma and Boeing Field in the Liberator.

Flying in the B-17 from Boeing Field to Paine Field.

This is what happens everyday, new city, new airport but the program is almost always the same.

In the sky again

Pushing back "Witchcraft" to make parking space for "Nine O Nine".