Aviation Student

Changing the blog

2006-03-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Today we heard Hugh Hewitt on the radio and it made me remember that I like blogging. Life moves so fast that I don't get the chance to blog like I would, but I do enjoy it.

Yesterday I got a job offer from DIA and I think I am going to take it. I would like to hear back from Jeppesen before I make a decision, but either way is a step up.

I haven't posted in since May and see what happens...

2005-09-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

SkyWest Airlines (who I work for) purchases rival ASA from struggling Delta. Good News right? Not if you work there. $325 million cash, and not only has there not been a cost of living increase since January 1st, but now the all overtime has been ordered cut out of DEN station budget. At $9.50 an hour, and only 32 hours a week, the one hour commute for most of the DEN employees simply isn't worth it. If you're travel plans involve UAX through DEN in Oct or later, change them.

America West, US Air Merger

2005-05-22T09:31:00.000-06:00

So America West (HP) and US Air (US) are set to merge? Doug Parker, CEO of HP, has been an advocate of market consolidation, but what this industry needs is contraction. There are simply so many seats in the air that to keep them filled, airlines cannot charge a high enough price to generate positive cash flow. The merger does not eliminate these seats, it only changes the name of the operator. Unless the new US Air creates a cost structure low enough to compete, the only thing the merger will accomplish will be the death of two airlines instead of one.

What an Industry!

2005-05-18T07:33:00.000-06:00

Labor costs are a killer in this field, so when a company makes a move like this, it makes a bit of sense. That being said, I hope the AS decision is a mistake. I sympathize with the folks who lost their jobs, especially since I'm a ramper myself. Maybe its just wishful thinking, but I hope that the difference in work performance between the AS rampers and the contract company is great enough that it affects quality.

I Did It!

2005-05-16T08:22:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, May 15th I participated in the Spring 2005 Graduation Ceremony. Which means I have a bachelors degree! Cool! ... Now what?

I'm Back

2005-05-11T10:08:00.000-06:00

This end of the semester has been so hectic that I've neglected posting. So much has happened since I posted last as well, including a promotion at work. It looks as if the commercial industry is finally looking at contraction. I think it's long over due. The UA guys are also upset enough about the pension issue that strike talks are getting serious. I don't think the guy in Chicago dressed in a black robe will allow that, but... If UA goes on strike, it will not survive, so it looks to me like the options are no pension, or no pension and no job. I am sympathetic to those harmed by UA's violation of trust, but the truth is, UA is just catching up to business in the 21st century. Company pensions are an expense that most business' refuse to incur anymore.

Well that Stinks!

2005-03-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

My group turned in the first draft of our website redesign project and it was totally ripped up by our Proff. He did not like the blog idea, which stinks! We are going to have to rewrite the proposal without the blog portion. I'm frustrated because the blog idea was kind of my pet, but the good news is, I can do what I want with this thing since it won't be needed for the class anymore. However, you cannot deny the basic premise of the project which was, the department website is bad.

Congratulations Steve Fosset

2005-03-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Steve Fosset is the first person to fly solo around the world. Congratulations.

A Paycut in the Regionals?

2005-03-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

Look at this story! The regionals were supposed to be the stable end of commercial service. Comair has struggled recently, in particular with the Christmas fiasco. Anytime a company issues a press release stating that they are operating a regular schedule, that is not a good sign. As a DL subsidiary, Comair is more vulnerable to the misfortunes of their mainline partner as well. With DL flirting with chapter 11, it stands to reason that the regionals it owns will also have to "tighten the belt." Really this is just further development of the new business model for legacy carriers. More regional service on domestic routes, and heavy focus on long-haul and international flying. As contract flying becomes more lucrative, regional providers will become more competitive for contracts, and once again it comes back to cost structure. In the Marine Corps we were reminded that our rifles were produced by the lowest bidder, and so it goes with regional service.

Go Fosset, Go

2005-03-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

It is very rare in aviation that some one gets away with a "Safety be Damned" attitude. However most of is in the industry have never circled the globe in a balloon. Steve Fosset is almost home and I hope Steve Fosset pulls it off. It's a great aviation story and it exemplifies the spirit of adventure present in early aviators. I just wish Richard Branson wasn't involved. He seems kind of creepy to me.

I love this picture

2005-03-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

VMFA(AW)-225 Over the Pacific. Summer of 2000.
I've been playing with the blog a little more to learn how to post pictures and the like. I took this picture from the back of a KC-10 while flying from Guam to RAAF Tindal.

On with it

2005-03-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to write for a couple of days because of work and school, so I'm a little behind. My group in class has been assigned the Colorado Springs Airport (COS). We are supposed to know everything we can about the airport and then be prepared to speak to the class about it for 5 minutes. So how do you learn everything you can about an airport? Step one is to call and ask and step two is the web. Now our group simply has to memorize all of that data, recite the most relevant in class, and be prepared to answer any obscure question that might come our way.

Congrats Denver

2005-02-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

DIA is about to celebrate 10 years as the most advanced airport in the US system. A triple ILS approach, how about that! Here are two excellent articles on the airport, and another funny one.

Congratulations to David Kesmodel as well. His guest speaking spots in Prof. Simmons classes are always enjoyable.

More nonstop daily flights to China...

2005-02-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

The fight for the Chinese market heats up. What is amazing though is how an airline in Chap 11 can expand. Normally this is counterintuitive. However, International routes are the money makers, and the last thing United needs now is extra competition. It may work to UA's favor after all. United has the jump on the competition in terms of creating the new legacy airline business model. The rumor circling the Denver hub is 20% mainline operation, 40% Ted and 40% United Express. Of course, let me offer this disclaimer. It was once breifed out to us UAX SkyWest guys that a rumour was going around that we might groundhandle Ted. The rumour was going around, because my friend started it on the bus to the employee parking lot! He wanted to see how fast it would spread.

The Future of Combat Flight cont...

2005-02-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here's another link to blogs of war.

Thank You King Soopers

2005-02-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

After my little tantrum on the last post, I fired a quick comment off to King Soopers. When I got home from work today the assistant store manager had left two messages on our phone. Situation resolved with a heartfelt apology and I "it will never happen again" pledge. Holy Crap, I think I'm actually smiling!

Ah, the Drama

2005-02-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Up until this point, all of my posts have revolved around the aviation aspect of the site and not the student portion. So this shall be the first. As a full-time student and a full-time entry level airline employee, I don't bring home much money. With four small mouths to feed, we need little help from time to time. We use WIC. That does not mean we are dead beats. So why does the checkout lady at King Soopers take a verbal dumping on my wife over the WIC order? Does our reproduction offend you? Are you mad at your parents? I know we are a single consumer and our few hundred bucks a month doesn't matter too much to the store, but this kind of thing makes me want to start using the Super Wal-Mart.

The Future of Combat Flight

2005-02-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

The question is out there, will the F-22 raptor and the JSF be the last of the manned combat craft? Check this out. Personally, I think it will play out like Robert Heinlein predicts in "Starship Troopers." (The wonderful book, not the horrid movie.) It's not really yours until you have a man on the ground, or in this case, in the air.

As a quick side note, "Starship Troopers" was influential in my decision to join the Corps. Every Marine a rifleman, even us Ordies IYAOYAS.

Guest Speaker

2005-02-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Centennial Airport (APA) is the third busiest General Aviation (GA) reliever airport in the country. Having an airport of this considerable size so close to Metro State is a distinct benefit of attending. Not only does APA provide training and employment opportunities for students, the personnel of the airport are excellent resources for industry insight. This was the case when Michael Fronapfel spoke to Professor Price’s Airport Management class on Tuesday, February 15.

Mr. Fronapfel addressed the operational and planning aspects of a GA airport. This included his time as an intern to his current position as the Noise Supervisor and Senior Planner. Interspersed throughout his presentation were anecdotes and pictures of incidents and accidents. Mr. Fronapfel’s involvement with APA extends from snow removal to overseeing the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). His experience as Senior Planner included the construction of two high-speed taxiway connectors and resurfacing of the alpha taxiway. Mr. Fronapfel also spoke extensively about noise abatement. As the Noise Supervisor, he frequently presents to community groups and is involved with local politics surrounding the airport. Among his most distinctive experiences is his involvement with the part 150 study recently conducted for APA. Because of his enthusiasm for, and experiences in airport management, Mr. Fronapfel was an excellent representative for the APA internship program. He stressed the usefulness of the internship in an airport management career and provided advice for students interested in seeking the internship.

Michael Fronapfel’s presentation to Professor Price’s Airport Management class was an excellent example of GA airport management experience. The presentation revealed how dynamic a career in management at a GA airport can be. From emergency responder, to snow plow driver, to community representative of the airport, Mr. Fronapfel has a wide variety of experiences to draw from. His presentation, culminating with the briefing on the APA internship, was an excellent recruitment for those interested in the airport management field.

Now That's a Twist

2005-02-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

The news that US Airways has received a major financing offer is not too surprising. After all, commercial aviation has a creation glamour factor. How else to explain this and this. What is surprising is who one of the major players is. AWAC's entire existence for quite some time has been to blend with United as United Express. Could recent developments between the two be the cause between a rather bold move for AWAC? Since AWAC has long been looked at as United light, it would make sense that a major casualty of United's chapter 11 adventures is a downturn in the relationship between the two. By positioning itself as a power behind a revitalized US Airways, AWAC may have found a way to survive and thrive without UA. Of course, this is contingent on whether or not US Air can come out of bankruptcy competitively. Still, the move by AWAC is a bold one for a traditionally conservative company in a conservative portion of the commercial market. It would be a twist indeed if AWAC left the UA fold and became a major player at UA's main North American Star Alliance partner.

Continuing the theme, United has announced a plan to leave bankruptcy (again) by next fall. I know that as the second largest carrier in the United States and with the billions of dollars at stake, many do not want the airline to fail. The number of people that will be affected, not to mention the airlines close relationship with Washington DC (Washington-Dulles is a main hub) means that keeping the airline afloat is politically desirable, but when is enough enough? Of course based on sheer numbers alone, a standard one year chapter 11 is next to impossible. This isn't the neighborhood bakery. Each aircraft alone is worth enough to keep most small businesses afloat for years and the number of employees in a single outstation (not a hub, just an outstation) is enough to staff a medium size restaurant. However, at some point the end most come. The industry is bloated and allowing an airline to compete unfairly for three years is unhealthy and unfair. Eventually the money that is being spent while US is in chap. 11 will have to come off someone's books. As a Denver native, I want UA to succeed, (I remember when we were a three hub town) but while Delta flirts with chap. 11 and other airlines struggle along, UA has the power of the gavel to enforce change. If the airline cannot pull out of its financial tailspin this Autumn as the current plan now specifies, the plug should be pulled.

Wow

2005-02-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a really cool site.

No, I'm not rich but...

2005-02-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about working in commercial aviation is the flight benefit. Although I've taken several trips, I'm really excited about the next one. My son and I are going to jump the first flight to San Diego, catch a boat for a 1/2 day fishing trip and then catch the last flight out. All this from an entry level job. I get to take my son fishing in the Pacific even though I live in Colorado. Things like this are why people say that "aviation gets in your blood."

Things are Still Changing

2005-02-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

In a article published on 02/07/2005 by The Weekly of Business Aviation, Dave Collogan reported that Lockheed Martin won a contract to operate the nations Flight Service Station. The FAA estimates the move will save $2.2 Billion over ten years. The move is controversial because of the state of the current FSS employees who are federal government workers and will loose their pensions after the transition. However, AOPA endorsed the deal, expecting better service from a private contractor, and pointing to FAA analysis and review to keep the system functioning smoothly. As FSS changes are made, the student pilots at Metro will be affected. Hopefully, the predictions made by AOPA and Lockheed Martin will hold and the ease with which valuable information, particularly weather, is acquired will increase.

Here we go

2005-02-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

If I'm going to put a project together recommending that the avaiton department begin blogging, maybe I better start myself, huh. I honestly did not realize it was as easy as putting the URL in the navigator and filling in a couple of lines. Funny how the computer has changed everything. As a student, I remeber when the computer was nothing more than typewriter that didn't need whiteout, now try doing a paper without a computer. I guess you still could, but I feel sorry for the person that tries.
I guess that it is time to try a link, and since I'm working on the web project for school, why not link there? Here is metro's aviaiton website.
So my title is avaiton student, what happens in May when I graduate?