Unfortunately

Dear All,

I regret to announce that this blog will no longer be updated. As many of you have noticed my post frequency has become very sparse as a result of my studies. I have decided that my studies are still more important to my future and that blogging will have to take the back seat.

I will however not take down my blog and plan to update it with  during my school breaks. As you can see I was in the middle of rebranding.

Thank you for all your support and I hope you will support my in my decision.

World’s Largest 737 Salmon Lands in Anchorage, Alaska

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 ‘Salmon’

Weighing in at 91,000 pounds, the world’s largest salmon landed in Anchorage Thursday to a cheering crowd of hundreds of Alaska Airlines employees and seafood industry executives. Stretching nearly 129 feet, the fish-themed Boeing 737-800 is the most intricately painted commercial aircraft in the world and celebrates the partnership of Alaska Airlines and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

The new “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon II” design is nearly identical to an earlier version of the paint scheme that Alaska Airlines unveiled on a 737-400 in 2005, which was re-painted with the carrier’s traditional Eskimo livery last year. In addition to sporting the glimmering image of a wild Alaska king salmon like the original “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon,” the new design is about nine feet longer and also features fish scales on the winglets and a salmon pink-colored Alaska script across the fuselage. The design was produced in partnership with ASMI, which promotes wild, natural and sustainable Alaska seafood.

“Today, we are proud to introduce the largest flying fish to all of Alaska and the world,” said Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president of the state of Alaska. “Not only will this special plane spotlight the best, most sustainable seafood harvest in the world, it will also remind us of the important role the seafood industry has on the Alaska economy. On behalf of the 1,700 Alaska Airlines employees working in the state, we are also proud to safely fly the thousands of men and women who work in the seafood industry throughout the Last Frontier.”

Alaska Airlines flew nearly 24 million pounds of seafood last year from Alaska to markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Streamlined flight schedules and a rigorous training program required of all airline employees who handle perishables ensures the seafood that travels from Alaska waters to markets across the United States arrives fresh—often within 24 hours. The goal is to keep seafood moving rapidly throughout its journey on Alaska Airlines and maintain a consistent temperature range from the time it leaves the water to when it arrives in stores and restaurants.

“Alaska Airlines has been a terrific partner to the Alaska seafood industry by delivering high-quality fresh seafood products to cities throughout the United States and beyond and flying employees to work throughout the year,” ASMI Executive Director Michael Cerne said. “We are thrilled to have such a beautiful flying billboard celebrating our unique partnership.”

About half of the United States’ total seafood catch comes from Alaska fisheries, according to ASMI. In addition, the state of Alaska is widely regarded as a world leader in sustainable management of its seafood resources.

“Salmon-Thirty-Salmon II” trivia

• The 129-foot-long Boeing 737-800 has a wingspan of 117 feet and a cruising speed of 530 mph.
• Four gallons of Mylar paint was used to create an iridescent sparkle over the nearly 3,500 fish scales, which also makes the painting three dimensional.
• More than 90 percent of the fuselage was airbrushed with 21 unique colors to create the lifelike king salmon.
• A crew of eight worked around the clock for 27 days at Associated Painters Inc. in Oklahoma City to paint the plane.
• The plane accommodates 157 passengers and six crew members.

Beginning on Friday, the aircraft will fly passenger routes throughout Alaska Airlines’ network, connecting destinations from Hawaii to Boston and from Anchorage as far south as Mexico.

The “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon II” aircraft is an original design of Mark Boyle, a Seattle-based wildlife artist who is also a recognized leader in the livery design of commercial aircraft. Boyle designed the first Salmon-Thirty-Salmon plane and has created a dozen other special paint themes for Alaska Airlines in recent years, including the Spirit of Disneyland I and II and the Spirit of Make-A-Wish planes.

American Airlines Grounds Eight 757 Jets for Loose Seat Inspections

DALLAS (AP) - The federal government is examining two separate incidents in which passenger seats came loose midflight on American Airlines planes in the last three days.

American said Monday that it would inspect those and six other Boeing 757 jets overnight.

The Federal Aviation Administration said both planes had recently undergone maintenance work that required seats to be removed and reinstalled. American spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said an initial review found that there could be a problem with the way the seats fit into tracks on the floor.

"Out of an abundance of caution, American has decided to proactively re-inspect eight 757s today that could possibly have this same issue," Huguely said.

 The FAA said it is looking into the incidents but didn't provide many more details.

Boeing Co. declined to comment other than to say it had nothing to do with the recent maintenance work involving seats.

On Saturday, a flight from Boston to Miami made an emergency landing in New York after three passenger seats came loose shortly after takeoff. The airline said there were no injuries, and passengers were put on another plane to Miami.

On Monday, an American flight from New York to Miami returned to John F. Kennedy International Airport after loose seats were discovered.

The incidents involved separate repair facilities and groups of American Airlines and contract workers, Huguely said. American flew engineers, crew chiefs and inspectors from its maintenance base in Tulsa, Okla., to New York to examine the planes, she said.

American had 124 Boeing 757s as of December. The eight being inspected use a similar seat assembly, officials said.

The 757s that American operates in the United States have 22 first-class seats and 166 in economy.

Airline and government officials discouraged speculation that the incidents could be related to labor-management tension at American, which is cutting labor costs and laying off maintenance workers as it tries to turn around under bankruptcy protection.

Last week American accused some pilots of conducting an illegal work slowdown that has led to a spike in delayed and canceled flights. The airline threatened to take the pilots' union to court.

On Monday, American continued to have more cancelations and delays than its rivals, according to tracking service FlightStats.com. But American's 17 cancellations and 61 percent on-time rating for arrivals were better than many of the airline's performances in September.

The delays and cancellations have annoyed passengers, but even the hint of mechanical issues could frighten them away and even threaten American's existence, experts said.

"These things can kill an airline," said George Hobica, founder of travel website airfarewatchdog.com. "With a delay or cancellation, you're sitting on the ground. (With loose seats) if the plane hits turbulence, people go flying."

Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst in San Francisco, said that if travelers perceive maintenance to be lax, "passengers will start booking away from American Airlines in droves. 

This is very serious stuff."

FAA officials said they have stepped up scrutiny of American as they do with all airlines operating in bankruptcy protection. American and parent AMR Corp. filed for Chapter 11 in November.

Two Sets of American Airlines Seats Become Loose in Flight

American Airlines Seats Shake Loose in Flight

AUTO START: ON | OFF

)

Another set of seats came loose on an American Airlines flight today, the second such incident in three days on one of the carrier's flights. There was a similar incident of seats becoming loose, resulting in an emergency landing, over the weekend.

The latest incident took place on flight 443 from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to Miami. The plane returned to JFK without incident when the seats were discovered, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

An airline spokesperson said the airline does not believe either incident is related to American's ongoing labor issues.

The earlier incident took place Saturday night when seats came unbolted on American Airlines Flight 685 from Boston to Miami. The flight was diverted and made an emergency landing at JFK.

The passengers in those seats were moved to other seats on the plane. No one was injured and the aircraft landed safely at JFK. The passengers were delayed three hours before being put on another flight to Miami.

As a result of the two incidents, the carrier has taken a total of eight aircraft out of service until they can be inspected.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement it is looking into both incidents and said both Boeing 757 jetliners have been taken out of service. The FAA said that the airline's initial inspection of each aircraft found other rows of seats that were not properly secured.

"Preliminary information indicates that both aircraft had recently undergone maintenance during which the seats had been removed and re-installed. Including these two airplanes, the airline has taken eight aircraft with similar seat assemblies out of service until they can be inspected," the FAA statement read with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure the seats.The FAA has stepped up scrutiny of American during its bankruptcy, as it has in the past for other carriers in similar situations. AMR Corp., American Airlines' parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Nov. 29, 2011.

"Out of an abundance of caution, American has decided to proactively reinspect eight 757s today that could possibly have this same issue. The seats were installed by American maintenance and contract maintenance. The issue does not seem to be tied to any one maintenance facility or one workgroup.

"This afternoon, the company flew engineers, tech crew chiefs, and inspectors from its Tulsa maintenance base to New York to evaluate the aircraft and determine the next course of action to correct the problem.

"We are in contact with the FAA. They are aware of our internal review."

This is the latest in a string of recent problems for American Airlines. Maintenance and employee issues have led to significant delays and cancellations in recent weeks.

ABC News reported last month that the airline was forced to delay nearly 40 percent of its flights, with most forced to be late or even cancelled by an "unprecedented and very significant" increase in maintenance issues. The airline blamed the pilots, who it claimed were calling out sick 20 percent more than normal.

"The recent disruptions are primarily due to the significant increase in maintenance write-ups by our pilots, many right at the time of departure," the airline said in a statement last month.

The pilots union said there is no sanctioned work action under way and disagreed with American's accounting of sick leave and crew cancellations.

A fight last month between two flight attendants over a cell phone forced a plane to turn back to the gate at JFK and delayed passengers four hours while the airline found a new crew.

The trouble at the airline has prompted at least one airline industry expert to advise passengers to book away from the airline for the time being.

Wall Street Journal travel editor Scott McCartney warned passengers, "My advice is, until things get straightened out with the operations, if you have a choice, you ought to book another airline. It's just not worth it."

Gol Linhas Airlines orders 60 Boeing 737 MAXS

Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOLL4.BR, GOL) on Monday said it has agreed to buy another 60 aircraft from Boeing Co. (BA), with delivery starting in 2018, as part of a plan to renew its fleet of aircraft.

Gol said that, as a result of this agreement, it will be the first airline in South America to deploy Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft.

Gol ended the second quarter with 150 aircraft, of which 124 were Boeing 737-700s and 737-800s with an average life of 7.3 years, and 23 were Boeing 737-300s with an average life of 20 years.

Space Shuttle Endeavour – NASA Boeing 747 Today in San Francisco

This photo of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the back of one of NASA’s specially built Boeing 747s was taken this morning at approx 10:25 AM PDT near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, California.

The Shuttle will retire at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

American Airlines Taking Delivery of a New Boeing 737

American Airlines has posted a video on its Youtube page titled ‘What’s involved in taking delivery of a new plane? Behind the Scenes @AmericanAir’.

‘The latest installment gives customers an inside look at how American Airlines collects a new airplane from Boeing in Washington state and then configures it to American’s specification at its maintenance base at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

American took delivery of a new Boeing 737 on Thursday, the 101st of the new generation aircraft and 28th this year.’

American launched its video series in March as a means to better connect with its customers and show them what goes on behind the scenes.

VIDEO: