Very true. And the SLI is a done deal. In retrospect, I shouldn't of added the SLI stuff. I was more annoyed by Keenster saying he was surprised at all the guys staying past sixty.

Probably another factor in guys staying way past sixty is the decline (or their uncertainty in the growth or decline) in their self-funded retirements such as 401(k) and IRAs.

To continue what Satchip started, "We have nothing to fear... but fear itself."

Tarmac rules get flights dropped

Top Stories   |  Updated 17h 10m ago
By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

The nation's recent onslaught of flight cancellations is a harbinger of what passengers can expect from airlines looking to avoid new multimillion-dollar fines for leaving people stranded on grounded planes in bad weather, according to federal data and aviation experts.

The government announced in December it would fine airlines $27,500 per passenger for long tarmac delays — or $2.75 million for a 100-passenger flight.

Cancellations cost far less than a huge fine, especially since seats are routinely prepaid and airlines save fuel cost.

"You're not going to get penalized for tarmac delays if you don't fly the flight," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor John Hansman, an aviation expert.

From Feb. 5 through Thursday, when severe snowstorms hit the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, airlines canceled about 15,000 flights, according to the Air Transport Association. It took days for the 500,000 to 1 million passengers to rebook.

The fines for lengthy tarmac delays — defined as three hours or more — go into effect April 29. Airlines such as JetBlue Airways have already made the decision that it is better to aggressively drop flights from their schedules when bad weather strikes.

JetBlue changed its own policy about stranded planes after nine of its jets were stuck on the tarmac for at least six hours in a snow and ice storm at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Valentine's Day in 2007.

In 2005 and 2006, the carrier canceled an average of 254 flights a year, according to federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. After the Valentine's Day strandings, when the airline set a rule that no flight could be delayed on the ground more than four hours, the figure jumped to 1,223 a year.

JetBlue canceled 387 flights during Wednesday's snowstorms. JetBlue Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster said those cancellations were done in part so the airline could live up to its own policy about tarmac strandings.

Amy Cohn, an associate professor at the University of Michigan who has done extensive research on airline scheduling, said she had seen a substantial increase in cancellations across the airline industry. "They're canceling a lot more," she said.

Passenger advocates say that airlines don't need to cancel flights to prevent tarmac delays. "This is solvable" without excess cancellations, said Kate Hanni, who founded Flyersrights.org after a flight she was on in 2006 was stranded.

The Department of Transportation authored the three-hour tarmac rule to protect passengers' "fundamental right to be treated with respect," said spokeswoman Maureen Knightly


That is one hell of a fine!!!

The company canceling flights is going to happen a lot more after April 29th. With the runway 31 closure for re-surfacing in JFK starting in March, get used to the short layover hotel in JFK!!!

Denny

Fine by me, it has free wi-fi and a discount and the restaurant. :D

Yep, and pilot lawyers. Know many pilots that make very good money reading the tea leaves

[/quote]
If I believed everything I read on aviation forums regarding the economy I'd move to a bunker while hoarding food, guns/ammo and gold. And I would have done it in 2002.

Of course if I was that cynical I probably would have been a helicopter pilot!:D (insert Harry Reasoner article here...)


btw, I've got plenty of the "essentials" should the zombies attack![/QUOTE]

Who does not have essentials. I think that stockpiling essentials like many are doing may be going a little too far. Even if the value of the us dollar collapses, the government will even if only for self preservation, try to keep prices in check.

Best way to solve that problem is a war! :rolleyes:

There could be a few other triggers starting in Europe. Who knows how they will deal with the impending problem. That alone will determine how the world economy fairs.

Just as the experts are divided on a "double dip" so are many corporations. We have held ground on the Dow and other indexes. (A lot better than I would have thought)
Any one major thing will send it up or down. Most are just waiting.

That is one theory.

US government goes and asks for more loans, China and other say no, US government tells Fed to print money, Fed says no, then the Executive branch takes over the Fed and prints away. Far fetched, but anything is possible.

Johnso,
Many need to beleive in the human spirit, but people also need to understand the state of the worlds overall financial health.
If you want to point fingers on spending and getting us to 14 plus trillion in debt you need to look back over the history of your life and the administration that was more than likely in office the day you were born. Everyone has played a part in getting here. It is fun to run the credit card bill up knowing that you will have moved or died by the time it comes arrives. America and many other countries need to realize that the debt needs to be paid, or allow the currency to devalue to the point that our debt is worth pennies on the dollar.

Inflation allows for the latter.
To tie that in to us, that is why I prefer a COLA bump each year versus a standard percentage. That or min % or COLA whichever is greater. If you want to go crazy, you could also write in the PWA a secondary currency.

Crazy;
I am sure that will get more press, as the press starts connecting the dots.

That's the traditional way weak governments solve problems. Invent an external threat and spool up the economy to go fight it.

In my view it certainly isn't the best way.:eek:

Hence the little rolley eyes thingie. :D

And Slow, if they go down the prescribed path we are looking at 2017 and beyond for that.