From the DNU:

Heat alters operations, especially at high altitude
While hot weather can affect our operations anywhere, it can be much more disruptive at high-altitude stations including DEN (5,141 feet) and others ranging from BOG (Bogota, Colombia, 8,361 feet) to MEX (Mexico City, 7,316 feet).
High, hot air is thin air that reduces lift. To compensate, we often reduce takeoff weight, add fuel stops or increase takeoff roll distance. In extreme cases, we may have to cancel flights. At DEN on Monday, a high of 100 degrees and an altimeter setting of 29.40 forced us to cancel a dozen ExpressJet flights affecting about 400 customers. Those 50-seaters face restrictions when the mercury rises to 95 or higher.
Our United Express operations group worked with their respective performance vendors and Embraer, the aircraft manufacturer, to ensure operations up to 102 degrees during certain pressure settings. The high Tuesday at DEN was 96 and we had no temperature- or pressure-related cancellations. United Express Senior Manager Larry Snyder said we have plans in place to minimize disruptions during the next DEN heat wave.

 

In all fairness , I was deadheading last week and a Global Service ****** had his shoes and socks off and his feet were up on the carpeted bulkhead in first class. I guess he didn't get the memo that we run a classy joint here at UniCal

 

Welcome to the "new" United. Things have changed since we have inherited the CAL customer base. Most of our business people are running towards Delta.

J

 

Well at least we "had" a customer base. My watch is still bigger than yours.

 

On the radio show "Fresh Air" today. Interview with former Pan Am dispatcher William McGee author of "Attention All Passengers."

Mostly about outsourced maintenance, but has some remarks about CAL flying are late in the interview.

Why Flying Is No Fun (And May Be More Dangerous) : NPR

June 27, 2012
After the airline industry was deregulated in 1978, flying changed considerably.

Some of those changes have improved commercial flying, but others have made the skies much less friendly, says journalist and airline veteran William J. McGee.

McGee's new book, Attention All Passengers, details how airlines are cutting costs through regional carriers, outsourcing airline maintenance, mishandling baggage and overbooking airplanes.

"It's not your imagination that there are more people flying on each flight," he tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. "The average percentage of occupied seats on a plane these days is over 80 percent. That means a great number of flights are at 100 percent. [That has] led to all of the other problems related to service: delays, canceled flights, lost baggage, consumer complaints and passengers being involuntarily bumped off flights. ... Flying is just not a pleasant experience."

Among those functions that have been outsourced: everything from maintenance to customer service to baggage handling, says McGee.

"I don't think many passengers realize that when they're in an airport and there's some sort of a problem, and they walk up to a ticket counter and they're talking to someone who's wearing the uniform of an airline employee, that in many cases they're not [talking to] an airline employee," he says.

Aircraft maintenance and repairs are also frequently outsourced — in some cases to unlicensed mechanics in China, Singapore, Mexico and El Salvador.

"In my view, it's a critical safety issue — the FAA's lack of oversight of maintenance [in these countries]," he says. "It used to be, if an airline had a major maintenance facility, the FAA had an office, and an inspector could pop by anytime. Now, with work being done [overseas], I've had dozens of inspectors express their frustration that they can't do their jobs. They're monitoring this work on an honor system."

Mechanics have told McGee that planes come back from their maintenance trips and are not ready to fly.

"Among the problems they've talked about are doors that were not sealed properly. ... There are problems with engines that have had to be shut down, and there are serious problems that have led to smoke in the cabin," he says. "And any time you have smoke in the cabin, that could lead to catastrophe. These airplanes are coming back in conditions where additional work needs to be done to get them back online, in many cases."

The Federal Aviation Administration does not require airlines to list the subcontractors they work with. And finding out that information can be quite difficult, says McGee.

"Independent government organizations, including the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office, have gone to the airlines and said, 'Where is the work being done and who's doing it?' " says McGee.

"And the airlines, amazingly, have responded that they're not clear, in some cases. To me, this is just mind-boggling. ... Congressional testimony has shown that the FAA does not even have a full sense of where the work is being done."

 

The guy must have been on my flight to IAH...the flight attendants were not treated very well by passengers in and out of there.

 

My friend...leper colony??? Try Dubai to Dhaka or ****tigong. At least the people of Southwest know the purpose of a toilet.

Grizz...second furlough

 

Enjoy stagnation? There ain't gonna be any movement there for awhile. Hey but what do I know? We just agreed to take all their 717s (88 of 'em) and they have delayed deliveries of 737s for awhile. But I could be wrong I guess.