Fun with Signage: Gate Departure Board

There is no point to this post, per se. It’s just a bit of Aviation Geeky fun from Flight Wisdom HQ. The gate departure board that hangs on the wall, right after it was dusted, and our selection of alternate signage. What do you think we should acquire for it next? What destination, etc?

Delta To Try Monrovia Again

Monrovia is back in Delta’s sights, with once weekly service planned from its Atlanta hub, via Accra, Ghana. Apparently, Roberts International Airport implemented measures to ensure its compliance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. We hope this means the TSA is satisfied with the security arrangements.

Flight Wisdom Briefing 21 – Special Merger Edition

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This is a Special Briefing…We like to open up the Briefing for those to provide their opinion and to hear some new voices. Both of our guests did talk more than you hear, but were edited for time. Thanks to Dan Webb, of Boarding Area’s Things in the Sky blog. Dan is also a regular on the Airplane Geeks podcast and will be back with another piece soon. Our second guest, with a brief opinion, is Marisa Green. Remember, you too can give your two cents on the Briefing. Just contact us.

Volcano: The Sequel

The Irish Aviation Authority has announced the closure of its airspace from 7:00AM to 1:00PM Local Time tomorrow, Tuesday, May 4th, 2010. Another volcanic ash cloud is heading south from Iceland will affect Ireland and parts of Scotland. There is nothing to indicate that the eruption is ending, and ash clouds like this might be a problem for a long time to come.

Flight Wisdom Briefing 19

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The Briefing is the first to feature a guest, Benet Wilson, who covers Business Aviation for Aviation Week. We don’t usually cover Business Aviation at Flight Wisdom, as it isn’t our area of expertise, but it is Benet’s business. Benet also joined our host for the first annual Aviation Geek Gilbert and Sullivan Day back in January, which we’re hoping to repeat next year. Pinafore, anyone?

Flight Wisdom Briefing 18

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This is Briefing 18. We’re still eager to get guest editorials. Those of you interested, please contact us. A guest editorial would be a 1-3 minute opinion on a relevant topic of your choice. It can be recorded over Skype or alternate digital means. We’re sure, while you aren’t tired of the Flight Wisdom Guru, you’d welcome additional variety.

To Recline or Not Recline – Spirit Airlines and Seat Comfort

As a courtesy, we’ve often reclined our seat as little as possible unless the person in front of us reclines theirs. So, perhaps we weren’t as uncomfortable with the idea when it was revealed that Spirit Airlines was installing “pre-reclined” seats. Using the term pre-reclined to describe a seat that does not move is like calling a door you’ve removed from its hinges pre-opened.

Flight Wisdom Briefing 17

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The ash cloud getting you down? Remember, as Bob Ross said…clouds are very, very free. A special shoutout to regular listener Steven Frischling, of the Flying with Fish blog, who compared the delivery style of the Briefing with the Joy of Painting. Perhaps we should rename the Briefing to the Joy of Flying.

Is the Volcanic Disruption Over? Or is this Merely an Interlude?

The previous eruption of the Icelandic volcano which has been disrupting air travel for a week now was in December 1821 and continued until January 1823. Hopefully it will quiet down much sooner this time. The cloud seems set to disperse enough to permit aviation to resume tomorrow in Ireland, Scotland, and Northern England. A new ash cloud which is heading toward Europe may keep London’s airports closed, however. French airspace has reopened, but the reopening will be gradual and controlled. Lufthansa has already resumed some limited service and extra planes are flying to bring home stranded passengers.

EU vs the Volcano: Round Three

This is your latest Volcanic Update. The closure of most of European airspace continues. Today, out of nearly 25,000 flights, only 4,000 are expected to operate. Closures include Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, most of France, most of Germany, Hungary, Ireland, northern Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, north Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the UK.

EU vs the Volcano: Round 2

European airspace continues to be shut down as conditions in the skies continue to remain dangerous. The following areas will likely have all flights cancelled:  Ireland, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, the north of France including all Paris airports, parts of Germany including Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and the airspace…

Flight Wisdom Briefing 16

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Our parent, the Weneca Media Group, unveiled its own custom URL shortener for our blogs, n9n.us. All of our posts will now feature n9n.us URLs. We are looking for bloggers wishing to do editorials on the briefing. If you are interested, please contact us.

EU vs. the Volcano

Large portions of European airspace are closed today due to volcano ash due to the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Many airports in Europe have been closed till tomorrow, and thus there is much chaos as stranded passengers struggle to find their way home.

If you are flying to/from/within Europe today, please check with your carrier.

More on this later.

The Cookie is Gone But the Cookies Live On

Republic Airways Holdings, owners of Frontier and Midwest Airlines, has advised that the two carriers will merge, operating as Frontier Airlines. It means that the distinctive animal mascot tails of Frontier will remain. For those of you afraid about the loss of the signature cookies, Midwest’s signature fresh-baked cookies will be rolled out to Frontier soon. Repubican CEO Bryan Bedford promised that Frontier would add a plane with Wisconsin’s state animal, the badger, but this will take time as “it’s hard to find a cute badger.”