IAG:
A Wisconsin man who wrote “Kip Hawley is an Idiot” on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded the statement was not a threat.
Ryan Bird, 31, said he wrote the comment about Hawley — head of the Transportation Security Administration — as a political statement. He said he feels the TSA is imposing unreasonable rules on passengers while ignoring bigger threats.
Almost five years after the World’s single most bloody act of terrorism – when hijacked aircraft were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building – aviation was again last month at the centre of another terrorism scare.
This time, UK security services foiled an alleged plot to bomb transatlantic airliners. 9/11 changed history, prompting the invasion of Afghanistan and the continuing US ‘War on Terror’ that led to the ousting of Iraq’s Saddam Hussain.
But what has the lasting legacy of the 2001 attacks been on aviation? The industry has recovered strongly after a two-year nadir, but US airlines are still feeling the effects. And what of aviation security? Are we ever going to be able to terror-proof air travel?
Mike Boyd has more:
This, we would submit is only the tip of a very obvious and well-known corrupt iceberg. Five years after 9/11, there are more holes in aviation security than an Arkansas stop sign during hunting season.
Truth Doesn’t Really Matter, Apparently. We covered it in detail last week (go there), so there’s no point in trying to review the range of really stupid news stories we’ll see today – the ones generally with the headlines that imply, “Security Much Improved Since 9/11” or “Passengers Adjusting To New Security Measures” or a range of other examples of slapdash journalism.
As you’re regaled today by push-piece media stories, outlining the great “improvements” in aviation security, just ask yourself the following:
as does IAG along with Jeevan Vasagar.
In a directive whose logic is not always apparent, the Transportation Security Administration has spelled out what airline passengers can carry on board with them, what must be placed in checked luggage, and what can’t go on the plane at all. Knives must be checked but knitting needles and corkscrews are allowed in the cabin. Up to four ounces of eye drops can be carried aboard, with fingers crossed that multiple terrorists won’t combine their allotments to exceed the limit. Laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones and other electronic devices are permitted, so never mind any warnings you’ve heard that they could be used to trigger a bomb. The bomb ingredients themselves, notably liquid explosives, will be kept out of the cabin by a ban on liquids, gels and lotions, except for small amounts of baby formula and medications.
A view from the Overture Center.
Sort of a quintessential Madison scene: A Volve, The Orpheum, Capitol, Bus Shelter and a chain restaurant.
Meanwhile, in Tibet…..
AP:
Sheboygan is the Capital of Freshwater Surfing because the county juts out 10 kilometres into Lake Michigan, meaning winds from most directions cause water to swell and form waves. It doesn’t hurt that the Williams brothers constantly hype their Malibu of the Midwest.
“Lake Michigan is an inland ocean, it can create waves in excess of 24 feet (7.3 metres), two and a half stories, several times a year,” said Larry Williams, pointing just down the 10-kilometre stretch of coastline. “North Point is now considered the Mount Everest of freshwater surfing. We had top California surfers come in here and they were backing off on a lot of waves.
“We get more waves than anybody else (on the Great Lakes), more quality waves, bigger waves, because where we’re sitting, from North Point to North Pier, about a mile, it’s really a deep bay and the waves sweep in.”
Surfer Movie Endless Summer II visited Sheboygan some years ago.
For the 12th year, the Woodward Dream Cruise rumbles and squeals its way up Woodward Ave.
Featuring thousands of classic cars and hot rods. The Dream Cruise is a auto enthusiast dream, and a celebration of Michigan’s long and important automotive history.
More here.
You board your flight to Chicago, $600 ticket in hand, and do a quick survey of the people sitting around you. Turns out 13D paid only $300 for her flight, while 14E shelled out nearly $1,000 for his. It’s a reality of air travel that infuriates passengers, but now several new travel websites are promising to demystify the seemingly nonsensical world of airline ticket pricing.
It was exasperation with existing online travel tools that led Robert Metcalf to develop flyspy, a site currently in alpha mode using fare data from Northwest Airlines.
“I once spent six hours combing through different websites,” says Metcalf, who wanted to see how prices changed if he flew into a different airport or adjusted his travel dates and length of stay. “I ended up compiling all the data I gathered into an Excel spreadsheet, and started wondering why there wasn’t a site that provides this kind of functionality.”
Midwest Airlines in the coming months will make several significant fleet decisions that will guide the carrier through a planned network and schedule expansion. This marks a significant turnaround for the airline, which barely averted bankruptcy three years ago.
Since its 1984 launch, Midwest was always known for its product and service, which was better than many of its larger competitors. The airline won praise from business travelers for its all-first-class seating and a full meal service, even on many of the shorter flights. Following the post-9/11 crisis, however, Midwest quickly realized that its product alone would no longer bring in the revenue premium it once received.
The carrier stumbled for several years but was able to win labor concessions and relief from aircraft lessors during the summer of 2003 that kept the carrier out of bankruptcy court. That same year, after facing a barrage of competition from low-cost carriers, Midwest diverged from its original strategy by adding seats to its MD-80 fleet and targeting leisure passengers with a new “saver service.” The carrier kept its Boeing 717 fleet in the traditional all-first-class “signature service.”
Over the last five years, security measures have gradually eroded the way people feel about commercial air travel. Today’s events (“imminent” mid-air bomb plot disrupted) and the government’s reaction to them will, in my opinion, mark the tipping point for an enormous amount of business travel by commercial air.
I’m delighted that the talented and brave investigators foiled this plot, and I’m saddened that we live in a world where something like this could even happen… the fact remains, though, that a key element of our lives has been changed, perhaps forever.
