Author: ssegraves

Can CNN Get Anything Straight?

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CNN Headline News is a good source for up to the minute news but CNN the network is an awful web reporting group.

Yesterday an article was posted on CNN Money titled, Why gas in the U.S. is so cheap, that outlines why gas prices here in the states are cheap and how people overseas are paying so much more. Next to the article is a chart showing countries and each country’s respective price per a gallon of gasoline:

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Notice the price of a gallon of gasoline in Aruba, $12.03, this number is not even close to the current price being paid there. $4.92. Yep, CNN was a whole $7.11 off.

How hard is it to do a little research. In fifteen minutes I found numerous places that post up-to-date prices. The most obvious of which was ArubaLife. The site goes into detail about how prices in Aruba are set and the fact that there is a Valero refinery on the island. They also have a notice at the top letting people know that the CNN article is false.

Come on CNN, just a little reporter research would be nice.

When Spending Should Get You Fired

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If you are a company that uses third party software for functionality, please, do not ever hire an outside “training” firm to come in and teach people who have no obvious use for the third party tool, especially if the price tag is $2,000 per person. This is even more true if you are a software company that employs people who know the third party tool and are willing to teach it to the other employees.

When the time comes for the training to take place, do not schedule meetings that will interrupt the training and to do one better than that, do not hold the training in the same building as the regular office. All that happens with these two things above are people get distracted and the trainer gets frustrated. It causes a waste of time and money.

Running a successful firm requires that management understand managing, not just moving lips and expecting things to happen.

More Airline Industry Consolidation News

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In a twist of events, Continental Airlines has chosen not to merge. According to their press release they feel that they are better off as their own entity, though they want to forge ahead with making partners.

This is a blow to the head of United Airlines, which is struggling to drag itself out of the muck that is the current airline industry bankruptcy festival. Without Continental Airlines around to help United in its struggle, United faces a possible merger with US Airways or declaring bankruptcy. My guess would be that they will do whatever possible not to file for Chapter 11 even though a merger with US Airways would mean even worse service than they already provide.

Is the loss of a merger for Continental passengers a bad thing? No, for a few reasons, the biggest of which is that Continental can create stronger ties to different airlines to help offset some of the costs of fuel rather than merging and trying to get the different airline fleets to be consistent.

For passengers it means that there will still be a competitor out there helping to reduce costs and that competitor will be working to further reduce travel costs by partnering with different airlines around the globe.

Great move Continental!

A Honolulu Story

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The life of a Mileage Runner is tough, a weekend in Hawaii here, a few days in the Northeast there, after a while it takes its toll. Just kidding.

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My trip to Hawaii was an interesting one. I arrived at IAH about an hour before the flight and made my way to the President’s Club to meet up with a friend from New York. We ate a quick breakfast and walked to our gate (E4). I was in seat 10L for this leg and he was in 12B. The legroom for this seat is fantastic, there is nothing in front of you except the bulkhead and there is a small cutout where you can place a carry-on. The only downside is the fact that the armrests do not go up due to the tray being stored in them.

Our routing took us over El Paso, Las Vegas, then north over Oakland and San Francisco before making a southward turn towards Honolulu. We arrived nine hours and forty-five minutes later, definitely later than we had planned.

We grabbed a rental car and made a B-line for the hotel where we dropped our bags and decided to drive around the island. Dinner was consumed and we were beat, our internal clocks needed a night’s sleep to reset.

Both of us woke up early and drove to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Just a note here, if you are planning on going to the memorial, make sure you arrive early, it fills up quickly and the wait becomes very long. It was an interesting experience and standing over the U.S.S. Arizona was surreal, knowing that the tomb for so many men was below my feet .

We decided that the rest of the day called for some time on the beach and that’s just what we did. I was able to get a nice tan and even a little bit of a burn. Rounding off the day was dinner at a brewpub on the far end of the island.

On Sunday morning we contemplated catching a flight to Maui, but decided against it due to time constraints. Instead, we went to an open air market that is held at Aloha Stadium. It was a rainy day but we were able to do some shopping, I even found a good price on Kona coffee and grabbed a few bags.

We proceeded to the airport for some planespotting, which was fine until the Honolulu Sheriffs Department informed us that taking pictures on public property is illegal. After that run in, we grabbed our bags and went to the terminal for our flights, hanging out in the Crown Room Club, the WorldClub, and eventually the President’s Club.

My flight back was great, I ate my dinner quickly, swallowed a couple of Melatonin and was out for most of the flight. I woke up over Austin and looked out the window till we landed. Overall it was a great trip and I enjoyed Hawaii. Honolulu is more urban and has a good amount of traffic but I’m sure the other islands are fantastic.

You can see more pictures here.

Juno

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Friday night was ‘movie night’ and Jessica and I knew exactly what we wanted to watch. Juno. We had heard a lot of good things about the movie and I had read about the film’s writer, Diablo Cody. We were not disappointed in the movie at all.

Juno, the star of the film, reminded me of a friend who has the same outlook on life and quirky, nonchalant side. The dialogue between Juno and the rest of characters in the movie is believable and witty. Those two key things were the defining points, allowing the story to come out and the movie watchers to connect with the characters.

I never felt a slow point in the entire film and I laughed at numerous points. If you have not seen Juno, you need to rent it. Tonight.

Frontier Airlines files Chapter 11, will continue flying

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As reported by the Associated Press, Frontier Airlines filed for Chapter 11 but will continue to fly while it reorganizes.

Even though they will continue to operate, there is still speculation that F9 will not be able to hold-on without significant changes. Selling of deep-discount tickets to Denver in off-peak months just does not generate the revenue an airline needs to stay profitable and in business.

What I found interesting in the USA Today article was the mention of Frontier’s credit card processor starting to withhold “significant” funds from ticket sales on April 11. I hope that more information comes out regarding this as it may show the lack of internal management on Frontier’s part.

For those who are Frontier frequent fliers, I would be cautious when buying Frontier tickets for dates too far in the future.

Using the term ‘Neocon’ does not make you sound smart

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Listening to chatter around the office and hearing “Neocon” repeated more than 20 times in a five minute span does more than annoy me, it proves to me that people take what they hear on the news and repeat it like parrots.

Me, being a straight shooting moderate conservative (who doesn’t necessarily share the same views of the entire party), has a responsibility to point a few things out.

  1. Neoconservatism has nothing to do with military aggression – This misconception leads people to believe that the first Bush’s pulling out of Iraq during the Gulf War was a bad idea. That is completely false. Bush’s policy of not pursuing the war and driving into Baghdad had more to do with trying to keep the stable nature in a trying climate. There was, in my mind, a moral obligation to stay as we had promised the Kurds protection and in the end they were rounded up and killed because of our reneging.
  2. Being conservative does not equate to neoconservatism – People can be conservative without being neoconservative, they are not the same. Please stop grouping them together.

Sorry for the rant, I just hear these things at work and my eyes roll back in my head because my brain cannot take it.

Yes, the rumors are true

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For those who we have yet to tell, Jess and I are engaged to be married!

So, I’m sure everyone wants the scoop, how it happened, when we’re getting married, and how little sleep I’ve achieved. To start, I’ll explain how the engagement went.

Jess and I have always enjoyed heading to Coupland Dancehall to dance and enjoy good music. I contacted Kyle Park, an old friend of Jess’s who happens to be a country musician, asking when he would be at Coupland and whether or not he would be willing to play his ‘Yours and Mine’ song. Of course, Kyle, being the nice guy that he is, happily agreed. Having a date that Kyle was going to play, I was able to organize Jess’s and my parents to surprise her at the dancehall.

Of course, loving to dance, Jess agreed to go to Coupland and we headed to Austin on Friday, February 22nd. The ring was hidden away in the depths of my suitcase the whole time, my biggest worry was dropping the ring or flat out losing it. The evening of the dance rolled around and Jess and I made the thirty minute drive. To our surprise, the dancehall was packed (Kyle is getting popular!) and walking in we realized there were very few spots to sit.

We danced a few times during Kyle’s first set and were having a great evening. Kyle came back out for his second set and I became anxious, knowing that the song would be played in the next few minutes. Kyle had informed me before the show that he would play a George Strait composition before he played our song and when it came on I text messaged my mother and told her to get everyone ready.

Jess and I started dancing to ‘Yours and Mine’ and I eventually leaned in and asked her to marry me. She stepped back, looked at me confusedly, and then I showed her the ring, she just about lost it. At first I’m not sure she thought the whole thing was real and for both of us the next few minutes were a blur. I pointed out our families standing to the side and they gave us all hugs.

YES!

As far as when we are getting married, we do not know the exact date just yet but have been exploring options in late July and mid to early August. Neither of us have really slept thanks to excitement and adrenaline.

Thank you all for the congratulations and well wishing! We’ll be sure and let everyone know the plans and dates as we get them. You can keep up with photos by visiting this link: http://www.flickr.com/gp/23982214@N00/szzn27

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United on the verge of a merger with Continental

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United Airlines is poised to merge with Continental should the merger between Delta and Northwest go through. The Chicago Tribune article states that Continental’s CEO, Larry Kellner, would be the head of the newly formed airline, with Glenn Tilton, United’s CEO, taking a spot as chairman of the board. Discussions are starting to sound serious, even though a location for the merged airline has not been decided. There are a few elements of a merger with United that I find very appealing, inclusion in the Star Alliance, more widebody aircraft, service to Australia and New Zealand, and possible introduction of Economy Plus seating in a portion of the fleet. There are also a few unmentioned hurdles to jump over, including hubs, service, and airport lounges.

The Good

The possibility of Continental, or whatever the merged airline is called, being included in the Star Alliance will be a huge boost to the destinations available and the reward travel options. Star Alliance partners include Lufthansa, ANA, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, bmi, Austrian Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines and South African Airways (see, the options are plentiful). Why is this a good thing? Well, for one, instead of connecting multiple places to go to say, South Africa, you would be able to do an overnight flight to South America and then a direct flight to Johannesburg. It also offers protection for travelers who encounter bad weather or delays during their trip. Headed to New Zealand from Phoenix? Let’s say your flight is delayed and you miss your Air New Zealand connection, no problem, you will be automatically rebooked on a United flight as long as there is room.

United’s large widebody fleet will help keep the route network strong and allow more capacity from different cities to new markets. The difference in fleets would lead to some interesting consolidation, including getting rid of United’s and Continental’s 737-500s in favor of keeping the Airbus 319s and 320s. With the mix of fleets there would also be the ability to do away with some of the less desirable regional jets (CRJ200). Having more widebody aircraft would also open up the possibility for more transcontinental flights being flown using larger planes, allowing more comfort and first/business class seating. Along with the widebody fleet comes service to Australia and New Zealand, something that Continental has only offered through island-hopper service to Cairns. Both of these points are huge for Continental flyers, who are used to single-aisle aircraft across the country, and little to no routes to Australia.

The last big perk of a merger is the potential for an economy plus section of seating on international and transcontinental flights. I’ve been a huge proponent of E+ (economy plus) since United and other carriers introduced it. The increase in legroom for a slightly higher price is more than worth it on long flights. Continental’s reluctance to make changes to their aircraft due to the introduction of a “sub-fleet” has been discouraging, but with a merger, this may become a reality, making a ton of business travelers happy, especially those on economy class budgets.

The Bad

Of course, with all of the good news, comes a little bad news. First is United’s service, or lack thereof. As an airline, they are known for poor customer service, to the point that frequent flyers are somewhat used to it. Continental is the antithesis of bad service compared to United and my fear is, United may rub off on the Continental staff a little too much. If you have ever flown through Newark you know that the different Continental staff can be surly at times, so I wonder what will happen if United’s staff start mingling with these folks. However, if Larry Kellner has his way and the Continental method of training is carried throughout the company then it could be great news.

Airport lounges are another place that United falls short. I have only been in a RCC once, but that experience was enough. If Continental can spread the image and services of the President’s Club, the better this merger will be. Free Wi-Fi for members, good food options, and free drinks all would be welcome additions to the Red Carpet Club. While the additional locations available by including the Red Carpet Clubs would be very gladly welcomed by Continental flyers.

Lastly comes the topic of hubs. If Continental and United were to merge tomorrow, the list of hubs would be as follows:

  • ORD
  • SFO
  • LAX
  • DEN
  • IAD
  • EWR
  • CLE
  • IAH

That is a huge list and the first to go would more than likely be LAX, with CLE and DEN seeing a drastic reduction in traffic. I can see Cleveland being used more and more later on for transatlantic flights but the need for DEN would fade. Los Angeles just wouldn’t be necessary anymore and United has been dwindling traffic there over the past few years.

On paper a merger of Continental and United looks great but there are caveats of such a move and I’m sure as more details are released there will be some skepticism and apprehension.