A new startup company, JetSmarter, hopes to bring a disruptive process to the method of organizing a corporate aircraft charter that has traditionally used paper booking, middlemen and agents. Sergey Petrossov, JetSmarter’s 26-year-old founder and CEO, has created a mobile app that provides the availability and details of more than 3,000 corporate aircraft, tied to a client’s specific needs through the company’s unique software.
Although many airline passengers enjoy the experience of flying, there are those who simply don’t. For those passengers, even the thought of having to get on a plane can induce anxiety, stress and even crippling fear. There are seminars and personalized programs for anxious passengers, and just last week, All Nippon Airways (ANA) introduced a smartphone app that might just help.
You just never know how it’s going to turn out when you open yourself up to the universe. Especially if the center of your universe happens to be Portland. The one in Oregon, on the U.S. West Coast, famous for food trucks, hipsters, roses, museums, rampant creativity, and its “Keep Portland Weird” sign. A city that’s lovingly satirized by the absurdly witty TV show Portlandia. A very different place. Right, the universe. Well, just like those of us who have lived in our homes for more than 20 years, the good folks at Portland International Airport (PDX) and the Port of Portland decided it was time to replace the carpet in their terminals.
Gogo 2Ku Antenna. Photo: Gogo
Written for the Airline Passenger Experience Association
APEX Experience Magazine – December 2014/January 2015
The concept for our world-wide geostationary satellite system was first popularized by the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 1945. Clarke, the legendary […]
We’re at Minden-Tahoe Airport in Soaring NV’s LS4 glider, hooked up to the Piper Pawnee towplane, and just starting our takeoff roll. Spencer, our ground crew, runs alongside the glider for a few feet while holding the wingtip. The ailerons are alive in a couple of seconds, and I hold the wings level with the stick, while steering along the runway centerline with the rudder pedals.
I’m glad that you decided to come along with me for a flight in Soaring NV’s LS4 glider. I promised you a ride in Gone Gliding, Part One, didn’t I? Yes, the LS4 is just a single-seater, so we’ll use a “mind-meld” for you to enjoy the flight. Let’s hop into a golf cart with Spencer, who’ll be our ground crew, and head over to the glider staging area near the threshold of Runway 30, here at Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV).
If you’ve ever flown into Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) when the winds are howling out of the west, you know that the approach and landing can be…sporty. In fact, it sometimes gets so turbulent that the mainline jets head for Sacramento International Airport (SMF), leaving RNO to Alaska Airlines’ Bombardier Q400 turboprops, which can use RNO’s short crosswind runway. I'll happily fly into RNO from SEA on the AS Q400s on those bouncy days. The bumps can mean that conditions are great for soaring. Yes - I’m a glider pilot, and the region around Reno is world-famous for those who love to fly without an engine.
It is difficult to tell the difference between Bombardier’s CRJ-200 regional jet and the Challenger 850 corporate aircraft. It is equally difficult to tell the difference between Sean and Eric Gillespie, Vice Presidents of Flying Colours. Along with their father, John, the twin brothers are guiding the corporate jet completion company through an ambitious growth plan - and the Gillespies and the jets are tightly linked.
Our friend in Vancouver, Chris, is usually running around YVR airport's terminals, ramp, and grounds. With his smartphone in hand, he tweets, blogs, posts, and helps to keep YVR's social media presence timely and responsive. A couple of weeks ago, Chris did stay still for a while, long enough to put together a nifty video announcing the arrival of YVR's 3,000 new baggage carts.
The iconic de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter enjoyed an initial 20-year production run before the final plane rolled off the Downsview, Ontario assembly line in 1988. It took almost another 20 years until Viking Air launched the upgraded Series 400 Twin Otter, responding to a market that couldn’t find a replacement for the legacy STOL utility plane. But Viking believes the new version has found its place.
