« May 2010 | Main | July 2010 »
Go visit the site and read on. Power to the people baby!
Planning a cross-country vacation? With today's soaring airfares and sneaky baggage fees, you may be wondering whether it's still possible to get a good, drama-free deal. To help you get the best bang for your travel buck, we did some detective work and found four inside tips to keep in mind before you pack your bags.
In an earlier post, I mentioned the impact that Bruce Alexander is having posting youtube videos of daily beach conditions down in south Alabama at Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan. He is providing a service, but if you watch whats happening, a community is being built. People now rely on Bruce for honest news.
Now heres whats interesting.
He also now has people wanting to meet him when they visit Gulf Shores. That has significant impact in terms of his ability to build his real estate business. It also has significant impact relative to his political significance as an alternative source of news on this issue. Bruce will sooner or later be considered a defacto authority on whats going on in his community.
I'm fascinated to watch the internet benefit people. Check out the value of what Bruce brings to the web daily.
There is no doubt that the BP oil spill is going to damage the communities of the southern United States (and later, other countries I'm sure.) However, I suspect Bruce is doing some very smart things to not only help his community, but also his business. I don't think that was Bruce's first thought, but its a great benefit.
This is why the internet and blogging just fascinates me.
Eric
Following on yesterdays article on the oil spill mess in the Gulf of Mexico, I got a very good comment from a reader who pointed me to a site called Deep Sea News that breaks down the Jones Act issue and its impact on the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill clean up.
The Jones Act does prevent use of foreign vessels in US domestic commerce, but apparently is not directly preventing clean up activities in the Gulf by foreign owned skimmers etc. The Jones Act involves those domestic waters out to 3 miles from the shore. Activities conducted beyond the 3 mile limit, in international waters, are still open to use by any ship of any flag. In fact the Deep Water Horizon well itself is beyond 3 miles from the coast of Louisiana.
I will stand corrected (and updated) in my comments on the concerns on the Jones Act, though I still think the President should set it aside for this particular catastrophe. Thanks TG for your excellent post in response. I'll admit I got suckered by Fox News on this one.
Eric
Last week we took the kids to the beach down in Gulf Shores, Alabama. My bride's sister and brother in law own a condo that we get a chance to use periodically. We had a BLAST.
The water was beautiful, the sand was sugar and the weather was great. Just the kind of break we needed after a long winter and busy spring. We were fortunate because we don't pay anything to use this family owned condo overlooking the beach. Gulf Shores was also fortunate, because if we had been paying a typical rental of as much as $1500.00 a week, there is a very high likelihood that we wouldn't have made the trip. Too much money for the risk of an oily mess on the beaches. Lucky for us, it was free and the beach was great. So we went and spent our money in restaurants, shops, movies and the outlet mall.
Interestingly, if you listen to the locals, its not the oil that's killing the Gulf tourism business. it's the national news. We heard multiple stories of news folks getting out of their satellite equipped vans in their pressed suits and making a news video with the ocean in the background. The only thing is, they didn't get within 100 yards of the actual water. They had no clue as to the actual water conditions that day. This goes out over national airwaves (and probably gets picked up internationally too.) and everybody thinks the Exxon Valdez ran up on the beach. The truth is, there is more oil afloat in the Gulf of Mexico than the Exxon Valdez ever held. But its not ashore everywhere. Beaches are dynamic ecosystems. Its different every day. One day may be great, and 4 days later, there may be tar balls.
There is a guy doing one HELL of a job in keeping would be vacation travelers honestly informed. Bruce Alexander is a local Realtor in Gulf Shores, who runs a web site called Bruceatthebeach.net. Bruce goes down to the ocean daily and makes a youtube.com video reporting daily on water conditions, oil clean up etc. For folks like our family, considering and anguishing over whether to go to the beach, this guy is doing yeoman's work. I will say this, not only is he helping his community and would be tourists, I'd buy a property from him. Anybody who cares this much, must be a good guy to trade with.
This isn't a post about Bruce or the beach really. This mess is going to take my 2 year old grandsons life time to clean up. And with millions of gallons of oil now in the global ocean currents, its a global problem. Two years from now, I will not be surprised for some of this oil to be found fouling landmasses in Ireland. The clean up effort is an environmental and economic nightmare writ large. Who knows how many whales and other lifeforms have died and nobody knows?
The video below shows what this oil really looks like at sea. Its a mess, and its everywhere. From thousands of feet below the surface of the sea to tar balls on the beach. In thicknesses ranging from heavy brown tar to a viscous shine, this junk permeates the ocean at all levels. A hurricane would just stir it up like salad dressing in a shaken bottle.
| Deepwater Horizon oil spill flyover |
| |
There is a large flotilla of ships and activity throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico right now. It's costing the American people billions of dollars. (Like we need that with the War in the Middle East, the recession and Obama trying to nationalize healthcare) People are losing their livelihoods, but at the same time, somebody is making money. I'd like to own a company that made oil booms or did heavy marine engineering. Own a septic tank pumping business with pump tanker trucks? Send em to the Gulf. The government is paying $50.00 an hour 24 hours a day to move oil from recovery ships to holding tanks and tankers. Now there is a Logistics Business.
I believe we borrow the environment from our children. My children and grandchildren will be paying for this one for their generations lifetime. That is the real tragedy. Hopefully, the oil companies, the governments and the people will be able to clean this mess up. To the extent the logistics business plays a role, I hope as an industry we step up and play our part. God knows, if any shipping company has assets useful in the clean up of oil, they are needed.
To this end an open appeal to Mr. Obama: Please issue an executive order temporarily suspending the Jones Act restricting foreign vessels in US trade. There are Dutch and Scandinavian ships specifically designed to collect oil etc. These ships are needed in US waters doing what they are designed for. If you are leading on this issue, lets suspend the bullshit and get with the program for the good of our people and the environment.
Eric
Spirit Airlines pilots struck today causing multiple flight cancellations and stranding of mostly holiday passengers in South Florida. There is a very interesting discussion of this over at Airliners.net.
I'll be watching this one since Spirits marketing strategies of late have been questionable in my mind, particularly charging customers for carry on bags. Anybody who reads this site knows my opinions on air carrier baggage strategies. Now the airline has a pilot strike on its hands. Not good when its peak Florida travel season and there is already a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico panicking Florida travelers. Spirit published this advisement on their site today cancelling this weekends flighs.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - June 12, 2010 -- A strike by Spirit Airlines pilots has shut down the discount carrier, stranding thousands of travelers.
The walkout, which began Saturday, forced the airline to cancel its Saturday and Sunday flights. Its CEO said no talks were scheduled with picketing pilots.
Spirit carries 16,680 passengers per day - about 1 percent of the U.S. total - mostly between the eastern U.S. and the Caribbean and Latin America. But its shutdown is causing major problems for its flyers.
Spirit tickets are only good on a handful of other carriers, and only if there's space on the flight. The airline said it was refunding fares for Saturday flights plus a $100 credit toward future flights. It was trying to get its passengers booked onto other airlines.
People who needed to replace their Spirit tickets found the cost of same-day fares on other airlines was two- to three times more than their tickets.
That was out of the question for Junior Elliott, a 67-year-old mason from St. Ann's parish in Jamaica, who was stranded in Fort Lauderdale while traveling to New York for a cousin's funeral.
Elliott was unable to buy new tickets until his fare was refunded to his debit card. He had no cell phone, no U.S. currency, and nowhere to sleep but the terminal's seats.
"It's bad now, man," Elliott said. "I can't even buy a cup of coffee."
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is Spirit's main hub, where it is the only airline to 14 international cities and five U.S. destinations, said airport spokesman Greg Meyer. Around the country Spirit runs roughly 150 flights per day.
The Spirit terminal, usually the busiest in Fort Lauderdale, was full of angry travelers desperate to return home or start trips on Saturday. Extra Spirit staff and local police officers were posted in the ticketing area.
Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza said in an interview that he hoped to get some of Spirit's 31 aircraft flying soon with management pilots or others who cross the picket line, but that no such flights took place on Saturday.
He said Spirit has lined up one airplane from another air carrier - he declined to say which one - to complete a few flights. He was hoping to add other carriers in the days ahead.
Spirit pilots have said their pay lags competitors such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue. The airline and its pilots had been negotiating for more than three years.
Pilots "will not return to the cockpit until a fair and equitable contract is negotiated," Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and head of its Air Line Pilots Association unit, said in a statement on the union's website.
The privately held airline based in Miramar, Fla. has about 440 active pilots.
Airline analyst Vaughn Cordle said Spirit pilots made more per hour of flying in 2009 in wages and benefits than AirTran pilots, but less than JetBlue.
via abclocal.go.com
I'm a few days late in posting this, but this is a significant event for DHL and the folks in Clinton County, Ohio. DHL donated the former Airborne hub at Wilmington, Ohio to the Clinton County Port Authority.
What DHL gave the CCPA is a big, big deal. This is the largest privately held airport in the United States. Its a former SAC base with twin 10,000 ft runways and a complete logistics infrastructure to support it. A major airport capable of landing 747's in the middle of the United States, plus 1500 acres of logistics park, including warehouses, etc. Is a great asset to help central Ohio recover from the jobs loss created by the DHL hub move to CVG and its departure from the US domestic parcel business.
_____________________________________________
CCPA, DHL FINALIZE AIR PARK TRANSACTIONWilmington, Ohio and Plantation, Fla. -- June 3, 2010
"We are pleased to accept this donation today," said John Limbert, Chairman of the CCPA. "However we understand it is just the beginning of the process of reactivating the Air Park. There is still a lot of work ahead of us."
Many dignitaries were in attendance to mark the occasion. Representatives from the Ohio Department of Development and the Economic Task Force, as well as local and regional elected and business officials shared their comments with the group assembled at the Air Park.
"I commend John Limbert of the CCPA who, along with State and Local Officials, worked diligently alongside our DHL team to conclude the donation agreement in the best interests of the local community," said Ian Clough, CEO of DHL Express USA. "With today's official donation of the Wilmington Air Park, we are confident that the community here and throughout southwest Ohio will be poised to prosper and attract new and exciting development to the Air Park property in the future."
The CCPA, working with the State of Ohio, the County Commissioners, the Mayor's office and other Economic Development leaders, have been bringing visitors to the Air Park, sharing information on building specifications and discussing possible business opportunities. Now that it can enter into agreements with these groups, the CCPA will be able to negotiate in more detail with these potential tenants what it would take to make things move forward.
"A lot of people put a lot of hours into this donation agreement," noted Limbert. "We want to thank DHL for this opportunity for our community and for their commitment throughout the process."
At different points in the process over the last year - negotiations first began in early June of 2009 - DHL and the CCPA had the assistance of representatives from the State of Ohio, from national legislators, the community and its leaders and professional consultants, all with the intent of making sure the Air Park would be functional and viable as the CCPA accepted ownership and began to market it in earnest.
Included in the property transfer are approximately 1,500 acres of land and several buildings located, for the most part, "inside the fence" of the airport. ATSG, ABX Air and AMES all will continue their leases of buildings at the airport.
via www.dhl-usa.com
Recent Comments