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Yes, I commute LAS to JFK and prior to JFK it was to BOS. I live in Vegas because my wife is still in the Air Force and she's stationed at Nellis and I am from the Reno area and like Nevada. I hoped to get hired by Southwest because of their Vegas base but when I applied it was hard to get hired with Southwest. Other carriers have Vegas bases but I am not sure how they will survive in the future. There are 4 airlines that have direct JFK flights and 3 that went to Boston. Usually I am able to get on a FedEx flight to Indianapolis or a UPS flight through Louisville then on to JFK. It is hard and not ideal, but luckily I have a lot of options to get to JFK. It is actually easier now than when I was with my previous airline and commuted to SFO and LAX out of Vegas which is not what I was expecting. I've only had to purchase a ticket once and that was because I had to be home and couldn't risk it. Things might change in the next year when my wife is up for orders or if I get the job I interview for soon. Were you living in Houston and based out of Minneapolis?
Yes for about 3 years just before I retired.
 
The black looks amazing, but, yes, it does scratch (what shows is the steel beneath); I tell myself that it is the sign of a used case, a case that has had - or is having- an adventurous life.
I agree! I currently have a TravelPro and it has held up but it looks like it's been drug down the runway a few times. It was the cheapest piece of luggage I could find when I was in college and I got my moneys worth out of it.
My Hartmann is a large Hartmann 7R spinner; although bought in 2016,and not used until last year, it now has a dent or two - I have done a lot of (work related) travelling in the past year.
That's a nice looking piece. I am leaning towards the Rimowa Classic Cabin 35L but I am waiting until my sister gets here over the weekend so I can see how her's has held up.
Yes for about 3 years just before I retired.
I miss Texas!
 
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I agree! I currently have a TravelPro and it has held up but it looks like it's been drug down the runway a few times. It was the cheapest piece of luggage I could find when I was in college and I got my moneys worth out of it.

That's a nice looking piece. I am leaning towards the Rimowa Classic Cabin 35L but I am waiting until my sister gets here over the weekend so I can see how her's has held up.

I miss Texas!
It’s hot and red and soon projected to turn purple. No response required or requested. :)
 
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I loved Texas when I first came here in the late 1970s. It’s changed somewhat since then.
If my wife gets her way and doesn't go to Alabama for PME San Antonio is a possibility in a year. It isn't where I want to go but part of our agreement when I got out was that she determines where we go until she retires. The bad thing about having a wife who is an intel and cyber officer is that she can end up anywhere. How has Texas changed since the 1970s?
 
If my wife gets her way and doesn't go to Alabama for PME San Antonio is a possibility in a year. It isn't where I want to go but part of our agreement when I got out was that she determines where we go until she retires. The bad thing about having a wife who is an intel and cyber officer is that she can end up anywhere. How has Texas changed since the 1970s?
The roads are not as nice, the women are not as shapely, and politics have changed drastically. :)
 
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Qantas passed on the A350-900ULR and is now interested in the A350-1000ULR for SYD-LON, SYD-NYC, etc.

In the near term, it seems the choice is between CSeries and E2.

Air NZ ordered 7 more A321neo.
 
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I agree! I currently have a TravelPro and it has held up but it looks like it's been drug down the runway a few times. It was the cheapest piece of luggage I could find when I was in college and I got my moneys worth out of it.

That's a nice looking piece. I am leaning towards the Rimowa Classic Cabin 35L but I am waiting until my sister gets here over the weekend so I can see how her's has held up.

I miss Texas!

It is a handsome - and very obedient - and beautifully balanced suitcase.

Around twenty years ago, my mother advised me to buy the best luggage I could afford; she said that as 1) I travel a lot, 2) it would pay for itself, and be well made, plus, 3) really well balanced.

I'm short, middle aged and female, and I want luggage that behaves itself, balanced nicely, and is easily led - rather than having to be hauled around the place. Preferably decent looking luggage, too.

Around the millennium, I bought a top of the range Samsonite suitcase - I got it in post summer sales, a lovely, wonderful bashed and beautiful case, and it lasted me until last year, travelling to some of the most challenging spots in the world.

The Hartmann was bought to replace it, and I hope it lasts as long as well.

For now, I would also contemplate purchasing another Rimowa.
 
It is a handsome - and very obedient - and beautifully balanced suitcase.

Around twenty years ago, my mother advised me to buy the best luggage I could afford; she said that as 1) I travel a lot, 2) it would pay for itself, and be well made, plus, 3) really well balanced.

I'm short, middle aged and female, and I want luggage that behaves itself, balanced nicely, and is easily led - rather than having to be hauled around the place. Preferably decent looking luggage, too.

Around the millennium, I bought a top of the range Samsonite suitcase - I got it in post summer sales, a lovely, wonderful bashed and beautiful case, and it lasted me until last year, travelling to some of the most challenging spots in the world.

The Hartmann was bought to replace it, and I hope it lasts as long as well.

For now, I would also contemplate purchasing another Rimowa.
That's great advice from your mother to buy the best luggage you could afford. If you travel frequently or work for the airlines it will be used. At my last airline I had a Samsonite spinner that was essentially a briefcase on wheels which I used as a flight bag but I have since replaced it with a RUSH Delivery Mike which has Velcro so I can decorate it with patches plus it's smaller so it works better as a flight bag. I think I am going to go with Rimowa once I see the one my sister has used for the last few years this weekend. For some reason I want to say both of my parents use Rimowa. Thanks for the luggage advise!
 
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The HiFly A380 finished working for Norwegian on Thursday and is now on its first CDG-RUN flight for Air Austral.
 
In an attempt to stop derailing the Vacation Location thread, I have moved these replies Over to this thread. :)

That's what I figured. I've flown into places in the C-40 that had mountains but nothing that looked as challenging as that. I still think one of the hardest approaches is the "River Visual" approach at DCA's runway 19.
DCA_River_Visual.png


I agree luckily she wants to go to Alabama for PME or San Antonio next. If I ever got hired by FedEx they have an HKG domicile which wouldn't be terrible except for it's hard to get hired at FedEx. UPS doesn't have any domiciles out of the US like FedEx but I have an interview with them next week.

The River visual is a lot of fun after you get over your tepredation. :D

It is fun in the perverse sense of the word especially if you're PM but if you're PF not as much. I've had the C-40 which is a 737-700 business jet, in and out of a few smaller airports when I was in that unit and there were some where the actual approach was much more challenging than the River Visual but what made the River Visual difficult is the restrictions and restricted airspace nearby.

Not to put a damper on your hiring plans, but a consideration...
Maybe cargo carriers have changed, but the way it used to be, a career of lost sleep can equate to premature aging and shortened life spans, depending on your genetics. Decades ago, ALPA did a study related to lost sleep, as related to international flight crews and the results were never released. Cargo carriers are at the severe end of that spectrum.

Thanks! I read on Quora where a pilot saw two twins with UPS and didn't know they were related let alone twins. I hear night flying is difficult but the LAS-JFK commute and lack of certainty about JetBlue's future are concerns. I had an offer with Spirit after I left Virgin America but didn't know how Spirit will make out in the future. The only thing that has me looking at cargo is my pops got furloughed after the TWA merger and 9/11 and ended up at FedEx and never got furloughed and makes great money. I have an application into Spirit again because LAS is their most junior domicile and at this point I don't need the money but I am doing it for fun. Thanks, I needed to hear what you said because I have been on the fence about UPS lately and that is a wake up call. I am at my fun job this weekend so I will update my applications everywhere else this evening!

I used to fly with International 747 Captains and smokers to boot and instead of being in their 50s, they looked like my great grand pappy. :( Yet, you do what you have to do.

I understand but I don't need the UPS job so I will most likely look elsewhere. Since you mentioned International 747 and I gathered from a previous post you were with Northwest were you on Flight 85 with the rudder hardover?


I was not on that flight although I was flying on the B747 at that point. I never wanted to fly international just because of the loss off sleep issue, so due to some circumstances fear of NWA being sold, I checked out on the 747, become a Second Officer (Flight Engineer Instructor), then switch back to 727 First Officer but maintained my teaching position. Yes that required me to take double check rides, one for each plane, but it was the best of both worlds. I’d teach/fly the 747 periodically throughout the year, but most of my flight time was domestic as a First Officer. That is until NWA changed the rules and required, that to teach on an aircraft, it also had to be your primary position. But by that time, I was checked out as a DC9 Captain, and taught on that. :)
 
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No. Out in 93 with a medical. Your wife fly? :apple:
No sir, she's cyber and intel. Funny enough they're now giving cyber and space people wings in the Air Force. The email notification I got said you mentioned being at SW. Which squadron were you with?
Just to show you how the Air Force is giving everyone wings:
Cyberspace Operator Badge
USAF_-_Cyberspace_Operator_Wings_Basic.png


Space Operations Badge
800px-Basic_Space_Badge.jpg

In an attempt to stop derailing the Vacation Location thread, I have moved these replies Over to this thread. :)
Apologies I assumed that was this thread. I guess I should stop multitasking!
I was not on that flight although I was flying on the B747 at that point. I never wanted to fly international just because of the loss off sleep issue, so due to some circumstances fear of NWA being sold, I checked out on the 747, become a Second Officer (Flight Engineer Instructor), then switch back to 727 First Officer but maintained my teaching position. Yes that required me to take double check rides, one for each plane, but it was the best of both worlds. I’d teach/fly the 747 periodically throughout the year, but most of my flight time was domestic as a First Officer. That is until NWA changed the rules and required, that to teach on an aircraft, it also had to be your primary position. But by that time, I was checked out as a DC9 Captain, and taught on that. :)
I used the documentary on that as a great CRM teaching aid when I was an instructor pilot on the C-40. There's a lot of flights that could have ended differently if they were flown by different crew. Compare Northwest Flight 8 to Air France Flight 447 and look at how a similar incident had two different outcomes. What happened with the NWA/DAL merger? I was told they took the DAL name but kept the NWA management. Is this true? Also how did the SLI work? I remember flying as a passenger in the 727. It was pretty quiet from what I remember.
 
No sir, she's cyber and intel. Funny enough they're now giving cyber and space people wings in the Air Force. The email notification I got said you mentioned being at SW. Which squadron were you with?
Just to show you how the Air Force is giving everyone wings:
Cyberspace Operator Badge
USAF_-_Cyberspace_Operator_Wings_Basic.png


Space Operations Badge
800px-Basic_Space_Badge.jpg


Apologies I assumed that was this thread. I guess I should stop multitasking!

I used the documentary on that as a great CRM teaching aid when I was an instructor pilot on the C-40. There's a lot of flights that could have ended differently if they were flown by different crew. Compare Northwest Flight 8 to Air France Flight 447 and look at how a similar incident had two different outcomes. What happened with the NWA/DAL merger? I was told they took the DAL name but kept the NWA management. Is this true? Also how did the SLI work? I remember flying as a passenger in the 727. It was pretty quiet from what I remember.

NWA Flt 6231 was drilled into us. As I understand it. that was a time when there were no lights to indicate that the probe heat was on (or something like that). 90% of that problem is recognizing it- pitot tube blockage due to icing. If you are flying in a steady state and your airspeed goes fast for no apparent reason, don't be so quick to pull the power. Fly known power settings and attitudes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Airlines_Flight_6231

My understanding is that the NWA-Delta merger was the best merger ever! Seriously. Both airlines were about the same financial strength for different reasons, both had gone through bankruptcies, so the typical friction between pilot groups, not gone, but lessened significantly. I did lose about a year of seniority, but it made no difference to me because I continued to fly the A320 and had no interest in upgrading for the short time I had before retirement.

The 727 was an outstanding plane, but the DC9 was too, because it was ahead of it's time with no flight engineer. These planes were built like relative tanks. In comparison, modern fly by wire aircraft have a tough carbon skin, but when the limits are exceeded, you have things like tails coming off, which would not happen to a 727 or a 9 because relatively speaking, as they were a bit over engineered. As an example, a coworker's son was racing a carbon frame bike, and crashed. He said that bike blew apart into pieces. Aluminum does not do that, it bends instead. ;)
 
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No sir, she's cyber and intel. Funny enough they're now giving cyber and space people wings in the Air Force. The email notification I got said you mentioned being at SW. Which squadron were you with?
Just to show you how the Air Force is giving everyone wings:
Cyberspace Operator Badge
USAF_-_Cyberspace_Operator_Wings_Basic.png


Space Operations Badge
800px-Basic_Space_Badge.jpg

Was with the 20th OG/55th FS

Had an unusual medical mid 92. Detached the retina in my (L) eye. Was able to reattach it, but that was it. No waiver for a one eyed bandit. Had 13 years in. Left for a consulting career in Aviation Risk Management. Retired from that full time in 2016. Still consult a bit part time.

Did you like the C-40 instructor assignment? I think I read you we’re also at Sheppard in the T-38, yes? Was that prior to the C-40? Did my ENJJPT+SUPT at Vance 79-80 in the T-38 with the 25th. :apple:
 
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NWA Flt 6231 was drilled into us. As I understand it. that was a time when there were no lights to indicate that the probe heat was on (or something like that). 90% of that problem is recognizing it- pitot tube blockage due to icing. If you are flying in a steady state and your airspeed goes fast for no apparent reason, don't be so quick to pull the power. Fly known power settings and attitudes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Airlines_Flight_6231

My understanding is that the NWA-Delta merger was the best merger ever! Seriously. Both airlines were about the same financial strength for different reasons, both had gone through bankruptcies, so the typical friction between pilot groups, not gone, but lessened significantly. I did lose about a year of seniority, but it made no difference to me because I continued to fly the A320 and had no interest in upgrading for the short time I had before retirement.

The 727 was an outstanding plane, but the DC9 was too, because it was ahead of it's time with no flight engineer. These planes were built like relative tanks. In comparison, modern fly by wire aircraft have a tough carbon skin, but when the limits are exceeded, you have things like tails coming off, which would not happen to a 727 or a 9 because relatively speaking, as they were a bit over engineered. As an example, a coworker's son was racing a carbon frame bike, and crashed. He said that bike blew apart into pieces. Aluminum does not do that, it bends instead. ;)

@Huntn: Why did you like the 727 so much?

I don't think I ever flew in one (though was amazed as a small child to remember reading that the 727 had three engines while the 737 had two), but I did fly from Moscow across Europe in a Russian (actually Soviet era) three engined, tail mounted craft (a Tupolev, I think) in the early 1990s.
 
@Huntn: Why did you like the 727 so much?

I don't think I ever flew in one (though was amazed as a small child to remember reading that the 727 had three engines while the 737 had two), but I did fly from Moscow across Europe in a Russian (actually Soviet era) three engined, tail mounted craft (a Tupolev, I think) in the early 1990s.
Tupolev, that sounds interesting. For it’s time, the 727 was a solid, fast, well designed aircraft that was fun to fly, and comfortable to fly in.
 
Tupolev, that sounds interesting. For it’s time, the 727 was a solid, fast, well designed aircraft that was fun to fly, and comfortable to fly in.

It was a Tupolev (Tu-154); I've also flown in an Ilyushin (the Il-86, I think).

That was shortly before, and shortly after, the collapse of the USSR.

These days, as far as I know, when flying to and from Europe, Aeroflot uses Airbus and - to a lesser extent, - Boeing.
 
It was a Tupolev (Tu-154); I've also flown in an Ilyushin (the Il-86, I think).

That was shortly before, and shortly after, the collapse of the USSR.

These days, as far as I know, when flying to and from Europe, Aeroflot uses Airbus and - to a lesser extent, - Boeing.
I flew in IL-18, IL-62, IL-86, TU-134 and TU-154. I still remember the smell inside the cabin.
 
I flew in IL-18, IL-62, IL-86, TU-134 and TU-154. I still remember the smell inside the cabin.

Fascinating.

Within some of the states of the former Soviet Union (I've observed a number of elections in some of those places, and you have have to attend meetings in the capital, flying from the regions where you are based if no other transport is available), you will find airlines that wouldn't pass a western Health & Safety check; some are genuinely old, others strange and interesting Soviet specimens - others (like the BAE 146, a plane I really like) used to fly on short haul European routes in the 1990s.

Actually, I've been in a Tu-134, as well. Years ago.

And, on a few occasions, flying over the Tien Shan mountains, en route from Bishkek to Osh, (and vice versa), I was in a small turbo plane, possibly your Il-18.
[doublepost=1535276290][/doublepost]
Tupolev, that sounds interesting. For it’s time, the 727 was a solid, fast, well designed aircraft that was fun to fly, and comfortable to fly in.

Thank you for this; I was reading a bit about the plane last night, and it seems to have had a reputation as a reliable and flexible aircraft.

Well designed, comfortable and fun? For the passengers as well?
 
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It was a Tupolev (Tu-154); I've also flown in an Ilyushin (the Il-86, I think).

That was shortly before, and shortly after, the collapse of the USSR.

These days, as far as I know, when flying to and from Europe, Aeroflot uses Airbus and - to a lesser extent, - Boeing.
Aeroflot also has the new Sukhoi Superjet, and will have Irkut MC-21 when it is ready.
 
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