Sometimes bad things happens and there is no one to blame. Some how William Ogletree, a lawyer from Texas, didn’t get that memo. Ogletree was flying from Houston to Las Vegas back last December and went to the food court in Terminal C for some food. When leaving, he accidentally left his $800 black leather jacket, which unsurprisingly, someone ended up stealing.
Yea, that sucks, but it is a fact of life. I have lost a few coats in similar fashions (not $800 ones thanks goodness), but I didn’t blame anyone but myself. Ogletree on the other hand is threatening to sue the City of Houston, Continental Airlines and the food court’s management for failing to have “collected the coat, kept it in a secure place and held it for a reasonable time” until he was able to claim the jacket. The bitter passenger claims the defendants, “breached their duty” in connection with how they “manage lost and found items for which they are responsible.”
The letter written to the defendants, obtained by The Smoking Gun, shows Oggletree gave them ten whole days to pay him the $800 or they would also be burdened with, “court costs, attorney’s fees, investigation, expert witnesses and other damages.”
I am sorry you lost your coat Mr. Ogletree, but seriously get over it. It is not the city, the food court or Continental Airlines’s fault (I don’t even get how could come close to blame Continental — for not asking every passenger if they remembered their coats?). There are only two people to blame. Oggletree and whomever stole the jacket.
No official word if Ogletree ever got his money or his jacket.
Can anyone take a guess where Croatia Airlines might be based? If you guessed Croatia, give yourself a pat on the back. The airline is based at Zagreb Airport and is a part of the Star Alliance.
They have a fleet mostly Airbus A320/A319, but also four Bombardier Dash 8 Q400’s. They fly to just under 30 destinations and have been in operation since 1989.
The airline started running cargo for UPS using Cessna 402 aircraft. At the time the airline was called Zagreb Airlines. After the first democratic elections were held in Croatia, the name was changed to Croatia Airlines in 1990. In 1991, Coatia Airlines leased a MD-82 and started passenger service.
In the late 1940’s passenger airline transport was booming and there were a lot of new jobs to go with it. This classic video shows some of the jobs and requirements (“stewardesses” had to be single for one) of the time. Most of this film was shot at Chicago’s Midway Airport. Be sure to check out all the old planes in the video.
Often an airline will purchase or lease an aircraft from another airline and keep the majority of the previous livery until it is re-painted or the lease is over. The result is a mixture of two airline liveries and are treasures of airline nerds. Southwest Airlines recently took a look back at some of interim liveries of the past. I thought it would be interesting to see who can match the livery with the previous airline the aircraft was with.
Without cheating, how many liveries can you match with the previous airline? It is ok to guess and be wrong (I guess one wrong myself — oops)
PLANE #1: This Boeing 737-200 photo was taken in 1991
PLANE #2: This Boeing 737-200 was first leased in 1983, then purchased by Southwest in 1984
PLANE #3 This Boeing 737-200 was leased by Southwest for about a year in 1987-88
Plane #4: This Boeing 737-200 is unique not having the white "Southwest" on the tail due to the tail being white
Plane #5: This Boeing 737-300 is pretty tricky (and the one I missed)
I will give you the weekend to guess in the comments and on Monday I will reveal the answers. Prizes? I will give you a shout out and you will have the satisfaction of being a true airline livery nerd!
Alaska customer service agents Heidi Tokar (left) and Julie Bilbey (right), of Bethel, are dressed in a typical winter-weather gear for this remote area of Alaska.
Meet Bethel, Alaska. The town is located about 340 miles west of Anchorage and about 40 miles inland from the Bering Sea. There are only ten miles of paved roads and none connect to any highway. Roads made of ice and snow mobile trails are what connect to over 50 Native Alaskan villages in the region.
With the lack of solid ground transportation, aviation is very important to the town of less than 6,000 people. Even though the population is small, it is a major hub for air travel in the state. “It may be little, but it’s mighty,” says Christine Klein, Deputy Commissioner of Aviation for the state of Alaska. Aviation is a much larger part of the economy in Alaska than other states, accounting for one in every 10 jobs in the state and $3.5 billion in revenue.
Bethel Airport (BET) is the third busiest airport in the state, behind Fairbanks and Anchorage. The airport has two runways: One is paved and 6400 feet in length (for comparison, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s largest runway is almost 12,000 feet long) and one that is gravel and only 1,860 feet long.
Signage at Bethel Airport
From June 2006 to June 2007, the airport had 122,000 aircraft operations, which is an average of 334 per day. During that time, there were 232 airplanes based at the airport: 90% single engine, 7% multi-engine, 2% helicopters and 1% military. Now, that is a lot of aviation for a town so far out in the middle of nowhere.
Alaska Airlines, who have 27 employees at the airport, proudly has a strong relationship with Bethel and the surrounding area. They fly round-trip flights between Bethel and Anchorage three times per day using their Boeing 737-400’s and Combis. Alaska Airlines provides important connections for passengers and cargo for Bethel residents and the rest of the world.
Alaska Airlines does much more than just fly in and out of the airport. The airline also supports local aviation and promotes careers in aviation. Recently the airline donated $15,000 to the Yuut Yaqungviat Flight School, which will will help local residents, the majority of whom are Native Alaskans, obtain their pilot, airframe and power plant mechanic licenses.
Founded in 2000, the flight school has a high placement rate for students who complete the two-year private pilot certificate program. Of 25 students who finished the program, 16 are actively working as pilots for Yute Air, Grant Aviation, Frontier Alaska, Hageland Aviation and other airlines. “Historically, a revolving door of professionals leave the Bethel area. This outmigration is a loss of potential revenue for the region,” says John Amik, co-director of the school. He continued, “Yuut Yaqungviat has helped young adults capture a sense of purpose, hope and self-respect.”
Alaska is hoping this assistance will not only help Native Alaskans find careers in aviation, but also help them get jobs with Alaska Airlines. “We would very much like to see more Native Alaskan pilots working their way into our cockpits,” said Bill MacKay, Alaska Airlines’ senior vice president.
If you live in an area where Alaska Airlines doesn’t fly: It is based out of Seattle, WA, flies over 115 Boeing 737’s to about 90 destinations in the US and Mexico, and of course has quite a few flights to Alaska. If you are interested in connecting with Alaska Airlines, be sure to follow their Twitter, Facebook or YouTube channel.
