A New World

Yesterday the Hat Trick began a 30-day voluntary furlough as part of the flight reductions all airlines are experiencing.  It was the right thing to do as the kids definitely need a little more support as they finish their schools years online.  Mrs. East Coast Wing continues to work from home and she was having to manage both schoolwork and her own work.  My station has seen some tremendous cuts since March, some seasonal and expected, but others a direct result of the Coronavirus pandemic.  Beginning yesterday we are now down to one flight a day, after having a high of 11 flights a day in mid-March.  Ironically we've gone from not having quite enough staff and struggling to having way too many staff onsite for the one flight.  So I'll take a month off and see where we are in June.  The break will be good after a very busy winter and spring that then crashed into stress and anxiety due to the Coronavirus and going to work each day with these new stressors.

With this 30-day furlough I'm going to try and use this opportunity to write more, both on this blog and in other projects I have worked on, with fairly unimpressive progress, over the past few years.  I'm also going to use this opportunity to change the focus a little bit on the Hat Trick.  This blog was created many years ago to talk about three different subjects:  Hockey, Politics and Travel and those were subjects I really enjoyed discussing.  I still love to talk about travel and my professional life has gravitated towards that love by my employment with a major U.S. airline working in operations at a small station.  I've gone from being a Brooks Brother wearing lobbyist to a regular guy on the ramp, loading and unloading bags, marshaling aircraft in and even performing the pushback of aircraft at departure.  It's a huge change and I do like it most days, even the rough ones.  However, the political world has changed a lot and I'm growing more and more weary of it and I just can't stomach discussing the antics of the current occupant of the White House.  And since the NHL season is on hiatus due to Coronavirus it looks like I will just be covering aviation, focus on happier times in aviation and not the current crisis we are experiencing. More old photos, videos and old memories will be covered here, plus an increase in out to Twitter.  Hopefully it will be a positive occurrence in these dark times.

Cranky Flier Guest Post

While I was on my “blogging sabbatical” from the Hat Trick, I have been active writing in other areas and on different topics.  One exciting opportunity that came up was  the chance to publish a guest post on the Cranky Flier site.  Published by Brett Snyder, the Cranky Flier is a great resource for the aviation junkie with coverage of a lot of issues in the commercial aviation community.  Brett is a former airline employee so he can offer a lot of insight into airline trends and he gets a lot of discussion going in his comment section.  If you like commercial aviation, this site is a good one to visit.

My guest post was of the lighter variety and it covered the topic of “Great Places to Watch Planes.”  I had a lot of fun writing it, was pleased that it received 42 comments, and enjoyed reminiscing about some of the places I have watched commercial aircraft over the years.  The post can be accessed via this link and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Frontier and Trenton/Mercer County Airport

Since my last posts back in the snowy, cold Winter of 2014 I've had the opportunity to "feed the aviation junkie" and fly into some new airports, try some new airlines and add some new aircraft to my list. Needless to say it was pretty exciting!  I'm planning to write up some posts on my experiences and will start with one of the trips that involved both a new airport and a new airline.

Over Memorial Day 2015 I had the opportunity to try out Frontier Airlines between Trenton/Mercer County Airport (TTN) in New Jersey to Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).  This service is a fairly new one for Frontier and they have experimented with flights to cities in the Midwest such as Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus and Chicago from Trenton with varying degrees of success.  The Trenton/Mercer County airport has had an interesting history as well with service from commercial carriers over the years.  The last time the airport had jet service was with the short-lived Eastwind Airlines in the late 1990s.  Trenton is a small airport and the Frontier Airbus A-319 really rocketed off the runway and flung itself across the Delaware River into Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  The flight was nothing special as Frontier has gone with a Ultra Low Cost Carrier (LLC) business model which means you pay a base fare for transportation and then everything else is an "add-on" including seat assignment, checking luggage, bringing luggage onto the plane (with the exception of a small personal item), seating with more legroom and snacks and beverages with the exception of water.  At this juncture you can still use the airplane lavatory without a fee!

Tail shot of my Frontier A-319 at DTW

The flight was a quick hour and I had opted for Frontier's "The Works" ticket which meant I could check bags without a fee and sit in the bulkhead row of the aircraft, up front, which allowed for quick deplaning in Detroit.  One unique feature of boarding in Trenton is the lack of jetways.  Instead passengers walk up a long ramp, similar to the boarding features of a smaller, regional jet.  In Detroit Frontier uses a traditional jetway.  Flights left and arrived on-time and both experienced a 95% load factor.  All in all it was a fine trip although the uninitiated traveler out of Trenton should keep in mind the lack of amenities past security at the airport and when the one kiosk runs out of sandwiches, that is it.  In addition, if Frontier is boarding two flights at the same time it can get crowded in the holding area. In DTW Frontier uses the fairly new North Terminal.

Some travelers feel Frontier "nickels and dimes" its customers.  I tend to disagree with that as the company is very explicit on its web page what costs are included in the ticket and what is not included.  In this particular trip I had a choice between flying out of Trenton or flying out of Newark Liberty International (EWR) on United Airlines or Delta, all on nonstop flights.  The difference in ticket price was well over $250 to fly United or Delta out of EWR with the sector on United flown on a small, cramped regional jet.  Instead I got a fairly spacious A-319!

The other area where Frontier does not work for some travelers is that the company usually has only one flight a day in a particular market.  This type of schedule generally doesn't work for business travelers who need more travel options.  However, for this trip Frontier worked fine for me and I would definitely fly them again if their flight options and fares worked for my needs.  Getting to try out a new airport was just icing on the aviation cake!

Hat Trick Returns

I realize it's been a while but hopefully I can start posting again on a regular basis. It's been a busy winter, spring and fall. We went through a bad experience with Little Hat Trick and a serious illness over Christmas which really threw us for a loop. He's better now but still having some issues that we have a to work through.

That was not a great way to bring in the New Year!

However, in March fortune smiled on us and I was able to join the workforce again after a two year absence and am now lobbying in the State of New Jersey. I do some federal lobbying but primarily working Trenton with the New Jersey Legislature. It's a bit different here and I've seen some interesting things...including witnessing my first arrests at a public hearing! More on that later...but needless to say it's good to be working again.

Hopefully I can provide some comment on the upcoming New Jersey elections, the current state of affairs in Congress, some travel observations and, of course, some Red Wing hockey.

Welcome back and thanks for reading!

Continental tries out new self-boarding system - Houston Business Journal

A little aviation news to keep with the theme of this blog...and to break-up some of the political warfare that has been coming out lately...

Continental Airlines is doing a limited self-boarding test at their Houston Intercontinental (IAH) hub to see how this system goes (click on the link above to read the whole story). The Hat Trick is not sure how this one is going to work out. I like the concept a lot...the Hat Trick has gladly embraced the self-service world that technology has created...from airline reservations, airline check-in, banking, bill paying and a host of others. But from my observations in the travel world I'm wondering how well a majority of the traveling public, particularly the leisure travel segment, will adapt to this system. I realize their will be an agent available to assist passengers and manually take boarding passes, as needed, but I still think it could create a train wreck in various circumstances (think Florida...especially Orlando and West Palm Beach!) if they open this up system wide.

However, the Hat Trick could be wrong on this and, more importantly, I would be interested in the outcome of the testing. Needless to say I would love to see it implemented but then I realize I'm a very small majority of the traveling public. We'll see where this goes but kudos to Continental for trying something new.

Back From Florida

The East Coast Wing's have returned from their Florida jaunt and are back in the swing of things...or the rat race as may be the case. It was good to get away from all the snow and snowstorms, as well as get away from the depressing reality of my continued unemployment. I got to experience two more job rejections while in the Sunshine State and am definitely having some significant anxiety about what the future might hold, both for my family and my career. I'm back at the job application game but it definitely is getting harder and harder to stay motivated. At least I'm not alone as the February unemployment rate stayed at 9.7%.

On a happier note I did get to have a fabulous visit with an old buddy from my College of Wooster days who lives in West Palm Beach. It was great to get away, drink a few beers and, most importantly, go out for a great day of fishing in the Florida sun. The weather was fantastic and I was able to catch dinner for the next night. My friend knows what he's doing in a fishing boat and we had a great time. He wrote up a trip report that describes what we fished for and the conditions. It can be found through this link. Thanks pal for a great trip!

Finally, in keeping with another theme of this blog (ice hockey), the Hat Trick wants to congratulate the Men's and Women's U.S. Ice Hockey teams for winning silver at the Vancouver Winter Games. While a gold medal would have been nice, both teams played with grit and determination and they should be proud of their achievements. The Men's team in particular really took it to Team Canada, staying in the game for all three periods and forcing an overtime with a goal to tie things up in the last minute of play although losing in overtime to Sidney Crosby. Congratulations Team USA...we are all very proud of you.

That's it for the Hat Trick for now...I'll be sure to pontificate on the political situation in another post real soon.

The Hat Trick is Alive and Well

Greetings Hat Trick Fans...it's been a while since my last post and I do apologize for not posting sooner. Fall 2009 has ended up being a busy time between the newest member of the Hat Trick family and my continued job hunt. With the holidays approaching and most organizations suspending hiring activities I'm hoping to have some more time to post on my favorite topics...Detroit Red Wings hockey, air travel and politics. There is a lot happening in Washington, DC these days and I hope to provide some insight.

In the meantime, thanks for sticking with the Hat Trick and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

US Airways Does Away With Beverage Charges

This week US Airways released a statement that they are stopping their policy of charging for beverages, including soda, coffee and water, effective March 1. Never popular with passengers or cabin crew, US Airways decided to stop the practice noting that none of the other major airlines followed suit.

The Hat Trick applauds this decision as I feel that the "nickle and diming" of the American air traveler has gotten to an almost preposterous place. Of course it could always get worse...Ryanair, a major European "no-frills" airline, indicated this week they are considering eliminating free use of toilets on aircraft and charging a pound (about $1.43) to use the facility...don't get any ideas US Airways!

On Location

The Hat Trick is going on location to Florida for a few days to get out of the winter cold and, more importantly, crowds that have infiltrated Washington, DC to celebrate the inauguration of President-elect Barrack Obama. With impending unemployment, the East Coast Wing’s felt a little R & R was in order and, luckily, an invitation was extended from the in-laws to come down to Sarasota…this post is actually being written on the plane.

The airline of choice for this trip is US Airways due to the fact that it was cheap ($358 roundtrip for everyone) and easy as we secured seats on US Airway’s non-stop service between Washington National (a short ten minute drive from home) and Fort Myers…non-stops are key when traveling with East Coast Wing Junior.

Flying US Airways is always interesting as the airline continues to plummet in its service levels. US Airways was the first mainline carrier to begin charging for checked baggage and the first to charge for beverages on the plane…and not just alcohol…but soda (pop to my Midwestern readers), coffee, tea and even water. The reasoning for all of these charges that came last summer was to “recap revenue lost to the high price of oil and to remain competitive in a difficult climate.” The irony in this statement is that oil has dropped to about $35 a barrel as of yesterday but for some reason the charges are still in effect…interesting. The baggage fees on US Airways run $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. The East Coast Wing’s were exempt from the baggage fees as I have Star Alliance Gold status with US Airway’s partner United Airlines so the three pieces we checked were not charged…but it would have cost us $130 roundtrip if I did not have status. So on top of the price of your ticket there are many “ad-ons” which can drive up the cost of a trip.

This is how many European budget carriers operate but US Airways is the first to take it to this level in the United States. Most other major air carriers in this country have followed the lead of US Airways and are charging fees for checked luggage…some allow the first bag to be checked free of charge, some charge for the first bag, and all do not charge for their customers who have elite status with the airline. Interestingly, Southwest Airlines has chosen not to charge baggage fees or fees for beverages in-flight. Southwest, once known (somewhat unfairly) as the “Greyhound of the Air” has initiated a very aggressive advertising campaign to point this out to consumers and it appears to have gotten a lot of attention (thank you You Tube!).

The Hat Trick isn’t sure what to make of all of this…I have sympathy for the airlines in this difficult economy but I also get frustrated with the “nickel and diming” of consumers that is becoming common in this culture. Case in point by blaming the need to charge for drinks when oil is expensive but not stopping the practice when oil drops to its lowest price in over ten years. The Hat Trick is no doubt naive but this is how I feel…not that US Airway’s management is concerned about my views!

Regardless, US Airways is getting my family to Florida and that is the important thing. It may not be pretty but it gets the job done! Hopefully there will be some more time to blog under the Florida sun…

The Ritz Carlton

I just got back from a three day meeting at the Ritz Carlton in Arlington, Virginia. My organization’s annual Fall Board of Directors meeting took place at the Ritz and they like for the senior staff to stay at the hotel.

It’s nice to know that in an age when travel seems to have transcending into a low budget, low expectations environment that a hotel chain with a focus on service and class still exist. I’ve had the opportunity to stay at a few Ritz Carlton’s in Florida, California, Ohio and Louisiana through my business travel and I’ve rarely been disappointed. It sure beats the cattle call sensation that flying seems to invoke these days…and not even flying on Southwest.

Thank you Ritz Carlton for trying buck the trend into travel mediocrity!