Capt. Ken's comments

By Ken Armstrong

AIRLINE/SECURITY HAPPENINGS
It takes six flights with Air Canada and its partner, United, to get me from Victoria to Hartford and return.
The airlines are running quite smoothly again and security lines have been flowing quite well with only slightly more delay than prior to 9/11.
I noted Canadian security is tighter and more complete than the American lines I went through and I suppose this is simply our conservative underpinnings. I have no complaints on this as it gives the travelling public a sense of safety.
However, I really have to wonder if officials feel these measures will actually stop the bad guys who may be well briefed and prepared for exigencies.
Many of the main flights I flew were essentially chock a block with passengers and I will find it hard to fathom why most airlines don’t make a profit with the cut backs in service etc. I did note that Air Canada’s food was better but the pilot’s estimated time of arrival on the 19th of April for flight 161 was in error 15%.
I can recall the IFR estimate must be within three minutes for fixes with ATC; however, I guess an error of 40 minutes is OK when dealing with the paying public.
I had told the aviation interested passenger beside me I couldn’t believe an enroute time of 4 hours and 49 minutes from Toronto to Vancouver when the big southern loop in the jet stream would take the normal headwinds away for most of the flight. I guess my position in seat 42G allowed me to make more accurate calculations than a cockpit seat as my four hour ETA was far more accurate.
The bone in my nose is a result of the movie being terminated half way to completion because the cabin crew obviously hadn’t been appraised of our real ETA (Sorry I didn’t tell them - but would they have listened?)
There were lots of other problems with the flight (not the very good cabin crew) but they are outside the scope of this article. However, if anyone in public relations is listening at big red, have a chat with your pilots and remind them they are flying for the paying public.
Airline employees are a big part of the equation when it comes to gaining and losing customers. If they don’t get the message, that public will be paying another carrier. That’s why West Jet is becoming increasingly successful.

AIRLINES - THE PRIME ARGUMENT FOR BUSINESS AVIATION
The captains of industry, senior executives and managers, are garnering copious quantities of motivation for purchasing their own aircraft after the events of 9/11.
Folks are finding it much more challenging to find suitable flights with fewer available flights with the major carriers.
The downturn in business has scared airlines into eliminating many flights making it more challenging to find convenient flight times and available seats. Flights across the continent or world will generally dictate using an airliner as the typical delays and inconveniences can be minimized with the high speed and non-stop capabilities of the big jets.
Still, a long flight from Hartford to Victoria can be competitively flown with a business aircraft. If you consider booking time, security, check-ins, baggage collection and lost time between flight connections, the airlines required 13 hours and 13 minutes to deliver me to my destination.
A business aircraft averaging 270 knots with one fuel stop over could have matched the airline performance more comfortably and with far fewer hassles. When one considers multi segment trips half that length, the personally owned aircraft really makes sense.
Of course these competitive examples generally require IFR operations to achieve their goals - but this is little concern to many business personnel who want to go where they want, when they want - without delays.
Add to this equation the fact that airliners only serve a small portion of North America’s airports and the use of personally owned aircraft becomes even more attractive.
There are even more benefits. It is highly unlikely that an individual boarding a business aircraft is carrying explosives or harboring a death wish.
Forget about lineups and temper tantrums at airline ticket and check in counters too. Business aircraft do not arbitrarily apply a baggage limit of 40 pounds or so and there will be no gate changes at the last moment requiring you to complete an athletic event across the length of the terminal.
When you sit down in a comfortable, contoured seat you will miss the following in a business aircraft. There will be no baby wailing and no rebellious children to interrupt your business activities or relaxation.
You will also miss the instantly reclining seat that whacks you in the forehead or knocks a drink in your lap. Gone is the aged air hostess whose major challenge is to see how far she can push a passenger - knowing full well the union will protect her from management.
You see, in the airline business there is an ongoing competition - it’s between workers and management - and you are the observer between the combatants.
Another thing you will get from the aircrew in a business aircraft is honesty. I often sit up front in airliners with aviation friends and acquaintances and listen as pilots blame air traffic control, weather, misplaced baggage, delayed passengers and other scapegoats for mechanical or fueling problems.
I’ve even had the airlines lie to me in writing - not knowing my credentials.
One thing you will “miss” with business aircraft is the line-ups and delays at the baggage carousel. One thing you won’t miss is your baggage. There is no chance after a business aircraft flight that you will end up in Toronto while your baggage goes on a scenic flight to Los Angeles.

IN CONCLUSION
I’m not anti-airlines, not at all. But there is a place for them in business travel - second place. I use air carriers a great deal in my aviation consulting business, however, if I can avoid taking them, I will.
It’s not the security considerations, they are a minimal concern. The bane of my existence is the lengthy list of hassles dealing with a behemoth of a company that really doesn’t care about a passenger’s personal satisfaction - and repeatedly prove it.
Senior managers at the airline care - because they are responsible for the bottom line with shareholders; however, the rank and file are underpaid, overworked and burned out in many cases. You only have to talk with a number of the crews to get an idea how they feel about the failures of Wardair and Canadian Airlines and their anger over the deal they got with Air Canada.
Additionally, the extremely strong financial competition between carriers coupled with poor balance sheets and the high maintenance costs make one wonder about the resulting quality of components. Whereas the high quality of serviceability associated with business aircraft seems a lot more attractive.
To me the airlines seem like a form of time bomb with their seemingly insurmountable problems. Readers can expect some attempt to assuage these observations from the airline; however, one only has to look at what’s happening out there to know the truth.

NEW ENGLAND AIR MUSEUM
Discovered this large, well-funded museum opposite the terminal of Hartford-Springfield’s Bradley International Airport - by accident.
It is a repository of rather rare aircraft, some of which are Canadian - some I wasn’t aware of.
Close to the birthplace of successful helicopters, Sikorsky has donated unique fling-wing machines for the displays. The NEAM will likely be the subject of a future article.
Ken Armstrong has enjoyed 14,500 flight hours on more than 350 fixed and rotary wing aircraft. He provides aviation consulting/training services and flies his Diamond Extreme motor glider out of a grass strip near Victoria, B.C.