Visa Video-Conferencing
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:38 AM
0 comments
RegisteredTraveler
"Got no Privacy, Got no Liberty; 'Cause the 20th Century people took it all away from me." from "20th Century Man", The Kinks
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
ADA implementation for airlines
via CourtHouseNews.
From the Feds.
Nondiscrimination on basis of disability in air travel, accessibility of web sites and automated kiosks at U.S. airports: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking, published Sept. 26, 2011, comments filed by Nov. 25, 2011
The Department of Transportation proposes to provide greater access to air travel by requiring that airline Web sites, ticket agencies and airport kiosks be accessible to consumers with disabilities. The rules would apply to U.S. and foreign operating flights to, from, and in the United States. It also applies to U.S. airports with annual enplanements of 10,000 or more. The agency’s proposed rule includes the technical criteria and procedures that apply to automated airport kiosks and to Web sites on which covered air transportation is marketed to the general public in the United States.
To comment on the Regs:
GoTo Regulations.
Use DOT-OST-2011-0182 as a search term, then comment.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Things To Do While the World Melts
Airline Carbon Emissions Tax.
The Atlantic.
Here's a little something to calm you down:
Two Cellos.
And. . a little something to make you even more despondent:
National Resources Defense Council:
Thirsty.
Solutions.?
Water.
My Big Fat Planet.
GAO Report On NOAA.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:05 AM
0 comments
Monday, September 26, 2011
Virgin Fined
DOT 127-11
Monday, September 26, 2011
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-4570
DOT Fines Virgin Atlantic for Violating Price Advertising Rules
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined Virgin Atlantic Airways, an airline based in the United Kingdom, $50,000 for violating federal aviation laws and the Department’s rules prohibiting deceptive price advertising in air travel.
“When passengers buy an airline ticket, they have a right to know the full price they will have to pay,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We expect airlines to treat their passengers fairly and will take enforcement action when our price advertising rules are violated.”
For a period of time, Virgin Atlantic displayed advertisements on the Internet that did not provide direct access to information on taxes and fees that were in addition to the base fare. Instead, consumers who clicked on the advertised fare were taken to a page showing sample routes and prices where the type and amount of taxes and fees could be found in fine print only after scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Virgin Atlantic’s website violated DOT rules requiring any advertising that includes a price for air transportation to state the full price to be paid by the consumer, including all carrier-imposed surcharges. The only exception currently allowed is government-imposed taxes and fees that are assessed on a per-passenger basis, such as passenger facility charges, which may be stated separately from the advertised fare but must be clearly disclosed in the advertisement so that passengers can easily determine the full price they must pay. Internet fare listings may disclose these separate taxes and fees through a prominent link next to the fare stating that government taxes and fees are extra, and the link must take the viewer directly to information where the type and amount of taxes and fees are displayed. The rules apply to both U.S. and foreign carriers as well as ticket agents.
Under DOT’s recently adopted consumer rule that enhances protections for air travelers, carriers and ticket agents will be required, among other things, to include all government taxes and fees in every advertised fare beginning Jan. 24, 2012.
The consent order it available on the Internet at
DOT Regs.
Use docket # DOT-OST-2011-0003 as a search term.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:18 AM
0 comments
Sequel to "The Prize"
Here's an interesting quip. . .'If China and India don't get off coal, nothing that happens in the West matters'. Well, since you put it that way, I'm totally paralyzed now.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:09 AM
0 comments
Friday, September 23, 2011
Moneyball
As Recommended for In Flight Reading on this blog in 2010:
MoneyBall, by Michael Lewis
From the same matchless mind that gave us Sandra Bullock’s BlindSide Oscar role, a chance to see and hear (the writing is so vivid, you're practically there)the deal making of professional baseball, America’s favorite summer game.
Now, the movie, with Brad Pitt as Billy Beane.
NYTimes Review.
Winning Isn't Everything. . .It's just better than the alternative.
"Let Us embrace and distill the human condition, and let Us call it. . . baseball."
NYTimes Sunday October 23, 2011.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 11:54 AM
0 comments
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Ok, where's the "definitions" section?
Looks like they can just make this up as they go along.
Please see,
Federation of American Scientists. (their blog) for more, as follows:
Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information, September 8, 2011
Protection of Classified Information by Congress: Practices and Proposals, August 31, 2011
The State Secrets Privilege: Preventing the Disclosure of Sensitive National Security Information During Civil Litigation, August 16, 2011
Newly updated CRS reports on other topics include these.
Intelligence Issues for Congress, September 14, 2011
The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations, August 30, 2011
U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians, August 29, 2011
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:18 AM
0 comments
Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Bet you can't sit still.! Standing in the Shadows (of Motown)- the story of the studio band musicians who gave us more hits than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis, combined! I've watched this about 10 times in the last two days. It is magic.
This is a good time, by the way, to discuss with the budding musicians in your family the difference between a work for hire and other types of copyright, terrible injustice here.
Highly Recommended for your forced captivity in the cabin. (chose the DVD with the image of the guy's back to you, guitar slung over his back).
Found the soundtrack available on line, here.
and Here.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:05 AM
0 comments
Bus load of gold
Space Weather News for Sept. 20, 2011
.
UARS, a NASA satellite the size of a small bus, will re-enter Earth's atmosphere later this week producing a brilliant fireball somewhere over our planet. Best estimates place the re-entry time during the late hours of Sept. 23rd over a still-unknown region of Earth. Observers of the rapidly-decaying satellite say it is tumbling and flashing, sometimes almost as brightly as Venus. Video images featured on today's edition of SpaceWeather. show how the doomed satellite looks through a backyard telescope.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:52 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
ADA Travel
DOT 126-11
Monday, September 19, 2011
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-4570
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Takes Action to Make Websites and Kiosks Accessible to Air Travelers with Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), in its ongoing effort to ensure equal access to air transportation for all travelers, today proposed a regulation that would require airlines to make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities and ensure that their ticket agents do the same. DOT also proposed that airlines make automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports accessible to passengers with disabilities. U.S. airports that jointly own, lease or control such kiosks with airlines would also have responsibility for ensuring the accessibility of automated airport kiosks.
“I strongly believe that airline passengers with disabilities should have equal access to the same services as all other travelers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that airline passengers are treated fairly, and today’s action is part of that effort.”
Under the proposed rule, airlines would be required to make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities over a two-year period. Websites would be required to meet the standards for accessibility contained in the widely accepted Website Content Accessibility Guidelines. The requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers with websites marketing air transportation to U.S. consumers for travel within, to or from the United States. Small ticket agents would be exempt from the requirement to have accessible websites.
In addition, airlines and airports that use automated kiosks for services such as printing boarding passes and baggage tags would have to ensure that any kiosk ordered 60 days after the rule takes effect is accessible. Standards for accessibility would be based on standards for automated transaction machines set by the Department of Justice in its 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act rule. This requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers and U.S. airports that own, lease or control automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports with 10,000 or more annual boardings. The proposal asks for comment on the cost and feasibility of retrofitting existing kiosks to make them accessible.
This proposal is the latest in a series of DOT rulemakings to implement the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). In the ACAA rule issued in May 2008, DOT required carriers, among other things, to make discounts available to passengers with disabilities who cannot use inaccessible web sites and therefore must make telephone or in-person reservations. Also, if passengers with disabilities are unable to use the kiosk because it is not accessible, carriers are required to provide equivalent service, such as having an airline employee assist in operating the kiosk. However, these provisions do not give passengers with disabilities, especially those with visual and mobility impairments, independent access to the websites and kiosks, and in this final rule the Department committed to exploring how to make websites and kiosks accessible.
Comments on the proposal are due within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register. The proposal is available on the Internet at
Use docket # DOT-OST-2011-0177.
In addition, the Department has partnered with Cornell University’s eRulemaking Initiative (CeRI), Regulation Room, designed to improve the public’s ability to understand and participate in this rulemaking process. A goal of the CeRI team is to make Regulation Room as accessible to as many users as possible. This partnership supports President Obama’s open-government initiative. People wanting to discuss and learn about this proposed rule should go to
The RegRoom.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:42 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel: 202-366-5568
MEDIA ADVISORY
BTS Releases July Airline Fuel Cost and Consumption Data
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), today updated its Airline Fuel Cost and Consumption web page with preliminary July data.
Cost per gallon for U.S. airlines’ scheduled services:
July 2010 $2.21
June 2011 $2.91
July 2011 $2.92
The page provides scheduled service cost and consumption numbers. Use the “Select a Service” dropdown to see all services or non-scheduled.
The Fuel Cost and Consumption page:
Summaries by month are also available.
Preliminary fuel cost and consumption numbers are industry summaries only. Airline fuel costs may be affected by hedging. The next web update is scheduled for Oct. 12.
Individual airline numbers are available through March on the BTS website. Individual airline numbers for April, May and June will be available with the BTS second-quarter financial release scheduled for Sept 19. Individual airline numbers for July will be available with the BTS third-quarter financial release scheduled for Dec. 12.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 10:17 AM
0 comments
BTS tables, data
BTS 46-11
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel: 202-366-5568
BTS Releases June 2011 Airline Traffic Data;
System Traffic Up 1.6 Percent from June 2010
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data that U.S. airlines carried 66.1 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in June 2011. This is a 1.6 percent increase from June 2010 (Table 1). The June 2011 passenger total was also 3.9 percent above that of two years ago in June 2009 but remained 2.8 percent below the level of June 2008 (Table 2).
BTS, a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, also reported that U.S. airlines carried 1.6 percent more domestic passengers in June 2011 than in June 2010. The number of international passengers on U.S. carriers in June 2011 increased 1.7 percent over June 2010 (Tables 7, 13).
U.S. airlines carried 357.8 million total system passengers during the first six months of 2011, up 2.3 percent from the same period in 2010 and the highest January-June total since 2008 (Table 2). Domestically, they carried 312.0 million passengers, up 2.2 percent from 2010 and the highest the highest January-June total since 2008 (Table 8). Internationally, they carried 45.7 million passengers, up 3.5 percent from 2010 and the highest January-June total since 2008 (Table 14). See Tables 2, 8 and 14 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous year numbers.
Additional traffic numbers can be found on the BTS website in the Airline Industry box. Click on a link in the column on the right.
Load Factor
Systemwide, domestic and international load factors declined in June 2011 from June 2010 as airlines added capacity. Year-to-year, systemwide capacity was up 2.8 percent, domestic was up 2.7 percent and international was up 3.0 percent, measured by available seat-miles (Tables 1, 7, 13). The declines in June followed record system and domestic load factors in May.
Top Airlines in June
In June, Delta Air Lines carried more total system and international passengers than any other U.S. airline (Tables 4, 16) and Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers (Table 10).
During the first six months of 2011, Delta carried more total system and Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other U.S. airline (Tables 3, 9). American carried the most international passengers (Table 15).
Top Airports in June
In June, more total system and domestic passengers boarded planes at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport (Tables 6 and 12); and more international passengers boarded U.S. carriers at New York JFK International than at any other U.S. airport (Table 18).
During the first six months of 2011, more total system and domestic passengers boarded planes at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson than at any other U.S. airport (Tables 5 and 11); and more international passengers boarded U.S. carriers at Miami than at any other U.S. airport (Table 17).
For other comparisons from the first six months of 2010 to the first six months of 2011 and from June 2010 to June 2011, see the following tables:
System (Domestic + International) (Tables 1-6)
Table 1 (June and January through June):
Passengers
Flights
Revenue passenger-miles (RPMs)
Available seat-miles (ASMs)
Passenger load factor
Flight stage length
Passenger trip length
Table 2
System scheduled enplanements on U.S. airlines by month since January 2009
Airline Rankings
Table 3
January through June: Top 10 airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements
Table 4
June: Top 10 airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements
Airport Rankings
Table 5
January through June: Top 10 airports by scheduled passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines
Table 6
June: Top 10 airports by scheduled passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines
Scheduled Domestic Air Travel (Tables 7-12)
Table 7 (June and January through June):
Domestic passengers
Domestic flights
Domestic revenue passenger-miles (RPMs)
Domestic available seat-miles (ASMs)
Domestic passenger load factor
Domestic flight stage length
Domestic passenger trip length
Table 8
Domestic scheduled enplanements on U.S. airlines by month since January 2009
Airline Rankings
Table 9
January through June: Top 10 domestic airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements
Table 10
June: Top 10 domestic airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements
Airport Rankings
Table 11
January through June: Top 10 domestic airports by scheduled passenger enplanements
Table 12
June: Top 10 domestic airports by scheduled passenger enplanements
Scheduled International Air Travel on U.S. Airlines (Tables 13-18)
Table 13 (June and January through June):
International passengers
International flights
International revenue passenger-miles on U.S. airlines (RPMs)
International available seat-miles on U.S. airlines (ASMs)
International passenger load factor on U.S. airlines
International flight stage length on U.S. airlines
International passenger trip length on U.S. airlines
Table 14
International scheduled enplanements on U.S. airlines by month since January 2009
Airline Rankings
Table 15
January through June: Top 10 U.S. airlines by scheduled international passenger enplanements
Table 16
June: Top 10 U.S. airlines by scheduled international passenger enplanements
Airport Rankings
Table 17
January through June: Top 10 airports by scheduled international passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines
Table 18
June: Top 10 airports by scheduled international passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines
Reporting Notes
Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial U.S. air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from 81 carriers as of Sept. 7 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations. Go to http://www.transtats.bts.gov/releaseinfo.asp for the complete list of reporting and non-reporting carriers. U.S. carriers’ foreign point-to-point flights are included in system and international totals. To create a customized table for passengers, flights, RPMs, ASMs and other data, including non-scheduled service, go to
DATA.
Traffic numbers are available on the BTS website at TranStats, the Intermodal Transportation Database, at http://transtats.bts.gov. Click on “Aviation.” For system passengers, RPMs and ASMs by carrier through June, click on “Air Carrier Summary Data (Form 41 and 298C Summary Data),” and then click on “Schedule T-1.” Use crosstabs to find scheduled service.
For domestic numbers through June and international numbers through March by origin as well as by carrier, after clicking on “Aviation,” click on “Air Carrier Statistics (Form 41 Traffic).” Click on “T-100 Market” for system passenger numbers, “T-100 Domestic Market” for domestic or “T-100 International Market” for international. For flights, stage length and trip length, use the appropriate T-100 Segment database. Use crosstabs to find scheduled service.
TranStats system and international totals do not include U.S. carriers’ foreign point-to-point flights. For June, U.S. carriers reported 208,055 foreign point-to-point passengers. For January through June, U.S. carriers reported 1,224,404 foreign point-to-point passengers.
Graphs.
Data are subject to revision. BTS has scheduled Oct. 14 for the release of June traffic data.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:59 AM
0 comments
Monday, September 12, 2011
Mission: bring down UAL 93
And since you don't have any Ordnance on board, use your jet.
And the lesson is. . .even if you (the passengers) are able to re-take control of the aircraft, you will STILL be shot down.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:47 AM
0 comments
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 09, 2011
Passenger Protections
Newest Air Passenger Protections in Effect
Air travel is looking up, thanks to new passenger protections. The latest Department of Transportation rules require that:
• If you're involuntarily bumped from a flight, you can receive twice as much compensation as before.
• Airlines must refund your baggage fees if they lose your luggage.
• Tarmac delays at small airports must be limited to three hours, and delays of international flights at U.S. airports must be limited to four hours.
• Airlines must post all optional fees, including baggage, meal, and change fees, on their websites.
Fastlane Blog.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:13 AM
0 comments
Thursday, September 08, 2011
9/11 audio files
NYTimes.
Full Audio Transcripts, courtesy Cryptome, via RutgersLawReview. (A version of the events you've never heard before, because they "weren't ready" when the 9/11 commission concluded. Right.
More audio files.
GAO Report, 10 years on.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 9:31 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
In-Flight Entertainment, Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Bet you can't sit still.! I've watched this about 10 times in the last two days. It is magic. Highly Recommended for your forced captivity in the cabin. (get the one with the image of the guy's back to you, guitar slung over his back).
Found the soundtrack available on line, here.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:32 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
top secret america
From the September 1st blog of the Federation of American Scientists. (in case you missed it)
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:40 AM
0 comments
Video Conferencing as Substitute to Travel
This broadcast is from Jan., there was another, updated story on this topic this morning, but I can't find it, when I do, I'll post that link here as well.
Here it is.
posted by registeredtraveler @ 8:20 AM
0 comments
