#private aircraft charter services in Atlanta

[platinumluxuryfleet]

Book a Limo for the Wedding and make it memorable                                    

When it comes to the wedding everyone wants to make their wedding memorable and beautiful. And adding a Limo to it would be an asset to you and it will never disgrace the beauty.

On their wedding day, everyone likes to be treated as VIPs and if you booked a limo then you will have premium amenities like champagne, snacks, comfortable seating, and temperature control.

And if you are worrying about Wedding Limo Service in Atlanta then don’t. Here you will have the best companies like Premium Luxury Fleet which provides amazing service and a great variety of Limo.

there is a simple procedure for booking your Limo in advance for the wedding have a look at the below commands.

Choose a suitable company to book your Limo.

Now go through their website and find the one which is suitable for the wedding and you like the most.

Now find the contact option and contact the company’s executive and ask them to book a Limo for you.

There will need some information like your wedding date and budget. And after that, you can pay the amount.

And on your wedding day, the Limo will be available at the preferred address.

Private aircraft charter services in Atlanta

Traveling through a private Aircraft charter comes with amazing facilities passengers do not need to stand in long queues, they can avoid check-in and there will be greater facility and comfort on board.

There are several companies for private aircraft charter services Atlanta like Platinum Luxury fleet provides you the private aircraft as per your demand. But before booking there are some factors that you need to keep in mind and have a look at them.

While booking passengers need to tell a confirmed time and date to the booking agent.

They need to assure about the number of passengers.

State the luggage requirement so, that they can adjust accordingly.

Tell them if you have any special requirements like wifi.

Also if you are carrying any pet then you have to tell them about it in advance so that they can make the arrangements accordingly.

[dukejet0554]

Private Jet Charter Atlanta

Explore luxury jet services in San Francisco, helicopter services, group air charters in Miami, corporate aircraft hire, and private jet charter in Atlanta with Duke Jets. Private Jet Charter Atlanta

Click Here For More Info:- https://www.dukejet.com/

[swoopapp]

A Guide to the Best Executive Transportation Options in Atlanta

As the bustling capital of Georgia and a hub for business, entertainment, and culture, Atlanta has become a premier destination for executives, entrepreneurs, and discerning travelers. With its thriving economy, world-class attractions, and vibrant culinary scene, the city offers an array of experiences that cater to the needs of the most discerning clientele. At the heart of this luxury travel landscape are the exceptional executive transportation options that elevate the experience of navigating the city.

Luxury Limousine Services

Arguably the most iconic form of executive transportation, luxury limousine services in Atlanta have perfected the art of providing a first-class travel experience. These meticulously maintained vehicles, ranging from sleek sedans to expansive SUVs and stretch limousines, offer an unparalleled level of comfort and style. Clients can expect plush leather seating, discreet privacy partitions, advanced entertainment systems, and complimentary refreshments, all while being chauffeured by highly trained professionals who navigate the city's streets with precision and efficiency.

Whether it's for a high-level business meeting, a formal social event, or a VIP airport transfer, the luxury limousine services in Atlanta cater to the specific needs and preferences of each client. Through personalized attention and customized experiences, these providers ensure that every journey is seamless, comfortable, and tailored to the discerning tastes of their clientele.

Private Jet Charters

For executives and high-net-worth individuals seeking the ultimate in convenience and exclusivity, private jet charters have become an increasingly popular option in Atlanta. These bespoke aviation services offer a level of luxury, privacy, and efficiency that is unmatched by commercial air travel. Clients can bypass the crowds, lengthy security lines, and other inconveniences associated with commercial airports, allowing them to maximize their time and focus on the priorities of their visit.

The private jet charter services in Atlanta boast a fleet of state-of-the-art aircraft, ranging from light jets to heavy-duty private planes, each outfitted with the finest amenities and personalized to the client's preferences. Passengers can enjoy gourmet catering, customized in-flight entertainment, and the undivided attention of a dedicated flight crew, all while arriving at their destination with unparalleled efficiency and discretion.

Luxury Rideshare Services

In recent years, the luxury rideshare market in Atlanta has experienced a significant surge, offering a more elevated alternative to traditional transportation options. These services, which often utilize high-end vehicles such as luxury sedans, SUVs, and even exotic sports cars, cater to the discerning tastes of executives and frequent travelers.

Through user-friendly mobile applications and personalized service, clients can seamlessly book and track their rides, ensuring a stress-free and convenient experience. The drivers of these luxury rideshare services are meticulously vetted, highly trained, and equipped with an in-depth knowledge of the city's layout, enabling them to navigate the bustling streets with unparalleled efficiency.

Beyond the exceptional transportation experience, the luxury rideshare services in Atlanta often provide additional amenities, such as complimentary refreshments, Wi-Fi connectivity, and even private compartments for enhanced privacy and productivity during the ride.

Concierge Transportation Services

For executives and high-net-worth individuals who require a more comprehensive and personalized approach to transportation, the concierge services in Atlanta offer a truly bespoke experience. These providers go beyond simply facilitating point-to-point transportation, offering a wide range of services that cater to the client's unique needs and preferences.

From arranging private jet charters and luxury limousine transfers to coordinating seamless multi-modal itineraries and providing personal assistants, the concierge transportation services in Atlanta serve as a one-stop-shop for all of the client's travel requirements. By leveraging their extensive network of partnerships and deep understanding of the city, these providers ensure that every aspect of the journey is meticulously planned and executed to perfection.

The concierge approach also extends to the provision of additional services, such as hotel reservations, dining recommendations, and even the coordination of exclusive experiences and VIP access to the city's most sought-after attractions. This holistic approach to transportation and travel planning allows clients to focus on the priorities of their visit, confident that their needs are in the hands of experienced professionals.

Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility

In an era of growing environmental consciousness, the executive transportation in Atlanta have also embraced a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Many of these services have invested in eco-friendly vehicles, such as hybrid or electric models, reducing the carbon footprint associated with luxury travel in the city.

This commitment to sustainability not only aligns with the values of environmentally conscious clients but also reflects the broader responsibility that these service providers have towards the community they serve. By offering greener transportation options, they contribute to the overall well-being of Atlanta's residents and the preservation of the city's natural resources.

Conclusion

As Atlanta continues to cement its status as a premier destination for executives, entrepreneurs, and discerning travelers, the city's exceptional executive transportation options have emerged as a vital component of the luxury travel experience. From the opulence of luxury limousine services and private jet charters to the convenience of luxury rideshare and concierge transportation, these providers have elevated the art of navigating the city to new heights.

By entrusting their transportation needs to these specialized services, clients can focus on the priorities of their visit, whether it's closing a high-stakes deal, attending a prestigious event, or immersing themselves in the vibrant culture and bustling energy of Atlanta. With a commitment to personalized attention, unparalleled professionalism, and environmental responsibility, the executive transportation options in Atlanta offer a truly exceptional experience that caters to the needs of the most discerning clientele.

[itrvlr]

AN AMAZING STORY...

Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic .

All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination."

No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland.

He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately -- no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request.

While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings.

We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander , New Foundland, to have it checked out.

We promised to give more information after landing in Gander .. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM .... that's 11:00 AM EST.

There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the US.

After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason."

Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put.

The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane.

In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were US commercial jets.

Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC.

People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada . Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed.

Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm.

We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.

We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning.

Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane.

Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing.

And they were true to their word.

Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.

After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander!

We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted when the US airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while.

We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.

Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the "plane people." We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time.

Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days.

What we found out was incredible.....

Gander and all the surrounding communities (within about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers.

Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up.

ALL the high school students were required to volunteer theirtime to take care of the "guests."

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged.

Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes.

Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility.There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration.

Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered "Excursion" trips.

Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests.

Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests.

Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft.

In other words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers.

Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. Finally, when they were told that U.S. airports had reopened, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single passenger missing or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about thewhereabouts of each and every passenger and knew

which plane they needed to be on and when all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything beautifully.

It was absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling.

Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a very unusual thing happened.

One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said "of course" and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days.

He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers.

He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte.

"He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte.

He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, the total was for more than $14,000!

"The gentleman, a MD from Virginia , promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has assisted 134 students in college education.

"I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a faraway place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them.

It reminds me how much good there is in the world."

"In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today's world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward.

*This is one of those stories that need to be shared. Please do so...*

[mairi-mia1]

AN AMAZING STORY...

Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic .

All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination."

No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland.

He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately -- no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request.

While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings.

We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander , New Foundland, to have it checked out.

We promised to give more information after landing in Gander .. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM .... that's 11:00 AM EST.

There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the US.

After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason."

Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put.

The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane.

In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were US commercial jets.

Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC.

People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada . Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed.

Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm.

We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.

We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning.

Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane.

Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing.

And they were true to their word.

Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.

After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander!

We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted when the US airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while.

We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.

Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the "plane people." We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time.

Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days.

What we found out was incredible.....

Gander and all the surrounding communities (within about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers.

Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up.

ALL the high school students were required to volunteer theirtime to take care of the "guests."

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged.

Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes.

Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility.There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration.

Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered "Excursion" trips.

Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests.

Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests.

Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft.

In other words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers.

Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. Finally, when they were told that U.S. airports had reopened, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single passenger missing or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about thewhereabouts of each and every passenger and knew

which plane they needed to be on and when all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything beautifully.

It was absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling.

Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a very unusual thing happened.

One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said "of course" and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days.

He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers.

He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte.

"He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte.

He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, the total was for more than $14,000!

"The gentleman, a MD from Virginia , promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has assisted 134 students in college education.

"I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a faraway place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them.

It reminds me how much good there is in the world."

"In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today's world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward.

*This is one of those stories that need to be shared. Please do so...*

[debajitb]

AN AMAZING STORY - You Need To Know

AN AMAZING STORY...during 9/11 attack on World Trade Center

This is one of those stories that need to be shared.

Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11 (this was forwarded to me by a friend):

On the morning of  Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic .

All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination."

No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland.

He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately -- no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving  our request.

While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the  hijackings.

We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the  air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we  needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander , New Foundland, to have  it checked out.

We promised to give more information after landing in Gander .. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM .... that's 11:00 AM EST.

There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the US.

After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason."

Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put.

The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come  around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane.

In  the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were US commercial jets.

Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC.

People were  trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due  to a different cell system in Canada . Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that  the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed.

Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm.

We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.

We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning.

Passengers were  not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without  much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the  airplane.

Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing.

And they were true to their word.

Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of  her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping  arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we  went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with  the Red Cross.

After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of  Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers  to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into  Gander!

We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted  when the US airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a  while.

We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.

Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the "plane people." We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and  ended up having a pretty good time.

Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days.

What we found out was incredible.....

Gander and all the surrounding communities (within about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers.

Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows  set up.

ALL the high school students were required to volunteer their time to take care of the "guests."

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town  called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility,  that was arranged.

Families were kept together. All the elderly  passengers were taken to private homes.

Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility.There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with  the crowd for the duration.

Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered  "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes  and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests.

Local bakeries  stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests.

Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered  wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft.

In other  words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers.

Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. Finally, when they were told that U.S. airports had reopened, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single passenger missing  or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about the whereabouts of each and every passenger and knew which plane they needed to  be on and when all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything  beautifully.

It was absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling.

Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a very unusual thing happened.

One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said "of course" and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just  gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers.

He continued by  saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks  of Lewisporte.

"He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide  college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte.

He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names,  phone numbers and addresses, the total was for more than $14,000!

"The gentleman, a MD from Virginia , promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also  said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to  donate as well.

As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has assisted 134 students in college education.

"I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a faraway place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them.

It reminds me how much good there is in the world."

"In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today's world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward.

Now you will be 100% sure why I made the comment in the beginning: “This is one of those stories that need to be shared”.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/delta-flight-15-true-story-human-face-911-when-world-came-jp-louis/

Published by : JP Louis - President & CEO, JPL International             (September 11, 2016)

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gander-housed-stranded-passengers/

http://buhalis.blogspot.com/2020/09/delta-15-about-resilience-leadership.html

From Social Media - full credit goes to the respected unknown creator. Thank You.

[flyinginsane]

𝗥𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿! 🇯🇴⁣⁣ Jordan Aviation Boeing 767-200 (JY-JAL) sporting 𝗡.𝗖.𝗣.𝗖 [Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission] sticker, outbound Amman Queen Alia Intl. Airport (AMM) as 𝙅𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙣𝘼𝙫𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 4574/𝙅𝘼𝙑 4574 on a wonderful afternoon. ⛅✈️⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ <<< 𝘚 𝘸 𝘪 𝘱 𝘦 <<<⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ (((Picture by @indianspotter))) The airline primarily operates charter and wet lease flights, and even provides transportation for 𝗨𝗡 peacekeeping forces, a service for which the carrier has received several 𝗨𝗡 awards & recognitions. 🇺🇳⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝙉.𝘾.𝙋.𝘾 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 : Jordan Aviation has signed a contract with the N.C.P.C to bring some 2,500 pilgrims from Nigeria to the Kingdom of Jordan between July 24 and September 15 for for the 2021 Easter pilgrimage. ⛪⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙩 : Whenever I spot a name on any aircraft, the AvGeek in me get curious about finding out what does it means and in this case, it appears to be a verse from the Quran which reads⁣⁣ “ وفي السماء رزقكم وما توعدون” (pic no.: 03) , did a google search of it & it means “And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised”. Perhpaps some goodluck charm for the carrier? 📿⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ���𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙅𝙔-𝙅𝘼𝙇 : This 33ish year old, 2x GE CF6-80A2 powered airframe was initially delivered to Britannia Airways in November 1988. A decade later, in 2001 it was acquired by Air Atlanta Icelandic and has been flown with various airlines on lease (Excel airways, Air Algerie, Saudia, XL Airways etc.). Flying for Jordan Aviation since Novemeber 2008. 📜⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝙅𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙫𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (JATE) : It was founded in 1998 as a privately owned airline headquartered in Amman, by Captain Mohammed Al-Khashman. The company obtained its air operator’s certificate (AOC) in October 2000 and began operations the following month and has a current fleet of two A320s, two A330s, four B737s and two B767s. 📑⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣ @jordanaviation_jav @boeing @geaviation #flyinginsane #Avgeek #avporn #aviation #airplane #plane #planeporn #flying #jordan #jordanair #boeing #b767 #boeingairbusaviation #pilot #crewlife #instaplane #instalike #likeforlikes #picoftheday #planespotter #airport (at Mumbai, Maharashtra) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSzS-okMb-O/?utm_medium=tumblr

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The Information About the Hong Kong Togel Online Airport

Hong Kong has become the hub of international business for the last two decades and it is the duty of every individual to make the most of their business trip by visiting the Hong Kong International Airport. This airport is located near the Central Business District of the city. The airport serves flights to many major cities of the world and also offers services for charter flights to Asia.Chick here for more details about Bandar Togel Online Hongkong

The Hong Kong International Airport is a five-runway airport that is surrounded by tall buildings and is the second busiest airport in the world after the Atlanta airport. Most of the aircraft that come to this airport are either commercial or private and it offers two terminals. The terminal buildings are connected to one another by a huge road.

The terminals of this airport are arranged according to the size and the purpose of the airport. The larger terminals are for commercial flights. The smaller terminals are for the charter flights and private flights. If you are coming from the United States or any other country, then you can get an international flight from the smaller terminals.

The Hong Kong Togel Airport is also very well connected to the mainland by rail, road, and air. If you plan to travel to the mainland, you can get direct flights from the airport. In addition to this, you can also get flights from Hong Kong airport to other cities of the world by air. If you are coming from the United States, you can also get flights to Hong Kong by road.

If you are coming to the city on business or just a visit, you will find the city very quiet and peaceful. The weather in the city is always fine and pleasant and you can enjoy the view of the sea, the green mountains, and the many other nature attractions. The city has so many modern facilities are always improving in the city.

The city of Hong Kong has a lot of night life, which makes the city a great place for night life. The night life of the city is so exciting and lively that you can never get tired of it. The night life in the city is very beautiful and the people of the city are always friendly and hospitable to visitors.

The night life in the city is so lively that the tourists do not have to get up in the morning before work as they can enjoy the night life and enjoy it. The night life in the city is very active and there is a lot of music and fun to do. The city is very safe and you will never have to worry about the safety of your stay or the security of your luggage.

The city of Hong Kong is also known as a great tourist destination and you can always find lots of things to do and many places to visit. The city has a lot of restaurants and bars to choose from.

[theconservativebrief]

The ability to go on lengthy road trips and tour a slew of colleges has been made to seem like a normal part of the college application process. Really, though, it’s a privilege: In many cases, families must be able to take multiple days off from work, and also pay for transportation, lodging, and food in every single college town they visit.

Applying to college is expensive in itself, with the average application costing $43 and the average student applying to 3.16 colleges. While some are working to make college more accessible for all, others are focused on making the process that much smoother for those in the top income brackets — you know, the ones who really need it.

This fall, Mandarin Oriental Hotels announced it will offer a College Tour Package, which includes a luxury suite that can fit a whole family, private jet flight to and from “multiple university destinations” by XOJET, and admissions coaching with college entrance consultant Abby Siegel. At each hotel check-in, buyers will receive college gear and something called “luxury” dorm-room amenities. As of now, the College Tour Package is available in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York, and Washington, DC, running through November 15.

The hotel is selling it as a “time-saving dream,” as you can avoid long airport waits. They also claim it could be cost-effective: A New York City to Boston package costs $25,000, but according to the New York Times, XOJet says this bundled fare is cheaper than booking your own flight, hotel, and counseling. (It seems safe to assume they mean a private flight — according to one charter flight service, chartering a private jet from New York City to Boston could range from $5,800 to $16,000.)

This package, amazingly, isn’t the only one of its kind. Magellan Jets offers a 10-hour jet card for $57,000 meant to be used for college tours. A jet card holder can access aircrafts for a fixed hourly rate. Usually, hours are sold in increments of 25, 50, or 100, but this lower time and cost commitment is meant to appeal to those on college tours — in 10 hours, the thinking goes, you can fly to three to four colleges. For an additional fee, the service will provide an onboard admission counselor.

But of course, it’s not only about convenience — it’s about connections. The Magellan team says that if a tour-goer is especially excited about a school, they’ll offer to set the student up with any graduate who is a Magellan member. And, with the knowledge that 25 percent of admission officers said that they felt pressure to admit students because of their connections, this service might be incredibly helpful.

In 2014, 77 percent of 24-year-olds who held undergraduate degrees were from families with an income of more than $65,000, and more than 50 percent of degrees came from those whose family earned more than $116,000, the top income bracket. Only 10 percent of 24-year-olds with degrees came from households earning less than $35,000. There are a number of reasons why the graduation rate gap between the poor and wealthy continues to widen; private jet access probably isn’t helping.

Brian Taylor, the managing director of college consultant firm Ivy Coach, has a different view on the package. He told the New York Times that the tours may actually be a bad idea, as a student jetting from school to school may not seem “likeable.” Sounds about right.

Original Source -> Touring colleges is already expensive. This new service offers a $25,000 luxury version.

via The Conservative Brief

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[legit-scam-review]

How Blockchain Could Help Airlines

Airlines and airports are functioning on outdated methods of information collection and distribution, using many isolated operating systems where data exchange can be timely and unsecure — despite a reported 170 percent increase in the past 20 years of U.S. outbound trips abroad.

Major competitors have recognized how the characteristics of the aviation industry align with blockchain, which has the potential to streamline data sharing among information silos in airports — and with ancillary travel enterprises more broadly — to create a seamless and secure travel experience.

Lufthansa Industry Solutions, a subsidiary of the largest airline in Europe, launched the initiative Blockchain for Aviation (BC4A) in an effort to compile potential applications of the technology and create industry standards for its use. Air New Zealand, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have partnered with the Swiss-based non-profit Winding Tree, which is using blockchain to power a decentralized travel distribution network to make travel more cost effective and profitable for customers and providers.

The world’s airlines carry over three billion passengers annually and contribute $664.4 billion to the global GDP. Airlines must be flexible — yet systematic — to compete in the aviation industry, where the efficiency of their chain of operations determines their bottom line.

Smart contracts to improve customer experiences

Airports are microcosms of data storage. From the moment a traveler arrives at an airport to the time they depart, an enormous amount of secure data must be collected and shared among internal and external airport operations. The biggest obstacle for airlines lies in the decision making processes when travels plans change on a moments notice.

Each task within an airport may operate using different software, so the data reconciliation process is often timely and frustrating for both flight agents and travelers. Smart contracts can improve the customer experience and cost effectiveness of service by automating time consuming tasks.

Commonplace mishaps like flight delays and overbooked flights are costly to airlines when data is not shared quickly between decision makers. Currently, there is little cohesion among the mixed data and multitude of systems used at different checkpoints in airports.

The world’s leading airport communications and information technology specialist, SITA, has tackled the simple and prevalent issue of corresponding flight delay information in airports. SITA used the Ethereum protocol and smart contracts to create a blockchain platform that reconciles conflicting information about flight delays and communicates “a single source of truth for flight data.”

SITA Lab designed a private permissioned blockchain — named Flightchain — to conduct trials and track over two million flight changes between British Airways, Geneva Airport, Heathrow and Miami Airport. Their findings suggest that smart contracts could be effective at mediating conflicting data and communicating industry standards, but they require governance and operational oversight. So as of now, cloud-based data sharing services are easier to arbitrate and manage.

A French insurance company, AXA, is utilizing smart contracts to automate compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed. When a customer subscribes to coverage on their flight-delay insurance platform, Fizzy,  a smart contract is created and connected to global air traffic databases. If a delay over two hours is registered on the ledger, compensation is automatically transferred to the customer, which eliminates the need to file a claim or dispute any discrepancies with the insurer.

Russia’s biggest domestic airline, S7, partnered with Alfa Bank to launch a blockchain platform to issue tickets. The private blockchain, built using the Ethereum protocol, uses smart contracts to exchange data between contracting parties and will reduce the settlement time between the airline and agents selling the tickets from 14 days to 23 seconds.

In a news release from S7, the airline stated that the technology “gives agents the ability to work directly with the airline without providing additional financial guarantees, reduces volumes of circulation of documents and guarantees the safety of operations.”

An Atlanta-based airline software company, Volantio, piloted a new program for United Airlines in lieu of an overbooking debacle that resulted in a passenger being forcibly removed from a flight. The “Flex-Schedule” platform uses AI to identify flexible passengers and target them with flight options to help airlines fix miscalculations in their booking processes.

The fully automated service compensates passengers and reassigns them to new flights, while maximizing profits for airlines by allowing them to sell open seats to “high-yielding,” last minute passengers. Volantio is also partnered with Emirates, Alaska Airlines, Ethiopia Airlines and Jetstar, among others — and its innovation may prove to be essential in eliminating last-minute negotiations at the gate, which inevitably delay flights and are costly to airlines.

Monetization of frequent flier loyalty points with digital currencies

Delta Air Lines is reportedly the first major global carrier to be replacing their passenger loyalty program, Skymiles, with digital currency. The airline will reward frequent fliers with Ethereum tokens dubbed “SkyMirage” tokens, which will cut out American Express as the middleman, enhance the security of the exchange and allow passengers to see their loyalty points accrue instantaneously.

Similarly, Singapore Airlines announced it will launch a blockchain-based passenger loyalty app that will allow customers to digitize their frequent flier awards and spend them at Singapore Airline-based merchant partners.

Transparency in luggage tracking

In partnership with Winding Tree, Air New Zealand is researching how blockchain may improve cargo and baggage tracking.

While still in the developmental phase, the application of blockchain could potentially allow passengers to track their own baggage in order to provide full transparency throughout the transfer process. Further, smart contracts could be deployed to automate insurance claims on lost baggage and instantaneously compensate customers.

Under-wing efficiency for the maintenance of aircrafts

Air France-KLM’s engineering and maintenance division is experimenting with potential uses for blockchain to record aircraft maintenance and service processes. Much of the data that is routinely collected on aircraft maintenance exists non-digitally, like service records, aircraft components and systems. A spokesperson for the airlines admitted a fully digital system would not be an easy transition but that blockchain could drastically improve “maintenance processes and workflows.”

Avoid airport queues with ‘gateless’ passport checks

The Safety and security of passengers and flight operations is above all else in the aviation industry, but creating a more effortless airport experience for travelers is another major goal of airlines. A United Kingdom-based tech firm, ObjectTech, signed an agreement with Dubai’s Immigration and Visa Department to test its ‘gate-less’ border program that uses biometric verification and blockchain technology to skip the passport process altogether. The pilot program will use facial recognition technology to identify travellers arriving in Dubai and verify their identities against a digital passports. Using blockchain, the digital passport is created as a ‘self-sovereign identity,’ ensuring the owner has singular control of their own data.

Paperless identification for effortless travel

Similarly, SITA Lab is experimenting with its own digital identity card built on a blockchain platform called the SITA Digital Identity Traveler app. In partnership with ShoCard, SITA plans to improve how travellers are identified at various points within airports by creating a mobile token that stores biometric and personal information. SITA has also begun other projects to enable mobile phone self-service of visa verification and border control.

Safety in small airports and accountability of private pilots

A blockchain startup named Aeron reported that 57 percent of aviation accidents are due to human error. Aeron created a mobile app designed to record and verify a pilot’s qualifications in an effort to reduce accidents due to poor record keeping. The app, which operates using blockchain, stores all necessary pilot data in digital form — data which largely exists in traditional, paper pilot logbooks. The company is further developing a global database for the storage of aircraft information, pilots and flight schools. Aeron’s developments are geared toward private flights and accounting for private pilots, and it launched an online marketplace for booking private charters.

The need for further development

The capacity of blockchain to quickly reconcile conflicting data and verify consistency of information among various stakeholders in airports is a promising innovation for the aviation industry. The immutable and transparent nature of distributed ledger technology can provide greater security of flight operations, but many data collection processes still remain undigitized and isolated from one another. Smart contracts could drastically improve customer experience and replace timely and costly services, but would require central governance by an accredited organization, along with a lot of maintenance and oversight.

Blockchain has an application in a multitude of airport information niches, but further development by industry leaders is needed to create viable and cost effective uses of the technology.

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Pilot radioed for help before fatal crash in New York City's East River

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Pilot radioed for help before fatal crash in New York City's East River

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A helicopter carrying six people crashed in New York City’s East River on Sunday, killing all passengers, while the pilot survived, police said.

Moments before it crashed into the frigid waters, the pilot frantically radioed for help, the New York Daily News and other media reported.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” the pilot said, according to news accounts. “Engine failure. We’ve got an engine failure over the East River.”

Two of the five passengers died at the scene and three were taken to two area hospitals where they later died, New York City Police and fire department officials confirmed early Monday.

The pilot freed himself and was rescued and later was treated and released in good condition from a hospital, police said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Eurocopter AS350 went down near the northern end of Roosevelt Island at about 7 p.m. and was investigating. The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigative team would arrive on Monday.

“It’s a great tragedy,” said New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro at a press conference late Sunday. “It took a while for the divers to get these people out.”

Nigro said when the divers reached the helicopter it was inverted and in 50 feet of water with below 40-degree Fahrenheit water temperatures and four-mile-an hour currents.

Paramedics and members of the NYFD perform CPR on a victim of a helicopter crash in New York, U.S., March 11, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz

The passengers were tightly harnessed and the harnesses had to be cut and removed to free the passengers in the helicopter, he added.

A Reuters photographer witnessed three people recovered by rescue divers being wheeled on stretchers onto a midtown pier shortly before 9 p.m.

New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill said the aircraft was registered to Liberty Helicopters, a sightseeing and charter service in New York, and was on a private charter “photo shoot.”

The U.S. Coast Guard launched three boats to aid in the response, joining New York City emergency responders.

“It kind of hit sideways and just flipped over,” Brianna Jesme, 22, an Upper East Side resident who witnessed the crash, told Reuters TV.

Video of the incident filmed by an onlooker and posted on Twitter showed a red helicopter descending toward the water at dusk, then landing with a large splash before tipping onto its right side, its tail lights still flashing.

Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the footage.

The NYC Ferry said late Sunday on Twitter that service on the Astoria and East River routes was currently suspended until further notice because of the helicopter crash.

Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Scott DiSavino in New York, Daren Ornitz in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta Editing by Peter Cooney, Cynthia Osterman and Toby Chopra

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[businessweekme]

Farewell to the 747, the Plane That Shrank the World

For a half-century, Boeing Co. mechanics in a sprawling factory north of Seattle have riveted together aluminum panels into the familiar hump-backed form of the 747 jumbo jet. Test pilots then put each new plane through its paces on an adjacent air strip before sending it off to roam the globe.

This airplane, more than any other, made long-range travel into a mass-market phenomenon. And on Monday, one of the jets born here returned home.

Delta Air Lines Inc. flew a 747 filled with employees and customers from its Detroit hub to Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington. It was the first in a series of farewell flights to Delta hubs this week, marking the end of the airliner’s U.S. passenger service. For those aboard, it was a rare opportunity to touch down on the same runway from which the first 747 lifted skyward on Feb. 9, 1969.

On the ground, Boeing workers who helped build 747-400s like the returning Delta plane celebrated an aviation milestone. But there’s poignancy to the moment: With just 14 unfilled orders in Boeing’s backlog, four-engine aircraft appears to have fallen out of favor. The future isn’t bright for jumbo jetliners such as the old 747.

For a morning, at least, Delta and Boeing set aside their differences to bask in nostalgia. Just last week, Delta ordered 100 jets from Airbus SE, Boeing’s rival. And a trade fight between the U.S. jetmaker and Bombardier Inc. threatens to foul up a separate deal that’s key to Delta’s fleet plans.

  There were those aboard Monday’s farewell-to-passengers flight who came of age with the 747. The planes’ hulking wings—and, for children riding on Pan Am in the 1970s heyday, those captain’s wing pins—symbolized access for millions of us to foreign lands not easily reached by telephones of the era. A generation came to learn the aircraft’s quirks, such as the jet’s bulbous nose and swept wings and the vibrations during the take-off roll that caused over-stuffed luggage bins to pop open on early models. There was also the fascination, never lost for some, of ascending a staircase to ride high above the world in the “bubble,” the deck behind the cockpit.

Delta Flight 9771 rumbled down the runway and lifted into the air at 7:47 a.m. on Monday in Detroit, the first flight on a farewell tour this week, with stops planned at Delta strongholds in Seattle, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. The aircraft will ferry NFL and college football teams in late December before making a final ferry flight to the desert in January. To win a seat on Monday’s charter flight, Delta customers bid frequent flyer miles, while employees and retirees entered an internal lottery, with selection based in part on seniority and personal connection to the 747 fleet.

The celebration on board was low-key, more a reunion of old friends than the boisterous parties that sometimes mark commemorative flights. The four-and-a-half-hour journey provided many on board a chance to relive old times, especially for those who had plied trans-Pacific routes for Northwest Airlines prior to the merger. There was a throwback meal service—hot breakfast followed by a light lunch—and a 747-centric trivia quiz. (Sample question: How many miles of wiring are on a 747-400? Answer: 171.)

“I get all choked up,’’ said Christine L’Allier, who has spent most of her 32 years at Delta and Northwest as a flight attendant aboard the jumbos. She recalled Thanksgivings spent at 35,000 feet, with the traditional meal cooked in ovens large enough to fit a turkey. “When you were away from home, this was your family.”

    The 747 was the first twin-aisle airplane, with more than double the capacity of the largest commercial craft at the time. Delta’s 747s, introduced on a maiden voyage in 1970 from Atlanta to Dallas to Los Angeles, brought the first overhead luggage bins to the airline, as well as the first in-flight audio channels, dubbed “Deltasonic,” which featured the Beatles, Burt Bacharach and Beethoven. The planes could hold 370 passengers, including 66 in first class and six in those penthouse seats up the stairs.

The design made it literally a wide-body, which became a moniker for long-range aircraft. “It’s one of two seminal airplanes,” said George Hamlin, an aerospace consultant, a former airline and aerospace executive and an aviation history buff. The DC-3, the other iconic aircraft on Hamlin’s list, was a silver piston-engine made by Douglas that helped airlines evolve from mail carriers to people movers in the 1930s and 1940s.

But it was the long-haul capability—a 6,000-mile reach—that made the 747 transformational. “The range of the plane allowed it to go anywhere in the world,” said Michael Lombardi, Boeing’s corporate historian. “It was at that point in history where all of humanity had the ability to get on a flight.”

  The peak year of the 747 came in 2002, when the airplane completed 33,000 flights hauling 10.5 million passengers on 50 airlines. All told, 1,540 Boeing aircraft have been delivered since 1969.

“It was the plane that shrank the world. That is the legacy of the 747,” Lombardi said. “Joe Sutter would tell you the same thing.”

The farewell tour for the Delta 747 also serves as an elegy for Sutter, who died last year at 95. The blunt, sometimes fiery tempered Boeing engineer was known as the “Father of the 747” for his role in shepherding the plane to market in the 1960s against steep odds. Juan Trippe, the autocratic founder of Pan American World Airways who was then the most powerful person in aviation, wanted a single-aisle design with two decks. Sutter believed that the configuration would doom the big plane, so he held out for the single-deck, twin-aisle design. His team, nicknamed the “Incredibles,” brought the plane to life in less than two and a half years, while dealing with balky engines and the prospect of financial collapse.

Boeing created the plant in Everett—the largest building on the planet by volume—just to build the 747, and the same facility eventually turned out such wide-body successors as the 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner. Airplane sales were already slumping by the time the 747 debuted in the turbulent 1970s travel market, but Lombardi said the period proved fertile for Boeing’s development of next-generation improvements: cockpits operated by two pilots instead of three, flight computers and glass screens to replace analog dials.

  Monday’s event in Everett actually marked the second time Delta has retired its 747 fleet. The Atlanta-based carrier took delivery of the first of five 747-100s in October 1970, a period when U.S. carriers were starting to experiment with wide-body jets on domestic routes. The planes featured a Delta “penthouse” behind the upper deck that could be reserved by private parties or by five or six customers who purchased seats together. Even with features such as “deep carpet, soft lights, patina of rosewood and walnut, stereo sound,” as Delta described the private lounges in a brochure, the new planes struggled to make money and were eventually returned to Boeing.

The company eventually created the best-selling 747 model, the -400, which was delivered first to Northwest Airlines in 1989. This started the fleet that would eventually become Delta’s when the airlines merged nearly two decades later. Delta retired the prototype on Sept. 9, 2015, after it had logged 61 million miles.

Delta became the last U.S. carrier to fly the passenger version of the 747 once United Airlines retired its jumbo fleet in November. Outside of the U.S., however, there will still be plenty of 747s carrying passengers: British Airways, Korean Air Lines Co. and Deutsche Lufthansa AG are all big operators.

But over the past 10 years, sales of the latest Boeing 747 model have dwindled, and the jet’s future, to the extent that there is one, will be as a freighter, said George Ferguson, aerospace analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. United Parcel Service Inc. holds all but three of the unfilled orders left for the 747, as well as options to order an additional 14 planes.

“It’s never going to be a big seller again, that’s absolutely done,” Ferguson said of the 747. “It can hang on for a while, but it’s a sunset.”

The post Farewell to the 747, the Plane That Shrank the World appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

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Trump’s Health Secretary Resigns In Travel Flap

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s health secretary resigned Friday, after his costly travel triggered investigations that overshadowed the administration’s agenda and angered his boss. Tom Price’s regrets and partial repayment couldn’t save his job.

The Health and Human Services secretary became the first member of the president’s Cabinet to be pushed out in a turbulent young administration that has seen several high-ranking White House aides ousted. A former GOP congressman from the Atlanta suburbs, Price served less than eight months.

Publicly, Trump had said he was “not happy” with Price for repeatedly using private charter aircraft for official trips on the taxpayer’s dime, when cheaper commercial flights would have done in many cases.

Privately, Trump has been telling associates in recent days that his health chief had become a distraction. Trump felt that Price was overshadowing his tax overhaul agenda and undermining his campaign promise to “drain the swamp” of corruption, according to three people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Friday the president called Price a “very fine person,” but added, “I certainly don’t like the optics.”

Sources: AP reports; White House

The flap prompted scrutiny of other Cabinet members’ travel, as the House Oversight and Government Reform committee launched a governmentwide investigation of top political appointees. Other department heads have been scrambling to explain their own travel.

Price’s repayment of $51,887.31 for his own travel costs and his public expression of regrets did not placate the White House. The total travel cost, including the secretary’s entourage, was unclear. It could amount to several hundred thousand dollars.

An orthopedic surgeon turned politician, Price rose to Budget Committee chairman in the House, where he was known as a fiscal conservative. When Price joined the administration, Trump touted him as a conservative policy expert who could write a new health care bill to replace the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.

But Price became more of a supporting player in the GOP’s futile health care campaign, while Vice President Mike Pence took the lead, particularly in dealing with the Senate. The perception of Price jetting around while GOP lawmakers labored to repeal “Obamacare” —including a three-nation trip in May to Africa and Europe— raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill. Price flew on military aircraft overseas.

Although much of Trump’s ire over the health care failure has been aimed at the Republican-controlled Congress, associates of the president said he also assigns some blame to Price, who he believes did not do a good job of selling the GOP plan.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Friday that Price had worked hard to help that chamber pass its plan before the GOP health overhaul effort reached an impasse in the Senate. “I will always be grateful for Tom’s service to this country,” he said.

Democrats said Trump’s next HHS secretary should turn away from partisanship and try to work with them.

A Pence protege, Seema Verma, has been mentioned as a possible successor to Price. Verma already leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs health insurance programs that cover more than 130 million Americans.

Another possible HHS candidate: FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who won some bipartisan support in his confirmation and is well known in policy, government and industry circles.

Trump named Don J. Wright, a deputy assistant secretary of health, to serve as acting secretary.

Price, 62, was seen in Congress as a foe of wasteful spending. As HHS secretary, he led a $1 trillion department whose future is the key to managing mounting federal budgetary deficits. As secretary, Price criticized the Medicaid health program for low-income people, saying it doesn’t deliver results commensurate with the hundreds of billions of dollars taxpayers spend on it. As a congressman, he favored Medicare privatization.

But Price’s image as a budget hawk took a hit when reports of his official travel started bubbling up. Price used private charter flights on 10 trips with multiple segments, when in many cases cheaper commercial flights were available. His charter travel was first reported by the news site Politico.

On a trip in June to Nashville, Tennessee, Price also had lunch with his son, who lives in that city, according to Politico. Another trip was from Dulles International Airport in the Washington suburbs to Philadelphia International Airport, a distance of 135 miles.

The reports triggered a review by the HHS inspector general’s office, which is looking into whether Price’s travel violated federal travel regulations. Those rules generally require officials to minimize costs.

The controversy over Price was a catalyst for Congress launching a bipartisan probe of travel by political appointees across the administration. The House oversight committee has requested travel records from the White House and 24 federal departments and agencies.

Initially, Price’s office said the secretary’s busy scheduled forced him to use charters from time to time.

But later Price’s response changed, and he said he’d heard the criticism and concern, and taken it to heart. His office said it would cooperate fully with investigators and he’d cease using charter flights while the inspector general investigated. Finally, he offered regrets and a repayment of his own costs, and said he’d stick to commercial flights.

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and JONATHAN LEMIRE - Sep 29 5:19 PM EDT

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Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.

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