The same storm that diverted dozens of flights and cancelled hundreds more between Texas and Minnesota Wednesday was moving east, bringing severe rain storms to the Southeast and snow to the northern Great Lakes.
On Thursday, more than 300 flights were cancelled in Dallas, planes were parked on the tarmac in Chicago for more than an hour and nearly a quarter of all flights in Houston were delayed.
ABC NewsSevere storms will move through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama by 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The storm stretched from the Canadian border all the way down to the Mexican border, ABC News meteorologist Max Golembo reported. There were blizzard-like conditions from Kansas to Minnesota and strong storms with heavy rain from Texas to Illinois.
Heavy rainfall will create the possibility of flash flooding between New Orleans and Atlanta with damaging winds possible through the Southeast.
ABC NewsThe rain, and snow to the north, will move into the Ohio Valley and reach north to New England overnight Thursday into Friday morning.
Rain isn’t always problematic, but lightning and wind can snarl airport traffic for extended periods of time.
Dallas Love Field suspended operations for a brief period on Wednesday when lightning was striking near the airport.
ABC NewsAs much as 5 inches of rain are possible along the central Gulf Coast, while as much as 1 foot of snow could fall in the northern U.S. over the next three days.
Heavy rain is likely along the Interstate 95 corridor from Boston down to Washington on Friday, with snow further to the north.
None of the major U.S. carriers anticipated widespread cancellations, but officials said delays could plague the Southeast and some of the East Coast on Thursday and Friday.
UPS Exec Believes It Is Too Soon For Blockchain Benefits In 2019
Recently, some important executives from the logistics giant UPS have shared their thoughts about the future of the blockchain technology. According to him, unfortunately, 2019 will still not be the year in which the blockchain technology will finally go mainstream. The executives were interviewed by the Wall Street Journal in a report that was published today, December 28.
Juan Perez, the chief engineering and information official of UPS and also vice president of tech in the United Airlines, together with Linda Jojo, the Chief Digital Officer of UPS, affirmed that they are very non-hyped about the blockchain technology and that they are still searching for the “killer use case” that will make it famous.
They affirmed that, at the moment, they have a small team studying the blockchaintechnology and that they are still looking for the use case that will define the future, as they do not see one and they do not believe that it will appear in 2019 just yet, but possibly farther into the future.
The execs affirm that it is simply too soon to find a real implementation for the blockchain technology that will be as good as people hope that it will. According to them, it is not a realistic view to expect significant benefits in 2019 because the technology is still mostly focused on the whole process of evolving and maturing as much as it can before it produces a great solution.
By commenting that a real revolution will require a lot of parties and more evaluation of the technology, the duo made it clear that they are having a very level-headed vision about the prospects of the blockchain and that the team is ready to wait for it.
Interest In The Blockchain Technology Went Down During the Year
The blockchain received a lot of mixed reviews during the year. Both press and businesses saw the decline in prices accompany a decline in the interest in the technology. The main issue was clear: promises were made in 2017 and not a lot of them was actually fulfilled in 2018.
Despite all the potential of the technology, 2018 was a huge disappointment. It promises of innovation and disruption were simply not solid enough. While a lot of people believe that these promises will be fulfilled on 2019, some believe that this will only happen in the next decade and others that it will never be.
Many businesses saw a huge increase in price by using the blockchain term on their projects, so all the speculation actually made expectatives go up the roof and caused even more disappointment.
2019 will certainly be a year of recovering some of the trust that the blockchain tech has lost this year and to start new exciting projects to prove its potential will become a reality.
Airline food may have a bad reputation, but United Airlines is hoping to help it soar. The company has published a new cookbook featuring more than 40 recipes from its executive chefs as well as chefs from the acclaimed Trotter Project.
No, the cookbook isn’t simply a list of foods such as the shelled peanuts or bagged pretzels we coach passengers consider ourselves lucky to get. “Polaris” is the airline’s business-class service, and the United Polaris Cookbook is a collection of recipes inspired by that class of service and its onboard dining experience. One displayed recipe is for coconut soup with sambal oelek chicken, which we’ve certainly never been served back in economy class.
A portion of the proceeds from cookbook sales will be donated to The Trotter Project, which works to help inspire and develop the next great generation of culinary professionals. Chefs from the project helped prepare the book. The project was founded in memory of legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, who died of a stroke in 2013 when he was just 54.
United is the official airline of The Trotter Project, and project-affiliated chefs work in an ongoing collaboration with the airline’s own chefs.
Aviation continues to baffle me – this year, why any sane person would ever want to invest in, or run, an airline, given the artillery of misfortune ranged against carriers who simply want to get people from A to B and make a bit of money along the way.
From the Beast from the East to the drone that stole Christmas, aviation has had to contend with a ridiculous spectrum of challenges in 2018 – and has also managed to annoy a lot of people with poor behaviour. But the UK continues to benefit from the most flourishing and best-value air travel opportunities in the world. Let’s see if it continues after Brexit. Meanwhile, here are some highs and lows.
Best response to an aviation crisis
The train operators London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Thameslink, which offered complimentary transport to passengers caught up in the drone nonsense at Gatwick.
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LNER tweeted: “Has your flight between London #GatwickAirport and Edinburgh been cancelled today? If so, you can use your flight tickets to travel on our trains today for FREE.”
Thameslink followed up by saying: “If you are travelling to Edinburgh and you have an airline ticket you can travel on our services to London King’s Cross/London St Pancras, Stevenage or Peterborough to connect with @LNER services, for free.”
Passengers who availed themselves of the deal ended up in profit, since easyJet or British Airways will refund the fares for the lost journey.
Best missed connection
Avianca, from the Galapagos via Guayaquil to Bogota and Heathrow. When it was clear that the inbound flight to the Galapagos was going to be three hours late, staff in one of the most remote “out-stations” handled the rearrangments brilliantly – organising a hotel, transfers, meals and new flights without fuss. Or fee.
Cheapest flight (domestic)
Stansted-Belfast International, Ryanair, £9.99 (3.2p per mile). This is less than the amount Ryanair was obliged to pay in Air Passenger Duty, let alone all the other costs involved in running an airline and flying someone 320 miles.
Most expensive flight (domestic)
Manchester-Edinburgh, Flybe, £102 (55p per mile). No complaints, it was a “distress purchase” two hours before departure and I am glad it was available.
Cheapest flight (international)
Stansted-Luxembourg, Ryanair, £9.99 (3.3p per mile). What are they smoking at Ryanair HQ in Dublin?
Most expensive flight (international)
Palma-Gatwick, £242 (26p per mile). Notable for easyJet selling me a ticket one moment and then telling me the next that I could not check in because the flight was potentially oversold.
Lowest number of fellow passengers
Seven, on Thomas Cook from Gatwick to Palma and Flybe from Manchester to Southend, but Thomas Cook wins because it was a plane with a capacity of nearly 300. That flight, by the way, cost £28, and was almost a candidate for cheapest at 3.6p per mile.
Most surprisingly cheap flight
British Airways from Venice to Gatwick, booked the night before travel for €46.
Shortest flight
Belfast City-Manchester, 171 miles.
Longest flight
Perth-Heathrow, 9,009 miles. Qantas demonstrated with its new nonstop from the Western Australian capital to London that ultra-long-haul flight is tolerable in economy if the product – from entertainment to meals – is well thought-out and executed. The London-Sydney run has no fears for me, just a quiet yearning to see the places seven miles below.
Oddest flight
UTAir from Volgograd to Sochi. I took this Russian domestic link shortly before Christmas, and was surprised by three things.
First, it was a candidate for best-value non-UK flight, at just £46 for a two-hour-plus hop. Next, it boarded, taxied and took off in the sort of snowstorm that would halt British airports for a week. Finally, there was exactly no service at all on board – nothing given away or sold, just a strange, Russian sense of calm.
May all your departures in 2019 be calm, punctual, comfortable and safe.
The same storm that diverted dozens of flights and cancelled hundreds more between Texas and Minnesota Wednesday was moving east, bringing severe rain storms to the Southeast and snow to the northern Great Lakes.
On Thursday, more than 300 flights were cancelled in Dallas, planes were parked on the tarmac in Chicago for more than an hour and nearly a quarter of all flights in Houston were delayed.
The storm stretched from the Canadian border all the way down to the Mexican border, ABC News meteorologist Max Golembo reported. There were blizzard-like conditions from Kansas to Minnesota and strong storms with heavy rain from Texas to Illinois.
Heavy rainfall will create the possibility of flash flooding between New Orleans and Atlanta with damaging winds possible through the Southeast.
Rain isn’t always problematic, but lightning and wind can snarl airport traffic for extended periods of time.
Dallas Love Field suspended operations for a brief period on Wednesday when lightning was striking near the airport.
Heavy rain is likely along the Interstate 95 corridor from Boston down to Washington on Friday, with snow further to the north.
None of the major U.S. carriers anticipated widespread cancellations, but officials said delays could plague the Southeast and some of the East Coast on Thursday and Friday.
Airlines have canceled 104 flights and delayed an additional 41 to and from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Friday, according to FlightAware. American, which has a huge hub at the airport, accounts for most of the cancellations and delays.
American had 85 flights diverted late Wednesday and early Thursday due to the weather. Flights to and from the airport were close from 3 p.m. Wednesday until early Thursday morning, according to American spokesman Ross Feinstein.
He said the airline’s operations in Dallas should return to normal Friday afternoon.
At smaller Dallas Love Field, home to Southwest Airlines, three flights to and from the airport have been canceled.
At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, home to another American Airlines hub, 28 flights have been canceled and an additional 22 are delayed, according to FlightAware.
Atlanta and Charlotte are showing the most delays.
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Airline food may have a bad reputation, but United Airlines is hoping to help it soar. The company has published a new cookbook featuring more than 40 recipes from its executive chefs as well as chefs from the acclaimed Trotter Project.
No, the cookbook isn’t simply a list of foods such as the shelled peanuts or bagged pretzels we coach passengers consider ourselves lucky to get. “Polaris” is the airline’s business-class service, and the United Polaris Cookbook is a collection of recipes inspired by that class of service and its onboard dining experience. One displayed recipe is for coconut soup with sambal oelek chicken, which we’ve certainly never been served back in economy class.
A portion of the proceeds from cookbook sales will be donated to The Trotter Project, which works to help inspire and develop the next great generation of culinary professionals. Chefs from the project helped prepare the book. The project was founded in memory of legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, who died of a stroke in 2013 when he was just 54.
United is the official airline of The Trotter Project, and project-affiliated chefs work in an ongoing collaboration with the airline’s own chefs.
United is adding routes and service from San Francisco to Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Toronto and Amsterdam in early 2019. Adding nonstop service to United’s West Coast hub service will expand service for all of United’s U.S. connecting cities.
Here’s what you need to know about this United Airlines news:
Daily nonstop from San Francisco to Amsterdam service begins March 30, 2019. United also offers flights to Amsterdam from Chicago, Houston, Newark and Washington, D.C.
San Francisco to Melbourne, Australia service will run three times weekly beginning Oct. 29, 2019. This is United’s second flight to Melbourne. The other one departs from Los Angeles. United offers service to Sydney from Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
United is adding a second flight to Seoul, South Korea from San Francisco. The new flight will begin operating four times per week on April 1, 2019.
New San Francisco-to-Toronto service helps West Coasters. United already flies to Toronto from several U.S. cities. The twice-daily nonstop service between begins March 31, 2019, offering convenient connections for business and leisure.
San Francisco to Papeete, Tahiti, service extends to a year-round schedule on March 30, 2019.Flights will depart three times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, extends to year-round service on March 30, 2019. Flights will also fly three times per week.
New Delhi is the exception to the early 2019 rule. Seasonal service will begin Dec. 5, 2019. San Francisco to New Delhi, India. United currently offers nonstop service to Mumbai and New Delhi from Newark.
