Twin Falls, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KTWT-TV ) Delta Airlines has announced expansion plans out of Salt Lake that will have an impact on the Magic Valley.

The airline will be increasing its presence to include more flights and additional destinations.

Delta is also updating its planes to all operate on a two-class system by 2017.

According to Magic Valley Regional Airport Manager Bill Carberry, the changes are going to be felt locally.

“For years we’ve seen really a contraction in the airline business but the next zero to five years Delta is planning to bolster their capacity in Salt Lake. So we will see some larger jets servicing into Salt Lake as well as some new cities so it’s great for the Magic Valley,” he explains.

Carberry says new technologies are adding amenities like WIFI on the planes and early check-ins.
The changes will take place gradually over the next five years.

Pop culture

2 hours ago

The 1980s were a simpler, more neon-splashed time, especially when it came to flying. Delta Airlines’ new safety video does the time warp back to the decade of Valley Girls, mall hair and Madonna wannabes.

Anyone who remembers that effervescent era of leg warmers and acid-washed jeans will be as at home here as they would be watching a John Hughes film festival.

You’ll spot the real Jerry Casale of Devo stowing his famed red “energy dome” headgear under the seat in front of him. Talking electronic bear Teddy Ruxpin gets his own seat, and cat-eating alien Alf needs an assist with his oxygen mask. A breakdancer bails on his exit-row duties by doing the worm back down the aisle, and yes, turning off all portable electronic devices includes your handheld Coleco Electronic Quarterback game. A bright pink can of Tab, acid-washed denim jackets, leg warmers, mall hair, mullets and a Rubik’s Cube all make appearances, too. We can only dream that we could bring our Atari 2600 on the plane to play a little Frogger while cruising at 33,000 feet.

The video wraps up with a familiar face in the co-pilot seat. That’s NBA legend Kareen Abdul-Jabbar helping fly the plane — movie fans will know he played co-pilot Roger Murdock in the classic 1980 comedy film “Airplane!”

We pity the fool who don’t enjoy getting their safety information delivered with a gnarly shot of nostalgia.

In journalism school we are taught to not interject opinion in your reporting. The job is to articulate, without prejudice, stories about people, places, or issues and allow the reader to determine what they believe.

Fortunately for me, in this space I’m asked to convey opinion. Just recently, in fact, I wrote that revered brand Gillette had lost its way in terms of marketing to men. But I’m a glass-half-full guy. I like happy stories. I can’t even listen to NPR anymore as really — how many newscasts principally comprised of end-of-the-world scenarios can one person bear?

Today I was sent a new video by Delta airlines that I could not take my eyes off of despite its 5:21 run time (come on people, we’re in an ADHD world now). It’s called “Delta’s 80′s In-Flight Safety Video,” and it’s utterly brilliant.

From homages to break dancing and high fades, a Devo hat, cameos by the most under-appreciated 1980s TV star Gordon Shumway (a.k.a. “ALF”) and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, to metal hair and more. It has it all — particularly for a guy who went to high school in the ’80s.

More than anything, however, Delta’s dirty little secret is that it ropes viewers into actually focusing on what a live human being in an airplane — often sitting right in front of you — cannot do. It makes you pay attention to the airline safety instructions that virtually every passenger ignores, while conveying the message in a manner that leverages brilliant humor to endear the brand to virtually anyone watching.

Kudos to Delta. Without question, your ’80s-themed safety video is flying first class.

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. — The last DC-9 in Delta Airlines’ fleet flew into retirement Thursday at Thief River Falls Regional Airport.

The twin turbojet DC-9-50 is a gift from Delta to Northland Community and Technical College, to be used for training in the school’s aviation maintenance technology program.

“This is the last one in the air,” Capt. Bill Yaniero said after stepping off the plane, along with his son, Dylan, and First Officer Travis Wright.

It was one of two DC-9s that left Atlanta earlier Thursday, he said. The other landed in Charlotte, N.C.

Officially, the last commercial flight of a DC-9 was Jan. 6, from Minneapolis to Atlanta, Delta’s headquarters, following a retirement tour of the aircraft as the airline makes its transition to the Boeing 717 and 737, according to a Delta website.

Also on the flight was Merle Carlson, a Hallock native and a 1989 graduate of Northland’s AMT program, who was the aircraft’s chief mechanic. He is senior integrator of Delta’s maintenance programs.

The DC-9, identified as Aircraft NC782NC, is one of three DC-9s and two 727s now owned by NCTC, according to Dan Klug, the school’s chief development officer.

However, the oldest plane of each model will be recycled, leaving the school with two DC-9s and one 727. Those aircraft had been donated by American Airlines and by Northwest Airlines, which since has merged with Delta.

“Now that we’ll have two DC-9s in the hangar, we can scrap out and swap parts,” Klug said.

Besides the latest DC-9, the school will keep a DC-9 that was donated by the Detroit Pistons in 2012 and a 727 donated by FedEx in 2013.

Northland currently has about 70 students in its aerospace program, which includes aviation maintenance technology, unmanned aerial systems and imagery analysis.

Klug said U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has been working with the school for about two years to update its fleet. He also credited Richard Anderson, Delta’s CEO, for taking an interest in the program.

“We’ve been working on this one for about two years,” Klug said. “We’re grateful for the donations.”

Tags:
news, updates

HOUSTON, TX–(Marketwired – Jan 24, 2014) – In the news release, “FuelQuest Reaches Industry Milestone With Zytax Compliance,” issued Thursday, January 23, 2014 by FuelQuest, we are advised by the company that in the paragraph beneath the bullet set, the second sentence should have read “Customers include CSX, Delta Airlines, Northern Tier, and hundreds more.”  In addition, the quote in the next paragraph should have read “back-office systems” instead of “back-off systems.” Complete corrected text follows.

FuelQuest Reaches Industry Milestone With Zytax Compliance

Over 250 Customers Are Using Zytax Compliance 5 to File Motor Fuel Excise Taxes Across All Major US Jurisdictions

HOUSTON, TX — Jan 23, 2014 — FuelQuest Inc., the leading on-demand software and services company for the global downstream energy industry, announced today that over 250 customers are now in production using its 5^th generation software to file motor fuels excise taxes accurately and reliably across all 50 major U.S. jurisdictions. With over 370 returns and more than 3,000 schedules available in the system, more customers are filing excise tax returns on Zytax Compliance 5 than all other commercial offerings combined. FuelQuest continues to lead the market with proven and innovative energy-related tax solutions that process millions of transactions each month.

“Compliance 5 has brought Zytax, as well as Delek’s fuel tax reporting, into the modern era. We find that Compliance 5 has more flexibility than the previous version,” says Scott Gattis, tax manager at Delek US Holdings. “The option of having the software hosted grants us access to our fuel tax information anywhere we have an Internet connection. Software and rate updates are handled directly by FuelQuest without our intervention.”

FuelQuest Zytax Compliance 5 automates the importation of motor fuels excise tax data from back-office systems, evaluation of applicable taxes, creation of signature-ready returns and schedules, and filing of electronic returns where applicable. The software streamlines tax processing, reducing errors that can lead to fines, fees, and penalties. Zytax Compliance 5 offers companies:

• Automated, end-to-end filing from data import, to electronic filing, to support for audits and amendments,
• Relief from tracking frequently changing rules, rates, and forms across all U.S. jurisdictions,
• Comprehensive, out-of-the-box coverage for excise tax returns and schedules,
• Confidence from using the most widely-deployed excise tax solution in the U.S. — from small single-jurisdiction filers to the largest oil companies, and
• Reduced capital infrastructure investment and reliance on internal IT support.

FuelQuest provides fuel tax automation solutions for companies of all sizes across multiple industries including fuel retail, distribution, terminals, supply, and trading as well as rail, airlines, and trucking. Customers include CSX, Delta Airlines, Northern Tier, and hundreds more.

“Filing motor fuels excise taxes can prove challenging for companies relying on manual processes or back-office systems,” says Matt Tormollen, president and CEO at FuelQuest. “The risk of improperly filed tax returns increases with each jurisdiction or fuel product added — particularly with custom-built solutions. We are proud to have the leading excise tax compliance software in the market and to have reached this major milestone with our customers.”

ABOUT FUELQUEST
FuelQuest provides on-demand fuel management, tax automation, and compliance solutions for suppliers, distributors, buyers, and traders of petroleum products and other energy commodities. FuelQuest’s solutions deliver operational and financial value to over 650 customers. These customers include leading global oil companies, international retailers, shippers and government entities. FuelQuest’s fuel management solutions help customers manage the complexity, regulation and market volatility for more than 22 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel annually. Its Zytax solutions ensure compliance and accuracy for tens of billions of dollars of energy-related excise taxes per year. Learn more at www.fuelquest.com.

• Taxes
• Finance
• Delta Airlines