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.”
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 5th 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.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Lorde sang at a small concert days before her big night at the Grammys and reminded the crowd to tune in to her performance Sunday night.
The 17-year-old New Zealander performed for a tightly packed crowd Thursday at the Soho House in Los Angeles.
She thanked them for watching and said she hopes they’ll be watching Sunday.
Lorde kicked off the show with “Gone and Glory” and later played the downbeat anthem “Royals,” which is nominated for song and record of the year.
The No. 1 hit is also up for best pop solo performance, and Lorde’s debut, “Pure Heroine,” will compete for pop vocal album.
Cuba Gooding Jr., “The Big Bang Theory” actress Kaley Cuoco, Lance Bass and “X Factor” winners Alex Sierra attended the concert for Delta Airlines.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Northland Technical College in Thief River Falls added to their aircraft fleet Thursday. Delta Airlines donated a DC-9 to the school’s aviation program.
This donation is one of many that Northland has taken in over the years. In fact, a majority of the school’s fleet is made up of these types of donations.
The new addition landed at the Thief River Falls Regional airport Thursday afternoon. The plane will go to the school’s aviation maintenance technology program. No other school in the state has such a program and there aren’t many left in the country. It took the school, with the help of Senator Amy Klobuchar 2 years to get Delta to donate the plane.
James Retka, Dean Of Career And Technical Education said, “Aircraft like this are very expensive and a small college like ours simply wouldn’t have the resources to acquire this state of the art technology that’s so valuable to our college program.”
The school is already looking for more donations to add to their UAS classes.
This weekend, Los Angeles will be brimming over with the hottest names in the music industry and last night (January 23) Delta Airlines hosted an exclusive 56th Annual Grammy Awards Reception in West Hollywood.
“So Yesterday” singer Hilary Duff made her first major event appearance since splitting from husband Mike Comrie, and it looks like the single life is doing her well.
Enjoy the pictures from the Delta Airlines Grammy Weekend celebration with a private performance by Lorde (January 23).
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Delta Airlines is reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as fares and traffic rose.
Delta’s yield – a key measure of what each passenger pays to fly one mile – rose 4 percent.
Not counting a non-cash adjustment for taxes, Delta earned $558 million, or 63 cents per share. Revenue rose 6 percent to $9.08 billion. Both were better than analysts expected, with one-time items excluded on profit.
Delta’s net income was $8.48 billion because of a one-time, $8 billion accounting benefit related to taxes.
A year earlier, Delta earned $7 million, or a penny per share, after Superstorm Sandy hurt profits.
Delta Air Lines Inc. expects to boost the amount of flying it does by 2 percent to 3 percent during the current quarter. Capacity rose just 1 percent last year.
) is due to issue its quarterly earnings report in the upcoming
extended-hours session. Given its history, traders can expect light
trading in the issue immediately following its quarterly earnings
announcement. Historical earnings event related premarket and
after-hours trading activity in DAL indicates that the price change
in the extended hours is likely to be of limited value in
forecasting additional price movement by the following regular
session close.
Last 12 Qtrs Positive Only Price Reactions
Percent of time added to extended-hours gains: 100%
Average next regular session additional gain: 3%
Over the prior three fiscal years (12 quarters), when shares of
DAL rose in the extended-hours session in reaction to its earnings
announcement, history shows that 100.0% of the time (4 events) the
stock posted additional gains in the following regular session by
an average of 3.0%.
Last 12 Qtrs Negative Only Price Reactions
Percent of time added to extended-hours losses: 50%
Average next regular session additional loss: 2.5%
Over that same historical period, when shares of DAL dropped in
the extended-hours in reaction to its earnings announcement,
history shows that 50.0% of the time (2 events) the stock dropped
further, adding to the extended-hours losses by an average of 2.5%
by the following regular session close.
Data provided by the MT Pro service at MTNewswires.com.
Airlines are scrapping U.S. flights again today, pushing the total past 9,000 in four days, as they struggle to rebuild schedules after fresh Midwest snow added to disruptions from last week’s Northeast storm.
Canceled departures and arrivals topped 1,500 at Chicago’s major airports, O’Hare International and Midway International, the city’s aviation department said yesterday. Snowfall in the area was forecast to be as deep as 10 inches (25 centimeters), the National Weather Service said on its website.
The foul weather came as the first full work week of the new year got under way and the holiday travel season drew to a close. Chicago-based United Airlines (UAL) and New York-based JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) were among the carriers trying to rebook fliers who missed connections or who found themselves stranded as their trips were scrubbed.
“We are working hard to reset the operation and get people where they’re going, but it will take days, not hours,” JetBlue said in an advisory on its website.
Cancellations for today already totaled almost 1,400 by late yesterday, according to Houston-based FlightAware. Airlines scrubbed more than 3,100 flights yesterday and had delays on about 7,000 more, according to FlightAware, whose tallies include all trips, not just those affected by weather.
Photographer: Yana Paskova/Getty Images
A New York City Department of Parks Recreation worker pours salt at Carl Schurz Park… Read More
A New York City Department of Parks Recreation worker pours salt at Carl Schurz Park on Jan. 4, 2014 in New York City. Close
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Photographer: Yana Paskova/Getty Images
A New York City Department of Parks Recreation worker pours salt at Carl Schurz Park on Jan. 4, 2014 in New York City.
United, a unit of United Continental Holdings Inc., and its commuter partners were among the hardest hit by cancellations, FlightAware data showed. United warned fliers of possible delays in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Minneapolis and Charlotte, North Carolina. All those cities are home to hub airports for major U.S. airlines.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), the busiest carrier at Midway, had more than half of yesterday’s flights across its system canceled or late, according to FlightAware. JetBlue said last week’s storm, planes filled by holiday travelers and pilot-scheduling rules “combined to significantly impact our operations.”
“We have few options available, further hindered by incoming weather (icing conditions) in the Northeast,” the airline said on its website.
The coldest temperatures in almost two decades are moving into the northern and central U.S. behind an arctic cold front, with “life-threatening” wind chill values as low as 60 degrees below zero, the National Weather Service said.
The front followed a fast-moving winter storm that brought 14.6 inches of snow to Boston’s Logan International Airport on Jan. 3 and 6 inches to Manhattan’s Central Park. At least 11 people died in the inclement weather, most in traffic accidents blamed on slick roads, according to the Associated Press.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Travelers walk through John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. Two of four runways at… Read More
Travelers walk through John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. Two of four runways at the airport opened shortly after 10 a.m. after closing for two hours. Close
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Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Travelers walk through John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. Two of four runways at the airport opened shortly after 10 a.m. after closing for two hours.
Electricity, Gas
Spot wholesale electricity prices jumped from the Midwest to the Northeast on Jan. 3 as low temperatures and heavy snow lifted demand. Natural gas futures rose on the outlook for plunging temperatures.
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport halted flight operations for two hours yesterday after a regional jet being operated for Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) with 35 passengers on board skidded into a snowbank.
Flight 4100 from Toronto slid into the bank while turning onto a taxiway after landing safely, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in an e-mailed statement. No injuries were reported and the plane was towed from the airfield, the agency said.
ATLANTA – Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is now home to the first expedited security screening system in the Southeast.
Airport officials, the Transportation Security Administration and Delta Airlines officials opened the expedited screening program Wednesday.
Airport officials say the program will allow participants to wear their shoes and light outerwear during the security screening process. Those who enrol in the program will also be allowed to keep laptops in their cases and leave travel sized liquids and gels in a bag inside their carry-on.
The program is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who complete a pre-enrolment process online and visit an application centre to provide basic biographical information. A five-year membership in the program costs $85.
Airport officials say the Atlanta system is one of six being launched nationwide.
Organizations:
Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, Transportation Security Administration, Delta Airlines
