Presidential hopeful and Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Tuesday she will vote for the “Green New Deal” resolution when it comes up in the Senate but stressed that she doesn’t back some of the more extreme positions of some of its supporters, such as ending air travel.

“The ‘Green New Deal?’ I see it as, by the way, I see it as aspirational. I see it as a jumpstart,” said Klobuchar, D-Minn., during an interview Tuesday on Fox News. “I would vote yes, but I would also, if it got down to the nitty-gritty of an actual legislation as opposed to ‘Oh, here are goals we have,’ that would be different.”

Democrats offered conflicting views of the “Green New Deal” resolution to the public this week. The resolution itself called for a World War II-level mobilization to fight climate change and create millions of new jobs. But a summary found on the website of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., which was later taken down, said the goal was to make cows and air travel obsolete.

Klobuchar made it clear she doesn’t support going that far.

“I am for a jumpstart of the discussion and a framework, as Sen. Markey has described. I’m not for reducing air travel,” Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar spoke after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced the resolution would be brought up for a vote, in an effort to put Democrats on the record on the controversial measure.

Klobuchar is one of the 11 Democratic co-sponsors of the resolution in the Senate.

The measure outlines a 10-year plan to reduce carbon emissions and replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. It also calls for “meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources,” but Klobuchar said it was unlikely that there would be zero greenhouse gas emissions in the near future.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen in the next few years,” Klobuchar said. “You can imagine by new technology and by the way, that includes nuclear and everything else, that we could get to a better place.”

Instead, Klobuchar said she would like the U.S. to re-enter the international Paris climate agreement that President Trump announced the U.S. would no longer be a part of in 2017.

“I would like to see is on day one to get back into the international climate change agreement. We are the only country not in it,” Klobuchar said. “I would like to see us put in place those clean power rules again that would bring us a 30 percent reduction. I think those are doable things that we’ve worked on.”

It is unclear when the Senate will vote on the “Green New Deal” resolution.

(Adds details of results, background)

Feb 14 (Reuters) – Panama’s Copa Holdings expects demand for flights in Argentina and Brazil to remain weak in 2019, executives said on Thursday during a presentation on its earnings, which showed its profit in 2018 had slumped 75 percent to $88 million.

Copa’s results were significantly affected by a $190 million writeoff as the company decided to phase out its fleet of 19 Embraer planes. The planes will gradually be replaced by Boeing aircraft.

Still, even without that charge, profits would have dropped 25 percent in 2018 from a year earlier.

Other factors that impacted the results of Copa, which flies only to destinations in the Americas, were high oil prices for much of the year, and weak currencies that plagued Brazil and Argentina, two of the region’s most important markets.

Executives said on a conference call with analysts that ticket sales were particularly hard hit in Argentina, where they tumbled 40 percent in 2018 as the South American nation faced a deep recession. (Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun Editing by Bernadette Baum)

The 19th century French photographer known as Nadar was quite an enterprising fellow. He started out as a sketch artist and once set some sort of record for the number of tiny sketches he could get on one page: 250 in all. Magnifying glasses in Paris must have sold out.

But Nadar didn’t stop there. In time he became interested in traveling by hot air balloon. First, he went up by himself and marveled at the view. He said it gave him a serene perspective on life and removed him from all the evil vanities of human endeavor.

But I wonder what he’d have made of contemporary airline travel. It hardly detaches us from the evil vanities of human endeavor. I’m often seated next to a self-important businessman wearing Gucci shoes, adding up multiple figures on his expensive tablet. Or I’m seated next to someone who slurps her drink while I’m trying to sleep. And then there are those who barely have any clothes on, save a pair of shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt: no doubt would-be, stuck-up body builders.

Even Nadar went on to spoil his airborne experience. He oversaw the building of a vehicle that would hold nine people, with separate compartments and even a wine cellar. It drifted over four hundred miles away from Paris and came down suddenly in Hanover, injuring several of the passengers. Nadar grew tired of being up there by himself and sought company. This was a mistake. Ballooning should be meditation, not transportation. That’s the only way to get the evil out.

This is Tom McBride, and that’s my Perspective.

Ian Ryder, vice president strategy management, Air Travel Solutions, SITA, gives three examples of promising developments all centered around technology-enabled collaboration.

We all know that the air transportation industry’s complex ecosystem is built on collaboration. Without its many stakeholders working in unison, we’d simply not be able to travel and fly the way we do. Emerging technologies now promise to enable collaboration in new and increasingly effective ways.

With the plethora of systems, applications and high data volumes involved in making the journey happen, technology already underpins air travel. Whether that’s to create a more seamless journey for the passenger, or to ensure efficient interaction between industry players, technology lies at the core of our industry.

It’s estimated that at least 20 stakeholder organizations can be involved in making the journey happen. Turning around an aircraft, for example, requires close teamwork and IT systems across airport operations, aircraft operations and air traffic control. Working with them are many other stakeholders, all coordinating with crew on the aircraft, the crew handling baggage and cargo, and the teams involved in the aircraft’s replenishment, engineering and technology processes.

A growing industry, a growing IT dependence
It will be essential for technology-enabled collaboration to bring vital changes to our industry’s processes if we’re going to cope with double the volume of air travel by 2037, as well as new business models for airlines and airports and ever higher passenger expectations. Let me give you three examples of promising developments all centered around collaboration.

1. At the airport: shared awareness and coordinated action
The first is at the airport. One way we can achieve shared awareness and coordinated action among airline and airport stakeholders is through a concept called ‘digital twins.’

This is where real-time industry data harvested from sensors on the aircraft and on the ground are combined with other industry data sources to enable a digital model of the real world at the airport to be created. This holistic digital airport model is powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Across the airport, stakeholders can interact with visual representations of the model using devices appropriate to their needs, such as a HoloLens to explore the airport overall, or a wrist device for workers on the ramp.

Thanks to AI, the model can highlight what issues need addressing right now and predict what’s coming in terms of queue lengths, passenger movements, aircraft turnarounds and so on. This will enable quick and effective collaborative decision making. Digital twins could eventually become the universal interface and ‘collaboration space’ for stakeholders working together to keep the airport operating at maximum efficiency, or responding to incidents in real time.

2. For the aircraft: getting data into the right hands
Then there’s the potential for better collaboration around the ‘digital aircraft’. Of the 43,000 commercial aircraft flying in 2034, 85% will be new generation, churning out high volumes of telemetry and data that needs to be understood. Such an aircraft today might generate at least 500GB of data during a flight, but in the future, we’ll be counting in terabytes.

With the arrival of the IoT and intelligent digital devices, aircraft data will be available to feed new analytics and services. These will reduce costs, drive efficiencies, increase aircraft utilization and improve services for passengers, giving them confidence in schedules.

For original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), this growing stream of data is vital in helping them to improve the performance of their aircraft. The challenge is getting the right data to OEMs so they can create value from it. It needs to come from many different types of aircraft; it must be collected, aggregated, cleansed, and then appropriately shared.

This is the rationale behind SITAOnAir’s e-Aircraft DataHub. Focusing on data accuracy, timing and simplification, this service acts as a trusted industry data brokerage to enable better collaboration around the aircraft and its processes.

3. Data sharing: we need a single version of the truth
My third example concerns the accuracy and consistency of shared data, be it airport operational data, passenger or baggage data. The problem is, multiple versions of the truth may exist. An airline might estimate when a flight will arrive; an airport may do the same. Having determined the times separately, those times may differ. When the aircraft actually arrives, multiple parties may again register that event slightly differently. This means duplication of effort, inconsistency and inaccuracy and it impacts both operational efficiency and the quality of service provided to passengers.

As demonstrated by SITA Lab with its FlightChain project, blockchain looks set to play a critical role. Using smart contracts with blockchain, stakeholders can determine who’s allowed to update the blockchain, which enables a sharable single version of the truth. IAG provided a real-world use case, using blockchain and working with SITA to provide authoritative shared flight status information. IAG’s Harvey Tate refers to ‘many sources’ and ‘filter failure’ in determining usable information. He believes that with accuracy around flight status or flight arrival times, for example, there are valuable use cases based on that information, such as rebooking services and providing directions to passengers.

Better collaboration is the key to air travel’s future
Examples like these illustrate how better collaboration can be achieved so we can cope with industry growth. Technology will be an enabler, but we need to work together to identify and exploit the use cases that will be critical to our progress. In doing this, we must keep an eye on Gartner’s Hype Cycle, as we want to base our use cases on stable and deployable technology. And we must remember that all of the collaboration discussed here feeds off one thing – data. Collaboration is about trusted sharing of data.

A final word of advice: if you want to embark a project involving technology-enabled collaboration, work with your stakeholders, and with an experienced IT provider. Start by identifying where collaboration is critical in your organization, focus initially on areas where change is easiest and involve a small number of actively engaged stakeholders, talk to the players involved, and brainstorm how you can improve.

Marijuana legalization means you can get high — really high — with your cannabis.

Once the target of drug-sniffing dogs, cannabis is now allowed in both checked and carry-on luggage for air travellers.

But, as with many other allowed items, there are limits.

Christine Langlois, spokesperson for Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), was in Regina on Wednesday to provide a reminder about security rules, given the upcoming school break often leads to increased air travel.

“Keep in mind that it remains illegal to cross international borders with cannabis,” she said. “Whether you go out of Canada or you come in, it’s illegal to cross international borders. If you want to fly domestically, it’s allowed. You’re allowed to have up to 30 grams of recreational cannabis. It’s roughly the size of a sandwich bag, a clear sandwich bag. And if it’s medical, then you’re allowed to have up to 150 (grams), however make sure you have your medical documentation with you.”

Langlois reminded would-be travellers that it’s up to them to ensure they are obeying provincial legislation in relation to cannabis prior to reaching the airport.

“I think it’s the responsibility of people to know what are the rules exactly in the province they’re in,” she said. “For us, what we’re concerned about is that when you come (to) the airport, those are the limits, the legal limits. But what we really want people to remember about cannabis is to not cross international borders with it.”

As cannabis is considered an allowed item, there is no specific way to pack it. Langlois said it does not need to be in its original packaging; a sandwich bag will suffice.

And while security officials are unlikely to weigh each bag of cannabis, travellers are advised to ensure they are at or under the allowed amount.

“If it looks to be possibly more than the legal limit then, yes, we would call the police as per procedure,” she said.

So far, she said CATSA has not noted a significant impact on operations since the legalization of cannabis in October.

Regulations on other items remain in place. While larger amounts are allowed in checked baggage, liquids, gels and inorganic powders (salts, bath salts, and even hand warmers) must be within specified limits to be taken in carry-on bags. For liquids and gels, that’s 100 millilitres or less per container, with all fitting together inside a small, clear plastic bag. For inorganic powders, the limit is 350 ml, the approximate equivalent of a soda can.

CATSA has additional information available on its website or on its app. Langlois said the app also contains information about wait times at security checkpoints at 14 Canadian airports, including Regina.

Despite all its best efforts at educating the public on what not to bring, some travellers continue to push the limits. Just last week in Regina, security seized numerous items, including what’s known as a credit card knife (a blade concealed within a credit card-sized case) and a trio of throwing stars. Langlois said the throwing stars will be handed over to police.

hpolischuk@postmedia.com

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