Gentleman Agitator

THE ATMOSPHERIC GREMLINS STRIKE AGAIN: Clear Air Turbulence Strikes Air Canada A319

    As reported by the Toronto Globe and Mail,on January 11, 2008, an Air Canada, Airbus A319 from Victoria, British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario had to make an unscheduled stop in Calgary, Alberta, the previous day, due to a few moments where it encountered a pocket of undetectable turbulence in flight. Ten people were taken to the hospital, but none with life threatening injuries. Here is a Canadian video report. This incident is what is known as "Clear Air Turbulence".
    NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base in California has been one of the leading research institutions looking into these phenomena along with NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. They describe it this way:
“Atmospheric turbulence is the leading cause of in-flight injuries experienced by the flying public, and can result in death in extreme situations.
    Turbulence is often associated with visible storm systems. In these situations, the turbulent conditions can be observed by radar and the aircraft can avoid the dangerous region. Not so with clear-air turbulence, a condition occurring at cruise altitudes that has few if any visible warning signs for even the most conscientious pilots.
    Clear air turbulence is often found on the outskirts of thunderstorms, up to 50 miles away from the actual storm activity. It also occurs near the boundaries of high altitude air currents called jet streams and in the vicinity of mountain ranges and surface weather fronts. There are currently no effective systems to warn flight crews that they are approaching clear air turbulence. One of the only ways that commercial or other aircraft can avoid encounters is to heed recent pilot reports of turbulence and if possible, avoid the hazardous region of the atmosphere.
    Additional work in the turbulence research program is under way to improve understanding of the clear air turbulence phenomena and thereby improve the quality of turbulence forecasting.”
    For almost ten years, NASA has been working to devise a system by which aircraft can detect these atmospheric gremlins before they send passengers tumbling around the cabin like the recent Air Canada incident. Working with various test beds that have included a 1960’s era Lockheed Electra prop-jet, a DC-8 jetliner and a Boeing 757 jetliner, NASA researchers and others from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado have looked at a couple of different methods involving hardware, software and laser pulses to detect the rough air pockets. (Animation of how the laser system works)
    Size of the hardware and cost of the system are still factors that might hinder airlines from adopting it. It would not be the first time the airlines passed on a NASA developed device that could increase air safety. NASA Dryden helped to devise a system that could fly a plane by engine thrust only in the mid-1990s using an MD-11 aircraft as a test bed. This would allow a plane that loses use of the wings, rudder or flaps, such as the famous United Flight 232 in 1989, the ability to land safely. While not great in size the airlines claimed the cost of installation was too great for their large fleets and the likelihood of another such incident was minimal. What is the cost of safety though? Air travel is incredibly safe, but why not make it safer?
    Until the airlines decide whether to buy into being able to avoid the turbulence gremlins, I suggest you keep your seat belt fasten. Bashing your head into the light and air vent panel above you could lead to serious injury. Look for hand holds below the overhead bins to hang onto, if you have to walk about the cabin. If you are walking about the cabin, more than likely, you are on the way to the lavatory. There is usually one handle in the lavatory near the door. However, in there, a big bump could cause a nasty case of blue butt, even if you hang on. If you have ever looked into one of those toilet bowls, you will know what I mean.

For more information on NASA’s research in the area of Clear Air Turbulence, go to:

NASA (ACLAIM) PROJECT RESEARCH

TIMELY WARNINGS OF TURBULENCE AHEAD

A Status Report on Turbulence Warning Technology

Holiday Inn's New Branding is a Holiday Sin

"It was the worst mistake they ever made," – Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inn on his successors elimination of the “Great Sign” as the company logo.

    I love Holiday Inn. I admit it. I always have. From the first time, my parents pulled off an American interstate and I gazed upon the legendary “Great Sign,” I was hooked. It was a neon light blaze of the huge green sign with the yellow curved arrow and topped the star bursting in colors. Emblazoned in the middle “Holiday Inn” with the great flowing, cursive, backwards script. Sadly, the great sign went away in the early 80’s, but the last vestige of it, the classic word mark has continued though a few logos of the company until the present day.
    Therefore, last month, I was shocked when I received an email from my girlfriend asking me what I thought of the new Holiday Inn logo. New Holiday Inn logo?!
I searched the web for an image. What I saw was a bland, oversimplistic spin on the classic font that had made up the majority of the old logo. This gentleman is definitely agitated at Holiday Inn’s parent company IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group).
    Holiday Inn, you know them, the world's innkeeper. In its fifty-five years of existence Holiday Inn has always stood for lodging that is quality, consistency and a fair price. It has always stood for a “home away from home” feeling, a place for the whole family and a respite for the business traveler. This still stands true today. I am not one to constantly flitter in my purchasing choices. If I am happy with a product, I will stay with it. I am loyal to it as long as does not stray from being what I expect it to be. As a Priority Club Gold member with InterContinental Hotel Group, I show my loyalty every time I stay at a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express.  However, for the first time ever, I find my loyalty challenged. The Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express experience for me begins with that familiar font. It is not the whole “Great Sign,” but seeing the words in that special font and the graphic star that harkens back to the “Great Sign’s” star, give me reassurance that I know what the experience will be behind them.
    Therefore, as an American who grew up on the original Holiday Inn look, the new look is a huge disappointment. I have been a loyal Holiday Inn customer, but now feel really put off by the graphic rebranding.
    It was only three years ago in 2004 that IHG, in a spirit of revival for Holiday Inn unveiled a new, modern version of the “Great Sign.” An article in Hotel & Motel Management by Jeff Higley quoted IHG’s Mark Snyder, senior v.p. of brand management for Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, North America, “…we want to reconnect with the legacy and be proud of what we are." Along with the new sign, IHG launched new prototype for a Holiday Inn building design. The first one opened in January 2004, at the  Gwinnet Center in Duluth, Ga.. Along with the new “Great Sign,” there are new interior design elements like iconic artwork and a tribute to founder Kemmon’s Wilson with Kem’s Café, a modernized restaurant. I thought, “Great!” a new great sign and an updating of amenities for us the customers was a step in the right direction.  Outside of some advertising both internally and externally, I guess the classic update was thrown out the window!
    So, how does IHG explain this new branding?  A Times of London Online article by Dominic Walsh reported, “…Opinions are likely to be divided over the merits of the garish new green logo compared with the retro 1950s script that will forever be associated with Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first Holiday Inn in Memphis in 1952.
But Andy Cosslett, IHG’s chief executive, claimed that in depth market research conducted among Holiday Inn customers had also found strong acceptance for what he called a "a refreshed and contemporary brand image".
“Our research is clear, people like it. You don’t want to alienate loyal users so the trick is to find a way of keeping the familiarity while making it fresh and relevant.”
He added: “Signage is very important. We’ve worked out that over 100 million people see our sign every day. It’s a very important part of the marketing of the brand…”
    Yes, that’s right Mr. Cosslett, they do see that important word mark every day. It is iconic. People know what is behind that sign. Now, I cannot tell what is behind your new sign. “H”? Hilton? You want Holiday Inn to be a Hilton wannabe? I had to stay at Hilton recently because of business and it was ok. It was quite nice. If I had had a choice though, I would have been at a Holiday as is usual when I am footing the bill and not my employer as it was in this case. So let us see; is the new logo a convience store? A gas station? I guess it would look good next to a BP station with its odd, new logo. They threw away classic brand equity as well. The new Holiday Inn mark is not fresh at all. Mr. Cosslett say your research is clear, your in-depth research. I am a Priority Club Gold member! You never asked me what I thought of it! You do realize that the “H” mark font does not match the font in the new word mark don’t you? The Times article reported, “One analyst said: “The new logo is pretty awful. I expected Kemmons Wilson will be turning in his grave.” Here's a look at other views of the new branding of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Then the views of some branding experts.

    The blog Underconsideration (Brand New) welcomed the change, but referred to the new logo as, “Designed by Interbrand, the new logo is more energetic, festive, modern, swooshy, happy, vibrant, friendly, grabable, and many more adjectives that are triggered by the over designed icon — it simply has too much styling to it, or, for a more appropriate allegory, too many chocolates on the pillow. In its dimensionality, the H is paper thin yet has an inner shadow, it's somehow bulging outward as derived from the shadow yet the H is not reciprocally bulged, and the green field has a slight bevel that, if the H were peeling off from it, it should have as well. It's somewhat encouraging that some of the traits from the original H — extended crossbar to the left and right, inward curve of the right stem, and an overall angling — were intended to carry over into the new mark. The accompanying word mark, while beautifully drawn and well crafted, feels like it belongs on an amusement park ride, more than a global hotel chain; and as a way to bring it altogether, the word mark also features, again, that indispensable dark green bevel.” A good comment on that blog entry by reader Jonathan Hoefler read, “And another one bites the dust. Nostalgic Me is sad to see such a marvelous piece of Americana tossed out in favor of something bland and perishable, and Commercial Me is dumbstruck that what was literally the signature of the institution has been done away with, without reason. I wonder when history will start to regard ours as an age of typographic genocide…” Another reader wrote what was probably behind the decision rather than market research, “The problem comes with upper management wanting to put their 'mark' on a brand during their tenure. I firmly believe that selfishness by individuals and management groups are driving many of the identity changes in the American marketplace these days. Dumping years of brand equity is not great business - overhaul the SERVICE or PRODUCT and allow the brand to be associated with that.”
    Those were some graphic design professional’s reviews. At least one consultant in the hospitality industry, David McMillan of David McMillan Consulting, Global Hospitality Consultant for Hotel & Resort Owners, Developers and Operators had this to say in his blog entry on November 1, 2007, “REPOSITIONING ANALYSIS PARALYSIS....NOW NEW & IMPROVED!
HOW MANY TIMES CAN ONE REINVENT A HOTEL BRAND?
Are we never satisfied with a great product? Do we always have to find a 'new and improved' version? Can we not build in 'perpetual improvement' into the brand, in the first place…I believe that the management of a brand is a very personal thing, not open to diverse interpretations nor financial difficulties. It is a strong statement of a position. A powerful statement of style......not something that gradually deteriorates and then needs to be re-named. That is a cop-out. A total departure from the basic principles of the brand which were established in good faith.”
    Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn once said that the worst decision that was made after he no longer ran the company was the loss of the “Great Sign” as the company’s logo. "It was the worst mistake they ever made.”
    Well, Mr. Wilson, God rest your soul, they’ve done it again. I make a personal appeal to IHG to give us back the Holiday Inn word mark . Do what you will otherwise, but let us, the loyal Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express customers continue to have confidence in the brand and pride in its legacy. You know, I miss the big green key fobs. I miss the white towels with the green stripe and Holiday Inn in white or just the words in green. I even miss the paper ribbon across the toilet telling me that it has been sanitized for my protection. That does not mean I am against progress. As part of the new makeover under the logo, IHG promises a number of new initiatives I applaud and look forward to. The website etravelblackboardasia.com reported these Holiday Inn updates:
Refreshed Guest Room – Guests will be able to enjoy a new bedding experience with fresh, white duvets and pillows that come in two comfort levels: soft and firm. Bathrooms will feature a showerhead that offers superior pressure while conserving water as well as enhanced amenities, to deliver an invigorating and up-to-date bath experience.
Warm Welcome – A new signature arrival, including new lighting, landscaping and design features will create an energized and a sense of welcome that is universally recognizable and unique to the brand. Guests can expect a more interactive and efficient check-in process, while customized music and scent selections will also engage them in a complete sensory experience.


New Service Promise – Since a differentiated lodging experience cannot be delivered through imagery and product alone, Holiday Inn is committed to providing the best-in-class service. As part of the relaunch, the brand will initiate a new service culture – “Stay Real.” The service culture will enhance staff behavior and skills to best serve guests, treating them as real people and consistently delivering the real, genuine service for which Holiday Inn is known.”
    That is great. I look forward to these changes. They sound like fun and a good upgrade to my lodging experience.  In addition, I fully realize that changes have to be made to keep Holiday Inn competitive with many other chains nipping at its heels. That does not change my feeling towards the new logo though. I hope IHG will PLEASE reconsider this decision. I will say one positive thing. Holiday Inn will at least keep green and yellow in their signage.
    Another favorite company of mine, Delta Air Lines, kept their colors, but made an equally disastrous logo change in 2000 when the classic logo, know as the widget, was changed to what I called the wimpy widget . Outcry from employees got the widget restored in 2004.
    I realize there is risk in keeping the mark as there is in changing it. An article in the Toronto Globe Investor online by Lori McLeod states, “It's a big gamble and a logistical nightmare of sorts, but Stevan Porter, president of the Americas region for IHG, said it has to be done - "or someone will do it to you… Mr. Porter is convinced it's the right decision, although chucking out 52 years of history has given him some sleepless nights. "That is a massive bet to make.”  While he has lost that bet with this Holiday Inn loyalist, maybe he will win it with whatever demographic IHG’s brain trust are aiming for. I hope they do, because the worst thing that could happen is for Kemmons Wilson’s dream to die. A death not only of a great business, but an American historical and cultural icon. Holiday Inn is the WORLD’s Innkeeper!

P.S.: Do you feel like I do? Do you want to see an American icon preserved? Let IHG and Kemmons Wilson’s family know how you feel. Are there Holiday Inns and Expresses you regularly stay at? Let the franchisee management know how you feel next time you visit. 

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Put the “Keep Delta, My Delta” Buttons Away

There is a new threat to Delta Air Lines, "Pardus Capital Management, LLC. I am sure if you are an airline industry watcher like I am, a Delta Air Lines supporter like I am or that you are an air traveler, that you have heard that pot stirring coming from a letter from Pardus to Delta executives. Pardus declaring how “imperative” it is that Delta merge with another carrier and that United would be the “most attractive and practical combination.” Uh, that would be the most attractive and practical? That shows how much Pardus know about the airline industry. Perhaps they just mean attractive and practical for them.
    It was only last year that Delta was fighting off a marriage proposal of an unwanted suitor in US Airways. That rumpled suit with wilting flowers showed up at the door trying to create a low cost Frankenairline of a carrier that would have kept the name Delta. I wrote two articles on that subject last year, DELTAFLOT: BLUEPRINT FOR A FRANKENAIRLINE: Part 1 and Part 2.
    Now, we have an outside matchmaker trying to scare Delta to merge with United. Who exactly is Pardus to tell Delta and United what to do? Pardus has a puny 2.6 and 4.8 percent of stake in each company. Who is Pardus anyway?
    Pardus is a hedge fund group. A hedge fund is defined by a CNN online article on understanding financial terms as: A private investment fund that uses high risk techniques such as short selling and derivatives to achieve a higher return. Maligned in some quarters because of the perception that some hedge funds have so much leverage their activities can be detrimental to the global financial system.
    In doing a little research about Pardus, read of them being or having been connected to the Lear Corporation. Lear is one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive interior systems and components. More importantly, I saw that the majority stakeholder in the Lear Corporation is none other than a name that strikes revulsion and fear in the hearts of many former and present airline employees. It is none other than that notorious destroyer of airlines in the 1980s, Carl Icahn. If Pardus and Icahn have any connections, look out Delta and United. I have no evidence of this, I just found it interesting that they were both hedge fund movers with investments in a sector with Lear and another auto parts company Visteon. 
    Icahn is also mentioned in a February 2006 article at Business Week.com. entitled: “Attack Of The Hungry Hedge Funds.” I used to think that hedge funds were helping to prop up ailing American companies, but now… The article reads, “To hike stock prices, they're banding together to force changes on companies. Activist hedge funds had a banner day on Feb. 7. Before the stock market opened, General Motors Corp. (GM ) finally succumbed to months of pressure from billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda Corp. investment fund by slashing its dividend, cutting executive pay, and naming a Kerkorian adviser to the board. In the afternoon, an adviser to billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn issued a 343-page paper detailing how to break up Time Warner Inc. (TWX ) and release about $40 billion in shareholder value.  Boosting share prices rather than taking over underperforming companies is the name of the game, and any strategy to achieve that seems fair play…
…In fact, the new strategies mean that such corporate battles are now year-round affairs. At any moment, an activist fund can take a position in a target company and quickly start agitating for change. The first move is often a salty open letter to management. When Icahn, who manages various Icahn Partners funds, wrote to Time Warner shareholders on Oct. 11, he let fly. "Unless this legacy of poor decision-making is fully recognized and the board is held accountable, the dismal record of mistakes and inaction will continue to the detriment of shareholders," he wrote. It was the official opening salvo in the war for the future of the company…” Gee, where have I heard of this scenario in the last couple of days?
    So, it is back to the 1980s eh? Cue Gordon Gecko, “Greed is good.” Some speculation is that moves like this are in fear of a Democrat in the White House and a new administration not as amenable to big mergers. So, get while the gettin’ is good, is that it?  You just scare investors, management, employees and travelers of airlines into consolidation and pick up a quick buck.  Oh, that cry of consolidation. One symptom of a lot of the run away capitalism we have in this world is by those that unless companies merge in an industry that it will all collapse. That and the absurd notion that some have that consolidation of the airline industry would bring more competition. No, it would only bring monopolies. That is not a free market economy.
    For now we will just have to believe the statements of Delta and United reported in the New York Times:    
    “We appreciate receiving Pardus’s views on the best course for Delta’s future,” Mr. Anderson (Delta’s CEO Richard H. Anderson) said in the statement. “We have been consistent in our public statements that Delta believes that the right consolidation transaction could generate significant value for our shareholders and employees.”
    United’s spokeswoman, Jean Medina, said: "We do not respond to wholly inaccurate statements made by people who claim to have knowledge when they clearly do not."
    Just in case, as a loyal customer of Delta and supporter of the company and its employees I will keep my “Keep Delta, My Delta” button at the ready. I will be ready to brandish it again and agitate for a free and independent Delta Air Lines.    

Forget Yellowstone, Check Out Big Horn Canyon in Montana

Big Horn Canyon Map
Ok, well do not forget Yellowstone, who could? If you are out that way heading to Yellowstone though and you have a little extra time, check out Big Horn Canyon in Wyoming and Montana. You will not be sorry. I was out there last week , shooting on location for my latest documentary for Indiana University entitled, "Traces Left Behind," an introduction to archeology. The map link will show you the area. The BIG canyon vista shots are from Devil Canyon Overlook. The field school was at Ewing-Snell Ranch and just to the south of there. We stayed in Lovell, Wyoming at the south end of the area. Stay at the Horseshoe Bend Motel and look for the picture of Apollo 13 commander, Jim Lovell in the lobby. No relation to the town, but Lovell has visited on a few occasions. To see some more images, including some of yours truly in action directing, go to my photo album:

http://nexus-station.typepad.com/photos/images

I found the experience professionally and personally satisfying. Not only did we get great footage,had a great time at the IU Archeology Field School, I was spiritually moved being there and felt cleansed.

Getting the Jet Blues

Have you ever gone to the airport, gazed at a giant electronic sign of departures and arrivals and wondered how an airline keeps track of all that? Most passengers probably do not. You just scan for your flight number and destination and then make a beeline for the correct gate. What is behind those shuffling flight numbers and city names is a constant juggling act being preformed day in and day out by airline operations teams around the world. Each airline’s operations team has to move planes, crews and passengers around their cities. Factors like weather and mechanical failure can at anytime throw off the smooth flow of getting planes in the air and back on the ground. The airline industry’s number one rule is that planes only make money while in the air.

However, if the operations team cannot get passengers from one point to another efficiently as possible, cannot get the right aircraft in place to get those passengers, or cannot get the crew to the plane to fly those passengers, this can cause a cascade effect across an airline’s system, may lead to system failure. System failure leads to excessive inconvenience passengers and a lot of lost revenue for the company. Keeping these balls in the air is not easy.

Last week the airline, JetBlue could not keep all the balls in the air. They are still paying for it this week and the financial impact may hurt them for some time to come.

A winter storm that had marched across the United States, by Wednesday was on its way to impact the highly traveled American northeast. Many air carrier’s operations teams responded to the advancing weather by delaying or canceling flights outright. Weather forecasts are pretty accurate these days. Airlines are pretty accurate at knowing when to cancel and when not to because of weather. You can hedge your bet about the weather and delays, but you have a lot to lose. By canceling and adjusting schedules a little ahead of the weather disruption, airlines can usually mitigate the inconvenience for passengers to hours or a couple of days at most. This also helps the airline’s bottom line as planes can get back in the air in a more orderly manner when the weather is considered acceptable to fly again. Someone at JetBlue put all his or her chips on the weather not being that bad, staying more rainy than icy. According to airline analyst, Daryl Jenkins, who spoke on National Public Radio this morning, JetBlue has a policy of never canceling flights. So, the pressure was on to hedge the weather bet just to keep planes in the air. Only today, do they have their system running back at 100 percent! They have a lot of peeode passengers and they are bleeding money.

New York Times reporter Jeff Bailey writes yesterday that JetBlue founder and CEO David Neeleman is “humiliated and mortified,” by what has happened. Neeleman should be humiliated. JetBlue had a lot going for it since taking to the skies in 1999. As low cost carriers go, they seem to have been able to offer an attractive service package to go with the low fares. They seemed like a very hip and professional 21st century airline.

I am not an airline employee. I am an average airline traveler. However, I am an airline enthusiast. I have studied this industry since I was a teenager, some <cough> thirty years ago. I feel I know a professional airline when I see it. After reading the New York Times article and other reports, I question if JetBlue lacks professional leadership acumen. I can say also that they were bit by what bites many start up airlines and even established carriers in the last thirty years and that is growing too fast.

The NYT article quotes Neeleman, “...“We had so many people in the company who wanted to help who weren’t trained to help,” he said. “We had an emergency control center full of people who didn’t know what to do. I had flight attendants sitting in hotel rooms for three days who couldn’t get a hold of us. I had pilots e-mailing me saying, ‘I’m available, what do I do?’ ” To that it is hard not to be sarcastic and say, “Your kidding right?”

JetBlue’s emergency control room had people trained to do what then? Even if trained to handle a crash scenario or another terrorist attack, these people should be flexible enough to handle a major weather event. JetBlue crews could not get through to the company? They may look hip, but in this information age, you are telling me you cannot communicate effectively company wide? Wow. The article reports that Neeleman said that “...JetBlue lacked the trained staff to find them and tell them where to go. Prior to last week, JetBlue had never had so many people out of position...” Ahh, yes. That shows that JetBlue has gotten too big for its britches. They are not the first airline to do that, with various factors crimping on the success of the company. JetBlue seems to be an example of letting a company gets larger and larger in the amount it produces without having the infrastructure to keep up with it. I wonder if this shows an inherent flaw in the small, low cost carrier model. You fly on the margins with not enough aircraft as back ups and not enough staff to weather, well, weather, and other problems that may arise on a day-to-day basis. That is how you keep the costs low and the profits high. JetBlue also lacks inter-airline agreements with competitors to help them out by taking passengers as needed who are delayed for whatever reason. Why? I think for one think major carriers resent the low cost carriers and feel no need to help them out. I do not blame them actually.

I feel the low cost model, made popular by Southwest, has done a lot of financial damage to an industry that is often hard pressed to make profits. Maybe JetBlue will have to do what small, low cost airline, Spirit is thinking of doing. Spirit is considering selling just about everything that they can on-board, food, water, blankets, liquor and who knows what else. But hey, they have eight-dollar fares! What a country! Spirit is getting ridiculous. That really is bait and switch. Other low-cost and long time legacy carriers are not immune to these gambits to attract passengers with a low fare and then make them pay for service on-board either. The low fare obsession has forced them to these measures. To this airline enthusiast’s opinion, the low cost model has led to a race to the bottom in the industry. A low bottom of fares, but also a low bottom of service, comfort and convience for passengers, and the ability of carriers to make any money at all in the end.

I would like to also add something more about JetBlue. If airline analyst Daryl Jenkins is correct and JetBlue has a policy of never canceling or almost never canceling flights for whatever reason, you have to question their professionalism in regards to safety. I wonder what the true limits are of keeping JetBlue planes in the air. Oh, and by the way JetBlue, get a meteorologist and listen to him or her! Then have all managers and senior executives go to a lecture on Bernoulli’s Principle, and how ice can really ruin a plane’s day. Maybe one of the fine engineers where I used to work at the world-renowned, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center can help you out. Thanks for reading Gentleman Agitator.

Post Script: The CNBC cable network aired last December and into January a fairly good documentary about the inner workings of American Airlines. One of the areas they looked at was American’s operations center in Dallas one night with storms affecting planes and people. It is a good example of how an airline properly handles an event like that. From what I have read and heard about their TOC at DFW, I have been really impressed. I do not know if CNBC will show this again. However, you can see clips at:
Inside American Airlines, a Week in the Life. Sadly, the storm clip is edited to show only a bit of the TOC and more of a complaining passenger.