I can't really speak to Amtrak, but I can say that USPS has done a remarkable job for me, in general. Are there glitches? To be sure, but I am thoroughly impressed by their ability to successfully handle literally billions of pieces of mail to hundreds of thousands of locations on a pretty much daily basis. If you aren't happy with USPS service, do as Fred Smith did, and start a specialized competitor (Federal Express). Or you could always deliver your personal or business mail yourself and then compare the costs of doing that with what USPS (or even one of the express services) charges. BTW the USPS no longer has a true monopoly, but they do deliver to remote locations that the aforesaid express services won't touch. A few employees in any large organization (private or governmental) can screw up, to be sure, and it's up to their management (and their unions) to correct/eliminate them, but I would submit that there are few people who get up in the morning and say, "I think I'll

(Written on 11/17/2023)(Permalink)

That's actually a term coined by a retired general as he left the most powerful position on earth--Dwight Eisenhower in his farewell speech after two terms as POTUS (The first president to be term-limited). He also warned of the scientific-technological elite, using government funding to support them.

(Written on 11/17/2023)(Permalink)

Relative to this story: So what? and how is it pertinent?

(Written on 05/27/2023)(Permalink)

Assuming you got a refund from them, I don't understand why you think DL should pay for your car and fuel. A weather delay is inconvenient, to be sure, and we have cone to rely on what is an amazingly efficient air travel system, but they should not be forced to pay for conditions beyond their control. No other form of transportation would do that, why should airlines? Believe me, and contrary to popular opinion, a delay is generally as big, or bigger, a PITA for airlines as it is for an individual traveler.

(Written on 05/14/2023)(Permalink)

Let the market decide

(Written on 03/31/2023)(Permalink)

Today, a properly installed and maintained autopilot can fly the airplane better than virtually any human pilot. Have you tried to hand-fly an airplane at FL300, maintaining altitude and heading, with a center of gravity that's constantly shifting due to the self-loading cargo (pax) moving about. Pretty tough to do for even 10 minutes, much less for hours, so we have the autopilot doing what it does best: flying the machine. On the other hand, the thing that the healthy, properly trained, properly maintained and rested human can do better than virtually any autopilot is to observe, evaluate both gross and subtle issues, and make significant decisions, taking all available factors into account, e.g. Captain Sullenberger. We now have humans doing what they do best: thinking about the factors that affect the flying and making decisions based on those. I believe it will be a long while before automation will reach the level of being able to do that kind of evaluation and decision mak

(Written on 03/31/2023)(Permalink)

Many years ago I was in a Cessna 172 at Long Beach, CA airport (KLGB) at night, when I was instructed to "Taxi into position and hold." I did so, and sat there waiting for my takeoff clearance for probably 30-45 seconds. As a courtesy to other pilots on the ground (I thought), while waiting and not moving, I switched off my landing light. After the long, it seemed, wait, whooshing over my head came a DC-8 which landed right in front of me on the runway on which I was sitting. While there may have been a foul, there fortunately was no harm. In retrospect, I probably should have left the landing light on rather than waiting to flip it on as I started my takeoff roll; the tower and the landing aircraft might have had a better chance of seeing my small airplane. Tower operator apologized, and I went on my way. Cheap, in this case, lesson learned by at least two people.

(Written on 02/26/2023)(Permalink)

No, it's not basically the same thing, by a long shot. When an 8-to-5 company closes for a staff party, it's because their operations permit it. Medical people work on holidays, as do police and fire personnel, and air traffic controllers. Having time for "personnel to be with their loved ones" means, in addition to shutting down the airline ops, they would also have to get all those crew members back to their loved ones, then get them back to their aircraft in time for a startup. If particular flights are not flown on a particular day, more often than not it's for load or other operational reasons.

(Written on 01/06/2023)(Permalink)

Case in point: Last June, wife and I flew to Germany. Departure was delayed, so missed connex in AMS to MUC. Long story short, bags did not arrive. Next day, wife's was delivered to our hotel in MUC. I had an AirTag in my bag, so I could see that it, in fact, was actually in MUC, in the LH bag handling area. Went back to a/p next day, explained that I knew exactly where the bag was and the airtag could put me within a meter of the bag, at which point I could make it chirp, no matter how many bags were out there. I explained that I was a former ATO manager at SFO and was well aware of the dangers that can lurk among more than 1,000 lost bags, but as LH explained to me, "It is not our policy." I offered to let an agent use my iPhone in lieu of my entering the sanctum of the bag room. "It is not our policy." For the next two weeks, the bag stayed in exactly same place--I tracked it daily on my phone. After returning home, I checked dutifully every morning, and for the next two weeks

(Written on 11/04/2022)(Permalink)

If you want "fun", go to Disneyland. Oh, wait, there are lines at Disneyland, too, and you pay a lot to stand in them while you consume exquisitely expensive libations and comestibles. (Too expensive to call them mere drinks and food.) When I go to an airport, it's generally because I want to go someplace. Air travel is now a useful, sometimes limited, commodity, sometimes even fun, but let's not confuse the two.

(Written on 10/28/2022)(Permalink)