Leaving On a Jet Plane? Check In Here Before Boarding!

Where in the world do you want to go?

Travel guru Rick Steves took us on a whirlwind Grand Tour with your calls and his expertise at roaming the world, which he does on radio, TV, online and in the books and DVDs being made available to folks contributing to KPCC; you can find out all about that at kpcc.org.

Traveling with kids, traveling alone, traveling on the cheap -- he does it all, and he told us all about the best hints and tips for getting the most out of our vacation bucks, especially important since Americans have so little vacation time compared to the rest of the world.

On Monday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's here to size up how the city council may vote on the LAPD budget, and maybe he'll drop a hint or two about what he's looking for in a new chief, after William Bratton, CBE [Commander of the British Empire] departs the scene at the end of the month.

In the meantime, if you haven't shown KPCC some love lately, go to kpcc.org and put your money where your ears are.

How much U.S. dollars does it cost to buy an airplane?

A used Cessna 150 will run you about $25,000. That's a single engine, shoulder wing, 2-seater. It's a "training" plane. As basic as you can get. Cessna's weren't under production for a while. They are again, but not this one.

A used Piper Arrow might be more like $45,000. That's a lwo-wing, single engine, 4-seater.

A used Beechcraft King Air, a nice twin-engine turbo-prop, 6 or 7-seater, might run you more like two and a half or three million.

And if you want to buy new, well, obviously the prices can skyrocket from there. 

Boeing posts $1.6B loss in 3Q on plane charges

Airplane maker Boeing said Wednesday it lost $1.6 billion in its third quarter as charges from its delayed 787 and a new version of its 747 jumbo jet weighed down results. It also slashed its profit forecast for 2009.

Shares of the Chicago-based airplane maker fell $1.29, or 2.5 percent, to $50.60 in pre-market trade.

Weak demand for air travel and cargo services has undermined demand for Boeing's jetliners since the global economy deteriorated late last year. Some customers have been forced to cancel or delay plans to buy new aircraft.

But Boeing, the world's second-largest commercial plane maker after Europe's Airbus, has had its own problems, too: production setbacks have delayed its eagerly awaited 787 and 747-8 jets, resulting in hefty charges.

The company said its quarterly loss amounted to $2.23 per share. During the same period last year, Boeing earned $695 million, or 96 cents per share. A labor strike and problems with suppliers reduced year-earlier profit by 60 cents per share and revenue by an estimated $2.1 billion.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $16.69 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected a loss of $2.12 per share on revenue of $17.16 billion. Wall Street estimates typically exclude one-time charges.

History of Jet Planes

The 8 principal reasons why you should buy a private plane 

Circa 300 BCE - Greece, Aristotle philosophizing at some length about the nature of light, envisions light as a quality and not as an actual substance; as it was thought of by many at the time. He observed that some objects have the potential for transpa rency but this state is only rendered actual by the presence of light. He then defined light as the act of, or energy of, a transparent body as such. 

10th Century - Al Hazan of Basra credited with the explanation of the principle of the camera obscura. 

1666 - Sir Isaac Newton, while experimenting with a prism, found that he could disperse light into a spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Utilizing a second prism, he found that he could recombine the colors into white light. 

1802 - Thomas Young puts forth the basic concepts of the Young-Von Helmholtz theory of color vision: Three separate sets of cones in the retina of the eye, one attuned to red, one to blue, and one to green. 

1827 - Joseph Nicephore Niepce takes the first picture of nature. (Exposure time was 8 hours, emulsion was bitumen of Jedea.) 

1829 - Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis M. Daguere signed their partnership agreement (Nicephore Niepce had been working on Heliography, or sun drawing; Daguerre on dioramas, which he constructed with the aid of a camera obscura.) 

1839 - Daguerre announces the invention of Daguerrotype (Niepce had died). Daguerre had discovered that mercury vapors could bring out an image on a silver plate and that sodicum thiosulfate ("hypo") could fix the image and make it permanent. 

1939 - William Henry Fox Talbot describes a system of imaging on silver chloride paper using a fixative solution of sodium chloride. Talbot later found that the latent image could be developed in a solution of gallic acid, and he was teh first person to employ a negative/positive process "Calotype" laying the groundwork for modern photography. 

1830s - Invention of the stereoscope by the Germans. The device was used during the Victorian era for amusement. 

1855 - Scottish physicist James Clark Maxwell, postulates the color additive theory for the production of color photographs. 

1858 - First known aerial photograph is taken from a captive balloon from an altitude of 1,200 feet over Paris by Gaspar Felix Tournachon Nadar. 

1861 - With the help of photographer Thomas Sutton, Maxwell demonstrates his techniques using a bow of multicolored ribbon. (Red filter - sulfo-cyanice of iron, blue filter - ammoniacal sulfate of copper, green filter - copper chloride, a fourth filter of lemon-colored glass was also used.) 

1860s - Use of aerial observations from captive balloons in American War. Balloons used to map forest in 1862 not aerial photo though. 

1870s - Pictures taken from greater heights, 33,000-34,000 feet, from free balloons. 

1873 - Herman Vogel found that by soaking silver halide emulsions (which are naturally sensitive to only blue light) in various dyes, he could extend their sensitivity to longer and longer wavelengths, paving the way for photography in the near infrared. 

1879 - S.P. Langley begins work to find a superior radiation detector. 

1887 - Germans began experiments with photography for forestry. 

1899 - George Eastman produced a nitrocellulose-based film which retained the clarity of the glass plates which had been used to that time. 

1903 - Julius Neubronne patents breast mounted camera for pigeons. 

1906 - Albert Maul takes first aerial photograph using a rocket propelled by compressed air which rose to a height of 2,600 feet and took pictures and then parachuted the camera back to earth. 

1906 - G.R. Lawrence who had been experimenting with cameras for some time (some of which weighed more than 1,000 lbs.) which were hoisted into the air with the aid of balloon-kites and associated controls, takes pictures of San Francisco earthquake and f ire damage from an altitude of some 600 meters. Many people have thought that these photos were taken from airplanes. Lawrence's camera alone weighed more than the Wright Brothers plane and its pilot combined. 

1909 - Wilbur Wright takes first aerial photograph from an airplane of Centrocelli, Italy. WWI produced a boost in the use of aerial photography, but after the war, enthusiasm wanted. 

1914 - Lt. Lawes, British Flying Service, first takes airplane over enemy territory. 

1915 - Cameras especially built for aerial use are being produced. Lt. Col. J.T.C. More Brabazon designed and produced the first practical aerial camera in collaboration with Thornton Pickard Ltd. 

1918 - By this time in WWI, French aerial units were developing and printing as many as 10,000 photographs each night, during periods of intense activity. During the Meuse-Argonne offensive, 56,000 prints of aerial photograpy were made and delivered to A merican Expeditionary Forces in four days. 

1914-1919 - WWI produces boost in the use of aerial photography, but after war interest wanes. 

1919 - Canadian Forestry Mapping Program begins. 

1919 - Hoffman first to sense from an aircraft in thermal IR. First books: Lee 1922; Joerg 1923 (urban); Platt & Johnson 1927 (archaeology). 

1924 - Mannes and Godousky patent the first of their work on multi-layer film which led to the marketing of Kodachrome in 1935. 

1931 - Stevens development of an IR sensitive film (B&W). 

1934 - American Society of Photogrammetry founded. Photogrammetric Engineering is first published. This journal of the American Society of Photogrammetry was later renamed Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. The Society is now named the Ame rican Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 

1936 - Captain Albert W. Stevens takes the first photograph of the actual curvature of the earth - taken from a free balloon at an altitude of 72,000 feet. 

1920s-1930s - Interest in the peaceful uses of aerial photography increases (ISDA, USAF, TVA). WWII brought about more sophisticated techniques in API. 

1941-1945 - WWII brings about the development of more sophisticated techniques in aerial photographic interpretation (API). American, British and Germans all produce promising TIR devices. 

1942 - Kodak patents first false color IR sensitive film. 

1946 - First space photographs from V-2 rockets. 

1950s - Advances in sensor technology move into multi-spectral range. 

1954 - Westinghouse develops first side-looking airborne radar system. 

1954 - U-2 takes first flight. 

1956 - Lu Meuser makes first TIR motion picture employing an AN/AAS-4, a devise for air to ground strip mapping ("...features and vehicles move like an old keystone cops movie.") 

1960 - U-2 is "shot down" over Sverdlovsk, USSR. 

1960 - TIROS 1 launched as first meteorological satellite. 

1960s - U.S. begins collection of intelligence photography from Earth orbiting satellites, CORONA and KH programs. 

1962 - Zaitor and Tsuprun construct prototype nine lens multispectral camera permitting nine different film-filter combinations. ITEK employs camera to explore the potential value of multispectral photography. 

1964 - SR-71 shown to the press in the Presidential campaign between Goldwater and LBJ. 

Late 1960s - Gemini and Apollo Space photography. 

1968 - Hemphill describes first use of laser for airborne sensing. 

1972 - Launch of the first Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1). This system is later renamed Landsat-1. ERTS carries a return beam vidicon (RBV) and a multispectral scanner (MSS). 

1972 - Photography from Sky Lab precursor of manned space station whos first element launch is currently scheduled for 1998. 

1975 - Launch of Landsat 2. 

1978 - Launch of Landsat 3 (March 5). 

1978 - Launch and failure of Seasat. First civil SAR satellite. 

1978 - Launch of Nimbus 7 (Coastal Zone Color Scanner). 

1978 - Launch of NOAA 6 (aka TIROS-N), first satellite to carry the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) on board. 

1981 - Launch of SIR-A (Space Imaging Radar - A). 

1982 - Launch of Landsat 4 (Thematic Mapper and MSS). 

1984 - Launch of SIR-B. 

1984 - Launch of Landsat 5. 

1985 - Landsat Commercial contract awarded to EOSAT. Vendor takes over operation of the satellites and rights to Landsat data. 

1986 - Launch of SPOT-1, French Earth Resources Satellite (Systeme Probatoire de la Observation de la Terre. 

1988 - Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) launched. 

1990 - Launch of SPOT-2. 

1991 - Launch of ERS-1, European Radar Satellite, primarily designed for oceanographic applications. 

1991 - Second Indian Remote Sensing Satellite launched. 

1992 - JERS, Japanese Earth Resources Satellite launched with L-band radar and visible and infrared radiance/reflectance recording devices on-board. 

1992 - Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992 brings Landsat back under U.S. Government control. EOSAT retains data rights to some Landsat data for up to ten years from acquisition. 

1993 - Launch of SIR-C. 

1993 - Launch of SPOT-3. 

1994 - Landsat 6 fails to achieve orbit. 

1995 - Third Indian Remote Sensing Satellite launched. 

1995 - Canada launches RADARSAT. 

1995 - Early CORONA and KH satellite data are declassified by an Executive Order signed by President Clinton on 23 February. This order authorizes the declassification of intelligence satellite photography acquired in the 1960s. 

1995 - Launch of ERS-2. 

1995 - First indication that a new class of intelligence satellite is being developed appears in the press. The new satellite code name 8x is said to be a major upgrade of the KH-12 spy satellite. The satellite which may weigh as much as twenty tons wil l be able to acquire "intricately detailed images of an area as large as 1,000 square miles of the Earth's surface...with roughly the same precision as existing satellites," according to an article in the September 28 Los Angeles Times. The Time article goes on to say that the current generation of photographic satellites photograph areas about 10 miles by 10 miles (100 square miles) typically showing details as small as six inches. 

What is the future of private jet travel?

For the past six months, the private jet industry has been hit from all sides. Not only has the recession caused both businesses and high net-worth individuals to travel less, but the government has gotten involved.
Ever since the automakers who flew to Washington D.C. were grilled about how they got there, the private jet has become synonymous with excess and greed. And now everyone from CEOs to celebrities to Britain's royal familyare flying commercial. As Josh Smith over at our sister blog, WalletPop, put it, "private air travel is as uncool as taking your mom to prom."
This airborne austerity is nothing but bad news to the private jet industry, which already saw usage plummet last summer after the spike in fuel costs. The industry includes not just the companies that make the planes, but also the maintenance and repair industries, the FBOs (fixed base operators) at the airport that offer services, and of course the charter companies. In response to the slowdown, Cessna has cut back production, Gulfstream has laid off workers and the entire industry has been forced to dramatically scale back.
I recently spoke with Ryan Dos Ramos, VP of Business Development at Pacific Coast Jet, to see how private jet companies are dealing with these changes and what the future holds for this beleaguered industry.
Pacific Coast Jet is based out of Hayward, Calif., and offers charter, management, sales, and acquisition services. As you might imagine, Dos Ramos is concerned over the bad reputation that private jets have gotten recently. He says that the private jet industry accounts for 1.2 million jobs and points out that private jets are "a lifeline for tens of thousands of companies" because they provide not only faster connections but also remote access to locations that aren't serviced by commercial airlines. For these people, time is money and they often don't have the patience to travel commercially, wasting countless hours in airports. Currently, however, image is nearly as important as utility, and private jet users are hyper-aware of how they are perceived by the public. No wonder then that many companies, not just those under government scrutiny, have decided to trim their fleets.
For those in the market for a plane, there has probably never been a better time to buy. Dos Ramos mentions that some have even forecast that by the time the market bottoms, one in five of the world's active business jet fleets will be up for sale. While it's a great time for buyers, there's one major fly in the ointment: financing. The world's banking crisis, which has decimated the real estate market also, means that financing terms for expensive planes are not nearly as generous as they used to be. If you've got the cash in hand though, you can get yourself a great deal.
At Pacific Coast Jet, one strategy they have been using to keep their customers flying private is introducing them to the world of smaller planes. Dos Ramos says that they has been showing people that "smaller, more efficient airplanes like the Cessna Citation Mustangs" can reduce the cost of private travel. He reports that while those who are accustomed to flying in Gulfsteams are still flying in them for the most part, others who were flying in mid-size jets are finding the small Cessnas a more affordable alternative. Smaller planes from Cessna, Embraer, and others have another big benefit: they use less fuel. This could be a huge advantage in the future when fuel prices rise again.
Dos Ramos asserts that the private jet charter industry has a bright future despite the downturn in the economy, and that traveling on a private jet is one of the greatest luxuries and tools to both business and leisure travelers. Words I saw recently mirrored by National Business Aviation Association CEO Ed Bolen, who told Investor's Business Daily that corporate jets are and will continue to be the workhorses of the business world.
After our initial chat, I had to ask Dos Ramos one final question that has been on my mind for some time. In 2005 I started hearing about air taxi services like DayJet promising a fleet of very light aircraft that would zip around the United States on quick and affordable short flights. DayJet came out of the box early, ordering more than 300 of Eclipse Aviation's Eclipse 500, the hot new very light jet that everyone was talking about. Flash forward to now, DayJet has folded and Eclipse has filed for Chapter 11. Will the market ever be ready for an air taxi service?
"I don't see the potential for air taxi services like DayJet, at least in the foreseeable future, says Dos Ramos. "Also, you must quantify what an air taxi is. Some view it as shared seating on an airplane with normal routes, to others it is just normal charter. I think there is tremendous charter potential for very light jet aircraft, but I don't think it will ever be as affordable as an airline ticket. Flying on any private jet will remain expensive, no matter what some of these air taxis are claiming. That being said, very light jet charter and ownership is significantly less expensive than Gulfstreams, Hawkers, and Falcons. Many people are still excited about these smaller, more efficient, and cheaper aircraft."

How to Buy Fractional Ownership of a Jet Plane

Instructions

Step1 Contact a fractional program provider. Fractional ownership in an aircraft employs similar provisions to time-share companies. You buy stakes in an aircraft and the vessel is available to you for a portion of the overall time. There are several companies that offer the service, but they do so with differing rules and policies. It is important to customize an ownership plan with a company that works for you and your needs.
Step2 Decide what your flight requirements are. Before you can choose an aircraft or a company, you must first decide upon the type of flying you will be doing, when and where, and how many passengers you anticipate on an average flight.
Step3 Choose an aircraft. The size of an aircraft determines not only its passenger capacity but also its speed and travel distance between refuels. Light jets are the smallest, with the fewest amenities, a typical 4-8 person capacity and a 3-4 hour range; Mid-size crafts can travel 4-5 hours or up to 2,500 miles, usually offer a small galley and fully enclosed lavatory and have a capacity between 5-9, and Heavy Jets are the largest, with the most amenities, a travel range of up to 7,500 miles and a capacity up to 19 passengers. The well-known Gulfstream is of this category.
Step4 Ask about safety and track record. Before you sign with a fractional provider ask to which organizations they and their pilots belong. Ask about pilot training and requirements on all of the planes in their fleet. Choosing a firm that offers only one type of aircraft is limiting, but it assures pilot familiarity with the plane. Among the other questions to put forth are whether they are monitored under Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR); if they subscribe to maintenance organizations such as Wyvern, Q-Star, and Argus; if the planes are equipped with Traffic Collision Alert Systems (TCAS) and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS), and whether the pilots are trained in basic first aid and CPR.
Step5 Select a level of fractional ownership: 1/8, ¼, 3/8, or 1/16. The fraction translates to hours of flight time in a year. The number from which they base the fraction varies with the company. For a sample chart and rates, look at the below Plane Smart website where a ¼ share represents 150 flight hours at a base cost of $151,800.
Step6 Sign a contract, commit to a tentative calendar and make payment.

Jet Airways to buy Air Sahara at lower valuation

Private airliner Jet Airways has restruck its deal with Air Sahara at a lower valuation, according to sources. The deal, which was originally valued at Rs 2200 crore, has been struck in the region of Rs 1,850 crore, reports CNBC-TV18.
The new deal is likely to include creditors’ balance of Rs 350 crore. The new deal includes creditors’ deduction of Rs 350 crore. According to hearsay, the airline is expected pay the remaining amount of Rs 1365-1375 crore for Air Sahara. Jet has already paid Rs 500 crore as bank guarantee.
The deal may take shape over a period of two to three months. The Indian air carrier was in talks with various new players, including a private equity player.
Sources also inform that both the airliners have reached a commercial agreement and have informed the arbitration panel about the same, added sources. Meanwhile, the panel has set the Jet-Sahara hearing for 5:30 pm on Wednesday. Jet has only two options - either to buy out Air Sahara or compensate it.