January 8, 2026 • 19 mins
1 - Alaska Airlines pilot who flew the plane where the door blew/fell off is now suing Boeing
2 - An Air India pilot was pulled from duty after failing two breathalyzer tests
3 - Will Spirit Airlines survive the year?
4 - American Airlines is using AI to benefit customers
5 - Recent study warns passengers to never wash their hands during a flight (using a lavatory)
6 - HUB Delays
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Always look forward to this time of the week because
it's time to get some aviation information from iHeartMedia aviation
expert Jay ratleft Jay Ratlift, Welcome back and a very
happy New year, and my friend, I'm glad we're continuing
this segment because I always look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, first chance I've had to issue. A happy new
year and a lot to be thankful for us always. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Yeah. I got through some trials and tribulations in my life,
and I always go out and search of something that's
really positive to sort of negate the blue that might
overcome my mood.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I was taught a long time ago, if you're feeling
really bad about yourself, just go out and try to
help somebody else, and it it tends to lift your
spirits a bit.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yes, it does, no question about it.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I had them.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I won't go back over it. But I had a
beautiful moment yesterday at listener lunch. Actually brought a tear
to my eye. So that was my bright spoty Oh.
The woman added me. She added me to the church's
prayer list and the pamphlet for service because she heard
me mention that I had to go back into my
cancer treatment and I'm starting that next week because my
notes started growing again, and so she thought that was
(01:02):
the kindest gesture.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, you know, there's a lot of people praying for you,
not only when that's going on, but other times as well.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
So I'd see right there. You know, it sucks, I
gotta go get chemogain. But you know what, I got
people out there thinking about me and doing beautiful things
like that. So I feel positive overall about that new
calendar year and a new curveball throwing at you instead
of the list that you provided with me, which we
will get.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh, you mean the nineteen things I threw y. Yeah,
let's talk about something else.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
No, I just thought it was rather unusual. And how
often does this happen? Hopefully not very often. All eight
tires burst on landing and this flight coming into Atlanta
the other day.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, it's unusual to have. Formally, when a tire blows,
if the crew comes down and has what we call
a hard landing, the main attires, which are the main
landing gear underneath the wing, sometimes you'll see a tire
or to burst on the landing if it's a hard landing.
I mean, I don't know that I can control all
(02:03):
the brain cells in my head right now. But I
can't recall a single time where every you had all
these tires, it just boom, went flat. And it suggests
some sort of a maintenance issue more than anything else,
because you know, to impact all tires at the same
time you're talking about an aircraft cut carrier landing. You know, boom,
(02:23):
all the main in the front landing gear landing at
the same time, landing hard. That's not how we do
commercial aviation. It's more like a space shuttle comes in,
you know, the noses up, the main gears hit and
then they rowed slowly down. Yeah. So, but yeah, in
this case, it's going to be interesting to see and
we don't know for sure, but it's either an issue
(02:46):
with the crew and I don't think so, or some
sort of mechanical malfunction. Probably it's a breaking system that
might have engaged something where there was extreme pressure and
stress put on those tires at one time. All the
good news is locked up for example, Yeah, exactly. So
we don't know that that's the case, and you know,
it may have been a combination of factors. It was
(03:08):
not something that created a safety issue, thank thankfully for
that but what ended up taking place was that, Yeah,
it was inconvenience for the passengers who had a delay
in getting off the airplane, and you know that's always frustrating.
But the good news is you got a story to
tell and on something that rarely happens in aviation. So yeah,
(03:29):
that's that's kind of a I don't want to say
a cool thing because I went on the plane trying
to make a connection, but yeah, it was. It was
definitely unusual.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Fortunately again, no injuries, a couple of hundred people on
that plane, but that would just freak me out anyway.
I don't need any more things to freak me out
about air travel. We'll continue with I heard media aviation
expert Jay ratlift maybe have a drunk pilot. We got
to ask an airlines pilot on the plane when the
door flew up, apparently now engaging in some litigation. That
and a whole lot more with Jay Ratliffe stick around
(03:57):
fifty five KRC. I've been in the cockpit before Jay
Ratliff has I heard media aviation next, but we are
blessed to get him every Thursday, beginning at eight thirty
to close out the show. Pivoting over Jay Ratliffe. Uh,
the Alaskan Airline pilot. This is the guy who's flying
the plane where the door just kind of flew off
at a door. He's suing Boeing.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
What, Yeah, it was it well, initially when this happened,
and it was actually two years ago Monday, January twenty four,
it's been two years when that seven thirty seven took off,
they left Portland, they were in the air just a
matter of minutes when that door flew flew off, fell off,
(04:39):
however you want to put it. Initially Boeing was indicating
alluding to, not outright suggesting, but leaning in the direction
that perhaps the crew.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Oh to blame, all right, and that's an excumentational damage
kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So yeah, oh absolutely. So what happened was, it was
later discovered by the All Star team the National Transportation
Safety Board, the crew had nothing to do with it
other than doing an incredible job of you know, when
that decompression took place. We talked about how the explosive
decompression was so severe that the cockpit door flew open
(05:19):
through the pilots forward. Everything in the cockpit was flying
immediately all through the air. Pilots are trying to figure
out what's going on. They thought maybe a bomb had
gone off. They're trying to do what they can to
make an emergency landing, and I mean they're doing an
A plus plus plus job. And you know, there was
a lot of things that you know, that the crew
was responsible for in a good way. They landed the plane,
(05:41):
minor injuries, no fatalities. And I guess on a lot
of these Brians, you have two years or so from
the event to file a claim of some kind and
towards again, and apparently that that was approaching and this
is a ten million dollar lawsuit. We'll see where it goes.
Strangely and enough owing who was maybe accusing others. Uh,
(06:03):
they were asked to provide documentation the video in the
training records of who was overseeing the installation of that
door at the time that it was put in the airplane.
They lost that right they they couldn't find it anywhere,
so h yeah, exactly. So while there may be blaming
the pilots, you know, they're they're doing Oliver North shoretting
(06:23):
documents in the back room. But it's you know, just frustrating.
It's you know, and you know, the movie solely. There
was an there was kind of a theme throughout the
movie that there was blame on the crew for not
you know, landing the airplane back at an airport versus
going in the Hudson River. There was some issue with
the insurance company. But that wasn't an airline or an
(06:45):
aircraft manufacturer necessarily, that was blaming a flight crew. That
was more the insurance company that was, you know, responsible
for that.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah, it's a coverage dispute, that's that's independent of that. Yeah,
all right, and exclusions and they're going to assert them
to us. I used to represent insurance companies, would do that,
just that kind of thing almost every single day of
my life. Are right, Well, I thought maybe it was
like for emotional distress or something, considering well.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
That's being thrown in there as well obviously, because yeah,
but yeah, we'll see where it goes. And again, that
crew just did an incredible job, in fact, such a
good job. The way they reacted is something that other
crews can train with the same ways that the Southwest
Airlines flight over Pennsylvania when that engine decompressed, struck the
side of the aircraft and we had it sadly a fatality.
(07:33):
That flight crew Tama Joe Schultz, who is the captain
on that one of the Navy's first fighter pilots. She
did a great job. And what that crew did is
also a subject of training. So yeah, most of the time,
these flight crews just do an unbelievable job and it's
sad when it suggests that they do otherwise.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Amen to that Air India, I guess got a pilot
there that. I mean, come on, they don't pilots understand
the general you can't drink before flying. What happened with
this I failed to breathalyzer test.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, what took put in And depending on the airline,
it's either eight or ten or twelve hours a bottle
to throttle, meaning if you know you're on duty at
X amount of time, you cannot have anything to drink
at all, so many hours before you report to duty.
That's for pilots, mechanics and others. So this incident happened
last month late and we're just not getting the details.
(08:24):
Where this crew was showing up Vancouver. They were taking
an aircraft to Delhi, and somebody at the airport, one
of the screeners or somebody with the airport operations noticed
one of the pilots behaving like perhaps they were under
the influence of something. We don't say they were drawnk
because you know, sometimes it could be medication they're reacting
(08:45):
to or whatever. So they did what they were supposed to.
They reported it. The police were notified and they pulled
the pilot off I think it was a captain and
gave him a pre flight alcohol test, which he failed,
so they were moved him from service. India had another
crew come in to take care of it. And when
you've got four hundred thousand pilots or whatever we've got worldwide,
(09:07):
anytime one of these things makes the news, it really
goes viral and people think, oh my gosh, you know,
are all these pilots drinking, And seems like women never
drink because it's always a man that gets caught. And
then I remind people we have probably less than four
percent of the world's population of pilots or women, so
statistically speaking, there's a better chance we're going to be
talking about a man. But obviously men and women both
(09:29):
have issues with substance, and in this case, it was caught,
as most of these are, by somebody at the airport
who notices something and says something, so great, job to
whoever was responsible for making sure that that was looked into.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Well, it's a good reminder all the pilots out the
world because these are widely reported. So you know, it's
just one more thing. Yeah, don't do that. Don't be
that guy. We'll Spirit.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
You risk your whole career for something like that, right,
it makes no sense.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Now, Well, Spirit Airlines survive the year topic number three
here on your chart, Will they?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I hope? So? I think they're going to need to merge.
I think they're going to have to merge with Frontier,
or you know, somebody may come along and say, we
need some additional silver revenue tubes in our fleet. As
far as aircraft, and you know, spirits there with one
hundred and two or something of these airbus aircraft. Airbus itself,
the manufacturer has about a nine thousand plan back laws.
(10:24):
So if you're thinking, you know, I could really use
some aircraft, somebody might look in and go at acquiring
Spirit for no other reason than those resources. So you
just don't know. Now they've got an influx of cash
that's going to keep them moving that they're adjusting some
of the things that are eliminating a lot of the
not so profitable routes, which is good. They've reached an
agreement with their employees to for reduce pay and benefits.
(10:47):
Great job there. They're bringing in premium seats which are
going to allow them to addition create some additional revenue.
So brand they're checking all the boxes, They're doing all
the things that they need to do. The question is
the time on the clock. Are they gonna have enough
cash to keep things moving. Remember, they filed for bankruptcy
twice in the last year year and a half, so
they've gone through the Chapter eleven process more than once.
(11:08):
And you know what, we'll see where it goes. I
really hope that they survived. Now they don't fly into
Cincinnati at this point. But anytime you have a low
cost carrier, it helps in whatever market that they're in
to keep the fares down because you love that competition
between airlines, and anytime there's a merger or one of
these airlines goes out of business, the legacy carriers behind
(11:30):
closed doors are doing a snoopy dance and it gives
them the opportunity to raise fairs in a lot of
markets and make more money. Remember Delta and United last
year making a billion dollars in profit in a single quarter,
Thank you very much. So yeah, they would love to
see that happen. In fact that I think it was
the president of United said the low cost you know model,
(11:52):
it's broken, never really worked. Well, yeah, a lot of
these low cost carriers are like, we'll show you. So
that's why I'm always cheering for the little guy.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
As you know CVGS where we fly in and out
of I remember when there weren't any low cost carries.
We were one of the most expensive airports in the country.
Welcome to the reality of competition. Let's bring it now
we're the.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Airport that a lot of people around the country want
to be. I can't tell you the number of times
I've been on a Sacramento in La San Diego, a
Chicago New York radio station and they say, Jay, we
we've looked into the airport at Cincinnati. My gosh, you
know there used to be a hub they had. This
happened and now they're, you know, a mega hub and
cargo and they've got some of the cheapest fairs now
(12:31):
in the country. How did they do it? And it
comes back to the low cost carriers on the commercial
side of things, and we are the envy of the world.
The Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago did
a great article on the turnaround at CBG, and I'm
sworn to secrecy because there's a lot of names I'd
like to drop here people that are responsible for that
at the airport, and I'm forbidden to do so. But
(12:54):
they're working NonStop to do a great job. And that's
why I love seeing the community support the local lost carriers.
Or when we get a britsh Airways or a new
international carrier that comes in, there's immediate support there as well.
Delta or American adds more flights, bigger airplanes, there's an
immediate response to that as well. So, man, this market's
just doing a great, great job, and I just wanted
(13:15):
to continue.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Never thought i'd hear those words. Wasn't that long ago?
Never would anybody even predict that possibility keeping low.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Cost carriers came here to die? That was it? In Frontier,
Well you look it, hats off to them. They led
the way. They had one flight of day to Denver
that they did that for seven years. They came to Cincinnati,
people said, you got to be nuts and then here
comes Allegiant, then here comes Southwest moving the Daton operation
and boom it went from there with so many other carriers,
and yeah, you can go around trip to Florida forro
(13:44):
under one hundred bucks. Can't do that without low cost carriers.
And thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Let's pause, bring j back and he'll tell you why
you shouldn't wash your hands while on a flight in
the lavatory eight forty seven right now, if you have
KARCD talk station fifty five, the if you have kercdtalk
dation Brian Thomas that I heard media aviation expert Jay
Ratliff moving through the topics this morning. I think we'll
have time to get to American airlines doing using artificial
(14:09):
intelligence for the benefit of its customers. But I got
to ask you about this recent study that apparently was
done warning passengers to never wash their hands during a
flight using the laboratory. Is this like the coffee like,
don't drink the coffee on the airplane?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yes, sir, I knew you would be all over that
because you're right. But yeah, this comes from the Center
for Food as Medicine and Longevity. It's a nonprofit organization
and they poured over three years of data and they
actually assigned airlines a grade. Now, if you are ever
at airplanes when they are working on the water lines
and you see the mechanic pull it and look at it,
(14:45):
you're like, oh my gosh, water coming, I mean, is
it's crudd It is just Yeah, So when Cherry and
I are on an airplane, it's no coffee. If there's
ice and it comes in bag dice that comes in,
that's fine, but no, I mean, and yes, as far
as washing your hands, you need to be careful because
this study came out and said, look, if you're flying
(15:07):
Delta airlines, they were given a grade of an A.
Fact they in Frontier the only two airlines that received
and A from their water cleanliness side of things. The
last airlines a B. But then you get down to
American airlines, the Jet Blue, D and D they're they're
not doing well at all there. So they said that
there's instances of E. Coli bacteria in the water samples.
(15:31):
Two positive tests from E. Coli from Jet Blue. As
if the bathroom isn't a laboratory enough for germs. Now, yeah,
this end and you know they ought to have a
hazmat sticker on the outside the door. I think that
would be the best way to describe. Never let your
kids ever, ever, ever go in there barefoot ever, because
(15:52):
of just how bad that it is. And yeah, now
the water is so it's again. You and I've talked
about the water to be careful and not to do
the coffee and the other types of things. And most
people that fly a lot, and especially those who have
listened to us, recognize that's not the thing to do.
So yeah, it's just another reminder here in apologies for
(16:12):
anybody that's, you know, trying to enjoy their breakfast or
coffee this morning. But look, you didn't get off an airplane,
so you should be happy.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
No, But you know, there's a whole bunch of people
out there who sort of I think joining the Mile
High Club might be a good idea. Note you don't
want to be in there in that festering peatrie dish
of bacteria, gross.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Panes where they pull out the black light and they
shine and and see everything. Yeah, going there, it's gonna.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Be the same thing, florid almighty. Yeah, Like well you asked,
like at Jackson Pollock Painting Joseph's American Airlines using artificial
intelligence to actually benefit its customers. What's going on with
this one?
Speaker 2 (16:47):
I love this. What they've done is they've Delta, of course,
is using artificial intelligence for pricing fares, which is actually
working against us. Not a big fan of that. So
American Airlines said, no, we're gonna use artificy sh'll intelligent
a little bit different in our flight following and flight
management process where we can actually plug all this in there,
and we're testing it in Dallas. So the flights are
(17:09):
running late, we can use our artificial intelligence software to
tell us how much we can delay a flight going
out of Dallas to accommodate people coming in late. So
they may see that a flight to New York, which
they are normally block, to block whatever time it might
happen to be. Maybe the airflow is not as crowded
(17:30):
as normal, maybe they've got good weather, maybe more of
a direct route. Artificial intelligence so tell them that flight
can lead ten to twelve minutes late and still arrive
on time. Brian. They're using this to try to better
serve their customers, and I cannot I can't wait till
the next time I want on our Dallas affiliate because
I want to want to brag on American they're in Dallas,
because what they're doing is trying this. It's working out
(17:52):
very well. Obviously, customers love it, and as a result,
what's taking place is they're thinking about using this across
the country at other hubs. Now, you know, I've been
on a Delta flight where I rushed to get from
one gate to the next with a bunch of people,
where they let the connecting flight leave ten minutes early
and then look at me like it's my fault. Here's
American Airlines saying, you know, we'd really like to put
the customer first. And I love it when they're doing that,
(18:14):
and I wish other carriers would have that mentality. But
you know, American used to be the flight leaves on time,
regardless of who has to die. Again, that's an overreach,
but that was it, and nothing ever left late, and
airline agents at the gate were held to extreme measures
if one of their flights left late, and American finally said,
you know what, yes, the late flights cost this money,
(18:37):
but there's a little wiggle room. So they relaxed it
and said, if it's the agent's call now. If they
need to let that flight leave a minute or two
late based on the customer's needs, then that's what we're
going to do. And it changed the entire mindset. The
agents love this, customers absolutely love it, and again, hats
off to American Airlines. It's an incredible story. We rarely
(18:59):
get to talk about increase in customer service when we
talk about airlines.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Good call, just real quick. Any problem with the air
travel out there hub Lize, Denver.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Early, Chicago late. Other than that, just don't go to
des Moines. They're getting cream, but that's not a hub,
so we don't care.
Always look forward to this time of the week because
it's time to get some aviation information from iHeartMedia aviation
expert Jay ratleft Jay Ratlift, Welcome back and a very
happy New year, and my friend, I'm glad we're continuing
this segment because I always look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, first chance I've had to issue. A happy new
year and a lot to be thankful for us always. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Yeah. I got through some trials and tribulations in my life,
and I always go out and search of something that's
really positive to sort of negate the blue that might
overcome my mood.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I was taught a long time ago, if you're feeling
really bad about yourself, just go out and try to
help somebody else, and it it tends to lift your
spirits a bit.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yes, it does, no question about it.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I had them.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I won't go back over it. But I had a
beautiful moment yesterday at listener lunch. Actually brought a tear
to my eye. So that was my bright spoty Oh.
The woman added me. She added me to the church's
prayer list and the pamphlet for service because she heard
me mention that I had to go back into my
cancer treatment and I'm starting that next week because my
notes started growing again, and so she thought that was
(01:02):
the kindest gesture.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, you know, there's a lot of people praying for you,
not only when that's going on, but other times as well.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
So I'd see right there. You know, it sucks, I
gotta go get chemogain. But you know what, I got
people out there thinking about me and doing beautiful things
like that. So I feel positive overall about that new
calendar year and a new curveball throwing at you instead
of the list that you provided with me, which we
will get.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh, you mean the nineteen things I threw y. Yeah,
let's talk about something else.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
No, I just thought it was rather unusual. And how
often does this happen? Hopefully not very often. All eight
tires burst on landing and this flight coming into Atlanta
the other day.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, it's unusual to have. Formally, when a tire blows,
if the crew comes down and has what we call
a hard landing, the main attires, which are the main
landing gear underneath the wing, sometimes you'll see a tire
or to burst on the landing if it's a hard landing.
I mean, I don't know that I can control all
(02:03):
the brain cells in my head right now. But I
can't recall a single time where every you had all
these tires, it just boom, went flat. And it suggests
some sort of a maintenance issue more than anything else,
because you know, to impact all tires at the same
time you're talking about an aircraft cut carrier landing. You know, boom,
(02:23):
all the main in the front landing gear landing at
the same time, landing hard. That's not how we do
commercial aviation. It's more like a space shuttle comes in,
you know, the noses up, the main gears hit and
then they rowed slowly down. Yeah. So, but yeah, in
this case, it's going to be interesting to see and
we don't know for sure, but it's either an issue
(02:46):
with the crew and I don't think so, or some
sort of mechanical malfunction. Probably it's a breaking system that
might have engaged something where there was extreme pressure and
stress put on those tires at one time. All the
good news is locked up for example, Yeah, exactly. So
we don't know that that's the case, and you know,
it may have been a combination of factors. It was
(03:08):
not something that created a safety issue, thank thankfully for
that but what ended up taking place was that, Yeah,
it was inconvenience for the passengers who had a delay
in getting off the airplane, and you know that's always frustrating.
But the good news is you got a story to
tell and on something that rarely happens in aviation. So yeah,
(03:29):
that's that's kind of a I don't want to say
a cool thing because I went on the plane trying
to make a connection, but yeah, it was. It was
definitely unusual.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Fortunately again, no injuries, a couple of hundred people on
that plane, but that would just freak me out anyway.
I don't need any more things to freak me out
about air travel. We'll continue with I heard media aviation
expert Jay ratlift maybe have a drunk pilot. We got
to ask an airlines pilot on the plane when the
door flew up, apparently now engaging in some litigation. That
and a whole lot more with Jay Ratliffe stick around
(03:57):
fifty five KRC. I've been in the cockpit before Jay
Ratliff has I heard media aviation next, but we are
blessed to get him every Thursday, beginning at eight thirty
to close out the show. Pivoting over Jay Ratliffe. Uh,
the Alaskan Airline pilot. This is the guy who's flying
the plane where the door just kind of flew off
at a door. He's suing Boeing.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
What, Yeah, it was it well, initially when this happened,
and it was actually two years ago Monday, January twenty four,
it's been two years when that seven thirty seven took off,
they left Portland, they were in the air just a
matter of minutes when that door flew flew off, fell off,
(04:39):
however you want to put it. Initially Boeing was indicating
alluding to, not outright suggesting, but leaning in the direction
that perhaps the crew.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Oh to blame, all right, and that's an excumentational damage
kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So yeah, oh absolutely. So what happened was, it was
later discovered by the All Star team the National Transportation
Safety Board, the crew had nothing to do with it
other than doing an incredible job of you know, when
that decompression took place. We talked about how the explosive
decompression was so severe that the cockpit door flew open
(05:19):
through the pilots forward. Everything in the cockpit was flying
immediately all through the air. Pilots are trying to figure
out what's going on. They thought maybe a bomb had
gone off. They're trying to do what they can to
make an emergency landing, and I mean they're doing an
A plus plus plus job. And you know, there was
a lot of things that you know, that the crew
was responsible for in a good way. They landed the plane,
(05:41):
minor injuries, no fatalities. And I guess on a lot
of these Brians, you have two years or so from
the event to file a claim of some kind and
towards again, and apparently that that was approaching and this
is a ten million dollar lawsuit. We'll see where it goes.
Strangely and enough owing who was maybe accusing others. Uh,
(06:03):
they were asked to provide documentation the video in the
training records of who was overseeing the installation of that
door at the time that it was put in the airplane.
They lost that right they they couldn't find it anywhere,
so h yeah, exactly. So while there may be blaming
the pilots, you know, they're they're doing Oliver North shoretting
(06:23):
documents in the back room. But it's you know, just frustrating.
It's you know, and you know, the movie solely. There
was an there was kind of a theme throughout the
movie that there was blame on the crew for not
you know, landing the airplane back at an airport versus
going in the Hudson River. There was some issue with
the insurance company. But that wasn't an airline or an
(06:45):
aircraft manufacturer necessarily, that was blaming a flight crew. That
was more the insurance company that was, you know, responsible
for that.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah, it's a coverage dispute, that's that's independent of that. Yeah,
all right, and exclusions and they're going to assert them
to us. I used to represent insurance companies, would do that,
just that kind of thing almost every single day of
my life. Are right, Well, I thought maybe it was
like for emotional distress or something, considering well.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
That's being thrown in there as well obviously, because yeah,
but yeah, we'll see where it goes. And again, that
crew just did an incredible job, in fact, such a
good job. The way they reacted is something that other
crews can train with the same ways that the Southwest
Airlines flight over Pennsylvania when that engine decompressed, struck the
side of the aircraft and we had it sadly a fatality.
(07:33):
That flight crew Tama Joe Schultz, who is the captain
on that one of the Navy's first fighter pilots. She
did a great job. And what that crew did is
also a subject of training. So yeah, most of the time,
these flight crews just do an unbelievable job and it's
sad when it suggests that they do otherwise.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Amen to that Air India, I guess got a pilot
there that. I mean, come on, they don't pilots understand
the general you can't drink before flying. What happened with
this I failed to breathalyzer test.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, what took put in And depending on the airline,
it's either eight or ten or twelve hours a bottle
to throttle, meaning if you know you're on duty at
X amount of time, you cannot have anything to drink
at all, so many hours before you report to duty.
That's for pilots, mechanics and others. So this incident happened
last month late and we're just not getting the details.
(08:24):
Where this crew was showing up Vancouver. They were taking
an aircraft to Delhi, and somebody at the airport, one
of the screeners or somebody with the airport operations noticed
one of the pilots behaving like perhaps they were under
the influence of something. We don't say they were drawnk
because you know, sometimes it could be medication they're reacting
(08:45):
to or whatever. So they did what they were supposed to.
They reported it. The police were notified and they pulled
the pilot off I think it was a captain and
gave him a pre flight alcohol test, which he failed,
so they were moved him from service. India had another
crew come in to take care of it. And when
you've got four hundred thousand pilots or whatever we've got worldwide,
(09:07):
anytime one of these things makes the news, it really
goes viral and people think, oh my gosh, you know,
are all these pilots drinking, And seems like women never
drink because it's always a man that gets caught. And
then I remind people we have probably less than four
percent of the world's population of pilots or women, so
statistically speaking, there's a better chance we're going to be
talking about a man. But obviously men and women both
(09:29):
have issues with substance, and in this case, it was caught,
as most of these are, by somebody at the airport
who notices something and says something, so great, job to
whoever was responsible for making sure that that was looked into.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Well, it's a good reminder all the pilots out the
world because these are widely reported. So you know, it's
just one more thing. Yeah, don't do that. Don't be
that guy. We'll Spirit.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
You risk your whole career for something like that, right,
it makes no sense.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Now, Well, Spirit Airlines survive the year topic number three
here on your chart, Will they?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I hope? So? I think they're going to need to merge.
I think they're going to have to merge with Frontier,
or you know, somebody may come along and say, we
need some additional silver revenue tubes in our fleet. As
far as aircraft, and you know, spirits there with one
hundred and two or something of these airbus aircraft. Airbus itself,
the manufacturer has about a nine thousand plan back laws.
(10:24):
So if you're thinking, you know, I could really use
some aircraft, somebody might look in and go at acquiring
Spirit for no other reason than those resources. So you
just don't know. Now they've got an influx of cash
that's going to keep them moving that they're adjusting some
of the things that are eliminating a lot of the
not so profitable routes, which is good. They've reached an
agreement with their employees to for reduce pay and benefits.
(10:47):
Great job there. They're bringing in premium seats which are
going to allow them to addition create some additional revenue.
So brand they're checking all the boxes, They're doing all
the things that they need to do. The question is
the time on the clock. Are they gonna have enough
cash to keep things moving. Remember, they filed for bankruptcy
twice in the last year year and a half, so
they've gone through the Chapter eleven process more than once.
(11:08):
And you know what, we'll see where it goes. I
really hope that they survived. Now they don't fly into
Cincinnati at this point. But anytime you have a low
cost carrier, it helps in whatever market that they're in
to keep the fares down because you love that competition
between airlines, and anytime there's a merger or one of
these airlines goes out of business, the legacy carriers behind
(11:30):
closed doors are doing a snoopy dance and it gives
them the opportunity to raise fairs in a lot of
markets and make more money. Remember Delta and United last
year making a billion dollars in profit in a single quarter,
Thank you very much. So yeah, they would love to
see that happen. In fact that I think it was
the president of United said the low cost you know model,
(11:52):
it's broken, never really worked. Well, yeah, a lot of
these low cost carriers are like, we'll show you. So
that's why I'm always cheering for the little guy.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
As you know CVGS where we fly in and out
of I remember when there weren't any low cost carries.
We were one of the most expensive airports in the country.
Welcome to the reality of competition. Let's bring it now
we're the.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Airport that a lot of people around the country want
to be. I can't tell you the number of times
I've been on a Sacramento in La San Diego, a
Chicago New York radio station and they say, Jay, we
we've looked into the airport at Cincinnati. My gosh, you
know there used to be a hub they had. This
happened and now they're, you know, a mega hub and
cargo and they've got some of the cheapest fairs now
(12:31):
in the country. How did they do it? And it
comes back to the low cost carriers on the commercial
side of things, and we are the envy of the world.
The Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago did
a great article on the turnaround at CBG, and I'm
sworn to secrecy because there's a lot of names I'd
like to drop here people that are responsible for that
at the airport, and I'm forbidden to do so. But
(12:54):
they're working NonStop to do a great job. And that's
why I love seeing the community support the local lost carriers.
Or when we get a britsh Airways or a new
international carrier that comes in, there's immediate support there as well.
Delta or American adds more flights, bigger airplanes, there's an
immediate response to that as well. So, man, this market's
just doing a great, great job, and I just wanted
(13:15):
to continue.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Never thought i'd hear those words. Wasn't that long ago?
Never would anybody even predict that possibility keeping low.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Cost carriers came here to die? That was it? In Frontier,
Well you look it, hats off to them. They led
the way. They had one flight of day to Denver
that they did that for seven years. They came to Cincinnati,
people said, you got to be nuts and then here
comes Allegiant, then here comes Southwest moving the Daton operation
and boom it went from there with so many other carriers,
and yeah, you can go around trip to Florida forro
(13:44):
under one hundred bucks. Can't do that without low cost carriers.
And thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Let's pause, bring j back and he'll tell you why
you shouldn't wash your hands while on a flight in
the lavatory eight forty seven right now, if you have
KARCD talk station fifty five, the if you have kercdtalk
dation Brian Thomas that I heard media aviation expert Jay
Ratliff moving through the topics this morning. I think we'll
have time to get to American airlines doing using artificial
(14:09):
intelligence for the benefit of its customers. But I got
to ask you about this recent study that apparently was
done warning passengers to never wash their hands during a
flight using the laboratory. Is this like the coffee like,
don't drink the coffee on the airplane?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yes, sir, I knew you would be all over that
because you're right. But yeah, this comes from the Center
for Food as Medicine and Longevity. It's a nonprofit organization
and they poured over three years of data and they
actually assigned airlines a grade. Now, if you are ever
at airplanes when they are working on the water lines
and you see the mechanic pull it and look at it,
(14:45):
you're like, oh my gosh, water coming, I mean, is
it's crudd It is just Yeah, So when Cherry and
I are on an airplane, it's no coffee. If there's
ice and it comes in bag dice that comes in,
that's fine, but no, I mean, and yes, as far
as washing your hands, you need to be careful because
this study came out and said, look, if you're flying
(15:07):
Delta airlines, they were given a grade of an A.
Fact they in Frontier the only two airlines that received
and A from their water cleanliness side of things. The
last airlines a B. But then you get down to
American airlines, the Jet Blue, D and D they're they're
not doing well at all there. So they said that
there's instances of E. Coli bacteria in the water samples.
(15:31):
Two positive tests from E. Coli from Jet Blue. As
if the bathroom isn't a laboratory enough for germs. Now, yeah,
this end and you know they ought to have a
hazmat sticker on the outside the door. I think that
would be the best way to describe. Never let your
kids ever, ever, ever go in there barefoot ever, because
(15:52):
of just how bad that it is. And yeah, now
the water is so it's again. You and I've talked
about the water to be careful and not to do
the coffee and the other types of things. And most
people that fly a lot, and especially those who have
listened to us, recognize that's not the thing to do.
So yeah, it's just another reminder here in apologies for
(16:12):
anybody that's, you know, trying to enjoy their breakfast or
coffee this morning. But look, you didn't get off an airplane,
so you should be happy.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
No, But you know, there's a whole bunch of people
out there who sort of I think joining the Mile
High Club might be a good idea. Note you don't
want to be in there in that festering peatrie dish
of bacteria, gross.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Panes where they pull out the black light and they
shine and and see everything. Yeah, going there, it's gonna.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Be the same thing, florid almighty. Yeah, Like well you asked,
like at Jackson Pollock Painting Joseph's American Airlines using artificial
intelligence to actually benefit its customers. What's going on with
this one?
Speaker 2 (16:47):
I love this. What they've done is they've Delta, of course,
is using artificial intelligence for pricing fares, which is actually
working against us. Not a big fan of that. So
American Airlines said, no, we're gonna use artificy sh'll intelligent
a little bit different in our flight following and flight
management process where we can actually plug all this in there,
and we're testing it in Dallas. So the flights are
(17:09):
running late, we can use our artificial intelligence software to
tell us how much we can delay a flight going
out of Dallas to accommodate people coming in late. So
they may see that a flight to New York, which
they are normally block, to block whatever time it might
happen to be. Maybe the airflow is not as crowded
(17:30):
as normal, maybe they've got good weather, maybe more of
a direct route. Artificial intelligence so tell them that flight
can lead ten to twelve minutes late and still arrive
on time. Brian. They're using this to try to better
serve their customers, and I cannot I can't wait till
the next time I want on our Dallas affiliate because
I want to want to brag on American they're in Dallas,
because what they're doing is trying this. It's working out
(17:52):
very well. Obviously, customers love it, and as a result,
what's taking place is they're thinking about using this across
the country at other hubs. Now, you know, I've been
on a Delta flight where I rushed to get from
one gate to the next with a bunch of people,
where they let the connecting flight leave ten minutes early
and then look at me like it's my fault. Here's
American Airlines saying, you know, we'd really like to put
the customer first. And I love it when they're doing that,
(18:14):
and I wish other carriers would have that mentality. But
you know, American used to be the flight leaves on time,
regardless of who has to die. Again, that's an overreach,
but that was it, and nothing ever left late, and
airline agents at the gate were held to extreme measures
if one of their flights left late, and American finally said,
you know what, yes, the late flights cost this money,
(18:37):
but there's a little wiggle room. So they relaxed it
and said, if it's the agent's call now. If they
need to let that flight leave a minute or two
late based on the customer's needs, then that's what we're
going to do. And it changed the entire mindset. The
agents love this, customers absolutely love it, and again, hats
off to American Airlines. It's an incredible story. We rarely
(18:59):
get to talk about increase in customer service when we
talk about airlines.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Good call, just real quick. Any problem with the air
travel out there hub Lize, Denver.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Early, Chicago late. Other than that, just don't go to
des Moines. They're getting cream, but that's not a hub,
so we don't care.
Brian Thomas News
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