Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! This time we’re talking about a topic you likely heard a lot about in the past two weeks around the sequester, or FAA furloughs, Air Traffic Control. Different types of Air Traffic Control (ATC) Programs The National Airspace System (NAS) is one of [...]
Archive for the ‘Unpacked’ Category
April 4th, 2013
Unpacked: Delicate Luggage
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! Check it: This time we’re talking about the delicate topic of checking fragile items. It’s spring break travel time again and the topic of baggage is a hot one. Last year we shared an Unpacked column that talked about the path of a [...]
March 7th, 2013
Unpacked: South By Southwest
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! The hot topic across many industries this week is South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual festival showcasing some of the best and brightest in music, film and interactive art. Held in Austin, Texas each year, SXSW has gained a larger presence each year and [...]
February 7th, 2013
Unpacked: Love
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! This time we’re talking about a different kind of “hot topic,” love. Love is a strong word, and we’re not afraid to use it. We love who we are. We love what we do. And we love the people and communities that we serve. With the [...]
January 25th, 2013
Unpacked: Unruly Customers
It’s our privilege to fly tens of thousands of people every day from every cross-section of life. Serving as many people as we do also means dealing with a variety of challenges imaginable. You name it and we’ve seen it. Sometimes, in order to ensure a safe cabin environment, we have to ask a customer to [...]
January 3rd, 2013
Unpacked: Deicing
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! This time we’re talking about a timely winter topic, deicing. Deicing is exactly what it sounds like: the prevention or removal of snow or ice from aircraft during winter weather. From North to South and East to West, ’tis the season to deice, [...]
December 6th, 2012
Unpacked: Instrument Landing Systems
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! This time we’re talking about instrument landing systems (ILS). When you think about how planes take off and land, a couple of factors likely come to mind: pilots and air traffic controllers. Oh yes, and planes. Less obvious, though no less important are [...]
November 8th, 2012
Unpacked: How We Plan for Weather Events
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! This time we’re talking about how we plan around icky weather, or – as we call them in airline talk – weather events. Weather is one of those topics that people get passionate about. After all, weather determines a lot of different variables [...]
October 4th, 2012
Unpacked: Fear of Flying
Most people are afraid of something. Some people are afraid of flying. It’s one of those fears that might show up on Family Feud’s short list along with fear enclosed spaces, clowns or snakes. Some folks say there’s a scientific reason why people fear spiders or snakes – in fact, there may have been an [...]
September 6th, 2012
Unpacked: The Past, Present and Future of Air Traffic Control
Welcome to Unpacked, where we demystify hot topics in the airline industry! This time we’re talking about the past, present and future of air traffic control. Even if you don’t know much about air traffic control, you’ve probably heard the term, and you probably know something about a person on the ground who talks to [...]



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