Author: Julia Lauria-Blum

I was recently invited to attend and moderate a panel lecture about pioneering African American aviators, which took place at the extraordinary Explorer’s Club on E. 70th Street in New York. And what a fascinating evening it was! The invitation was initiated in early January when Lt. Col. Paul Tanghe, Ph.D., a member of the Explorers Club and on the Club’s Public Lectures Committee, asked if I would collaborate with him on developing the lecture along with the Metropolitan Airport News as a sponsor for the event. Special guests on the panel included Gigi Coleman Brooms, the great-niece of legendary…

Airline Flight & Cabin Crew Couture While uniforms may very well be the antithesis of high fashion, the relationship between the two uncovers a fascinating narrative and history. The focus of a uniform’s design is function, practicality, tradition, order, and durability. At the same time, fashion reflects continual change, imagination, originality, and often, defiance. But even within this contrast, style conveys an idea, a unique voice, and an individual identity. Airlines liveries are graphic motifs applied to the exteriors of commercial aircraft. In a sense, they are an airplane’s distinctive ‘uniform’ that reflects an airline’s image or origin, a country’s…

The new Chase Sapphire Lounge by the Club offers an elevated experience with Chase’s first-ever bookable Reserve Suites, dedicated wellness rooms, a game room, and exclusive menus from New York staples, including Joseph Leonard and Jeffrey’s Grocery, and drink selections from Parcelle, Apotheke and Joe Coffee. On January 16, 2024, Chase, with the support of Airport Dimensions, opened the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at LaGuardia Airport, welcoming travelers to an enhanced and premium hospitality experience with a local flavor and a side of New York City-inspired design. Airport Dimensions is the global specialist in helping airports enhance their…

Last October, when I booked a red-eye flight home for my daughter Maggie, departing out of LAX and bound for JFK on December 23rd, I did so with a bit of trepidation. Any concern that I had was not so much based on the fact that the week leading into and around the Christmas and New Year holidays is the busiest time of the year for air travel, but rather, based upon the spontaneous occurrence of some random ‘weather event’ in the northeast creating a ‘perfect storm’ (or domino effect) for scheduled air travel and at airports throughout the country.…

Providing Aviation Services to Private and General Aviation The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is the leading organization representing aviation service businesses such as FBOs (Fixed-Base Operators), charter providers, aircraft management companies, maintenance and repair organizations, flight training, and airline service companies. NATA classifies FBOs (the acronym for Fixed-Base Operators) as the primary service providers to general aviation aircraft operators. An FBO is defined as a business operating under a lease with an airport-owning authority that dispenses aviation fuel and may also provide a wide array of support services to aviation customers. The FBO industry in the United States comprises…

There’s a quote that comes up every so often that says, ‘cannot see the forest for the trees.’ For me, it means that when someone is solely focused on a singular or inconsequential detail, they are so preoccupied with it that they are missing the larger picture in front of them. In this day and age of information overload, distracting technology, difficulty comprehending current events, and packed schedules and deadlines, it’s pretty easy to become sidetracked and lost in the woods without even knowing how you got there. As the year 2023 concludes and winter begins to settle in, a…

LaGuardia Gateway Partners CEO, Suzette Noble, Discusses Connecting Terminal B Guests to an Exceptional Airport Experience Whether a hotel or resort, a restaurant or lounge, a large public venue, a retail outlet, or even a busy transportation hub such as an airport, the experience that a guest values the most and chooses to revisit time and again is one of hospitality, an excellent first impression, convenience, security, aesthetics, and the quality of services provided. Suzette Noble, a Vantage Airport Group Senior Executive and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP), knows this to be true. LGP is the…

While I have always gravitated toward airplanes as my go-to mode of transportation for long-distance travel, there’s nothing I love more than the adventure of a good old-fashioned road trip. My passion for road trips began as a child, on family excursions along the Eastern Seaboard and across the Chesapeake Bay to Williamsburg. During winter recess, we would hit the road at dawn and head down I-95 to Florida. Some of my fondest road trip memories are those that took place in the family’s beloved Ford Country Squire station wagon. It had a champagne gold exterior, trimmed with simulated wood…

The aviation industry has advanced from pioneering first flights in wood and canvas-bodied biplanes to flying faster, further, and more efficiently in aircraft that facilitate the transport and mobility of people, as well as access to goods, services, jobs, and more. The tsunami created by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 impacted the aviation industry in many ways, dealing a sweeping financial blow and revenue loss to airlines and airports in the billions of dollars. In 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that air passenger travel was reduced by slightly over 60% compared to 2019 and that international and…

The local airport community has always been extremely generous when donating time and money to worthy causes at our airports and within the surrounding communities. This past September, the Airport Community Golf Classic (ACGC), which was founded to assist local airport and aviation-related associations with fundraising efforts, hosted its inaugural Golf Classic fundraiser, and all proceeds from this very successful event were distributed to the JFK Air Cargo Association, the Council of Airline Maintenance Managers (CALMM), and the Aviation High School Education Foundation. On Friday, November 3, the JFK Air Cargo Association presented a check in the amount of $9,000…