Author: Joseph Alba
Joseph Alba
Mr. Alba was previously Editor of the Airport Press for 12 years covering both local as well as global aviation news. Prior to this, Mr. Alba had Executive positions in Systems Engineering and Marketing with IBM World Trade, and had foreign assignments in the Far East and Latin America earning three Outstanding Achievement Awards. Mr. Alba also directed a new function dealing with Alternate Fuels for Public Service Electric & Gas company in New Jersey and founded a Natural Gas Vehicle Consortium consisting of car company executives and fleet owners, and NGV suppliers in New Jersey. Mr. Alba was a founding partner of ATA, an IT Consulting company which is still active in Central and South America. After leaving the armed forces, Mr. Alba’s initial employee was the U.S. Defense Department as an analyst.
The U.S. Air Force flight demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, performed an inspiring flyover of the greater Las Vegas area on Saturday, April 11, 2020 in honor of healthcare workers and first responders working during the international COVID-19 crisis. The flight, which included all six of the Thunderbird F-16s in wedge formation along with at least two camera aircraft accompanying the aircraft, took place at 2:30 PM local Las Vegas time and was watched by hundreds of thousands of spectators who were separated all over Las Vegas by social distancing guidelines. Local media, aviation photographers around Las Vegas, and the Thunderbirds…
Significant demand shocks aren’t new to the airline industry. In this century alone, it has weathered the storms caused by the 9/11 attacks and the 2002-04 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic. But we have never before seen a shock of this magnitude affecting the entire world for what looks as if it will be a very long time. In the midst of the current crisis, airlines and associated aviation industries are concentrating on the health issue of both their employees and their customers. Because of this, airlines have not and will not develop final route plans and aircraft deployment…
A familiar and sometimes iconic site at airports across the globe, the air traffic control tower, celebrated its 100th birthday on February 28th. The world’s first air traffic control tower was commissioned by the UK government at London’s Croydon Airport in a move that helped usher in the age of mass air travel.At the time, Croydon was London’s main airport and the new addition kick-started the development of air traffic control. Croydon airport is also believed to the former home of the world’s first airport hotel, the Aerodrome Hotel which dates back to 1928 and counted silent movie star, Charlie Chaplin, among…
That’s the message from trade groups for the trucking and travel plaza industries, which said Wednesday that critical relief supplies are being delayed because drivers must wait in long lines for carryout food and to use travel plaza facilities in some states. NATSO, which represents truck-stops and travel plazas, and the American Trucking Associations (ATA) urge state and local governments to ensure that truck-stops and travel plazas can safely serve commercial drivers while implementing social distancing guidelines necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19. “What should be 20-minute stops are turning into more than two-hour layovers,” said Lisa Mullings, NATSO…
Only a few nautical miles from Idlewild Airport; Rockaway Airport debuted on July 16, 1939, and was originally called the Edgemere Airport. The airport was opened on the New York City Waterfront Company land between Beach 46th Street and Beach 54th Street. Airport boundaries included the major part in NYC and spilled into Edgemere in Nassau County. The Airport should not be confused with the WWII addition of a Naval facility on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula called the Rockaway Air Station. According to the August 1938 issue of the Chamber of Commerce of the Rockaways’ Rockaway Review…
The FAA faced pressure from congress and industry stakeholders to get the ball rolling on modernizing outdated Part 147 curriculum during a hearing held by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation. The hearing, which centered on efforts to boost aviation maintenance workforce, highlighted key areas for improvement such as curriculum, funding and targeting of a broader set of demographics. During questioning by members of the congressional subcommittee, representatives from the FAA and the U.S. Government and Accountability Office noted that stakeholders all agree modernization is overdue for aging curriculum, but Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) pointed out that ongoing delays in…
In one of Metropolitan Airport News first year’s articles, I wrote a column on reclining seats, and how rude travelers are to hitch them down all the way to the lowest setting; especially during meal time. Things have changed in the industry. First; in order to maximize the number of passengers, almost all airlines have reduced the distance from forward to aft and crammed in more seats. And secondly, they have also reduced the angle the seat can go back, hopefully not causing too much discomfort to the passenger behind you. But it appears neither move has ended the controversy…
Qatar Airways-backed carrier Air Italy has entered liquidation and is ceasing operations, the airline announced Tuesday, February 11th. Replacement flights for passengers booked on now-canceled flights will be operated by other airlines until February 25. Those flights will be carried out using the same schedule as Air Italy, meaning that bookings for this period of time remain valid, the airline says in a statement. In a statement to passengers, AirItaly said; From 11 to 25 February 2020 inclusive, all Air Italy flights will be operated by other carriers at the times and on the days previously scheduled; all passengers who…
The trucking industry is facing technological and business headwinds that will require a fresh vision in the near future. Increasing operating costs, complex federal regulations and an aging workforce remain top priorities in 2020. However, technology offers a new promise for trucking in a way that hasn’t been realized before. Here are three realities that will need to be addressed over the next 12 months and what the industry can do to maintain a competitive edge. Emerging Tech to Offset Increasing Operating Costs No one feels the pain of rising fuel costs more than the trucking industry. The latest findings…
The journey of Mitchel Field was similar to most of the closed as well as the currently operating airports on Long Island.* They all had their start beginning with a small hard clay runway with several hangars and other modest support buildings adjoining the runway; and then modernizing the airfield and facilities to accommodate larger and faster aircraft, and more passengers. Prior to Mitchel Field being developed as an airport, the site had a fascinating history. During the American Revolutionary War this property was known as the Hempstead Plains and was used as an Army enlistment center. In the…