Phila Airport Parking Vacations

All flights in and out of Philadelphia International Airport are cancelled today. If you have tickets already, call your travel agent, or call the airline before you go to the airport. If you have a park sleep fly package booked, calll your hotel to change your reservation as they will be working with limited resources as well.

As of 2pm the state has shut down the Blue Route (I-476) , the Schyukill Expressway (I-76), and the Vine Street Expressway (I-676).

The roads are getting bad so if you don’t have to go out, don’t. Cars are getting stuck everywhere, even on major roads like Route 1 there have been reports of spin outs and accidents.

As of 5pm Septa is cancelling all surface bus service until further notice. So if you’re scheduled to work tonight, call your employer before heading out.

Stay home, stay safe.

Update:

All Philadelphia Public and Parochial Schools will be closed on Thursday, 2/11 because of the storm. If you live in another school district, stay tuned to KYW news radio, 1060 on your AM dial or 94.1 HD-2 on your hd radio.

Whether you travel often or once in a while, acquiring airport news quickly and efficiently can make a big difference. This can help you save lots of time, should there be any delays with your flight schedule. Or, it can also help you to seek out new work opportunities within the field.

The fact is, many of us are flying back and forth from various cities and countries as well. Although many of us are doing this for reasons of pleasure, many more of us are doing this for business purposes. This can really take a chunk of time out of our lives. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to know what’s going on regarding the flight that you’re supposed to be on.

For instance, whether you are flying domestically or internationally, you must arrive at the airport in advance. This is especially true with international flights. So, you’re for or five hour flight turns into a daylong event. When you factor in the few hours of waiting around at the airport. Additionally, we have all been subjected to flight delays. However, if you know in advance, you rearrange your schedule. So you don’t have to spend all that extra time waiting around.

Being abreast with this type of news can also help you in other ways. For example, if you’re interested in the aviation industry, you may be able to find a job quickly. Should an opportunity come about, you would be one of the first to know about it. The fact is, there are many positions in this field that are open to people with experience and without.

Whether you are an experienced person in the field or simply wanting a change in careers, you’ll have the opportunity to view these openings way in advance before others. No matter how many job cuts have occurred in the industry, this is the most secure employment that anyone could ever have.

Additionally, getting airport news means that you’ll be on top of the various changes that are constantly occurring with the various airlines. You’ll also be a smarter passenger knowing the tricks of the trade and other important information that can help you save lots of money both in the present and in the future.

For example, there have been many changes regarding the amount of weight each passenger can bring on board. Not knowing this will certainly end up costing you a lot of money. If you go over the limit. However, smart consumers know exactly what is acceptable. Additionally, being an informed also means that they can benefit from inexpensive flights and travel destinations as well as upgrading from economy to business class without any further costs.

People who fly on a frequent basis, know how incredible frequent flyer points are. Airport news will give you the edge on these bonus points, which will further help you in terms of savings and free flights to practically anywhere in the world.

In addition to that, you’ll also be able to benefit from last-minute deals. If you know anything about the travel industry, you know that these go very quickly. But, if you subscribe to news regarding this industry, then you will be ahead of everyone. That puts you in the driver’s seat, opening up various opportunities for you.

Learn more about airport news. Stop by James Spellman’s site where you can find out all about airport forums and what it can do for you.

[I:http://phila-airport-parking.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2009/06/KerrySmith7.jpg]“Know the enemy” the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu advised. The flying public needs to know that they have an enemy and that his name is Les LeGroom. To get up to speed on the subject of Les, it is helpful to remember that this is the man who, back in the nineties, left the sardine canning industry and had airlines falling over themselves to hire him as a consultant. It should follow as no surprise that Les’ specialty is cramming people together in undersized seats under claustrophobic conditions. Les’ background presence is once again palpable in the new aircraft deliveries taking place right now. These airplanes have the same cabin space as their predecessors, only this time they boast a significant increase in the number of seats.

No one can discredit Les LeGroom by saying he lacks of ingenuity. The airlines cannot get enough of this guy’s ideas. He always delivers the goods and does it smoothly, such as when the removal of food galleys created hardly any upset among seasoned passengers. After all, this was seen as a positive public health move, the end of gray chicken a la king. A few more seats were tucked in these nooks as though they had always been there. So full of ideas, it is like Les never sleeps and of course, he expects the same from airline passengers. Another of his expectations may come as a bit of a shock though. Rumor has it that he is urging the airlines to consider cutting back on a significant percentage of lavatory space, to make room for even yet more seating. Why waste all that space on one or two uncomfortable thrones?

What credence should be given to this chatter? As odds would have it, earlier this year an independent journalist and blogger covering a paper products trade show in Foshan, China tripped over a small display of adult diapers, their waistbands imprinted with generic airline wings. Her inquiries were quickly silenced when she answered that she was not with a Mr. LeGroom. The booth’s manager threw a tarp over the pile, saying “This prototype. No ATB orders today.” A quick Baidu search answered her questions as to who the mysterious Mr. LeGroom was and that the acronym ATB stood for Airline Travel Brief. Even the mathematically disinclined can see where this is going.

State of the art seat cushioning is Les’ favorite claim to fame on the new aircraft. New seats are now designed to emulate the thin profile of the flip down LCD screens that are supposed to keep passengers glued in their chairs, mindless of their close quarters. Something tells me that the human body is not as adept at fitting into many of the prescribed folded positions and tilts of the new seating, despite the positive press the airline spokesmen are giving it. Sitting in my flexible desk chair and carefully enacting a written description of how the new seats can recline without disturbing one’s backyard neighbor, I managed to act up my sciatica and bloody my knee on the desk in front of me.

The axiom less is more has its limitations. In this case, Les is just plain less for consumers. His vision for the future is airport terminals that look and smell like bus stations, only with a heavier security detail going on. The odd thing with people is that when you really jam them together, there is often less civility and a lot more hostility. Of course, all this is subtly being pushed on to us over a carefully measured timeframe. It may take that new proposed boarding gate installation, the Sardine Oil Sprayer (acronym SOS), to bring about a real revolution.

(A Note to Readers: After an earlier publication of this commentary, I received an email from a certain L.L. who politely informed me that I had misspelled his name. Correction: Les LeGroom should read as Less LegRoom.)

I have come to the conclusion that going on one of those great premium luxury cruises is actually worth all the money as well as being a lot better than taking a plane there. What is it that makes it a lot better than flying?

There really is no need to turn up at the dock 4 hours before you are due to set sail as your bags are checked through quickly which is great compared to the airports.  As well as this there is no waiting to get to your destination as essentially as soon as you board the ship you are at your hotel room and can lie down and rest or jump straight into the pool.

No more will you have to wait for the seatbelt signs to flicker off before food and drink is served as this is all avalible as soon as you get aboard. Free drinks are only available on planes if you are travelling long haul with one of the expensive airlines like BA or Virgin.

You get to feel the luxury of having legroom on a cruise ship! There is no worry about legroom on a ship as you are never restricted to space, even the cheapest of rooms are spacious.

If your in danger there are lifeboats to board and it saves jumping out of a plane and the likelihood of anyone being injured at all is extremely low. No need to worry about terrorism on a cruise ship, well not yet anyway! Nope as it stands at the moment all you need to be afraid of is pirates.

Of course there is the possibility of storms but hey when that happens just head downstairs and relax with a game of pool or a nice drink, or even both!

I have to admit I love flying and I would never say cruise every year instead of flying to your favourite destination but going on a luxury cruise is nice every so often and with Regent Cruises (the one I went with) you are sure to have a better time than on an aeroplane.

Even public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

• allow the proper targeting of investment
• allow measurement of the effect of change
• assist in the moral of those implementing change
• ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

• safety and security
• punctuality
• fares and ticket types
• capacity and overcrowding
• quality and design of vehicle
• cleanliness
• facilities at stations and terminals
• facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

Operators can use passenger surveys to confirm what their customers consider as the main issues. By analysing passenger feedback the operator can ensure that their improvement and investment plans are in line with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into low and high priority, as well as short and long term plans.

Major capital investment such as the building of infrastructure for example new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take many years to implement. However, significant problems can be identified by the initial survey that have a quick and simple solution and that can be immediately resolved for a minimal cost.

Measuring Change

From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.

One aim will be to ascertain if any of the implemented changes and initiatives have been effective in addressing passenger concerns. A second objective will be to promote and advertise the initiatives that have been implemented and also inform and educate passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.

Passengers need to know that their concerns have been understood and once that they know that the operators have acknowledged the problems and are taking steps to address them they can become more tolerant towards the outstanding problems.

Keeping Moral

Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. It can take time for any change to take effect and for the passengers to appreciate any improvement.

By canvassing passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

Passengers can be slow to appreciate any progress and can be very negative demoralising those who are working hard to implementing change. It is essential that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. The situation can change instantly so that due to an event what was important, is no longer important and what wasn’t an issue, is suddenly an issue.

A baseline survey will make sure that the passengers concerns are documented chronologically. Passengers are themselves an evolving group, individual travel arrangements change, fashion changes, life styles develop along with technology. Annual surveys will ensure that any changes in passenger attitudes are monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. The low cost and flexibility of online surveys allows passenger concern to be targeted at specific groups and particular concerns.

Online passenger surveys will provide operators with essential market research data and will establish a platform to allow them to advertise and promote their commitment to high levels of passenger satisfaction.

Passengers benefit by having a forum to raise issues and through regular surveys will begin to appreciate that their concerns are acknowledged and the operator is committed to investing and improving the service. The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline Carrier: Airline Passenger Survey

Passenger Survey for a Train Operator: Train Operator Passenger Survey

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator: Bus Operator Passenger Survey