Fast forward a few years and the object of excitement is changed. On Monday December 14th I arrive at the office about 7AM and open an email message telling me that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is about to make its first flight the next day from Paine Field. During preceding months I had been planning to witness this event, but its date was postponed several times. To put it mildly, I am totally unprepared for Tuesday’s event and start to panic.

Using the computer, I check for flights from Grand Rapids to Seattle for later in the day. I spot a $520 fare on United Airlines. However, without additional verbal confirmation of the first 787 flight I decide to wait to book the United flight. Owing to the three hour time zone difference between GRR and SEA, I have to wait until noon to confirm that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is indeed scheduled to fly on Tuesday at 10AM, weather permitting.

Back to airline reservations. Wouldn’t you know that the earlier $520 fare is long gone leaving me with a much more expensive $950 flight. Oh well, that’s the cost of procrastination. Next I make hotel and car reservations and a call to my wife to let her know of my sudden excursion to Seattle. By 1PM I head home to pack my bags and photo equipment to arrive at the airport by 3PM.

Travel from Grand Rapids to Seattle by way of Denver is uneventful and I arrive about 8PM. The one hour drive from Seatac Airport in Seattle to the hotel near Paine Field is in heavy rain. Owing to my late arrival, I have to settle for some elegant fast food for dinner. Back at the hotel as I set my alarm for 7AM, I am wondering if the rain will interfere with tomorrow’s flight.

Bzzzzzzzz! Time to awaken. I draw back the window shades and see that it’s dark, cloudy and drizzly ourdoors. I quickly dress, prepare my cameras and drive to the nearby Future of Flight Museum that sits at the north end of Paine Field. There Mary Brueggeman hurriedly prepares me a parking pass and entry ticket to rooftop viewing area that overlooks the airport. Inside of the museum things are setup for this special “787 First Flight Event“, complete with champagne, continental breakfast and informative Boeing 787 Dreamliner displays.

I take a quick trip up to the rooftop to determine the best spot from which to photograph the takeoff. Once outdoors, I can feel the cold drizzle and strong breeze. I’m still wondering if the flight will take place. Although it’s still quite dark, the 787 is sitting next to a lighted building across the field about a half mile away. At 7:45 there are only a handful of others outdoors, mostly from local television stations doing their broadcasts of the event. Satisfied that I’ll have a good shooting location on the roof, I head back inside to grab some hot coffee and breakfast pastry.

By 8:30, the museum is a beehive of activity with about two hundred guests. You can hear the excitement in their voices. I bundle my coat and head outside again, this time to stake out my shooting position. By now three dozen others have already done the same. Across the field, we can see hundreds of Boeing employees streaming along the tarmac parallel the the taxiway. They too are here to see their new “baby” make its first flight.

After standing outside where it’s a damp 40-degrees for almost an hour, my feet and hands are cold. As the clock draws closer to 10AM, the rooftop viewing area is now jammed with about 400 onlookers with cameras staring at the motionless Dreamliner across the field. The strobe lights atop the aircraft have been flashing, but the aircraft shows no movement at all. Although it’s a half-mile away, I can hear its engines spool up. The 787 is finally moving and the crowd lets out a collective cheer. The sleek blue and silver aircraft follows a pilot card to runway 14R and then slowly parades 6000 feet along the taxiway as if it strutting its stuff for the Boeing employees and executives. Next it taxis to the far end of the airport just off of runway 34L. It sits there for a few minutes and then taxis into position on the runway. Everyone is now anxiously anticipating the takeoff.

Approaching from the south I see two small, low flying jet aircraft heading directly for runway 34L. These are the chase planes. Everyone knows that it’s now show time. Like a perfectly co-ordinated dance, the 787 engines spool up and the aircraft is finally rushing down the runway with the chase planes appearing to hang just overhead. The timing of the chase planes is exacting. The guests are now cheering loudly as the 787 races forward. At about the 5000 foot marker, the nose wheel comes off the ground. A few seconds go by and finally it’s airborne. The cheers are even louder now with lots of applause.

As it flies passes us, the Dreamliner is only a two hundred feet off the ground. The myriad of camera shutters are still snapping away and heads are turning to follow its path. As it slowly departs to the north, you can clearly see the distinctive bow of its wings as if they’re flexing. What a great looking aircraft.

Congratulations to all of the Boeing employees and subcontractors who have made it happen.

Click on any of the photos to enlarge
Boeing workers lined up on the tarmac	following the pilot car
a head on shot of the 787	crossing over runway 16R
first the nose wheel is off the runway	now all three wheels are off ground – it’s flying
the 787 is now airborne	ready for the climb
The Dreamliner passes by at 200ft	You can see wings bow on the Dreamliner

Let’s see. At $3,500 per vehicle, auto dealers sold more 285,700 cars last week. Of course this is just an estimate since some buyers received $4,500 credit for their gas-guzzling clunker.

Now our Congressmen are debating extending the program with another $2,000,000,000 (that’s nine zeros behind the ‘2′) . So if Congress agrees, we may see another half-million new cars on the road in coming weeks. What does all of this mean for the nation?

This program sounds like a good deal for many. The buyer gets a great deal if his/her clunker is worth less than the government’s $3,500 or $4,500 subsidy. And he/she will see his/her monthly gasoline bill reduced with a more fuel-efficient car. The dealer gets to move some of his unsold inventory off the lot and helping to keep sales and maintenence staff employed. The auto company gets to chalk up a much-needed sale to keep the factories running and auto workers building new cars.

The rest of us get to see a huge influx of more fuel-efficient cars on the road in a very short period of time. Early reports suggest that the new vehicles are 60% more fuel efficient compared to the clunkers they are replacing. So how does the program do in reducing our dependency on fossil fuel? Unforunately, not very much. Assuming that most of the new vehicles purchased are passenger cars, this number doesn’t make much of a dent since the population of registered vehicles numbers about 135 million. Regarding the environment, about the best we can say is that at least it’s a start.

What’s your opinion about the Cash for Clunkers program? Well, before you answer, read just a little more.

This morning I heard a report claiming that bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives totaled more than $3,000,000,000 (that’s nine zeros behind the ‘3′).

According to Representative Dennis Kucinich:

The Merrill bonuses were 22 times larger than those paid by AIG ($3,620 million versus $165 million). They were also very large relative to the TARP monies allocated to Merrill. The Merrill bonuses were the equivalent of 36.2% of TARP monies Treasury allocated to Merrill and awarded to BOA after their merger. The bonuses, awarded mostly as cash, were made only to top management at Merrill. To be eligible for the bonuses, Merrill employees had to have a salary of at least $300,000 and attained the title of Vice President or higher.

For me, the Cash for Clunkers program is a a far better use of our tax money than “rewarding” the Merrill Lynch executives. What do you think?

Over the last year, Michigan has been taking it on the ear and now has an enormous unemployment rate of 11+  percent, thousands of owners facing foreclosure on their homes, small and large businesses alike slashing expenses, retailers shuttering their doors amid meager retail sales, residents scrambling to receive health and other social services, cities and towns facing severe budget shortfalls, and the list of similar problems goes on.
 
I’ve been taking notes as I observe how some businesses are handling themselves during the recession. Frankly I’ve found that vaious businesses have demonstrated a curious mix of proper and improper behavior as they strive to stay or reach profitability. Let me explain.

First the Improper

I take turns with my wife shopping for groceries. On a recent trip to my preferred grocery store I head for the cereal aisle and spot my favorite Sugar Pop Bran Chex cereal. Picking up the box, I see that the $3.79 price is about the same as past purchases. But as I look a little closer, I notice that there’s 4 less ounces of cereal in the box. Instead of the 32 ounce box, this is a 28 ounce box. So in an effort to keep an attractive price, this food manufacturer has chosen to change to a smaller package and effectively raising the price by 12.5 percent.

It’s an old habit, but I’ve been paying my monthly bills with bank checks for 40 years. Running low on my supply of checks, I placed an Internet order for replenishment from my long-time DesignerChecks company. Their online ad told me that the cost for four boxes of checks was still $59, same as a previous order from 5 months ago. When the check order arrived a few days later, I noticed two things were different. First, each box contained fewer pads of checks. Second, each pad contained fewer checks – 20 instead of 25 checks per pad. I felt kind of cheated by this printing company that supplied me less than I expected.

For my adult life, I’ve been a paid member of AAA Automobile Club that provides me trip kits and maps, travel services and the like. As I was reading their latest issue of the club’s magazine I noticed that it’s no longer a monthly publication – it’s bimonthly. Now I receive only six issues a year instead of twelve. Three Saturday’s ago, I stopped by nearby AAA office to pick up a trip kit and was surprised (truthfully I was perturbed) that the office was closed. It seems that AAA had quietly eliminated Saturday hours. I was not a happy camper. While the membership dues hasn’t increased, I feel that I’m receiving less services for the fees that I pay.

Now for the Proper

My drive to the office takes me past Dunkin’ Donuts each morning where I stop for a large coffee and some pastry sweets to get my blood moving for the day. Inside, a friendly, smiling Anna greets me and provides me with takeout nourishment in exchange for my $2.79. She also puts a “punch” in my FREEquent Coffee card. When I collect six “punches” I’ll get a free coffee. How’s that for keeping me coming back?

As an avid picturetaker, I’m always looking for an excuse to snap landscapes and outdoor scenery. On cross-country drive two weeks ago from Phoenix to Grand Rapids, I conveniently detoured to a few of the National Parks with my camera in tow to capture some of the beauty of the West. Owing to the fact that I’m a penny-pincher, I chose an economical processors to make enlargements from my phototour. I sent several of the images from my notebook computer to the photo lab at Costco. The lab produced a dozen different 12″ x 18″ photos for just $2.99 each. When I arrived to pick them up I found that two of the images weren’t as I expected. Following a five minute learning session with the photo lab technician, she returned with perfect replacements. I received fine service, great price and excellent quality.

We use one of our vehicles only for long trips and vacations so it sits in the driveway for most of the winter. When I went to start it last month, the battery was dead. So I jump started it and let it run for an hour thinking that it would recharge and be ready for service. Not so. In fact I jump started it three more times before deciding to take the vehicle to Firestone, our trusted auto maintenance center. Though the battery was more than two years old, Randy the personable service manager saw to it that it was replaced at no charge. Here’s another company that stands behind its service.

Doing Business in a Recession

The above are just a few examples that stick out in my mind. 

As I continue to hear the news delivering dreary economic reports, I’m anxious to learn how businesses are operating to stay above water. From what I’ve learned so far, you can be sure that I’ll be weary of businesses that exhibit improper behavior. I don’t want to be paying more to receive less. I’ll continue to frequent businesses that demonstrate proper behavior – companies that deliver on service, price and quality. In a recession, these things still count.

Two weeks ago we had an enjoyable visit from Rita and her fiancée William Holstein here in Grand Rapids. Rita and I grew up in New Rochelle, a small suburban community in New York City’s shadow. She was along for the ride with Bill, a well-respected business writer who was on tour. In his just-published book “Why GM Matters” he argues that General Motors has undoubtedly reinvented itself over the past ten or so years and is on the verge of emerging as a formidable competitor.

The trouble now is that this recession has so severely hobbled the entire global automotive industry. With General Motors asking our Federal Government for loan guarantees fast on the heels of the financial institution and banking fiasco, the taxpaying public is more than a little skeptical about propping up GM, not confident about the company’s viability as a long-term player. The topic of public help for GM is slightly unpopular in much of America that wants a villain to blame for our financial woes. But in the Midwest where the automobile industry is responsible for the livelihood of millions, Bill Holstein received a warm reception addressing auto and industry employees, business leaders and local and state government officials in Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids to present his evidence of GM’s significant progress.

Bill’s book presents a side of the giant automotive manufacturer that has been scarcely covered by an unforgiving media that has skewered General Motors in past years. For the skeptical among you, “Why GM Matters” takes an inside look at the new GM and suggests that the cost to America for a failed General Motors is far greater than the cost of helping General Motors get past the current recession. For the sake of an automotive industry with its millions of workers and suppliers, I hope that GM makes it through our current crisis. One last thing: dinner with Rita and Bill was fun, stressless and frugally inexpensive.

My point here is that companies both large and small are grappling, scrambling, racing and inventing ways to stay profitable in a fragile economy. We know that not all of us will survive. It’s strangely coincidental that we commemorate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth at a time when survival of the fittest might also apply to business firms as well as nature. Those businesses that indeed survive will most likely have one or more of the following characteristics:

• have large enough resources to weather the storm
• have developed a solid business plan over the years
• have the flexibility to adapt readily to the whims of the marketplace
• have lots of luck

Concerned about what happens to our business, I’m keen to see how other businesses are adjusting.

On a recent business trip I needed to have my daily ingestion of caffeine and stopped at the Starbucks that was part of the hotel at which I was staying. Cost $4.80 for a coffee. A few hours later while driving, I felt the need for more coffee so I pulled into a McDonalds. Cost $1.60 for a coffee. I won’t argue the pros and cons of Starbucks vs McDonalds – I’ll just say that $3.20 is a big difference for a shot of caffeine.

I’ve had to run to the office supply store last week to replenish my supply of ink for a thirsty printer. It seems that I’m always running out of one color or another. If you’d like to be shocked at the cost of ink refills, go to ink jet calculator website to estimate the “lifetime cost of ownership” of several popular ink-jet printers – I’m thinking that my next printer will be a laser. Anyway, upon checkout at the office supply store, the clerk courteously ask me if I need additional paper, pens or other supplies. They don’t want me taking any additional purchases to one of their competitors. Another sign of tight times.

I can go on, but the essence of what we’re doing at Abacus is to rein in our expenses. So what’s our next step in this fragile economy?

Actually, we’ve already taken our next step. For years, we have maintained strong ties with the large mass merchandise retailers. It’s no surprise that several are no longer operating (read: out of business) and others have reduced both the number of items that they purchase and the frequency. We’ve had to adjust accordingly.

Rather than have a 90 day amount of most used office supplies, we’re paring it down to 45 or even 30 days. Normally, we produce eight to ten major new projects a year. This year we’ll most likely cut back to five major projects. In the past, each project was based on minimum production runs of 7500 units. Today, we’re scaling back to runs of just 5000 units. And our list goes on…just like many other companies.

What’s next?

Well, we could write to our Congressmen and ask to be put in line for some kind of bailout. But that’s not in the cards right now – probably never. Like most other companies, we’ve got our eyes and ears open on the lookout for basic, new, clever and innovative ways to attract new and keep existing customers.

We might try to reduce prices where possible. Certainly low prices are one way to attract sales, but this leaves little room for new product development. Low prices are a way to maintain a business, not grow a business.

We are now accelerating our move into other areas. For the past 1-1/2 years, we have been developing a series of products for the photographers among you. Our launch is just a few weeks away and we hope to garner the photographically inclined among you as we begin our expansion. After all, we can’t just sit around waiting for things to get better. By trying to provide products that consumers crave for both their psychic and physical well-being, we’re trying to make things better for all of us.

Most of you know that Microsoft’s ACES Studio is responsible for the development and marketing of Microsoft Flight Simulator. As upsetting as this news is to us, it’s infinitely more upsetting to the ACES staff. Over the years, we at Abacus have worked with many of the members of ACES. So we are saddened to see them lose their jobs. Our best wishes now go out to them as they begin their journey to find new employment and thank them all for their contributions to the Flight Simulator community and more specificailly to our ability to build a business making add-ons for their flagship gaming product. Here we can clearly see how the downturn in the world’s business climate often takes a big toll on creativity and dedication.

How the demise of ACES affects the future of Flight Simulator is now the subject to much speculation. So far, Microsoft Public Relations firm Edelman & Associate has only addressed this topic vaguely by saying:“We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time.”

Immediately after the layoffs begin on Friday January 23rd, dozens of forum posts appeared on various Internet sites written by former ACES employees and contractors. These posts confirmed the layoffs and expressed surprise and resignation to the halt in Flight Simulator development. Since then thousands of Flight Simulator enthusiasts have posted messages expressing their disappointment in Microsoft’s decision to shut down ACES Studio.

I can only assume that due to the large base of existing users of Flight Simulator, somewhere down the road there will be a resumption in Flight Simulator development – either as a part of a Microsoft reinvented or from another third-party.

If there is a positive side to all of this, it may be that the with the code temporarily frozen, the computer hardware will now dicatate how well Flight Simulator performs. We know that many Flight Simulator fans have continued to use FS2004 rather than change to FSX with its corresponding increased hardware requirements. 

With no changes to Flight Simulator announced, developers such as ourselves will have a stable base for which to create new add-ons. As users gradually upgrade to more poweful computer systems, they’ll find that they now have the increased CPU power to run FSX. The question remains, will they feel confident enough to also upgrade to FSX with its unknown future? We’ll have to wait and see.

With regards to Flight Simulator, we have little choice but to take a wait and see position.

Again, best wishes to the ACES employees in quickly finding new and creative positions.

Now it’s up to the executive branch to provide the financial backing that both Chrysler and General Motors claim is essential to meet their immediate cash-flow needs. These funds are necessary to cover the bets they’ve already ante’d up for – but only until March 31st. Details to be filled in when the full news is broadcast later, we’re told.

Detroit is the epi-center of this economic earthquake. Yes, Detroit has taken a beating in more than one way. Its citizens have suffered from hiring freezes, wage concessions, job layoffs and housing foreclosures. All of this brings heavy discomfort and uncertainty to a population that has lived and breathed the motor city dream for decades. With recent focus on southeast Michigan, the entire nation, perhaps even the world, knows the plight of the Detroiters.

Despite all of the news coverage, there is one element in the Detroit saga that hasn’t received much attention outside of the immediate area. And it’s one that is very near and dear to the heart and minds of the dedicated people that live there. It’s the Lions.

If you can believe it, the Detroit Lions may be in worse shape than the auto companies. Just look at the facts. For the season the Detroit Lions are now 0 and 15. For one whole season they haven’t been able to close a single sale. The auto companies at least are selling a few cars. But the Lions can’t even get to the “make me an offer stage” of the game.

At the risk of being judgemental, I ask you who needs more help – the auto industry or the Lions?

Going into this past weekend’s game at 0 and 14, we knew they should be on the verge… Against the Orleans Saints and playing at home, they didn’t let us down giving us another loss – not even close – at 42 – 7. The press reports that Ford Field was only half-full. Why do they have to be so negative? Why can’t they tell us about the brave and loyal Lion supporters who filled the other half of the stadium. Boy, that’s certainly unfair of the sportcasters.

Asked about the loss to the Saints, head coach Rod Marinelli was quoted as saying “I’ll let the record speak for itself”.

Hold on. The Lions have one more chance. This coming weekend the team will be traveling to Green Bay to face the Packers. Forget the fact that they haven’t won a game in Green Bay since 1991, Sunday is a brand new day. The real Lion fans are hoping to put a lid on the t-shirt maker who is co-opting Barack Obama’s battle cry: “Yes We Can – 0 – 16“.

With or without a loss this coming weekend, I ask you, don’t you think the Lions deserve a bailout too?

The election of President-Elect Obama is a mandate from the electorate that our government needs to act quickly to fix our sick economy. It’s no wonder. For months the daily news has been littered with downbeat stories about housing repossessions, business bankruptcies, plant closings, job layoffs. On the economic front, there has been mighty little to cheer about.

For now, I’ll stick to a subject that is close to my heart by restricting my comments to the aviation industry.

As many of you know, the merger of Delta and Northwest to form the world’s largest airline was finalized in late October. Now we’re in position to see how the combination of these two giant carriers to create a single humongeous operation with 75,000 employees, serving 375 cities in 66 countries will perform. Pre-merger financials indicate that more than $2 billion in synergies (assumed to be savings from overlap) can provide the boost to turn two money-losing operations into a profitable one.

The airlines continue to scramble to find solutions to their money-losing ways. We’ve been told that there will be more mergers ahead lest we find more airlines closing their doors involuntarily. One big blow to the flying public has been the increase in airline ticket prices. Part of the increase is due to the tremendous run-up of fuel prices this past Summer. But this doesn’t explain it all.

Compared to last year, the US airlines have reduced their capacity by 265,000 flight in the 4th Quarter of 2008. This means that on average, there are nearly 3,000 fewer flight for travelers to choose from each day. This is happening because the airlines have learned that excess capacity (empty seats) restricts the price that it can charge for a ticket. So they’ve removed a lot of the excess capacity. If you’ve flown recently, you already know that your ticket is more expensive and you are getting to know your fellow travelers a little more intimately since planes are nearly full.

According to statistics from OAG, the reductions in US flights represent more than half of worldwide flight reductions totaling 451,000. With numbers like this, you might say that the US traveler is taking it in the ear due to the recession and difficulties of the airline industry.

Along with fewer seats being served up, OAG tells us that 33 airports in the US will lose scheduled air service this quarter. The recession has forced the ailing airlines to eliminate money-losing routes. A case in point is the arrival of a new carrier to our local Gerald R Ford International Airport here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In a few weeks, low-cost Allegiant Air will begin service from Grand Rapids to destinations in Florida. That’s good news for travelers from our fair city. On the other hand, Allegiant will be terminating service from Lansing – Michigan’s capital city located 60 miles from Grand Rapids. Why the change? According to Allegiant spokesman John Feyes, “It was mostly the hard work of the airport, convincing us that the demand (from Grand Rapids) is here”. For the skeptical among us, we might think the change has more to do with the airport authorities waiving more than a $1,000,000 in landing and other fees and agreeing to spend $250,000 to help launch Allegiant during its first year of operation.

Win some (Grand Rapids) – lose some (Lansing). One could argue that the cost of $1.25 million to users of the Grand Rapids facility is the real incentive that Allegiant requires to have the economics makes sense for their airline.

It remains to be seen how Allegiant holds up against the competition. In the past airlines wanting to protect its turf (e.g. Northwest) would match or better ticket prices when a newcomer entered one of its markets. Now that Northwest is part of a bigger and stronger Delta, we’ll soon see if it views Allegiant as a competitive threat. Allegiant begins service to Orlando and Tampa in February. As I check prices today (November 27) I can book a round trip from GRR to MCO on Feb 17-Feb24 for $178. We’ll have to see how the fares move at Delta in coming weeks. So far there isn’t a price war. Delta is quoting a round trip from GRR to MCO on these same dates for $338. So it appears that Allegiant is going to gain market share in the short run.

As we learned earlier, there are now thousands of fewer flights each day in the US. So the task of each airline is to keep its planes flying full. One airline is not going to look kindly on a competitor who want to keep its planes flying full too. So we’ll continue to see price competiton as a way to lure passengers.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we consumers had a GPS-like device to help us navigate the price and schedules of the airlines?

One of the cool ‘extras’ with most of these sanctioned races is getting your photo taken during the race. This could be during your run or for triathletes, your swim, bike and run. Most importantly, you will have a photo at the finish of your race. It’s the hope that you’ll purchase copies for yourself, family and friends.

I’m not an expert photographer, but these people have it down to a science. Each strategically positioned photographer is equipped with at least one digital SLR camera and more likely monopod to hold the camera’s view to a particular area that you’ll be passing through. As runners and/or cyclists come towards the photographers, they snap the pictures. You can usually see them so that you can give them that ‘just right’ pose as you go by.

After completing your race, it takes a few days for the photography company to compile all the digital images of the participants.

The variety and expanse of the pictures of you or your acquaintance can be overwhelming. Usually, you can purchase:

Photos of varying sizes from wallet sized to 20 x 30 posters; commemorative plaques (that include action, candid and finish line photos). You can even have your photo(s) placed on magazine covers, Wheaties™ boxes, baseball card-type trading cards, shirts, hats, mugs and just about anything you can imagine to print on.

Pricing as you might imagine can be high as well. But hey, it’s your chance to be photographed as an athlete! Finally, one of the nice features of race organizers using these services is that you will have a photo archive of your race or races. These companies typically keep your images for at least a year after your event.

There are many companies who provide these services with the two most popular being Action Sports International and Brightroom Photography.

You may also want to investigate other sports photography sites to see what is available. These include:

• Raceshots at http://www.raceshots.net/
• Racephotos at http://www.racephotos.com/
• Capstone Photography at http://www.capstonephoto.com/
• Sportography at http://www.sportography.com/
• Penrose Photography’s FinishShots at http://www.finishshots.com/search.php

Many of the techniques that these professional photographers use have been learned after several years of photo taking. But with the new Stay Focused Press guides, you can learn to take outstanding pictures using your own DSLR. Abacus has 5 titles that include the Canon XSi, Nikon D40x/D60, Olympus E-510/E-520, Canon XTi/XS and the Sony Alpha 300. Be sure to check them out at www.stayfocusedpress.com

Unfortunately, the opportunities for savings are not as easy to implement for the airlines and air cargo businesses. They are all scrambling to find ways to deal with skyrocketing fuel costs.

Here are some statistics:

In 2007, U.S. carriers used the same amount of fuel as they did in 1998.

In 2007, U.S. carriers spent four times the amount for fuel as they did in 1998 – $9.7 billion versus $41.6 billion.

In 2004, jet fuel sold for less than $1 per gallon. Last year it was selling for about $2 per gallon. In May 2008, it was selling for $3.98 per gallon. That’s double from the previous year.

Ouch!

To survive these dramatic cost increases, most of of the US carriers are quickly changing their policies and strategies.

American, Continental, Delta and United are all making major changes. It looks like their narrow body aircraft are heading the the junk heap. For example, American will be grounding some 45 MD-80s; Delta will remove MD-88s and CRJs from the skies and United will remove its 90+ 737s from service in the next several months.

Less fuel efficient wide body aircraft are also involved. Both United and American are removing older 747s and MD-11s – something that will affect internaional and freighter service. When the airlines are done culling, passenger capacity will be reduced by about 8%.

As a result many cities will see reduced capacity. Take nearby Kalamazoo: United will suspend service to this city in Western Michigan in November. Similarly, Delta will end its flight to Lansing (capital of Michigan) by the end of August.

With less flights to choose from, passengers will also have to pony up an extra fee for checked baggage. Most of the US carriers have added a $15 to $20 charge aimed to offset the additional fuel cost for transporting the baggage.

Many airlines have seating that offers 5 extra inches of leg room as a bonus for their most frequent flyers. If space is available, the airline will sell you these seats for $75 or so.

To save money, airlines long ago limited meal services. If you’re on a cross-country flight you may be served a meal. If not, you can purchase one for $5 or so. Otherwise you can stop at one of the airport concesssions ahead of time and carry on a slice of pizza or a hamburger.

Let’s see where we are: fewer airlines flying to some cities means that we will pay a higher price for a ticket; less flights to choose from means that we will most likely fly at less convenient times; less seats available means that we will most likely share the flight with more passengers; additional charge for baggage means that we will have larger carry-ons and have to fight even more for the overhead storage space; traveling as a non-frequent flyer means that your knees will be stuck between the seats for the duration of your flight; sitting next to someone who has decided to carryon his/her dinner means that you’ll have to put up with the nasty smell of his/her four winds gourmet burger.

Enjoy your flight!