21 May, 2012

MD83 of American Airlines Makes Emergency Landing

Leaking oil forced an American Airlines plane to make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Airport officials said the pilot noticed the leak shortly after taking off from Raleigh for Chicago around 8:15 a.m. Sunday. The first attempt at an emergency landing was scrapped, but the pilot brought the plane down safely as emergency crews stood by on the second attempt. Authorities say none of the 138 passengers on the MD-83 jet were injured.

Ryanair warn of low profits


Ryanair Holdings Plc  Europe’s biggest discount airline, predicted earnings will fall this year as a slowing European economy prevents it from increasing fares sufficiently to make up for surging jet-fuel costs.
Net income rose 25 percent to 502.6 million euros ($643 million) in the 12 months to March 31, Ryanair said today in a statement. That figure may slip to between 400 million euros and 440 million euros this year, the Dublin-based company said.

04 April, 2012



The April issue of New York's premier queer monthly publication is out now, loads of features inside, including, Abby Dees is a Los Angeles based civil rights attorney-turned-author, speaker, syndicated columnist and IMRU radio host. Abby wrote the book Queer Questions Straight Talk to help bridge the communication gap between the LGBT and straight communities.   Ruthie Alcaide has appeared on MTV’s Real World Hawaii, and The Challenge programs. She’s now a college lecturer.
There is also a page dedicated to gay writer and broadcaster,  Jason Shaw!

Check out the April issue of Diversity Rules Magazine featuring Abby Dees and Ruthie Alcaide at http://www.diversityrulesmagazine.com
Once there,  just click  on the current issue tab,  to visit and read the wonderful online version of this fine publication.

23 March, 2012

New books from Jason Shaw






 


16 March, 2012

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On Sale Now

03 March, 2012

The Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies Of All Time book launched


Hey, it's been a short while, but at last the first of a series of books from me is out,  The Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies.

Following on from extensive research, watching, calculating and a veritable avalanche of emails the cogitation and compilation is complete and it's now time to unveil the final Top 50 of those wonderful gay movies that hold some sort of influence over us.

Support independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu.Available in printed from at £6.99 


Also available in a digital form exclusive to Amazon Kindle  


This is an exciting time for me and I sincerely hope you will enjoy this comprehensive guide to the most influential gay movies of all time.

All top 50 movies have a full review, complete with synopsis and sometimes some reader/viewer comments and suggestions -  maybe yours is included?

Presented in a clear and easy to understand way, this really is designed to be an  gentle first insight into those special gay movies that have helped shape our emotions and our society.






20 January, 2012

More A380 Woes

An Airbus A380 superjumbo jet

Wing cracks on the A380 have grounded some of the super jumbo aircraft.Airbus has insisted the double-decker plane, used by Emirates and Qantas airlines among others, is safe to fly.

However, European aircraft safety authorities have ordered the checks on nearly a third of the A380 fleet in service.

Hairline cracks were discovered on the wings on a number of "non-critical" brackets known as "rib feet" inside the wings during routine inspections, Airbus said.

Similar flaws were spotted earlier this month during the repair of the Qantas aircraft which suffered an engine blow-out after taking off from Singapore in November 2010.

The latest cracks have been described as more significant and it is believed that mainly A380s run by Singapore Airlines and Emirates were affected.

But Airbus's Justin Dubon told Sky News that with more than 2,000 such brackets in each wing - a total of 4,000 per plane - cracks on a small number of rib feet would not affect wing performance.

He added that the cracks were a result of the manufacturing process and not caused in flight.

Airbus aircraft are manufactured in pieces in its engineering centres across Europe and assembled in Toulouse - the wings are assembled in the UK, in the Cheshire town of Broughton.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued an order for A380 aircraft which have completed 1,800 flight cycles - take-off and landing - to be visually inspected by January 28.

Planes which have completed between 1,300 and 1,799 flight cycles are required to have the checks within the next six weeks.

With many of the A380 delivered to airlines recently, some of the aircraft which need repairs may still be under a manufacturer's warranty.

The world's largest jetliner, which has two floors and can carry up to 853 passengers, entered service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines.

The A380 costs $390m (£251m) on average after Airbus announced a price increase on Wednesday.

10 January, 2012

Gay Movies




Gay movies, we’ve all heard of them, seen them, enjoyed or hated them. Some are great, some good, some fun, some not so good or fun or even that interesting.  Like any genre so broad as this, there are genres within genres within genres, horror, historic, recreations, love stories, coming of age and rite of passage battles, the list probably as endless as we are different.  Yet,  some of these gay movies are better than others,  some more popular, well known, enjoyable, worthy or just plain silly,  but all have some   are level of influence, be it tiny or great. Take Philadelphia and Brokeback Mountain for example, both I’m sure you’ll agree had a fair level of influence on audiences, both mainstream and gay as well as the media and the movie industry as a whole,  but that’s only my thoughts,  what are yours,  what do you think have been the most influential gay movies over the last 50 years?  Surly you have a view, perhaps you’re a gay movie fan, or connoisseur or maybe you like most are just a casual watcher, you may be bi, straight or gay, it doesn’t matter, I want to hear your views,  what you think are the most influential gay movies of the last 50 years. 

Please leave me a comment in the comment section below,  or email  gaymovies@seafrontdiary.com    or if you prefer,  text 075 123 76995












Please leave me a comment in the comment section below,  or email  gaymovies@seafrontdiary.com    or if you prefer,  text 075 123 76995

17 November, 2011

Singapore Airlines Big Boeing Order

Singapore Airlines has ordered eight Boeing 777-300 Extended Range (ER) airplanes. The Singapore Airlines order is valued at $2.4 billion at Boeing current list prices. 


The order was first announced on 10 August 2011 but attributed on Boeing's Orders Deliveries website to an unidentified customer. In total, Singapore Airlines has ordered 85 Boeing 777s, 27 of which are 777-300ERs. 


 "This order is part of our ongoing fleet expansion and modernization program, which enables us to offer our latest cabin products to our customers," said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer for Singapore Airlines (SIA).


 "The additional 777-300ERs will also help us further strengthen the Singapore Airlines network, providing our customers even more travel options." SIA currently operates nearly every 777 model produced, including the 777-200, 777-200ER, 777-300 and 777-300ER.

Lion Air's roar for 230 Boeing 737's


Indonesia's Lion Air has agreed to buy 230 Boeing 737 aircraft with a list price of $21.7 billion, the White House said on Thursday, touting the sale as the US firm's biggest-ever commercial order.

The deal was announced soon after President Barack Obama touched down in Bali for the East Asia summit on the final leg of a regional tour partly aimed at drumming up markets for US products at a time of slow growth back home.

The White House also highlighted other deals, some already announced, including the sale of eight Boeing 777 planes to Singapore Airlines and an order for Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters by Brunei's ministry of defence.

UK biggest airlines join forces


The bosses of four of the biggest airlines in the UK have put their various feuds on hold to demand that the government scrap the tax that all passengers must pay on flights departing from the UK.
The chief executives of British AirwaysVirgin AtlanticRyanair andeasyJet claimed on Thursday that air passenger duty (APD) is "incredibly damaging" to the economy.
In an unprecedented demonstration of unity in the fiercely competitive aviation industry, the bosses joined together to claim that the tax, which generates £2.2bn a year for the Treasury, is a drain on the economy because it puts tourists off visiting the UK and discourages businesses from investing in Britain.

15 November, 2011

Emirates Massive Boeing Order.


Dubai's ruler and Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum (C), inaugurates the Dubai Airshow November 13, 2011. REUTERS/Nikhil Monteiro
( Emirates airline placed a blockbuster order for 50 Boeing (BA.N) 777 jetliners at the Dubai Air Show on Sunday, underscoring the confidence brimming among fast-growing Gulf airlines despite growing fears of stalling global growth.

UA and CO merge moves ahead.

In a recent speech, Jeff Smisek, CEO of United Continental Holdings, likened merging two large airlines to a total house remodeling. 


 "We are not doing painting and spackling here," he told a group of business executives in Chicago. Like a large construction project, the integration of United and Continental airlines is having its share of drama: meshing disparate cultures; the issue of new union representation contracts running behind schedule; some disgruntled pilots; customer confusion; and a long to-do list that includes minute details such as the proper verbiage when warning flight attendants to prepare for takeoff.


 Executives at United Continental maintain that crucial operational issues have been addressed and that the merger is proceeding without major glitches. "From my perspective, things are on track," says Jim Compton, United Continental's chief revenue officer. "Merging two airlines is a long process and complicated. We have a lot of work ahead of us." United and Continental announced their $3 billion merger in May 2010, creating the world's largest airline to be branded "United." They said they would generate up to $1.2 billion from cost savings and new revenue from their combined flight networks. The combined airlines would generate annual revenue of about $29 billion (based on 2009 financial results), they said. 


Shareholders approved the deal in September 2010. For now, the two carriers are flying under their own banners, and the company doesn't expect to finish merging the two reservation systems until the end of March. But some early integration tasks, such as painting planes and replacing signs, are proceeding quickly. Other crucial customer service issues — aligning frequent-flier programs, recoding kiosk software, agreeing on a reservation system standard — have made progress, too, Compton says. United Continental also has begun to rejigger the combined fleets by shifting some planes to better matching routes. For example, a United Boeing 777 plane, with both first- and business-class cabins, has replaced the business-class-only 757 jet used by Continental from Newark to Brussels, considered a premium market. 


 Mark Ozenick, an aviation consultant at SSA & Co., says dealing with mechanical and hardware issues is easier than combining and transforming the culture. "Where mergers fail is when they don't humanize the process and are not integrating the culture," he says. "Continental has a reputation for being very customer-centric. United not so much. At least that's the perception in the marketplace."


Read more 

Still learning how to make aircraft, but I am buying 55 of them

The European plane maker Airbus was subjected to deep public humiliation this week by one of its most important customers!


Qatar Airways accused the aircraft maker of “still learning how to make aeroplanes”. Akbar Al Baker, the outspoken chief executive of the expansionist Gulf carrier, used the platform of the Dubai air show to strongly criticise Airbus’ new widebody aircraft, the A350, and to threaten to pull a big order for other planes. 


He gambled on fear of a potential massive order loss to get a much better deal from Airbus.   It's been reported although not confirmed that his public bashing of Airbus saved his company nearly $20,000 on each of the 55 air frames he later ordered.   


The order for 55 aircraft with Airbus is worth $6.4bn at list prices, but we know that the list price is nowhere near the price Qatar will be paying. 


Qatar is the launch customer for the manufacturer’s popular new narrow-body plane, the A320 Neo. The gulf airline currently has a fleet of 103 aircraft, which Mr Al Baker expects to increase to 170 by 2016. 


Mr Al Baker told a morning press conference that he didn't feel he could go anywhere with Airbus, over a “large” order of planes. “Unfortunately I feel Airbus is … still learning how to make airplanes,” he said. Mr Al Baker piled on further embarrassment on the European Aeronautic Defence and Space company complaining its planned new A350 long-haul aircraft was taking so long. 


Qatar have ordered 50 of the A320 Neo short-haul aircraft and five A380 superjumbos.



Frontier to cut jobs.

Frontier Airlines will cut at least 220 jobs as it reduces flights, cuts the number of seats and the Indianapolis-based parent Republic Airways Holdings looks to spin off or sell the airline.


 Company officials said the reductions in Frontier’s workforce, which totals about 5,000, may be accomplished through attrition or voluntary leaves rather than all of them as layoffs. The reductions are expected to be at Frontier’s primary hub airports in Denver and Milwaukee. The carrier is cutting more than 20 flights a day, roughly one-third, of its traffic at Milwaukee. 


 Frontier still has a handful of flights daily at Indianapolis International Airport. Republic Airways acquired the financially distressed Frontier and Midwest airlines two years ago and combined them under the Frontier brand name. Since then, Republic Airways has struggled with Frontier’s profitability in the face of rising fuel prices and the stiff headwinds of competition. The current strategy is to position Frontier among the ultra low-fare carriers while flying larger airplanes with more seats to sell. Last week, Chief Executive Bryan Bedford told Wall Street analysts that the company’s board of directors has agreed to hire an advisor to assess the financial future of Frontier and possible options to sell the airline to another carrier or to investors or an equity fund or to spin it off to shareholders.

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