Welcome JetAmerica to Minneapolis!!!

Although change can some times be hard, we here in the Minneapolis market have seen quite a bit of CHANGE in the past year!!! From Delta gobbling up Northwest, to Southwest FINALLY making an appearance here, to JetAmerica sliding in to corner the less-traveled markets!! Uf-dah, we've had a roller coaster of a year..... But like our Minnesota nice, we welcome the change, and hope for good things in the future!!

Competition is good, keep it coming!!!

Thank you to Yahoo News for this article.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-lowcost-airline-targets-apf-15348934.html?.v=5

New low-cost airline targets smaller markets
Low-cost carrier JetAmerica aims to serve smaller markets it believes bigger airlines neglect
Victor Epstein, Associated Press Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A new low-cost airline will begin serving mid-sized U.S. cities that it thinks larger carriers have left behind.

Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 nonstop passenger flights a week will start July 13 at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis and Lansing, Mich. Twenty-eight flights start or end at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier will add six more flights -- from Toledo to Minneapolis -- starting Aug. 14.

JetAmerica is targeting small and midsize cities like Lansing, which has seen the number of daily flights at its Capital Region International Airport fall from 35 to 12 the past five years. The decline is part of a national trend that has seen airfares increase at those airports as daily flights have decreased.

Robert Selig, head of the Capital Region Airport Authority, said JetAmerica will give Lansing business travelers direct access to New York City and carry leisure travelers to central Florida.
"We don't have access to either one right now," Selig said. "So, this is going to fill a major void in our schedule."
Filling that void won't be cheap.

The Lansing, South Bend, Melbourne and Toledo airports are subsidizing JetAmerica with $1.4 million in grants in its first year, along with about $867,000 in waived airport fees and $1.1 million in marketing and advertising assistance.

South Bend, Toledo and Melbourne received their grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program, which has awarded $104 million to 223 recipients since 2002 in an effort to restore lost service and bring air fares down.
Newark and Minneapolis, each of which serve more than 20 million passengers a year, are not offering assistance to JetAmerica.

John Weikle, chief executive of JetAmerica, said the subsidies will help insulate the new carrier from spikes in jet fuel prices. Higher fuel prices have contributed to the failures of at least four major airlines since 9/11. Smaller carriers have also been hurt.
Surging fuel prices helped bankrupt ultra-discounter Skybus Inc. last year. Weikle founded that Columbus, Ohio-based airline known for its $10 fares. The bankruptcy cost 450 employees their jobs.

JetAmerica's pricing scheme will share some Skybus characteristics.
Prices will start at $9 a seat and top out at $199. The $9 price will apply to the first nine to 19 seats on each plane. Passengers will pay $15 to check a bag. Food, drinks and in-flight TV will also come at a cost.

The carrier is starting out with one leased Boeing 737-800, expects to add a second in the first month, and have as many as four by July of next year. Weikle's business plans calls for an additional 189-seat jet to be leased every four months.

Each Boeing 737-800 can fly to four cities a day, Weikle said.

Weikle estimated JetAmerica's revenue at more than $50 million in the first year and about $150 million in the second. He compares his business model to that of Wal-Mart Inc., which started out by serving cities of less than 50,000 people because competitors were not interested in them.

JetAmerica plans to serve Melbourne, Fla., with at least six flights a week. Richard Ennis, executive director of Melbourne International Airport, said JetAmerica's planes and nonstop routes persuaded him to support the carrier. Melbourne, a coastal community about 70 miles southeast of Orlando, recorded a 45 percent decline in passenger traffic at its airport from 2000 to 2008.

Ennis said carriers with larger jets like the Boeing 737-800 charge less per seat, which is an advantage enjoyed by Orlando International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport.
"It's the only way I can beat them out," Ennis said of the neighboring airports.

Getting Around the 3-1-1 Rule

This article was published by Leslie Baumann, M.D. (The Skin Guru)

I have read several of her blog entries, and found them to be helpful in many ways.
This blog entry was from May 2007, but I thought my readers might also find it useful!!!

You can click HERE to read the full article

Here are some tips from her column:
1. Yes, toothpaste counts. Put a travel size tube in your plastic bag to start.
2. Remember, the rule is that containers can't be larger than three ounces - so don't try to bring the remaining three ounces of a six-ounce shampoo bottle.
3. Your eye cream can double as a nighttime facial cream (that's what I do when I'm traveling). Similarly, a separate eye cream isn't absolutely necessary - just pat your regular moisturizer around your eye area. Let your products do double duty.
4. Look for stick foundation, rather than liquid, so your makeup doesn't take up valuable space in the plastic bag.
5. Bring lipsticks and lip balms instead of glosses to save even more space.
6. Avoid liquid eyeliners and eye shadows - stick to powders to avoid problems.
7. This is the one time you will hear me recommend a bar soap for the face (but look for the gentlest you can find). These don't need to go in the bag.
8. Save your favorite perfume samples or visit a department-store perfume counter and pick some up before you leave. They're a huge space saver.
9. Going to be outdoors during your trip? Buy sunscreen when you arrive. Not only will you save precious room in your luggage, you'll ensure that the sunscreen is at maximum potency (unlike years-old tubes you might have lying around the house).
10. One thing you should never skimp on when flying is hydration. Look for small spray bottles of water that you can mist on your face during the flight. Follow that up with moisturizer, and you'll lock in moisture to fight the effects of airplane air.
Finally, take inexpensive, small items that you won't mind leaving behind. Flying internationally? Think of it as freeing up room to shop the duty-free stores on your way home.