3 Links I Love: Europe’s Fight With the US, Airbus Politics and Alabama, Solari Boards Down Under

Dec 2, 2016

More Reading on This Topic: Airbus, Boeing, Links I Love, Norwegian

This week’s featured link:
Europe brings US to court for delaying cheap Cork to Boston flights – Irish Central
I figure I’ve written about the DOT enough lately, so I won’t bore you with another post on them. But this news is at least worth mentioning here. Europe has been threatening legal action against the US for stalling on the Norwegian application to have its Irish subsidiary fly to the US. The US has been hemming and hawing for no good reason, and it’s now been over 3 years. The European Commission had threatened to declare the US in breach of the open skies agreement, and now the hammer has dropped. The EC has begun arbitration proceedings to resolve this issue. It is shameful that it’s come to this, but at least we may finally get resolution one way or another. Though really, this is probably more a show of displeasure than anything else. I’d imagine the next administration will end up dealing with this sooner rather than later.

Links I Love

Two for the road:
For Airbus and Boeing, it’s about Alabama, Alabama, Alabama – Leeham News
If anyone is worried about possible foreign tariffs impacting the airlines, well, don’t worry about Airbus. Some high level folks are big fans.

Disappearing icon of airport design finds new life in Qantas lounges – Runway Girl Network
I love the sound and the look of a Solari board, so this story makes me happy.

Brett

17 responses to “3 Links I Love: Europe’s Fight With the US, Airbus Politics and Alabama, Solari Boards Down Under”

Peter in Boulder, CO.

Dec 2, 2016 at 6:24 am

Brett, et al…

Thanks for the Solari Board story today.

Solari Board video in San Francisco Ferry Terminal…

For those who do not know what a Solari Board is, (aka ‘flip sign’) here is a video of the real live one in the downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal, in the renovated Ferry Building, which is now a year round ‘farmers market’.

This board is operational, and lists all ferry departures.

Once you have heard the board operate, you will never forget it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1gKvyghHsk

More about them…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-flap_display

From wikipedia…

Frankfurt Airport (Flughafen Frankfurt am Main, IATA Code FRA) has Solari boards throughout the airport, still in use as of March 2016. Each row ends with a pair of green and red lights which flash to indicate that flight is boarding. They indicate each flight’s destination, its flight number and carrier, and its departure gate and time.

Peter

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JAXBA

Dec 2, 2016 at 6:31 am

Maybe if the digital departure boards made the same sound it’d be something… the screens get logos burned into them so easily though.

Errant apostrophe in Europeans. May I suggest; *Europeans fight with the US* or *Europe fights the US*

Reply
1. CF
  
  Dec 2, 2016 at 8:10 am
  
  Whoops. That’s what happens when you throw something together quickly on your way out the door. Fixed to what it was supposed to be.
  
  Reply
Bill Hough

Dec 2, 2016 at 8:32 am

Amtrak is also getting rid of its Solari board at 30th Street in Philly.

Reply
1. Ron
  
  Dec 8, 2016 at 10:05 am
  
  That Solari board has been gone for something like 16 years… The current board that’s going away is a digital replacement from around 2000, meant to look like the old Solari board.
  
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JayB

Dec 2, 2016 at 10:12 am

Surely, in this fair country, there must be one, maybe more “Solari board” museums stashed away somewhere, with millions(?), dozens(?), well maybe one or two(?) just dying to visit?

Like maybe all of those wonderful souls who have already visited each and every “barbed wire” museums there is, or who have already made enough Wall Drug detours to last a lifetime?

C’mon, at least for the kids!

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grichard

Dec 2, 2016 at 10:26 am

I didn’t realize that the flip boards were so rare. Reading the article, I see it’s because I fly through JAX frequently, which has the only one left in a US airport. I’ll give it more respect next time I walk by.

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Oliver

Dec 2, 2016 at 11:08 am

My first nightstand radio/alarm clock was using a Solari (style) display.

Love the display in Frankfurt.

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Jim

Dec 2, 2016 at 3:16 pm

I used to think that the board in TBIT was a Solari board until I realized that it is fake :(

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Tim Dunn

Dec 2, 2016 at 4:00 pm

Today, the US DOT approved Norwegian Air’s application for a foreign air carrier permit.

Reply
1. CF
  
  Dec 2, 2016 at 5:02 pm
  
  Tim – Indeed. Too bad they made the EC file all that paperwork! I’ll probably write this one up more next week.
  
  Reply
David

Dec 3, 2016 at 5:29 am

I almost just fly to Sydney to watch the flight board in the Lounge. It is spectacular! Love it…we get to the airport as early as possible just to enjoy it (well, I enjoy it, my wife goes to duty free. :)

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MK03

Dec 3, 2016 at 6:02 pm

Hey Brett, somewhat off-topic to this article, but I think we have a new airline that can be added to Airlines We Lost 2016 (new in that the airline launched just last year, and new in that it just got suspended two days ago): LaMia Airlines.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38173708

Technically the airline is just suspended for now (though you have discussed suspended airlines in the past, such as Air Uganda), but given that the plane that crashed was the only one of of their three that was operational (the other two are inactive and in need of repairs), and there being allegations of improper running (the story of the airline itself is as interesting as the story behind the crash; apparently they had to be based in Bolivia because they couldn’t for whatever reason set up shop in Venezuela), it’s rather unlikely that it will come back in its current form.

Also, are you going to discuss TransAsia Airways of Taiwan and its ill-fated low-cost subsidiary V Air at Airlines We Lost? Their story is actually a pretty sad one if you ask me.

Finally, I don’t really like to jump the gun here, but Tigerair Singapore’s gonna kick the bucket next year and merge with Scoot, so I gues Tigerair would be included in Airlines We Lost 2017.

Reply
1. CF
  
  Dec 4, 2016 at 8:39 pm
  
  MK03 – Yes indeed. I’ve already got Lamia and TransAsia on the list.
  
  Reply
  1. Kilroy
    
    Dec 5, 2016 at 4:38 pm
    
    I know you don’t want to dilute the value of such a prestigious and (in)famous award, but I’m just hoping that we will see a Cranky Jackass award issued by the end of the year.
    
    What can I say, a man can hope…
    
    Reply
John cena

Dec 5, 2016 at 2:50 am

I love the Frankfurt airport ….

Reply
Peter in Boulder, CO.

Dec 7, 2016 at 10:57 am

Another Solari board story… in todays New York Times.

Today, Weds., 7 Dec. 2016, is this story in the NYT about reopening the old
TWA terminal at JFK airport, as part of a hotel project…

The terminal closed in 2001, and has sat vacant ever since.

Link;

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/nyregion/hotel-project-jet-age-kennedy-airport.html?_r=0

Here is a paragraph from the story…

Inside the Trans World Flight Center, water would bubble again in Isamu Noguchi’s green marble fountain in the Ambassador Lounge, softly masking the tik-a-tik-a-tik-a-tik-a-tik chatter of a Solari di Udine split-flap display board announcing flight departures and arrivals from an orchidlike sculptural pedestal.

Judging by one of the pictures in the story, the old Solari board still hangs today in the old TWA terminal.

Take a look…

Reply