long time no post

And tonight's is going to be kind of a lame-oh. But at least I'm trying.

Here are four interesting aviation stories that have come out in the past few days:

U.S. Acts to Ease Crunch at New York Airports (NY Times)

The gist: Flight cap during peak hours makes for less delays.

Gulf Remains Between US Airways Pilots (TheStreet.com)

The gist: After more than a year of integrating US Airways and America West Airlines, pilot seniority lists are still not integrated. Pilot unions are also separate.

Smoke in Cockpit Sends Plane Back to LA (AP/NY Times)

The gist: A faulty oven sent smoke into the cockpit, which caused the pilots to immediately declare an emergency and head for the shore.

Airline descends to a new low: a death fee (LA Times)

The gist: Daughters plan vacation in Hawaii with mom. Mom dies. Everyone else offers a hassle fee trip refund ... except for Hawaiian Airlines, who charge them a $75 cancellation fee, per ticket (3 of them). Luckily, American Express steps in and refunds the customers money (and likely demands their own refund from Hawaiian).

"Save the Small Airports"

Good headline, great article:

Save the Small Airports - New York Times

Save the small airports indeed. Such is the battle cry for general aviation in the United States these days. As I previously posted, there are many reasons why people around the country don't like smaller airports - whether it be noise, perceived safety issues, financial reasons or whatever - small airports are really a dying breed.

The article states that 57 general aviation airports have closed in the state of New Jersey since the end of World War II. While some of those were likely small grass airfields and unused Army Air Corps training fields, some of them were viable landing airstrips. With all the congestion in and around the New York/New Jersey area, it sounds like New Jersey needs all the airports it can get.

One of the driving debates in the article is the prospect of "very light jets," or VLJs.

For the uninformed, VLJs are often considered to be the future of general aviation. They're small, 4-6 seat jets (including the pilot) built by companies like Eclipse, Adam and Diamond (along with reputable, historic aviation names like Cessna and Piper) that people say will transform aviation. The key to light jets is that they will not only be safe but also cheap as hell to operate (low fuel consumption, one pilot and low operating costs). That is the main question in whether or not they will "transform" aviation like some people say.

But I am skeptical. VLJs will certainly be a viable option at some point in the near future - how near (or far) that is is still in question.