Friday, October 30, 2015

Gypsy!

Because Halloween is actually tomorrow, I wasn't planning on dressing up at work. After several people asked what I was going to dress up as, I decided to cave in. Luckily I pulled all this out of my closet and didn't have to buy a thing!

Friday, October 16, 2015

The US Airways sign is being taken down and our new American Airlines sign is being mounted. I'm excited to be part of the new American, but I am sad that the US Airways name/logo will be gone.


US Airways' final flight closes curtain on another major airline

Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY 10:19 a.m. EDT October 16, 2015

A file photo of a USAir Boeing 727 at Washington's National Airport in 1995.  USA TODAY file photo

It's time to say farewell to US Airways. One of the USA's most storied airline brands fades away Friday night with Flight 1939.

The overnight red-eye flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia marks the last ever departure under the US Airways name as the carrier's merger with American nears completion. Shortly after the flight departs San Francisco at 9:55 p.m. PT, American will unify its own reservations systems for the flights of both airlines. There will be no more US Airways flights once the plane lands in Philadelphia, scheduled for 6:18 a.m. ET.

US Airways' fade into the history books will be a nostalgic one. Flight 1939 is scheduled to begin Friday morning in Philadelphia, a traditional US Airways stronghold. From there, the Airbus A321 – still painted in US Airways' colors – will continue to Charlotte, which grew to become the airline's busiest hub during the past decade. Next is Phoenix – the former headquarters to 2004 merger partner America West.

From there, Flight 1939 heads to San Francisco, then returns to Pennsylvania as the last-ever US Airways flight.

American will commemorate the last day with gate-side festivities at each stop. And passengers on the final departure from San Francisco will cheer the US Airways' name with an onboard champagne toast.

"We definitely wanted to give a nod to US Airways and everyone that helped us build this airline," American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Thomas told USA TODAY. "We wanted to make it a special experience for employees and customers."

Even the flight number is rooted in history. Initially the San Francisco-to-Philadelphia red-eye was to operate as Flight 434. But in August the carrier switched the flight number to 1939. That was the first year of operation for All American Aviation, a small Pennsylvania-based airmail outfit that would grow to become a regional player known as Allegheny Airlines.

Allegheny changed its name in 1979, adopting USAir to reflect the expanding footprint of the airline after growing in previous mergers with Mohawk and Lake Central Airlines. Bigger mergers with Piedmont and Pacific Southwest (PSA) followed in the 1980s. The company underwent one last name change, adopting its current US Airways name in 1997 before yet another merger in 2005 – this time with America West.

Now, the US Airways name is on the verge of disappearing.

US Airways' reservation system will go dark Saturday morning just after midnight. US Airways' website will follow. And at airports across the nation, airline staff will begin removing US Airways branding after the company's last flights on Friday. The goal is to have American Airlines signage up in its place by the time flights begin again on Saturday morning.
Certain pieces of US Airways will hang on a bit longer. It will take American until "late 2016" to repaint all of its planes in the colors of the new American. And US Airways flight attendant uniforms will remain until update uniforms for all the cabin crews are introduced, also expected to come next year.

American spokeswoman Thomas cautioned the airline still has some "behind the scenes" work to do even as the US Airways brand fades away.

"It's done for customers, but there's still a lot of integration work left for us to do behind the scenes," Thomas says.

As for Flight 1939, American spokesman Ross Feinstein says the airline has had "strong demand" from customers wishing to be on the flight – especially the San Francisco-Philadelphia leg. Coach class is near capacity and first-class seats have been sold out since July.

Feinstein says the "vast majority" of people on the flight appear to be aviation enthusiasts and "avgeeks" wanting to witness US Airways' final flight.

For passenger Mark Littell, Flight 1939 will have special meaning. Littell grew up in the shadow of the Pittsburgh airport when it was still a hub for the airline in the 1990s.
As US Airways is about to take its final flight, we take a look at the history behind the airline industry giant.

'I grew up seeing and hearing (then) USAir's planes land all the time," he says. "Most families in my community were directly impacted by the hub there, and I eventually worked in concessions in the airport's US Airways terminal by the time I was in high school."

That led to a connection with the airline that's lasted to this day.

Littell moved away from Pittsburgh as an adult, traveling full-time for his job in the medical profession. He flies more than 100,000 miles a year, mostly on Delta. But once he saw Flight 1939 announced as US Airways' final flight, he booked a ticket "to fly (them) one final time." He'll be among those on Friday night's San Francisco-Philadelphia leg.

Littell says he's happy to see US Airways become part of the world's biggest airline, but concedes it "will be sad to see the memories of the US Airways name fade."
Despite that, Littell says "it really is the employees who make an airline, and I know US Airways employees will be a great addition to the new American."

Thursday, October 15, 2015

The INT Training Department (Larry, me, Gloria and Cathy) with the US Airways sign, which will be taken down tomorrow. It's also our Be Pink day, which is why we are all wearing pink!


Be Pink

This year for our Be Pink for breast cancer awareness campaign, I had Jennipher do pink highlights. 

The highlights faded a bit, but here I am representing on our company-wide Be Pink day.



 

Here’s What No One Tells You About Having Both Depression And Anxiety

by Anna Borges, BuzzFeed Staff

  1. It’s freaking out at the idea of getting anything less than a stellar score on a test, but not having the energy to study.
  2. It’s having to stay in bed because you don’t have the will to move, but unraveling at the thought of what will happen if you miss school or work.
  3. It’s feeling more tired the less you move, but your heart racing at the thought of taking the first step.
  4. It’s getting more tightly wound the more mess piles up, but only staring at it and thinking, "I'll clean tomorrow."
  5. It’s making six million to-do lists just to untangle your thoughts, but knowing you’ll never actually cross anything off.
  6. It’s believing that every canceled plan will end your friendships, but not having it in you to follow through.
  7. It’s feeling hopelessly low that you’re still single, but canceling every first date because the thought of going through with it gives you heart palpitations.
  8. It’s fearing every day that your partner will get fed up and leave, but your anxiety whispering in your ear that they deserve better and should.
  9. It’s ignoring texts and turning down invitations, and it’s aching when the texts and invitations stop.
  10. It’s the constant fear of winding up alone, but accidentally isolating yourself because you sometimes just need to hide from it all.
  11. It’s wanting nothing more than to crawl home and sleep at 2 p.m., but your skittering, panicked pulse keeping you awake at 2 a.m.
  12. It’s alternating between feeling paralyzed in the present and scared shitless about the future.
  13. It’s not enjoying the good days because you’re too gripped by the anxiety that the next low is around the corner.
  14. It’s sleeping too much or not at all.
  15. It’s needing a break from your racing thoughts, but not being able to climb out of the pit of yourself.
  16. It’s needing to do everything, but wanting to do nothing at all.
  17. It’s coping mechanisms and escapism, because when you’re not trying to hide from one part of your brain, you’re hiding from the other.
  18. It’s wondering if the things that are making your heart feel heavy are things your anxious mind just made up.
  19. It’s sitting awake at 3 a.m. worrying about a future you’re not even sure you want to have.
  20. It’s feeling too much and nothing at all at the same time, which means feeling like you can never win.

Sunday, October 04, 2015

Last Night's Flick

Cade and I gave Allan the American Sniper DVD for Father's Day. I was a bit surprised to learn that he hadn't watched it yet. So, last night the 3 of us got comfortable on the couch.

I'm not normally interested in war movies, and I was hesitant on watching one about a military sniper. Honestly, the only reason I did watch was Bradley Cooper.

I completely understand why he was nominated for an Oscar and I'm totally crushed that he didn't win. His committment to honor the legendary Chris Kyle was nothing short of amazing.