I was surprised, as was airport management, apparently, to hear that the Silver Lining restaurant at the Humboldt County Redwoods whatever airport is closed. That’s a big step backward for the folks who have been promoting the airport and while I don’t think many flyers would cancel a flight because their destination didn’t have a coffee shop, it still doesn’t say much for the infrastructure we offer our visitors.
According to the NCJ, an attempt will be made to find another operator. That might be difficult. Most airport restaurants overlook a busy runway where diners can observe takeoffs and landings more often than four times a day. Maybe the County should contract with Dell’ Arte or Access Humboldt or someone else who can produce a light show to resemble a busy airport. At least it would LOOK like the return of normalcy. Stay tuned.
26 Mar 11:53 pm PDT 51 51 100 CALM 0.50 FG VV002 1021.0 30.13 29.904 OK
26 Mar 11:48 pm PDT 52 52 100 CALM 0.50 FG VV002 30.13 29.904 OK
26 Mar 11:39 pm PDT 51 51 100 CALM 0.25 FG VV002
What you are looking at is the inconvenient truth about ACV. The CRJ200 cannot get a clearance to land when the visibility is 0.25. This has happened so far several times this month. What this means is 1 out of 3 arrivals were cancelled on 3/26/2015, and thus the 6 am departure on 3/27/2015 is also cancelled. Everyone on these SkyWest flights in SFO last night and ACV this am will be trying to rebook or make other arrangements. I have suggested to the office of the UAL CEO that they considered another arrival time less conducive to fog for this flight that remains overnight (RON), and they have concurred. This cancellation is especially troublesome since it only takes one to cancel a third of the flights yesterday and today—and it can take like forever to rebook. SkyWest does not seem to send us a replacement flight. On all of these several cancellations, had they actually sent the CRJ200 to ACV, it could have gotten a clearance and landed. For instance, last night they would have had to loiter for less than ten minutes. Perhaps it would be better to schedule this flight in earlier, and have it depart that much earlier in the am in order to get the same use out of the aircraft.
United Flight 5523
Operated by Skywest Airlines dba United Express
Status: Canceled due to Severe weather conditions
DEPARTS
ARRIVES
City: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Gate: 76B
Check-in Terminal: Terminal 3, Concourse F
Scheduled Time: 10:30 p.m.
Scheduled Date: Thu., Mar. 26, 2015
Estimated Time: Canceled
Estimated Date:
City: Eureka, CA (ACV)
Gate: 2
Terminal:
Scheduled Time: 11:40 p.m.
Scheduled Date: Thu., Mar. 26, 2015
Estimated Time: Canceled
Estimated Date:
Aircraft: Canadair Regional Jet 200 aircraft #N962SW
United Flight 6293
Operated by Skywest Airlines dba United Express
Status: Canceled due to Severe weather conditions
DEPARTS
ARRIVES
City: Eureka, CA (ACV)
Gate:
Check-in Terminal:
Scheduled Time: 6:00 a.m.
Scheduled Date: Fri., Mar. 27, 2015
Estimated Time: Canceled
Estimated Date:
City: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Gate: 76B
Terminal: Terminal 3, Concourse F
Scheduled Time: 7:14 a.m.
Scheduled Date: Fri., Mar. 27, 2015
Estimated Time: Canceled
Estimated Date:
Aircraft: Canadair Regional Jet 200 aircraft #N962SW
And in the news also…
French Prosecutor: Co-pilot Wanted To ‘Destroy’ The Plane
As a frantic pilot pounded on the cockpit door and passengers screamed in panic, the Germanwings co-pilot “intentionally” sent Flight 9525 straight into the side of a mountain in the French Alps. This could bother those that would like to be in control and have anxiety about flying. This could be the Titanic of aviation. The industry will be facing a debate as to whether introduction of secure cockpit doors, initiated after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., has created a safety issue in and of itself. Aviation has not been itself since 9/11. Perhaps that is their Titanic.
As to the Silver Lining closing, the COH provided the bathrooms on the seond floor by the entrance (stocked and cleaned), the heating, ventilation, hot water, elevator, backup generator, etc. for a little over $2K per month. So did the rent include utilities? Most if not all. I wonder what this means for the gift shop on the first floor. They at one time had a great party business in the conferance room, but that had been taken over by the TSA, who have apparently also crowded out the COH aviation budget—see this weeks cover and 6 pages in the NCJ.
Good to hear from you, Rick. This is exactly why I no longer plan to fly out of Arcata or whatever it’s called. Last time my flight was cancelled I had to spend 10 hours at O’Hare waiting for a connection.