Harrison Ford meets with Senate caucus about general aviation (AOPA)

via aopa.org

From the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association site: General aviation and its contributions to the United States are often misunderstood or unknown, and actor, pilot, and GA advocate Harrison Ford told members of the Senate General Aviation Caucus that he is going to do his part to bring the community's efforts to the public's attention.

Caucus co-chairs Sens. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) kicked off the session explaining that GA isn't a luxury and in some cases is often a necessity. The lack of understanding of the role GA plays in the United States has placed it in jeopardy, they said.

“General aviation is in peril at times,” Begich said, naming threats like the proposed $100-per-flight user fee, a proposal that would hurt business jet depreciation schedules...

Those contributions extend far and wide.

- Jon

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After recent action in Europe, Bimbo comes to terms with Sara Lee, thanks to U.S. Justice Dept.

This acquisition went under review over antitrust concerns, which is DoJ territory. I will not speculate on whether the concerns were legitimate in this case. 

My Friday evening definition of antitrust law: these controls help maintain a balance in the free market of what's known as "economies of scale" (purchasing and operational benefits that come from larger size of an organization) and competition, which, preferably, entices companies to hold prices as low as they can stand it. 

Without the divestitures, the acquisition “would likely lead to millions of Americans paying higher prices for sliced fresh bread,” [Sharis Pozen, the acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division] said. The sales include the associated manufacturing, distribution and marketing assets required to compete effectively, according to the statement.

Not being a follower of baked goods brands, it didn't hit me, until reading this article, just how large the Mexico City-based baked goods giant, Grupo Bimbo, is. This article gives a picture of how large they are, if only by comparison to Sara Lee. They have been very active recently, in acquiring operations. (The Grupo Bimbo baking unit in the U.S. is BBU, Inc.) 

BBU and Sara Lee are respectively the largest and third- largest bakers and sellers of sliced fresh bread in the U.S., the Justice Department said in the statement. BBU sells baked goods under brands including Arnold, Thomas’, Entenmann’s, Freihofer’s and Stroehmann’s.

 

Grupo Bimbo is expanding through acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe, where it bought Sara Lee’s bakery units in Spain and Portugal Oct. 10.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-21/bimbo-agrees-with-u-s-to-sell-some-sara-lee-bread-assets.html

It's Friday evening, so sue me if the headline seems to be toying with the names of the companies. 

- Jon Osterholm

(Aside: Anyone recall the NBA player Bimbo Coles? Played for the Miami Heat for several years. I spent nearly two years in his hometown area, in West Virginia, when he was a player.) 

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Founder of Plantronics, a Florida native and Haitian missionary, dies at 88 (via Mercury News)

Keith Larkin, pilot and Plantronics pioneer, dead at 88

(Material abridged; from linked story)

Keith Larkin, a pilot who invented the lightweight headset that launched Plantronics 50 years ago, died on Sept. 28 while celebrating his 88th birthday. 

Born in Palatka, Fla., Mr. Larkin joined the Army Air Corps during World War II and became a B-17 flight instructor. He learned to fly the Globe Master and trained on the P-51 Mustang for air combat in Korea.

Larkin is well-known for starting Plantronics and later ACS Communications, a headset-maker in Scotts Valley, California. His son, Kevin, recalls his father as a man who invested in help for children in need.

“He moved to Florida so he could work with the Haitians,” his son said.

“He was fearless,” said his son, who worked in sales at ACS. “He told me ‘If somebody has already done something, it can’t be that hard.'”

He said his father could sketch out the idea for a product on a paper napkin and bring that product to market.

After selling his interests in ACS in the mid-’80s, Mr. Larkin devoted himself to Christian mission work in Haiti.

He and his wife moved to Florida where they bought a 1,000-ton ship to deliver food, medicine and supplies to the Caribbean. They donated that vessel to Mercy Ships, a Christian organization, then bought a Navy surplus barge to create a floating dental clinic to serve remote areas off the coast of Haiti. 

Read the complete story:  http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19032809   

- Jon O

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Murdoch's BBJ for Sale: ‘Make Offer’ for Magnate's Biiiig Biz Toy (AIN)

Murdoch's Boeing Bizjet for Sale: ‘Make Offer’ - via AINalerts  

"News Corp./News America chief Rupert Murdoch’s Boeing Business Jet was recently listed for sale, not long after AIN’s page-one story ["WSJ declares war on bizav"] on the sybaritic wanderings of the airplane and the hypocrisy of the proprietor of The Wall Street Journal," states the latest coverage by AINonline.com (Aviation International News) about the Journal's roughing up of corporate jet users. I thought Obama was against corporate jet owners, not the unofficially official daily record of capitalism.  

Why does AIN call it "hypocrisy"? I will let AINonline explain their view (link, end paragraph). 

Here's a quick, broad version of the matter: The Journal, in June, targeted several CEOs for their jet usage. Months earlier, as AIN explains, the WSJ went after NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Mayor happens to be a media magnate in his own right, so perhaps that had something to do with the focus. I really don't know, and I am not sure I care. It's a bit like hearing that Godzilla and Mothra are arguing. I have more important things to do with my reading time. I'm just glad I'm not getting the same unflattering attention from either one's media companies, or AIN, too. 

Bloomberg's silly rich, so is Murdoch, so they have airplanes. Did they steal their money? And Bloomberg is paying for his flights out of his pocket, not NYC coffers, as I understand it. So what gives, WSJ? That's what AINonline wanted to know, in March, after reading the paper's attack on Bloomberg: WSJ swats at Bloomberg's bizjets

The WSJ had "put business aviation in its cross hairs several times this year, beginning with an 'exposé' in its February 14 edition," AINonline explains, of the attack on Bloomberg’s jet travels. The Journal "escalated the campaign as the year progressed, naming names and destinations and putting an airplane-tracking database on its website." 

Here's the original WSJ story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704657104576142173272460648.html?KEYWORDS=Air+Bloomberg

AIN notes that the Murdock airplane -- BBJ S/N 30070 N889NC -- is shown as being available immediately, “make offer.” Wells Fargo Bank Northwest of Salt Lake City is the registered owner. 

It has LOTS of goodies aboard, seeing as it's almost a 727. Check out the list of goodies in the AIN article.  

- Jon 

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ERAU career expo Oct. 19 at Daytona campus #aviation #jobs

This is a serious job fair. On the 19th, be prepared. Interviews of select candidates are planned for Oct 20th. 

Wednesday, October 19, 2010	Expo Hours: 9am - 4pm	ICI Center
Thursday, October 20, 2010	Interviews for Selected Candidates	ICI Center

http://www.erau.edu/career/expo/jobseekers.html

Jon Osterholm

Gmail:  vikingjro@gmail.com
Email:   jon@ringhorne.com
Web:      http://ringhorne.com

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In #aviation? Looking for employees or #jobs? Check out jsfirm.com

In the aviation industry? Looking for employees or a job? Check out jsfirm.com. Also, the site's biz dev manager says hiring will return in the next three months. Self-serving, or a good outlook? Only time will tell us.

JSFirm.com: Employee Searches Should Start in the Fall (from AINmxReports)
Maintenance technicians can look forward to hiring opportunities this fall as “companies should begin recruiting in October, November and December,” Jeff Richards, JSfirm.com’s business development manager, told AIN. A recent JSFirm.com internal study indicates most people begin job hunting in the last three months of the year and many begin a new job in January. 

JSfirm.com is an aviation-specific job board serving more than 4,000 companies and 425,000 job seekers annually. Richards said about 40 percent of companies looking to hire someone underestimate the two months that the process will take. 

“The company that hires the wrong person in haste gets hit twice economically. There’s the initial hiring and training costs plus the lost productivity, customer dissatisfaction and the need for another employee to do the job over. Overall it can cost a company tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. “As we come out of the recession the available pool of maintenance technicians will be absorbed quickly. OEMs are expecting a strong 2012, and Asian countries, especially China, are really ramping up. The demand for qualified technicians will far outstrip the supply. Now is the time to hire before there’s no one left to be hired,” he said.

Here's another AIN article about the new site: http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/ainmxreports/2011-08-10/jsfirmcom-creates-job-distribution-network

Just thought you'd like to know.

- Jon O.

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