Keeping your priorities straight.

[AuntPeggy]

Just saw this in Avweb.

 

[wbarnhill]

Just saw this in Avweb.

I know who'd get my business if I lived in Canadia.

Bravo Mr. McFarlane!

 

[t0r0nad0]

Wow... really cool! Seeing companies with their own jets doing things like this really warms my heart. Just like when the Houston company sent their JetStar (incidentally, the one formerly owned by Bob Hope) to Ohio with the remains of "Baby Grace" to be buried up there.

 

[TMetzinger]

I don't share the outrage that no charters were available. Charter companies are in business to provide air transport for money. Travellers are entitled to hire anyone they want to take them places. If th

Most transplant centers have arrangements with various transport organizations (including state/local gov't) so that there's at least one airplane available. Then there's the corporate angel network and various angel flight organizations that handle organ flights too.

I'm glad that McFarlane helped out - I just don't like the "slant" of the story that the Oscar-goers somehow caused the problem - the same problem could have existed if the airplanes were booked or down for maintenance.

 

[EdFred]

I agree Tim, but at the same time I may just grab a plane at the Oscars and send it anyway. Wah, one of the celebs can't get back to their place in Napa because 7 people's lives could be saved.

 

[Ted]

I agree with Tim's point, but it's really neat to see a company helping out and doing something very worthwhile. I'm sure that any of us would have done the same if we were in a position to do so.

Thanks for the neat story, Aunt Peggy!

 

[AuntPeggy]

I don't share the outrage that no charters were available. Charter companies are in business to provide air transport for money. Travellers are entitled to hire anyone they want to take them places.

I saw this as a good news story. Cheers to Robert McFarlane, the CFO of Telus for making this possible.

 

[tdager]

I think it is more of a slam at how superficial and transparent we, as a nation, have become.

I don't share the outrage that no charters were available. Charter companies are in business to provide air transport for money. Travellers are entitled to hire anyone they want to take them places. If th

Most transplant centers have arrangements with various transport organizations (including state/local gov't) so that there's at least one airplane available. Then there's the corporate angel network and various angel flight organizations that handle organ flights too.

I'm glad that McFarlane helped out - I just don't like the "slant" of the story that the Oscar-goers somehow caused the problem - the same problem could have existed if the airplanes were booked or down for maintenance.

 

[TMetzinger]

I think it is more of a slam at how superficial and transparent we, as a nation, have become.

I disagree - you're assuming that the people involved were given a choice, and they chose to behave badly.

The way it probably worked is that all the airplanes were already dispatched and gone on oscar trips when the call for the transplant run came in. It's not as if the operators said "Oh, we've got a plane right here, but you can't have it as it's going to the Oscars later" or as if an oscar-goer was told "Hey, can you delay/skip your trip so we can ship these organs" and the oscar-goer said "No, I'd miss the red carpet".

It's like whining because your house burned down and no fire engines came to put it out, because they were working a five-alarm blaze somewhere else.

The story would have been just as newsworthy if they'd never mentioned the oscars at all - all the charter airplanes were booked, and someone stepped in and helped.

The news media is really good at giving you unrelated facts in such a way that you'll correlate them to generate an emotional reaction, which is good for their business, which is generating revenue from advertising. Never mind that your correlation is incorrect and you've actually been misinformed - your glands got going and you're a better target now.

 

[mikea]

I disagree - you're assuming that the people involved were given a choice, and they chose to behave badly.

The way it probably worked is that all the airplanes were already dispatched and gone on oscar trips when the call for the transplant run came in. It's not as if the operators said "Oh, we've got a plane right here, but you can't have it as it's going to the Oscars later" or as if an oscar-goer was told "Hey, can you delay/skip your trip so we can ship these organs" and the oscar-goer said "No, I'd miss the red carpet".

It's like whining because your house burned down and no fire engines came to put it out, because they were working a five-alarm blaze somewhere else.

...

Right!

You really think say, a George Clooney would have said, "HEY! YOU CAN'T HAVE MY JET!" It would be the exact opposite. He'd say everyone at the Oscars could make other arrangements. The charter services would have no business and parked jets in case a jet was needed for a medical reason somewhere. In fact, in LA LA land, if this story was made into a big deal, the stars would line to say they were traveling by rickshaw and bicycles.

 

[tdager]

Tim...I was not talking about the charter operator. I was merely commenting on how stupid and gullible the American public is to have given enough money and attention to actors for them and the studios to charter jets to fly people in to get expensive goody bags while they indulge in an orgy of self congratulation.

 

[TMetzinger]

Tim...I was not talking about the charter operator. I was merely commenting on how stupid and gullible the American public is to have given enough money and attention to actors for them and the studios to charter jets to fly people in to get expensive goody bags while they indulge in an orgy of self congratulation.

I'll spin that in a more positive light. The first world countries (not just USA) have it SOOO good that they can afford to throw money at entertainers - we've already thrown so much money at the basics (power/water/health) that the vast majority of us don't have to worry about living to see tomorrow (or even the next decade) anymore.

While we can argue about the best use for our wealth, I think it's stupid to be ashamed of where we are and how we got here.

 

[Henning]

I don't share the outrage that no charters were available. Charter companies are in business to provide air transport for money.

I agree, the priority was right on, they had the jets chartered out to make money. I wonder though if any of the charterers was contacted about relinquishing the plane for a few hours so it could make the run?

 

[woodstock]

I also find it hard to believe that ALL the corporate/private/charter jets on offer anywhere in the US were snapped up by actors. Do that many actors attend the Oscars?

Good on Telus though.

 

[mikea]

I also find it hard to believe that ALL the corporate/private/charter jets on offer anywhere in the US were snapped up by actors. Do that many actors attend the Oscars?

Good on Telus though.

It's not just actors. It's all the people "in the business" like producers, distributors, company executives, etc, and support people.

 

[Missa]

I also find it hard to believe that ALL the corporate/private/charter jets on offer anywhere in the US were snapped up by actors. Do that many actors attend the Oscars?

Good on Telus though.

Obviously not all of the Corprate jets were used as they managed to get one to use. Only the first choice charter jets were already scheduled for the Oscars. But good on the company anyway.

 

[astanley]

I'll spin that in a more positive light. The first world countries (not just USA) have it SOOO good that they can afford to throw money at entertainers - we've already thrown so much money at the basics (power/water/health) that the vast majority of us don't have to worry about living to see tomorrow (or even the next decade) anymore.

While we can argue about the best use for our wealth, I think it's stupid to be ashamed of where we are and how we got here.

It's not just in the first world, I can tell you that much.

Cheers,

-Andrew
who spent 3 days locked up in a hotel because Rajkumar died of a heart attack in his late 70s.

 

[Everskyward]

I also find it hard to believe that ALL the corporate/private/charter jets on offer anywhere in the US were snapped up by actors.

You are correct, they were not. We had at least one or two available. In fact, we had a pop-up trip to Santa Monica on Sunday, the day of the Oscars. We were joking around that it might be somebody who was going to attend. Nope, it was just someone who wanted to get home to LA. Not only that, we commented that the ramp at KSMO was comparatively empty, considering. From what I have observed, celebrities/actors/etc comprise a very small proportion of people who fly chartered jets. Most are flying on business or are wealthy but not well known.