[sparky]

On canary mortality, there is two understandings , one is "canary in the mine."

those birds have a very high metabolic rate and are very sensitive to toxic gas ( not methane ) their death would indicate the presence of monoxide of carbon from the lamps and other fire , CO2 make you sick , CO poison you by accumulation . the miners would have to keep working , a dead canary was deemed the safety limit. That canary alert is of an increasing toxic environment

The other is that canaries were used during WW1 after a gas attack to work out if the trenches and dugouts were safe , gas was heavier than air. That canary alert is to work out if it is safe to go back to normal

No real difference , for me as a doomer , it's the sign of a severe deterioration of the whole worldwide economic edifice the permanent end of the age of electricity. A mere world war doesn't quite make it as doom ,been there done that , but it would be a good indication of things getting out of control

the price of gasoline at 5$ a gallon is the reality for most of the world already, the U.S. motorist has been pampered for generation with disastrous results for the domestic car industry when the cows finally came home .
the gyration of the Dow Jones are little more than a circus act, the fate of the U.S. $ a pure consequence of past excess and , in itself , the cure

[ritter]

The party is just getting going!

[Subjectivist]

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/b ... 99140.html

Why are there so many people in favor of this merger? It would mean major layoffs in those airports where both airlines have service right now.

[dolanbaker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', 'h')ttp://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/barack-obama-allies-airline-merger-american-airlines-us-airways-99140.html

Why are there so many people in favour of this merger? It would mean major layoffs in those airports where both airlines have service right now.

[Tanada]

With all the distractions going on I had completely forgotten this story was still unresolved. I wonder if the Big Donors will be able to get the Justice department to drop the lawsuit and let the merger go through? President Obama is term limited out so why should he care about political donations at this point, ACA is his legacy and nobody is going to forget him when he retires in 2017.

[AirlinePilot]

I think the USAirways/American merger legal battle is about some fat cat in Washington getting his way. Slots or more flights, possibly new construction dollars etc. It will be resolved through a settlement and they will be allowed to finish the process. Someone did not like what they saw and pulled some strings to get something that their greed requires.

Payola, corruption, greed, kickback...call it what you want but it seems that is how government operates these days since NO ONE is holding their feet to the fire.

[Tanada]

This thread started out about the merger and death of more and more airlines being the canary in the peak oil mine because airlines are more fuel cost sensitive than most industrial activities. In that light another long existing airlines closed this week.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') storied name in U.S. military transport is fading into history. World Airways shut down on Thursday amid a failure to find financing, four months after its parent company blamed Pentagon budget cuts for a sharp squeeze in business and put the airline into bankruptcy.

World Airways was founded in 1948 and transported U.S. troops starting in 1951, when the U.S. entered the Korean conflict. The charter airline flew its last flight on Wednesday, a day after its primary creditor declared the company in default and ended financing; World laid off 325 employees on Thursday. ”A lot of people have worked hard to try to save our airline,” Eric Bergesen, World Airways’ chief operating officer, said in a news release. “Despite this regrettable outcome, I sincerely thank each of our employees for their dedication and continued support as we attempted to build a future for the company.”

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'B')esides moving people I can't come up with many absolute essential items moved by air freight. Many businesses however depend on air freight for their Just in Time delivery systems. Dell for example. This corporate model is incredibly energy inefficient and only works in a cheap oil world were the costs of shipping is a small percentage of a total cost of a product. It not only requires airfreight for it to work but it also keeps delivery systems dependent on freight trucks instead of by slower rail.

I could imagine companies charging large transportation fuel surcharges for faster deliveries. How many people would wait 3-4 weeks instead of 3-4 days on the delivery of a new Dell computer for example if the slower delivery enabled them to save $100.00 off the price of the product?

[Pops]

And regular overbooking to fill every seat, every flight?

[Tanada]

I suspect that is correct Pops. I don't suppose you have a graph handy of the data I posted? I looked around and couldn't find one but you being our resident graph expert and all....

[dolanbaker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')art of this is undoubtedly the economy, and partly because this is a count of flights and not individual passengers it is a reflection of the move to larger and larger aircraft.

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dolanbaker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')art of this is undoubtedly the economy, and partly because this is a count of flights and not individual passengers it is a reflection of the move to larger and larger aircraft.

[Pops]

Not to sound too corny but there is a range of mitigation in every area of modern life, not the simplistic either/or "Non-negotiable Lifestyle" and "Total Systemic Collapse" dichotomy that makes for good blog posts.

The one thing Peakers should have learned over the last 10-20 years is a self-organizing system will reorganize when disturbed. This canary won't simply fall off it's perch without warning, it will grow bigger lungs at the expense of its pretty singing voice, shed the colorful plumage and grow scales in it's place, and develop big claws to hang on to that perch at all costs.

Airlines become more "efficient" by cutting flights, packing the seats, eliminating the peanuts and loser routes. This is how the world as you know it ends, not with a bang or a whimper but scratching and clawing every inch.

The canary is more like an alligator.

[dolanbaker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')
Airlines become more "efficient" by cutting flights, packing the seats, eliminating the peanuts and loser routes. This is how the world as you know it ends, not with a bang or a whimper but scratching and clawing every inch.

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dolanbaker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')
Airlines become more "efficient" by cutting flights, packing the seats, eliminating the peanuts and loser routes. This is how the world as you know it ends, not with a bang or a whimper but scratching and clawing every inch.

[Tanada]

With the last round of mergers complete and the price of fuel still climbing when will the next round start?

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'N')ot to sound too corny but there is a range of mitigation in every area of modern life, not the simplistic either/or "Non-negotiable Lifestyle" and "Total Systemic Collapse" dichotomy that makes for good blog posts.

The one thing Peakers should have learned over the last 10-20 years is a self-organizing system will reorganize when disturbed. This canary won't simply fall off it's perch without warning, it will grow bigger lungs at the expense of its pretty singing voice, shed the colorful plumage and grow scales in it's place, and develop big claws to hang on to that perch at all costs.

Airlines become more "efficient" by cutting flights, packing the seats, eliminating the peanuts and loser routes. This is how the world as you know it ends, not with a bang or a whimper but scratching and clawing every inch.

The canary is more like an alligator.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', 'I')f private airlines are the canary I think they are the investors are going to start abandoning the sinking stock when they figure Peak Oil out.

[Newfie]

Thanks for the air mpg stats, I've often wondered about that but would not have guessed those numbers.

[Pops]

Ah, but remember T, there is a constant stream of 19 year olds who feel just like you did back then. LOL

My point was that things will change, not simply cease to exist: less hummer more scooter