Major new projects in Nicaragua

[Panama Jack]

A couple of aviation related articles in today's edition of La Prensa related to aviation facilities improvement at Managua and other airports:

Ampliarán la pista del aeropuerto de Managua (http://www.laprensa.com.ni/nacionales/nacionales-20041224-03.html)

Suben tarifas por uso de aeropuertos (http://www.laprensa.com.ni/nacionales/nacionales-20041224-02.html)

[crazy_max]

Que pereza y que nica mas necio.

Do you know what PPRUNE stands for?
The only thing you do is "copy paste" news, especially if they honk TACA's horn.
Get a grip.

[Panama Jack]

I was actually worried that you might have been ill for a while there crazy_max, since you took some time off from sniping. :)

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo.

[flufdriver]

relax crazy-max!

The Latin-american/Caribbean Forum is supposed to cover a huge geographic area and everyone knows that there is a lot going on in aviation in this part of the world, but there are preciously few posters.

So, in the absence of any good/juicy rumors we have to satisfy ourselves with some posts of actual news just to keep the forum alive which Panama Jack has done almost singlehandedly.

So, like I said, relax
and post some good stuff

fluf

[Captain Stable]

Certainly this is one of the quietest forums on PPRuNe - probably why I was asked to moderate it - I wouldn't screw up a major part of Danny's train set! :uhoh: Apart from that, I do at least know much of the Caribbean region. I have to admit that I have never set foot in any country south of the USA (my loss, I know - hope to remedy that in a coupla years). Furthermore, my command of Spanish is restricted to limited compliments to young ladies (or their mothers) and to ordering two beers. :oh:

I would like to acknowledge the major contribution that Panama Jack makes to this forum. He is a major asset, and was not too long ago honoured in JetBlast for having a name and an aura not too different from that of the pirate Henry Morgan. I am sure that he conducts both his private and professional life differently, however! :E

Since the Hong Kong and Australian forums are so popular on PPRuNe, any ideas people have for boosting the readership of Carib/LatAm would be gratefully received.

The thread entitled "The Language of this forum is English" caught my eye a few moments ago. We could change that if people wish, provided that a suitable PPRuNer for Mod status showed up with enough spare time and enough command of Spanish.

This is NOT "my forum". It is yours. Its success or failure rests on its contributors. Please do all you can to encourage work colleagues etc. to come and browse and contribute. There is no restriction on rumour - it's in the name of the website!

Prospero Ano Nuevo to all.

[flufdriver]

Capt. Stable;

Yes it is relatively quiet in here "but" , in some of the other forums there is sometimes a significant level of vituperous backbiting and personal attacks taking place that I can really do without.

We, in particular Pilots, are usually our own worst enemies and I don't think that PPrune was created with the idea to facilitate character assasinations etc.

I do regret that we are rarely able to maturly discuss and debate matters of interest to many of us, as a result my visits and contributions to the Forums have abated after the initial enthusiasm of being able to communicate with colleagues all over the world from my relatively isolated location.

Also, in my opinion, it is difficult to discuss certain sensitive items in a wide open forum such as PPrune, perhaps we should consider levels of access. I am sure that many members are very senior in their respective organisations and as such perhaps involved in labour negotiations and all sorts of other specialised committee work which could be a great source of information, these forums present an ideal means of disseminating information, some of which is probably not suitable for Jo-Blo who once took a leak in a stall next to an aviation professional and since then thinks s/he is one as well.

As for me, I will contribute something, be it a copied news story or personally written commentary, when I feel it beneficial to do so, I am also happy to respond to sensible inquiries from anyone, but I am not going to do their homework for them. So if a 200hr Pilot from another part of the world wants to know what his/her chances are to landing a job in the right seat of a passenger jet with national carrier, I'm not likely to respond because I consider it frivolous chatter and I'm getting too old and ornery for that.

To those of you that contribute real aviation industry material, I want you to know that I am interested and thank you for the time you take to make your contribution, for despite my 30 plus years of involvement with aviation I am painfully aware of how much I don't know about it and am therefore willing to read and debate and learn.

One more point before I conclude my rant; to me Nicaragua or Alaska or any other place on this globe are equally important in this global industry of ours, I will quote one example; at my place of employment we once had a CEO who was seriously considering to hire US$ 25k per annum Pilots (Captains) from latin america, because we, the local Pilots and members of the association were pushing for a small increment to our US$ 75 - 90k salaries. Needless to say those latin Pilots had no clue that they could not have survived at our cost of living.

Mr moderator, I thank you for your work.
I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2005 (that will automatically bring some happiness)

fluf

[Panama Jack]

Well put flufdriver.

As pilots I´ve always felt that we have more in common than we have differences. But the dangers you warn us of and the example you cite of management seeking lower-paid foreign pilots is only the beginning of the danger we see as pilots working in a globalized economy. I have also heard similar remarks having been made specifically of Russian, Australian and Canadian pilots, and while I believe in the free movement of people and labor it certainly is a double-edged sword to be considered! Management worldwide has observed the saying "when you´ve got them by their balls, their hearts and minds will follow." I cannot see myself working at most Nicaraguan operators just because my situation allows me to work elsewhere, and my family and I couldn´t live on the pay offered. So I practice my trade elsewhere, return home on my extended days, but continue to be deeply interested in what goes on in the region.

In any case, I like sharing my whatever I can to contribute to this forum. I am happy that latinaviation and others have done the same. I don´t consider myself tooting anybody else's horn, but like anyone else, I am not equally interested in the goings on in say, Argentina or Brazil, as I would be about goings on in Nicaragua or Honduras. So if somebody doesn´t like my posts, feel free to ignore them. :ok:

[latinaviation]

Articulating why one forum drives better participation over another is hard to do. One is the core audience of PPRUNE - which is, by nature, pilots. Most of the activity in the region of late wouldn't exactly, imho, inspire the awe of the professional pilot workforce - consolidation, low-cost penetration and/or financial turmoil.

Other sites that seem to have a greater level of discussion on indigenous Latin American & Caribbean aviation seemed driven by strategic changes, route and network alignment and bankruptcies.

At first guess, it would be easy to say language as the issue. But Airliners.net enforces the same rule and has a much larger participation cachment from the region -- and they charge anywhere from $5/month or $25/username to post in their forums. So I don't think language is the root issue -- it could be (and probably is) deeper.

In consultant-speak, we would do a "MECE" analysis -- "mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive" analysis to drive at a conclusion. But I believe a more simple answer is looking at the traffic PPRUNE drives, what they come here for and where they're domiciled. Compare this demographic to, say, LAAH or A.net (or more) and you'll find your differences.

Again, all in my own opinion.

[Panama Jack]

Airliners.net enforces the same rule and has a much larger participation cachment from the region -- and they charge anywhere from $5/month or $25/username to post in their forums. So I don't think language is the root issue -- it could be (and probably is) deeper.


Yes, it´s that you can post your country´s flag. :} ;)