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As fuel prices go up, so will fares
July 23, 2018 by Dingzi Leave a comment
IT looks like the good times are running out. Airlines, faced with rising fuel costs, are raising fares. Delta Air Lines for one is expecting its fuel costs for 2018 to be US$2 billion higher than they were a year ago. Its CEO Ed Bastian warned travellers that “with higher fuel prices, you;re going to expect to see ticket prices go up as well.”
And Delta is not the only airline heading in that direction. Other carriers are likely to follow suit if they have not already done so.
On the other side of the Pacific, Air New Zealand (Air NZ) and Jetstar have raised domestic fares by five per cent, and Air NZ is reviewing fares for international routes. According to Air NZ chief executive Christopher Luxon, every dollar increase for a barrel of fuel “adds $10 million of costs to Air New Zealand’s bottom line.”
Mr Christopher Luxon, Photo courtesy Air New Zealand
International Air Transport Association (IATA) chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac warned that against this background, “next year will be less positive.”
Mr Luxon of Air NZ painted this picture of the likely scenario: ”The normal cycle in aviation is that fuel goes up, prices rise, demand may fall and capacity gets reduced.”
So what are airlines doing about it, apart from raising fares because that alone has its limitations in view of the competition and the impact it may have on the consumer’s propensity to travel?
Delta has already made known its intention to withdraw flights serving the less popular destinations. So too will other carriers after the summer peak.
Beyond that, many airlines are ramping up hedging. Major European airlines including budget carriers Ryanair and EasyJet, for example, are increasing the ratio of hedged fuel to as high as 90 per cent of needs. Low cost carriers especially, because of their limited ability to hedge, were badly hit the last times when fuel prices careened upwards. But hedging is not a completely safe bet. Equally so, many airlines also reported significant losses when fuel prices came down.
The good news is that with more fuel-efficient aircraft in operation, the impact of the increased fuel costs may not be as hard on the airlines. Higher fares are as good as being ready to be rolled out, but the question is how far can the airlines go without losing customers, particularly at a time when the price of the fare is likely to matter more than allegiance?
Again, to quote Mr Luxon, ”All airlines, whether you’re in Australia or around the world are working hard to see how they can take prices up and ultimately how much of that cost increase can you recover through pricing.”
Filed under Air New Zealand, Aviation Landscape, Policies & Trends, Delta Air Lines Tagged with Air New Zealand, Alexandre de Juniac, Christopher Luxon, Delta Air Lines, EasyJet, Ed Bastian, fuel costs, fuel hedging, Jetstar, Ryanair
2018 Skytrax airline awards: Largely the same winners
Top airlines remain largely the same ones as last year’s.
Yet again we note how the top ten airlines remained largely the same ones as last year’s. If you’re good, you’re good, so it seems, and consistency won the day.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) which was second last year switched places with last year’s winner Qatar Airways. All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Emirates Airlines held steady in 3rd and 4th position. Cathay Pacific moved down one rung to 6th,, exchanging places with EVA Air. Lufthansa held its 7th position. Garuda Indonesian followed Hainan Airlines up one notch to 8th and 9th position respectively. The only new entrant to the list was Thai Airways International, which actually only moved up one rung from 11th last year, edging out Etihad Airways as it fell from 8th to 15th position.
So much for the excitement as the winning airlines, going by the result of the survey, continued to please their customers who found no reason to think otherwise of them.
Unlike some high-brow surveys whose results lean heavily on the premium class, Skytrax does readings across all classes.
Best for First Class was SIA followed by Etihad and Air France. This used to be the realm of Asian and Middle-East carriers, and let it not be a surprise to see two European carriers in the ranking. Lufthansa took 4th place.
Best for Business Class was Qatar followed by SIA and ANA. You would imagine that if an airline is good in First, it should not be too far off in Business. However, Air France was not placed in the top ten list and Lufthansa ranked 8th.
Best for Premium Economy was Air New Zealand followed by Qantas and SIA. It looks like the Pacific airlines are pretty good with this product. Lufthansa and Air France ranked 4th and 5th.. There was an absence of Middle-east carriers because they didn’t believe in such a class. Qatar chief CEO Akbar Al Baker had said: “We won’t roll out premium economy… I don’t think there is room for premium economy in our region, and of course in Qatar Airways. We give you a premium economy seat with an economy class price.” Sounds familiar if you recall the early days when SIA too expressed the same skepticism. However, Emirates has said its new Airbus A380 expected to be delivered in 2020 will feature premium economy.
Courtesy Star Alliance
Best for Economy Class was Thai Airways followed by SIA and Qatar. This category was dominated by Asian carriers with the exception of Lufthansa in 9th position.
Only these six airlines were placed in all three categories of First, Business and Economy (excluding premium Economy since not all airlines offer this sub-class): ANA, Cathay, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar and SIA. You can then rest comforted that whatever class you travel with these airlines, you will be treated without discrimination.
But is the Skytrax survey a good guide in choosing which carrier to fly with? Generally people can agree on makes a good airline. What matters when you travel with an airline? For the long haul, seat comfort is an important feature. Inflight entertainment, if you look for some distraction and are not otherwise doing something else or trying to catch up on shuteye. A good meal, if you are not one who will not eat airline food no matter what (unfortunately this is not featured in the Skytrax survey). Cabin cleanliness, of course, and that includes the condition of the washrooms. How often do you see the crew give it a clean-up and spraying some kind of deodorant to try and make it as pleasant as it possibly can be? Above all, the service provided by the cabin crew, to be treated in a friendly manner and with respect. Not forgetting service on the ground in the event that you may need assistance, as when your bag is damaged or has not arrived with you.
Perhaps the ranking for some of these more specific services may be of some help:
Best Economy seat (First and Business should be way better anyway): 1st Japan Airlines, 2nd SIA and 3rd Thai Airways.
Best cabin crew: 1st Garuda, 2nd SIA and 3rd ANA.
Best inflight entertainment: 1st Emirates, 2nd SIA and 3rd Qatar.
Cleanest cabin: 1st ANA, 2nd EVA and 3rd Asiana Airlines.
Best airport service: 1st EVA, 2nd ANA and 3rd Cathay.
But, of course, you can’t expect a single airline to be best in all categories, but you get a pretty good idea of where they all stand, perhaps with exceptions.
Filed under Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Customer service & surveys, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International Tagged with Air France, Air New Zealand, Akbar Al Baker, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Skytrax Best Airlines 2018, Thai Airways International
Air New Zealand tops again
November 4, 2017 by Dingzi Leave a comment
Courtesy Air New Zealand
AirlineRatings.com has named Air New Zealand as the world’s best airline for 2018. Other airlines that make the top ten in descending order are Qantas, Singapore Airlines (SIA), Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic, Etihad Airways, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Korean Air, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.
According to the editorial team, airlines must achieve a seven-star safety rating (developed in consultation with the International Civil Aviation Organization) and demonstrate leadership in innovation for passenger comfort to be named in the top ten.
The evaluation team also looks at customer feedback on sites that include CN Traveller.com which perhaps explain little surprise in both AirlineRatings and Conde Nast Travel naming Air New Zealand as their favourite. (See What defines a best airline? Oct 19, 2017) Four airlines, namely SIA, Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific are ranked in the top ten of both lists. These look like consistently global favourites.
Notable absences from the AirlineRatings list are Middle east carriers Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines. While these airlines scored for service in other surveys, they may have lost the lead in product innovation for which most of the airlines ranked by AirlineRatings are commended. Virgin Australia’s new business class is said to be “turning heads” and Etihad is said to provide a “magnificent product throughout the cabins.” Looking ahead, Air New Zealand will feel the pressure from Qantas and SIA for the top spot. (See Singapore Airlines steps up to reclaim past glory, Nov 3, 2017) In the same survey, Qantas is selected for best lounges and best catering services, and SIA for best first class and best cabin crew.
For those who think best airline surveys are often skewed by the halo effect of service provided in the upper classes, AirlineRatings has named Korean Air as best economy airline.
Filed under Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Aviation Landscape, Policies & Trends, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia Tagged with Air New Zealand, AirlineRatings.com, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Conde Nast Travel, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia
What defines a best airline?
October 19, 2017 by Dingzi Leave a comment
What defines a best airline, considering the different surveys that rank them? Conde Nast Travel has just released its readers’ choice of the best in 2017, and it is no surprise the list is made up of Asian, Middle East, European and SW Pacific carriers.
Of course, it depends on the readership, but recognizing that, it also points to what really makes these airlines stand out. It is clear that the premium class service weighs heavily – the seat comfort and the fine food.
Etihad Airways (ranked #16) offers “the future of first-class comfort: a three-room “residence” with a bedroom, private bath with shower, and lounge.” Emirates (#4) offers “posh perks for premium fliers – cocktail lounges, in-flight showers… part of the reason it scores so high among travellers.” And the suites on Singapore Airlines (#3) offer “a pair of fully flat recliners that can be combined into a double bed.”
Mention is made of the premium economy class in almost all the ranked airlines” KLM (#20), Lufthansa (#19), Japan Airlines (#17), All Nippon Airways (#13), Qantas (#12), Cathay Pacific (#10), Virgin Atlantic (#7), Virgin Australia (#6), Singapore Airlines (#3) and Air New Zealand (#1).
So it may appear to be the voice of the premium travellers that is being heard. Maybe coach travellers aren’t too concerned about the ranking, more driven by price and less frilly factors, although to be fair, the Conde Nast report did mention of at least one airline, i.e. Etihad Airways (#16), not ignoring “those sitting in the back.” While many travellers may resign to the belief that the economy class is about the same across the industry, it is reasonable to assume that an airline that strives to please its customers in the front cabins will most probably carry that culture or at least part of it to the rear.
Although you may draw consensus across many of the surveys, it is best best to treat each one of them in isolation. It is more meaningful to try and draw intra conclusions within the findings of the particular survey.
You will note in the Conde Nast findings, there is an absence of American (including Canadian) carriers, never mind that of African and South American carriers.
Asiana Airlines (#8) is ranked ahead of Korean Air (#11).
All Nippon Airways (#13) is ranked ahead of Japan Airlines (#17). V
Virgin Australia (#6) is ranked ahead of Qantas (#12).
The order of the “Big 3” Gulf carriers is as follows: Qatar Airways (#2), Emirates (#4) and Etihad Airways (#16).
Of European carriers, there is the conspicuous absence of the big names of British Airways (compare Virgin Atlantic #7) and Air France, and the pleasant surprise of Aegean Airlines (#9) while SWISS seems to be regaining its erstwhile status years ago as being the industry standard.
The best belongs to Air New Zealand as the quiet achiever.
Ultimately, the results also depend on the group of respondents whose experiences may be limited to certain airlines.
Other airlines ranked in the top 20 of the Conde Nast survey: Finnair (#14), Turkish Airlines (#15), EVA Air (#18).
Filed under Aegean Airlines, Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Aviation Landscape, Policies & Trends, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia Tagged with Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Conde Nast best airlines 2017, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Japan Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia
Air New Zealand leads the pack
November 23, 2016 by Dingzi Leave a comment
Air New Zealand is the world’s best airline according to AirlineRatings.com based on criteria that include fleet age, safety, profitability and leadership in innovation for passenger comfort. The agency’s Airline Excellence Awards program which lists the winning airlines is endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Many travellers would recognize ANZ for its attention-grabbing in-flight safety video that takes them into Middle Earth, the kind of out-of-the-aircraft features that a few other airlines have tried to imitate but fared only poorly. AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said: “Air New Zealand came out number one in virtually all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance.” The airline was favoured for its record-breaking financial performance, award-winning in-flight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff.
Skycouch: Picture courtesy Air New Zealand
But, of course, there are surveys and there are surveys that publish their own lists of favourites. Some airlines such as Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Cathay Pacific have a ubiquitous presence, and there also notable absences. This is where it is most telling, bearing in mind that the ranking is dependent on several factors such as the excellence-defining criteria and the population surveyed.
The other nine airlines ranked behind ANZ in the top ten list by AirlineRatings.com are in descending order: Qantas, SIA, Cathay, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways (BA), Etihad, All Nippon Airways, EVA Air and Lufthansa.
It is interesting to note that the top two airlines come from the remote Southwest Pacific. Qantas has in recent years been working on upgrading its product offerings, winning accolades for catering and airport lounges. Not surprisingly, innovation along with good service seem to be the driving winning streak going down the list – SIA and Cathay for their premium economy and revamped business classes, Virgin for its cabin ambience and friendly crew, BA for its leadership in in-flight entertainment, and Etihad for its equally impressive service in front and at the back of the aircraft.
Notable absences in the list are US carriers (no surprise there) and two of the big three Middle-East carriers (Emirates and Qatar).
Many survey rankings are skewed by the weight they place on service in the premium classes. However, Mr Thomas of AirlineRatings.com said: “We are looking for leadership and airlines that innovate to make a real difference to the passenger experience particularly in economy class.” Considering that the majority of travellers are seated in coach, it is time that airlines crowned with the halo of excellence pay more attention at the back of the aircraft, for this may well make the difference as the competition intensifies. And, it is where the differentiation becomes even more challenging. Perhaps too, this could be the reason why Emirates and Qatar, known for their lavish premium service, did not make it to the top ten of the list.
Filed under Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Tagged with Air New Zealand, AirlinesRatings.com, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
Air New Zealand poised for growth
September 10, 2015 by David Leo Leave a comment
Air New Zealand (ANZ) is probably best known for its innovative approach in its in-flight safety video presentation. Drawing inspiration from the Men In Black to Hobbits of the Middle Kingdom, what used to be or is supposed to be a staid, no-nonsense delivery of critical information that is often ignored by many travellers, particularly repeat fliers, the presentation has become entertainment. Though not without controversy, the videos show how ANZ is not only innovative but also bold enough to break tradition. While the initiative cannot be said to be a marketing strategy to attract more customers, one is tempted to ask if ANZ is in like manner finally emerging, albeit slowly, from a lacklustre past and turning heads across the industry.
The kiwi airline has just reported an impressive full-year performance. Operating revenue as at end-June 2015 was NZ$4.92 billion (US$3.01 billion), increasing by 6% over last year. But annualised earnings before taxation rose by 32% to NZ$496 million, and the statutory net profit after taxation was NZ$327 million, up 24%. The results were released right after Qantas’ announcement of a dramatic turnaround and were not surprisingly overshadowed by the hype drummed up by the flying kangaroo’s performance and no less the outspoken personality of its chief executive Alan Joyce (See Qantas is Asia Pacific’s New Star Performer, Aug 27, 2015).
In their part of the world, ANZ and Qantas are major rivals. Indeed, considering that ANZ’s short-haul load makes up 88% of the 14.3 million passengers carried for the full year, the kiwi airline is more a regional than international airline. Australia was its biggest membership base for ANZ loyalty program Airpoints, with growth in that market exceeding 20% during the year. ANZ chief executive officer Christopher Luxon said: “This doesn’t surprise us as more Australian than ever are embracing the Air New Zealand product and service offering whether it be on the Tasman, to the Pacific Islands, North America or South America.”
Obviously Australia is an important market which is critical to ANZ’s growth as an international airline, perhaps an ironic corollary to how Qantas probably sees New Zealand as a necessary appendage by offering a one-dollar fare for onward travel through Australian gateways. Both airlines have enlarged their interest bases in each other’s land – Qantas through its budget subsidiary Jetstar Airways and ANZ its investment in Virgin Australia. And both airlines, situated at the far end of the kangaroo (and beyond) route, face competition beyond their shores from a slew of airlines such as Singapore Airlines (SIA), Cathay Pacific and Middle East carriers.
Mr Luxon said: “We remain focused on the Pacific Rim as our growth strategy and will continue to provide the best connections, product and service at competitive prices, to maintain and grow our market share in these regions. Next year will see further capacity growth in international markets as we look forward to new routes starting in December 2015 to Houston and Buenos Aires. And while we are gearing up to launch these exiting new routes we have a team assessing potential new opportunities in Australia, Asia and the Americas.”
Can ANZ overcome an apparent geographical disadvantage and turn it into a strategic marketing benefit, and identify new windows of opportunities?
Mr Luxon has identified the Pacific Rim as its focus. So, fly west. The Americas are much closer and offer room for growth. Qantas too in recent years has been ramping up its connections westward, penetrating deeper into the US. It operates the world’s longest non-stop flight, between Sydney and Dallas (the record will go to Emirates when it introduces a service between Dubai and Panama City in February 2016). The challenge remains whether ANZ has enough hinterland traffic to sustain that initiative, and whether this will hinge on how successfully it can challenge Qantas on market share for the region. To turn a geographical advantage into a benefit demands a lot of the innovative spirit to make it work. ANZ is already flying onward from Los Angeles to London with fifth freedom rights.
Meantime Qantas has not only strengthened its alliances with American Airlines but also entered into partnerships with airlines in other regions, especially China having identified Asia as a potential area of growth in its restructuring plans. While still maintaining a hub for Asian connections in Singapore (after moving the hub on the kangaroo route from Singapore to Dubai in partnership with Emirates Airlines), it has been active in mounting direct flights between Australian and Chinese destinations. This, of course, makes sense when China has become Australia’s biggest inbound tourism market. The Qantas/China eastern connection now commands 87% of the market share on the Sydney-Pudong (Shanghai) sector. Qantas would have commanded a strong presence in Hong Kong in a tie-up with China Southern Airlines had the Hong Kong administration not rejected the Jetstar Hong Kong’s application.
Qantas offers a ready lesson since Mr Luxon had expressed ANZ’s interest to grow in Asia although, to be noted, Virgin Australia which is 26% owned by ANZ has also entered into an alliance with Air China for flights between China and Australia. Just that it seems a couple of steps behind. However, there are situational differences between Qantas and ANZ although the challenges may be similar. Among the factors for ANZ’s success, ANZ chairman Tony Carter cited “the continued development of our alliance partner relationships”. ANZ and Air China will jointly launch a Peking-Auckland service in December.
Mr Carter is optimistic about ANZ’s immediate future. He said, “Given the current known operating environment, along with our increased capacity and improved operating efficiencies, we expect to achieve significant earnings growth in the coming year.” How “significant” that will be is to be seen, but Mr Carter seemed encouraged by “current sales momentum”. Of course, the lower fuel prices help, but then as Qantas Joyce said, “Every airline gets the benefit.” What lifted Qantas above the rest, according to Mr Joyce, was its transformation program. This does not mean ANZ should roll out a similar program. Far from it. We’d rather be surprised by ANZ’s knack for innovation a la Lord of the Rings.
This is an abridged version of the article which was first published in Aspire Aviation, titled “Partnership is Air New Zealand’s answer to litmus test” .
Filed under Air New Zealand, Qantas Tagged with Air China, Air New Zealand, Alan Joyce, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Christopher Luxon, Jetstar Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Tony Carter, Virgin Australia
Air New Zealand reconstructed
December 9, 2014 by David Leo Leave a comment
IF you are planning to visit the Hobbits and the Kingdoms of Middle Earth, don’t think twice about flying Air New Zealand (Air NZ). The Kiwi carrier is probably best recognized in recent times for its innovative in-flight safety videos before take-off.
Keeping a relatively low profile, Air NZ is entering a new era of growth. In a way it is like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes if you recall how in 2001 with the collapse of Ansett Airlines, it had to be bailed out by the government. Air NZ acquired 50% of Ansett in 1996 for A$475m and the other 50% for A$680m in 2000. Ansett became bankrupt in 2001 and was written off with a tag of $1.32b, adding to the losses suffered by Air NZ itself.
Since then it has been a long road of reconstruction for Air NZ, which today reported earnings growth for the third consecutive financial year ending June 2014. Normalised earnings before taxation were NZ$323m (US$254m), which was an increase of 30% on last year. Statutory earnings before taxation were NZ$357m, an increase of 40%. Operating revenue held steady at NZ$4.7b, increasing by NZ$48m. However, statutory net profit after taxation increased by an impressive 45% from NZ$181m to NZ$262m. Air NZ also reported a strong operating cash flow of NZ$730m.
The good results were attributed to an increase in passenger revenue of 4.6% to NZ$3.9b and yield improvements across its network of 3.3%. The airline carried 2.3% more passengers. Of course, like many airlines presently, it has benefitted from decreased fuel costs due to falling oil prices. But additionally and perhaps more importantly, Air NZ attributed the lower cost to fleet efficiencies.
What makes Air NZ’s performance worthy of note is how it has been able to sustain a turnaround at a time when many of the world’s airlines are still see-sawing between profit and loss, that in spite of New Zealand’s not too favorable geographical at the end of the active business line. A comparison with neighbour Qantas, which was unsuccessful in bids to acquire stakes in the beleaguered airline during its tumultuous years, is inevitable. In the last three years, Air NZ has done far better than its bigger rival although Qantas has just announced a spectacular performance for 2014.
Air NZ chairman Tony Carter said: “Air New Zealand continues to be a world leading airline both in terms of customer experience and financial performance.” He added, “We have made significant progress on our key strategic initiatives. With new aircraft offering better operating economics, an optimised network with the right alliance partners, disciplined cost management and a daily focus on improving the customer experience, we are very well positioned to continue growing.”
Air NZ’s revival stems from a strategy of focussing on its strengths, and that means not pursuing willy nilly a certain course of action just because every other player is doing it. Its domestic arm is a sterling performer with a load factor above 80% and a yield of NZ$0.29 (cents per RPK). Capacity grew by 5.4%. While it is doing better, key rival Jetstar’s market share fell from 22.4% to 20.7%. It is also maintaining its market lead in the Tasman and Pacific Islands region, with a load factor of 83.4%. While Qantas was promoting Jetstar and other major airlines were spawning budget offshoots, Air NZ grounded its low-cost Freedom Air, preferring to carry “all” in one plane for trans-Tasman flights. The airline has learnt that what works for one airline may not necessarily work for another.
Internationally, the airline continues to realign its long haul network. With capacity adjustment, the load factor continues to improve, up 1.4% pts to 85.4%. Air NZ withdrew from the Hong Kong route with onward connection to London. Although a Star Alliance member, it has instead tied up an arrangement with OneWorld member Cathay Pacific. While rival Qantas is expanding aggressively in Asia and boosting its kangaroo route dominance in an alliance with Emirates to use Dubai International as its European hub (replacing Singapore Changi), in a market that has become very competitive, Air NZ is turning New Zealand’s remote geographical location into an advantage by dominating trans-Pacific channels and flying to London via Los Angeles with full fifth freedom rights.
The Kiwi carrier has learnt the bitter lesson of hasty over-expansion in its bid to take on Qantas through Ansett and competing with others in the larger world. But it is crawling back, forming strategic alliances. It is reliving its Australian dream, having increased its equity investment to 25.99% in Virgin Australia, of which Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Etihad Airways are also partners. It has also expanded its alliance with SIA to recommence flying from Auckland to Singapore, aiming to boost route capacity by 30%.
Mr Carter is optimistic. He said: “Based on our current expectations of market demand and fuel prices, we expect to improve on the 2014 result in the coming year.”
With innovative product development, Air NZ is catching the attention of competitors. And it’s not just about jazzing up in-flight safety videos; this, to Air NZ’s credit, stands it out as being bold and refreshing. The airline was among the first to introduce a premium economy cabin. And it has beaten arch-rival Qantas in the race to introduce business class seats that can be reclined for take-off and landing.
Filed under Air New Zealand Tagged with Air New Zealand, Ansett Airlines (defunct), Etihad Airways, Freedom Air (defunct), Jetstar, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Tony Carter, Virgin Australia
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Microsoft Shuts the Door on Several Russian Hack Attempts
By Shawn Hays Cyber Security
Well, nice try Russia. In the spirit of Atlanta Hawks great, Dikembe Mutombo, Microsoft denied the Russian sponsored hacking group APT28, which is also referred to as Strontium or Fancy Bear. The organization has received extensive coverage recently because of its direct ties to the 2016 Presidential Election. Yet, this time they were not successful in their attempts.
According to the Washington Post coverage, this group created several sites in the last 2-4 months mimicking the Hudson Institute (a conservative Washington think tank active in investigations of corruption in Russia), the International Republican Institute (IRI), several fake entities claiming affiliation with the Senate, and one of Microsoft’s own online products. Out of the six sites, four of them contained Microsoft related verbage in their domain names, such as "sharepoint", "adfs", "office365", and "onedrive".
The purpose of these sites were to direct traffic to malicious locations where unsuspecting visitors would pick up various forms of malware. In other cases, the site would solicit the visitor to deposit information that could then be later used for future attacks or coordinated manipulation efforts.
After the Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) detected the beginnings of a malicious campaign, Microsoft used a previously successful tactic of getting court ordered access to the domains to transfer them to their own servers, research them, and shelve them. It's a move committed to muscle memory, as they've had to execute it against 84 sites (ran by APT 28) prior.
David Tell of the Hudson Institute, one of the victims, remarked “This kind of stuff does happen. It’s happened to us before,” “It doesn’t surprise me that bad actors in nondemocratic states would want to mess with us.”
It's Happened to Us Before
Due to the repeated attempts on political institutions and organizations involved in the political process, Microsoft has decided to openly offer up their security services to these organizations at a discounted rate: free.
Here's an excerpt from Microsoft's release:
"We are expanding Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program with a new initiative called Microsoft AccountGuard. This initiative will provide state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection at no extra cost to all candidates and campaign offices at the federal, state and local level, as well as think tanks and political organizations we now believe are under attack. The technology is free of charge to candidates, campaigns and related political institutions using Office 365."
If you drill down into what is being offered, essentially all of the security features and benefits of Office 365 GCC are being offered free of charge. For example, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center is included and enables Microsoft to detect and provide notification of attacks in a unified way across both organizational and sensitive email/data systems.
It's Happened to You Before
Recent reports from Microsoft have reported that they detect 180,000,000-200,000,000 phishing emails each month. This includes emails with malicious links and attachments, domain spoofs, user impersonation, and links to fake SaaS apps. They have also estimated that 20% of small to medium sized businesses have been attacked with ransomware or through brute force methods. It is no surprise that the number is higher for government contractors - over 50%.
All businesses face security threats on premises and in the cloud, and truly the only way to keep up with threats and stay competitive is by coming to the cloud, where Azure and Office 365 Security teams can help you.
Microsoft has 3500+ security professionals that work tirelessly to make sure customers of all business types maintain a secure cloud infrastructure. Additionally, Microsoft spends over $1 billion per year in security research and development to stay ahead of attacks and attackers. Azure provides additional tools for you to leverage to protect your resources on the platform.
The Political Process is Important, but So is Defending It... The Importance for Government Contractors
You will be attacked, and in all likelihood you have already. With the Government trending towards heavier enforcement and changes in the contract award process, it is imperative to protect the Government's data and your contracts. The same foundational security practices that identified this coordinated attack, will prevent attacks on your business.
Office 365 and Azure can be configured to meet DFARS 7012 and NIST 800-171. The other options cannot.
Don't wait. Begin the process now by looking at your licensing options. You can also download the updated licensing guide to compare certain features and offerings across the Microsoft Office 365 and Azure portfolio.
About Shawn Hays
Shawn is a communication and collaboration professional. Prior to Summit 7 Systems, Shawn excelled as a marketing and PR strategist – working within health care and public relations consulting. During his career, he has served as the sole business development manager of a small IT-centric government contracting business and as a publications lead within a large defense and aerospace company. He graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with undergraduate degrees in Physics and Communications, and Tennessee Tech University's MBA program in 2017. It is this technical know-how and ability to convey various subject matters to, both, technical and non-technical audiences that brought him to Summit 7 Systems. In addition, Shawn is a super user of Microsoft SharePoint and Office 365, and possesses a high degree of ITIL process improvement experience.


Another tragic test for ‘stand your ground’ laws, this time in Georgia
By Patrik Jonsson | 12/02/2013
State and local prosecutors are reviewing whether Georgia‘s “stand your ground” law applies in the tragic case of a man who shot and killed a wandering man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the Lookout Mountain region.
Given the dynamics of the shooting, the case could become part of a national prodding around the laws, which were quickly enacted in more than 20 states, including Georgia, after Florida pioneered the concept in 2005.
The laws, which hold that armed citizens have to make no attempt to retreat before shooting at a perceived threat, came into the national spotlight in 2012, after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, by a neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in July after a furious national debate over whether race plays into the new breed of self-defense laws.
Since then, a number of prominent groups and people, including Trayvon’s parents and even President Obama, have urged lawmakers to reconsider the laws. Critics say stand-your-ground laws dangerously change social dynamics by making it more difficult for prosecutors to charge people who claim self-defense under dubious circumstances.
So far, some studies have suggested the laws have played a role in decreasing crime rates, while other research has shown adopting states have seen noticeable increases in gunshot-related hospital visits. Studies have also yielded contradictory results about whether white or black males are most affected.
The incident in Georgia adds a new twist to the examination of the laws, focusing not on race, but on what kinds of actions qualify as a legitimate threat. During a 2007 symposium by the National District Attorneys Association, concerns were raised that touch on what happened on Wednesday in Georgia: namely, that misinterpretation of clues by an armed person could lead to deadly force being used even when there is no real danger.
For now, the state has not filed any charges against Joe Hendrix, who admits to shooting a 70-something man early Wednesday morning. The man was wearing a light coat and a straw hat in near-20 degree weather when he knocked on Mr. Hendrix’s door at 4 in the morning.
After Hendrix’s girlfriend called police, Hendrix retrieved his handgun and walked into his backyard, where he says he saw the other man in silhouette. After the man didn’t respond to several verbal commands and began walking toward him, Hendrix shot him four times, once fatally.
“In my personal opinion, I believe that [Hendrix] should have stayed inside the house,” Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson told the Chattanooga, Tenn., Times Free Press. “Did he violate any laws by exiting the house? No.”
“Mr. Hendrix is clearly saddened and heartbroken,” the sheriff said. “Mr. Hendrix has to live with his actions for the rest of his life.”
Ronald Westbrook, the slain man, was clutching a sheaf of mail when police found his body. According to family, Mr. Westbrook had been suffering for two years from Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that affects memory and reasoning. He had been walking in the cold for four hours with his dog before he approached the home, perhaps drawn by a lit porch light, police said.
The incident came amid an ongoing debate over the conviction of Marissa Alexander, a black Florida mom sentenced under mandatory rules to 20 years in jail for firing a warning shot in what she said was self-defense. This week, Ms. Alexander was released on bond after a judge ordered a retrial of her case, saying the original judge gave a jury faulty information about the stand-your-ground concept.
Critics have claimed that Alexander’s race played a role in the conviction, especially in light of the jury verdict in the Zimmerman trial, where six female jurors came to the conclusion that he acted lawfully when he killed Trayvon after pursuing the innocent teenager, thinking he was a burglar. Zimmerman said he shot Trayvon after taking a beating from the teenager.
Prosecutors have maintained the Alexander conviction was correct, since they say the mom had a chance to leave the premises, but instead actually returned with a gun and pointed it at her husband and children.
Prosecutors say that the shot could have killed or injured the husband and children if fragments had ricocheted in their direction. Alexander said her husband had been acting abusively, and she feared for her own life.
Meanwhile, in Georgia’s Walker County, the investigation continues into whether Hendrix committed a crime when he shot Westbrook, or whether it was a legitimate self-defense situation.
Sheriff Wilson said it’s a tough case because he knew Westbrook personally. At the same time, he told reporters that Hendrix and his girlfriend plainly felt threatened.
“We feel like at this point that we should proceed cautiously and with an open mind and let the evidence and the law take its place,” Wilson told WRCB-TV in Chattanooga.
Earlier this month, the Rainbow PUSH coalition, headed by civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia for what it alleges are uneven interpretations of the stand-your-ground law.


Opinion|Looking for Luck in Libya
Looking for Luck in Libya
Thomas L. Friedman MARCH 29, 2011
There is an old saying in the Middle East that a camel is a horse that was designed by a committee. That thought came to my mind as I listened to President Obama trying to explain the intervention of America and its allies in Libya — and I don’t say that as criticism. I say it with empathy. This is really hard stuff, and it’s just the beginning.
When an entire region that has been living outside the biggest global trends of free politics and free markets for half a century suddenly, from the bottom up, decides to join history — and each one of these states has a different ethnic, tribal, sectarian and political orientation and a loose coalition of Western and Arab states with mixed motives trying to figure out how to help them — well, folks, you’re going to end up with some very strange-looking policy animals. And Libya is just the first of many hard choices we’re going to face in the “new” Middle East.
How could it not be? In Libya, we have to figure out whether to help rebels we do not know topple a terrible dictator we do not like, while at the same time we turn a blind eye to a monarch whom we do like in Bahrain, who has violently suppressed people we also like — Bahraini democrats — because these people we like have in their ranks people we don’t like: pro-Iranian Shiite hard-liners. All the while in Saudi Arabia, leaders we like are telling us we never should have let go of the leader who was so disliked by his own people — Hosni Mubarak — and, while we would like to tell the Saudi leaders to take a hike on this subject, we can’t because they have so much oil and money that we like. And this is a lot like our dilemma in Syria where a regime we don’t like — and which probably killed the prime minister of Lebanon whom it disliked — could be toppled by people who say what we like, but we’re not sure they all really believe what we like because among them could be Sunni fundamentalists, who, if they seize power, could suppress all those minorities in Syria whom they don’t like.
The last time the Sunni fundamentalists in Syria tried to take over in 1982, then-President Hafez al-Assad, one of those minorities, definitely did not like it, and he had 20,000 of those Sunnis killed in one city called Hama, which they certainly didn’t like, so there is a lot of bad blood between all of them that could very likely come to the surface again, although some experts say this time it’s not like that because this time, and they could be right, the Syrian people want freedom for all. But, for now, we are being cautious. We’re not trying nearly as hard to get rid of the Syrian dictator as we are the Libyan one because the situation in Syria is just not as clear as we’d like and because Syria is a real game-changer. Libya implodes. Syria explodes.
Welcome to the Middle East of 2011! You want the truth about it? You can’t handle the truth. The truth is that it’s a dangerous, violent, hope-filled and potentially hugely positive or explosive mess — fraught with moral and political ambiguities. We have to build democracy in the Middle East we’ve got, not the one we want — and this is the one we’ve got.
Thomas L. Friedman Credit Josh Haner/The New York Times
That’s why I am proud of my president, really worried about him, and just praying that he’s lucky.
Unlike all of us in the armchairs, the president had to choose, and I found the way he spelled out his core argument on Monday sincere: “Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And, as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.”
I am glad we have a president who sees America that way. That argument cannot just be shrugged off, especially when confronting a dictator like Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. But, at the same time, I believe that it is naïve to think that we can be humanitarians only from the air — and now we just hand the situation off to NATO, as if it were Asean and we were not the backbone of the NATO military alliance, and we’re done.
I don’t know Libya, but my gut tells me that any kind of decent outcome there will require boots on the ground — either as military help for the rebels to oust Qaddafi as we want, or as post-Qaddafi peacekeepers and referees between tribes and factions to help with any transition to democracy. Those boots cannot be ours. We absolutely cannot afford it — whether in terms of money, manpower, energy or attention. But I am deeply dubious that our allies can or will handle it without us, either. And if the fight there turns ugly, or stalemates, people will be calling for our humanitarian help again. You bomb it, you own it.
Which is why, most of all, I hope President Obama is lucky. I hope Qaddafi’s regime collapses like a sand castle, that the Libyan opposition turns out to be decent and united and that they require just a bare minimum of international help to get on their feet. Then U.S. prestige will be enhanced and this humanitarian mission will have both saved lives and helped to lock another Arab state into the democratic camp.
Dear Lord, please make President Obama lucky.
A version of this op-ed appears in print on March 30, 2011, on Page A27 of the New York edition with the headline: Looking For Luck In Libya. Today's Paper|Subscribe
Middle East Protests (2010-11)
Thomas L. Friedman
Foreign affairs, globalization and technology.
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Add Todd Zeile's Name to Legends
I had this printed back in 2006 in Legends of the Game, a Strato-Sphere publication. I remembered it today because of the mention of Daryl Boston's name in an article I was reading. So, here is the reprint. This actually happened.
This happened quite a few years ago, I would guess about 1991.
Todd Zeile was on the opposite team versus my Pittsburgh Pirates. He single-handedly destroyed my club by hitting four homeruns. Four homeruns is special, but what made this feat even more spectacular is that Zeile hit for the homerun cycle – solo shot, two-run shot, three-run shot, grand slam. Additionally, Darryl Boston hit a homerun off a lefty in that game. For those who remember the left-handed hitting Boston, that in itself was quite a feat.
I've played thousands of games since, none have matched that one.
Packer Quarterback in 2025
BRASS Regular Season Winding Down
One month to go, sportsfans.
In the Gold League, the Plainsfield Hitmen and the Diamond Gems are neck and neck at 104-36 in the battle for home field advantage in the playoffs. Both lead their respective divisions by wide margins. Meanwhile the Steel Division title remains up for grabs with the Green Bay Yoopers (78-62) holding a three-game lead over the New York Giants. The wild card race is exciting, too. Three teams are battling for two spots. The Great Kills Ghosts lead the race with a 77-63 mark. New York holds the second wild card slot with the Twin City Challengers just a game back.
The Silver League divisional races were wrapped up some time ago. Montreal (96-44), East Lyme (91-49) and Duluth-Superior (91-49) are waiting to see who will join them in the playoffs. As in the Silver League, three teams are vieing for two wild card slots. The Southtown Misers (74-66) and Dayton Dragons (71-69) are the frontrunners, but the Phoenix Phoenix have a shot at 70-70.
Alfonso Soriano continues his push for MVP honors in the Gold League. He is having a phenomenal season. He leads the league with 127 runs, 49 homeruns and 136 RBIs. Did I forget to mention his 53 steals? I don't know if it's been done before, but with one more homerun, he could attain the first 50-50 season in BRASS history. Meanwhile, his teammate, Chien-Ming Wang, leads the league with a 20-6 mark.
The Silver League MVP race is tighter, but Travis Hafner seems to have a leg up on his rivals. Hafner is hitting .327 (2nd), has scored 102 runs (4th), has 38 doubles (7th), 45 homeruns (2nd) and leads all BRASS with 138 RBIs. Brett Myers leads the league in wins with 18 victories. Oddly enough, Jeff Francis of defending champ Cream City, which is suffering during its one-year rebuild at 42-98 mark, leads the ERA race with a 3.01 mark.


Inland Varsity girls athlete of the week:…
Inland Varsity girls athlete of the week: Maniyah Willingham, Arroyo Valley
Maniyah Willingham of Arroyo Valley basketball is the Inland area’s girls athlete of the week. (Photo courtesy of Arroyo Valley High basketball)
By Pete Marshall |
PUBLISHED: January 7, 2019 at 8:03 pm | UPDATED: January 7, 2019 at 8:10 pm
The Inland Varsity girls athlete of the week:
Name: Maniyah Willingham
School: Arroyo Valley
Year: Junior
Noteworthy: Willingham led the Hawks to wins over Silverado and Victor Valley to secure the Serrano Tournament championship. She scored a season-high 23 points against Silverado, making 11 of 16 shots from the field, adding six rebounds, three assists and 10 steals. In the championship game against Victor Valley, she had 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and five steals. She is averaging 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 4.2 steals this season.
Gospel truth: La Luz del Mundo started building in Ontario 8 years ago
Pete Marshall started his career as a freelancer for The Sun in 1991, then later was hired full time by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in 1995. Since then he has covered a variety of sports for the Daily Bulletin and The Sun, primarily high school sports and minor league baseball. He's been doing it long enough that he's now covering the children of student-athletes he covered when he first started.
Follow Pete Marshall	@PeteMarshallLaw


Autonomous region: Cantabria
Province/Island: Cantabria
Way of Saint James, the first European Cultural Route and World Heritage Site. See more
The history of Santoña has always been linked to the sea, to such an extent that it is the Cantabrian's major canning port. Its industry is based above all on the commercialization of tuna and its famous anchovies in olive oil. Santoña is divided into two areas: the town centre, which sits on a plain, and a mountainous area on the slopes of El Brusco and El Buciero. The history of the town is linked to the Monastery of Santa María del Puerto, which later gave rise to the Romanesque church of Santa María del Puerto. It was built between the 13th and 17th centuries and houses a reredos of San Bartolomé with Flemish paintings from the 15th century. Equally significant are its military fortifications, grouped around the mountain of Buciero, which is evidence of the strategic importance of the port. Still in good condition are the forts of San Martín, San Carlos and Mazo or Napoleon.
See all the information on the destination at:
http://www.turismosantona.com/english/
Must see views in: Santoña
Monument to Juan de la Cosa
Church of Santa María del Puerto
Map/Location
In the following map you'll find the locations of all the incredible views that we have recommended. Don't miss a thing!
Spectacular Cantabria: Unique and Infinite
Day 1. ...(+See more)
Noja,Santillana del ...
See forecast: Santoña>
>Laredo
>Noja
>Castro Urdiales


Written by Gerald H. Nelson • Fred B. Burch
Album This song officially appears on the Red Rose Speedway (2018) Official album.
Sessions This song has been recorded during the following sessions
Red Rose Speedway sessions at Olympic Studios (March 1972)
Other unreleased songs from the double-album Red Rose Speedway project
Jazz Street
Tough On A Tightrope
Trans Lunar Rising
“Tragedy” is a song by Gerald H. Nelson and Fred B. Burch. A recording of the song by Thomas Wayne and the DeLons rose to #5 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1959. A 1961 cover version by The Fleetwoods rose to #10 on the charts. Brian Hyland also recorded it in 1969, but it only made it to #56.
Wayne’s hit version was released on Memphis, Tennessee-based Fernwood Records, which was owned by Ronald “Slim” Wallace (1957–1965). The single was made with a trio of girls recruited from the local high school. Wayne was a one hit wonder who cut around 20 songs including a remake of his hit for the reactivated Sun label which sounds similar to the original. Some of his other songs were hits for others such as “This Time” (Troy Shondell) and “Girl Next Door Went a Walkin’” (Elvis Presley). Despite all of his recordings for 3 different labels before his death in a car crash on August 15, 1971, he never cut an album and there has never been any CD been issued of his songs.
Paul McCartney and Wings also recorded a version of the song for the planned 2 LP set Red Rose Speedway. The idea for the 2 LP set was later abandoned and instead they released a single LP with the same title, but without “Tragedy”. […]
“Tragedy” covered by Wings has finally been issued as part of the 2018 reissue of Red Rose Speedway.
Wind and storm (ooh-ooh)
Gone's the sun (the sun, ooh)
From the stars my dark has come
You've gone from me, oh, oh, tragedy (ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)
Oh, come back
Have me here
Hold me, love
Be sincere
You've gone from me, oh, oh, tragedy (ee-ee, ee-ee, ee-ee, ee-ee)
(ah, ah, ah)
Like smoke from a fire
Of love oh, oh, oh, ooh
Our dreams have all gone
Above oh, oh, oh, ooh
Blown by wind
Kissed by snow
All that's left is the dark be-ee-ee-low
You've gone from me, oh, oh, tragedy
(Oh, oh, oh)
Red Rose Speedway (2018)
Performed by:
Paul McCartney • Linda McCartney • Denny Laine • Henry McCullough • Denny Seiwell
Mark Vigars:
Mixing assistant engineer
Glyn Johns:
Richard Lush:
Alex Wharton:
Steve Orchard:
Phil Ault:
Recording assistant engineer
The Alternate Red Rose Speedway Volume 1: The Original Acetate
The Alternate Red Rose Speedway Volume 2: Outtakes & Rough Mixes
Complete Cold Cuts
3:17 • Alternate take	• Basic Track
3:21 • Alternate take	• Rough Mix
See all bootlegs containing “Tragedy”
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
Katie 3 months ago
Ah, my favorite McCartney quote; "Find more lyrics at ? Mojim.com"
The PaulMcCartney Project 2 months ago
oooops :D Thanks for noticing Katie


Even After Aaron Hernandez Killed Himself, No One Seems To Care About Inmate Suicide
Diana Moskovitz
Filed to: Aaron HernandezFiled to: Aaron Hernandez
Jail Suicides
prison suicides
Photo: Elaine Thompson/Associated Press
Aaron Hernandez—convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd, charged but not guilty of murdering Safiro Furtado and Daniel de Abreu, living in prison after once being paid millions to play football—died with $7.20 in his inmate kiosk. The final printout registering his account said the balance will be released. It did not say who will receive it.
The final hours of Hernandez’s life are laid out in hundreds of pages of Massachusetts State Police documents. They range from dozens of incident reports filed by officers documenting their movements in the moments after his body was discovered to redacted interviews with other inmates to his discipline history to his toiletries. They note that Hernandez bought 977 pieces of media. (The last songs he bought, on April 13, were “Earned It” and “False Alarm” by The Weeknd and “Unfaithful” and “Selfish Girl” by Rihanna.)
These are among the thousands of picayune details pored over by reporters searching for clues about what led to Hernandez’s death by suicide. Since the news first broke nearly six months ago, seemingly every one of these details has been repurposed to fit under some sordid headline. You’ve seen these: Was Hernandez gay? Was Hernandez bisexual? Was Hernandez in a relationship behind bars? Was he a bad inmate? Was he in a gang? Did he have CTE? Did CTE make him commit his crimes? Did CTE cause him to kill himself? In death, Hernandez has become a vehicle for whatever headlines and narratives seem most compelling, or convenient, at that moment.
There is a story about Hernandez that few reporters and columnists want to touch, though, and which is not buried in the details surrounding his death. It’s the story of Hernandez’s death itself, which exists within the context of an ongoing national crisis. In 2014, 249 people committed suicide in state or federal prisons, according to federal data. Another 372 people died by suicide while in jail, which made suicide the leading cause of death in American jails. A person in prison or jail is more likely to commit suicide than a person who isn’t. This isn’t limited to the harshly punitive systems in traditionally conservative states, either. Liberal-leaning California has struggled with prison overcrowding and suicides, while Massachusetts’ prison system has been the focus of multiple Boston Globe investigations by the newspaper’s famed Spotlight Team.
And yet the question of how Hernandez was able to kill himself in prison, despite living under some the most supervised conditions possible in American life, somehow remains largely untouched and even unanswerable. This is despite the fact that just about everything else about his life behind bars, from his sexual orientation to the contours of his brain to the night in jail that he binged on honey buns, has been placed before the public by journalists as evidence of whatever point it was they wanted to make.
“This place ain’t shit to me. I’ll run this place and keep running it. Prison ain’t shit to me.”
Any discussion of Hernandez’s life in prison should begin by acknowledging that the actions that landed him there were truly horrifying. He was found guilty by a jury of murdering Odin Lloyd and, according to prosecutors, the motivation was merely that Lloyd knew something that bothered him. (One theory is that Lloyd knew too much about Hernandez’s role in a deadly 2012 drive-by shooting.) Hernandez deserved to be punished, but that’s not all he deserved. A criminal conviction is not a mandate to strip a person of their humanity and will to live, although America has, through the mechanism of its prison system, increasingly allowed it to become just that.
Since his death, prison officials in Massachusetts have released hundreds of pages documenting Hernandez’s life and death. His three-page “offender fact sheet” has a long list of “inmate characteristics,” that include race (white), “hispanic_flag” (yes), “comprehend English” (yes), culture (American), and religion (Christian). There’s an alias list that include “Hernandez,” “Boom,” “Double A,” “Rokk Boy,” “Chico,” “A Money,” and “Can’t Get Right.” Every one of his many tattoos is given a date, a time, location, and description, then documented, again, with photos.
Even before his conviction, Hernandez’s life was the subject of hundreds of reports from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, which oversaw him before the conviction. The documentation ranges from Hernandez having an illegal “fishing line” to his stuffing his face with about 20 honey buns he got on accident so he wouldn’t have to return them to Hernandez calling an officer, who had denied him an extra meal tray, a “scared bitch” he would kill when he gets out of jail. (In his failed appeal, Hernandez wrote that he had said, “I’m going to slap the shit out of them.”) He threatened officers several times. He punched one inmate, spit at another, and curses a lot. In one appeal—a failed one regarding whether he spit at an inmate—he gave all his explanations in hashtag format.
The sheriff’s office reports, as obtained by NBC Boston, end in March of 2015. Once he was convicted in April of that year, the responsibility for Hernandez shifted to the state’s corrections department. The first incident or discipline report to mention Hernandez while he was in prison isn’t about something he did; it’s three pages filed by two different sergeants explaining why they looked up Hernandez in April 2015, the same month he was sentenced to life. One sergeant wrote in his incident report that he looked up Hernandez to make sure there was no conflict with the booking of another inmate but, “I don’t think I ever looked past the initial Administrative/V-stat/Admin view screen.” Another wrote that he looked up Hernandez because he heard Hernandez’s inmate number and “without thinking properly” put it into the system. In the inevitable quasi-military syntax found in such reports, one sergeant closes his report with, “I apologize for my actions and will face any discipline for me.”
In May of that year, Hernandez had his first disciplinary report. On May 13, a perimeter security officer, shortened to IPS in many reports, said that he noticed a new tattoo on Hernandez’s neck: the word “lifetime” and, below it, “loyalty,” with a hand sign making the L and the ending Y. Behind “loyalty” was a five-point star, and below the star was “a skull head on a spider web with flames as a foundation.” This was confirmed by another officer the next day.
On May 16, another disciplinary report. An inner perimeter officer, “while randomly monitoring inmate phone calls,” noticed an inmate’s pin was used to make a phone call. Video showed the inmate using that pin was Hernandez, not the inmate assigned the number. The call lasted 14 minutes. Again, Hernandez was given “loss canteen.”
The next day, Hernandez was the subject of two disciplinary reports. The first one says that, about 9:25 a.m., Hernandez “assisted with a non-witnessed altercation by acting as a lookout.” The report doesn’t give much detail, thanks in part to everyone else’s name being redacted, except that two inmates were inside the cell for eight minutes, and during that time Hernandez was seen going in and out of the cell several times. A little more than 12 hours later, the next report picks up. Hernandez was “tampering with a locking device, and being insolent toward staff.”
For these violations, Hernandez racked up the following sanctions: 45 units of “loss visits,” 60 units of “loss canteen,” 30 units of “loss telephone,” and 10 units of disciplinary detention, which the reports said were balanced out by 10 credits he had for disciplinary detention.
On June 10, 2015, Hernandez reported that the power in his cell was out. In July, he was written up in a disciplinary report on the 15th when a corrections officer “found a curtain hanging from the top bunk” as well as a curtain “hung across the doorway, obstructing the view” into Hernandez’s cell. Hernandez was placed “on AA” (the report does not clarify what AA is) and given “loss canteen” for 15 days. Nine days later, the same officer noticed another fresh tattoo on Hernandez during a pat search of inmates entering a recreation yard. For this, Hernandez had “loss of yard” for 30 days.
He ends the month being found guilty of smoking a homemade cigarette. Loss of canteen again, this time 60 days.
By August, Hernandez is on his eighth disciplinary report. This time, he got in a fight, which would go on to be the subject, in the highly-documented life of a prison inmate, of 15 incident reports.
“A spontaneous use of force”
According to the reports, Hernandez, who had been assigned to a new cell, went inside and put down his things. The other inmate, whose name is redacted, went up to Hernandez and they “exchanged words.” What those were isn’t noted by any of the reports, but they resulted in the two “exchanging closed fist punches.” Two officers told the inmates to stop, but they didn’t. This led to “a spontaneous use of force” and a “chemical agent was dispersed,” two phrases used again and again in the reports. What ultimately broke up the fight was officers separating the two men; one inmate was grabbed by his right shoulder and Hernandez was “guided” to the ground by two officers who took control of his upper torso. After medical staff cleared him, Hernandez was offered a “decontamination shower,” which he refused.
Video surveillance would later show that Hernandez threw the first punch, documents said, after the unnamed inmate went up and tried to shake his hand.
The final disciplinary report on the fight says that video surveillance as well as “confidential information” found that the two men had gotten into the fight for a reason that was redacted. It later says that “both [redacted] have been known to feud with each other within the institution.” The details are redacted.
Hernandez had 10 units of disciplinary detention, as well as loss of gym.
Four more reports show malfunctions with the electrical outlets in Hernandez’s cell, stretching from late 2015 into early 2016. On Dec. 3, 2015, he’s found with a weapon, described in the report as a “5 3/4 inch piece of metal sharpened to a point with a cloth handle and a wrist tether.” It was found in his personal belongings. This meant more disciplinary detention and loss of canteen. In February, he was hit in the face during a basketball game, leaving him with blood on his shirt and a bloody nose. In May, he said he lost his inmate ID card. In June, he got in another fight; that one generated 10 incident reports.
One corrections officer wrote that a fight was reported during the “movement of inmates.” Lt. Curtis Keezer saw Hernandez and the other inmates, whose name is redacted, “exchanging closed fist punches.” The other inmates around them were ordered to “lock in.” A lieutenant told the two men to separate and they didn’t, so the lieutenant “disbursed an application of chemical agent towards the inmates.” (Another report later clarifies this to be “MK-IV chemical agent.”) The inmates separated. One prison officer restrained the unnamed inmates. Two more restrained Hernandez: “I took control of inmate Hernandez’ left arm and left upper torso, and Sgt. Peterson took control of his right arm and right torso.” A third tried to get Hernandez in “restraints,” but the former NFL star resisted.
“Inmate Hernandez was agitated, resisting staff, and attempted to reengage with [redacted],” corrections officer Joseph Prato wrote. “He refused to comply with being placed in restraints, and Lt. Keezer issued an order to direct him to the floor. At this time, I applied pressure to his left torso and assisted responders in bringing Hernandez to the floor. CO Mitchell placed Hernandez in restraints at that time. Responders escorted both inmates to be medically cleared for segregation, and I had no further contact with any inmates.”
The punishment was more disciplinary detention, and 45 “units” of “loss visits.”
On Sept. 19, 2016, he was disciplined for having a homemade lighter. It was found after he refused to go through a metal detector during a strip search; Hernandez had stashed it in the waistband of his scrubs. Whatever he was using it to smoke has been redacted. He lost 30 units of gym. The next month, he was written up for “having another inmate locked in his cell.” The last report comes five months before his death. Hernandez reported that a light in his cell was broken.
There the prison reports end, at least until the day of Hernandez’s death. But days before his death, Hernandez was already in the news, courtesy of Boston sports-talk radio.
“He’s probably doing well for himself, uh, romantically perhaps.”
The opposite of the informational black box that is a U.S. prison or jail would be the roaring 24/7 noise pollution of sports-talk radio. It’s hard to know exactly when the public questioning of Aaron Hernandez’s sexuality began, but it started before he died and, to little surprise, seems to have begun on air in Boston. Two days before Hernandez’s death, journalist Michele McPhee appeared on the Kirk and Callahan show to plug her new book about the Boston Marathon bombing. First, though, they talked about Hernandez.
Callahan: “Michele knows the real motive for the murder of Odin Lloyd. And let’s just say that Odin Lloyd caught Aaron Hernandez in a compromising position.”
McPhee: “Let’s just say that Aaron Hernandez was a former tight end before he was kicked off the Patriots.”
Kirk: “Tight end on and off the field as well.”
Multiple people: “Yes”
Callahan (through giggles): “And then he became a wide receiver.”
Kirk: “So you think he’s comfortable in the prison lifestyle? He’s probably doing well for himself, uh, romantically perhaps.”
McPhee: “Well look it, he got a tattoo made out of, like, melted boot ink. Right, like melted boot rubber. He got a tattoo that says ‘lifetime’ which is kind of a chick Netflix, right? A whole chick network.”
Someone says “that’s true” in the background as McPhee talks.
Callahan: “Well, he is a beautiful young man.”
Kirk: “He really is.”
McPhee: “Let’s just say that Aaron Hernandez is known to kick with both feet.”
Kirk: “There you go.”
Callahan: “Wow. That’s big. And Odin Lloyd knew it and Odin Lloyd was, uh, telling people.”
McPhee: “He made the unfortunate move, Odin Loyd did, to say that out loud to somebody.”
They eventually got around to talking about McPhee’s book about the Boston Marathon bombing. McPhee said that one of her sources told her that one of the people involved in the bombing is “totally illegal.” That led to this brief exchange about 33 minutes in:
Kirk: “Straight or gay?”
Michele: “Well, that’s Aaron Hernandez.”
Kirk: “Oh right.”
McPhee would solidify the ready-made narrative with her own article about Hernandez’s suicide in Newsweek, headlined “Aaron Hernandez’s Sex Life Probed As Murder Motive, Police Source Says.” She followed that five days later with “‘I Think I’m Going To Hang It Up, Lol’: Aaron Hernandez Note To Prison Boyfriend.” By then, the story had already spread to the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the Daily Mail, and Radar, among other outlets. TMZ reported on it by offering the staunch denials from Hernandez’s lawyer. This went on for more than a month, spreading until even the New Yorker worked the salacious story into its pages, fretting about “The Worrisome Reporting On Aaron Hernandez’s Sexuality.” That story quoted all the people you would expect—a Globe editor, a Boston sports-radio douchebag, an ethicist with the Poynter Institute. All of them talked about whether they thought it was okay to report, posthumously, on Hernandez’s sexuality.
Nothing of much substance has come out since to support McPhee’s narrative, which without any hard proof still managed to go on for more than a month before dropping out of the headlines. That was long enough to occlude all discussion of the larger context within which Hernandez died, and to reduce his death to a joke without a punchline. Meanwhile, prison officials went about the task of investigating the death.
“Nothing seemed out of the ordinary”
The day of Hernandez’s death, investigators interviewed his fellow inmates. Who or how many are impossible to know from the documents because all their names are redacted. The documents look like this:
These prisoners, whoever they were, had heard the rumors. One inmate told them “the 98.5 radio broadcast had been disrespectful saying he deserved what he got and had also mentioned that they had brought up the fact that Hernandez may be gay.”
The report does provide summaries, written by the investigators, of what the anonymous inmates said. One is a terse four lines, summarizing what “inmates assigned to the G2 Housing Unit” told them.
Consistent among the inmates interviewed was that Hernandez kept to himself, was very spiritual, appeared to be positive, liked to meditate and did not observe him to be acting differently or having any issues. Others indicated that they kept to themselves and did not get involved with Hernandez or any other inmates.
A second report says that it, too, includes the interviews with inmates in the G2 housing unit, once again represented by a long block of redacted names. As summarized by the inner-perimeter security officers, these inmates called Hernandez a “private inmate.” Even those who interacted with him daily described it as “a respectful relationship with only ‘Hi’ or ‘Bye’ type of reactions. Many inmates said they had congratulated Hernandez on his recent court decision.”
Those who were closer to Hernandez described him as excited after his verdict—describing him as “positive and even happily emotional, which was not usual for Hernandez—but overall, they said he was acting normal.
Another paragraph says it comes from inmates who said they were “tight” or “real close” with Hernandez. They, too, say nothing seemed wrong with Hernandez, but also note how he changed in prison, growing more spiritual.
The last source is a person “who claimed to be one of Hernandez’s closest friends.” This person says Hernandez was always spiritual, was looking forward to the future and talked about playing football again.
The very last summary is “one of the last inmates interviewed.” It’s mostly blacked out.
To read the official investigation is to retrace the steps of officers searching for something, anything, to explain what happened. An inmate, name inevitably redacted, is said via “intelligence” to have been inside Hernandez’s prison cell for about two hours on April 17. There’s an interview done and whatever happened is “referred to the Internal Affairs unit.” No inmates were removed or transferred from Hernandez’s housing unit during the week before. Hernandez’s property is rounded up by officials; a postmortem examination reveals that no drugs were found in his system. If anything definitive was found, of any kind, it was redacted.
Before his death, Hernandez made five phone calls, in which “Hernandez does not make any apparent indication of any intent to harm himself.” He went back to his cell, alone, around 8 p.m. The door stayed locked until an officer, doing checks, noticed that the window has been blocked. A note to Hernandez’s fianceé, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez—first revealed by prosecutors—promised her that she’ll be rich, but didn’t explain how or why.
The final report, dated May 4, reaches no conclusions about why Hernandez killed himself. There is no discussion of if any warning signs were missed or prevention of suicide going forward. The case is closed, it says, unless new information is uncovered.
“It’s not surprising”
“Suicide in prisons and jail is a very significant problem, and in a way that’s odd because these are environments of total control,” David Fathi, director of the ACLU’s national prison project, told me. “The staff controls where the prisoners are. What they do. They are under 24-hour surveillance. So, theoretically, there should be no suicides in prisons or jails. There should be no homicides in prisons or jails.
“But the reality is that suicide is much more common among incarcerated people than the general population, and there [are] a number of reasons for that.”
Fathi says there are several key contributing factors. People with mental illness are vastly overrepresented in prisons and jails, and mental-health care in prisons and jails is “by and large abysmal.” All of this is on top of the inherently stressful nature of jails and prisons.
“Prisons can be violent places. Particularly people who have recently been incarcerated and are facing a long period of time, maybe a life sentence, that’s an extraordinary stressor,” Fathi said. “Any type of violence perpetrated on someone by staff or other prisoners can be a trigger for suicide. And solitary confinement, which is endemic in our prison system, is a well known cause of suicide ...
“You put this all together—a needy population, inadequate mental health treatment, and a very stressful environment—and it is a recipe for suicide.”
This has been revisited, again and again, in Massachusetts. The day of Hernandez’s death, the Globe ran an article that recapped much of the work done by its Spotlight Team, and the half-hearted responses by government officials. Advocacy groups sued the corrections department in 2007 alleging civil rights violations, just as a Globe Spotlight series revealed deepening mental illness and misery behind the walls of the state’s prisons. From that recap:
That series also identified numerous problems, including botched background screenings on suicidal inmates, missing mental health records, and skipped security rounds by officers.
The correction department hired a consultant, made several improvements to the segregation unit system, and attempted to reach a deal on the lawsuit.
However, those negotiations failed, and plans for change were shelved because of the state’s fiscal crisis.
The department then saw another sharp increase in suicides, with 13 prisoners killing themselves between 2009 and 2010, including three at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
In response to an outcry from inmate advocates, the state rehired the consultant who had conducted the 2007 review.
The consultant said his subsequent review of the prisons, released in 2011, found that the Correction Department had once again made reforms, including increased training and new protocols for assessing inmates’ mental illnesses.
The department also created new alternatives to the segregation unit. In 2012, as part of a settlement of the advocates’ lawsuit, a federal judge ordered the department to maintain those alternatives.
Suicides at Massachusetts prisons have not been eliminated, though. Advocates for prisoners said earlier this year that they believed the state was illegally isolating mentally ill inmates, and the situation is even worse in jails. A few weeks after Hernandez’s death, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting highlighted the ugly fact that since 2012, more than twice as many people have died by suicide in Massachusetts jails than in the state’s prisons. That matches the national trend of rising rates of suicides in local jails, even when the jail population overall decreases. America’s largest mental health hospital is a Chicago jail.
“Many of the of people who are committing suicides in jails have never been sentenced,” said Brad Brockmann, director of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights.
“In 1970, there were about 200,000 prisoners in the United States. Because of the war on drugs, ‘getting tough on crime,’ and de-institutionalization, we now have 2.3 million. Literally, in 40 years the complexion of corrections has changed considerably,” said Robert Dumond, a licensed and board certified clinical mental-health counselor who has worked on these issues with prison systems, including Massachusetts, since 1970. He also has testified before the U.S. Department of Justice about prison rape.
“There are more people in jail and prisons than in the entirety of hospitals nationwide,” Dumond said, adding that “corrections was never meant to be a mental health facility.”
“No one knows why”
Last month, researchers at Boston University announced that they had discovered evidence of CTE in Hernandez’s brain. This isn’t surprising if you’ve followed the research on football and the brain trauma it can cause; it also doesn’t mean that CTE caused either Hernandez’s murderous behavior or his suicide. That did not stop reporters and columnists from drawing the connection, seemingly thrilled to have finally found a way to explain Hernandez’s death that didn’t even involve parsing the ethics of outing a dead man. The Hernandez family’s lawyer, Jose Baez, made it easy, like when he was asked if he blamed Hernandez dying by suicide on CTE and responded, “We are still investigating everything. But the presumptive answer for that is yes.”
Alan Schwarz, the reporter to whom much of America owes its understanding of CTE, deftly dismantled this thinking, writing:
What does remain hard to understand—maddeningly so—is how truths about a group do not necessarily extend to all individuals within it. CTE does not inexorably seize the brain and control actions. Plenty of players, particularly those with early stages of the disease, seem to have been relatively unaffected by it, and no one knows why, whether it’s because of genetics or anything else. Further confounding matters, too many non-football-playing men act erratically and suffer from dementia to resolutely ascribe any specific case to football. Behavior at the individual level is too complicated, deriving from one’s parents, environment, trauma, experiences, genetics and so much more, to let CTE or anything stand alone as the explanation for their actions.
The "CTE Drove Aaron Hernandez" Narrative Is Too Convenient, And Dangerous
The hits arrived swiftly, recklessly, striking brains and causing damage. Not tackles on this…
The history of reporting on the NFL and brain damage suggests that this sort of argument will find little purchase with commentators and reporters who either can’t understand the truth, or have no motivation to do so.
“We heard about this because it was Aaron Hernandez”
On April 23, 27-year-old Jesse J. Arvizo killed himself. His body was found in his Arizona prison cell—dubbed an “assigned housing location” in the cold parlance of a press release—and his cause of death was described as an “apparent act of self-harm.” His death would be followed by a morbid succession of inmate suicides in the Arizona prison system: James J. Krauss, 42, on May 4; Pedro S. Gonzalez, 60, on May 8; Dean L. Mills, 61, on May 13; Jonathan D. Wilson, 31, on Aug. 7. Several more inmates died in suspected homicides.
Their deaths generated a few stories in Arizona, but not didn’t get much attention beyond the southwestern state’s borders, which was no surprise. Their names were not Aaron Hernandez, after all. How little can Americans care about suicides behind bars? Even when one of the most famous inmates in America—a man who was a star in the nation’s richest and most popular sport, on a team so swathed in Americana that its mascot is a cartoon Patriot and its team colors are red, white, and blue—becomes part of a national epidemic, the broader wave of prison suicides will still be the last storyline considered. It will be given some thought in local news organizations, if that, and almost nowhere else.
“We heard about this because it was Aaron Hernandez,” Brockmann told me. “If it was anyone else, everyone would be going about their business.”
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Aaron Hernandez's Murder Conviction Vacated
Police Release Their Report On Aaron Hernandez's Death By Suicide
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