Has Wings. Can it Fly?

Top Story out of Myrtle Beach: Hooter's Air Goes Ti...err never mind. Not much shedding of tears to hear that Hooter's Air has lost its support. Sagging sales and escalating fuel costs sucked cash flow. A failure to push-up market share and a growing cleavage between staff and management are cited as factors in its demise, as impending labour disputes could not be nipped in the bud. Market projections failed to keep abreast of changing demographics and missed the opportunity to capitalize on this year's Spring Break bounce.

Sheena's crack investigation team is also researching this story: 1000-person staff reduction announcement from Delta Airlines this week.

Better known as "Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport", few people realized that Delta was under contract to provide maintenance and other services to Hooter's Air. Sometimes, important facts like this are learned the hard way.

In Atlanta airport last year. One day meeting. Booked on a Delta flight home. No checked luggage. Can't use auto-checkin because final destination is Canada. So the helpful check in clerk points Sheena towards the "International" check in desk. This is not going as planned, is the thought recalled most vividly. The lineup was a couple hundred people deep. "But! I'm just going up to Canada, have no luggage to check and I'll miss my flight if I get into that lineup!". After hemming and hawing the attendant did me a big favour. She pointed to the near-empty lineup under the big clock. Sheena walks over, inspects the situation and looks backwards. "THIS lineup?" as though some tragic error had been made. "Yes... THAT lineup". I looked at the sign under the big clock and there it was. Hooter's Air.

Sheena got in line. Feeling the burning laser-like glares of the women who walked past her, she refused to make eye contact with any other business traveller. Once fully ticketed and security checked, yours truly whipped out the cell phone and proceeded to call any and all female associates to ensure they were aware of what their choice of carriers meant.

Ah... the wings of the butterly.