Pilots beware: some runways are now parking lots
Sometime, usually in elementary school, kids will try to stump their friends with the question: Why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?
Now, commercial pilots can add a new layer to the rhetoric: What happens when you have to park your jets on a runway?
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As airlines increasingly scale back their operations in response to the coronavirus-related demand slump, they increasingly have to find new places to store their aircraft.
That dilemma has become so widespread that the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) on "temporary parking of overflow aircraft" last week, urging pilots, airlines and airport operators to coordinate with one another and use extreme caution at facilities that have planes parked in space that's usually used for takeoffs and landings.
Related: Airlines, airports shift terminals as passenger traffic craters.
Such conditions exist at a number of airports around the country, and not just the usual suspects either.
Airlines have parked planes in Victorville, California and Marana and Tucson in Arizona, of course. That's not unusual; those airports are known as places where airlines park airplanes they don't need. But Delta and American have both sent planes to wait out the pandemic in the Southeast, in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama, respectively. American also sent planes to storage in Pittsburgh and Hawaiian Airlines parked some aircraft on a runway in Honolulu. In Atlanta, an entire runway was given over to idled Delta jets.
The FAA warned in its notice that such parking arrangements can make regular ground operations riskier. Pilots at airports using runways for parking need to exercise extra caution, the SAFO said, because aircraft parked on runways increase the chance of accidents.
Related: TSA by the numbers: passenger volume down 90% in coronavirus slump.
For now though, amid low demand, it seems keeping planes moving is less of an immediate concern than figuring out where to put the ones that are no longer in use.
Read more: 5 key elements of the $50 billion airline aid package.
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The revamped Wander Card from Credit One Bank earns cardmembers up to 10 points per dollar spent on eligible travel purchases. With no foreign transaction fees, the card is also great for international travel. However, points earned from this card can only be used at a fixed value, so it may not be the best option for those striving to get maximum value from their rewards.Pros
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- While cardholders can earn a significant amount of points on travel purchases, there isn't any way to redeem points from the Wander Card for maximum value (beyond 1 cent per point).
- Earn 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on eligible purchases in the first 90 days and redeem for a $100 statement credit, gift cards, or travel
- Earn 10x points on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through the Credit One Bank travel site
- Earn 5x points on eligible travel, dining, and gas
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- Redeem your reward points for statement credits, gift cards, merchandise, flights, hotels, and more
- With $0 Fraud Liability, you won’t be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Free Online Credit Score and Credit Report summary, terms apply
- If you are a Covered Borrower under the Military Lending Act, you may get a different offer
- See Rates & Fees