Motivation: Praise is better than Criticism

Criticism In the day-to-day rush to get things done, recognizing employees takes a backseat to everything else managers have on their plates. However, praise is important.

A study by Wichita State University found that praise and commendation by a boss is a very strong motivator. The survey also found that nearly three fifths of employees do not receive any form of recognition or appreciation on a regular basis from their supervisors.

Some managers are quick to criticize employees for their mistakes. That employees will be motivated because of the repulsiveness of the criticism and change their behaviors is an absurd notion. For this reason, criticism is very counterproductive. Managers unfortunately do not realize that criticism only motivates employees to do anything to avoid criticism and not focus on doing a better job.

The best managers hit upon creative ways to delivering well-timed, sincere praise to employees who do well. Here is what you can learn from them:

  • The most effective praise is well timed. Good managers praise their employees as soon as the employee displays the desired behavior.
  • Praise is effective only when it is genuine and heartfelt.
  • Managers that excel at recognizing their employees are very specific in their praise. They avoid generalities and discuss identifiable achievements of their employees in such a way that the desired behaviors are reiterated.

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Seth Klarman’s Recommended Books on Investing

Seth Klarman's Recommended Books on Investing

Seth Klarman is an American private equity investor and founder of the Baupost Group, a Boston-based private investment partnership firm. Seth is himself the author of a renowned book on value investing: “Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor.” One of the world’s most respected value investors, he once said,

It is important to remember that value investing is not a perfect science. Rather it is an art, and necessitates dealing with imperfect information. Knowing you will never know everything must not prevent you from acting. It requires a precarious balance between conviction, steadfastness in the face of adversity, and doubt, keeping in mind the possibility that you could be wrong.

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The Worst Business Decision Ever (Hint: Xerox)

What crosses your mind when you think of an archetype of failing to recognize enormous business opportunities and renouncing innovations?

Xerox: The Worst Business Decision Ever

Xerox PARC, now an independent but wholly-owned subsidiary of Xerox, is celebrated for its pioneering technology inventions. It produced the first computer to use the desktop metaphor and mouse-driven graphical user interface (GUI) to let users interact with computers and software. They failed to capitalize on the huge opportunity. Someone else commercialized a large portion of Xerox’s ideas.

Xerox PARC invented the idea of icons, windows-based interfaces and dialogue boxes, point-and-click interfaces, local area networks, WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) text editor and many other technological innovations that are at present part of the very underpinning of the personal computer industry. Years later, Xerox’s management even acknowledged, “whole companies have been built on inventions born at PARC.”

Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)

The fundamental flaw lies in Xerox’s strategy. Xerox’s leadership was preoccupied with determining ways to protect its mainstay, the copier business, from impending competition from Japanese companies. Xerox decided that it was a copier company and let go of the business opportunities in its technological invocations, even if PARC’s innovations had significant potential in the future of nascent personal computer industry. Steve Job’s innovation, the Apple Macintosh, borrowed from the work of PARC and created the first successful commercial computer with a graphical user interface.

The other choice that killed a great business opportunity was the decision by IBM that it was a computer company, not a software company. That made possible the rise of Bill Gates’ Microsoft Corporation, which went on to dominate the world of operating systems and applications software.

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Lockheed L-1011 TriStar: Economy Class Seating Cross-Sections

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

During the early 1960s, Lockheed Corporation, now part of Lockheed Martin, had retreated from the civil airliners market because of recurring problems and early-life crashes of the Lockheed L-188 Electra, the first large turboprop airliner produced in the United States.

In response to interest by American Airlines and other airlines that wanted an aircraft smaller than the Boeing 747, but with the ability to carry large passenger loads on medium haul routes, Lockheed decided to develop the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly known as the L-1011 or TriStar. It was a medium-to-long range, wide-body trijet aircraft. Incidentally, The L-1011 was the third wide-body airliner to enter commercial operations, after the Boeing 747 and the competing trijet McDonnell Douglas DC-10.

Despite an innovative set of features that included automatic landing capabilities, an automated descent control system, and purported cabin space, the TriStar was a commercial failure. The TriStar’s sales were hampered by two years of delays due to developmental and financial problems at engine supplier Rolls-Royce. Lockheed manufactured a total of 250 Tri-Star’s until 1984 and withdrew from the commercial aircraft business due to its below-target sales. This ultimately led to the current Airbus-Boeing duopoly with after Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Key Statistics

  • Manufacturer: Lockheed, now part of Lockheed Martin
  • Power plant: 3 engines Rolls-Royce RB-211-22B turbofans
  • Passenger Accommodations: upto 345
  • Flight altitude: 42,000 feet
  • Flight range: 3,300 miles
  • First flight: 16-Nov-1970
  • Primary customers: British Airways, Trans World Airlines (TWA,) Delta Air Lines, and Eastern Air Lines
  • Number of frames built: 250 between 1968 and 1984

Economy Class Seating Cross-Sections

9 Abreast 3-4-2 seating with Wider Aisles

9 Abreast 3-4-2 seating with Wider Aisles : Economy Cross-Section on the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

9 Abreast 3-4-2 seating with Wider Seats

9 Abreast 3-4-2 seating with Wider Seats : Economy Cross-Section on the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

9 Abreast 2-5-2 seating with Narrower Aisles

9 Abreast 2-5-2 seating with Narrower Aisles : Economy Cross-Section on the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

9 Abreast 3-4-3 seating with Narrow Aisles

10 Abreast 3-4-3 seating with Narrow Aisles : Economy Cross-Section on the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

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Song on Saraswathi in Raga Yaagapriya: Kalaavati Kamalaasana Yuvati

Goddess Saraswathi, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, and science

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775–1834 A.D.), the youngest of the trinity of South Indian Carnatic Classical composers, composed the following in veneration to Goddess Saraswathi, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science. Kalaavati Kamalaasana Yuvati is in raga Yaagapriya and Aditala.

Lyrics

Pallavī

Kalāvatī kamalāsanayuvatī
Kalyānam kalayatu Sarasvatī

Anupallavī

Balābalāmantrārṇarūpiṇī
Bhāratī mātṛkāśarīriṇī
Malālividārīṇī vāgvāṇī
Madhukaraveṇī viṇāpāṇī

Charaṇam

Sarad-jyotsnāśubhrākārā
Śaśivadanā kāśmīravihārā
Varā śāradā parā’ṇkuśadharā
Varadābhayapāśapustakakarā

Surārchitapadāmbujā śobhanā
Śvetapaṇkajāsanā suradanā
Purāri-guruguharañjanī
Murārisnuṣā nirañjanī

Meaning

Pallavī

May Saraswathi, Goddess of Arts, the Sakti of the Creator Brahma, bring about all good things.

Anupallavī

May She the embodiment of the mystic syllables of the twin mantras, balā and abalā (which remove all hunger, thirst and fatigue and bestow all learning), Goddess of Language in the form of the Alphabet, the destroyer of the accumulated obscuring dirt of Ignorance, Goddess of Eloquence (Vāgvāni), of tresses dark like the bees, having on her hands the Veena, bestow all good things.

Charaṇam

May She, whose form is resplendent like the autumnal moon-light, whose face is like the moon, who is the Great Goddess Sarada sporting in Kashmira Country, who is the most subtle form of Sound, who holds in her hands boons and security from fear (for her devotees) and also the goad, the noose and the book, whose lotus feet are adored by the Gods, who (as Lakshmi) is the shining Goddess of beauty with fine rows of teeth, who (as Parvati) delights Siva (Her Lord) and teacher Guha (Her son), may Saraswathi wedded to Creator Brahma born of Vishnu, the Goddess who is Pure, untainted transcendental Being, bring about all good things.

Related Posts

  1. Raga Brindabani Sarang (Kafi Thaat)
  2. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Tells Stories: Devotion and Grace or the Parable of Devicharan and Sarvamangala
  3. Ustad Zakir Hussain’s Tribute to Pandit Ravi Shankar
  4. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Tells Stories: Omnipresence or The Parable of Ganesh and the Divine Mother
  5. The Guru-Shishya Parampara: Oral Tradition of Education in India

Warren Buffett’s Investment Criteria for Berkshire Hathaway Investments

Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett rarely considers aspects of a stock of a company that he might be interested in purchasing for Berkshire Hathaway. He is more interested in the aspects of the business of the candidate company.

Here’s in an effort to clearly summarize Warren Buffett’s strategies on evaluating potential candidate companies for investments of Berkshire Hathaway. While there are not a clear-cut and hard criteria of financial ratios and calculations that Berkshire Hathaway uses to identify potential investments, a compendium of Buffett’s time-tested principles of evaluating potential investments, investors can filter and further research companies that are sound investments and steer clear of the losers they must be avoided at all costs.

  • A candidate company must not have large capital expenditure, high costs of maintenance, or cash flow need for new investments. In his 1994 letter to Berkshire Hathaway investors, Warren wrote, “If you are right about a business whole value is largely dependent on a single key factor that is both easy to understand and enduring, the payoff is the same as if you had correctly analyzed an investment alternative characterized by many constantly shifting and complex variables.”
  • A candidate company must be a player in a good and growing economy or industry. In the Chairman’s Letter of 1996, Warren Buffett stated, “Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily-understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, ten and twenty years from now. Over time, you will find only a few companies that meet these standards – so when you see one that qualifies, you should buy a meaningful amount of stock.”
  • A candidate company’s earnings must be on an upward trend with good and consistent profit margins. “Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio’s market value.”
  • A candidate company must have high and consistent returns on invested capital. Warren Buffet has written, “Leaving the question of price aside, the best business to own is one that over an extended period can employ large amounts of incremental capital at very high rates of return. The worst business to own is one that must, or will, do the opposite – that is, consistently employ ever-greater amounts of capital at very low rates of return.” Also, “Buy companies with strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise.”
  • A candidate company must not be exposed to competition from existing and new companies with abundant resources. To quote Warren Buffett, “In business, I look for economic castles protected by unbreachable moats.” When Berkshire Hathaway acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF,) the economic moat was that no other company could easily afford to build a large new rail network across the United States.
  • A candidate company must have a demonstrated history of retaining earnings for growth. In one of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report, Warren Buffet wrote, “… more subjective, element to an intrinsic value calculation that can be either positive or negative: the efficacy with which retained earnings will be deployed in the future. We, as well as many other businesses, are likely to retain earnings over the next decade that will equal, or even exceed, the capital we presently employ. Some companies will turn these retained dollars into fifty-cent pieces, others into two-dollar bills.”
  • A candidate company must have a strong pricing power and must be free to adjust prices for inflation. In a 2011 interview with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Warren Buffett stated, “The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power. If you’ve got the power to raise prices without losing business to a competitor, you’ve got a very good business. And if you have to have a prayer session before raising the price by 10 percent, then you’ve got a terrible business.”
  • A candidate company must enjoy a low debt/equity ratio or a high earnings/debt ratio. To quote Warren Buffet, “I do not like debt and do not like to invest in companies that have too much debt, particularly long-term debt. With long-term debt, increases in interest rates can drastically affect company profits and make future cash flows less predictable.”
  • A candidate company and it’s products must enjoy a consumer monopoly or have a loyalty-commanding brand. Warren Buffet has said, “I’ll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It’s addictive. And there’s fantastic brand loyalty.” Charlie Munger, business partner of Warren Buffett, stated about Harley Davidson, “Any company that gets its customers to tattoo ads on their chests can’t be all bad.”
  • A candidate company must have a strong management that has a history of allocating capital to good business opportunities and profit from such investments. On management, Warren Buffett is quoted as saying, “I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.” On capital allocation, Warren has stated, “To decide whether to retain the capital, we have to answer the question: do we create more than $1 of value for every dollar we retain? Historically, the answer has been yes and we hope this will continue to be the case in the future, but it’s not certain.”

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Bertrand Russell Critique of Christianity and Religion

British philosopher and Nobel Prize winner Bertrand Russell argued very persuasively through his writings and speeches that religion was merely a fallacy and, notwithstanding any positive effects that religion might have on a person’s emotional or psychological well-being, the concept of religion is for the most part detrimental to people. Bertrand Russell resolutely believed that religion and a religious point of view serve to hinder knowledge and cultivate a fear of anxiety, fear, and dependency.

Bertrand Russell, like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and other critics of religion who came after him, held that religion was to blame for war, coercion, tyranny, and misery that have weighed down the world. Here is an excerpt from his essay, “Why I Am Not A Christian”, first a lecture delivered by Russell on 06-Mar-1927 at the Battersea Town Hall (now the Battersea Arts Centre in London) to a gathering of the National Secular Society, South London Branch.

Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes … . A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.

Bertrand Russell on Belief and the Value of Religion

TV Interviewer: Why are you not a Christian?
Bertrand Russell: Because I see no evidence whatever in any of the Christian dogmas. I have examined all the stock arguments in favor of the existence of God and none of them seem to me to be logically valid.

TV Interviewer: Do you think there is a practical reason for having a religious belief for many people?
Bertrand Russell: There can’t be a practical reason for believing what isn’t true. I rule it out. It is impossible. Either a thing is true or it isn’t. If it is true, you should believe in it. If it isn’t, you shouldn’t. And if you can’t find out whether it is true or it isn’t, you should suspend judgment. It seems to me fundamental dishonesty and fundamental treachery to intellectual integrity to hold a belief because you think it is useful and not because you think it is true.

TV Interviewer: I was thinking of those people who find that some kind of religious code helps them to live their lives — it gives them a very strict set of rules — the right and the wrongs.
Bertrand Russell: People are generally quite mistaken. Great many of them do more harm than good and they would probably be able to find rational morality that they could live by if they drop this irrational traditional taboo morality that comes down from savage ages.

TV Interviewer: But are we, perhaps, the ordinary person, perhaps, is not strong enough to find his own personal ethic. They have to have something imposed upon them from outside.
Bertrand Russell: I don’t think that is true. What is imposed on you from outside is of no value whatever. Doesn’t count.

TV Interviewer: You were brought up, of course, as a Christian. When did you first decide that you did not want to remain a believer in the Christian faith?
Bertrand Russell: I never decided that I did not want to remain a believer. Between the ages of 15 and 18, I spent almost all my spare time thinking about Christian dogmas and trying to find out whether there was any reason to believe them. By the time I was 18 I had discarded the last of them.

TV Interviewer: Do you think that that gave you an extra strength in your life?
Bertrand Russell: No, I don’t know. No I shouldn’t have said so. Neither it’s a strength nor the opposite. I was just engaged in the pursuit of knowledge.

TV Interviewer: As you approach the end of life, do you have any fear of some kind of afterlife?
Bertrand Russell: No, that is nonsense.

TV Interviewer: There is no afterlife?
Bertrand Russell: None whatsoever.

TV Interviewer: Do you have any fear of something that is common among atheists and agnostics who have been atheists or agnostics all entire lives, who are converted just before they die to a form of religion.
Bertrand Russell: Well, it doesn’t happen nearly as often as religious people think it does. Because, religious people, most of them, think that it is a virtuous act to tell lies of the deathbeds of agnostics and such. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t happen very often.

Bertrand Russell’s Books on Religion, God, and Atheism

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Book Synopsis: ‘Shift:’ Carlos Ghosn takes you Inside Nissan’s Historic Revival

Carlos Ghosn, Renault-Nissan

In the year 1999, Japanese automaker Nissan was in a downward spiral. The company had accrued massive debts, severe losses, and a badly damaged brand. Nissan had exhausted its strategic options and its managerial resources. It dreadfully needed a global partner and a new chief executive officer. Renault, the French multinational vehicle manufacturer, answered this call for desperation. Established in 1899, Renault was a so-so European automaker with far-from-inspiring prospects.

Renault had thus obtained a 36.8 percent stake in Nissan. Renault CEO Louis Schweitzer put Carlos Ghosn, the company’s second-in-command, in charge of Nissan. Ghosn seemed a perfect choice for the job. At Renault, Carlos Ghosn had earned his standing as a savage cost-cutter and first-rate manager. The French labor unions had begun to call him “Le Cost Killer.”

When he become heir to the helm at Nissan in 1999, it was clear that Carlos Ghosn had been training all his life for this mandate of turning around Nissan. Ghosn’s multicultural background made him unusually well matched to take on the Nissan challenge.

The Making of Carlos Ghosn

Shift: Inside Nissan's Historic Revival by Carlos Ghosn At Nissan, Carlos Ghosn was the definitive outsider. A multi-disciplinary talent who could speak more than a few languages, Ghosn was born in Brazil to Lebanese parents. As a youngster, he relocated to Lebanon at age six and was educated by Jesuits in Beirut. From there, he relocated to France, where he earned degrees in engineering from the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines de Paris, two of France’s most esteemed universities. Alongside, Ghosn learned five languages, a passion for logic and statistical precision, and a gift to perform in unfamiliar—even multi-cultural—landscapes.

In 1978, after graduate studies, Carlos Ghosn joined Michelin, the French tire manufacturer. He swiftly moved up the ranks, from an engineer to plant manager to chief operating officer. He then took a seven-year stint in the United States integrating the Uniroyal-Goodrich operations, which Michelin had just acquired. During his 18 years at Michelin, he established two approaches that would stand him in good stead later in his career: an approach to cross-functional teams, and a methodology to rationalize and consolidate manufacturing operations.

Over the years at Michelin, Carlos Ghosn had recognized that his advancement at the family-owned company was limited. In October 1996, he transited to Renault as its executive vice president for purchasing, manufacturing and R&D. He soon called for upheaval by closing a Renault factory in Belgium and squeezing out billions of operating costs by initiating several efficiency programs with suppliers and in-house units alike. Following a string of efficiency improvements across Renault and consolidations of operating plants, Carlos Ghosn became known as “le cost killer.”

Renault-Nissan Alliance

Carlos Ghosn Led Nissan’s Historic Revival

At Nissan, Carlos Ghosn recognized that crisis was not only essential for organizational transformation, but also a powerful catalyst for it. After years of regretful leadership and disoriented policies, Nissan was headed to bankruptcy. Ghosn first determined just how deep the financial rot ran. He discovered that, inside Nissan, there was a sense of deep denial about the company’s perilous operating and financial condition. Carlos Ghosn went about slashing purchasing costs by 20%, reducing capacity by 30%, closing five factories, and ousting some 20,000 workers through layoffs and attrition. In Japan, large companies were viewed as simply too big to fail. Then Japanese government was expected to rush to the aid of companies if Japan’s keiretsu-linked financial institutions did not.

In his business career, Carlos Ghosn has brought a composed, analytical approach to each managerial problem he has faced. As Ghosn went about in his efforts to transform Nissan, he implemented a quantitative, results-oriented methodology of setting numerical targets and then holding his leaders and their organizations accountable for them. Carlos Ghosn also announced the conclusion of seniority promotions and financial cross-shareholdings with other companies, set meticulous financial targets and declared that he would quit if he did not meet his own demanding targets. His drastic plans made were opposed by Japanese management traditionalists. He was also reprimanded by the powerful Japan Auto Parts Industries Association.

Carlos Ghosn also invested heavily in Renault-Nissan’s technological abilities. He set up cross-functional Renault and Nissan management teams in engineering, design, and marketing. These cross-functional teams were asked to uncover every problem and set new, realistic-but-tough performance goals. In addition, Ghosn was a tough taskmaster and executed with discipline. He made it clear he would not tolerate any backsliding: he writes, “If you disagree with the plan, you’ve got to leave the company.”

Carlos Ghosn with Nissan 350Z

As cost saving programs, consolidation of operations, and reduced reliability on debt improved Nissan’s financial performance and Nissan’s operating efficiency, Carlos Ghosn took courageous steps to invigorate the Nissan brand. He revitalized the Z-series sports-coupe line with the Nissan 350Z, a model that had been terminated previously in 1996. In the U.S., the world’s largest automotive market, Nissan jumped into new market segments with the Nissan Murano SUV and the Nissan Quest minivan. Nissan also flourished from Nissan Titan truck, the Nissan Armada SUV, and the Infiniti QX56, full-size vehicles that accounted for higher profit margins.

As a result, Nissan not only reached Carlos Ghosn’s demanding targets, but also exceeded them. Again, Carlos Ghosn was promoted. In May 2005, he rose to become the president and CEO of Renault.

Currently, Carlos Ghosn is the Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the global strategic alliance that oversees the unique cross-shareholding agreement between Renault and Nissan.

Book Recommendation: “Shift: Inside Nissan’s Historic Revival”

“Shift: Inside Nissan’s Historic Revival”, by Carlos Ghosn and French business journalist Philippe Ries, offers a treasure trove of practical guidance to executives who find themselves in challenging business cultures, especially in a global business environment, and are faced with diverse expectations for engagement of employees and managers.

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History and Operations of Delta Airlines’ Scissors Hub at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT)

Delta Airlines Scissors Hub at Tokyo Narita

Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 aircraft in Tokyo Narita Airport

Delta Airlines operates a scissors hub at Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) Delta inherited a majority of its Tokyo Narita operations in 2008 following its merger with Northwest Airlines. Before the merger, Delta Airlines had been operating flights from the United States to Tokyo since 1987. Currently, Delta also operates flights from the United States and Asia-Pacific to Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport (HND,) Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO,) and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (KIX.)

Northwest Orient Airlines Advertisement: Great Circle Route

History of Northwest Airlines and Flights to Japan

Northwest Orient Airlines (as Northwest Airlines marketed itself for these routes) had first established its service to Japan and onward in 1947 as part of its ‘Great Circle’ route between the United States and Asia. Northwest Orient initially formed its hub in Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport (HND, then Haneda Air Force Base,) and operated flights to China, South Korea, and the Philippines.

Northwest Orient Airlines Advertisement: Orient Express Route

  • On 15-Jul-1947, Northwest made flew a Douglas DC-4 aircraft named “The Manila” from Wold-Chamberlain Field (formerly part of the full name of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport MSP) in Minneapolis, via Blatchford Field in Edmonton (Calgary,) via Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage (Alaska,) via Eareckson Air Station (then Shemya AAF) in the Aleutian Islands (Alaska,) landed in Haneda Air Force Base, and continued to Lunghwa Airport in Shanghai and onward to Nichols Field at Manila.
  • On 20-Oct-1947, Northwest flew between Tokyo and Seoul’s Gimpo Airport.
  • On 16-Nov-1947, Northwest made a transit stop in Okinawa’s Naha Airport on its way to Manila’s Nichols Field.
  • On 3-Jun-1950, Northwest added Taipei’s Songshan Airport on the Tokyo-Okinawa-Manila route.
  • In 1951, Northwest helped found Japan Air Lines (JAL) by supplying aircrafts on lease and crewmembers to the new airline.
  • In 1952, a bilateral aviation accord between the United States and Japan made Northwest Airlines and Pan American World Airways as two US-based airlines allowed to fly from the United States to Tokyo. As part of the bilateral agreement, Northwest also procured fifth-freedom rights to carry passengers between Tokyo and Seoul (Korea,) Busan (Korea,) Taipei (Taiwan,) Manila (Philippines,) Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand,) Singapore, and the US territories of Guam and Saipan.
  • In 1978 when the New Tokyo International Airport (now called the Narita International Airport NRT) opened as the principal international airport in Tokyo, Northwest shifted its hub from Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport to Narita.

Delta Airlines Flights from United States to its Tokyo Narita Hub

Delta Flights from Various United States Cities to Tokyo Narita

  • Atlanta to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 295 operates from Delta’s hub in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 296. The aircraft used on this route is usually a Boeing 747-400. These flight numbers also operate between Tokyo Narita and Taipei, Taiwan.
  • Detroit to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 275 operates from Detroit’s Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 276. Delta’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft usually fly DL 275 and DL 276. Detroit is Delta’s primary Asian gateway hub. Delta also flies to Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO) from Detroit.
  • Honolulu to Tokyo Narita. Delta flights 579 and 639 operate from Honolulu International Airport (HNL) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flights are Delta 578 and 638. DL 579 and DL 578 are operated using Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER aircraft while DL 639 and DL 638 are operated using Delta’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft.
  • Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 283 operates from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 284. Delta currently uses Boeing 777-200LR on this route. Flights DL 283 and DL 284 are also used for flights between Tokyo Narita and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Delta also flies to Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport (HND) from Los Angeles.
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 621 operates from its hub Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 622. This route is presently operated using a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. Further, these flight numbers are also used for Delta’s flights between Tokyo and Singapore.
  • New York to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 173 operates from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK,) it’s gateway hub in New York City, to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 172. Delta usually flies a Boeing 747-400 on this route.
  • Portland to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 617 operates from Portland International Airport (PDX) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 618. This 4822-nautical mile route is flown using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.
  • San Francisco to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 209 operates from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) DL 209 and the return flight, DL 208, are currently operated using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.
  • Seattle to Tokyo Narita. Delta flight 155 operates from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT.) The return flight is Delta 156. Delta usually uses a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft between Seattle and Narita. Delta also flies to Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport (HND) from Seattle.

Delta Airlines Flights from its Tokyo Narita Hub to Asia-Pacific

Delta Flights from Tokyo Narita to Various Destinations in Asia-Pacific

  • From Tokyo Narita to Bangkok, Thailand. Delta flight 284 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK.) The return flight is Delta 283. Delta’s Boeing 777-200LR currently operate between Tokyo and Bangkok.
  • From Tokyo Narita to Beijing, China. Delta flight 618 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK.) The return flight is Delta 617. Currently, Delta uses a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft between Tokyo and Beijing Capital. Note that Delta also operates Boeing 777-200 aircraft non-stop between Detroit and Beijing and another 767-300ER between Seattle-Tacoma and Beijing Capital airport.
  • From Tokyo Narita to Guam. Delta operates two flights from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Guam’s Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM.) DL 97 and DL 649 operate on the outbound and DL 96 and DL 648 operate the inbound. All four flights of Delta’s flights between Tokyo and Guam are operated using Boeing 757-200 aircraft. Delta also operates 757-200 from Guam to Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO) and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (KIX.)
  • From Tokyo Narita to Hong Kong. Delta flight 156 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG.) The return flight is Delta 155. Currently, this route is operated using a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. These flight numbers are also used for Delta flights between Seattle and Tokyo.
  • From Tokyo Narita to Manila, Philippines. Delta flight 172 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL.) The return flight is Delta 173. Delta usually flies a Boeing 747-400 on this route. Delta also operates another Boeing 747-400 between Manila and Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO.)
  • From Tokyo Narita to Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Delta flight 297 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Saipan International Airport (SPN.) Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The return flight is Delta 298. Delta also operates flights 287 and 288 on this route. Delta operates its Boeing 757-200 aircraft between Tokyo and Saipan. Delta also flies between Saipan and Nagoya (NGO) using a 757-200.
  • From Tokyo Narita to Shanghai, China. Delta flight 296 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (PVG.) The return flight is Delta 295. Currently, an Airbus 330-300 operates between Tokyo and Shanghai. Delta also operates a non-stop Boeing 777-200 service between Shanghai Pudong and Detroit.
  • From Tokyo Narita to Singapore. Delta flight 622 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Singapore’s Changi Airport (SIN.) The return flight is Delta 621. Delta currently uses Boeing 777-200LR on this route. Currently, these flight numbers are also used between Narita and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
  • From Tokyo Narita to Taipei, Taiwan. Delta flight 276 operates from Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE.) The return flight is Delta 275. Delta’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft usually fly DL 275 and DL 276; the same flight numbers are used on the flights between Tokyo Narita and Detroit. From Taipei, Delta also flies the Delta’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft directly to/from San Francisco and Los Angeles.

References

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The Seven Deadly Sins (Christianity) and the Five Poisons (Buddhism)

The Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins (Proverbs 6:16-19)

Proverbs 6:16-19 in the Book of Proverbs in The Holy Bible lists “six things the Lord hateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth” (from the American Standard Version):

  1. haughty eyes,
  2. a lying tongue,
  3. hands that shed innocent blood,
  4. a heart that deviseth wicked purposes,
  5. feet that are swift in running to mischief,
  6. a false witness that uttereth lies,
  7. he that soweth discord among brethren.

The Seven Deadly Sins (The Common List)

In AD 590, Pope Gregory I amended and consolidated the various lists of seven sins that were in vogue then and created the more common list of Seven Deadly Sins. Even Dante Alighieri, the celebrated Italian poet of the Middle Ages, quoted this list of Seven Deadly Sins in his epic, The Divine Comedy.

  1. lechery / lust (luxuria in Latin)
  2. gluttony (gula in Latin)
  3. avarice / greed (avaritia in Latin)
  4. sloth / discouragement (acedia in Latin)
  5. wrath (ira in Latin)
  6. envy (invidia in Latin)
  7. pride (superbia in Latin)

“Five Poisons” in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism

The Mahayana tradition of Buddhism inventories five kleshas, mental states that can cloud the mind and result in unwholesome actions:

  1. Ignorance. Also: confusion, bewilderment, delusion, disorder
  2. Attachment. Also: desire, passion, yearning
  3. Aversion. Also: anger, hatred, rage, fury
  4. Pride. Also: arrogance, conceit, overconfidence, condescension
  5. Jealousy. Also: envy, spite, covetousness

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