André Bouquet – Page 2 – The Talkative Man

Sparkling Romance with Norway’s Historic Hotels & Restaurants

De Historiske is a unique membership organization consisting of several of Norway’s most delightful hotels and restaurants.

De Historiske’s new range of short breaks is a huge success and Norway is more popular as a holiday destination than ever before. Their member-hotels offer unique adventures in Norway. Patrons staying at a number of their hotels, dining in their fabulous restaurants and taking wonderful boat trips can all be part of an amazing package. They offer different packages—each with unique theme—but all have one thing in common—patrons will have an experience of a lifetime.

Destination Weddings in Norway

You and Your Loved One Can Really Spoil Yourselves

Two of the most romantic locations for memorable breaks. Enjoy delicious meals in idyllic, peaceful surroundings. This short break starts at Hotell Refsnes Gods, only a stone’s throw from the Oslofjord. The hotel has an excellent reputation for delicious dining and well-stocked wine cellars, in addition to the inspirational art adorning its walls. The good life continues in the magnificent natural surroundings of Engo Gard Hotel & Restaurant, with its English conservatory-style heated swimming pool and Jacuzzi for relaxation and pampering.

Take a break from the daily toil and feel the benefits!

Sparkling Romance with Norway's Historic Hotels & Restaurants

With Nature at the Doorstep, Work Becomes the Furthest Thing

Whether you want time to socialize with your friends or enjoy a romantic weekend, you’ll find the perfect escape at the hotels’ castles, manors, inns and guesthouses. Do you want to enjoy activities while relaxing, or just enjoy the peace? Regardless of the hotel, you can be sure to end up in scenic surroundings, with top restaurants where traditional food meets modern cuisine.

Weddings, Celebrations, Honeymoons, and Festive Occasions in Norway

Weddings, Celebrations & Festive Occasions That Deserve Special Surroundings

If you are looking to hold a birthday party in unique surroundings, spend a romantic honeymoon or celebrate an important occasion with a special culinary experience, De Historiske are your natural choice. The genuine atmosphere is the reason why many people choose to celebrate special occasions at De Historiske. De Historiske’s surroundings are perfect for creating the relaxed atmosphere that is worthy of an important day—whether a birthday or a wedding day. Celebrations can vary from evening parties to grand events lasting from morning to night. They can also recommend family get-togethers, where the generations meet, in many of Norway’s historic picturesque surroundings.

Ryanair’s Exclusive Corporate Jet with Boeing 737-700 Charter Service

Ryanair's Exclusive Corporate Jet with Boeing 737-700 Charter Service

Ireland’s ultra low cost carrier Ryanair has converted its only B737-700 aircraft (registration EI-SEV) to a corporate jet with 60 seats in the cabin. The aircraft is now is a 2 x 2 configuration. The specifications are:

60 passengers, all business class,
Seats: 2 x 2 seating with 48″ seat pitch, leather reclining seats
Crew: Ryanair’s pilot and cabin crew
Range: 3000 nm range, 6 hours at 500 mph cruise speed
Catering: available

Previously, this aircraft already in complete Ryanair livery, was used for training, and may have it has covered a couple of scheduled services. Perhaps the aircraft will be in demand when soccer teams have to play in far-flung eastern European destinations. Ryanair also aims it at sports teams, travel groups as well as business customers. Ryanair will price the services of this aircraft on a cost-per-hour basis, and depending on the departure and arrival airports, the rates could be the most competitive in Europe.

Ryanair’s corporate jet charter is akin to similar services offered by Korean Air (16 or 28-seat 737 Business Jet), Emirates (19-seat A319 Executive Jet) and Qatar Airways (40-seat A319.)

For the summer season, the Boeing 737 corporate jet will be used as a normal passenger aircraft with 149 seats for training and as a backup aircraft for routes between the UK and Ireland.

Ryanair exclusively flies Boeing 737-800 aircraft, of which 320 are in service and 153 in orders, as on 10-Mar-2016. Ryanair is also the launch for the 197-seater Boeing 737 MAX 200 aircraft with options for an additional 100 aircraft of this subtype—all to be delivered between 2019 and 2023. The MAX 200 aircrafts hold eight more passengers than the popular Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. This subtype includes a mid-exit door to increase the exit limit. With eight additional seats than the standard 179-seater MAX 8, Boeing claims that the MAX 200 airplane offers 20% superior operating cost efficiency in comparison to the Ryanair’s staple, the 737-800. The front and rear galley spaces are removed and the lavatory space is repositioned to the rear of the aircraft. Surprisingly, Ryanair claims that the seat pitch will stretch to a tad over than 30 inches.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, had been pushing for a maximum-density 737-800 aircraft for ten years. Beyond 200 seats, Ryanair will need a fourth flight attendant on its aircraft. Although Boeing claims that 35% of the worldwide market demand for single-aisle aircraft will in due course lie with low cost carriers (LCCs,) for which the MAX 200 is intended, Ryanair is the sole customer thus far for the Boeing 737 MAX 200. News emerged in March 2015 that Boeing was presenting some airlines with concept of 737-8ERX, a longer-range version of the 737-8 MAX.

Ryanair owns three Learjet 45 aircrafts, which are based at its prominent bases in London Stansted (STN) Airport and Italy’s Bergamo Airport (BGY, 45 km northeast of Milan.) These aircrafts carry Isle of Man registrations M-ABEU, M-ABGV, and M-ABJA. They are primarily used to rapidly transport aircraft parts and maintenance personnel around Ryanair’s ever-expanding network. The number of aircrafts in order is testimony to the ambition of Ryanair to accelerate its traffic growth modestly. Ever since transforming in the LCC paradigm in the mid 1990s, Ryanair has mostly operated a single aircraft type, thereby providing economies of scale and flexibility in terms of aircraft deployment, maintenance, crew scheduling, and training.

Ryanair has unit costs that are lowest of any European airline and one of the lowest of any airline on the planet. Ryanair has a level of unit cost that is unlikely to be equaled by competitors in Europe and so other airlines are doubtful to be able to contend with it on price.

The Walmart Cheer

In building Walmart as the world’s greatest retailer, founder Sam Walton borrowed every good idea he’d come across. And one of those ideas is the famous Walmart Cheer:

Give Me a W!
Give Me an A!
Give Me an L!
Give Me a Squiggly!
(Here, everybody sort of does the twist.)
Give Me an M!
Give Me an A!
Give Me an R!
Give Me a T!
What’s that spell?
Wal-Mart!
What’s that spell?
Wal-Mart!
Who’s number one?
THE CUSTOMER!

From Walton’s autobiography, “Made In America”:

Helen (Walton’s wife) and I picked up several ideas on a trip we took to Korea and Japan in 1975. A lot of the things they do over there are very easy to apply to doing business over here. Culturally, things seem so different—like sitting on the floor eating eels and snails—but people are people, and what motivates one group generally will motivate another.

And Helen Walton is quoted,

Sam took me out to see this tennis ball factory, somewhere east of Seoul. The company sold balls to Wal-Mart, I guess, and they treated us very well. It was the dirtiest place I ever saw in my life, but Sam was very impressed. It was the first place he ever saw a group of workers have a company cheer. And he liked the idea of everybody doing calisthenics together at the beginning of the day. He couldn’t wait to get home and try those ideas out in the stores and at the Saturday morning meeting.

All training activities include the Walmart cheer. Every morning, store associates participate in the cheer. A few people stand up to read the daily numbers, then break out into a chant—“Give me a W-A-L-M-A-R-T,” with the rest of the people in the room shouting back the same letter. Back then, Wal-Mart still had a hyphen, so between the L and the M they would yell, “Give me a squiggly!” and everyone would do a butt wiggle.

All across America, Walmart convenes nearly 60,000 regularly scheduled meetings each week, all of them starting and ending with the Walmart cheer. Also, each store has a 15-minute shift-change meeting three times a day, when a new wave of cashiers, stockers, and supervisors arrives. Their meetings start with a Walmart Cheer.

Charles Baudelaire: In Praise of Cosmetics

Charles Baudelaire introduced the idea that no woman is so beautiful that her beauty would not be enhanced by cosmetics.

Charles Baudelaire, French poet and essayist For much of the history of humanity, the wearing of cosmetics by women has been viewed, in the West at least, as something associated with harlots and stage performers (with those two professions once being considered almost equally disreputable). As an early nineteenth-century song once asserted, it is nature itself that “embellishes beauty,” so what need would a virtuous woman have for makeup?

The French poet and essayist Charles Baudelaire (1821- 67) was raised in this culture of “naturalized beauty” and never really questioned it in his early years. But then, in the 1860s, the man who coined the word “modernity” began to question what Romantic artists and writers referred to as the “supremacy of nature.” In his book, The Painter of Modern Life (1863), he turned his attention to the nature of beauty in the chapter titled “In Praise of Cosmetics.” Charles Baudelaire wrote in his “In Praise of Cosmetics” (1863,) “I am perfectly happy for those whose owlish gravity prevents them from seeking beauty in its most minute manifestations to laugh at these reflections of mine … .”

Baudelaire had always felt especially drawn to the opposite sex, and was conscious of how society’s notion of beauty was changing in an increasingly industrialized world. His essay on beauty was a little too whimsical to be taken absolutely seriously, but it was nonetheless a triumphant defense of the notion that makeup can make the beautiful even more beautiful. “External finery,” Baudelaire wrote, is “one of the signs of the primitive nobility of the human soul.” Every fash ion is “charming,” and every woman is bound by “a kind of duty” to appear magical, to astonish, and to charm her fellows. Accordingly, nature could now be imaginatively surpassed by applying black eyeliner, which “gives the eye a more decisive appearance,” and rouge, which “sets fire to the cheekbone.” Baudelaire’s emphasis on the beauty of artifice over nature marked a significant departure from the Romanticism of the first half of the century, reflecting the rise of decadence and Aestheticism, to many of whose practitioners he was a hero.

10 Ways to Improve Your Creative Imagination

If you want to develop your creative imagination you must open your mind to new unexplored paths, think of offbeat ways to tackle a problem, make something that is hard easier.
Be curious about everything—the world is full of amazing wonders for you to learn about. They will become your storehouse of memories and ideas that you can use when needed.
Look deep into the problem you face and imagine different alternatives for solving the problem. Try new paths— don’t accept the status-quo, if you fail at one task try another approach. Take everything with a grain of salt, keep an open mind.
Try to associate with other creative people, people who discuss ideas.
Always be on the lookout for new innovations that you can improve upon. When a new product, device or machine is invented it is already ripe for improving. Technology is always being improved. Just look at the automobile, since it was invented over a hundred years ago it has been constantly improved with thousands of new innovations added.
This goes for any product, there is always room for improvement. Even if you come up with what seems to be a crazy way of solving a problem—write it down anyway—think about it—it may turn out to be a good idea.
Start thinking about writing a story, think of a plot, think up characters for the story, take notes and expand the story over a period of time. Refine and change the story if you want to. Take your time, new ideas will pop out of your subconscious as you think about it. It is your creation you can do anything you want with it, use you imagination.
Whether you are writing music or leading an army into battle keep your mind open for opportunities—new angles—different strategies—if one thing doesn’t work try another.
Develop your interests and natural talents—follow these talents—be curious, learn as much as you can about subjects you are interested in and then improvise, develop, expand them. Follow different off beat paths. If they don’t work try another tack.
Build upon the ideas of other people— improve and refine their ideas. It is the fundamental reason for human progress. It created the ‘Mind’ of mankind (the vast network of human minds that continually spread ideas across time and place).

Thai Airways Gives out Rimowa Amenity Kits in its Royal First Class

Thai Airways gives out Rimowa Amenity Kits in its Royal First Class. Rimowa is a German manufacturer of aluminum as well as polycarbonate luggage. The dimensions of the plastic carry case are: 4″ x 7″ x 2.5″. The amenity kit consists of,

L’Occitane Cologne
L’Occitane Moisturiser
L’Occitane Lip Balm
Dental Kit with Fluocaril Toothpaste from Thailand
Mouthwash
Earplugs
Eyeshade
Comfort Socks
Comb & Brush

Thai Airways Rimowa Amenity Kits: Example Set 1

Rimowa Amenity Kits from Thai Airways's Royal First Class - Neptune Blue

Other airlines that seem to hand out Rimowa Amenity Kits in business and first classes include ANA, EVA, and Lufthansa—curiously all part of the STAR Alliance.

Thai Airways Rimowa Amenity Kits: Example Set 2

Rimowa Amenity Kits from Thai Airways's Royal First Class - Amber Color

United Club Shower: Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (ORD) Terminal 1, Concourse C

United Club Chicago's O'Hare Airport (ORD) Terminal 1, Concourse C

Chicago is a very large metropolitan area that supports a lot of international and domestic visitors. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (ORD) is one of the few major airports in the world that is a primary hub for two carriers. The only other airport in the US where that is true is John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City.

Toiletries at United Club Shower

United Club Shower at Chicago's O'Hare Airport

United Club at Chicago's O'Hare Airport

Both United Airlines and American Airlines battle for passengers at the airport—both have noteworthy O&D traffic as well as being a primary connecting point for passengers from other parts of their network.

United Club Shower Area at Chicago's O'Hare Airport

United Club Shower Area at Terminal 1, Concourse C

Bath Towels United Club Shower Area

Visiting the Boeing Renton 737 Plant

Boeing Renton Plant from Logan Avenue and Park Street

Boeing does not offer any tours of its Renton, Washington factory where, most prominently, Next-Generation Boeing 737 airliners are built today, and the Boeing 737-MAX will be built in the near future.

Boeing has had the following operations at the Renton plant, which is conveniently adjacent to the Renton Municipal Airport.

The Renton factory built B-29 Superfortress, a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber.
After the second world war Boeing closed the Renton plant. In 1948, Boeing re-opened the Renton facilities to build the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter for the United States Air Force.
Starting from the 1950s, the Boeing 367-80 and the Boeing 707 were built in Renton. The first production Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker first flew in August 1956 and the first production Boeing 707 rolled out of Renton in October 1957. Boeing produced 707s until April 1991.
Boeing also used the Boeing 707 final assembly building to manufacture the Boeing 727 three-engined aircraft between 1963 and 1982.
The Boeing 737 aircrafts built have their first flight out of the adjacent Renton Municipal Airport and then flown to Boeing Field for final preparation and delivery. Randy Tinseth, Vice President of Marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes offers great photo gallery flashback to celebrate the 737’s past, present and future.
The Renton plant refurbished the first four 747s ever built.
The Renton plant built Boeing 757, the revered twin-engine short-to-medium-range airliner.

Glimpse of Boeing Renton Plant from Cedar River Path

Visiting the Boeing Renton Plant: Cedar River Path & Logan Avenue

Google Maps for Boeing Renton 737 Plant: Cedar River

If you sincerely just want to glimpse at the plant itself, you can see it acceptably from Logan Avenue right outside of The Landing Mall. At the intersection of Logan Avenue and Park Street (map), if you cross the street there is a small grassy area right where Gate D-9 is.

Google Maps for Boeing Renton 737 Plant: Logan Avenue

There’s also a jogging / walking path along the Cedar River near the Renton Stadium where you can get pretty close to some parked 737s in various stages of manufacturing. The GPS coordinates are 47.49029,-122.211635.

Visiting Other Boeing Facilities in and around Seattle

Near Everett, Washington, you can visit the The Future of Flight Aviation Center and take the Boeing Tour of Boeing’s wide-body facilities. The The Future of Flight Aviation Center is located in Mukilteo, Washington, about 25 miles north of Seattle.
South of downtown Seattle, in the city of Tukwila, Washington, you can also visit King County International Airport-Boeing Field, you can take Boeing Field Tours during the Spring and Summer. At the Museum of Flight, an outdoor annex features the display of the first Boeing 747 airliner, a British Airways Concorde, and a specially built Boeing 707-120 for the first presidential jet.

Comical Tote Bag from India’s IndiGo Airlines

IndiGo Airlines from India

IndiGo Airlines is India’s largest airline. IndiGo operates a low cost carrier and operates 400 daily flights connecting 36 cities in India and outside using Airbus A320 aircraft.

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - A320 Safety Instruction Card

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - A320 Emergency Procedures

IndiGo’s comical tote bag reproduces IndiGo’s inflight safety card. The tote bag features a comic character of an Indian gentleman in traditional garb, sporting a moustache, and a tilak / bindi (the customary forehead decoration.)

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - Life Vest for Flotation

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - Inflatable Evacuation Slides

On one corner of the tote bag, the gentleman seems clueless on what to do, but assumedly learns how to fasten his seat belt, fold the tray table, abide by safety instructions, blow into his safety vest, and help his kid wear an oxygen mask after he has worn his own. Specifications:

Width: 16+5/8 inch
Height: 14+1/2 inch

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - Clueless Funny Indian Man

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - Facsimile of Safety Card

Despite only entering the market about than eight years ago in Aug-2006, IndiGo has rapidly soared up the ranks to become the largest domestic carrier, overtaking Jet Airways and Air India on the way. Over the longer term, IndiGo plans to dedicate 20% of its total capacity to the international sector.

Indigo Airlines Tote Bag - Indian Budget LCC Airline

Recently, Airbus and IndiGo annouced that IndiGo had ordered 250 A320neo aircrafts. IndiGo presently has more than 500 A320 aircrafts on order. Aviation analysts suspect IndiGo as one of those airlines that might be over-ordering aircraft.

Southwest Airlines’ Brilliant Marketing

Southwest Airlines' Brilliant Marketing

More than anything, Southwest Airlines deserves credit for its exceptional marketing strategy. For decades, Southwest Airlines has convinced American consumers that it have the lowest fares, which is hardly ever the case. Southwest’s average fares have outpaced the industry by 12% since 2009.

Nevertheless, I hear repeatedly “I need a cheap last minute ticket; I suppose I’ll try Southwest Airlines.” Being able to create that perception among consumers is invaluable.

Southwest Airlines began service in June 1971 with the objective of stimulating demand through low fares and, in forty years, has become the largest domestic airline in the United States. Southwest Airlines used to be cheaper when they first started out but currently many of their flights cost more than the other airlines. Many attentive customers do not consider Southwest Airlines a discount airline anymore.

Southwest Airlines gained a low-cost advantage by flying one aircraft type on a point-to-point network to less congested secondary airports. This enabled the airline to maximize aircraft utilization and employee productivity. It’s simple fare structure allowed customers to purchase and alter their travel plans more easily than with legacy carriers. Another distinctive competitive advantage that Southwest enjoyed for years was a hedged fuel position that was the envy of the industry. Over the last decade, Southwest has lost this particular cost advantage, and has generated results that have more closely mimicked those of legacy carriers.

Southwest Airlines No Longer Low-Cost Airline

Moreover, Southwest is no longer the lowest-cost provider that it used to be, even not including fuel costs, as measured by costs per available seat mile excluding fuel expenses. Competition and surging fuel prices proved that Southwest’s low-cost advantages were merely temporary. Over the years, competitors like Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant, and JetBlue have entered the fray and mimicked this strategy.

Over the last decade, three distinctive business models have emerged in the US airline industry: (1) global network airlines, (2) hybrid airlines, and (3) ultra low-cost airlines. Southwest Airlines has purposely avoided identifying itself with a specific strategy. Instead, the airline has chosen to persist amplifying its maverick low-fare image.

Southwest Airlines revealed a modern new look

Southwest Airlines revealed a modern new look and logo on Monday. Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines CEO said, “our collective heartbeat is stronger and healthier than ever, and that’s because of the warmth, the compassion, and the smiles of our People … The Heart emblazoned on our aircraft, and within our new look, symbolizes our commitment that we’ll remain true to our core values as we set our sights on the future.”

You and Your Loved One Can Really Spoil Yourselves

With Nature at the Doorstep, Work Becomes the Furthest Thing

Weddings, Celebrations & Festive Occasions That Deserve Special Surroundings

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Thai Airways Rimowa Amenity Kits: Example Set 1

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