Prepositions of Place/Location IN/ON/AT

TOPIC: Prepositions of Place/Location

GOAL: To learn about the proper use of prepositions of place/location

Level: Easy

Exercise #1: Read about Prepositions of Place and then proceed to Exercise #2

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.

Even for the most advanced students, propositions can always use more practice. Many verbs are (usually) followed by certain prepositions. Some even entirely change the meaning of a verb by turning it into a phrasal verb.  Learners just have to memorize most prepositions, especially those that follow certain verbs (and even more so for those that create phrasal verbs). Some prepositions can be used interchangeably depending on the situation. This just adds more confusion for people learning English.

The good news is that prepositions of place, perhaps, are among the most consistent (that is, they have fewer exceptions). Prepositions of place are almost logical, if you can understand the preposition on its own.

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Airline Alliances and a Changed Passenger Experience

Read the introductory text below. Follow links to additional material.

Passenger experience as a concept has been a matter of great transformation over the last years. Both airlines and airports have invested time and expertise into revamping interiors and procedures, introducing new technologies, going green, offering bonuses and frequent flier miles club memberships, forming alliances and expanding them, as well as reinventing the entire idea of aviation security in a way that is unnerving for many a traveler or human rights activist   Read here:

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Airline Customer Service

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/19airlinecustsvc.mp3|titles=Airline Customer Service]TOPIC: GRADING AIRLINE SERVICE

LEVEL: EASY

Read the introductory text about the National Airline Quality Rating. Pay attention to the key criteria used to evaluate airline service performance.

The National Airline Quality Rating  – a joint research project shared by Wichita State University and Purdue University – shows that airline performance is steadily improving. The results of the research made public in April 2010 (read article)  were based on several performance criteria: on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled baggage and a combination of 12 customer complaint categories, such as oversales, refunds, discriminations, handling of pets, etc.

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Low Cost vs. Conventional Airlines

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20lowcost.mp3|titles=Low cost v Conventional Airlines]

Low Cost vs. Conventional Airlines

Level: Easy

Read the text about conventional and low-cost carriers and match the words in the left column with the words in the right column:

1. 1. Low-cost carriers seem to be seriously involved in the new trend in the US airline industry’s domestic market. Both, smaller no-frills carriers (e.g. Allegiant, Frontier and Virgin America) and bigger budget airlines (e.g. JetBlue and Southwest), have grown rapidly over the last decade and are now known to be controlling 30% of the domestic travel market as compared to legacy carriers. As more Americans are changing their habits and choosing discount airlines for domestic flights, conventional airlines are cutting flights, shrinking hubs and even abandoning some destinations. The recent economic downturn has only contributed to this reshuffling, taking a toll on traditional airlines.
   2. While low fairs are obviously appealing, they are no longer a major selling point. What does seem to attract passengers is the major shift in how air travel is perceived. Value is given to non-complex operations and a more positive attitude.

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Crisis Management

TOPIC: CRISIS MANAGEMENT

LEVEL: DIFFICULT

Crisis management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_management ) is a relatively new field of management that has gained major importance over the last years and made its way into corporate structures – airline structures included. Successful crisis management requires forecasting potential crises and planning how to address them, identifying the causes and nature of the current crisis, utilizing strategies to minimize the impact and stimulating recovery.

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Structures

TOPIC: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND PEOPLE

LEVEL: EASY

Read the introductory text about the organizational structure of Southwest Airlines. Compare it to the conventional organizational chart some bigger airlines have implemented (below) and a general approach to structure (see text below):

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Innovative Airlines

TOPIC: INNOVATIVE AIRLINES

LEVEL: easy

1. Read the text about some of the innovative ideas in aviation business following links for additional reading material.

 Innovative ideas in aviation business, as experience shows, can either be a great source of income or a never-ending source of criticism. Lately many airlines have been focusing on “innovative ideas” that would help them climb out of recession (http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/airlines/ryanair-responds-criticism-stresses-its-customer-service ), and they hardly had anything to do with their customers’ comfort. 2010, however, looks very promising, with a few brilliant ideas that might actually fly.

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Airline Staffing

TOPIC: AIRLINE STAFFING TRENDS

LEVEL: DIFFICULT

Read the introductory text about the new airline staffing trends and the general employment situation in the airline industry. Follow links to get access to additional material.

Air travel is no longer romanticized as something glamorous, stewardesses are now called “flight attendants” and you will hardly see anyone dressing up for a flight.

Some airlines hiring former police officers or fire fighters as crew members – is yet another sign of the changing times. http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/08/06/jetblue-recruiting-new-york-cops-and-fire-fighters-as-flight-att/

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Taking Responsibility

TOPIC: TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

LEVEL: EASY

Read the introductory text about the disruption of flights in April 2010.

It seems like the start of 2010 was all about the U.K. and its airline industry, first bringing severe weather and along with it – flight cancellations, then BA strike, and continuing with the volcano eruption in April that effectively grounded all non-emergency flights in Britain following a flight ban, leaving passengers stranded and frustrated at airports. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2010/apr/15/volcano-airport-disruption-iceland.

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Airlines and Social Media

TOPIC: AIRLINES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

LEVEL: DIFFICULT

Read the introductory text on the topic “Airlines and Social Media” following links to additional material:

Social media play a crucial role in the modern world, and airline new media experts make sure that carriers stay in touch and on top of the trend. Some airlines perhaps wish they had picked up the habit of managing a Twitter or Facebook account a little earlier, or paid more attention to the buzz YouTube videos were creating. United Airlines may be one of them…

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