THE INSIDE SCOOP

Everyone wants to get the most out of their space. Whether it's a kitchen pantry, office area or home garage, space efficiency is a priority.

Just ask three Boeing teams in Everett, Wash., where their daily space challenges lie within the confines of an airframe. Their goal: creating more room for customer amenities, without utilizing space designated for seats or cargo.

"Everything comes back to passenger satisfaction while generating more revenue for our airline customers," said Doug Ackerman, deputy engineering leader for the Boeing 777 Overhead Space Utilization project. "Airlines are asking for creative space solutions. This translates into opportunities for us to imaginatively solve a customer's problem."

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32 years of LUV

For Herb Kelleher, chairman of Southwest Airlines, there's a story behind every explanation.

Take his recent comments at a Boeing-sponsored conference. Kelleher told a tale about dog food. Trademark cigarette in hand and gesturing to make his point, he spun a yarn about a company that won all sorts of awards for branding, packaging and advertising the latest and greatest dog food.

Yet, after months of abysmal sales and sagging profits, the company was going broke. The CEO called a meeting and asked for an explanation. He and his staff could not understand why the dog food wasn't flying off store shelves.

Finally someone from the back of the room spoke up. "No one asked the damned dogs!"

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What's in a name?

The recent renaming of FlightSafety Boeing Training International to "Alteon" captured the attention of many within Boeing and the aviation training industry as well.

Many wondered why the name needed to change at all; some wanted to know how the name was selected. Still others were curious about the meaning of the new name.

To answer these questions, we need to go back a few years. In 1997, Boeing and FlightSafety International formed a joint venture called FlightSafety Boeing Training International, or FlightSafetyBoeing for short. The company quickly evolved to become the world's first truly global training company offering flight and maintenance training in the 100-seat-and-above range of aircraft.

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Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

When Luke Koester goes to work every day, he gives little thought to the fact that he will spend most of his day inches away from an 8,000-pound elephant. He knows he must follow a set of procedures and rules that other elephant handlers follow. He is also keenly aware that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration classifies his job as an elephant handler as one of the most dangerous professions in the world.

Nearby, in another part of the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan., Karen Graham, curator of the amphibians, reptiles and fishes exhibits, prepares her checklist to make sure zookeepers know the procedures for handling poisonous creatures. It's an especially dangerous time as spring turns into summer. Hot weather turns reptiles, like the Russian cobra or Central Asian cobra, into extra-dangerous creatures. The three-foot snake eats only once a week, and zookeepers must be aware how quickly it can strike when they bring in a dead rodent.

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