Aviation Blog - Jay Ratliff
About
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Jay Ratliff has served as 700WLW's Aviation Expert since 2002, calling upon his 20+ year in the airline industry as a former General Manager for Northwest Airlines.
After being born in Frankfurt (that would be Germany, not Kentucky), Jay's family moved to Vandalia, Ohio where Jay spent his time learning to play the greatest game ever (baseball), by smacking the daylights out of fastballs from his next door neighbor Roger Clemens. (Disclaimer: At 9 years of age, this would have been a pre-steroid era.)
During his high school years at Carlisle High School, Jay spent most of his free time at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Center helping his Dad to build the condominiums at the course for a variety of Cincinnati sport's legends like Nancy Lopez, Ross Browner, Tom Seaver and others. In 1981 he watched his father build the ATP Tennis Stadium for the likes of Connors, McEnroe, Lendl and Borg.
Jay's passion for baseball continued thru 1983 when he was invited to tryout for the 1984 US Olympic Baseball Team. A torn hamstring six weeks before the tryouts ended his baseball dream. (He was able to write about the greatest game ever played for Reader's Digest, winning their Editor's Choice award and having it read by more than 88 million people worldwide.)
It was then Jay's attention turned towards the airline industry, where he loved the daily challenges of cancelled flights, delayed luggage (they weren't referred to as 'lost' until they were MIA for 90 days), weather problems and the always-wonderful Sunday after Thanksgiving! Cities Jay worked at included Monroe (LA), Florence (AL), Cincinnati, and Dayton. It was also during these years Jay was able to serve as the Travel Coordinator for the Detroit Lions - spending his Sunday afternoons on the NFL sidelines!
Jay continues that adrenaline rush by educating travelers with information specifically designed to help them find the cheapest of fares, resolve complaints, and having multiple options when flights are cancelled.
Jay lives in the Dayton area with his wife, Sherry and their two boys, and his older daughters serve as nurses to Dayton area hospitals.
If you have any questions, you can contact Jay through his Day Trading website - he is an avid Day Trader and teaches others on his system. (www.daytradefun.com)
On Air Details
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Mornings on Jim Scott's show
Listen Live
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Airlines & The FBI: Working Together
It began immediately.
The moment the attacks began at the Boston Marathon a series of events, behind the scenes, began between various law enforcement agencies and the airline industry. The search for those responsible, and for those who knew of the attacks, was underway.
The airline industry and law enforcement have a close working relationship and it is used constantly in the search for criminals on the run, transporting drugs as cargo, or when a missing persons case needs to be solved. Or, as in the case of the bombings in Boston, when suspected terrorists are being sought out.
In August of 2009 the TSA required passengers to provide their name when they travel, along with their date of birth. This added security measure was met with less than enthusiastic support, but continues to this day. As a result, the airlines have been able to build and maintain a travel record (or profile) of passengers. Airlines can use this information to market to passengers by destination, time of year or price – it’s an effective marketing tool. However, it is also a tool law enforcement agencies can use to help an investigation as well.
There are several “red flags” which arise when passengers travel in a certain way, such as making a last minute reservation and paying for it with cash. If you travel with no luggage on one of these trips, additional scrutiny might be placed on you. In all, there are hundreds of possible combinations which can alert law enforcement agencies and make a traveler a “person of interest.” I am not saying they will see you traveling at the last minute with cash and break down your door at midnight, but it may cause your reservation, and past travel history, to be examined to see if there are any other indicators which cause concern.
In the Boston case, law enforcement agencies will be looking at the reservations of those traveling to/out of the Boston area over the past few days, weeks and even months. Records of anything being confiscated at the security checkpoints will be reviewed and compared to existing airline reservations. In short, no stone will go unturned as the search for clues continues.
While I too grow weary of the continuing encroachment upon our civil liberties at airports across the country, if it turns out that those added checks (through added information we are forced to provide) help aid law enforcement agencies in catching those responsible for the Boston attacks…I will be a little less aggravated. I pray those responsible for the attacks will quickly be brought to justice.
